Plans for Solstice - Earthships and Architects
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Plans for Solstice - Earthships and Architects - Video
New Zealand's largest supplier of Southland beech for the residential and commercial construction market is seeing increasing acceptance of the use of the native timber by architects.
While architects and homeowners may have been showing reluctance in using some native species, Southland beech is harvested by Lindsay and Dixon under a Ministry of Primary Industries sustainable management plan and carries independent certification from the Forestry Stewardship Council.
The fine-grained medium-density hardwood has featured recently in finishings in the Supreme Court building in Wellington, Air New Zealand's Koru lounge in Christchurch and Auckland's Novotel Hotel.
Tuatapere-based sawmiller Lindsay and Dixon, in western Southland, is a Southland beech supplier certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. It
accounts for 80% of the sawmilling output of all native timber in the country.
The company recently commissioned a survey of architects to determine if there were concerns undermining the use of Southland beech, traditionally known as silver beech and also sold as maple and cherry beech, Lindsay and Dixon's managing director, Bernie Lagan, said the architects surveyed about using indigenous timber had highlighted the need to protect native trees and also raised concerns about habitat destruction.
''We found that the opportunity to specify native timber was often muddied by a general trend to avoid native timber.
''People feared for their business reputation and wanted to be regarded as an environmentally friendly business,'' he said.
Lindsay and Dixon's permissible annual harvest volume is 23,628 cu m, of all species and log grades, which equates to a sustainable yield extraction volume of 1.8%, the international standard being 10% of a forest stock.
Timber totalling an estimated 1.32 million cu m is taken from seven blocks in the Longwood and Rowallan forests, which are second-generation regenerating forests covering 11,582ha in Southland.
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Sustainably supplying native beech
In an open letter to Minister for the Environment the architects call for the introduction of a latent defects insurance scheme to protect homebuyers against a repetition of the Priory Hall disaster. Photograph: Alan Betson.
More than 550 architects have joined seven former presidents of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) in calling for implementation of amended building regulations to be postponed.
In an open letter to Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan, they call for the introduction of a latent defects insurance scheme to protect homebuyers against a repetition of the Priory Hall disaster.
The letter says widespread concern among the profession was not reactionary or vexatious but based on a deeply held view that the regulations needed to be improved to produce better buildings and protect consumers.
It notes that these views on the regulations, due to take effect on March 1st next, were reflected in an almost unanimous expression of concern over 500 votes to eight at the recent RIAI egm, probably the largest ever gathering of architects in Ireland.
The architects say they are worried that premature implementation does not end up in confusion or in a delay in the roll-out of badly needed construction projects, forming an essential part of the Governments overall economic programme.
Accordingly, they call on the Minister to postpone implementation until the building control authorities have tested IT systems, the relevant building contract forms are amended and a full registration system is completed for all building contractors.
They are also seeking a meaningful independent inspection system overseen by the building control authorities.
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Architects call for implementation of building regulations to be postponed
The American Institute of Architects has broken the gender barrier for its highest award, the gold medal. The 2014 medal is going to famed California architect Julia Morgan nearly 57 years after her death in 1957 and more than 100 years after the first gold medal was conferred.
Morgan, whose most famous building is Hearst Castle at San Simeon on Californias central coast, was a pivotal figure in the history of American architecture and American women, according to an article the AIA published on its website announcing the award -- the eighth gold medal awarded posthumously.
Morgan practiced nearly 50 years before her retirement in 1951, designing more than 700 homes, churches, hotels, civic and commercial buildings and museums.
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But the AIA's online article noted that her reputation eroded as the more austere modernist movement became dominant and the more lavish Beaux-Arts tradition informing Morgans work fell out of vogue.
The award, open to residents of other nations as well as Americans, honors a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Its voted on annually by the board of directors of the AIA, a professional organization headquartered in Washington, but with chapters across the nation. The AIA will celebrate Morgans life and work in late June at its annual convention in Chicago. The 2013 award went to L.A. architect Thom Mayne.
Among other winners, 1993 medalist Thomas Jefferson, who died in 1826, waited the longest to be recognized for enduring designs such as his home, Monticello, the Virginia Capitol and original structures at the University of Virginia.
The AIA article noted that Morgans candidacy was championed by several celebrated architects who had backed her with letters of recommendation.
Frank Gehry, the AIAs 1999 gold medalist, disputed the notion that Morgans achievement was irrelevant to later architectural advances: Looking at her work, one can find her playing with symmetry asymmetrically, slipping forms vertically and horizontally, orienting her buildings for climate and daylight, and expressing structure in new ways, pointing the way to Modernism on the horizon.
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Hearst Castle's Julia Morgan is first woman to win AIA's gold medal
Welcome to Dyer Grimes Architects! -by John Dyer-Grimes
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Welcome to Dyer Grimes Architects! -by John Dyer-Grimes - Video
Season #39;s Greetings from Martinkovic Milford Architects
Your friends at Martinkovic Milford Architects would like to wish you Happy Holidays with our short animated video.
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Architects Present Plan for Oak Hills Driving Range
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Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects will design the new Miramar Hotel, owner Ocean Avenue LLC announced Friday.
Ocean Avenue LLC spokesman Alan Epstein said the selection of the internationally renowned firm followed a thorough search process that included many of the worlds finest architects.
Pelli Clarke Pelli is a brilliant architectural firm," Epstein said. "Cesar and Rafael Pelli lived in Santa Monica for many years and have a deep understanding of the community. We look forward to working with them to create a new architectural landmark for the city.
Epstein said Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects would bring expertise to this project as it has hundreds of awards for design excellence.
He added that as a recipient of the Firm Award, the American Institute of Architects highest honor for an architectural practice, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects was acknowledged as a master of its craft.
"We look forward to introducing Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects stunning design to the community in the months ahead," Epstein said. "Our goal has long been to return the Miramar to its rightful place as one of the greatest luxury hotels in Southern California, while increasing open space, protecting ocean views for the community and returning the Moreton Bay Fig tree to public view.
In 1991, Cesar Pelli was selected as one of the 10 most influential living American architects.
Four years later, the AIA awarded Cesar Pelli the Gold Medal, its highest honor for an individual. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects has been a leader in environmentally sustainable design, having created one of the first 50 buildings in the world to achieve LEED certification.
Since then, nearly every project they designed has achieved LEED certification.
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Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects Selected To Design Miramar Hotel
Pros Of A Project Management Software For Architects And Engineers
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Pros Of A Project Management Software For Architects And Engineers - Video
The Story of the Swiss Mobile House - Interview with the Architects
The Swiss Mobile House, is a creative and lasting showcase to promote Switzerland abroad. It will help to showcase and promote the best of Switzerland in its...
By: House of Switzerland
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The Story of the Swiss Mobile House - Interview with the Architects - Video