As 2019 draws to a close, were looking back on some of the events that made it memorable. Weve rounded up this years funniest, most important, and most controversial stories, as well as homages to some of the people we lost. The world is a little less bright without these iconic designers, but from the Louvre pyramid to a series of architecturally-diverse cancer care centers, their legacies live on.

I.M. Pei

I.M. Pei in 2017 (Courtesy Pei Cobb Freed & Partners)

Louvre pyramid designer I. M. Pei passed away at 102, bringing an epic career of international acclaim to a close. Born in 1917 in Guangzhou, China, Pei moved to the U.S. to attend architecture school at the University of Pennsylvania and later MIT, following by the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (formerly I.M. Pei & Associates) in 1955 and decades later won the 1983 Pritzker Prize for projects such as the Mile High Center in Denver, Colorado. Among Peis other notable projects is the National Gallery of Art, East Building, in Washington, D.C., and the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong.

Kevin Roche

Kevin Roche (Gerald Wenner/Courtesy of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates)

Legendary Irish-born American architect Kevin Roche passed away at age 96 in March. His namesake firm, Roche-Dinkeloo, was founded in tandem with partner John Dinkeloo after the death of their boss and mentor Eero Saarinen in 1961. A modernist architect trained by Saarinen and Mies van Der Rohe, Roche designed over 200 buildings in his lifetime including the Ford Foundation headquarters in Midtown Manhattan and the Oakland Museum of California. He was the 1982 Pritzker Prize Laureate and won an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1993.

Florence Knoll Bassett

Florence Knoll Bassett (Courtesy Mies Van der Rohe Society)

Midcentury modern designer Florence Knoll passed away at age 101 this January. Considered one of the most influential furniture designers in history, her sleek and minimal pieces became commonplace throughout American postwar office spaces and later in homes. In 1955, she took over Knoll Inc, the company started by her husband Hans in 1938, which continues to manufacture furniture by designers such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen, and Knoll herself, among others.

Phil Freelon

Phil Freelon (Courtesy The Freelon Family)

Phil Freelon, one of the lead designers of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, died at 66 this July. The Durham, North Carolina-based architect founded his eponymous firm, The Freelon Group, in 1990 and was responsible for projects like Atlantas National Center for Civil and Human Rights, the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, and Houstons Emancipation Park. The studio was acquired by Perkins+Will in 2016 and Freelon stepped in to lead its regional office.

Henry Urbach

Henry Urbach (Sarale Guy Lavy)

Former SFMOMA curator Henry Urbach passed away at 56 this summer, and his friends and family are opening new dialogues on the subject of mental health in his memory. Urbach, who more recently served as director of Philip Johnsons The Glass House, suffered from Late-Onset Bipolar Disorder. He was an accomplished curator, having started his own New York-based experimental design gallery in 1997 in which he hosted over 55 exhibitions. At SFMOMA, he accumulated hundreds of works for the museums permanent collection and collaborated with Diller Scofidio + Renfro on one of his most famous shows, How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now.

Cristiano Toraldo di Francia

Cristiano Toraldo di Francia (Courtesy Peter Lang)

Superstudio cofounder and iconic Italian architect Cristiano Toraldo di Francia died in July. In his 78 years, his work helped shape generations of avant-garde designers such as Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid. Best known for starting the radical collective Superstudio in the late 1960s, Toraldo di Francia produced highly regarded drawings, videos, and lithographs through the practice, eventually exhibiting work in the Milan Triennale, the Venice Biennale, and at the Museum of Modern Art, among other institutions. Up until his death at age 78, Toraldo di Francia designed and built several projects throughout Italy and taught at various universities throughout Europe, Japan, and the U.S.

Csar Pelli

Csar Pelli in his studio (Courtesy Pelli Clarke Pelli)

Csar Pelli passed away in July at the age of 92, leaving behind the legacy of an international firm and a monumental portfolio. Considered the father of the modern skyscraper, the Argentine architect designed some of the most famous towers in the world: the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, The Landmark in Abu Dhabi, and the recently completely Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. Pelli moved to the U.S. in 1952 and worked for Eero Saarinen in Michigan for a decade. From 1977 to 1989, he served as dean at the Yale School of Architecture in New Haven. During that time, Pelli received the commission for the 1984 expansion and renovation of the Museum of Modern Art, which more or less forced him to open his own studio, Cesar Pelli & Associates. After over 20 years designing projects like the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., among others, Pelli renamed his practice to Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in honor of his long-time partner Fred Clarke, and son Rafael.

Charles Jencks

Charles Jencks (Courtesy Sean Griffiths)

Landscape architect and historian Charles Jencks died this October at age 80. Remembered for his embrace of theory, built practice, and connecting the cosmos, Jencks designed whimsical gardens and earthworks that promoted tranquility and play. He is best known for founding Maggies, a cancer research institute named after his late wife and whose patient rehab centers have attracted architects like Steven Holl, Frank Gehry, and Zaha Hadid. In the middle of his career, Jencks authored several books on the subject of Post-modernism before taking up landscape design.

Stanley Tigerman

Stanley Tigerman at work (Courtesy Margaret McCurry)

Chicago architect and theorist Stanley Tigerman died in June at 88 years old. Known as a member of the Chicago Sevena group of architects that rebelled against the doctrine of modernismhis design style was fairly eclectic in his early years, gaining a reputation as an iconoclast, until later when he adopted a more organic approach to architecture. He established his own eponymous firm, Stanely Tigerman and Associates (later renamed Tigerman McCurry Architects), in the early 1960s and completed over 175 buildings in his six-decade career. Among his most prominent works were the Daisy House in Indiana, Lakeside Residence in Michigan, the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, and the POWERHOUSE Energy Museum in Zion, Illinois.

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Looking back on the great architects, designers, and curators we lost in 2019 - The Architect's Newspaper

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This post is brought to you by Architecture at Zero

The American Institute of Architects, California (AIACA) announces the launch of the ninth annual Architecture at Zero competition for zero net energy (ZNE) building designs. The competition is open for entries from students and professionals worldwide.

This year, AIACA partners with the San Benito County Free Library in Hollister, CA. ZNE structures are designed from the start to be energy efficient and offset the energy they consume through onsite renewable energy generation such as rooftop solar. Winners are chosen by a panel of international experts and awarded up to $25,000 in total prizes.

The American Institute of Architects, California is excited to collaborate on this important initiative that affirms the role of architects in leading efforts to use design to curtail climate change, said Benjamin Kasdan, AIA, AIACA President.

The competition strives to generate new, innovative ideas for ZNE construction to help achieve Californias goal for all new residential construction to be ZNE by 2020 and all new commercial construction to be ZNE by 2030.

San Benito County residents are excited at to explore ideas for a new 21st century library that meets the needs of this diverse community, said Chief Librarian, Nora Conte. The Library is thrilled to partner with AIA CA and participants from around the world to develop zero net energy building designs.

Competition entries will be juried by international experts including Paul Torcellini, Principal Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Gregg Ander, President of Gregg D. Ander, LLC; Allison Williams, FAIA; and Marsha Maytum, FAIA, LEED AP.

To learn more, visit http://www.architectureatzero.com.

This program is funded by California utility customers and administered by PG&E under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission.

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The American Institute of Architects, California announces the launch of the 9th annual Architecture at Zero competition - Archinect

Hacker Architects escapes to the desert for its latest Oregon retreat

A composition of box volumes and opaque and transparent surfaces form a chic family retreat in the desert landscape ofCentral Oregon

It has this feeling that youre in a place thats brand new,architect Corey Martin says of Central Oregon, the location for his Portland-based firm Hacker Architects recent residential getaway project. Its surprising to think of a place in the middle of anAmerican state(even if wildly different geographically to Portland, alllush and green and rolling to the west of the Cascades, dryer and flatter to the east)as brand new; though comparatively, and geologically, it is, but thats part of the magic of the designers architectural approach. Rather than start with the basic brief four bedrooms, for a couple and their extended family Martin and his team, Nic Smith and Jeff Ernst, started with the landscape and its ideas.

The building itself tries to edit and frame and take the experience of the landscape visually apart when youre inside it,he continues. The form starts with a basic box whose elements become articulated and separated and reunited with long swaths of cedar siding. These opaque surfaces work in concert with massive open walls of windows divided only by the thinnest of frames, and smaller apertures, all of which stack together to create a rhythm of constant enclosure and reveal.

Both exterior and interior walls are made out of cedar, so as to promote both a visual continuity and a sense oftactility, and the only other colors are white and black.The architecture is in service of looking and in particular, looking outward. Youre getting forced to look at the sky, and youre getting layering that lets you consider all these pieces of the landscape at different times, at different qualities of light,Hacker says.

Its got this freshness in quality of light and smells,Hacker continues, describing the relative youth of the local volcanoes. And thats the conceptual heart of this project. Its not about finding what you thought you were looking for; its about what you end up seeing.

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Hacker Architects escapes to the desert for its latest Oregon retreat - Wallpaper*

Helsinki-based Architects JKMM Selected to Design the National Museum of Finland

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JKMMs Atlas proposal won the international design competition for the new extension of The National Museum of Finland. Organized by the Finnish Heritage Agency, the National Museum of Finland and Senate Properties, the competition entitled New National or Uusi Kansallinen in Finnish, gathered 185 entries from all around the world.

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Initially designed by the trio Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren, and Eliel Saarinen, following a design competition in 1902, the existing museum, which opened in 1916, is one of Finlands finest examples of National Romantic architecture. Located in central Helsinki along the citys main street called Mannerheimintie, opposite Alvar Aaltos Finlandia Hall and its parkland setting, the museum required some major refurbishment works. The 2019 extension needed to generate additional exhibition space; workshops; a new restaurant in the museums underused enclosed garden; and improved access including an inviting new entrance for the Museum.

The National Museum of Finland is a unique opportunity to explore inclusiveness in a building and we are deeply honored to have won the competition. Our entry, Atlas, reinforces our interest in how architecture can enable a sense of solidarity and belonging to a place. The National Museum is a place that belongs to everyone and anyone in Finland and we thought its extensions architectural form should be universally understood yet encourage multiple interpretations. -- Samuli Miettinen, JKMM founding partner on the practices approach.

JKMM, one of the leading architectural practices in Finland, has a current total win of 47 competitions. Founded by Asmo Jaaksi, Teemu Kurkela, Samuli Miettinen and Juha Mki-Jyllil, the practice has completed over 50 projects around Finland, many of them involve working with existing buildings. Their latest project Atlas, puts in place a distinctive round disc-shaped white 1320 m2 concrete roof within the stone-walled garden of the Museum. Simple in its shape, the new pavilion-like structure is independent of the original building, respecting the historic garden designed by Lindgren. Spreading over 5000 square meters including a 1200 square meter exhibition space, Atlas can accommodate up to 1200 visitors.

We wanted to create a building that will enhance visitors experience by improving the way they are received and the overall circulation in the Museum. As in most of our projects, we wanted people to be able to find their way intuitively minimizing the need for signage and to also discover and enjoy the nearly forgotten Museum garden. [] An essential consideration for us on Atlas was to keep the impact of the new building at ground level to a minimum and to place its bulk underground thereby enhancing the role the enclosed garden will play in the future of the National Museum of Finland. -- Samuli Miettinen, JKMM founding partner.

With a subtle presence in the city, the white addition holds under its concrete structure, on the ground floor, a restaurant that can be used independently of the rest of the Museum, with glass curved walls that create a floating roof aspect. A stepped covered public square welcomes visitors and leads them to the new exhibition galleries and other spaces. Moreover, on the abundance of light in the space, the architects state that it plays an important role in the design and highlights the materiality and three-dimensional qualities of the architecture, both in keeping with those of the original museum building.

The name Atlas refers to the idea of carrying our history and culture with us. The suspended concrete roof clad in ceramic tiles has a celestial quality but it is also a metaphor for the world or our shared legacy. -- Samuli Miettinen, JKMM founding partner

ATLAS TEAM

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Helsinki-based Architects JKMM Selected to Design the National Museum of Finland - ArchDaily

Ned Kirschbaum

Ned Kirschbaum has been principal, technical design director and a member of Fentress Architects for more than 20 years.As the design firms technical expert, Ned is responsible for quality assurance and control, design production, construction document standards, and implementing innovative strategies in the design of high-performance building.He has more than three decades of experience, including an extensive background in providing architectural design services internationally. Ned has played a significant role in the $150 million revitalization of the Gio Ponti-designed Denver Art Museums North Building. His certifications from CSI include Certified Document Technician (CDT) and Certified Construction Contract Administration (CCCA).

Facts about Ned:

What sparked your interest in architecture?

When I was a sophomore at the University of Colorado, I visited the newly completed CiticorpBuilding in New York City. I was in awe of the scale of the project and fascinated to understandhow a project of its complexity could be accomplished. In contrast, I was equally moved by theintimate and uplifting space in the chapel at St. Peters Lutheran Church with its Louise Nevelsonbas-relief that is situated at the base of the Citicorp building. I knew then I wanted to participatein creating buildings like this.

What is different or unique about your approach to architecture?

I have always been equally passionate about design, practice, and technique. My approach hasbeen to find a balance of all three in my professional life. I love to draw, I love to invent, I loveto collaborate, I love to teach, and I love to learn. A large part of my expertise and success is theresult of my deep respect for the tradesmen that construct the buildings. I am a team builderbecause great architecture can only result from a unified team with a common aim, including asupportive and engaged owner, an excellence-driven design team, and a performance-drivencontractor.

As the firms technical expert, how do you bridge the gap between art and engineering?

My approach is always to start with the art and ask, What form and/or material best expressesthe design vision for this project? With the design intent clear, in collaboration with designers,craftsmen, and construction industry partners, I work to craft design solutions and details thatresult in high-performance buildings while maintaining and enhancing the projects design goals.Making the art real and tangible that is the engineering!

What are some of the most exciting projects youve been involved in recent years?

I have been very fortunate to work on many great projects in my career. These include theDenver Art Museum North Building Renovation and Welcome Center addition, the 50-storyBurjgate and Sofitel Downtown Dubai towers, the 300-meter-tall, 60-story Arraya Tower inKuwait City, the SeaTac International Airport Central Terminal Expansion, the Miami BeachConvention Center Expansion, the Air Traffic Control Tower at SFO, and the Ralph L. CarrColorado Judicial Center here in Denver. Each of these projects has presented uniquechallenges that have truly enriched me personally and professionally.

What have you enjoyed most about working on the highly anticipated DAM North Buildingrenovation? What aspects of the design of this project have been challenging?

I have enjoyed playing a significant role in rejuvenating the historic Gio Ponti-designed NorthBuilding a true Denver landmark. This architecturally significant building has now beenrestored and enhanced to better serve the mission of the Denver Art Museum programincluding new gallery space and expanded educational space. Researching, developing anddetailing the all-glass exterior faade of the Welcome Center has been a significant challengeand a highlight of my career. Enclosed by fifty-two 25-foot-tall by 8-foot-wide laminatedinsulating curved glass panels, this is one of the most innovative faades recently constructed inthe United States.

What are you looking forward to most in the coming year?

The year 2020 promises to be a very exciting and busy one with projects ranging from design toconstruction. At home,the Westray office development forSchnitzer West, which includes three 16-story Class A office towers at 6363 Greenwood Plaza Blvd. in Centennial.

Further afield are some significant expansion projects at both the Nashville InternationalAirport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston; construction of the Fred D.Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Johnson CountyCourthouse in Olathe, Kansas; and design of the National Museum of Intelligence and SpecialOperations in Sterling, Virginia.

As someone with three decades of experience under your belt, what do you see as the biggestchallenge for architects currently?

I believe that the integration of technology into buildings, into construction, and into thepractice of architecture, remains a challenge and an opportunity. On the one hand, these newtools permit us to explore new and more complex building forms. They permit tightercoordination of design disciplines and they permit a level of real-time design visualizationunthinkable when I began practicing architecture. On the other hand, what should be toolsoften wind up becoming ends, diverting attention from the real practice of architecture whichshould be focused on providing beautiful, functional, durable, and sustainable buildings.

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Architect of the Month: Ned Kirschbaum, FAIA, Principal, Fentress Architects - milehighcre.com

Most of J. Brett Blantons nomination hearing before the Senate Rules Committee to be the next architect of the Capitol on Thursday was essentially a one-on-one public interview between him and Chairman Roy Blunt, as the remaining 18 members of the committee were absent for the majority of the hearing.

No opposition to Blanton, a Virginia resident, is evident, making him likely to be confirmed as the 12th architect of the Capitol. If confirmed, Blanton said he expects to start leading the agency by mid-January.

The lack of senators present at his nomination hearing does not underscore apathy, but the notion that there wasnt any controversy associated with his selection to lead the office tasked with maintaining the Capitol complex facilities and renovations, according to Blanton.

That it wasnt controversial so that they didnt have to come in, Blanton said, adding that the congressional screening process was extensive and involved 14 different offices, including the minority and majority in both chambers.

Blanton is poised to bring stability to an agency that has been led by a succession of acting directors. He told Blunt, a Missouri Republican, that he plans to serve a full 10-year term. Acting director Christine Merdon announced her resignation in August and was replaced by Thomas Carroll, who holds the same acting title.

Blanton hasmore than 25 years of experience in facilities operations and construction management, most recently as deputy vice president for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, a background that gives Blunt confidence in Blantons ability to lead in government.

[Blantons] probably one of the few people that can come from a job and say 3 million visitors every year is a big deal but maybe if youve been dealing with 50 million passengers every year, 3 million visitors a year sounds a little more manageable, Blunt said.

In his current job, Blanton oversees construction at the authoritys locations. He is a retired Navyofficer who earned a Bronze Star with Combat V for heroism in Iraq. He has a degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and a graduate degree in ocean engineering from Virginia Tech.

Blanton will have to address a Cannon House Office Building renovation projectthat is behind schedule and could go $100 million over budget.

Ive only heard of that in the press, Blanton said. So I have to get briefings on it and figure out what the root cause is for the issue and come up with a plan for how we would address it.

Additionally, Blanton will have to manage workforce management issues that have become public in recent years. The agency is set to be in district court over discrimination cases, and congressional oversight panels are expecting changes to staffing and workforce practices following a report fromAOC Office of Inspector General in March.

I will have a zero tolerance policy for harassment, discrimination or unethical behavior, Blanton said. We cannot expect to attract the nations top workforce without adapting and changing our culture.

Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the office that issued a report regarding sexual harassment and staffing practices.

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J. Brett Blanton on track to become next architect of the Capitol - Roll Call

Channel your inner Ludwig Mies van der Rohe or Philip Johnson by participating in The Forge Prize, an annual steel design competition that awards $20,000 to the architect who develops the most visionary design concept that embraces steel as the primary structural component to increase project speed.

Established by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), The Forge Prize recognizes innovation in the use of steel and how it can be used to reduce design and construction time.

The two-stage design challenge will culminate in the selection of up to three Finalists in February 2020 (each will receive a $10,000 stipend) and the public announcement of a Grand Prize Winner ($20,000 total prize) in Spring 2020.

The competition is open to U.S.-based emerging architects who are either pursuing licensure or are licensed 10 years or less in the year 2020. Participants must be working professionals in any of the following firm types: architecture firm, AE firm (but submitting as an emerging architect), or design-build firm (but submitting as an emerging architect).

There is no cost to enter. The deadline for stage one submissions is January 15, 2020. Entry details at: http://www.forgeprize.com/about

Looking for inspiration? Meet last year's winner and finalists:

WINNER: The 2019 Forge Prize Grand Prize Winner was Jin Young Song, AIA, Assistant Professor at University at Buffalo, and Founder of DIOINNO Architecture PLLC, for hisSIMS (Snap-Interlock Module System) design concept. The design is pictured here (and above. All photos courtesy AISC.):

FINALIST: The 2019 Forge Prize Finalists includedValeria Rybyakova, Achitectural Designer with Perkins Eastman, for her submission "Responsive Enclosure for Public Pool," pictured here:

FINALIST:Jingyu Lee, PE, RA, LEED AP, Design Engineer, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, was named a Finalist for his design concept, "Reimagined Office Tower Using Cantilevered Trusses," pictured here:

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Calling all emerging architects: Enter to win the $20000 Forge Prize - Building Design + Construction

NL architects has completed a major project in groningen, a city in the northern netherlands, which it describes as a cultural department store. titled forum groningen, the multi-functional building includes exhibition spaces, movie halls, assembly rooms, restaurants, and books. forum groningen is not a library, not a museum, not a cinema, but a new type of public space where the traditional borders between these institutes will dissolve, explains the design team. information will be presented thematically in a way that transcends the different media.

image: NL architects & ABT deon prins (also main image)

working alongside engineering firm ABT, NL architects designed forum groningen as a monolithic volume a shape that represents an ambition to combine different cultural facilities into a single structure. the form is further influenced by the surrounding urban fabric, with the volume sculpted to present different appearances from different angles. forum groningen has been engineered to accommodate finding not searching, the architects continue. the design stimulates exploration. it hopes to catalyze the desire to wander, to browse endlessly through a staggering interior landscape.

image: NL architects & ABT deon prins

internally, the building is articulated around a central atrium where escalators traverse the void from floor to floor. the void works as a spatial interface that binds all functions, movie theater, book collection, expo, auditorium, and as such hopes to catalyze the exchange of knowledge and ideas, says NL architects. connected by the escalators, a series of public squares emerges that provides entry to the ticketed activities. the building offers continuously changing perspectives on the surrounding city, which culminate with a roof terrace with a viewing platform and outdoor theater.

image: NL architects & ABT deon prins

image: NL architects & ABT marcel van der burg

image: NL architects & ABT marcel van der burg

image: NL architects & ABT marcel van der burg

image: NL architects & ABT marcel van der burg

image: NL architects & ABT marcel van der burg

image: NL architects & ABT marcel van der burg

image: NL architects & ABT marcel van der burg

site planimage NL architects

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program image NL architects

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project info:

title: forum groningenclient: municipality of groningen delegated client: twynstragudde location: groningen, the netherlands size: 17,000 sqm +10,000 sqm parking area design: 2006 (competition, 1st prize) completion: 2019 architect: NL architects with ABT engineering

design team (NL architects) pieter bannenberg, kamiel klaasse, walter van dijk, thijs van bijsterveldt, florent le corre, sren grnert, iwan hameleers, sybren hoek,kirsten hsig, mathieu landelle, zhongnan lao, barbara luns, gert janmachiels, sarah mller, gerbrand van oostveen, giulia pastore, guus peters,jose ramon vives, laura riao lopez, arne van wees, zofia wojdyga, genyamamoto with christian asbo, nicolo bertino, jonathan cottereau, marten dashorst, rebecca eng, antoine van erp, tan gaofei, sylvie hagens, britta harnacke, jana heidacker, sergio hernandez benta, johannes hbner, yuseke iwata, cho junghwa, linda kronmller, jakub kupikowski, katarina labathova, ana lagoa pereira gomes, qian lan, justine lemesre, amadeo linke, fabian lutter, rune madsen, phil mallysh, jos maria matteo torres, victoria meniakina, shuichiro mitomo, solne muscato, lea olsson, pauline rabjeau, thomas scherzer, michael schoner, martijn stoffels, jasper schuttert, bartek tromczynski, carmen valtierra, elisa ventura, benedict vlkel, vittoria volpi, murk wymenga, qili yang, yena young, alessandro zanini

architectural engineering: ABT with NL architectsinterior design: NL architects i.c.w.: demunnik-dejong-steinhauser, &prast&hooft, tank, northern lightbuilding engineer (incl geotechnical): ABTstructural engineer: ABTbuilding costs: ABTbuilding physics, acoustics and safety: DGMRtechnical installations: huisman en van muijen HVMacoustics: peutzcontractor: BAMseismic engineering: ABT i.c.w. BORG & BAM advies & engineering art in parking: nicky assmann

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NL architects completes 'forum groningen' in the netherlands - Designboom

WESTLAKE, Ohio -- The Meadowood golf course was a successful venture in Westlake until the recession of 2008. Still, the course has remained open year-round even though revenue is decreasing.

City Recreation Director Bob DeMinico said discussions are going on to decide just what to do with Meadowood. The golf course is located at the northwest corner of Center Ridge and Crocker roads.

We have been through various meetings and, through the master plan process of 2015, it was mentioned we should look at and consider whether to abandon the course, continue it or find other uses, DeMinico said.

One thing is clear already, though, as DeMinico said that Mayor Dennis Clough is committed to always having that as green space. There is no interest in developing it into any kind of development. The property is prime real estate and we want to make sure we do the right thing with it.

Ideas include things such as a practice facility (driving range) with a short game area or a putting green.

"We are also looking at just a nine-hole golf course, he said, noting that a lot of people today dont have the time to play a full 18 holes.

A city ordinance was passed Nov. 7 authorizing Clough to enter into a professional services contract with Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design for professional architectural services.

We feel we have one of the best, if not the best, architectural firms in the country, said DeMinico. If all goes well in the spring with a minimum of three plans presented to council, we hope the project will be ready for the golf season of 2021.

Read more from the West Shore Sun.

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Architects to present three plans to Westlake council on what to do with Meadowood golf course - cleveland.com

A retired Mexican police official who once led his countrys equivalent of the F.B.I. was indicted in New York on Tuesday on charges of taking bribes while in office to protect the Sinaloa drug cartel, one of Mexicos most powerful criminal mafias.

The official, Genaro Garca Luna, served as the head of Mexicos Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005, and for the next six years was Mexicos secretary of public security, a cabinet-level position. In that role he was tasked with helping the president at the time, Felipe Caldern, craft his strategy to battle their countrys drug cartels.

But according to prosecutors in Brooklyn, even while Mr. Garca Luna presented himself as the public face of the war against the drug trade in Mexico, he was quietly receiving millions of dollars from the Sinaloa cartel, which was run at the time by the drug lord Joaqun Guzmn Loera, better known as El Chapo.

Mr. Garca Luna is now in custody in Dallas.

An indictment unsealed on Tuesday in Brooklyn, where Mr. Guzmn was himself convicted on drug charges in February, also accused Mr. Garca Luna of lying to American investigators and taking part in a conspiracy to traffic cocaine.

The arrest of Mr. Garca Luna, on Monday, was a signal event in the history of the drug war in Mexico something akin to the director of the F.B.I. being taken into custody for receiving bribes from the head of the Gambino crime family. The charges against him, prosecutors said, were a direct result of testimony at Mr. Guzmns trial in New York.

At the trial, Jess Zambada Garca, the brother of Mr. Guzmns chief partner, Ismael Zambada Garca, told the jury that he had twice personally given Mr. Garca Luna briefcases filled with at least $3 million in cash.

Mr. Zambada also testified that a syndicate of Mexican traffickers was putting together a separate package of as much as $50 million in bribes for Mr. Garca Luna, although those payoffs seem not to have been made.

In statements to reporters at the time, Mr. Garca Luna denied the allegations made during the trial.

In court papers, prosecutors said that they had obtained financial records showing that Mr. Garca Luna had amassed a vast personal fortune that was inconsistent with a civil servants salary in Mexico.

In 2012, after his public service ended, Mr. Garca Luna moved to Miami. The financial records indicated that Mr. Garca Luna continued to live in the United States off the millions of dollars in bribes that the Sinaloa Cartel paid him, the court papers said.

Prosecutors also said that when Mr. Garca Luna submitted an application to become a naturalized United States citizen in 2018, he affirmatively lied about his past criminal conduct on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel.

Mr. Garca Luna was expected in Federal District Court in Dallas on Tuesday afternoon for an initial appearance. His lawyer, Rose Romero, was not immediately available for comment.

Mexicos attorney generals office said Tuesday afternoon that it had been investigating Mr. Garca Luna for a range of possible crimes, including conspiracy to traffic cocaine, organized crime, making false statements and bribery. In a statement, the office said it planned to request the extradition of Mr. Garca Luna to Mexico.

Politically astute and well-liked in Washington, where he often met with senators and White House aides, Mr. Garca Luna was, at least in public, a vocal critic of corruption in Mexico. He spent much of his time in office trying to reform the Mexican federal police, increasing their salaries and firing hundreds of police commanders he did not trust.

He is considered the main architect of Mr. Calderns militarized approach to battling drug traffickers, which began in 2006 with the deployment of the armed forces against organized crime and the presidents official declaration of war on them. A cornerstone of the strategy was to focus on kingpins, on the theory that cutting off the head of a criminal organization would wither the body.

Mr. Caldern and Mr. Garca Luna were partly successful in that approach, capturing or killing many of the most-wanted traffickers in the country. After almost every major arrest, Mr. Garca Luna delighted in posing suspects alongside captured weapons and drugs in a show for the news media.

Among Mr. Garca Lunas trophies while serving in Mr. Calderns cabinet was the arrest in 2010 of Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as La Barbie, an American-born drug trafficker.

Mr. Valdez, in a letter sent to a national Mexican newspaper, later accused Mr. Garca Luna of having accepted bribes from organized crime groups and from him directly. A spokesman for Mr. Garca Luna at the time denied the allegations and said they were an attempt to publicly discredit the Mexican authorities and blackmail them in exchange for privileges inside the federal prison where Mr. Valdez was being held.

Mr. Calderns successor, Enrique Pea Nieto, took office in 2012 and followed a similarly militarized approach. And though the countrys homicide tallies declined from 2011 to late 2014, they have since trended upward.

The current president, Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, has vowed to end his predecessors war on drugs and remove the military from the streets in the fights against drug trafficking organizations.

But despite his creation of a new force, called the National Guard, violence has continued at record levels. And dramatic eruptions of violence like a city siege by cartel gunmen and the murder of three women and six children have raised questions about whether his strategy can staunch the bloodshed.

Mr. Caldern, the former president, said in a tweet that he had learned about the alleged arrest of Mr. Garca Luna through social media and was waiting for more information about the case.

I do not know details, he said. My position will always be in favor of justice and the law.

Kirk Semple and Paulina Villegas contributed reporting.

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Architect of Mexicos War on Cartels Is Accused of Taking Bribes From One - The New York Times