In the Know - Volume 1, No. 4
Taiwan On Top
The official opening of the Taipei 101 Tower in December 2004, makes it — for now — the world's tallest building. In the 20th century, competition for this title was largely waged in Chicago and New York, but it has recently migrated to Asia.
Work Underway on Russia's Federation Tower, Tallest in Europe
The high-profile public ceremony in Moscow on February 9 officially set off construction on the “Federation” towers in the city’s future financial district. The “Federation” will be the kernel of the planned Moscow-City, an area four kilometers northwest of the Kremlin where most government and business activity will be relocated by 2010.
Doubly Transparent
Growing concern for occupant comfort and lower energy costs has led to a recent revolution in curtain wall design, primarily in Europe. Dynamic, double-skin walls that induce air movement between the layers of glass are replacing the static, sealed envelopes that have until recently characterized modern curtain walls.
The new generation of glass wall is an active component of the heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) system, bringing air tempering installations from the hidden central core to the building perimeter.
Under the Eve of Sackett 4th Floor
THE work was conducted "under the eaves" in a small, cramped, sparsely furnished, windowless office on the 4th Floor of Sackett Building in the 1952-1954 years of Penn State's Nuckear Reactor Development. This was not a Dept of General Services (GSA) nor PA State(DGS) nor AEC Federal Project!
The PSU Research Reactor was designed by Dr. William A. Breazeale of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; however, the BUILDING for the Research Reactor was designed by an in-house team of faculty from the Department of Architecture---including Professor Milton S. Osborne, RA., Louis A Richardson, PE.,and Professor Melvin W.Isenberg (PE). Undergraduate student Gifford H. Albright, AE '53, assisted Professor Richardson part-time in the design and drafting the construction details of the underground "Swimming Pool" part of the Reactor Facility. The swimming pool was a huge water shield into which live atomic experiments were to be placed, and monitored through a port device at one end of the pool. Funds for building the research reactor facility came from profits the University received from vending machine sales on campus. “The money amounted to $250,000,” said Witzig. “In 1954, that was a lot of money!” The Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees approved the use of the funds for this project and the project began.
Anna Keichline, born in Bellefonte in 1889, was the first female architect registered in the state
Locally, she is honored by a state historical marker in front of the Plaza Centre, a gallery on the second floor of the Brockerhoff and an array of distinctive homes and buildings in the borough.
Building Energy Code Program – Setting the Standard Newsletter
Architect Studio 3D, from the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust