Newsbytes

edited by Sheila Kim -- Interior Design, 4/1/2004 12:00:00 AM

Design for Research

SmithGroup's future facility for the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, has qualified for a silver LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, courtesy of low-emission, renewable materials. The 94,500-square-foot building will house a molecular foundry. . .

Finally, Christo

In the 25 years since Christo and Jeanne-Claude first proposed hanging banners from gates in New York's Central Park, the husband-wife collaborators have had time to wrap the Pont Neuf in Paris and dot Ibaraki, Japan, with 1,340 blue umbrellas. The 7,500 saffron-colored banners arrive in Central Park next winter; plans and models can be previewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. . .

Mixing in Milan

Led by architect Adam Tihany, Rhode Island School of Design students cooked up an installation for "Dining Design," an exhibit at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. Digital video cameras embedded in acrylic tabletops and bar counters filmed visitors' exploits for projection on the sidewalls of the booth, built by manufacturer Poliform/Varenna. . .

Coming to Beijing

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has broken ground for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The largest overseas project in State Department history, the 500,000-square-foot complex will feature an eight-story tower, a consular building, and a commissioned work by Ellsworth Kelly. . .

Subway Series

The UBS Art Gallery and the New York Transit Museum have organized "Subway Style: Architecture and Design in the New York City Subway." The show travels back through the past century, via drawings, archival documents, and photos of such landmarks as Rafael Guastavino's vaulted City Hall station. . .