A  fault line runs through the architectural profession separating 
academics from  practitioners, thinkers from doers, those who imagine 
from those who build.  Straddling this line, and connecting the realms 
on either side, are emerging  architects who both teach and practice. 
It's a difficult balancing act to pull  off, but it often spurs an 
exciting form of creativity shaped by tension and  risk-taking. Many of 
the architects in this year's Design Vanguard epitomize  this kind of 
back-and-forth career, combining academic research with the nuts  and 
bolts of delivering real buildings to real clients. From Berkeley  to 
Barcelona,  and Glasgow to Winnipeg, partners in  many of this year's 
firms have established a fluid relationship between  intellectual 
exploration and making projects happen. In doing so, they enrich  both 
spheres of work. Firms shown here are bridging other types of divides, 
 too, crossing national boundaries, for  example, and connecting eras by
 tapping the spirit  of traditional buildings in works of modern  
design. —Clifford A. Pearson
http://archrecord.construction.com/features/designvanguard/2011.asp
http://archrecord.construction.com/features/designvanguard/2011.asp
 
