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When you stop to think about architecture throughout the years, you definitely see the influences of each time period on architecture and design. But do you connect the space program and architecture? Probably not.

I recently came across this article - Ode to the Space Race: How it shaped architecture and design – and was intrigued at how the author connected the dots between our space program a few decades ago and the way in which it influenced design.

As he points out, “Ah, yes, architecture. Space and modernism connected to give us nearly 20 years’ worth of boomerang-shaped gas stations and amoeba-like signage.”

How very true. The article got me thinking about other architectural influences and what we tend to see in everyday life. Take the lasting effects of Frank Lloyd Wright’s style of design, for example. His design aesthetic is what I would summarize as “American architecture” in the sense that, he took a totally new approach to design, one that didn’t pull from European styles as architects in this country had done for many, many years. His influences are seen from coast-to-coast.

So what will the next influence be? I came across this viral video last year, and I thought I would share it with you. Perhaps “Domestic Transformer” is the next phase of modern design.

This video shows that even in 344 sq. ft. (a mansion by Hong Kong standards), you can have all of life’s necessities. Architect Gary Chang designed this space to change into 24 different designs, all with just sliding panels and walls.

So what do you think? What other events have influenced architecture?

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Tags:Architects, design, event, space program

Every year, The Princeton Review issues ranking lists for colleges and universities. Everything from ‘Best Career Services’ to ‘Top Party School’ (this list always gets quite the online buzz).

And for the past two years, The Princeton Review has added a ‘Guide to Green Colleges.’

The second annual Green Colleges guide was compiled in response to growing interest among students and families in how universities are making their campuses and curricula more sustainable.

“College-bound students are increasingly interested in sustainability issues,” said Robert Franek, Senior VP, Publishing, The Princeton Review. “Among 8,200 college applicants who participated in our spring 2011 ‘College Hopes & Worries Survey,’ nearly 7 out of 10 (69%) told us that having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school.”

Each profile within the guide features “Green Facts,” showcasing the school’s recycling, use of renewable energy, and conservation programs.

Nationwide, there is a growing interest in sustainability among teenagers, and this is translated in their desire to attend a university that offers not only excellent curriculum, but a focus on the future. At a time when getting into a university, any university, is becoming more competitive, it’s interesting to see the shift in thinking as students look to apply to schools.

As universities continue to jump into sustainability and offer more design courses and majors in these growing fields, it will be interesting to see how the ‘Guide to Green Colleges’ evolves. Maybe one day it will be the most talked about ranking from The Princeton Review every year. Although there will always be the party list…

In case you missed it, IES is offering colleges and universities around the globe free Academic Licenses for our early stage analysis tool VE-Gaia. This is an ideal opportunity for educators to embed sustainable analysis into their curriculum. Any institution offering Architectural or Sustainable Design courses will find this tool invaluable, as students continue to look to sustainable design as a career choice.

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Tags:Academic, careers, education, Environment, IES, students, Sustainability, VE-Gaia

Earlier this year, AIA challenged its member to design a dream house for Barbie – yes, Ms. Barbra Millicent Roberts herself. The AIA Barbie® Dream House™ Design Competition is part of Mattel’s spotlight on architecture as its “Career of the Year” for Barbie.

And it looks like the competition was a success! With more than 30 entries, the design submitted by Ting Li, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP and Maja Paklar, Assoc. AIA, took home top honors.

This Mother Nature Network article, “A palace fit for a doll: Barbie gets new green digs in Malibu,” links to the winning design.

Now you would think with such a high-profile “character” as Barbie, this would be a positive for the architecture community. Unfortunately, some of the articles I’m seeing online actually think the architecture profession itself needs a makeover, not just a new spokeswoman.

In an opinion piece on The Christian Science Monitor, John Cary states‘’Architect Barbie’ builds a dream home, but her profession needs a makeover.’

According to the article, “The American Institute of Architects has announced the winners of its contest to build a dream home for the Mattel doll, ‘Architect Barbie.’ The contest misses the point that the severe gender gap in architecture is a problem of retaining women – not one of recruiting them.”

What do you think? Does the architecture community have an issue retaining women? And if you answer yes, is that an issue exclusive to architects, or all professional careers?

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Tags:AIA, Architects, Barbie, Building, careers, LEED

I think Frank Sinatra would be excited to see the boom in architecture in the Windy City. Well, if Mr. Sinatra was interested in architecture. Which I imagine he was ;).

There certainly seems to be an architectural revival of sorts in Chicago these days. It seems more often than not, my Google alerts about “architecture” contain some sort of article relating in some way, shape or form to Chicago.

The article I read this morning was a recap of the recent BIMForum event in Chicago. The BIMForum’s mission is to “facilitate and accelerate the adoption of building information modeling (BIM) in the AEC industry [and] lead by example and synchronize with counterparts in all sectors of the industry to jointly develop best practice for virtual design and construction (VDC).”

Federico Negro recently attended the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) event. He was there to present his work, but he walked away with further knowledge on the adoption of BIM and how it is understood.

I’ve spent a good deal of time on the BIMForum website this morning, and there is some great content that I think all architects should spend some time reading. The focus of last month’s event - how BIM is used to find the optimal balance of allowing the best decisions to be made at the most appropriate time without impacting construction costs and schedules and how this is shifting when design ends and construction begins – is certainly a topic of conversation that is here to stay.

It begs the question – in today’s integrated BIM projects, where does design end and construction begin?

What do you think? How do you integrate BIM into your projects? This topic fascinates me, and I hope you’ll share your thoughts below.

PS – I thought I’d close this blog post with a mini plug for our upcoming Training Road Show series. The first one is in Chicago, so you see, there’s a tie-in!

The IES Training Road Show is a series of two-day training programs taking place across North America, offering attendees the opportunity to learn simulation techniques and methods to enable more sustainable design practices. First up on the road show we will touching down in Chicago on August 17th & 18th, followed by Denver on the 22nd & 23rd. A lot more cities to be announced very soon!

Full details here: http://www.iesve.com/training/events

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Tags:Architects, BIM, chicago, event, IES, Sustainability, Training

This year’s Greenbuild Expo took place on June 29th & 30th at Manchester Central. The event attracted over 4,000 attendees which marked a 50% rise in visitor numbers from 2010’s event. Not bad eh?

So what is Greenbuild Expo and why should we stick it in our calendar? Well in a nutshell…

“The UK’s newest sustainable building and refurbishment event, an essential and informative event for the construction industry covering everything from training opportunities and renewable technologies to sustainable materials and legislation updates.”

Launching in 2009, Greenbuild Expo is an event still its infancy but these record figures represent the positive impact this event will have on our industry. It is great to see more and more sustainable building events taking place in the UK, and I also find it refreshing to see the green building flag being flown outside of London too.

IES were involved in this year’s event as Dr Sarah Graham; our UK Business Development Manager, hosted a seminar on day two in the Foyer room, where she focused on the use of software in the low-carbon design process, weaving in lean, clean, green principles. The session also looked at the difference between this and achieving compliance, how to combine the two, and how this all relates to the revived trend towards BIM and Integrated Project Delivery. You can view the presentation below.

So what will 2012’s Greenbuild Expo have in store? Well the organisers plan is simple – bigger and better!

One thing’s for sure - IES will be there (with bells on!)

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Tags:Building, event, Greenbuild, IES, software, Sustainability