Architecture Update

Slideshow: Concrete, steel building complete for new Whitney Museum

(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

Italian architect Renzo Piano has designed a nine-story, steel and concrete building for the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The asymmetrical structure features a large, column-free gallery space and resembles "a stack of differently sized blocks." The building is scheduled to open May 1. Dezeen magazine (4/23)

Photos: Underground wine library of Chateau Margaux is made from precast
Norman Foster was involved in the design evolution of the Chateau Margaux in France, home to the famed Chateau Margaux wine, for several years before it came to be. One feature of the Chateau is a long, narrow space formed by precast concrete that creates a subterranean wine library. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (4/23)

Precast wall systems in place for new Minn. community center
The installation of prefabricated and precast wall systems for the new Community Education and Recreation Center in Jordan, Minn., is nearly done. The project includes a walking track on the second floor that will connect the center to new Jordan Middle School. Big Fish Lifestyle (Minn.) (4/24)

Sustainable Design

Architects plan autonomous, self-sustaining city in the Sahara

(Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images)

A city similar to no other is taking shape in the minds of a team of architects. The team plans to turn its concept of a fully sustainable living community in one of the world's most forbidding deserts into reality. Architects from two firms involved in the project say the mixed-use "city" -- which will be in the Moroccan Sahara -- will rely on solar energy and will turn nearly 59,000 cubic yards of water it collects each year into geothermal power. PhysOrg.com (4/23)

Technology, Trends and Research

Survey confirms growth of BIM, 3D printing
Awareness is building about BIM, but adoption this year could be down from last year's predictions, according to a Business Advantage Group survey that quantified the widely perceived uptake of BIM and related technologies. However, the architecture, engineering and construction sectors will likely adopt 3D printing at a much quicker rate than will the manufacturing sector. Design News (4/22)

Project Spotlight

Precast essential to senior facility's expansion project in Las Vegas

(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Precast concrete elements as well eco-friendly and recycled materials are all part of the upgrades at the Parkdale Recreation & Senior Center in Las Vegas. The project incorporated some material from the old building into the new one and added space for a gymnasium and more classrooms. Las Vegas Review-Journal (4/23)

SmartQuote