May 9, 2008
  Sun, Soil, Spirit: The Architecture of Mario Botta
The Swiss Modernist speaks of architecture’s role in a confused and commodified age
Mario Botta, Hon. FAIA, is a Modernist master of earthen materials, still sculpting timeless, elemental spaces out of brick and stoneware while his contemporaries aggressively interrogate the conditions of the present and future. He’s worked mostly in Europe, but in the U.S. his best known building is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and his Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte is currently under construction. Botta (who spoke through a translator), came to Washington on April 29 to give a lecture for the National Building Museum’s Spotlight on Design series. He also sat down with AIArchitect’s Associate Editor Zach Mortice.

Universal Faith, Local Design
The design principles of Fay Jones bring a multi-faith chapel to a Presbyterian college campus in Decatur, Ga.
Julia Thompson Smith Chapel is a non-denominational, multi-faith religious space that generates its sense of spiritual reverence not through narrative and specific iconography, but through transcendent, experiential features. Heavily influenced by his former mentor Fay Jones, Maurice Jennings’ design for the chapel recalls Jones’ contextually humble approach to architecture.

Born in Brooklyn: the Ashland Center
Mixed-use project strives to give neighborhood tools and resources to maintain borough’s resurgence
The Ashland Center, designed by Studio MDA and Behnisch Architects, looks to neighborhood forms and massing to create a residential tower that inspires a sense of community and ownership. Its mixed-use parti also contains retail space and a dance theater. The project’s sustainability goals will be formulated around construction- and performance-based metrics.

 

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Here is where you will find our weekly Project Watch, short vignettes on notable projects in this country and abroad. The Design Zone is also where you will find coverage of awards programs, including the national Honor Awards as well as state and local component awards.