A posting appeared on Craigslist.com seeking a Pittsburgh Penguins fan in the Philadelphia area to assist with a plot to dress the statue in a Penguins jersey and take pictures.upi | yahoo

Six weeks after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority selected Tishman Speyer Properties to build a vast complex of office towers, apartment buildings and parks over the railyards on the West Side of Manhattan, the deal has fallen apart. NYT | previously 1|2|3|4

Glasgow-based ZM Architecture are proposing a series of floating discs to collect solar power along Scotland's River Clyde. BBC

Starting in the fall, Scott Cohen will step up as chair of the arch. dept. at Harvard. Gund hall to be refinished with ruled surfaces. Everywhere.

This week we showcase the studio/home of the Antwerp-based firm of sculp(IT). The architect-owners ingeniously found value within a tight remnant urban space in the city's former prostitution district. Check it out.

JDS have been officially contracted to design the Holmenkollen Ski Jump in preparation for the 2011 World Ski Jumping Championship, following their 2007 competition win. More information, with images of the design can be seen on Bustler.

The architect didn't design the concrete coffee table table, he's etched ON it. LA Times

The fact that nowhere in the press release does it mention the fact that Dubai is already its own giant LEGO park can't mask the irony that Dubai is going to get its own LEGOLand in 2011.

Elaine Louie explores a trio of house renovations that made extensive use of glass; particularly for their main staircase(s).
NYT

AS a proudly Birkenstocked Zen gardener, Wendy Johnson can mindfully muster up affection for many of the earth’s species, with the possible exception of persimmon-devouring gophers.

But poison hemlock holds a special place in her heart.

Without the presence of this pernicious carrot look-alike, a potent vertigo-inducing poison that when ingested can cause death, she reasons, her garden would be all cloying lilac- and lily-scented perfection — boring, in short. The innocent-looking malevolent weed, which she allows to flourish for its capacity to draw rich minerals from the soil for compost, “gives the garden its punch,” she said, “snapping me back to my senses.”

MMMMM...Dirt

"Renderings make us fall in love with half-baked ideas; the slick, glowing biomimetic blob perched on a darkened table."
An article on rendering marketing from Alissa Walker, a design blogger. core77

Architecture for Humanity is raising funds to support reconstruction efforts after this weekend’s devastating cyclone in Myanmar. Please help communities rebuild!

Often media attention focuses on relief efforts. Months later, after the cameras have left, communities face the difficult task of rebuilding with little support. Architecture for Humanity offers long-term technical expertise when it is needed most during the reconstruction phase...

Click here to read the full appeal...

The redesigned National Ballet School in Toronto and the new Canadian War Museum in Ottawa are among the 2008 winners of Governor General's Medals in Architecture. cbc.ca | bustler

France is making a fuss this week over Richard Serra, the 68-year-old American bantamweight who opens an annual solo show called Monumenta in the country's echoing Grand Palais. NYT | Slideshow

Here is a NY Times article about the McKibbin Lofts that is sure to further inflate many hipster egos.

"This could have been Greenwich Village 60 years ago, or SoHo 30 years ago, or the East Village in the 1990s."

Early 2008 an ambitious plan was launched to realize roads and carparks under Amsterdams historic city centre, called AMFORA (Alternative Multifunctional Underground Space Amsterdam). This is a plan by Strukton and Zwarts & Jansma. Bert de Muynck | movingcities interviewed prof Moshe Zwarts, director Zwarts & Jansma, on the proposal his office made. Read more and see images on the Dutch underground urbanism in 'City under the City'.

We have some really cool new content to fill your heads this week...

First off, Heather Ring serves up a great new feature interview with Mark Meissen, author of Did Someone Say Participate? (recently nominated as one of the top ten architecture books by the Independent). An interactive discussion has also been set up in association with the feature, as Archinect has been officially invited to participate in spatializing Europe.
Read: Markus Miessen on Participation
PARTICIPATE! (What does Europe look like?)

Next up comes the long awaited episode #9 in the Archinect Travels series. In this installment Marlin takes us along his journey from Boulder, CO to Laramie, WY. Watch now or download to your iPod for later

Finally, we would like to announce that Bustler.net has re-launched with a new design and new features such as an extensive event calendar, tags, RSS feeds, submission forms, updated news section, and more. Stay tuned for more exciting new features in the near future, including tools to help facilitate collaboration and event planning. Bustler

With a number of ongoing construction projects, economic downturn impacts Vegas. nyt

It's high-tech all the way! Or is it? SD | City of the Future

The Tijuana-based Nortec Collective makes a soundtrack for a digital generation, with a mix of traditional norteno accordions, turntables, and electronica. npr | listen | dancing is optional... | The Truth about Cinco de Mayo

Almost 4,000 people were killed and thousands are unaccounted for after a devastating cyclone in Myanmar. yahoo/AP

Years ago I came across a study looking at termite mounds as a structural system for future human habitats. I was totally intrigued. Well, some crazy progress seems to have been made in this department. In times of manic urbanization and climate change, Eugene Tsui is proposing a two-mile high, one-mile wide termite tower -- the Ultima Tower -- “designed to be virtually impervious to wind, water and earthquakes, the massive tower is conceived less as an architecture project but as a series of mini-ecosystems within which other architectural projects can be developed.” Oh, and it should be able to hold up to a million inhabitants. (Read)

Forget the rocket attacks, concrete blast walls and lack of a sewer system. Now try to imagine luxury hotels, condos, and a shopping center called, 'International Village at US Embassy' in the heart of Baghdad. yahoo/AP