10Array
(
    [title] => ZendCoding.com's Newest Stories
    [link] => http://sunlinux/allindia/feed.rss
    [charset] => utf-8
    [language] => en-us
    [published] => 1337247841
    [entries] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [title] => Steel in vogue for high rise buildings
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/28630-highrise.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 357px; " /></p>
<p>
	<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; ">There is no doubt looking at the way the population density particularly in metro cities, horizontal construction has been put on restriction, and comfortably spread out real estate is hard to find. Lack of space due to exponential rise in population in urban areas has not only given way to taller buildings with more floors, but also stresses on the fact that the construction has to be faster. The use of steel in high-rise buildings comes into vogue. High rise buildings or multi-storey buildings, built completely in steel or primarily with steel are a fairly limited in India, and may even be viewed as some “new concept in the construction industry" but, as per history the first steel frame skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building (originally 10 storeys with a height of 42 m or 138 ft) in Chicago, Illinois in 1885. Even the Empire State building in New York, and many popular landmarks of the world were built decades ago using steel construction.</span></p>
<p>
	Architects in India from various cities <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; ">�</span>Delhi architects, Mumbai architects, Pune architects, Hyderabad architects, Bangalore architects, Chennai architects,  Kolkata  architects have started to experiment & appriciated. </p>
<p>
	<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; ">Building a high rise or any multi-level building demands the use of light-weight yet strong materials. Steel, by virtue of its high strength to weight ratio enables large spans and light weight construction. Steel structures can have a variety of structural forms like braced frames and moment resistant frames suitable to meet the specific requirements of higher buildings. Taller buildings also face higher wind loads, and hence steel being flexible, allows the building to move and deflect with the wind forces, rather than making it rigid like concrete.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; ">Building tall with steel also allows more floors per total height of the building. This is due to the fact that the building structure in steel is lighter and more efficient, and has beams and that are not required to be as deep as those of concrete to support the floors. The ability to have lighter sections, allowing the same load bearing capacity per floor, allows space for almost 1.5 extra floors in the same overall external height of the building.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; ">Pre-engineered steel systems, that are our specialty, allow further optimization and further efficiency in multistory steel building design. Delving into the mechanics of high rise building construction, we see that the introduction of hot rolled steel sections, using higher grade steel add more strength to the building. Better steel decking as a construction material brought about a revolution in the steel building space. Composite steel decking laid on each floor adds ability to transfer lateral loads more effectively through the structure aiding the structure to be stronger than conventional rigid materials. This added strength per floor allows the overall core steel structure to be lighter and even more efficient. High-rise frames are constructed of H-columns or box columns, (vertical-support members) and H-beams (horizontal-support members). Cross bracing or shear walls are used to provide a structural frame with greater lateral rigidity in order to withstand wind stresses. </span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; ">Use of steel makes it possible to create large, column-free internal spaces; thus, these are particularly advantageous for open-plan offices and large auditoriums and concert halls. The steel frame when compared with R.C. frame results in sufficient extra space to accommodate all service conduits without significant loss in head room.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; ">Another significant aspect of pre-engineered steel buildings is that they are faster to erect compared with reinforced concrete frames. The elements of framework are pre-manufactured in the factory under effective quality control thus enabling a better product. The connections for each part are built in and pre-punched into the members and hence pre-engineered design reduces time, on-site activities, materials and labor, causing little disruption to normal life of the community, unlike wet concrete construction process. <img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/28630-highrise-2.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 342px; " /></span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; " />
	<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; ">The availability of the building in a shorter period of time results in economic advantages to the owner due to shorter period of deployment of capital, without return. In comparison with concrete construction, steel frames are significantly lighter. This results in much reduced loads on foundations. Not to forget, the foundation of high rise building usually consists of concrete piers, piles, or caissons that are sunk into the ground. Subsequent alterations or strengthening of floors are relatively easy in steel frames compared with concrete frames. The framework is not susceptible to delays due to slow strength gain, as in concrete construction. </span></p>
<p>
	<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; ">Although, such construction technology in India is still at a nascent stage, the structural designs and technological development in the Indian pre-engineered construction industry has been geared up and ready provide such building solutions for almost 2-3 years. This form of construction will see widespread application in high rise buildings, infrastructure and housing in the coming years. This is a logical progression of the industry and India has a lot of catching up to do.</span></p>
<div>
	 </div>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-05-04 05:40:20
                )

            [1] => Array
                (
                    [title] => Massimo Scolari:  The Representation of Architecture, 1967-2012 Architecture Gallery  Yale School of Architecture New Haven, Connecticut
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <p style="text-align: left;">
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/massimo_scolari_1.jpg" style="float: left; width: 380px; height: 295px; " /></p>
<p>
	This exhibition, the first retrospective of Massimo Scolari in the United States since 1986, explores the arc of Scolari’s career from 1967 to 2012, with some 160 paintings, watercolors, and drawings, most with architectural and urban subjects; a scaled-down iteration of a monumental sculpture created for the 1991 Venice Biennale; and ten architectural models.</p>
<p>
	The sculpture Wings on the Fondamenta della Tana,</p>
<p>
	Venice Biennale,</p>
<p>
	5th International Architecture Exhibition, 1991</p>
<p>
	23.3 x 29.2 cm</p>
<p>
	Photo L. Ghirri, vintage artist print</p>
<p>
	Together, these illuminate the complex, ongoing interaction in Scolari’s work between architecture and its methods and mediums of representation. The exhibition makes clear Scolari’s radical questioning of some of the most deeply rooted assumptions of architecture, especially those that link architectural representation to the physicality of its constructions.</p>
<p>
	To show how Scolari developed his theoretical position, and to trace some of the key moments in his artistic trajectory, the retrospective highlights the diverse contexts in which his work has unfolded, ranging from his time as a student at the Politecnico di Milano, in the late 1960s, to his collaboration with Aldo Rossi, from 1968 to 1972; his participation in the landmark 1980 Venice Biennale, Strada Novissima; and his teaching at the Universitario di Architettura Venezia, from 1973 to 2006</p>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-05-03 12:34:53
                )

            [2] => Array
                (
                    [title] => The Technical University of Graz, Faculty of Architecture and IE School of Architecture & Design, Madrid/Segovia—will join forces to conduct the IE/TUG Summer School in Madrid
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <p>
	 </p>
<p style="line-height: 19px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(82, 82, 83); font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">
	<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; "><img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/logoIE.png" style="float: left; width: 226px; height: 60px; " />In July 2012 two leading independent schools of architecture—The Technical University of Graz, Faculty of Architecture and IE School of Architecture & Design, Madrid/Segovia—will join forces to conduct the IE/TUG Summer School in Madrid, one of Europe’s most dynamic capital cities. The intensive, 8-day, studio-based design workshop is open to enthusiastic architecture students at the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as students from other disciplines, and those who have recently completed their studies.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 19px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(82, 82, 83); font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">
	<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; ">Using Madrid as a laboratory, the workshop will foster a debate on the architectural, urban and environmental implications of EMPTINESS. A panel of international experts will collaborate to explore the consequences and opportunities that derive from the gross overbuilding of the past decade. It will provide a framework for debating contemporary architectural and urban ideas, digital and analogue techniques, with an emphasis on inventive design and communication abilities.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 19px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(82, 82, 83); font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">
	<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; ">The Graz University of Technology Faculty of Architecture promotes a holistic mode of working and thinking based on project-oriented teaching. The school’s graduates have distinguished themselves for their ability to think in a critical and innovative way, and for their professional competence, which extends beyond the traditional fields of activity.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 19px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(82, 82, 83); font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">
	<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; ">The IE School of Architecture & Design trains architects who go on to become global leaders of excellence in design, innovation and management. It is a diverse, international institution that has a blend of cultures where the Spanish background acts as a scenario for their development.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 19px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(82, 82, 83); font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">
	IE School of Architecture and Design, Madrid Campus, María de Molina, 11, 28006 Madrid, www.ie.edu/architecture, +34 91 568 96 00, <span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; ">Visit Site for more details: </span><a href="http://ie_tugsummerschool.ie.edu/">http://ie_tugsummerschool.ie.edu/</a></p>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-05-03 12:26:59
                )

            [3] => Array
                (
                    [title] => The National Design Awards were conceived by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/trophy banner.jpg" style="width: 940px; height: 160px; " /></p>
<p>
	The National Design Awards program celebrates design in various disciplines as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world, and seeks to increase national awareness of design by educating the public and promoting excellence, innovation, and lasting achievement.</p>
<p>
	Meet the 2012 Winners</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/lifetime3.jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Lifetime Achievement: Richard Saul Wurman</p>
<p>
	Spurred by the dance between his curiosity and ignorance, Richard Saul Wurman, FAIA, seeks ways to make the complex clear. Described by Fortune magazine as an “intellectual hedonist” with a “hummingbird mind,” he has written, designed, and published eighty-three books and counting on topics ranging from healthcare to atlases and the Olympics. Wurman received his degrees in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and is the creator of the term “information architecture.” Wurman created and chaired the TED, TEDMED, and eg conferences in 1984–2002, 1995–2010, and 2006, respectively. He is currently developing the WWW conferences celebrating improvised conversations, or “intellectual jazz,” and continues to work on his global cartographic initiative, 19.20.21.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.wurman.com/">www.wurman.com</a></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/design mind.jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Design Mind: Janine Benyus</p>
<p>
	Janine Benyus is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including <em>Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature</em>. In 1998, Benyus cofounded Biomimicry Guild, the world’s first bio�inspired consultancy, bringing nature’s sustainable designs to over 250 clients, including Boeing, Nike, General Electric, Herman Miller, HOK, IDEO, Interface, and Procter and Gamble. In 2006, Benyus cofounded Biomimicry Institute, home of AskNature, an online library of life’s best ideas. In 2011, she launched Biomimicry 3.8 to certify and nurture the growing network of biomimicry professionals. Benyus has received numerous awards, including the 2011 Heinz Award, and was TIME’s International 2007 Hero of the Environment.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.biomimicry.net/">www.biomimicry.net</a></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/corporate.jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Corporate & Institutional Achievement: Design that Matters</p>
<p>
	Conceived by graduate students at the MIT Media Lab in 2001, Design that Matters is a nonprofit design company that partners with social entrepreneurs to design products that address basic needs in developing countries. Led by cofounder Timothy Prestero, over 850 academic and professional collaborators have worked together to create dozens of product concepts, including a projector for nighttime adult literacy education in Africa, a low�cost neonatal incubator using spare car parts, and, most recently, a phototherapy device for treating newborn jaundice in Vietnam. DtM’s award�winning creations have captured the public’s attention through its innovative, human�centered approach to product design.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.designthatmatters.org/">www.designthatmatters.org</a></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/architecture(1).jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Architecture Design: Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects</p>
<p>
	Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam have worked together in architecture for over forty years. Founded in 1984, their Atlanta-based firm, Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, has won international acclaim for work that ranges from a sleek factory for Herman Miller to the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center for Wellesley College and commercial office space for Tishman Speyer Properties. The firm’s diverse body of work is uniquely characterized by profound rigor tempered by childlike innocence. It has been recognized with numerous awards and publications and has been shown at museums such as The Museum of Modern Art and The Walker Art Center.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://msmearch.com/">www.msmearch.com</a></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/communication.jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Communication Design: Rebeca Méndez</p>
<p>
	In a career spanning almost thirty years as a designer, creative director, artist, and educator, Rebeca Méndez has focused on critical reflection of visual communication practices around issues of organization, culture, and identity. Méndez is a professor in the Design Media Arts department at UCLA. Since 1996, she has run a multidisciplinary studio based in Los Angeles, Rebeca Méndez Design, focused on design for art and architecture clients including Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, and Bill Viola. Her work has been exhibited in venues such as the Centre Pompidou, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Cooper-Hewitt. The recipient of numerous awards, Méndez lectures widely around the world, including a TEDx Talk in 2011.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://rebecamendezdesign.com/">www.rebecamendezdesign.com</a></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/fashion.jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Fashion Design: Thom Browne</p>
<p>
	Thom Browne’s meticulous aesthetic is rooted in an American sensibility evocative of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Browne opened his doors in the fall of 2001, offering bespoke tailored clothing; he introduced ready-to-wear menswear in 2004 and womenswear in 2010. He designs the Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers collection for men and women as well as a line of men’s jewelry for Harry Winston. In 2009, Browne introduced the Moncler Gamme Bleu collection. He was named Menswear Designer of the Year in 2006 by the CFDA, Designer of the Year in 2008 by GQ magazine, and Most Influential Designer by WGSN.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.thombrowne.com/">www.thombrowne.com</a></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/interaction2.jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Interaction Design: Evan Roth</p>
<p>
	Evan Roth is an interaction designer who visualizes, records, and subverts transient, often unseen moments in public spaces, in popular culture, and on the Internet. His approach takes inspiration from the free software movement and hacker ethos, leading to such notable pieces as Laser Tag, White Glove Tracking, Eyewriter, and a collaboration with Jay-Z on the first open-source rap video. Roth is cofounder of the Graffiti Research Lab and the Web-based, open-source Free Art & Technology Lab. His work is in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art and has received numerous awards, including the Design Museum London’s Design of the Year.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://evan-roth.com/">www.evan-roth.com</a></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/interior.jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Interior Design: Clive Wilkinson Architects</p>
<p>
	Clive Wilkinson Architects is a distinguished architecture and design practice based in Los Angeles, which collaborates with clients to design and build creative communities. The practice has completed creative projects across the globe for clients such as Google, Nokia, Twentieth Century Fox, and Disney, winning over seventy-five awards in the process. In its work, the firm strives to connect people, shape relationships, and empower organizations to produce invigorating forms of community. Clive Wilkinson has been inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame; and been named a Master of Design by <em>Fast Company</em> magazine and a Pioneer of Design by the IIDA.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.clivewilkinson.com/">www.clivewilkinson.com</a></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/landscape.jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Landscape Architecture: Stoss Landscape Urbanism</p>
<p>
	Stoss Landscape Urbanism is a Boston-based collaborative design and planning studio that operates at the juncture of landscape architecture, urban design, and planning. The firm was established in 2000 by Founding Principal Chris Reed; Scott Bishop joined as Associate Principal in 2005. Stoss has distinguished itself for a hybridized approach rooted in infrastructure, functionality, and ecology. The firm’s projects include The CityDeck in Green Bay, WI; Erie Street Plaza in Milwaukee, WI; The Plaza at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA; and Bass River Park on Cape Cod. In 2010, Stoss became the first North American firm to win the Topos Landscape Award.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.stoss.net/">www.stoss.net</a></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/product.jpg" style="float: left; width: 940px; height: 240px; " /></p>
<p>
	Product Design: Scott Wilson</p>
<p>
	Scott Wilson is the Founder and Principal Designer of the Chicago-based studio MINIMAL. A former design leader at Nike, Thomson Consumer Electronics, IDEO, Fortune Brands, and Motorola, he has created some of the world’s most recognized consumer design icons, including MINIMAL's collaboration with Microsoft on Kinect for Xbox 360 and TikTok and LunaTik watches for the iPod Nano. Equal parts visionary and entrepreneur, Scott Wilson delivers disruptive yet thoughtful solutions to markets across a range of industries. His work has been recognized with over fifty international design awards and has been exhibited at Cooper-Hewitt, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.mnml.com/">www.mnml.com</a></p>
<p>
	Jury</p>
<p>
	National Design Awards jurors are chosen for their prominence and expertise in the design world and their ability to serve in a knowledgeable and statesmanlike manner.</p>
<p>
	The 2012 National Design Awards Jury includes:</p>
<ul>
	<li>
		<strong>John C. Jay/Jury Chair</strong>, Global Executive Creative Director and Partner, <a href="http://www.wk.com/" target="_blank">Wieden+Kennedy</a></li>
	<li>
		<strong>Michelle Berryman</strong>, Principal and CEO, <a href="http://www.echoviz.com/" target="_blank">Echo Visualization</a></li>
	<li>
		<strong>Jeanne Gang</strong>, Principal and Founder, <a href="http://www.studiogang.net/" target="_blank">Studio Gang Architects</a></li>
	<li>
		<strong>Lee F. Mindel</strong>, FAIA, Founding Partner, <a href="http://www.sheltonmindel.com/" target="_blank">Shelton, Mindel & Associates</a></li>
	<li>
		<strong>Melody Roberts</strong>, Senior Director, Concept & Design, <a href="http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/home.html" target="_blank">McDonald’s Corporation</a></li>
	<li>
		<strong>Eric Rodenbeck</strong>, Founder, CEO and Creative Director, <a href="http://www.stamen.com/" target="_blank">Stamen Design</a></li>
	<li>
		<strong>Behnaz Sarafpour</strong>, President and Designer, <a href="http://www.behnazsarafpour.com/" target="_blank">Behnaz Sarafpour</a></li>
	<li>
		<strong>Alice Twemlow</strong>, Chair, <a href="http://dcrit.sva.edu/" target="_blank">MFA Design Criticism</a>, School of Visual Arts</li>
	<li>
		<strong>Charles Waldheim</strong>, John E. Irving Professor and Chair, <a href="http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/academic-programs/landscape-architecture/index.html" target="_blank">Department of Landscape Architecture</a>, Harvard University Graduate School of Design</li>
</ul>
<p>
	<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	 </p>
<p>
	About the Awards</p>
<p>
	The National Design Awards were conceived by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum to honor lasting achievement in American design. The Awards are bestowed in recognition of excellence, innovation, and enhancement of the quality of life. First launched at the White House in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the annual Awards program celebrates design in various disciplines as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world, and seeks to increase national awareness of the impact of design through education initiatives.</p>
<p>
	The National Design Awards is one of the few programs of its kind structured to continue to benefit the nation long after the Awards ceremony and gala. A suite of educational programs is offered in conjunction with the Awards during National Design Week, an initiative launched in 2006 that aims to draw national attention to the ways in which design enriches everyday life. The Museum offers free admission, hosts a series of public programs based on the vision and work of the honorees, and helps promote design events held across the country.</p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	<strong>Award Categories</strong></p>
<p>
	Reflecting the ever-growing scope of design, the National Design Awards now include ten award categories:</p>
<p>
	<strong>Lifetime Achievement</strong>: Given in recognition of a distinguished individual who has made a profound and long-term contribution to the contemporary practice of design.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Design Mind</strong>: Given in recognition of a visionary, such as an educator, author, critic, curator, or designer, who has had a profound impact on design theory, practice, or public awareness.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Corporate & Institutional Achievement</strong>: Given in recognition of a corporation or institution that uses design as a strategic tool as part of its mission, and has consistently exhibited ingenuity and insight in the relationship between design and quality of life.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Architecture Design</strong>: Given to an individual or firm for exceptional and exemplary work in public, commercial, or residential architectural design.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Communication Design</strong>: Given to an individual or firm for exceptional and exemplary work in graphic or multimedia design.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Fashion Design</strong>: Given to an individual or firm for exceptional and exemplary work in clothing, accessory, or footwear design.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Interaction Design</strong>: Given to an individual or firm for the design of interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Interior Design</strong>: Given to an individual or firm for exceptional and exemplary work in domestic, corporate, or cultural interior design.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Landscape Architecture</strong>: Given to an individual or firm for exceptional and exemplary work in urban planning or park and garden design.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Product Design</strong>: Given to an individual or firm for exceptional and exemplary work in the design of consumer goods, technology, or home and office furnishings.</p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	<strong>Selection Process</strong></p>
<p>
	Nominations & Submissions</p>
<p>
	Each fall, the process begins with an open call for nominations, which are solicited from leading designers, educators, journalists, cultural figures, corporate leaders, and design enthusiasts from every state in the nation. All nominees are invited to submit materials for the jury’s review according to specifications provided by the National Design Awards office. Submissions generally consist of resumes, design statements, portfolios of work, and professional-quality visual samples.</p>
<p>
	Eligibility</p>
<p>
	Eligibility is restricted to citizens or long-term residents of the United States. Firms, corporations, or institutions must have their corporate headquarters in the United States. Individual nominees must have been practicing professionally for a minimum of seven years; Lifetime Achievement nominees must have been practicing professionally for a minimum of twenty years. Firms, corporations, or institutions must have been established for a minimum of seven years. Cooper-Hewitt employees and trustees and their families and household members are not eligible. Awards are given for a body of realized work, not for any specific project.</p>
<p>
	Jury Process</p>
<p>
	The jury meets over a two-day period to thoroughly review every submission, considering each nominee with the challenging task of determining which designers and firms work best embody the Awards’ mission. They assess portfolios in terms of the works’ relationship to and impact on contemporary daily life. Extraordinary originality in identifying, shaping, and solving problems is highly valued, and nominees whose work significantly broadens the conventions of their discipline, introduces formal innovation, and exhibits consistently high levels of imagination and insight are given special consideration. Finally, in keeping with Cooper-Hewitt's definition of design as a force of change, the extent to which the general public has benefited from the explorations and achievements of the nominee is weighed.</p>
<p>
	The jury is briefed by the Museum staff on the mission and review criteria for the Awards, but staff does not enter into the selection process. Jurors are asked to base their decisions primarily on the core criteria: excellence, innovation, and enhancement of the quality of life. They are also asked to consider the broad spectrum of the design community–geographically, culturally, and artistically. All jury deliberations are kept confidential.</p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	National Design Week: October 13–21, 2012</p>
<p>
	Mark your calendars for Cooper-Hewitt’s largest education initiative. National Design Week aims to draw national attention to the ways in which design enriches everyday life. Launched in 2006, National Design Week is held each year in conjunction with the National Design Awards program. In addition to offering free admission for all Museum visitors, Cooper-Hewitt's award-winning Education Department hosts a series of free public programs based on the vision and work of the National Design Awards honorees. National Design Week culminates with the National Design Awards gala ceremony. Check back soon for details.</p>
<p>
	National Design Awards Gala</p>
<p>
	<strong>Save the Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2012</strong></p>
<p>
	Location: Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers | 23rd Street and the West Side Highway | New York City</p>
<p>
	<em>Details to follow.</em></p>
<p>
	Design in DC</p>
<p>
	The National Design Awards were first launched at the White House in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton served as the Honorary Patron in the inaugural year, and First Lady Laura Bush and First Lady Michelle Obama have continued this tradition. In past years, the National Design Awards honorees have been celebrated with a luncheon ceremony at the White House, graciously hosted by the First Lady.</p>
<p>
	“As the great American designer Milton Glaser has said, 'Good design is good citizenship.' And today we will celebrate both: designers who have reached the tops of their fields not just by chasing glory for themselves, but instead by making life glorious for the rest of us,” said First Lady Michelle Obama to the National Design Awards honorees at the 2011 White House ceremony. The National Design Awards are also celebrated through educational programming in Washington, D.C. Past programs have included lectures, workshops, and most recently a Teen Design Fair, allowing local teens to engage with the National Design Awards honorees.</p>
<p>
	<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: vera-sans-1, vera-sans-2, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; ">Contents: The National Design Awards were conceived by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum</span></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-05-03 12:09:34
                )

            [4] => Array
                (
                    [title] => Mall design contest winners named to redo D.C. sites
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <p>
	 </p>
<div class="article_body entry-content" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10px; text-align: left; ">
	<article>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/webonly-Neglected_National_Mall_00088.jpg" style="float: left; width: 606px; height: 303px; " />The Trust for the National Mall has named the winning teams in its competition to redesign three long-neglected landscapes between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.</span></span></p>
	</article>
</div>
<div class="article_body" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10px; text-align: left; ">
	<article>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Rogers Marvel Architects & Peter Walker and Partners will redesign Constitution Gardens east of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, while OLIN & Weiss/Manfredi will bring new life to the Sylvan Theater, southeast of the Washington Monument. The winning design for Union Square near the Capitol, by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol & Davis Brody Bond, will be forwarded to the Architect of the Capitol.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Each entry offers cutting-edge landscape solutions that connect monuments visually, while giving the Mall’s 25 million annual visitors opportunities for entertainment and respite.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Those visitors have proved to be an unrelenting source of wear and tear over the years. Four decades of use and $400 million in deferred maintenance have taken their toll also. Walls are crumbling. Fish in Constitution Gardens’ lake are dying. Cunningham says it’s too late for triage.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">“You don’t want your best place in America to look like a junkyard,” said Donald Stastny, the design competition manager.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">A jury of eight landscape architects, academics, architects, critics and historians selected the winners. They narrowed a field of 58 entries to four for each project, then placed the finalists on display for public comment April 9.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The winning designs bring a vibrant, 21st-century attitude to the Mall. They’re nothing if not ambitious, but they’re sensitive to their sites and surroundings too.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The winners also faced the challenge of balancing the tricky equation of easy access and heightened security, an inherent dichotomy for a free society living in a time of terrorism.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">“The question was how to integrate security to take care of the threat level and still keep it open,” Stastny said.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">At Union Square, the design by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol & Davis Brody Bond removes the reflecting pond that lies parallel to the Capitol across Third Street SW and adds a pond at the nearest grass panel on the Mall. The gesture is a symbolic and symmetrical salute to the Lincoln Memorial and its Reflecting Pool. It also introduces a new layer of security.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">“The water feature is lifted up, so it increases the security of the second barrier, rather than decreasing it,” said Kathryn Gustafson, landscape architect on the project.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">At the Sylvan Theater, the challenge was to find a way to reorient the performance space back to the Washington Monument — and provide a pedestrian link to the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">“We’ve reengaged the lost southern monument grounds,” said Hallie Boyce at OLIN. “Now you can walk to it along a sinuous curve of a bridge through a canopy of trees.”</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The piece de resistance, though, lies in the new performance area. It’s a bowl that rises 32 feet at its outer edge, almost matching the base of the Washington Monument. Where audience members now turn their backs to the monument, the obelisk will eventually serve as a backdrop to every performance.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">At Constitution Gardens, the winning entry by Rogers Marvel Architects & Peter Walker and Partners looked back to the 1976 plan developed for the bicentennial — and updated it.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">“We were struck by the optimism and clarity of the original design,” said winning team member and landscape architect Peter Walker. “It’s engaged with the timeless quality of the Mall.”</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The Washington Monument is highly visible. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial lies over a knoll to the west, and the site sees traffic between those two and the World War II Memorial.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Its proposed pavilion will be a threshold to the lake, using terraces to frame the gardens. “There will be a restaurant, model boating, ice skating in winter and performances — for local residents as well as visitors,” said Rob Rogers, architect on the winning team.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Groundbreaking for the first project will take place by 2014. “The first one depends on three things — cost, what else is going on in the park and public input,” Cunningham said. “We will phase them in.”</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The first ribbon-cutting should take place by 2016.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Now that the winners have been named, the trust can begin fundraising for its two projects. The Architect of the Capitol will handle fundraising for Union Square.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The entire National Mall Plan, developed by the National Park Service in 2010, should cost about $700 million. The trust’s two projects are a part of that. The next phase of the competition will identify and evaluate costs ahead of implementation and roughly half of the costs will come from the private sector.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">When they’re complete, the new designs promise to embellish the Mall’s sense of place with a forward-looking, long-term approach to how it serves its audiences.</span></span></p>
		<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">“Symbolically, it’s seen as the center of America,” Stastny said. “It should be sustainable and around for a long time — it’s our postcard to the rest of the world.”</span></span></p>
	</article>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-05-03 11:45:27
                )

            [5] => Array
                (
                    [title] => Amagical city on the Silk Route
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/cathedral-square-0135.jpg" style="float: left; width: 420px; height: 311px; " />Amagical city on the Silk Route</p>
<p>
	With a fascinating fusion of the Portuguese and the Cantonese in architecture, design, food and culture, Macau brings with it a perfect blend of East meets West, feels Kanchan Nath</p>
<p>
	During daytime the Pearl River reverberates with the movements of the jet ferries carrying people to and fro and at night it reflects myriad colourful lights from the bridges and the casinos. While the posh cars roar across its streets, they still come to a standstill as pedestrians cross. To top it all, in the midst of buzz and festivities, the city is safe to roam even in the dead of night. Its numerous five and six star hotels are small cities in themselves; offering all: entertainment, casinos, restaurants, nightclubs, some even museums and shopping all under one roof.</p>
<p>
	This 'trading gate' from the Silk Route has come a long way to become a developed cosmopolitan sizzling destina¬tion and today is touted as an alternative for Las Vegas, the gambling paradise. However there is much more to Macau than that! A politically stable area it remains the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It consists of Macau, Taipa and Coloane (green, lungs of Macau) and the area reclaimed from the sea, Cotai strip. The city is well connected with a good network of buses and cabs. Chinese and Portuguese are the official languages, Cantonese beingmost widely spoken. English is generally spoken by tourists and traders.</p>
<p>
	Culturally the city has many historic sites. The Historic Centre of Macau is a living representation of the city's historic settlement, encompassing archi¬tectural legacies interwoven in the midst of the original urban fabric that includes street scapes and piazzas,such as Senado Square, Barra Square, Cathedral Square, St Augustines Square and others. Historical monuments include A-Ma Temple, Ruins of St Pauls, St Josephs Seminary and Church, St Dominies Church, section of the old city walls, Casa Garden, Guia Fortress and others that you need to discover when you get there. You can apply for a common pass to visit the cities various museums. The Grand Prix museum and the Wine Museum are a must see</p>
<p>
	The premier stop for adrenaline junkies in Macau is the Macau Tower. Here they can go in for sky jumping, mast climbing, and sky walking. Other activities available for entertainment are greyhound racing, horse riding, bowling, skating, golf, windsurfing, canoeing, karting and dragon boat racing. Located at Macau's outer harbour, Macau Fisher¬man's Wharf combines entertainment, retail, food, hotel, marina and exhibition facilities. A great place to take the kids is the newly opened Science centre, which lays emphasis on interactive, hands on learning.</p>
<p>
	Initially I was apprehensive that the food would not be really palatable but I was most pleasantly surprised with the amazing cuisines Macau offers. The city is dotted with numerous Portuguese and Chinese restaurants. Indian food is popu¬lar there with many Indian restaurants to choose from. For vegetarians the choice is of salads, grilled vegetables in sauce and rice, pizzas and pastas and fur¬ther extended for the 'eggatarians' with a huge choice from the excellent patter-sie-re the city offers and delicious egg tarts. Indian restaurants are plenty to come to the rescue, if need be.</p>
<p>
	For those of you who do not lose all their cash in gambling, shopping is a def¬inite option! Macau is aplace where you can purchase almost anything, but the emphasis should be on clothes, jewellery (particularly 24 carat gold), Portuguese wines, porcelain, electronic items, mobile phones, Chinese antiques and col¬lectibles. Of course cakes, cookies and biscuits, which most visitors take home with them.</p>
<p>
	A culture that surprisingly mirrors a bit of our own, Chinese dragon dance, loud crackers to deter evil spirits, cherry blossom trees with hangings, all add to the festivities and cheer. Macau in one line is the pulsating hub where Hong Kong goes to party! So when do you have your party lined up?</p>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-04-26 01:32:54
                )

            [6] => Array
                (
                    [title] => BENEFITH THE -DESERT SAND
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/images(10).jpg" style="float: left; width: 259px; height: 194px; " />BENEFITH THE -DESERT SAND<br />
	Perched on a landlocked island, Dholavira is a magnificent reminder of the ancient civilisation that flourished millennia ago in India, say Hugh & Colleen Gantzer meticulously standardized system of weights and measures many of them similar to those in contemporary West Asian civilizations.</p>
<p>
	ANCIENT CONNECTIONS: </p>
<p>
	IT WAS an island of green in a sea of white. "That's a bet" said our guide Girish Gupta. We were in western Gujarat and had been driving on a die-straight causeway between crystalline stretches of salt-flats. Once, many centuries ago, this had been a bay of the Arabian Sea and then environmental changes had produced these amazing saline wastes.</p>
<p>
	<br />
	We passed two boys digging out salt, filling it into pans and emptying it into a truck. Then, as we were about to ask if there was any fresh water in this legendary White Rann, we saw a large brown patch in the shimmering white expanse. It trembled with an uncertain liquidity much like a bowl of aspic in grated ice. <img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/images (1).jpg" style="float: right; width: 269px; height: 187px; " /></p>
<p>
	<br />
	Here water had welled up through the thick crust of salt and created a patch of viscous 'quick-salt', the saline version of quicksand. In every way this was a bizarre environment.</p>
<p>
	At the end of our journey we reached what was, reputedly, the highest, and certainly the most famous, 'bet' of all: Dholavira. Here, 4,600 years ago, many millennia before the equestrian Indo-Iranians had filtered into our land, the oldest civilization in India had been established. Today, it's more mundane geographical co¬ordinates are that it lies in Khadirbet of Bhachau taluka hi Kachch district-No one is quite sure who those ancient people were, or why they built this three-tiered city of stone and brick, or what caused their downfall: they An ancient well recharged by water harvesting (above) and women at a precious water source referred to as a Vira or brother vanished as abruptly as they had arrived. We navigated our way past fascinating theories as we walked slowly through the</p>
<p>
	Archaeological Museum..</p>
<p>
	<br />
	There we met the grandson of a perceptive postmaster. The old man had suspected that there were things of great significance buried in the huge scrub-covered mound on the outskirts of his village. This, after a while, had brought in the Archaeological Survey of India and wonderful discoveries had begun to emerge. Jewellery, toys, figurines, stone jars, terracotta bricks and seals used by exporters to identify their products, precursors of trade-marks. </p>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-04-26 01:12:48
                )

            [7] => Array
                (
                    [title] => NETHERLANDS THE DUTCH EXPERIENCE
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <div>
	<p style="margin-left:2.9pt;">
		<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/a-giethoorn-holland-canals-15.jpg" style="float: left; width: 487px; height: 334px; " />THE DUTCH EXPERERIENCE</p>
	<p style="margin-left:2.9pt;">
		Netherlands, a country that has shaped its own environment is a truly scenic, cosmopolitan destination. It is a <strong style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">The grand canals, rustic hideaways and historic manors here provide a </strong><strong style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">staggering range of accommodation across the country </strong>Canals, cycles, clogs, cheese, culture, and cinemascope landscapes of tulips, elusive Red Street...top this up with a Heineken beer bash and you have the Netherlands experience for you! Beautiful sights of rivers flowing into canals above ground level are poignant reminders that two-thirds of this country is below sea level. Holland hallmarks, the windmills that once in fact, served the very critical function of generating the power needed to pump the water to the sea behind the dykes. Today, modern technology ensures that the city does not flood over, while ancient windmills serve as tourist attractions.</p>
</div>
<div>
	<p style="margin-left:.35pt;">
		The first feeling that you get here will probably be of a midget since most of the Dutch are six footers and extremely fit. The country combining ancient relics and modern wonders is a pleasure for the senses and very tourist-friendly Eighty per cent of the population speaks English, making it very easy to get around. This palm-sized country, which is a mere two to three hours drive across is home to more than 16 million people. It is the most densely populated country in Europe and one of the most densely populated countries in the world. <img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/images (2).jpg" style="float: right; width: 275px; height: 183px; " /></p>
	<p style="margin-left:.35pt;">
		The Dutch are known for being level­headed and down-to-earth. They frown upon boasting and bragging. The Dutch are also known as tolerant people, partic­ularly to those of different opinions and persuasions. They are used to discussing differences of opinion and admire each other. The Netherlands is a multicultural society. This is primarily evident in the larger cities. You will Find more than two hundred different nationalities in the city of Amsterdam alone. This country oozes romance and charm. Its grand canals, rustic hideaways, historic manors provide a staggering range of accommodation across the country, be it the big cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam or The Hague or smaller attractions like Zaanse Schans or Keukenhof.</p>
	<p>
		<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/Lake_Louise_Weekenders.jpg" style="float: left; width: 381px; height: 271px; " />Amsterdam is the capital of the lountry. Amsterdam is a city of bridges. Amsterdam has no fewer than 1,281 bridges, Since the 17th century, a maze of canals has divided downtown Amsterdam to the 90 islands. The many hundreds of bridges link the islands. The canals have made Amsterdam famous. Small wonder, as the city has more canals than Venice and more bridges than Paris. At night, most of the downtown bridges are romantically illuminated. Of all the bridges, the Skinny Bridge is probably the best known. This picturesque wooden drawbridge was built across the river Amstel in 1670. Dam Square is the very centre of Amsterdam. It has had a turbulent history. Around the year 1270, a damn was constructed in this spot in the river Ams­tel. Dam Square was once the central marketplace of Amsterdam where literally everything under the moon was sold.</p>
	<p>
		Other attractions of Amsterdam include: Madame Tussauds; Heineken Reception Centre, now completely renovated as the Heineken Experience, gives you an insight into this world famous golden beer. A floating flower market one of the oldest in Amsterdam; a free diamond tour of Gassan Diamonds, the narrowest house in the world, which is only a metre wide; Zeedjik, a real Buddhist temple in the very heart of the city, etc. Whether you're planning a short or a long stay in Amsterdam, you must visit the Rijksmuseum. </p>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-04-26 01:00:19
                )

            [8] => Array
                (
                    [title] => WOMEN 'S WORLD
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <p>
	<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/64_yoginis_hirapur_orissa.jpg" style="float: left; " />A group of women stands together in a circle. Their chosen location is a tiny village outside Bhubaneswar. Given that there are over sixty women in the huddle, anyone would imagine there would be a lot of chatter. Instead there is silence, absolute and complete. Not because the women cannot communicate. They can, but using senses other than vo­cal . And they have been in place for hundreds of years. They are the Yo-ginisM Hirapur. However, before we speak further of the Yoginis, they need to be given a context.</p>
<div>
	<p>
		Odisha is a state where temples are held in high esteem. The Jagan-nath temple at Puri and the Sun Temple at Konark are celebrated shrines. The temples in Bhubaneswar - such as the Lingaraj, the Muk-teswar and the Rajarani - are also acknowledged as being fine examples of temple architecture. Indeed, temples seem everywhere in the state. The people too revere their shrines - however small - above everything else, for reasons of faith as much as to drive the local economy.</p>
	<p style="margin-left:.35pt;">
		In this state of affairs, where religion dominates life, it is indeed strange that one particular temple is rarely mentioned. A few kilome­ters outside the state capital, in a village called Hirapur, near a pond of clear blue water and surrounded by leafy trees, is a Yogini tem­ple. The temple is beautifully preserved, quite remarkable given the fact that this shrine is only one of a handful of Yo­gini temples in India that still stand.<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/64_yogini_temple1.jpg" style="float: right; " /></p>
	<p style="margin-left:.35pt;">
		The temple at Hirapur is circular in structure, in line with the traditional form of Yogini temples. It is built of blocks of coarse sandstone piled uniformly one on top of another. Ac­cording to historian Vidya Dehejia, who written a book on the Yogini cult, the Hirapur shrine is unique in many ways. One of them is that it is the only such temple to have statues on its outer walls. These nine sandstone statues and repre­sent female figures. Each figure stands on a human head and aolds a weapon in one hand. These statues, given their shape and form, probably represent guardian deities.</p>
	<p>
		The shrine is entered into by a small opening in its outer wall - an opening so small that one has to bend to enter. The opening is flanked by two more guardians, unarmed this time. Just inside the doorway, on either side of the doorway, are two fierce looking creatures in stone. Two more stone guardians - a little more grotesque this time as both of them wore necklaces of skulls and ap­pear to be skeletal in form themselves.</p>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-04-26 00:37:36
                )

            [9] => Array
                (
                    [title] => The new art of good business
                    [link] => http://www.allindiaarchitects.com
                    [description] => <p>
	<strong><img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/CSR Pyramid.jpg" style="float: left; " />The new art of good business</strong></p>
<p>
	The orthodox model of CSR is fast becoming outdated in today's global context of sustainability. Currently, the trend is seen undergoing a major shift from a philanthropic model to the concept of creating shared value</p>
<p>
	SUDHIRKSINHA</p>
<p>
	The new-age business mod­el has been embarking on doing business responsi­bly by 'doing right' and 'doing good' for the sustainability of business, society and environ­ment. On the contrary, the con­ventional wisdom of doing re­sponsible business under a popularly known acronym, CSR, which is principally sup­posed to deliver the above men­tioned desired results, has wide­ly remained limited to taking into account the voluntary re­sponsibility of companies in dealing with community issues. Beyond the trade-off model of CSR, this notion of CSR, until sometime back was perceived to have helped companies earn goodwill and enhance brand reputation so as to have ob­tained the social license for cor­porations to operate business. But, CSR, in the recent past, has been alleged by critical stake­holders and is seemingly taken as companies' compelling need for maneuvering business risks and crisis.The apparent trade-off mod­el of CSR has come under severe criticism by social activists and some leading thought leaders such as Prof Aneel Karnani who writes in his infamous edi­torial in The Wall Street Journal, 'The Case Against Corporate   Social Responsibility". The orthodox model of CSR is fast becoming outdated in to­day's global context of sustain­ability Currently, the trend is seen undergoing a major mind set shift from a 'philanthropic model' to a relatively latest emerging concept of 'creating shared value' (CSV), which has been argued by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer in their arti­cle, Creatingshared value: How to reinvent capitalism and un­leash a wave of innovation and growth' published in Harvard Business Review in 2011. Shared value according to them is de­fined as "policies and operating practices that enhance the com­petitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates." <img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/csr-csv.png" style="float: right; " /></p>
<p>
	MITIGATION OF IMPACTS 'MANDATORY FIRST': DOING GOOD ONLY, NOT A RIGHT MODEL</p>
<p>
	The changing paradigms of new-generation business how-ever demand for much 're­quired' as well as 'desirable' re­sponsible and accountable be­haviour by companies, implicitly and explicitly show­cased at work place, market­place and in communities and environment. Mitigating the ad­verse impacts and/or 'external­ities' of business is what is es­sentially 'required', while creating shared value is 'desir­able' for the co-existence of busi­ness and society. Fbra business, which creates CSR reinvented</p>
<p>
	The apparent trade-off model  CSR has come under criticism by sociaf activists. The orthotox mode! of CSR is beeomfng outdated. Currently, the trend is seen undergoing 3 major mind set Shift negative impact on communi­ties due to social and economic dislodgment, and on environ­ment due to over-exploitation of mineral resources, excessive consumption of natural re­sources, and then providing community with medical aids, schools and roads etc., under much hyped CSR is not at all go­ing to compensate and offset the business's negative footprints. 'Morally','ethically'and'strate­gically' they come under com­pulsory purview of responsibi]-itvul huMiicss. Companies are now 'expected' to transparently communicate the level of meas­urable impacts. Actions they plan and are in execution ought to have made reciprocal positive im­pacts (beyond neutraliasation) on the mitigation parameter. Each sector companies must link their CSR activities with the impacts and their mitigation.</p>
<p>
	CSRMODEL: A GOOD BLEND OF 'REQUIRED', 'DESIR­ABLE' AND 'EXPECTED' ACTIONS</p>
<p>
	The economic recession ha the past has revealed thatmany of the business strategies failed to pro­vide sustainability and were fun­damentally flawed. Companies which crumbled did not pay heed to take thorough review of the ex­isting policies and develop mean­ingful visions for the future. Therefore, though lessons to be drawn from the trends and eco­nomic crisis for the board room and business strategists and plan­ners are many, very importantly, they seek to do business in a man­ner that is more consistent with the emerging trends and princi­ples of corporate responsibility, which has abilities to balance be­tween businesses 'required or mandatory obligations' and 'de­sirable actions'. The new model of business responsibility has to off­set the externalities as part of 'mandatory obligations' while creating shared value under 'de­sirable actions.' This will estab­lish the connections between so­cietal and economic progress. The third dimension of CSR is that business is 'expected' of being ac­countable to stakeholders; means and approaches are diverse, from engagingwith them to reporting. This model is going to change the rule of'doing good business'in 10 years from now.<img alt="" src="/public/uploadfile/Nestle CSV.jpg" style="float: right; " /></p>

                    [publishdate] => 2012-04-24 01:48:22
                )

        )

)