AIArchitect

In an upset of conventional wisdom, Glenn Murcutt, Hon. FAIA, an Australian sole-practitioner who has never built outside of his native country and is known for his ecologically sensitive, small-scale projects, was awarded the AIA Gold Medal yesterday. I , for one, was surprised. In the recent history of the Gold Medal (and perhaps in the award's entire history), there has never been a laureate who has shouldered the design burden so singularly as Murcutt. His selection seems to take architecture in at least two different directions at once.

The plan to spew evermore bailout money at cash-starved auto companies marches on, unemployed levels rise, and now we’re “officially” in a recession. And still the ABI drops . President-Elect Barack Obama’s pledge to establish an Office of Urban Policy and invest in historic public infrastructure programs are cause for optimism, but one prestigious commentator thinks that the planning required for public infrastructure and the way it’s likely to be funded are inherently incompatible.