Published: Friday, February 8, 2013, 8:57p.m. Updated 11 hours ago

Karissa Pytlak landed her dream job as an architect just about a year ago.

She never expected there'd be so much sugar, flour and frosting involved.

No one told her she'd be mixing it up with clients over sweets and pastries.

But that's exactly what has been happening the past few weeks.

She's on one of five teams of architects and bakers who have been beating eggs and whisking batter, hoping to win what the Heinz Architectural Center is calling CAKEitecture.

The pastry competition will help the center mark its 20th anniversary this year. A winner will be crowned Saturday.

All I knew was we'd want a cake to celebrate. It's a birthday, after all, says Tracy Myers, the center's curator of architecture.

The idea grew from there. And so have the cakes.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater never looked so delicious, with its buttery poundcake walls and white buttercream icing fountains.

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Bakers, architects team up for Carnegie Museum pastry competition

The Royal Institute of British Architects has awarded Peter Zumthor the Royal Gold Medal, the U.K.'s most prestigious architecture prize.

The Swiss architect boasts projects ranging from Steilneset Memorial, an Arctic Circle monument to the victims of witch trials that designed with artist Louise Bourgeois, to an English home for philosopher Alain de Botton's Living Architecture holiday-home scheme. Zumthor's best-loved works include the Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria, the Therme Vals in Switzerland, and the Kolumba Art Museum in Germany.

But Zumthor is loved best because he has built so few works. With some 20 projects to his name, he has built a career defined as much by his careful selection of commissions as by his execution of projects. By his selection of materials, Zumthor's projects tends to engage many senses; by his selection of clients, he has cultivated an exacting vision for his work.

Oliver Wainwright, the architecture critic for The Guardian, describes Zumthor as possessing "an aura greater than any other living practitioner, of a weight heavier than any gong could bestow." Now there is one more reason to envy him.

Personally approved by Her Royal Majesty the Queen, the Royal Gold Medal has been awarded to such architects as Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Oscar Niemeyer, and Frank Gehry, FAIA.

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Royal Institute of British Architects Awards Peter Zumthor the Royal Gold Medal

A group of young Saskatoon architects has a new vision for the derelict Traffic Bridge.

Instead of carrying cars, their new Traffic Bridge would be more like a public park that zigzags across the river. There would be a zip line connecting the bridge to Rotary Park, a vertical garden where people could grow vegetables and glass portholes so they could see the rushing river below. The bridge, in their minds, is more than simply a way to get across the river.

"We have the amazing river valley - it's one of the things that defines Saskatoon," said Victoria Yong-Hing, one of five members of Open, the design collaborative behind the reimagined Traffic Bridge.

"So why can't we design something where you can really experience and really enjoy it?"

While it is the brainchild of working architects, Open is not a design firm and it is not formally pitching its Traffic Bridge ideas to the City of Saskatoon. Its founders are in their early 30s and describe themselves as nothing more "than a collection of like-minded individuals" working on architecture designs in their spare time.

"I always kind of feel like we are in a band," Brad Pickard, another Open member, said. "When we have Skype conversations, we are jamming. It does feel like that."

Mayor Don Atchison has promised a new Traffic Bridge that will carry vehicles and council has approved plans for a $30-million replica bridge, but there is no funding in place.

The bridge closed in 2010 because of safety concerns. In the meantime, people like the architects in Open have been dreaming.

Despite the professional-looking concept drawings on its website, the group is aware there is no money and little tangible interest in making its Traffic Bridge vision a reality.

"Our group is about getting ideas out there through images. We want the public to see what the bridge could become," said Mark Sin, another member behind the concept drawings.

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Architects pitch ideas for Saskatoon, including bridge

Architects-Numbers Count For Nothing (Drum Jam Along)
Matt Horn from Queen Creek Arizona jamming to his favorite Architects song. The foot cam was a different take, and its a tad out of sinc. Fight me. Thats a duck on the wall by the way. I used a GoPro and my Iphone 5 to record this. Shout out to The Word Alive and Justin Salinas for letting me use their old kit to practice on. Follow me on Instagram and twitter @matthornduh

By: Matt Horn

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Architects-Numbers Count For Nothing (Drum Jam Along) - Video

A group of young Saskatoon architects has a new vision for the derelict Traffic Bridge.

Instead of carrying cars, their new Traffic Bridge would be more like a public park that zigzags across the river. There would a zip line connecting the bridge to Rotary Park, a vertical garden where people could grow vegetables and glass portholes so they could see the rushing river below. The bridge, in their minds, is more than simply a way to get across the river.

"We have the amazing river valley - it's one of the things that defines Saskatoon," said Victoria Yong-Hing, one five members of Open, the design collaborative behind the reimagined Traffic Bridge.

"So why can't we design something where you can really experience and really enjoy it?"

While it is the brainchild of working architects, Open is not a design firm and it is not formally pitching its Traffic Bridge ideas to the City of Saskatoon. Its founders are in their early 30s and describe themselves as nothing more "than a collection of like-minded individuals" working on architecture designs in their spare time.

"I always kind of feel like we are in a band," Brad Pickard, another Open member, said. "When we have Skype conversations, we are jamming. It does feel like that."

Mayor Don Atchison has promised a new Traffic Bridge that will carry vehicles and council has approved plans for a $30-million replica bridge, but there is no funding in place.

The bridge closed in 2010 because of safety concerns. In the meantime, people like the architects in Open have been dreaming.

Despite the professional-looking concept drawings on its website, the group is aware there is no money and little tangible interest in making its Traffic Bridge vision a reality.

"Our group is about getting ideas out there through images. We want the public to see what the bridge could become," said Mark Sin, another member behind the concept drawings.

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Architects pitch ideas for city, including bridge

GRANT BLANKENSHIP/THE TELEGRAPHMike Ratterree explains some of his concerns about the site for the new Bibb County Animal Welfare center during a public meeting with project architects Thursday in the Bibb County Commission boardroom. Ratterree admitted that he wasnt happy to soon be living next to the shelter and only asked that shelter animals and workers be as neighborly as people at the prison already close by. I dont hear nothing out of that prison, he said.

GRANT BLANKENSHIP/THE TELEGRAPH gblankenship@macon.comBuy Photo

The architects designing the new Bibb County Animal Welfare center heard from 15 members of the community Thursday as to what their priorities are for the new shelter.

Gene Dunwody Sr. of Dunwody/Beeland Architects Inc. conducted the meeting, which was called to both hear ideas from the community and to answer questions. Terry Tevis, of Tevis Architects in Kansas, is serving as the lead architect on the project because of his experience in working on animal shelters, Dunwody said.

Tevis told those in attendance that the project is in the earliest stages. The architects are still working through the budget process and havent yet figured out how big the new facility will be. Tevis said the team would be studying animal population statistics and future projects to decide how many dogs and cats the new shelter would accommodate, but added that the new shelter would be built to include the possibility of expansion, if necessary.

Tevis said some of the features of the new shelter would include separate areas for dogs and cats, trails on the property for area residents and the shelters animals, and meeting space for outreach and education programs run by Bibb County Animal Welfare.

The shelter will be built from $3 million as part of the 2012 special purpose local option sales tax. Bibb County commissioners acquired the property at 4280 Fulton Mill Road from the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority for no cost.

Mike Ratterree, a resident of the neighborhood where the shelter would be built, said he and his neighbors arent too happy that the shelter would be built there, but are willing to accept it so long as theres no noise from the shelter and it doesnt cause traffic issues.

Bibb County Animal Welfare Director Sarah Tenon said she agreed with most of the public comments. She said that ideally, the new shelter would have space for between 125 and 150 animals, but almost anything would be an improvement over the current shelter.

We need to get the new facility and get out of that dump, she said. We need something thats conducive to healthy animals and that can bring the community together. We need to focus on the animals and the staff.

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Bibb animal shelter architects get community input

Winchester architects' practice is flying high

6:00pm Wednesday 6th February 2013 in News By Andrew Napier

A WINCHESTER architects' practice is in the unusual position of having four housing schemes on the go in the city.

T2 Architects are watching as their designs are realised in four major projects: The Laundry in Gordon Road, Hyde (14 homes); the former ambulance station on Queens Road (14 homes); 34-36 Chilbolton Avenue (11 homes) and the former Dreweatt Neate offices in Staple Gardens (10 flats and offices).

The first three are with Durley-based builders Drew Smith. The fourth is with Bournemouth-based Juno Development. In total the four will provide 49 new homes.

Director Jeremy Tyrrell previously worked at local firm Architecture plb before setting up T2 in 2007. Whilst at Architecture plb he designed Belgarum Place in Staple Gardens.

Mr Tyrrell said: We like to work in the Winchester area but we have a wider geographical spread as well. But it is unusual to have four projects under construction at the same time.

He is keen to design in a modern style. The Laundry scheme has brick, slate tiles, porches and bay windows, all characteristics of Hyde and representative, but done in a contemporary manner. Something I struggle with is people's designs trying to make things look 100 years old.

We are really pleased to be able to design housing in Winchester that is of its time and not trying to ape a former time period. We are proud to be designing Elizabeth II housing not mock-Victorian or mock-Georgian.

Based in Nuns Road, Hyde, Mr Tyrrell, 35, employs two staff, Andrew Thompson and David Scott. Expansion could be on the cards: That would be the next step if the business continues to grow. But these are unpredictable times in the construction industry.

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Winchester architects' practice is flying high

In one corner sat a house built with 300 used aluminum cat-food cans, each stuffed with insulation. Another was made from discarded foam panels, wood and other found materials. It looked like Swiss cheese but accommodated as many as three cats.

These were some of the entrants in the Architects for Animals: Giving Shelter contest, held in Manhattan. Leslie Farrell, who works for Francis Cauffman Architects, founded the contest three years ago to raise awareness and funds for the half million or so cats that live outdoors in New York Citys five boroughs.

No animal should have to live on the streets, Farrell said. They need food, shelter, medical care.

The contest offers no prize. Farrell said the winner gets bragging rights and gratitude. Im thankful for the architects who give up their time to do this, she said.

Zimmerman Workshop built its entry out of a cooler wrapped in sheet moss held together with chicken wire. It was designed toblend in with thegarden environment where it will be placed. M Moser Associates Cat Coop is a series of elevated pods of birch plywood, insulated with compressed foam and carpet.

A video camera will air a live feed of the eventual feline inhabitants, for researchers and general-public voyeurs.

All of the projects will find a place somewhere in New York Citys gardens, parks or backyards.

Working with caretakers for feral-cat colonies -- yes, there are such people -- the architects came up with designs for practicality, aesthetics and not least of all cat-friendliness.

I grew up with animals and really value them, Farrell said. She became more aware of urban feral cats after moving to an upper Manhattan neighborhood. She discovered the nonprofit Mayors Alliance for NYCs Animals, a rescue group that can help and advise people on living with feral cats humanely.

No one seems to know how many feral cats roam the parks and gardens in New York City. The Mayors Alliance says the number of community cats, a population that includes feral as well as domesticated abandoned felines, is somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million.

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Feral Cats Inspire Architects’ Shelters for N.Y. Jungle

Jason Bloomberg on Cloud Computing for Architects
Jason Bloomberg discusses his upcoming seminar: Cloud Computing for Architects 2.0 taking place in London 14-15 March 2013 26-27 September 2013

By: IRMUKCHANNEL

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Jason Bloomberg on Cloud Computing for Architects - Video

Hart Wright Architects, a San Francisco and Bay Area based modern architecture office, revised their website to make it more user friendly and putting an emphasis on images and design.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 31, 2013

Principal architect Eliza Hart said, "We don't want to compromise our clean look by crowding a lot of text on our website, it would not reflect well on our sense of design. Even still, the optimization improved this firms search results."

In other areas this environmentally responsible architecture firm added more information. There are now social media links allowing visitors to easily connect to Hart Wright Architects in the cyberworld. Hart Wright Architects added a new page of testimonials and revised the images and organization of some of their supporting web pages.

Hart Wright Architects' Principal Eliza Hart is a licensed architect in San Francisco. She received a Master of Architecture and an MA in Urban Planning at UCLA. Since then, she has worked in various small residential firms. She has worked on a variety of residential and commercial projects, including remodels as well as new construction; with extensive experience spanning the full range from schematic design to construction documents to construction administration She founded Hart Wright Architects in 2006, a firm that emphasizes quality, environmental sustainability and a team approach to solving problems and getting the job done well.

Hart Wright Architects is a green architecture, urban and landscape design firm based in San Francisco serving clients in Palto Alto, Atherton, Napa, Mill Valley and most of the Bay area. Through all phases of design and construction, HWA is committed to excellence in architectural design solutions, active problem solving, and the highest standards of client service. They recently became certified DBE for being a woman owned architecture business.

Eliza Hart Hart Wright Architects 415.503.7071 Email Information

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San Francisco, CA Modern Architecture Firm Hart Wright Architects Unveils a New and Revised Website