June 27, 2008
  AARP Unveils Universal Design Home in Washington, D.C.
Andrus House to serve as a home to six low-income D.C. seniors; many organizations offered support
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) held a ribbon cutting on June 5 to unveil its Washington, D.C., universal design model home. Called Andrus House, the home honors AARP’s 50th anniversary and a 1961 universal design home built in the city by AARP founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus in conjunction with the first White House Conference on Aging.

SmartBIM from Reed Construction Aims to Enhance Revit User Experience
At the start of the AIA Convention in Boston in May, Reed Construction Data Inc. announced the release of its new SmartBIM product for AEC. With the launch of SmartBIM, Reed is seeking to enhance the Autodesk™ Revit™ user experience through its comprehensive object-organization solution, SmartBIM Library; provide high-quality parametric BIM objects with SmartBIM Objects; and enhance the user’s ability to value a project with the RS Means Quick Cost Estimator.

ADVENTURES IN ARCHITECTURE
Il Duomo: Brunelleschi and Innovations of the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore
Episode 6: Innovations of the Dome
In his last episode, author Jim Atkins detailed how Filippo Brunelleschi, designer of the Duomo, became lord of the rings as he solved structural design challenges that allowed the dome to stand without buttresses. But the infamous rings alone did not allow this masonry dome of domes to stand as the great architectural icon that we know today. Join Jim on a trip to the 15th century, where he examines these amazing elements of the dome; important contributors to its integrity and performance. These innovative components, some added by design and some possibly by necessity, reinforce the unchanging dynamic nature of architecture.

 

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This is the home of the weekly Best Practices column, news of tips and tools that you can use in your day-to-day practice and case studies illustrating “how-tos” and “lessons learned” for all stages of practice. The Practice Zone also features reports of research in architecture and related fields.