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Veg.itecture #28
It’s spring, and there’s been a bumper crop of vegetated architecture examples from around the globe. I’ve been neglecting the posting – and now they’ve piled up into a major collection of projects – and it’s inevitable to be a multi-part series of Veg.itecture posts to get all of the great projects in there. So,…
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Why Architects Shouldn’t Design Outdoor Furnishings
Everything from Steven Holl lately seems to evoke ‘porosity‘ not just in concept buy also in name. A new furniture addition to this is the ‘Porosity Bench’ – seen a number of places recently on the web. This prototype was destined for Design Miami/Basel where it was shown to the masses. It’s like a little…
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Hydrological Black Out
These images appeared recently relating to a project in Los Angeles, related to the restoration of water reservoir levels of bromate. A past post outlined similar situations in Silver and Elysian Lakes and the use of phytoremediation to eliminate levels. A new approach is the use of sun-block, in the form of plastic balls, that…
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Chicago: Bridge to Nowhere
It’s tongue and cheek, but of course I couldn’t resist taking a friendly barb at Chicago. It’s like you want to cross Lake Michigan, but decide it’s not going to work, and going back to Chicago seems like a good plan. C’mon, they can take it, as it IS the cultural creative capital of the…
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Portland: Bridge to Commerce
Via Mike Thelin’s blog at Portland Spaces, a recent proposal from local firm Path Architecture envisions a new bridge across our Willamette River. Not an actual proposal, but a visionary idea that aligns with the proposed future crossing of the new MAX Orange-line light rail alignment, along with bus, bike, and pedestrian. A very car-less…
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Exporting Sustainability
A shameless plug for a fantastic upcoming workshop/summit this summer. If you want to travel and learn from the lessons of the Portland region, get some credit, and interact with other professionals around sustainability – this is not one to miss. Oh, and you get to hang out with me, too… 🙂Sustainability in the Urban…
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Museum of Nature
I’ve seen these a few times in the past, but recently these images of Ilkka Halso‘s Museum of Nature struck me with a new sort of resonance – specifically in relationship to our architecture/landscape interactions. Inhabitat just featured these again recently: “Using images of landscapes and 3D digital manipulation, this photographic collection captures a future…
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Career Shifts…
Things in June have been quiet around here while I seriously contemplate a career shift to acting, as a way of increasing my credibility and potential to access high-end ‘green’ projects… 🙂 And, there have been a few presentations of our habitats entry as well – one for a great local group called ccurbangreen. Or…
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Reading List: Nature, Landscape, and Building for Sustainability
I’m in the midst of reading a group of new books recently released that I picked up online. The first Nature, Landscape, and Building for Sustainability, edited by William S. Saunders, is the sixth in a series of Harvard Design Magazine Readers (published by Univ. of Minnesota). This entry in the series specifically focusing on…
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80/20 for Sustainability
A recent post from anArchitecture mentioned the Pareto Principle – also known as the 80/20 rule. The idea, as explained on the site: “The 80/20 rule asserts that approximately 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables in that system. The 80/20 rule is observed in all…