May 30, 2008
 In her "spare" time, Mayva Marshall-Moreno, RA, belongs to a collaborative design group whose submission for an urban planning competition for Reykjavik, Iceland, appeared in the April 2008 issue of SEED and the May 2008 issue of Dwell magazines. The capital city solicited proposals for an abandoned air field located on its southern edge. The 20/2 Collaborative proposed a research park and living laboratory for the biological production of hydrogen.
With abundant geothermal and hydroelectric power sources already in place, Iceland is now exploring the possibility of a hydrogen economy. Building on research at the University of California at Berkeley, 20/2 explored ways to generate the fuel source purely biologically instead of electrically, which has an impact on the environment. They proposed Iceland leverage its human capital to develop the technology and, ultimately, the implementation of biologically producing hydrogen via algae ponds. They also explored and conceptualized how such technology and a research park could be integrated into the everyday landscape such as neighborhoods.
Read more about 20/2 Collaborative's proposal on the weblog Inhabitat.com
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May 23, 2008
 As a national leader in sustainable design for warehouses, KSS partner Ed Klimek, AIA, was featured in The Bergen Record for his research with the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties and the design of the AMB Pulaski Distribution Center in Jersey City, N.J. The distribution center will use environmentally-responsible design and planning elements Klimek and his team developed in their research. Scheduled for completion in 2009, AMB Pulaski will seek LEED-Silver certification by the United States Green Building Council, and may become the first industrial building in New Jersey to achieve this rating.
AMB Pulaski Distribution Center
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May 21, 2008
 Rolling into the regional architectural scene, KSS Architects intern architects Kyle Rendall and Danielle Matuch networked, socialized and tumbled inside a giant inflated ball at the Architectural League of New York's 2008 Beaux Arts Ball on May 17. Many of the world's leading architects, engineers and design professionals attended the ball, which benefited the lectures, exhibitions and programs the league sponsors year round.
Celebrated for its abstract, off-the-wall design competitions, stimulating debates and publications, the Architectural League presents innovative, up-and-coming work and ideas of influential designers to national and international audiences. In accordance with this year's Beaux Arts Ball "Playtime" theme, organizers filled the SoHo gallery in New York City was filled with elements representing the taxonomy of a ball: ping pong balls, hula hoops, balloons, buoys, and the most noticeable attraction, the human-size inflatable ball.
The Beaux Arts Ball has a revered history. Perhaps most well known is the 1931 ball where about two dozen architects came dressed as buildings they had designed. Immortalized in a famous photograph were architects A. Stewart Walker dressed as the Fuller Building, Leonard Schultze as the Waldorf-Astoria, Ely Jacques Kahn as the Squibb Building, William Van Alen as the Chrysler Building, Ralph Walker as the Wall Street Building, and Joseph Freedlander as the Museum of the City of New York.
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May 14, 2008
 Three KSS team members are joining a "superteam" of Philadelphia architects to design affordable, sustainable homes in West Philadelphia neighborhoods in cooperation with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Markoe Street Collaboration. Mayva Marshall-Moreno, Petar Mattioni, and Adrienne McKinney will be submitting a design for low-income housing typologies that give residents a sense of community and ownership and establish a character for houses on the 800 blocks of Markoe Street. The site formerly housed Louis Kahn's Mill Creek Housing Complex, which was demolished in 2002. The architects can choose to rehab, demolish or rebuild the existing homes, or design new construction. PHA will judge and consider the designs for construction.
Read more about PHA Markoe Street Collaboration.
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May 14, 2008
 KSS' Philly office is participating in the Infill Philadelphia Food Access design challenge, which kicks off on May 29. A five-year initiative led by the Community Design Collaborative, Infill Philadelphia seeks to revitalize urban neighborhoods through design and development of underused buildings and sites in three phases, each comprising design challenges that pair design firms, who volunteer to develop design solutions for the sites, with community-based organizations, who provide context and feedback. "The 'challenge' asks us to develop achievable, forward-thinking design solutions that may even become a prototype for other organizations," said Mayva Marshall-Moreno, RA. "What's unique here is that we are also providing a non-profit organization--in our case, a food co-op--with a useful solution to move forward in their plan."
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May 8, 2008
 On May 7, the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey kicked off construction of the New Campus Center with a celebration groundbreaking event. The campus center will give Stockton a social and cultural center at the heart of its campus and become a focal point for the college. The 153,000 sf building is part of the college's long-term master plan to address the school's growing population, attract top students and faculty, and support Stockton's tradition of environmental responsibility. The project will be seeking the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Gold certification in sustainable design. Completion is scheduled for 2010.
Channel 40, the college's local NBC affiliate, and the
Press of Atlantic City covered the event.
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May 5, 2008
 Workers are erecting structural steel for the additions and renovations at two elementary schools in Barnegat, N.J. The 16,000 sf addition at the Robert L. Horbelt School will include classrooms, kindergarten rooms, and small group rooms. The design also adds a light-filled music room with interior and exterior windows to provide views of the outdoors and playground. At the Lillian M. Dunfee School, the 22,000 sf addition will include a lobby, gymnasium, kindergarten room, art and music rooms, and a computer classroom. A new entrance will give the school an updated look, which will complement the extensive renovations to the administration areas and the site. Both projects are scheduled for completion in January 2009.
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