Sarah Dunn and Martin Felsen of the Chicago-based firm UrbanLab are assuming the directorship of Archeworks, the Chicago alternative design school. The institution's co-founders, Stanley Tigerman and Eva Maddox, announced the change at the Archeworks' January panel discussion “Passing the Baton.”
The American Institute of Architecture Students has named the recipients of its annual Honor Awards: chapter: University of Kansas; chapter president: Ryan Carl Wong, University of Washington; student research: Kristin Saunders, University of Kansas; educator: David W. Hinson, Auburn University; community service: Fifth Grade Architecture Project, Auburn University; and special accomplishment: Rebuilding the Seventh, University of Kansas.
In December, the City Council of Greenberg, Kan., passed a resolution that all city-owned buildings larger than 4,000 square feet be LEED Platinum certified and that they reduce energy use by 42 percent from current building code requirements. BNIM Architects of Kansas City, Mo., helped the council draft the resolution and is working on a master plan for the reconstruction of the town, which was devastated by a tornado last May.
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture has honored three educators with its 2007–2008 Distinguished Professor Award: David Heymann, University of Texas at Austin; Gregory Palermo, Iowa State University; and Victor Regnier, University of Southern California. For more 2007–2008 ACSA award winners, go to acsa-arch.org.
New York Times real estate writer Lisa Chamberlain has been named executive director of the Manhattan-based Forum for Urban Design, an organization comprising architects, academics, and others involved in urban planning, design, and development.
The Canada Council for the Arts has awarded the $50,000 Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture to Manon Asselin and Katsuhiro Yamazaki of the Montreal firm atelier T.A.G. The duo plan to record interviews with young, innovative architects and to research studio activities, building projects, and construction in East Asia, Europe, and New York City.
The Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has built what it claims is the world's tallest elevator-testing tower. Named Solae and located in Inazawa City, Japan, the 567-foottall, $50 million structure will enable the company to research next-generation elevators for skyscrapers.
The Municipality of Gdansk, Poland, has announced that Polish firm FORT Architects is the winner of the international design competition for the European Solidarity Centre. The building will be completed in 2010 and open on the 30th anniversary of the birth of the Solidarity Movement.
Stanford University Medical Center has chosen two lead architects to design expansions and seismic upgrades for the Stanford Hospital & Clinics and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. New York–based Rafael Viñoly Architects will work on the Stanford Hospital; Kohn Pedersen Fox, also based in New York, will work on the Children's Hospital. The entire project could cost upward of $2 billion. Construction is expected to begin in 2010.
Two St. Louis firms, Lawrence Group and Austin Tao & Associates, are merging. Austin Tao & Associates will retain its name and operate as a subsidiary of the Lawrence Group, responsible for landscape architecture.
