Multipurpose sports facility will be first completed building at Obama Presidential Center

When it opens in late 2025, the Home Court will be the first completed space on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Chicago. Located on the southwest corner of the 19.3-acre Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, the Home Court will be the largest gathering space on the campus. Renderings recently have been released of the 45,000-sf multipurpose sports facility and events space designed by Moody Nolan.

Cultural Facilities

Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats

Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium is a world-class facility home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats ranging from small tanks to a giant 400,000-gallon shark tank.

Museums

Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking

In Norfolk, Va., the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio, an educational facility for glassmaking, will open a new addition in May. That will be followed by a renovation of the existing building scheduled for completion in December.

Museums

Nebraska’s Joslyn Art Museum to reopen this summer with new Snøhetta-designed pavilion

In Omaha, Neb., the Joslyn Art Museum, which displays art from ancient times to the present, has announced it will reopen on September 10, following the completion of its new 42,000-sf Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion. Designed in collaboration with Snøhetta and Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, the Hawks Pavilion is part of a museum overhaul that will expand the gallery space by more than 40%.

Museums

Apr 24, 2013

Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.

Apr 23, 2013

Architects to MoMA: Don't destroy Williams/Tsien project

Richard Meier, Thom Mayne, Steven Holl, Hugh Hardy and Robert A.M. Stern are among the prominent architects who on Monday called for the Museum of Modern Art to reconsider its decision to demolish the former home of the American Folk Art Museum.

Apr 17, 2013

First look: Renzo Piano's glass-domed motion pictures museum

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last week released preliminary plans for its $300 million Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum in Los Angeles, designed by Renzo Piano and local architect Zoltan Pali.

Apr 11, 2013

American Folk Art Museum, opened in 2001, to be demolished

Just 12 years old, the museum designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien will be taken down to make way for MoMA expansion.

Apr 2, 2013

6 lobby design tips

If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.

Mar 22, 2013

8 cool cultural projects in the works

A soaring opera center in Hong Kong and a multi-tower music center in Calgary are among the latest cultural projects.

Frank Gehry's model for the Eisenhower Memorial.

Mar 15, 2013

AIA opposes House bill cutting Eisenhower Memorial funding

AIA opposes House bill cutting Eisenhower Memorial funding.

Mar 3, 2013

World's first LEGO museum planned in Denmark

Bjarke Ingels Group and Ralph Appelbaum Associates will team up with the LEGO Group to design the physical home for The LEGO House, the world's first museum dedicated to LEGO.

A view of Loring Park, Minneapolis. Credit: Dan Wick

Feb 25, 2013

10 U.S. cities with the best urban forests

Charlotte, Denver, and Milwaukee are among 10 U.S. cities ranked recently by the conservation organization American Forests for having quality urban forest programs.

Feb 14, 2013

Brasfield & Gorrie breaks ground on New College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta

General contractor Brasfield & Gorrie is scheduled to kick off construction on the new College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta. With an anticipated completion date of fall 2014, the $66.5 million project will continue the revitalization of the city’s tourist district.