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Monday, February 28, 2011

Top Architectural Colleges, Best Architecture Schools

2010 Greenway group Architecture School Rankings


Ten Best Undergraduate Architecture Schools

1. Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
2. Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
3. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
4. Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.
5. University of Texas, Austin, Tex.
6. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kans.
7. University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore.
8. Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R.I.
9. Rice University, Houston, Tex.
10. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.


Top Ten Graduate Architectural Universities

1. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2. Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
3. Columbia University, New York City
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
5. University of Texas, Austin, Tex.
6. University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
7. Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
8. Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, Va.
9. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
10. University of California, Berkeley, Calif.



USA’s Top Architecture Schools


United States: Best Architecture schools in the USA

Andrews University Division of Architecture
Arizona State University, College of Architecture & Environmental Design
Auburn University College of Architecture, Design & Construction
University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture
University of Arkansas School of Architecture

Ball State University, College of Architecture and Planning
Boston Architectural Center

California College of Arts and Crafts
Cal Poly/San Luis Obispo, College of Architecture & Environmental Design
Carnegie Mellon
Clemson University
Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation
Cooper Union, Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture
University of California at Berkeley College of Environmental Design
University of California at Davis Environmental Design Department
University of Cincinnati School of Architecture and Interior Design
University of Colorado College of Architecture & Planning

Drexel University, College of Design Arts
Drury College, Hammons School of Architecture

Florida A & M School of Architecture
Florida International University School of Architecture
Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture

Georgia Tech
University of Georgia School of Environmental Design

Harvard University Graduate School of Design
University of Hawaii
University of Houston Hines School of Architecture

Illinois Institute of Technology
Iowa State University College of Design
University of Idaho
University of Illinois/Champaign/Urbana
University of Illinois/Chicago

Kansas State University College of Architecture Planning & Design
Kent State University School of Architecture & Environmental Design
University of Kansas School of Architecture & Urban Design
University of Kentucky

Lawrence Technological University
Louisiana State University College of Design
Louisiana Tech University School of Architecture

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mississippi State
Morgan State University
University of Maryland School of Architecture
University of Miami School of Architecture
University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning
University of Minnesota The College of Design (CDes)

New Jersey Institute of Technology
New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture & Design
North Carolina State School of Design
North Dakota State University Dept. of Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Norwich University Division of Art & Architecture
University of New Mexico School of Architecture & Planning
University of North Carolina/Charlotte
University of Notre Dame

Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture
Oklahoma State University College of Engineering Architecture & Technology
University of Oklahoma College of Architecture
University of Oregon

Parsons School of Design
Penn State
Portland State University
Prairie View A & M
Pratt Institute
Princeton University
Purdue University Landscape Architecture Program
University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts

Rensselaer Polytechnic
Rice University

Savannah College of Art and Design
Southern California Institute of Architecture
Southern Polytechnic State University School of Architecture
Southern University and A & M School of Architecture
SUNY Buffalo School of Architecture & Planning
Syracuse University
University of South Florida School of Architecture & Community Design
University of Southern California

Temple University Architecture Program
Texas A & M University College of Architecture
Texas Tech
Tulane University School of Architecture
Tuskegee University College of Engineering, Architecture, & Physical Science
University of Tennessee College of Architecture & Design
University of Texas/Arlington

University of Utah

Virginia Polytechnic College of Architecture & Urban Studies
University of Virginia

Washington University School of Architecture
Woodbury University
University of Washington College of Architecture & Urban Planning



Top Architectural Colleges and Universities in Canada
(that offer Accredited Master of Architecture Degree):


University of British Columbia
University of Calgary
Carleton University
Universite Laval
McGill University
University of Manitoba
Universite de Montreal
University of Toronto
Dalhousie University
University of Waterloo
BCIT : Polytechnic Institution offers an architecture degree.



Best Architecture Schools in England UK / United Kingdom

Architectural Association School of Architecture, London

Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, London

Birmingham City University, School of Architecture, Birmingham

Canterbury School of Architecture, University College for the Creative Arts, Canterbury, Kent

Kent School of Architecture, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK

* Kingston University, School of Architecture and Landscape, London, UK, http://www.kingston.ac.uk/design/architecture.html

* London Metropolitan University, Department of Architecture and Spatial Design, London, UK

* London South Bank University, Architecture and Design, South Bank, London, UK

* Newcastle University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle upon Tyne http://www.apl.ncl.ac.uk

* Nottingham Trent University (NTU), School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, Nottingham, http://www.ntu.ac.uk/sbe

* Oxford Brookes Department of Architecture, Oxford, http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/be/architecture

* The Manchester School of Architecture, Manchester, UK

* The University of Nottingham, School of the Built Environment, Institute of Architecture, Nottingham, http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/sbe

* University of Bath Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Bath, UK

* University of Cambridge, Department of Architecture, Cambridge UK

* University of Portsmouth, UK
* University of Sheffield, School of Architecture, Sheffield, UK, http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/architecture

* University of Westminster, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Marylebone, London

* University of the West of England, Faculty of the Built Environment, Frenchay Campus, Bristol



Northern Ireland Architecture Colleges

* The Queens University of Belfast, School of Architecture

* The University of Ulster Architecture, School of Architecture Belfast, UK



Scotland Architectural Schools

* Edinburgh College of Art School of Architecture, Edinburgh, Scotland

* Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow School of Art (University of Glasgow), Glasgow, Scotland

* The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and The Built Environment, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland

* The University of Edinburgh Architecture, School of Arts Culture & Environment Edinburgh, Scotland
o (The Edinburgh College of Art and the University of Edinburgh are in the process of merging their two schools of architecture to form a single Edinburgh School of Architecture

* University of Dundee School of Architecture, Dundee, Scotland

* The University of Strathclyde Department of Architecture, Glasgow, Scotland

* University of Strathclyde, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Architecture, Strathclyde, http://www.strath.ac.uk/architecture


Wales Architectural Programs

* Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK


Sources: architecturecourses.org, archdaily.com

Seven Best New Buildings: 21st Century Architectural Design

Top 7 New Building Projects - Twenty-first Century Architecture imagery

Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai - Tom Wright Design, Architect

Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies, China - Mario Cucinella Architects

Dalian International Conference Centre, China - Coop Himmelblau Architects

Jingui Li in Wuxi, China - Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

Metropol Parasol, Spain - J. Mayer H. Architects

Oceanografico Building, Spain - Santiago Calatrava, Architect

Vodafone building, Portugal - Barbosa and Guimaraes Architects>




Please enjoy viewing these exciting, innovative new projects from Earth's leading architectural minds.

Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai


Tom Wright Design, Architect











Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies, China


Mario Cucinella Architects







Dalian International Conference Centre - China


Coop Himmelblau Architects

Dalian Conference Center - From Architectural Visualization to Construction






Images of construction of Dalian Intl Conference Centre, China









Jingui Li in Wuxi, China


Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects









Metropol Parasol - Spain


J. Mayer H. Architects











Oceanografico Building in Valencia Spain


Santiago Calatrava, Architect








Vodafone building in Porto, Portugal


Barbosa e Guimaraes Architects







Saturday, February 26, 2011

Twelve Best 3d Architectural Visualization companies

Top Architectural Rendering studios worldwide


Presented by DoHere Visualization, Canada's best 3d architectural rendering service!


Top 12 Architecture Rendering firms globally

ArchiForm3d

Strength is walk-through animations and interiors.








Architectural Renditions

Spring Hill, FL-based (west of Orlando, north of Tampa)offers modeling, rendering and animation.




ArchiVision Studio

Archi-Vision Studio provides high quality, architectural renderings to architects, developers and designers, with a specialty in watercolor architectural renderings.




Arc Renderings

Strengths include Interiors, Resorts, Animations. ARCrenderings produces architectural renderings, expert 3-D illustrations, site plans, 2-D elevations, floor plans, animations and fly-throughs for large-scale commercial and residential development projects. Whether you are a developer wanting to build excitement in a high-end, eye catching method, or a realtor who is in need of a highly effective marketing tool, we have solutions for you.




Cenario

Strength is Interactive 3D models.









Cyrille Thomas

Strengths include modern architecture renderings, and motion graphics.





DO HERE Architectural Visualizations

Strengths are Interiors, High-rise, Commercial, Custom Homes. Superior ability to render glass and windows so that buildings look warm and inviting.















GISvirtual.com

Seattle-based, forte is Office / Commercial / Industrial spaces.









Neoscape

USA offices in Boston and New York plus UK office in Bristol. Strengths include High-rise, Custom Homes, Urban Design.








Pacificom Multimedia

Strengths include resorts, hotels and wood buildings.




PixArch

Strengths are Urban Design, Custom Homes, elegant Interiors.









Rendering House


Strengths are watercolor residential visualizations, interactive builders' software.

Friday, February 25, 2011

50 Best Architectural Websites Worldwide

TOP FIFTY Architecture Websites Globally


Best Architectural sites, presented alphabetically:

ArchDaily.com Website for Architects



Architectural Student Chronicles



Architecture Lab Online Architecture Magazine



Bjarke Ingels Group - Copenhagen

Bjarke Ingels studied architecture at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen and the Technica Superior de Arquitectura in Barcelona, receiving his diploma in 1998. As a third year student he set up his first practice and won his first competition. From 1998-2001 he worked for Office of Metropolitan Architecture and Rem Koolhaas in Rotterdam.

In 2001, Bjarke Ingels returned to Copenhagen to set up the architectural practice PLOT together with Belgian OMA colleague Julien de Smedt. The company rapidly achieved success, receiving significant national and international attention for their inventive designs. They were awarded a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2004 for a proposal for a new music house for Stavanger, Norway. Their first major achievement was the award-winning VM Houses in Ørestad, Copenhagen, in 2005. Despite its success, PLOT was disbanded in January 2006 and Bjarke Ingels created Bjarke Ingels Group, BIG, while his former partner founded JDS / JULIEN DE SMEDT ARCHITECTS.

With BIG, Bjarke Ingels has continued the ideology from PLOT and has several major projects under construction or development both in Denmark and abroad. These include BIH House in Ørestad and the new Danish national Maritime museum in Elsinore, hotel projects in Norway, a highrise designed in the shape of the Chinese character for 'people' for Shanghai, a masterplan for the redevelopment of a former naval base and oil industry wasteland into a zero-emission resort and entertainment city off the coast of Baku, Azerbaijan, shaped as the seven mountains of the country, and a museum overlooking Mexico City.

Under the BIG Banner Bjarke recently published "Yes is more - an archcomic on architectural evolution".






Bortolotto Architects

The firm is committed to design excellence and the integration of sustainable and leading edge technologies. A significant concentration of the work is for government and educational institutions, reflecting the firm’s understanding of the complexities associated with public buildings and the public realm and their commitment to improving the quality of these places.

Bortolotto Design Architect has developed design strategies collectively called Performance Architecture.



Breathe Architects

Our unique approach sets Building Code precedents and enables our clients to express themselves through our product: be it intellectually, spiritually or monetarily. Their enthusiasm, evident on their websites creates clientele for us on a ongoing basis, so sustainability is achieved all around.

We see, as a logical extension, the need to promote more environmental sensitive living on a larger scale. Up until a few years ago the practice has been a Sole Proprietor. By embracing the Integrated Design Process we have further expanded the team and skill set necessary in our manifestation of an ecological practice. This inspires our clients to be more open-minded, accept ecological principles into their lives, and to communicate these to the broader community.

Implementation: As a team - client, builder and architect - we challenge conventions by proving that alternatives are ready for implementation. A good example is ruling of the Ontario Building Code Commission that strawbale constructions, a ’breathing’ wall assembly, is superior to conventional ‘sealed’ construction.




Santiago Calatrava Architect - Zurich

Santiago Calatrava Valls (Valencian pronunciation: [santiˈaɣo kalaˈtɾava], born 28 July 1951) is an internationally recognized and award-winning Valencian Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer whose principal office is in Zürich, Switzerland. Classed now among the elite designers of the world, he has offices in Zürich, Paris, Valencia, and New York City.

Calatrava was born in Benimámet, an old municipality now integrated as an urban part of Valencia, Spain, where he pursued undergraduate studies at the Architecture School and Arts and Crafts School. Following graduation in 1975, he enrolled in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, Switzerland, for graduate work in civil engineering. In 1981, after completing his doctoral thesis, "On the Foldability of Space Frames", he started his architecture and engineering practice.

Calatrava's early career was dedicated largely to bridges and train stations, whose designs elevated the status of civil engineering projects to new heights. His Montjuic Communications Tower in Barcelona, Spain (1991) in the heart of the 1992 Olympic site, as well as the Allen Lambert Galleria in Toronto, Canada (1992), were important works and turning points in his career, leading to a wide range of commissions. The Quadracci Pavilion (2001) of the Milwaukee Art Museum was his first building in the US. Calatrava's entry into high-rise design began with an innovative 54-story-high twisting tower called Turning Torso (2005), located in Malmö, Sweden.
Calatrava is currently designing the future train station - World Trade Center Transportation Hub - at the rebuilt World Trade Center in New York City.

Calatrava's style has been heralded as bridging the division between structural engineering and architecture. In the projects, he continues a tradition of Spanish modernist engineering that includes Félix Candela and Antonio Gaudí. Nonetheless, his style is also very personal and derives from numerous studies of the human body and the natural world.




C F Moller Architects - Denmark

C. F. Møller Architects is one of Scandinavia's oldest and largest architectural practices. Our work involves a wide range of expertise that covers programme analysis, town planning, master planning, all architectural services including landscape architecture, as well as the development and design of building components.

Simplicity, clarity and unpretentiousness, the ideals that have guided our work since the practice was established in 1924, are continually re-interpreted to suit individual projects, always site-specific and based on international trends and regional characteristics.

Over the years, we have won a large number of national and international competitions. Our work has been exhibited locally as well as internationally at places like RIBA in London, the Venice Biennale, and the Danish Cultural Institute in Beijing.

Today C. F. Møller Architects has app. 275 employees. Our head office is in Århus and we have branches in Copenhagen, Aalborg, Oslo, Stockholm and London, as well as a limited company in Iceland.





Cool Earth Architects

Elias (Lou) Ampas is a graduate of McGill University. He has been a licensed architect for almost 20 years. He has worked on, or been responsible for a number of award winning designs, with a portfolio of high-end housing, commercial, retail and community work. His most recent projects include net-zero townhouses and a passive solar house.

Martin Poizner has extensive technical experience and a level of insight gleaned in 49 years of practice, from a wide variety of experience. Martin was recently awarded the Order of Da Vinci by the Ontario Association of Architects for outstanding contributions to the Profession.

Sheena Sharp is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, and then obtained her Master of Architecture degree at the University of Washington, in Seattle. After her initial degree she worked as a research assistant on projects including Energy Efficiency and Daylighting, and a project which built and instrumented a wood frame house to monitor energy use.

She has experience in many forms of housing and commercial buildings. Her first large environmentally sustainable project was the $20 mil. addition and renovation for the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, where she acted as Project Architect while working for Young + Wright Architects.

Her second large environmentally sustainable project is the $3.5 addition and renovation to the District of Parry Sound Social Services Administration Board, which is currently a candidate for LEED certification.





Coop Himmelblau Architects

Coop Himmelb(l)au (1968-) is a cooperative architectural design firm primarily located in Vienna, Austria and which now also maintains offices in Los Angeles, United States and Guadalajara, Mexico. The firm's name Himmelblau translates from German into English as 'sky blue', Himmelbau translates to 'heaven construction'. The term Coop in the title is pronounced as is the business abbreviation for cooperative, co-op.

Coop Himmelblau was founded by Wolf Prix, Helmut Swiczinsky and Michael Holzer and gained international acclaim alongside Peter Eisenman, Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry with the 1988 exhibition, "Deconstructivist Architecture" at the Museum of Modern Art. Their work ranges from commercial buildings to residential projects.





CS+P Architects Toronto

CS&P Architects Inc., one of Canada's leading architectural practices, offers architectural, planning, interior and urban design services to a wide range of public and private sector clients. Since the firm's inception, a significant focus of our practice has been the design of public spaces and community-focused projects for recreational, judicial, and educational uses. Our objective in developing these projects is to discover imaginative and meaningful ways to connect these buildings with their contexts. By designing from the inside out, we continually explore ways to enhance and enrich our clients' programmes. Our dedicated team of 60 includes registered architects and accredited urban, interior design and LEED professionals. This talented group is commited to design excellence and client satisfaction. This winning approach has resulted in the loyalty of many longstanding clients as well as over 65 design excellence awards.





CXT Architects

CXT Architects Inc. has evolved into a firm with a reputation for strong problem solving skills, excellence in design, vigorous attention to detailing and technical execution, as well as leadership in contract administration. Throughout its history, the firm has consistently produced high quality architecture that responds to the specific needs of clients through various construction delivery modes including design-build and construction management.




DO HERE Architectural Visualizations

Strengths are Interiors, High-rise, Commercial, Custom Homes. Superior ability to render glass and windows so that buildings look warm and inviting.




Diamond & Schmidt

Born in South Africa, Jack Diamond arrived in Canada in 1964 as Founding Director of the University of Toronto’s Master of Architecture program. From 1968-1975 he was principal in the firm of Diamond and Myers. In 1975 he established A.J. Diamond Architects, which by 1989 had evolved into the partnership of A.J. Diamond, Donald Schmitt and Company.

Canadian born architect Donald Schmitt studied architecture at the University of Toronto, and has been in practice with Jack Diamond since 1978. Jack Diamond and Donald Schmitt are the founding principals of Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated.

In addition to the founding principals, Jack Diamond and Donald Schmitt, there are 13 principals, 13 associates, 92 registered graduate and student architects; and a support staff of 19.

Principals: Sydney Browne, Gregory Colucci, Martin Davidson, David Dow, Robert Graham, Helen Kabriel, Michael Leckman, Gary McCluskie, Birgit Siber, Matthew Smith, Jon Soules, Mike Szabo and Michael Treacy.

Associates: Walton Chan, John Featherstone, Branka Gazibara, Duncan Higgins, Daniel Klink, Matthew Lella, Ana Maria Llanos, Jarle Lovlin, Sarah Low, Michael Lukasik, Jennifer Mallard, Antra Roze, and Peggy Theodore.




Diller Scofidio Renfro New York Architects





Fifty Strange Buildings from all over the World






Peter Gabor Associates

Only through a thorough understanding the of the client's goals, and achieving high design standards within the real world context of fiscal constraint, complex approvals, and existing urban and/or building fabrics, can an architect add the maximum value through his or her involvement.

At Gabor Associates: Architecture, Urban Design, and Interiors, the principal, Peter A. Gabor, Architect MRAIC and his longstanding professional support staff are dedicated to understanding the client's needs, and fulfilling the functional design within a framework of design excellence in, style, finish, and contextual response. To us, a project is not truly satisfying unless the client is as proud of the design as we are.





GreatBuildings.com 100 Classics of World Architecture





Hariri Pontarini Architects - Toronto

Hariri Pontarini Architects, established in 1994, is a Toronto-based architectural practice drawing on the collective skills and expertise of over 45 registered and intern architects, and support staff. HPA’s portfolio builds upon learnt knowledge, technical innovation and design excellence of each successive project, revealing the conception of refined architecture with crafted details. The firm excels in creative design and managing complex projects within strict timelines and budget.

Projects created by Hariri Pontarini Architects are distinctive expressions of the vision and values of the firm’s clients. HPA’s commitment to quiet excellence is embodied in the creation of enduring, carefully conceived spaces that are seamlessly interwoven within the context of their surroundings; spaces crafted to exude a solid dignity and purpose. Known for creating spaces with an implicit understanding of the architectural components, HPA’s extensive portfolio consists of architecture that affirms human conviviality: a sense of proportion and materiality, a facility with natural light, and an intuitive grasp of human dynamics.






Julian Jacobs Architects

Building/Environments must be designed with love and care. An artifact designed in this way is substantially different, superior, its inner life is revealed; it does not seem inanimate. It has the sense of a living thing, and a sense of 'soul'.

For every project we seek a 'conceptual DNA molecule' – a central idea which imparts information to every aspect of the design, ensuring harmony, unity, and authenticity; as in an oak tree – the roots, trunk, branches and leaves are all harmonized and unified by its DNA. The central idea comes from asking, predesign, how one should begin to think about the project. Every project deserves a 'tabula rasa' – a blank slate.

There are many ways to categorize spaces, but for us the most useful categorization is as 'connector space' and 'non-connector space.' For us the space (or spaces) which connect the programmatic elements is as important as the elements themselves. One methodology we have developed uses the analogy of the ‘Architectural Bouquet in a Vase’, where the vase is the ‘connector space’ and the flowers are the elements: the vase is custom-designed to control the flow and organization of the building.





JDS Architects - Copenhagen

Julien De Smedt (born 3 December 1975 in Brussels) is a Belgian-Danish architect based in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2006 he founded the architectural practice Julien De Smedt Architects (JDS] based in Copenhagen with offices in Brussels and Oslo. JDS is a multidisciplinary office that works with architecture, urban planning and product design.

After attending schools in Brussels, Paris, Los Angeles and London, Julien De Smedt received a diploma with commendation from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London in 2000. He Then went to Rotterdam to work for OMA and Rem Koolhaas.

VM housing in Ørestad, Denmark, by Julien de Smedt and Bjarke Ingels
In 2001 he went to Copenhagen to set up the architectural practice PLOT together with OMA colleague Bjarke Ingels. The company fast achieved success and received significant national and international for their inventive designs. This included several commissions and competition wins as well as a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2004 for a proposal for a new music house for Stavanger, Norway. Their first major project to be realized was the award-winning VM Houses in Ørestad, Copenhagen in 2005. In spite of the success and attention, PLOT was disbanded in January 2006 and Julien De Smedt founded Julien De Smedt Architects (JDS, first called Julien De Smedt Design], while his former partner founded Bjarke Ingels Group.

In 2007 JDS won their first major project when they won the international competition for the New Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Oslo, one of the city's major landmarks. Other major competition wins include a residential project in the old docklands of Århus, Denmark, and a Harbour development project in Copenhagen.





Kirkor Architects - Toronto

Kirkor Architects + Planners was founded in 1990 by partners Steven Kirshenblatt and Clifford Korman. It has developed into a firm of nearly 60 architects and is a multi-faceted architectural design and planning firm with an award winning reputation for design excellence and client service. We are a highly collaborative, partner driven team of about 60 architects, designers, planners, technical and support staff working on projects across North America and around the world.





OMA Rem Koolhaas Studio - The Netherlands

OMA is a leading international partnership practicing architecture, urbanism, and cultural analysis. The office is led by seven partners – Rem Koolhaas, Ellen van Loon, Reinier de Graaf, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, David Gianotten and Managing Partner, Victor van der Chijs





KPMB Architects

The integration of architecture and sustainability, performance and aesthetics and making buildings that support the public realm is at the heart of KPMB’s work. The individual act of making a building must be both transformative and enduring, and take part in a collective effort to support all levels of life, work, and creativity. Architecture must be positioned responsively between landscape and urbanism, issues of cost and environmental performance, and innovation and design excellence. This approach to architecture has earned the practice the Royal Architectural Institute of Architects Firm of the Year Award and the Toronto Arts Award.





Daniel Libeskind Studio - New York and Zurich

Daniel Libeskind is the Principal Design Architect in Studio Daniel Libeskind and solely responsible for all design decisions. Every project is developed with a consistent core team, which works together throughout the design process toward the eventual realization of the project. Within the Studio, teams are set up in individual project rooms and great emphasis is placed on working together.

The proximity of the different team members ensures communication on a daily design development basis. Studio Daniel Libeskind operates with thoroughly integrated teams, where team members assume a high degree of responsibility for ensuring that the project management function is there to support and serve the primary creative design function. There is a clear reporting structure within the team. Design and planning issues are sketched by Mr. Libeskind, alternatives drawn up by the team, discussed and reworked with Mr. Libeskind through regular internal presentations which act as in-house critiques and then reworked until the solution is agreed upon by him. The Project Architects coordinate the work of the team and maintain continual design contact and development with Daniel Libeskind ensuring the ongoing quality of the work in the well-recognized Studio tradition.





Richard Meier & Partners Architects - New York and Los Angeles

Meier was born in Newark, New Jersey. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University in 1957, worked for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill briefly in 1959, and then for Marcel Breuer for three years, prior to starting his own practice in New York in 1963. Identified as one of The New York Five in 1972, his commission of the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California catapulted his popularity into the mainstream. Richard Meier & Partners Architects has offices in New York and Los Angeles with current projects ranging from China and Tel Aviv to Paris and Hamburg.
Much of Meier's work builds on the work of architects of the early to mid-20th century, especially that of Le Corbusier and, in particular, Le Corbusier's early phase. Meier has built more using Corbusier's ideas than anyone, including Le Corbusier himself. Meier expanded many ideas evident in Le Corbusier's work, particularly the Villa Savoye and the Swiss Pavilion.

His work also reflects the influences of other designers such as Mies Van der Rohe and, in some instances, Frank Lloyd Wright and Luis Barragán. White has been used in many architectural landmark buildings throughout history, including cathedrals and the white-washed villages of the Mediterranean region, in Spain, southern Italy and Greece.

In 1984, Meier was awarded the Pritzker Prize. In 2008, he won the gold medal in architecture from the Academy of Arts and Letters and his work Jesolo Lido Village was awarded the Dedalo Minosse International Prize for commissioning a building. Meier is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council.





MI Modern Architecture website





Morphosis Architects - Los Angeles and New York

Founded in 1972, Morphosis is an interdisciplinary practice involved in rigorous design and research that yields innovative, iconic buildings and urban environments. With founder Thom Mayne serving as design director, the firm today consists of a group of more than 50 professionals, who remain committed to the practice of architecture as a collaborative enterprise. With projects worldwide, the firm’s work ranges in scale from residential, institutional, and civic buildings to large urban planning projects. Named after the Greek term, morphosis, meaning to form or be in formation, Morphosis is a dynamic and evolving practice that responds to the shifting and advancing social, cultural, political and technological conditions of modern life. Over the past 30 years, Morphosis has received 25 Progressive Architecture awards, over 100 American Institute of Architects (AIA) awards, and numerous other honors.





Olson Kundig Architects - Seattle WA

Olson Kundig Architects began its creative existence with architect Jim Olson, whose work in the late 1960s explored the relationship between dwellings and the landscape they inhabit in the Northwest. Olson started the firm based on some simple ideas: that buildings can serve as a bridge between nature, culture and people, and that inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives. Rick Sundberg joined the firm in 1975, and its commitment to urbanism and civic life became evident as they began designing and developing modern urban buildings in and around Seattle’s national historic districts Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square.

In 1996, Tom Kundig joined Olson and Sundberg as an owner, taking the firm to another level of creative exploration and helping it grow into an office with an international reputation. Alan Maskin and Kirsten Murray joined the owners group in 2008, continuing the evolution of the firm and furthering its commitment to the experience around architecture, articulated in exhibit design, interiors, and connections to urban and rural landscapes.

The firm now numbers over 75 employees. Olson Kundig Architects’ work, including museums, commercial design, academic buildings, exhibit design, interior design, places of worship and residences, often for art collectors, is now worldwide. Our in-house interiors studio, founded in 2000, provides a full range of services including material selection, custom furniture design and purchasing capabilities.





Philip Johnson Alan Richie Architects - New York

The firm of Philip Johnson/Alan Ritchie Architects has been recognized as one of the most creative and innovative architectural firms for over half a century. Philip Johnson's leadership in the modern movement, and later playing a seminal role in the introduction of post-modernism and deconstructivism, has helped to form new ideas and exciting directions in design and architecture around the world. Now, under the leadership of Alan Ritchie, who worked with Philip Johnson for over twenty-five years, the firm continues to explore and present new and cutting edge designs. In 2004, when Philip Johnson retired, he expressed his confidence in passing on his legacy on to Alan Ritchie.

Philip Johnson/Alan Ritchie Architects is a New York Professional Corporation, with a staff of over twenty people and an in-house interior design group. The firm also has a registered architectural office in Shanghai, China with a staff of eighteen.

Alan Ritchie, the managing partner of the firm, is a respected designer in his own right and has been responsible for the implementation of many of the office's most important designs.





Neoscape

USA offices in Boston and New York plus UK office in Bristol. Strengths include High-rise, Custom Homes, Urban Design.





Pei Cobb Freed and Partners - New York NY

Since its formation in 1955, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (formerly I. M. Pei & Partners) has completed more than two hundred projects in over a hundred cities across North America and around the world. The firm's clients have included major corporations, private developers and public authorities, as well as educational, cultural and religious institutions. Among its best known works are the John F. Kennedy Library, John Hancock Tower and John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse and Harborpark in Boston; the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center and Fountain Place in Dallas; Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong; First Interstate Tower in Los Angeles; First Bank Place in Minneapolis; Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York; National Constitution Center on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.




Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects - New Haven CT

Founded in 1977, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects has earned a reputation for designing buildings that express the core values of our clients. We have designed many of the world’s most recognizable buildings, including the World Financial Center in New York, the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, and the International Finance Centre in Hong Kong. Our award-winning portfolio includes academic buildings, libraries, performing arts centers, museums, research centers, residences and master plans, and we have served private clients, businesses, institutions and government agencies. The breadth of our work reflects the belief that a firm must not be constrained by a signature style. Rather, great design arises from sincere collaboration with a client and a deep respect for a project’s environmental, economic and social contexts.







Paul Raff Studio

The Studio is an internationally recognized leader in sustainable architecture and design. Each project is uniquely conceived and attentively advanced. Our proficient technical knowledge and project management always strive to realize exceptional value and architectural quality. Projects and experience range in scale and scope, and include residential, cultural, and commercial architecture, master planning and urban design, multi-media and public art, private gardens, and special features. Paul Raff Studio consistently produces exceptional work that is thoughtful, evocative, and poetic.




Reich + Petch Architecture and Design

The team at Reich + Petch asks questions. Lots of them. We involve clients in the creative process and welcome ideas that enable us to translate their visions into imaginative, interactive environments.

Formed in 1987, Reich + Petch is an international, interdisciplinary design firm. We are inspired by opportunities that allow us to create spaces that are meaningful and engaging. We are driven by the need to explore, innovate and shape environments that excite the senses and make an emotional connection with both visitors and clients.
Reich + Petch invents timeless solutions.






REX Architecture Studio - New York City

The implementation of good ideas demands as much, if not more, creativity than their conceptualization. Increasingly reluctant to assume liability, architects have retreated from the accountability (and productivity) of Master Builders to the safety (and impotence) of stylists. To execute vision and retain the insight that facilitates architectural invention, REX re-engages responsibility. Processes, including contractual relationships, project schedules, and procurement strategies, are the things with which we design.




Royal Institute of British Architects



Steven Holl Architects - New York

Steven Holl Architects (SHA) focus on Design Excellence and Green Innovation, and is a 50 person innovative architecture and urban design office working globally as one office from two locations; New York City and Beijing. Steven Holl leads the office with partners Chris McVoy (New York) and Li Hu (Beijing). Steven Holl Architects is internationally-honored with architecture's most prestigious awards, publications and exhibitions for excellence in design. Steven Holl Architects has realized architectural works nationally and overseas, with extensive experience in the arts (including museum, gallery, and exhibition design), campus and educational facilities, and residential work. Other projects include retail design, office design, public utilities, and master planning.





Website of award-winning Canadian architect Jim Strasman



Studio Under Manufacture - Oakland CA

Studio Under Manufacture was founded in 2002, in an effort to merge disciplines of architecture and design alongside emerging methods of making and management techniques necessary to implement unique solutions.

Studio Under Manufacture is an award winning architecture, design and fabrication consulting firm that draws on a broad set of disciplines to create architectural elements that are both visual and interactive. Our projects reflect a wide spectrum of knowledge from architects, artists, graphic designers, computational mathematicians, manufacturers and museum curators.

Technology informed by aesthetics, social awareness, craft and program specific goals is a positive medium of communication and design that enables and inspires multiple interests to collaborate from diverse viewpoints. With our unique resource of an in-house design studio and workshop with full digital milling capabilities, we experiment with and deploy new methods of prototyping and production that enrich the process of translating ideas into their tactile, physical counterparts.





Superkul Architects

The firm has a broad portfolio of project types, ranging from garden design and single-family housing to medium size commercial / institutional work and master planning. While diverse, all of the projects we undertake share an attention to detail and material at both the large and the small scale, a thorough engagement of the clients and stakeholders involved, and a profound connection of our buildings to their built and natural contexts.




Teeple Architects

Teeple Architects Inc. has built a reputation for innovative design and exceptional service. Some examples of Teeple Architects Inc.'s exceptional work are the following awards; Governor General's Medal (Chemical Sciences Building, Trent University), Governor General's Medal (Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church), OAA Architectural Award of Excellence (Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church) and the SAB Award (Langara College Library and Classroom Building).



The Architect's Newspaper Architectural News






Bernard Tschumi Architects - New York and Paris

Dedicated to the interface between 21st-century culture and architecture, Bernard Tschumi Architects is an international architectural and urban design services firm with over $1 billion worth of projects for institutional, private, and civic clients.

With offices in New York and Paris, the firm has been the recipient of numerous national and international honors, and has established a world reputation for its innovative design solutions to client concerns of different sizes and scales, from small facilities to large-scale master plans.

Bernard Tschumi established the firm in Paris in 1983 with the commission for the Parc de la Villette and opened the head office, Bernard Tschumi Architects (BTA), in New York in 1988. Bernard Tschumi urbanistes Architectes (BTuA) was established in Paris in 2002 to act as executive architects for BTA's French projects. All designs are personally directed and supervised by Bernard Tschumi.




21st Century Architecture Photos Blog



UNStudio Architects - Amsterdam

UNStudio is an international architectural practice, situated in Amsterdam since 1988, with extensive experience in the fields of urbanism, infrastructure, public, private and utility buildings on different scale levels. At the basis of UNStudio are a number of long-term goals, which are intended to define and guide the quality of our performance in the architectural field. We strive to make a significant contribution to the discipline of architecture, to continue to develop our qualities with respect to design, technology, knowledge and management and to be a specialist in public network projects. We see as mutually sustaining the environment, market demands and client wishes that enable our work, and we aim for results in which our goals and our client’s goals overlap. In 2009 UNStudio Asia was established, with its first office located in Shanghai, China. UNStudio Asia is a full daughter of UNStudio and is intricately connected to UNStudio Amsterdam. Initially serving to facilitate the design process for the Raffles City project in Hangzhou, it is envisioned that UNStudio Asia will expand to a stable multinational team of all-round and specialist architects.




High quality architecture photography, website of fine art architectural photographer Ted Van Cleave




Wikipedia page on Architecture and Architectural History




Ziedler Partnership



Eberhard Heinrich Zeidler, OC, O.Ont (born January 11, 1926 in Germany) is a Canadian architect. He studied at the Bauhaus-University Weimar, Weimar, Germany, and the Technische Hochschule, Karlsruhe, Germany.

Zeidler immigrated to Canada in 1951 and formed his first partnership with Blackwell and Craig of Peterborough, Ontario. He later went on to create a new firm, Zeidler Roberts Partnership/Architects in Toronto, and offices in Calgary, AB, Vancouver, BC, Victoria, BC, London, Berlin, Beijing, China, Abu Dhabi, UAE and West Palm Beach, Florida.

More prominent projects by Zeidler's firm include:

Toronto Eaton Centre shopping mall and offices, 1977-1981 with Bregman + Hamann Architects, Toronto, Ontario

McMaster University Health Science Centre, 1972, Hamilton, Ontario

Ontario Place theme park, 1967-1971, Toronto

Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre, 1975-1986, Edmonton, Alberta

Yerba Buena Gardens, 1980-1984, San Francisco, California

redevelopment of the Queen's Quay Terminal, 1979-1983, Toronto

Canada Place for Expo'86, Vancouver, British Columbia

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Economist: World's 10 Most Livable Cities

Best Cities Worldwide: Canada takes 3 of top 5, Australia 4 of top ten globally



Based on the methodology utilized in this study, cities scoring highest are usually medium-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density. This often fosters a broad range of recreational availability without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure. 7 of the top 10 scoring cities are in Australia and Canada, where population densities of 2.88 and 3.40 people per sq km respectively compare with a global (land) average of 45.65 and a US average of 32.




#1 - Vancouver, BC; Canadian city is world's most livable



Economist Most Livable Cities chart - Top Ten Cities







#2 - Melbourne, Australia; skyline at night





#3 - Vienna, Austria, skyline at dusk





#4 - Toronto Canada skyline





#5 - Calgary Alberta skyline



#6 - University of Helsinki Library, Helsinki, Finland




#7 - Sydney Australia skyline




#8 - Perth Australia at night





#9 - Adelaide Australia skyline photo





#10 - Auckland New Zealand skyline

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