Check out 2018’s best facade products for enclosure performance and design

To ring in the New Year, AN dived into a year’s worth of facade products to select the best of 2018. Ranging from operable vent windows to manually-embossed cement rainscreen panels, these products are sure to boost the environmental performance and aesthetic value of any new project. SUNGATE 400  Vitro Architectural Glass Sungate 400 is glazed with

Facades+AM Atlanta spotlights the city’s dynamic contemporary growth

Commonly known as the capital of the New South, Metropolitan Atlanta is one of the largest cities of the American southeast and has the architectural output to prove it. A number of firms across a range of sizes call the city home, producing designs at local, national, and international levels. On January 16, Facades+ Atlanta will bring leading figures

Renovation of Seattle's Space Needle

Facades+ Seattle will trace the rise of Pacific Northwest design

Over the last three decades, Seattle has experienced explosive population and economic growth, that has fundamentally reshaped the city’s architectural makeup as well as its AEC community’s relationship to national and international trends. On December 7, Facades+ Seattle will bring together local practitioners in an in-depth conversation around recent projects and innovative facade materials and design. Consider architecture and design

Colored concrete and perforated fins keep this downtown school cool

Completed in November 2017, the Perkins Eastman–designed School of Nursing and Science Building occupies a former parking lot in downtown Camden, establishing a new institutional heart for Rutgers University in the slowly reviving city. The design inhabits a formidable full-block mass, reaching a height of four stories with a multidimensional facade of high-performance concrete and glass curtainwall shaded by perforated panels. Facade Manufacturer Kawneer,

Morphosis founder Thom Mayne on the future of facades

From October 25 to October 26, The Architect’s Newspaper is hosting its Facades+ conference in Los Angeles for the fourth year in a row. The conference features leading architects based in Los Angeles, including Heather Roberge, Principal and Founder of Murmur Architects; Tammy Jow, Associate Director of AC Martin; Thom Mayne, Founding Principal of Morphosis Architects; and Stan Su, Director

Facades+ Miami will examine facades in tropical environments

On October 4, The Architect’s Newspaper will be hosting Facades+ Miami for the third time. The morning event features talks and workshops by national and global leaders of the AEC industry covering a range of subjects relating to building envelopes within tropical environments and the architectural vernacular of the Miami metropolitan area. Allan Shulman, founder of Shulman + Associates, is co-chair of

SHoP Architects created an iPhone app to construct the Botswana Innovation Hub

New York’s SHoP Architects has created proprietary technology that is making it easier for them to organize materials during construction. During the construction of the Barclays Center from 2008 to 2012, the firm developed a novel iPhone interface capable of scanning facade components during fabrication, assembly, transport, and installation to keep an up-to-date digital catalog

Instagram account juxtaposes classic facades of international landmarks

Christian Fankhauser, a recent graduate of Switzerland‘s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, spends much of his spare time drawing facades from different periods, movements, and countries, and he has made a colorful Instagram account that has become a sort of repository of architecture across history. Through sketching a broad range of architectural landmarks, Fankhauser hopes to compare their

Shulman + Associates blends the vernacular and contemporary in hybrid facade systems

On October 4, Facades+ is coming to Miami. The conference features nine speakers from a broad range of AEC firms, ranging from architectural concrete supplier Gate Precast to Paris-based Ateliers Jean Nouvel, and Miami’s own Arquitectonica. Allan Shulman, who founded Miami’s Shulman + Associates in 1996, will be co-chairing the conference. Over the last two decades, Shulman + Associates has been recognized with

The Glasgow School of Art announces full restoration after second fire

Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is located on the summit of Renfrew Street, a visually prominent site within the historic core of Scotland’s largest city. The landmark suffered a tremendous fire on June 15, wiping away four years of restoration work begun after a 2014 blaze along with significant areas untouched by the initial damage. After much speculation,

This British mosque is structured with a flowering wooden lattice

In Cambridge, England, Marks Barfield Architects (MBA) is erecting a timber-structured mosque inspired by geometric design and landscaping found throughout the Islamic world. The Cambridge Mosque Project, founded by Dr. Timothy Winter in 2008, purchased the one-acre site in 2009. Allées of cypress and linden trees ring the mosque, which occupies a symmetrical 27-feet-by-27-feet grid.

Facades+ Los Angeles will scale the heights of Southern California design

From October 25 to 26, Facades+ will bring local and national leaders of the architecture, engineering, and construction industry to Los Angeles for the fourth year in a row. The first day of the conference features keynotes by Thom Mayne, founding principal of Morphosis Architects; and Heather Roberge, principal of Murmur. Founded in 1972, Morphosis has spread its distinctive presence internationally. In recent

In Buffalo, fired-clay terra-cotta facade systems take a leap forward

For the third year in a row, manufacturer Boston Valley Terra Cotta (BVTC) and the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning (UB/a+p) in upstate New York hosted the Architectural Ceramics Assemblies Workshop (ACAW). The weeklong event is a gathering of architects, engineers, and artists and offers a fast-paced opportunity for attendees to get their hands dirty physically

SOM uses interdisciplinary collaboration to design innovative facade systems

On September 21, Facades+ is coming to Chicago for the first time in three years. The conference features moderators and speakers of leading firms from across the country. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill–the architecture and engineering firm that has called Chicago home for over 80 years–will have a particularly strong presence at the upcoming conference. To

SAM, the bricklaying robot, is hard at work in Nevada

Across the country, contractors are facing the challenge of incredible construction tapered by a dearth of skilled workers to carry out projects. According to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders, approximately two-thirds of bricklaying contractors are having trouble finding workers. The AEC industry, in response to this mismatch between expectations and reality, is turning towards

Morphosis Architects’s Kolon One & Only propels a knotted cloud-like facade

Architects Morphosis Facade Contractors/Suppliers POSCO (Steel Curtain Wall), ALU EnC (Aluminum Curtain Wall), Korea Carbon (GFRP), Korea Tech-Wall (GFRC), Han Glass (Glass), Steel Life (Interior Liner) Facade Consultants Arup, FACO LocationSeoul, South Korea Date of Completion2018 SystemBrise-soleil system on the main, west-facing facade ProductsFiber reinforced polymer (FRP) using one of Kolon’s own high-tech fabrics, Aramid

Facades+ Chicago will explore structural and facade systems at dizzying heights

On September 21, Facades+ is coming to Chicago for the first time since 2015. At the conference, speakers from leading architecture, engineering, and facade consultant firms will discuss their bodies of work and lead in-depth workshops. Workshops will cover modular facade design, the challenges and triumphs of large-scale work in Chicago, and how to control the quality, quantity, and