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Sometimes breath-taking beauty and fantastic design can be born from a virtually blank landscape, and the Grand Canal Square Theatre and Commercial Development proves just that. For years, the Grand Canal Harbour waterfront in Dublin, Ireland, was simply a deserted former industrial site. All that changed when the Dublin Docklands Authority set out to redevelop the abandoned area and create a multipurpose cultural civic center for Dublin. World-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind and landscape architects from Martha Schwartz Partners collaborated on the project to create an architectural masterpiece that merges aesthetic appeal, functionality, and sustainability.

Most of us don’t ever really think about shipping containers unless we work in logistics or caught the second season of The Wire. They have been steadily making their way into the architectural world -- their low cost and ambulatory nature making them appropriate in a variety of contexts, such as upscale housing and small workplaces or getaways. The creativity of these spaces emerges with the challenge of fitting design into a box, quite literally. Here, however, we will examine that creativity a bit further in a few other uses, while discussing shipping container design with Pittsburgh-based architect Gary P. Moshier of Moshier Studio.

8Tallet, by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), has one of the world's largest green roofs and was designed to function as a complete community rather than an apartment building. Learn more about this cool building in one of the world's most environmentally progressive cities, Copenhagen.

Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s (DR's) new headquarters gathers all of their activities into one very large and diverse facility. Almost 10 years after the first competition, the inauguration of the Concert Hall (Koncerthuset) marks the completion of the new headquarters, aptly named DR Byen (DR City).

The New Royal Playhouse (Det Nye Skuespilhus) sits on the Copenhagen harbor, a calm monument to culture and a nuanced design that reflects a respect for its place. The building, by Danish firm Lundgaard and Tranberg Arkitekter, is completely contemporary and yet seems as though it has always been there.

Wood flooring is a long-lasting, aesthetically pleasing, and affordable interior floor covering. According to the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), "In a national survey of real estate agents, 90% said that houses with wood flooring sell faster and for higher prices than houses without wood floors." That being the case, who wouldn't want a wood floor? Prior to racing out and purchasing wood flooring, we need to understand what is available and keep in mind that all wood floors are not created equal.

When architecture must subordinate itself to centuries of history, the challenge facing the designer is to create a structure that is simple and retiring while still expressive of its own generation. Estes/Twombly Architects’ redesign of the Overall House in Concord, Massachusetts, achieved simplicity not only in terms of its massing but in terms of its program as well.

We’ve all heard the phrase “champagne taste on a beer budget,” right? This certainly applies to kitchen design and decorating. Our space is an integral part of our lives -- as we spend a good deal of life at home -- and it doesn’t take a Feng Shui expert to understand the value of creating a space that is personalized, practical, and, of course, positive.

At first glance, it might seem difficult to reconcile modernist architecture, with its industrial roots and machined aesthetic, with a rural, forested site in the midst of Ohio. However, architect Jim Dorenbusch, owner of Junction Architecture & Design, found his inspiration in the work of Alvar Aalto and other Scandinavian modernists.

Often dubbed a trenchless technology, pipe bursting involves the replacement of an old pipeline with a same or larger diameter pipe that destroys the original pipe as the new one is installed. The pipe bursting tool, which is pulled through the sewer by a winch or rod located at the upstream manhole, forces its way through existing pipe materials by fragmenting the pipe and compressing the broken pieces into the soil as it progresses.

What does geothermal mean? Geo simply means "earth", while thermal means “of, relating to, or caused by heat.” For example: hot springs = thermal waters, stress due to heat = thermal stress, and insulation retarding the flow of heat = thermal insulation.

This year, the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, Spain celebrates its 20th anniversary. Well, sort of. While the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia officially opened its doors in 1990, the building has been transformed by so many architects over the years that it’s difficult to date.