World’s tallest tensile structure

September 1, 2010  |  Exteriors

A new cable-net tensile structure claiming the title of world’s tallest tensile structure opened recently in Astana, Kazakhstan. Soaring 150m from an elliptical base, the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center, designed by Foster + Partners, is a three-layer ETFE-clad shelter that encloses an urban-…
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Solar tent promotes green energy education

September 1, 2010  |  Case Studies, Exteriors, Features

FTL Solar LLC, New York, N.Y., and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) teamed up this spring to promote green energy education to school kids. More than 100 students participated in NWF’s Eco-Schools USA contest by making “green wishes” for their school. Boston Latin School (BLS…
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Unileverhaus named “World’s Best Office Building”

September 1, 2010  |  Exteriors

Dramatically perched on the banks of the Elbe River, Hamburg, Germany, the Behnisch Architekten-designed Unileverhaus recently won the “World’s Best Office Building” award at the World Architecture Festival Awards. The new Unilever headquarters for the company’s Germany, Aust…
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Air domes: last of a dying breed?

September 1, 2010  |  Exteriors, Features

Minneapolis’ Metrodome fabric roof may be the last of a dying breed. By Mason Riddle Are air-supported dome stadia dead? Has the characteristic “marshmallow-in-bondage” design had its day for multipurpose stadia? Many within the building industry, as well as professional sports tea…
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Herzog & de Meuron’s Allianz Arena 10+ yrs

September 1, 2010  |  Exteriors, Features

The Allianz Arena in retrospect. By Mark Zeh It’s been more than five years since the opening of the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. In the meantime, the stadium—designed by Herzog & de Meuron Architekten of Basel, Switzerland—has become a symbol of both Munich and Germany. C…
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Millennium Dome – What’s up with that?

September 1, 2010  |  Exteriors, Features

London rang in the new century under the Millennium Dome’s fabric roof. Ten years later, how is the roof holding up? By Tanya Ross Editor’s note: The iconic Millennium Dome—designed and built in time for the United Kingdom to celebrate the turn of the millennium at New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 1…
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Shade ‘sails’ on California marina keep boaters in the breeze

September 1, 2010  |  Exteriors, Features

Stockton, located in the hot and dry Central Valley of California about 60 miles east of San Francisco Bay, began during the Gold Rush of 1848. After an initial flirtation with prospecting, the city, with its strategic location at the center of the San Joaquin Delta network of waterways, soon found …
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Florida golf and country club scores big with customized retractable awnings

September 1, 2010  |  Exteriors

The Kensington Golf & Country Club in Naples, Fla., is not the sort of place to scrimp—on anything. The 370-acre (148ha) complex, located in the heart of this southwestern Florida city, boasts a par-71 course designed by renowned golf course designer Robert Trent Jones, Jr., a 2,700m2 club…
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Tension structure expresses nautical theme at Mexican exposition center

July 1, 2010  |  Exteriors, Features

Beautiful Puerto Vallarta is one of the premier tourist destinations in Mexico. Its harbor is home to some of the most beautiful and expensive yachts in the Western Hemisphere. An equally beautiful convention center is located adjacent to the international airport and not far from a marina and major…
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Fiber façade wraps a Dutch master museum

July 1, 2010  |  Exteriors

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Netherlands, a municipal modern art museum, closed in 2008 to launch a major makeover—including a futuristic building extension built from hybrid para-aramid and carbon fibers. Teijin Twaron, a member of the Teijin Group located in Amsterdam, sponsored the new e…
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