“We are looking for interns unafraid to question the basic premises of architecture and to operate far beyond its boundaries, in territories more familiar to history, philosophy, economics, and religion. AUDC is a radical architecture practice….Please see our Web site http://www.audc.org/ and our book, Blue Monday, for more about us. Please do not apply if you have not looked at these…AUDC principals will be in the office three to five days a week, but interns are expected to be self-starters…. AUDC is a radical architecture practice that is a labor of love, not a for-profit….We regret that all internships in 2009 are unpaid, … .Please bring your own computers and software (e.g. CS4, CAD, Office). … PCs are acceptable…..We look to fill three positions, one centered on video, one on graphics, and one on research. Application to be submitted as a single PDF (8MB maximum) document including:
Cover letter
Resume/CV
Portfolio
Letters of recommendation”

Good grief, letters of recommendation for an unpaid internship where you are expected to provide your own computer and thousands of dollars of software??

Shaun Donovan, armed with degrees in architecture and public policy from Harvard’s GSD and Kennedy School, is Obama’s nominee for HUD. In 2004 he foresaw the subprime crisis, which means he is a sharper cookie than 99.99% of Wall Street.

New York HPD bio

New York Times profile

Interview with Gwendolyn Wright in the Architects’ Newspaper

And an interview with the Observer.

In the Boston Globe, Bob Campbell comments on Barack Obama’s proposed public works program: “The audacity of hope for better public works.”

In his radio announcement, Obama mentioned roads and bridges, sewer systems, schools, mass transit, electrical grids, dams and other public utilities, windmills and solar panels, and expanded access to the Internet.

Nothing in there specifically about architecture.

Matt Chaban writes about the one bright spot in the design economy in the Architect’s Newspaper.

retailers go green, big time.

From the New York Times. I’ve seen dozens of student projects propose photovoltaics for big box roofs over the years. Why did it take so long for these stores?

Graphic from the New York Times

Albert Speer Jr

"Bird's Nest" National Stadium, Herzog de Meuron

Albert Speer Jr, an architect and urban planner like his father, helped design the master plan for Beijing’s Olympics. He was tasked with laying out the plan for access to the Olympics complex, focusing on the construction of an imposing avenue, which connects the Forbidden City and the National Stadium, aka Bird’s Nest.

From The Guardian and The Times of London.

The University of Twente in the Netherlands has developed  a new concrete type — with a  titanium dioxide-based additive — that binds the nitrogen oxide particles emitted by car exhausts and turns them into harmless nitrates when under sunlight.

“With one rain shower everything is washed clean,” the institution said in a statement.

Concrete pavers based on this technology are now being put to the test in Hengelo in the eastern Dutch province of Overijssel.

One half of a road under reconstruction is being paved with the new, green bricks, and the other half with the ordinary variety.

A recent picture shows the special paving stone in a lab of the Twente University. A road in the small Dutch town of Hengelo is to be paved with air-purifying concrete in a trial that could lead to a breakthrough in the fight against rising pollution, scientists said.

Barcelona Forum, Herzog de Meuron

At 56 Leonard Street in Tribeca, New York (corner of Church and Leonard Streets), Herzog de Meuron and Anish Kapoor are collaborating on a new residential tower. Kapoor will design a site specific sculpture for the ground floor.

Millenium Park sculpture, Chicago, Anish Kapoor

Democratic Ecology wind turbine, Philippe Starck

By now, this personal wind turbine by Philippe Starck has shown up everywhere: the New York Times, Apartment Therapy, Inhabitat…. But it is still a cool and ballsy proposition—to have a personal windmill that could provide 30-60% of the energy for your home.