James Cramer and the Greenway Group have just released the 13th edition of DesignIntelligence, a compilation of different rankings for accredited architecture schools in the United States. The report attempts to create a level playing ground upon which to rank the universities by polling thousands of students, talking to deans and administrators, interviewing successful designers in private practices, and visiting each university campus. While the findings may raise some debate, overall, the report creates a dialogue as to how, and to what extent, higher education responds to the changing demands of our profession. We will be focusing on key aspects of the report throughout the following weeks such as regional rankings for accredited universities, an interesting deans’ survey, a selection of top educators, and even charts featuring award-wining firms and their graduate affiliations. And, to begin, let’s introduce the top 10 undergraduate and graduate Architecture Programs of 2012.

Check out the list after the break.

This proposal for a footbridge on the T. Papadopoulos Avenue by Elina Pattichi won the first prize in the competition for a footbridge in Pafos City, Cyprus. The design ensures safe pedestrian circulation between the adjacent schools and the residential areas while creating a station for pedestrians and cyclists. The footbridge form and curvature was based on the circulation diagram of the pedestrians and cyclists. A curved gesture that connects the two sidewalks ensures the direct flow of circulation across the road. More images and project description after the break.

Join a critical discussion on the architect’s role in shaping sustainable buildings and communities. Panelists Terrence O’Neal AIA, LEED AP [Terrence O'Neal Architect, LLC]; Victor Body-Lawson AIA ; and David Danois AIA will use case studies in sustainable and LEED certified buildings to offer effective measures of encouraging design solutions to clients and the public while reviewing ’Codes vs. Standards vs. Rating Systems’ and ‘NYC Energy Conservation Code and IGCC overviews Tactics on ratings/ points achieved’. The event takes takes place at the Steelcase Showroom at 4 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019. B*Session is free with rsvp by Monday November 7, 2011 and $10 for non-members by November 14th to events@nycoba.org.

Showcasing the most high-profile realized ISO-container projects from all over the globe, the Container Architecture Exhibition, put together by Jure Kotnik, is offering an insight into one of architecture’s youngest branches until December 9 at the Seattle AIA gallery and clearly demonstrates the wide variety of uses containers can be put to. This includes temporary constructions, public buildings, housing arrangements and everything in between. The exhibit asserts that quality architecture does not precondition what you build with but how. Several of the presented projects rank among top notch architecture achievements, having received world renowned awards. More information on the exhibition after the break.

To honor the 50th anniversary of Jane Jacob’s The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Municipal Art Society of New York is hosting the Jane Jacobs Forum focusing on Women as Public Intellectuals. The forum will discuss three prominent female writers: Jane Jacobs, Rachel Carson (Silent Spring) and Betty Friedan (The Female Mystique) all of whom challenged the status quo. Their voices contributed to discussions about urban planning, environmental responsibility and the role of women in society. The forum will be moderated by Robin Pogrebin with five other panelists who will address the circumstances of these women’s successes and the role of women engaged in public critique today.

San Diego Planning Commission has approved Zaha Hadid’s La Jolla Residence. Along with the San Diego firm Public, Hadid will demolish an existing house on a half-acre site at 8490 Whale Watch Way, replacing it with a 12,700 square foot home comprised of four bedrooms, six bathrooms, and an indoor pool. The firm has described the home as an “introverted sculptural structure.”

Photographers allow us to see pieces of the world that we normally miss – historic events, fleeting expressions on people’s faces, the urban fabric of the places in which we live. Matt Lambros is a New York City-based photographer who does just that. He captures photographs of spaces that have long been abandoned to distant memories – concealed behind decaying walls and “No Trespassing” signs. The subjects of his lens are the abandoned theaters of a time when, as Lambros describes, theater-going was a celebrated social event.

For the past two years Lambros has been photographing theaters for “After the Final Curtain“, a personal project that is a collection of photographs of abandoned theaters throughout the United States. Thus far he has photographed approximately thirty theaters and has many more scheduled. He shares with us some of his favorites – join us after the break to see more…

The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art announces a two-day conference on November 11-12 dedicated to a rigorous examination of Postmodernism both as expressed in theory and as put into practice in the fourth quarter of the 20th century in America and abroad. The conference’s goal is to bring together top architects, scholars, and critics to discuss why and how Postmodernism occurred, why and how it was soon largely eclipsed, and why and how it has nonetheless continued to influence the field and broader culture – including its lasting impact on the theory and application of urban planning and design. More information on the conference after the break.

This project proposal for the Ex-Communications Battalion 121, which won the first prize in the National Ideas Competition, stems from the idea of bringing the Rio Parana to the city district. Following a study of plastic forms generated by the river in Rosario, its vegetation, and topography, Bruno Bianchi, Damian Bojko, Etcheverry Nelson, Ricardo Etcheverry and Fabbri Juan sought to reproduce the essence of its main aspects, interspersed with the layout of the city and the buildings of the pavilion. Thus, river and city merge into the site, integrating the landscape, cultural, productive, sports, and housing, in a single place possible to generate an engine of development in the area concerned. More images and project description after the break.

Parsons The New School for Design has announced new graduate programs including a Master of Science in Design and Urban Ecologies and a Master of Arts in Theories of Urban Practice. What makes these programs unique is their focus on urban designers and planners as agents of social change: What kind of deep knowledge do urbanists need to be able to design cities in a much more effectively manner? And how do urbanists use their creative training and visionary skills to engage with the deeper structures of society?The programs represent a wider initiative at Parsons, one of the world’s leading schools of art and design, to offer graduate programs that define the next phase of global design. The programs will launch in Fall 2012. More information on the programs after the break.

The idea for this concept of an urban park as a cultural threshold by Theo. David Architects evolved from thinking about the nature of urban space, the need to create an iconic multi-functional accessible park, a dynamic architectural point of reference as threshold for the evolving cultural and civic center of the polis of Nicosia, a European capital. More images and architects’ description after the break.

We recently received a book from Caramel Architekten. We previously featured four of their projects if you would like a taste of their work (click here). The book is presented in both German and English and offers a wonderful insight into their inspiration and range of work. Project Description: Caramel architectural office was founded by the architects Gunter Katherl (1965), Martin Haller (1966), and Ulrich Aspetsberger (1967) in 2002. The office s motto is: For each project anew! Most construction contracts result from successful bids for both national and international competitions. Some projects were also awarded with prizes, e.g. reklameburo , Einfamilienhaus h , the Kaps farm extension, or the temporary info shop for European Capital of Culture Linz 09. As one of the major offices and no longer as a young architectural office but with a noticeable number of high scale buildings Caramel Architects coin the Austrian architectural landscape.

The Japanese Government has revealed a radical plan to construct a standby city for Tokyo. The Integrated Resort, Tourism, Business and BackupCity, known as IRTBBC, will provide backup to the capital in an event of an immobilizing earthquake.

Portal to the Point is a design project initiated to honor the completion of renovations to Pittsburgh’s most visible National Historic Landmark, Point State Park. wHY Architecture is one of five finalists selected to redefine the space beneath the Portal Bridge that leads into 36-acre park.

Continue reading for more project information and renderings.

In the 70′s Oslo’s own “Man in Black”, Professor of Architecture Per Kartvedt , started his long lasting lecture series on cities, communities, myths and dreams. Per has since then been an influential character in contemporary architecture, both as principle of the architecture department at the University of Strathclyde and as teacher and supervisor on several different architecture schools in Europe. For a decade the slides from the lectures remained tucked away in an attic in Nesodden. Now the slides are projected once again in Slide City at Internasjonalen in Oslo. More information on the exhibition after the break.

MONU magazine on urbanism is continuously looking for interesting contributions. The current open call for submissions for MONU “Non-Urbansim” and closes by the end of December 2011.

This new issue of MONU magazine will investigate how non-urbanism may be defined and identified today and how non-urban areas interact with and relate to urban areas. How can, for example, American non-urbanism be distinguished from non-urbanism in Europe, Asia or elsewhere? And how does the non-urbanism discourse relate to the one of anti-urbanism with its fear of the city? Who will be, for example, the future inhabitants of the vast, deserted rural areas in Asia? To discuss what non-urbanism might mean today, this call for submissions for MONU texts, topic-focused interviews, data-based research, critical analysis, provocative thinking, revealing photography, conceptual artwork, and overwhelming infographics on the topic of “Non-Urbanism”. More information on the call for contributions after the break.

The proposal for Hotel Liesma, by Jevgenijs Busins & Liva Banka, is designed for a music-themed upscale Hotel Competition in Jurmala, Latvia. It is the meeting point of waves and coast, wind and pine-trees, ideas and people, various music rhythms and audition. The architecture of the building is characterized by calisthenics of facades. The basic construction has remained untouched but facade has been changed completely. The facade has a wavy shape with vertical wooden constructions. Hence the classical traditions of architecture of Jurmala have been honored. Wooden materials in various tones and factures are used as the predominant materials in the design. The rhythm of vertical lines of glued pine wood gives the building an appeal as it associates with boles of the wood and embraces the building in the landscape of Jurmala. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames are widely regarded as America’s most important designers. Perhaps best remembered for their mid-century plywood and fiberglass furniture, the Eames Office also created a mind-bending variety of other products, from splints for wounded military during World War II, to photography, interiors, multi-media exhibits, graphics, games, films and toys. But their personal lives and influence on significant events in American life — from the development of modernism, to the rise of the computer age — has been less widely understood. Narrated by James Franco, Eames: The Architect and the Painter is the first film dedicated to these creative geniuses and their work opening November 18th at the IFC Center in New York City.

Named as the Praemium Imperiale 2011 Award recipient for architecture, Ricardo Legorreta, was recognized at a formal ceremony in Tokyo last month along with fellow award winners Bill Viola (Painting), Anish Kapoor (Sculpture), Seiji Ozawa (Music), and Judi Dench (Theatre/Film). The Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi, honorary patron of the Japan Art Association, presented the specially-designed gold medals and diplomas to the esteemed class of Laureates. Carrying prizes of approximately $195,000 each, the awards recognize lifetime achievement in the arts in categories not covered by the Nobel Prizes.

The white veil has been removed, exposing the $6.6 million renovation to the Fifth Avenue Retail Store. Apple started the renovation back in June with plans to improve drainage and pavers, remove the bollards on the plaza, and update the cube.

DawnTown Miami invites you to its very first exhibition, titled ‘The First Four Years of Ideas’ which will open on November 9th, 2011 at the University of Miami School of Architecture. The opening and reception begins at 6:30pm at the Irvin Korach Gallery, and marks the first retrospective ever produced by DawnTown.

The First Four Years of Ideas takes a look back at the very best works produced from their unique competitions. On display will be the winning entries from all four years, as well as curated works, selected by DawnTown’s directors. A video display will be also being present, streaming every entry ever submitted. More information on the exhibition after the break.

The Organizing Committee of the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale Of Urbanism\Architecture announced the program for the fourth edition of the Biennale, which takes place December 8 to February 18 and is organized by the Chief Curator of the 2011 Biennale Terence Riley.

Selected from an international call for proposals, Mr. Riley is the first non-Chinese curator for the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale Of Urbanism\Architecture. Riley is an architect and partner in the architectural firm K/R, and the former director of Miami Art Museum. As the Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art New York, he played a key role in overseeing MoMA’s 2004 expansion project. More information on the event after the break.

At the Second Exhibition Forum on Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Garden Art last week in Moscow, the project Green River Project Brateevo has been awarded with the Russian National Award on Landscape Architecture. The project, designed by OKRA landscape architects, is a joint cooperation between Russia and the Netherlands. Supported by the Dutch Government, the Department for Natural Resource Management and Environmental Protection of Moscow and the Dutch Government Service for Land and Water management (DLG), are working together with the Dutch consultancy OKRA landscape architects, the Russian consultancy Ampir landscape architects and the Research and Design Institute for the Master Plan of Moscow on the development and exchange of ideas for a sustainable cityscape. Objective is to develop a toolkit for sustainable green development as an integral part of urban redevelopment. More images and project description after the break.

If Architects designed highways, they would be straight, scenic, and would take you somewhat close to your destination. I mean, you’d arrive where you probably should be, even though it might not be where you thought you wanted to go. Ah, but the view….

If Architects designed cruise ships they would be sleek, and dynamic, and inspire awe as they drifted aimlessly ashore into the rocks.

If Architects taught kindergarten kids, Kindergarten kids would be more sullen.

If Architects ran the National Parks, geysers would be more predictable, and bears would probably die.

More after the break.