First look: Renzo Piano's glass-domed motion pictures museum

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last week released preliminary plans for its $300 million Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum in Los Angeles, designed by Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali.

The scheme involves converting the historic Wiltshire May Company building at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue into a 290,000-sf museum. A massive glass dome will be built on the north side of the building and will house a 1,000-seat theater, according to LA Times' Architecture Critic Christopher Hawthorne.

Located next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) campus, the museum will exhibit the work of Oscar winners and nominees, and, as the Academy puts it, "pull back the curtain on moviemaking and highlight the history and future of the arts and sciences of film."

Here's an overview of the design scheme, courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

Entering the museum from the LACMA Campus

The museum's rooftop terrace

Entering the museum's Premiere Theater

Special events dining room

A glass-enclosed "spine" will move people floor to floor via elevators, escalators, and stairs.

Managing a team of people, especially creative people, is a task that not everyone is up for. Keeping your team on the same page while maintaining a schedule and budget that can keep your corporation happy will take confidence and bountiful people skills. Here are some tips for effectively managing a project. SPONSORED CONTENT

Fire-rated glass floor system study area. Photo: courtesy TGP

Fire-rated glass floor system captures light in science and engineering infill

In implementing Northwestern University’s Engineering Life Sciences infill design, Flad Architects faced the challenge of ensuring adequate, balanced light given the adjacent, existing building wings. To allow for light penetration from the fifth floor to the ground floor, the design team desired a large, central atrium. One potential setback with drawing light through the atrium was meeting fire and life safety codes.

This 20-foot fixture, billed as the world's largest outdoor chandelier, is the c

| May 2, 2014

World's largest outdoor chandelier tops reworked streetscape for Cleveland's PlayhouseSquare

Streetscape project includes monumental gateway portals, LED signage, and a new plaza, fire pit, sidewalk café, and alfresco dining area.

The Tree, on Bergen, Norway's, waterfront, will consist of wood structural modul

| May 2, 2014

Norwegian modular project set to be world's tallest timber-frame apartment building [slideshow]

A 14-story luxury apartment block in central Bergen, Norway, will be the world's tallest timber-framed multifamily project, at 49 meters (160 feet).

| May 2, 2014

Top 10 countries for LEED buildings outside the U.S.

The list of the top 10 countries for LEED reflects the global adaptability of the world’s most widely used and recognized system guiding the design, construction, operations and maintenance of green buildings.

The new University Student Union at California State University San Marcos featu

| May 1, 2014

First look: Cal State San Marcos's posh student union complex

The new 89,000-sf University Student Union at CSUSM features a massive, open-air amphitheater, student activity center with a game lounge, rooftop garden and patio, and ballroom space.