Madrid’s Barajas International Airport was awarded Britain’s most prestigious architectural award, dubbed by some as the “Oscars of architecture.”

The airport, designed by Richard Rogers Partnership, beat out five other contenders to snatch the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize.

It marks the first time Richard Rogers Partnership — which has also designed the Welsh National Assembly in Cardiff, another nominee for the award this year, and the Pompidou Centre in Paris — has won the award.

The judges said of the colourful 1.2 kilometre-long (0.75 mile) airport: “Whatever the means of approach, by air or by land, the sheer scale and complexity of what has been tackled and achieved here cannot be over-estimated.” Read more » »

Silver Peak Secure Content Architecture(TM) Protects Against Data Hijacking, Gives Enterprises Unprecedented Control of WAN Traffic.

Silver Peak Systems (www.silver-peak.com), the leading provider of scalable Wide Area Network (WAN) acceleration appliances, today announced a new framework for end-to-end security and data privacy in an accelerated WAN environment. Read more » »

It’s good news that New York architect Steven Holl will not be designing Denver’s new Civic Center courthouse. Perhaps it’s a harbinger that Denver’s infatuation with internationally acclaimed architects who care more about building a portfolio than building a city is cooling.

What took so long to end the relationship?

Holl has a history of difficult client relationships. His contract to design a building for the school of architecture at Cornell University was severed when he could not meet the program or the budget. His museum in Kansas City was $60 million over the original $80 million budget and The New York Times Magazine’s May 21 cover story was about a home Holl designed that is uninhabitable - at double the budget. Read more » »

Here’s an assignment. Create an uplifting memorial to those killed Sept. 11, 2001.

Impossible? You don’t know Liuba Lashchyk, the architect who designed the Garden of Reflection in Lower Makefield.

Ms. Lashchyk has created a masterpiece. It reflects the tragedy, sure. It names the 2,973 dead. It especially recalls the people from Bucks County killed that day. Read more » »

The North Carolina Aquarium Division has selected a Triangle architect to design three oyster hatcheries.

Frank Harmon of Raleigh-based Frank Harmon Architect will design the coastal facilities. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. Read more » »