Renowned structural engineer and designer Cecil Balmond is leaving Arup, the U.K.-based engineering firm where he has worked for 42 years. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" “I’m stepping out to set up my own practice,” says Balmond, who is credited with making possible some of the most audacious structures, including the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and the Centre Pompidou in Metz, France, by Shigeru Ban. “I want to have more time to make some of the big art installations I’ve been doing for the past four or five years, and I want

Walking past New York City construction sites may soon be a much more pleasant visual experience. Slide Show Images courtesy of urbanSHED International Design Competition Urban Umbrella design by Young Hwan Choi, with Andr�s Cort�s, AIA, and Sarrah Khan, PE, of Agencie Group. Related Links: Video: Shedding Inhibitions: Rethinking New York Sidewalk Protection Unhappy with the current appearance of sidewalk sheds – the uninviting scaffolds that surround the city’s construction sites to provide protection from falling debris – New York’s Department of Buildings partnered with the AIA, Alliance for Downtown New York, New York Building Congress, Illuminating Engineering Society New

After nearly three years of deliberation and modifications, a project by Foster + Partners at 980 Madison Ave on New York’s Upper East Side has received approval from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. For 980 Madison Avenue, the developer initially wanted to add a pair of intersecting towers to the building. In May 2008, a revamped scheme was proposed that featured a five-story addition with a screen made of bronze-colored rods. The scheme that finally was approved is smaller and lighter. “Although it's taken a long time, we believe we've found a positive way to embrace the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s comments that