08 February 2007

NASC+AR(chitecture)

So what will $154.5 million buy you these days? The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC. NASCAR has commissioned Pei Cobb Freed & Partners to design and deliver its new historic museum for stock car racing. Still think NASCAR is just several Southerners gathering together to watch cars go around an oval while reminiscing about how they used to outrun the law during Prohibition? Wrong. NASCAR is big business these days. They make over 2 billion in revenue just on merchandising annually.

The following is an excerpt from the NASCAR Hall of Fame website regarding the project and its design team. "Award winning expertise from two of the world's leading design firms has been secured to develop plans for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Pei, Cobb & Freed Partners, responsible for more than 100 high profile projects around the world, has been secured to develop the external design plan. Some of their best known works include the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the John Hancock Tower in Boston, modernization and expansion of The Louvre in Paris, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. This firm has received more than 150 major design awards, including 23 National Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects."






05 February 2007

Abu Dhabi - An Architectural Oasis

A Vision in the Desert - New York Times


The United Arab Emirates has become a treasure trove of architectural gems over the past decade. The latest proposal for a cultural complex will contain museums by Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel and Tadao Ando as well as a performing arts center by Zaha Hadid. Couple this with the current design for the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Dubai, and one begins to see the magnitude of architectural achievements for a country that is only 82,800 sq km.


04 February 2007

Intriguing Earth Architecture 03

IKMZ Library


IKMZ Library, Cottbus, Germany - Herzog & de Meuron

NCAIA Award Given to Environmental Center



Renown North Carolina Architect Frank Harmon recently won a 2006 AIA NC Honor Award for the first phase of a commission by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. The open air pavilion will host educational facilities for students and various groups focusing on the natural environment of NC and its resources.








Frank Harmon Architect Site
NCMoNS Prairie Ridge Site