FRIDAY FUNNY: The Mystery Facility

Guess what this is?











It's a new prison in Austria!






























The photographs show the Justice and Detention Center in Leoben, Austria. The building was completed in 2005 and comprises court facilities as well as a penitentiary. Modern architecture Web site MIMOA notes:

Architect Josef Hohensinn did not find it all that far-fetched to take home comfort into consideration in his penitentiary design for the new Justice and Detention Centre in Leoben. Façades, layout of spaces, art concept - everything meets the highest Austrian standards.

"Lucky" Austrian prisoners enjoy not only clean and modern accommodation but can also move freely among their cells and the communal spaces in their designated areas. There are also outdoor courtyards where inmates can walk and sit in the fresh air.

More information (Google translated from original German) about the prison is available on the Hohensinn Architektur Web site.


Many thanks to Luann Rathemacher for providing this Friday Funny, and additional thanks to Tim Springer for sending a correction from Hoax-Slayer.

Architecture Billings Index Drops to Lowest Level Ever

Emblematic of the various struggling sectors in the overall economy, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped two points in March and fell to its lowest level since the survey’s inception in 1995. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI shows an approximate nine to 12 month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the March ABI rating dropped to 39.7, following its steep nine point decline in February (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The inquiries for new projects score was 48.0, also the lowest mark for the survey.

“We’ve seen an 11-point fall-off in the first quarter of the year, and the prognosis for commercial construction later this year is not favorable at this point,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “Aside from historically low project demand, all regions are showing very poor business conditions. This is not likely to reverse itself anytime soon.”

Key March ABI highlights:
Regional averages: South (45.3), Northeast (38.7), West (38.7), Midwest (36.9)
Sector index breakdown: institutional (50.8), commercial/industrial (38.3), multi-family residential (31.7)
Project inquiries index: 48.0

The Architecture Billings Index is derived from a monthly “Work-on-the-Boards” survey and produced by the AIA Economics Market Research Group. Based on a comparison of data compiled since the survey’s inception in 1995 with figures from the Department of Commerce on Construction Put in Place, the findings amount to a leading economic indicator that provides an approximately nine to 12 month glimpse into the future of nonresidential construction activity.

The diffusion indexes contained in the full report are derived from a monthly survey sent to a panel of AIA member-owned firms. Participants are asked whether their billings increased, decreased, or stayed the same in the month that just ended. According to the proportion of respondents choosing each option, a score is generated, which represents an index value for each month.