Thom Mayne of UCLA became the first American in 14 years to be named
Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. http://www.pritzkerprize.com/main.htm
Bush recently proposed to increase domestic energy supplies by building
refineries and making it ‘easier’ to build nuclear power
plants. http://www.ap.org/
Calatrava will be featured at the Met in NY October 18 – January
22:
In February, he was awarded the AIA’s 2005 gold medal. That same
month, he unveiled his design of curving concrete shells for the new
Atlanta Symphony Center, the first dedicated concert hall in the 60-year
history of the city’s orchestra. http://www.metmuseum.org
NAHB’s Pillars of the Industries Awards and The 2005 National
Green Building Awards. http://www.nahb.org
Economic Meanderings: GDP for the first quarter of 2005 was the weakest
in two years at 3.1%. Combined with 3.2.% increase in prices, some
economists are using the term ‘stagflation’ indicating
rising prices in a weaker economy. Consumer spending slowed to 3.5%.
Oil prices and the increasing trade deficit are blamed by some.
Housing has been buoyed by still-low mortgage rates, ample credit and
improvement in the job market. However, the government also reported
lower housing starts -http://www.census.gov/const/www/newresconstindex.html.
Lessons
from the tsunami, from ‘down-under’