The recently completed Fujisan World Heritage Center in Fujinomiya sits opposite a picture-perfect view of the iconic mount Fuji. Designed by Shigeru Ban Architects, whose principal, Shigeru Ban (AR’84) describes the project as a “symbolic building” was erected in honor of the designation of Mount Fuji as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The building, which features a wood lattice cone and reflecting pool, is at once a tribute to and meditation on the iconic mountain that is so essential to Japanese identity.

The $33 million project functions as a visitor center as well as a museum that holds exhibition galleries, a movie theater, a café, library, lecture hall and administrative offices. With a ramp that spirals around the interior of the concrete cone of the structure, the Fujisan World Heritage Site echoes the geometry of Mount Fuji’s conic shape and alludes to the experience of ascending the mountain, with the structure terminating in a viewing gallery with a rooftop observation hall that perfectly frames the mountain itself.

Professor Michael Young, student Mira Almazrooei and alumnus Daniel Wills examine the Foundation Building’s iconic elevator shaft through collage and drawing.

Professor Benjamin Aranda’s firm, Aranda/Lasch has designed a new architectural installation in the heart of Times Square. Built in collaboration with Marcelo Coelho and sponsored by the Design Trust for Public Space and Times Square Arts, the project, titled “Window to the Heart” is on view from February 1st, 2018 – February 28th, 2018. Located at Father Duffy Square, between 46th and 47th streets, the installation consists of a 12-foot diameter Fresnel lens with a heart-shaped window in its center.

Rather than using the traditional lens-making methods of casting, cutting, and repeatedly polishing glass, Window to the Heart will leverage the latest advances in design, materials, and fabrication to craft something that was previously unattainable. Each of the almost 1,000 lens segments is 3D-printed at a high resolution by Formlabs using clear resin, a material capable of the unique surface quality and clarity required by optical elements. With the lens made entirely from a 3D-printed material instead of glass, Window to the Heart upends the centuries-old methods of lens-making to invite individuals to reimagine how they see and photograph the world.

On June 5, AIANY President David Piscuskas released a statement strongly condemning the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. This latest dispatch stands in stark contrast with a much-criticized statement released after the last election, in which AIA President Robert Ivy seemed to offer an olive branch of sorts to the incoming Trump Administration.

Piscuskas articulates an oppositional stance to that of the current Administration with regard to environmental regulations; “AIANY has long been devoted to fostering a more sustainable and resilient built environment and we hereby reaffirm our ongoing commitment to the mitigation of climate change. We will continue to help architects and other design and construction professionals gain the skills and knowledge to design better, more energy-efficient buildings; advocate for policies that promote sustainability in both the built and natural environments; and raise public awareness about the role of buildings in combating climate change.”