For 86 years, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has reigned as the city's most majestic building, a golden crown perched in splendid isolation atop its Fairmount hill. Yet, there is a good reason it is still sometimes called the "Greek garage." Inside, the great temple remains a work-in-progress.

Now, a plan to expand the museum by burrowing deep into its rocky hillside, conceived and designed by celebrated architect Frank Gehry, promises to remedy this unfinished business, completing and polishing the masterpiece in time for its centennial in 2028.

Though no start date has been announced, museum director Timothy Rub revealed Thursday that architects were wrapping up construction drawings, a prelude to actual construction. In a lengthy interview, Rub gave the most extensive outline to date of the museum's plans.

It's been a long time coming. The Art Museum first announced its intent to expand in 2005, when the late Anne d'Harnoncourt was still at the helm, and hired Gehry a year later. The museum has finally decided to unveil the project formally by putting Gehry's architectural models and renderings on display. "Making a Classic Modern: Frank Gehry's Master Plan for the Philadelphia Museum of Art" opens July 1.

Gehry, who turned architecture upside-down two decades ago with the billowing titanium waves of his Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, is best known for sculptural, otherworldly buildings. But with this design for Philadelphia, he plays brilliantly against type. No evidence of his bravura will be visible on the museum's Kasota limestone walls, and the interior changes will be dominated by straight lines.

This self-effacing strategy has paid off in a big way. It is a fine, thoughtful design, meticulous in its logic and attuned to a city that likes to march to its own drummer.

If the museum can raise the roughly $350 million needed to complete Gehry's laundry list of improvements, the golden temple will emerge both more dignified and more approachable than it is now. All museums are exploring ways to draw in younger visitors, and this design is driven by that goal.

So, entrance doors will be thrown open at street level as a democratizing gesture. Pathways through the enormous, U-shaped building will be made more intuitive by establishing visual connections with the busy city below the hill. Murky spaces, like the Great Stair Hall, will be bathed in natural light. Surface parking lots that mar the west terrace will be banished, replaced by gardens and public space.

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Changing Skyline: Gehry's master plan for the Art Museum emerges

Kristen Smith leaned against the late April wind and looked out on Casper Mountain in the distance. The grass beneath her feet was already green from recent spring storms.

Inside the model home, her boyfriend, Ben Marquez, smiled and watched.

Im going to be the first in my family to own a new (home), Marquez said.

Marquez and Smith knew they wanted to build their own home. They looked in Casper, where they hold down three jobs between them, but quickly realized it was well out of their price range.

They thought they could settle for buying a used home, but still couldn't make it work.

Finally, they turned to Bar Nunn.

"It's definitely cheaper than Casper," Marquez said.

Bar Nunn is the best place in Wyoming for homeownership, according to a recent study conducted by consumer advocacy group NerdWallet.

The study factored in the ownership rate, monthly costs and income, home value and population growth from 2010 to 2012 -- all culled from the latest American Community Survey --in drawing its conclusions.

The homeownership rate in Bar Nunn is 93 percent, according to the study, and those homeowners are only committing 22 percent of their monthly income to housing costs. That is well under a federal recommendation that cites 30 percent as the most a person should be paying for a home before the cost is considered a burden.

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Bar Nunn boasts growth, affordable living, study says

NEW PORT RICHEY Improvements to Sims Park could at last come off the drawing board and begin construction in months ahead, city officials believe.

New Port Richey City Council members expressed eagerness Tuesday night to get the first phase of the park overhaul rolling.

Architects unveiled the rough draft of the park plan last August. Council members saw the revised version of a three-prong master plan Tuesday night and committed at least $1.8 million toward the initial upgrades.

Do-able was a key word most council members used to describe the plan.

Among first-phase priorities, the playground would be moved to the north end of the enlarged Sims Park, away from traffic on Main Street.

It gets the playground out of harms way, Mayor Rob Marlowe said.

Youngsters could gain splash pads in which to frolic, among other additions.

The deadline for a $200,000 grant toward the playground falls in December 2015, interim City Manager Susan Dillinger reported.

The relocation of the playground would require closing a section of Grand Boulevard along the existing, northern boundary of the park. Circle Boulevard could revert to two-way traffic since the plan shuts off part of the loop. City staff told council members a traffic study could be expedited.

At some point, Peace Hall would move from its current spot next to the West Pasco Historical Society Rao Musunuru. M.D., Museum and Library, to the east side of Orange Lake to make more room for the enlarged park.

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NPR eager to proceed on Sims Park upgrades

Massport OKs Logan garage space funds

The Massachusetts Port Authority board yesterday approved a partial project budget of $20 million to fund work on adding up to 2,050 parking spaces at Logan International Airport.

Massport will start construction later this year on additions to the central and Terminal B garages that will cost an estimated $60 million. The added spaces will be completed in 2015 and 2016.

Hundred subpoenas issued in R.I. probe that includes 38 Studios loan

A lawyer for former Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox told a judge yesterday more than 100 grand jury subpoenas have been issued in what he believes is a wide-ranging investigation by federal and state authorities that includes looking at the failed 38 Studios deal.

The attorney made the comments before Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein as he sought to quash a subpoena issued to Fox for a range of documents related to ex-Red Sox pitcher Curt Schillings now-bankrupt company. Silverstein is overseeing a lawsuit brought by the states economic development agency over the $75 million loan guarantee it gave 38 Studios.

Bay State jobless rate drops, but so does the number of jobs

The state unemployment rate fell to 6 percent yesterday, but the state lost jobs for the first time since January.

Its a bit of a mixed picture, said Alan Clayton Matthews, a professor at Northeastern University.

The state lost 1,600 jobs, and saw the largest drop in the leisure and hospitality sector. Clayton Matthews said that sector can be volatile, and may not reflect the economys true direction.

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Aided by an army of lawyers, consultants, and architects, Children's Hospital seems well on its way to winning approval for a huge, auto-centric office park in the middle of a thriving rowhouse neighborhood on the Schuylkill. All it needs is an endorsement on Tuesday from the Planning Commission; then it's off to the Zoning Board for a routine variance.

So, that's that, folks. On to the next megaproject.

After years of effort by the Nutter administration to forge a more balanced approach to planning and zoning, the likely approval of the Children's high-rise campus in its current form is a disheartening reminder of how little progress actually has been made since the any-development-is-good-development days of Mayors Rendell and Street.

The proposed campus next to the South Street Bridge, where Children's plans to conduct computer-based research, is among the largest projects that Nutter's team has evaluated in the past two years, equal in square footage to both Comcast towers. And yet city planners stood passively by while the institutional Goliath ran circles around the David-sized neighborhood groups trying to shape it into a more urban development.

The design - a joint effort by Pelli Clarke Pelli and Philadelphia's Ballinger - is little changed from the original shown to residents two years ago. Four glassy office towers, up to 375 feet high, would ultimately be built on top of a long, three-story garage, forming a solid wall beside the blossoming Schuylkill Banks park. To provide access to this monstrous structure, Children's wants to cut two driveways into the South Street Bridge. While less central than Comcast's campus, the site is served by bus, shuttles, and the University City Regional Rail stop.

The impact of the design is sure to reverberate beyond the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. Thousands of pedestrians and bicyclists cross the bridge daily on their way to jobs in West Philadelphia's expanding hospital-and-university district. The driveways will turn their commute into a game of chicken. You can also bet that the Children's garage will set a precedent for all future waterfront projects.

As a city, we talk about upholding traditional urban planning values. We want buildings that fit into William Penn's perfectly sized street grid, and have human activity on the ground floor to make us feel welcome and safe. While the complex may end up with a bit of retail tucked in a corner, the design calls for a blank garage wall at street level along most of Schuylkill Avenue, shielded by a heavily planted berm. The park that Children's calls "Bainbridge Place" is a glorified driveway.

In the phrase adopted by the design's opponents, which include the Design Advocacy Group, South Street West Business Association and South of South Street Neighborhood Association, there will be no human "interface" along the street.

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Changing Skyline: Children's Hospital garage megaproject brushes off neighbors

BOSTON The Massachusetts Port Authority Board today approved a partial project budget of $20 million to fund work on adding up to 2,050 parking spaces at Boston Logan International Airport.

Logan parking is limited. And even with 16,200 lined spaces available each day there are more than 50 times a year when demand for parking exceeds the number of lined spaces available. In the last 12 months, more than 70,000 cars were either valeted or diverted to a different lot than the one the customer wanted. Massport will start construction later this year on additions to the Central and Terminal B garages that will add 2050 spaces to Logans permitted inventory and will cost an estimated $60 million. The added spaces will be completed in 2015 and 2016.

The additions to the Central and Terminal B garages, located in the center of the airport campus, will reduce the need for a complimentary valet system that has been in place for four years to deal with excess cars. Costs associated with the garages and their debt service rose about $2.5 million last year and are expected to be higher this year as Massport leases space for parking in Suffolk Downs when all airport parking is full.

Managing the number of airport passengers and employees who drive to the airport is critical, especially when the number of Logan passengers grow each year. In 2013, Logan set a passenger record with 30.2 million. Passenger counts for the first three months of 2014 are ahead of the first quarter of 2013 by 2.2 percent.

Funding for the project will come from parking increases approved by the Board in April. The July 1, 2014 increase of $2 per day and $3 in 2016 will help keep pace with costs associated with operating, maintaining and improving the parking facilities at Logan. Parkers at Logan are offered free services such as jump starts, removing snow from vehicles, assistance locating their cars, and improved lighting in the Terminal B garage.

Rates at the four suburban Logan Express sites remain unchanged at $7 a day, providing travelers with another choice. Last month, Massport last month began regular bus service from the Back Bay to Logan for $5 per trip or free with a valid MBTA pass.

Boston Logan, 15 minutes from the intersection of Route 128 and I-90 and five minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 76 domestic and 36 international destinations and in 2013 handled 30.2 million passengers. Boston Logan is served by two public transit lines and is the Air Line Pilot Associations Airport of the Year for 2008 because of its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, the airport spent $4.5 billion on a modernization program that includes new terminals, public transportation access, parking facilities, roadways and airport concessions, and has been transformed into a world-class 21st Century facility. The airport generates $7 billion in total economic impact each year.

You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/bostonlogan and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/bostonlogan.

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) owns and operates Boston Logan International Airport, public terminals in the Port of Boston, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport.Massport is a financially self-sustaining public authority whose premier transportation facilities generate more than $8 billion annually, and enhance and enable economic growth and vitality in New England. No state tax dollars are used to fund operations or capital improvements at Massport facilities. For more information please visit massport.com.

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Massport Approves Partial Funding For Garage Addition

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Cambridge, Maryland (PRWEB) May 12, 2014

Parking structures -- once considered the ugly ducklings of building design -- are now rising to become visually appealing additions to city and campus skylines as architects use metal mesh to transform and illuminate their exterior facades and create a canvas for corporate branding, lighting design, and public art.

Cambridge Architectural, the worlds leading full-service provider of sustainable architectural mesh systems for both exterior and interior commercial building applications, has seen its parking business grow as a result.

The company recently supplied custom designed stainless steel mesh and attachment systems for garages at Winnipegs McPhillips Station Casino and Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi and is currently working on a parking structure at 275 Wyman Street in Waltham, MA.

Other prominent parking projects for Cambridge in recent years include Awty International School in Houston and Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center.

We are seeing an increasing number of architectural firms coming to Cambridge on parking facility projects because they value our expertise in handling large installations and appreciate our ability and willingness to provide customized solutions, said Gary Compton, Cambridge Architectural brand manager. Architects prefer our large-weave flexible mesh patterns because they can be seen from a distance and unlike finer screens, they dont blend into the design.

In recent projects, architects have used Cambridge mesh to achieve a variety of design objectives, including sculpting the exteriors of a parking structure and adjacent buildings to integrate architecture and create a common look, and using lighting to illuminate mesh panels on garages in school and corporate colors.

Compton says Cambridge mesh also provides solutions for many key functional issues architects must consider when designing parking structures including solar shading, ventilation of exhaust fumes, headlight attenuation, and fall protection.

The transparent and reflective qualities of woven metal mesh make it ideal for parking facilities, he said. The openings in the mesh allow for air flow and daylighting while providing shading from intense sunlight. By night, the mesh allows views into the garage while reducing the glare of car headlights to the outside.

Cambridge offers a wide variety of woven mesh patterns and patented attachment systems for mounting the mesh to the parking structure. Patterns range from small weaves like Mid-Shade to large weaves like Pellican allowing for design flexibility.

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Architectural Mesh Transforms Exterior Parking Facades in Projects from Manitoba to Mississippi; Cambridge ...

When thinking about a garage addition, you should consider the following:

Detached vs. Attached Many home owners prefer to have an attached garage with a door that directly connects to the living area. Attached garages eliminate a cold, snowy walk to the garage or a blast of heat on your way to work. However, the lot size and the position of your home on the lot may not always allow this to happen.

A detached garage is a great option that allows more design flexibility since it is not directly attached to the house. A number of different rooflines, sizes and heights can be used to complement the style of your home.

Orientation The orientation of a garage addition depends to a large degree on where the garage is placed on the lot:

Elevation Many garage additions are built at ground level. If you decide to convert part of your basement into a garage, or place your garage addition below grade, an area drain with a connection to the municipal storm sewer system must be located outside of the garage. Click on Step 8 - Do We Need Permits for more details.

Size Choosing a one, two, or three car garage with additional storage space will largely depend on your needs, the size of your lot, the local building code and your budget. For specific sizes, see Step 6

Roofline The roof of your garage addition should be similar to the roof shape of your home.

A flat roof can be built to support an outdoor patio, adding an additional amenity to your home. Flat roofs can also support a green roof which is an increasingly popular way of managing storm water, reducing heating/cooling costs, and increasing the amount of plants versus hardscape, an environmentally sustainable building option.

Garage Door The size, shape, color, material, and design of garage doors have an immense impact on the overall appearance of the garage and how well it fits in with the rest of your home.

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Garage Addition: 7 things to consider

hip Site Map You need a second floor for your growing family. A sun porch would bring more light into the house. Add a garage stall for a new vehicle or toy.

Home Improvement Plus will help you achieve your goals to add valuable space to your existing home. We work with your ideas to design and build all phases of your remodeling and construction project, whether its adding to the main level, finishing out the attic or rebuilding the garage.

We construct full room additions, like a master bedroom; renovate unfinished basements to create an office or family room; and develop crawl spaces and foundations. We also move interior walls and remodel existing rooms.

Home Improvement Plus constructs major second and third story additions to increase square footage within the homes original footprint, and adds dormers to create different roof lines.

We redesign kitchens, family rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms, and create large work, closet and storage space.

Home Improvement Plus builds three-season rooms and screen porches, and enhances the use of existing decks, patios and outdoor living spaces. We also install gas fireplaces.

Garage additions include stalls, bonus rooms or above-the-garage living space. We tear down and rebuild your existing and older detached garages for custom-designed man-caves or just a dry, weather-tight garage for your tools and toys.

Our construction and materials are energy-efficient with insulated walls and ceilings. Home Improvement Plus is EPA lead certified and insured.

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Home Additions and Garages - Home Improvement Plus Inc