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The Reina Sofia Museum: The MOMA of Madrid

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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.

How to Read Flood Zone Maps

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Flooding occurs when water exceeds normal cyclical levels in areas that are largely considered to be dry land. Flooding can result in damage to property and subsequent expenses. Flood maps illustrate which areas of a region are more likely to flood than others in a given year and are used by insurance companies to determine flood insurance premiums.

KU.BE by ADEPT/MVRDV: An Experimental Community Center

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Frederiksberg, a community within Copenhagen, seeks to build an experimental, new type of community center that emphasizes healthy and active lifestyles, along with more traditional or passive social and cultural pursuits. This 4,000 m2 (approximately 43,000 sq. ft.) building is slated for completion in 2015 and cost 130 million Danish krone (DKK) (approximately 25,061,660 USD). The KU.BE or “Kultur -- og Bevægelseshus” or House of Culture and Movement was designed by Adept and MVRDV and realizes an ambition to create a place of high architectural quality that is sustainable. The House of Culture and Movement will no doubt be architecturally captivating and contribute in a real way to the community’s health and well-being.

Residential Solar Energy Systems

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It used to be that installing a home solar energy system was an expensive, labor-intensive project. Not anymore. With the increased popularity of solar energy, more products and providers have made residential solar panels more accessible. It may also be much less expensive than you imagine due to the availability of financing incentives for solar energy systems. Join host Jeff Wilson as he explains how to “go solar” at your house – from incentives all the way to installation.

Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG’s) AmagerForbraending

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BIG's Amager Waste-to-Energy Plant not only exemplifies the cleanest waste-to-energy treatment possible, it offers a ski slope to Copenhagen's residents.

A building down which you can ski and where garbage is burned: some surrealistic fun is coming to Copenhagen. Such a building is the result of the winning competition entry from Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) with realities:united and Topotek / Man Made Land. Expected to be completed in 2016, the $650 million (USD) Amager Waste-to-Energy facility (Amagerforbrænding) in Copenhagen really does incorporate a ski slope into the design, among its other captivating qualities. Amagerforbrænding combines the waste incineration and pollution control plant, offices, visitor center, and the alpine ski slope in one shell.

Shower Rise

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Problems can occur with any type of renovation project.  Prior to installing our new three piece acrylic bathtub and surround, we determined that the existing locations of both the shower arm and tub spout were too low.  While we had hoped to keep the existing plumbing intact, we realized that we would need to redo the rough plumbing to relocate the shower arm and tub spout.

Since our house already had copper plumbing pipes, we decided to replace the existing tub and shower pipes with copper, rather than PEX or CPVC.  Even though I have done some plumbing in the past, I had reservations about soldering the copper piping and fittings.

How To Install Door Casing

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Install new casement trim around your front door to increase energy efficiency and to amp up curb appeal. Here's how.

Now that you’ve installed a new front door, your home radiates curb appeal. We have one more project to complete the new look – door casing. With the right tools and a little know-how, installing door casing is a job any DIYer can accomplish. Join our host, Jeff Wilson, for a quick lesson on how to install simple casement trim around a new front door.