Way back in 2009 we were talking about cost overruns for the 2012 Olympic games. The price to build the Olympic Stadium in London was soaring faster than Europe's economy was sinking.Come to find out, Olympic Games are always over budget. For the past 50 years, overruns have averaged 179 percent. Oxford University researcher and cost overrun expert Bent Flyvbjerg studied Olympic budgets from 1960 to 2012 and found that London's 101 percent budget increase is in line with the Beijing, Barcelona and Montreal games. But overall, the London Games are expected to be the most expensive in history.
Are cost estimates ever right?
Big Stadiums:
- Top Olympic Venues of 2012
- Great Stadiums and Arenas
- Cost of 2012 Olympic Stadium Nearly Doubles (The Guardian, February 5, 2009)
- How Much Will Your New Home Cost?
- How to Build Your House on a Budget
Design Connects is the theme this year as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) kicks off another National Architecture Week, April 8 to 14, 2012. 
April 15 is the birthday of the great Renaissance painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci was born in 1452. Among his many accomplishments, da Vinci is known for transforming the ideas of Roman architect Vitruvius into one of the world's most famous drawings, The Vitruvian Man. The archetypal man da Vinci drew became a symbol for concepts of "spiritual geometry" and classical theories of proportion and design.
Today, March 1, is Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant, or St. David's Day, in Wales. The 6th century patron saint of Wales is said to have taught us to "Do the little things." Although this seems to be good personal advice, I wonder if he was talking about architecture....
Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475. Throughout his career he did a little painting (think ceiling of the Sistine Chapel), did a little sculpting (think Pietà), but some say most of Michelangelo's career was devoted to architecture (think St. Peter's Basilica dome). 
Born on February 8, 1819, John Ruskin was a rebel and a romantic. After traveling through Europe, he wrote books that reawakened interest in medieval Gothic architecture. He also disdained anything machine-made, and paved the way for the Arts & Crafts movement. 
Do you like algorithms and architecture? Then SmartGeometry is your global community. This is a group that Anne Griswold Tyng would love. Their annual workshop and conference this week, sg2012, is being held not in Copenhagen (2011), not in Barcelona (2010), but in Troy, NY, of all places.
It's already May 25 in China, so architect Wang Shu will soon be honored by the Pritzker committee at The Great Hall of the People. 
Architect Peter Eisenman stirred controversy when he unveiled plans for the Berlin Holocaust Memorial, the Monument to the Murdered Jews in Europe. Some people called the design inhuman. Other people said that the memorial should honor all people who were killed in the Holocaust, including the thousands of gays who perished. But many visitors to the Memorial say that its chilling message leaves no one out. 
The irreverent and controversial architect Frank Gehry was born on February 28, 1929 in Toronto, Canada. From his earliest works, Frank Gehry has shattered conventions, designing buildings that some critics say are more sculpture than architecture. In fact, in 2004 he designed the sculpture-looking trophy for the World Cup of Hockey! What's your favorite building by Gehry—or do his other designs intrigue you more? Tell us!
Spring has sprung! My weeping cherry tree is in full bloom, and the crab apple trees are not far behind. It's not too early to plan your outdoor home improvement projects. What does this have to do with architecture? Everything, if you consider aesthetics as well as practicality. Some ideas:
Architecture is history, so it's appropriate that David McCullough deliver the opening keynote address this week at the 2012 AIA National Convention in Washington, DC. The well-known historian and prize-winning author will examine the role of the architect through our nation's history. The speech should crystallize this year's convention theme that Design Connects.
Some say the U.S. Supreme Court is a roving circus. Really? 
Anyone who has seen a headline in the The New York Times or bought anything from L.L. Bean has seen a design from this American architect.
"CONNECTING GIRLS, INSPIRING FUTURES" is the theme for International Women's Day, 2012. Many countries, including Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Mongolia, Russia, Uganda, and Vietnam, celebrate March 8 as a special day to honor women's accomplishments and inspire girls to achieve. 
"So well laid out that it doesn't seem small," says the owner of this 1927 South Carolina bungalow with cross gables. Is the age of over-sized McMansions finally over? 
April 26 is the birthday of the man most people recognize as the founder of American landscape architecture.
Inspiration Awaits this weekend at the 11th annual Architectural Digest Home Show at Pier 94 in New York City. On March 22–25, 2012, hundreds of exhibitors from all over the world will showcase upscale building components and furnishings, including kitchen & bath products, flooring, fabric & textiles, lighting, and outdoor amenities.
Wang Shu is the first Chinese architect to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize. "The architecture of the 2012 Pritzker Prize Laureate Wang Shu, opens new horizons while at the same time resonates with place and memory," the jury citation reads. 
Ever since the February 6, 2012 passing of Norma Merrick Sklarek, we've been marveling over her accomplishments. Born on April 15, 1926, Sklarek was the first African-American woman to be licensed as an architect in the United States and the first woman to be elected Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Her legacy includes the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan and many other collaborations with César Pelli. But perhaps most importantly, Sklarek is fondly remembered for helping countless young architects launch their careers.
February 3 is the birthday of Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Born at the cusp of Modernism in 1893, Aalto became famous for both his buildings and his furniture designs. Aalto's unique stylegrew out of a passion for painting and a fascination for the works of cubist artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. 
Here we go again. That's the buzz about the latest Pritzker Prize. 
Born on April 13 in 1743, Thomas Jefferson helped shape the new American nation and also shaped some of the country's most distinguished buildings. The twentieth century architects who designed the circular, domed Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC drew inspiration from Thomas Jefferson's architectural ideas, including the Rotunda, shown here at the University of Virginia, and Monticello, the Virginia home that Jefferson designed for himself. And where did Jefferson get his ideas?
FEMA's list of potential natural disasters exhausts me! As we mourn the horrific earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011, we confront a series of tornado tragedies in the USA.
What do architects do when they're waiting for buildings to be constructed? In his spare time, Los Angeles-based Frank Gehry makes jewelry for Tiffany & Co. What do others do? 
Want to live in an apartment building like this one designed by Walter Gropius? How about Alvar Aalto? Frank Gehry? Renzo Piano? Jeanne Gang? Moshe Safdie?
Today we celebrate the citizen-architect Helm Roberts, who died on August 26, 2011 at the age of 80. Roberts had been:
Thirty years ago, the young student architect Maya Lin got some help from architect/artist Paul Stevenson Oles. Both Oles and Lin submitted proposals for a new Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C, but the committee was more interested in Lin's design. The problem was not with Lin's beautiful and poignant ideas, but her drawings were vague and ambiguous. 