The Cooper Union’ s new building at 41 Cooper Square in New York City, is an academic facility located on the east side of Third Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets. It houses the college’s Albert Nerken School of Engineering and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences along with additional facilities for the School of Art and the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture.

Thom Mayne and the Morphosis team designed the nine-story, 175,000 square foot, full-block building to replace more than 40 percent of the academic space at the college with reconfigurable, state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, studios and public spaces.

As explained by Thom Mayne, the new academic building for The Cooper Union, aspires to manifest the character, culture and vibrancy of both the 150 year-old institution and of the city in which it was founded.

All photographs © Iwan Baan

This another project in our series dedicated to the recipients of the 2009 AIA Housing Award. Set in the remote and harsh high desert landscape of Idaho, Outpost is an artist live/work studio and residence for making and displaying art.


An important aspect of the complex is the protected “paradise garden,” which is separated from the wild landscape by thick masonry walls.

Located in the costal little town of Nesodden on the eastern side of Norway, the house is built on a site with views towards the sea between the branches of the surrounding pine-forest. The permitted aerial building lines define the plan and even the heights of the roofline.

While the exterior views are singularly framed by the window openings, closely related to individual spaces, the interior is treated in a more fluent way with overlapping sequences of space and light in section and plan. This duality of focal and flow is the theme of the building.





Photography: Ivan Brodey

The design of this 1200 sq. ft. residence for a Writer was a study in adaptability and re-use.


The client was looking to simplify her life and downsize from an earlier house, also done by Bates Masi + Architects.


The new house would be built just west of her existing house on the adjacent property. She voiced the desire for her new house to be functional, light, informal, simple and maintain a view of a large moss covered rock on the site.

The Royal Library is one of the most significant architectural landmarks on the Copenhagen waterfront. Clad in black granite, the building is known as the ‘Black Diamond’ – with its clean-cut lines and glittering polished surfaces, the library is now recognised as one of Copenhagens’ architectural gems.

The new building marks a radical shift from the traditional library structure and accommodates a range of cultural facilities. The Royal Library is situated in the historic heart of Copenhagen, and has proved to be a catalyst for the subsequent construction boom along the Copenhagen waterfront in recent years. The new library’s immediate context is a backdrop of important historical buildings such as the Danish Parliament, Christiansborg Palace, The Danish State Archives,Thorvaldsen’s Museum, the Danish Jewish Museum and King Christian IV’s elegant Stock Exchange building, the latter dating to the early 17th century.

Another project within our series featuring the recipients of the 2009 AIA Housing Award. According to the Architects, his primary challenge was to design for the needs of a yet-to-be-determined client.

Another significant issue was how to root the house to the earth; the nearly flat site in a young growth forest offered no footing. The architects responded by reshaping the topography, establishing the first level slightly below grade and sculpting the surrounding terrain into a gentle rise.

Photographs by Michael Moran Photography, Inc.