News
Mega Architects Conference In Town
November 15, 2012
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| 10,000 people are exchanging planning, architecture and design ideas this week (through Friday) at Architecture Boston Expo 2012, the convention formerly known as Build Boston. We snapped a handful of the 411 exhibits from around the US, Canada, and Turkey at the South Boston Convention Center; of course, there are plenty of seminars and discussions covering everything from new government code requirements to the complexities of working in a foreign country. |
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| U Mass Amherst planning experts Burt Ewart, Mark Dunn, and Stephen Spear say this is a chance for them to get familiar with the new international building code that’s replacing the state code for safety, energy efficiency, and other building features. Burt says that the new code dramatically boosts features such as insulation requirements; U Mass Amherst will be following the higher standards for its mid-20thcentury brutalist structures. Burt says he also looks forward to talking to folks about the debate between altering or preserving modernist buildings. |
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| During a break in the seminar about the complexities of working in foreign countries and cultures, we snapped Boston Architectural College director of faculty development Tina Blythe with Sasaki principal Michael Grove (who manages the Shanghai office). One element to understand is how design functions cross-culturally. When creating a park in China, Michael says that space needs to be intimate, with secluded nooks for practicing Tai Chi or ballroom dancing. But in the US, there’s greater focus on sweeping panoramas, like big lawns for big events. (Most Americans prefer to do their Tai Chi on a Wii.) |
