LANDSCAPE URBANISM
BULLSHIT GENERATOR (beta)
Instructions:
1. Don’t fill in the box.
2. Simply click the “make bullshit” button.
3. Watch bullshit appear in the box.
4. Repeat to taste (use your Enter/Return key).
via landscape urbanism bullshit generator.
In 1997, David Chipperfield Architects – with Julian Harrap – won the international competition for the rebuilding of the ‘Neues Museum’.
Their ambitious £49 million remodelling marries old and new seamlessly, breathing new life into this amazing building. After more than 60 years in ruins, the Neues Museum opened its doors once again in October. Photos by Ute Zscharnt.
via David Chipperfield restyles the ‘Neues Museum’, Berlin | Suzy Hoodless – Design Consultancy.
America wasn’t immune to the fad. In 1911, Dr T. Kennard Thomson proposed to expand New York into its adjacent waters for a grand total of 50 square miles. Thomson was neither a lightweight nor a crackpot. As a consulting engineer and urban planner for the City of New York, he had been involved in the construction of numerous bridges and over 20 of New York’s early skyscrapers, specialising in their foundations, designing pneumatic caissons. It was the versatility of these caissons that would lead Dr Thomson to envisage a much wider application for them. In August of 1916, he wrote an article in Popular Science, advocating ‘A Really Greater New York’.
via 486 – “A Really Greater New York” | Strange Maps | Big Think.
“Americans are better educated now than ever, but the distribution of people with college degrees is growing increasingly unequal,” write Roberto Gallardo and Bill Bishop in the Daily Yonder. “And the clustering of people with higher education is creating greater disparities in regional incomes and unemployment.” Their article includes three U.S. county maps showing how much above or below the national average each county has been in terms of number of adults with a college degree since 1990. Via David Brin.
via The Map Room: U.S. College Degrees by County.
ean Blondel, Patrick Tavernier
The plan layout is grouped to form a compact building entity, providing both a coherent base for environmental performance concepts and a reply to the insertion of the program within the existing site. The density of the resulting model frees up the garden area and the facade of the building behind.
This ‘compacting’ of the building is the result of a study to optimise its volumetric constraints and orientation in order to gain a maximum of direct sunlight without penalising the existing neighbours. All apartments have a dual orientation which allows direct sunlight both morning and evening together with the additional comfort of cross-ventilation.
via Rue de la Convention Housing / Jean Paul Viguier Architecture | ArchDaily.
The Biomass Crop Assistance Program BCAP provides financial assistance to owners and operators of agricultural and non-industrial private forest land who wish to establish, produce, and deliver biomass feedstocks. BCAP provides two categories of assistance:
via Biomass Crop Assistance Program.
The U.S. Green Building Council USGBC and its founders have been named as defendants in a class action lawsuit filed in federal court. Filed on behalf of mechanical systems designer Henry Gifford, owner of Gifford Fuel Saving, the lawsuit was stamped on October 8, 2010, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Among other allegations, the suit argues that USGBC is fraudulently misleading consumers and fraudulently misrepresenting energy performance of buildings certified under its LEED rating systems, and that LEED is harming the environment by leading consumers away from using proven energy-saving strategies.
Alleged fraud and deceptive practicesThe suit alleges that USGBC’s claim that it verifies efficient design and construction is “false and intended to mislead the consumer and monopolize the market for energy-efficient building design.” To support this allegation Gifford relies heavily on his critique of a 2008 study from New Buildings Institute NBI and USGBC that is, to date, the most comprehensive look at the actual energy performance of buildings certified under LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations LEED-NC. While the NBI study makes the case that LEED buildings are, on average, 25–30 percent more efficient than the national average, Gifford published his own analysis in 2008 concluding that LEED buildings are, on average, 29 percent less efficient. A subsequent analysis of the NBI data by National Research Council Canada supported NBI’s findings, if not its methods. Commentary questioning the respective statistical approaches of both the original study and Gifford’s analysis appears in this BuildingGreen blog post by Nadav Malin, president of EBN’s publisher BuildingGreenUsing that study and USGBC’s promotion of it, the suit alleges fraud under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, among other statutes. Gifford’s suit demands that USGBC cease deceptive practices and pay $100 million in compensation to victims, in addition to legal fees. Under the Lanham Act, the suit repeats the same concerns in alleging deceptive marketing and unfair competition. Other allegations include deceptive business practices and false advertising under New York State law, as well as wire fraud and unjust enrichment.
via USGBC, LEED Targeted in Class-Action Lawsuit | News | Architectural Record.
The rise in telecommuting is the unmistakable message of the just released 2009 American Community Survey data. The technical term is working at home, however the strong growth in this market is likely driven by telecommuting, as people use information technology and communications technology to perform jobs that used to require being in the office.
| Transit & Work at Home Share of Commuting | ||||||
| Major Metropolitan Areas: 2000 & 2009 | ||||||
| Transit | Work at Home | |||||
| Metropolitan Area | 2000 | 2009 | 2000-2009 | 2000 | 2009 | 2000-2009 |
| New York | 27.4% | 30.5% | 11.4% | 2.9% | 3.9% | 32.6% |
| Los Angeles | 5.6% | 6.2% | 11.6% | 3.5% | 4.8% | 35.3% |
| Chicago | 11.3% | 11.5% | 2.0% | 2.9% | 4.0% | 37.1% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 1.8% | 1.5% | -13.3% | 3.0% | 4.1% | 37.0% |
| Philadelphia | 8.9% | 9.3% | 3.7% | 2.9% | 3.9% | 35.0% |
| Houston | 3.2% | 2.2% | -29.2% | 2.5% | 3.4% | 37.4% |
| Miami-West Palm Beach | 3.2% | 3.5% | 9.7% | 3.1% | 4.5% | 48.0% |
| Atlanta | 3.4% | 3.7% | 8.7% | 3.5% | 5.6% | 59.9% |
| Washington | 11.2% | 14.1% | 26.6% | 3.7% | 4.5% | 22.7% |
| Boston | 11.2% | 12.2% | 9.8% | 3.3% | 4.3% | 31.9% |
| Detroit | 1.7% | 1.6% | -4.7% | 2.2% | 3.1% | 40.1% |
| Phoenix | 1.9% | 2.3% | 17.5% | 3.7% | 5.3% | 44.3% |
| San Francisco-Oakland | 13.8% | 14.6% | 6.0% | 4.3% | 6.0% | 40.5% |
| Riverside | 1.6% | 1.8% | 9.0% | 3.5% | 4.6% | 32.6% |
| Seattle | 7.0% | 8.7% | 25.0% | 4.2% | 5.1% | 23.6% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | 4.4% | 4.7% | 6.4% | 3.8% | 4.6% | 20.6% |
| San Diego | 3.3% | 3.1% | -7.0% | 4.4% | 6.6% | 50.2% |
| St. Louis | 2.2% | 2.5% | 14.2% | 2.9% | 3.5% | 22.5% |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg | 1.3% | 1.4% | 11.0% | 3.1% | 5.5% | 75.7% |
| Baltimore | 5.9% | 6.2% | 5.8% | 3.2% | 3.9% | 23.2% |
| Denver | 4.4% | 4.6% | 4.3% | 4.6% | 6.2% | 36.4% |
| Pittsburgh | 5.9% | 5.8% | -2.9% | 2.5% | 3.2% | 28.5% |
| Portland | 6.3% | 6.1% | -3.0% | 4.6% | 6.1% | 32.9% |
| Cincinnati | 2.8% | 2.4% | -13.4% | 2.7% | 3.8% | 40.3% |
| Sacramento | 2.7% | 2.7% | 0.8% | 4.0% | 5.4% | 33.1% |
| Cleveland | 4.1% | 3.8% | -8.1% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 25.0% |
| Orlando | 1.6% | 1.8% | 15.4% | 2.9% | 4.9% | 71.4% |
| San Antonio | 2.7% | 2.3% | -12.5% | 2.6% | 3.4% | 29.0% |
| Kansas City | 1.2% | 1.2% | 4.6% | 3.5% | 4.3% | 24.7% |
| Las Vegas | 4.4% | 3.2% | -26.8% | 2.3% | 3.3% | 45.1% |
| San Jose | 3.4% | 3.1% | -9.6% | 3.1% | 4.5% | 44.4% |
| Columbus | 2.1% | 1.4% | -35.0% | 3.0% | 4.1% | 36.7% |
| Charlotte | 1.4% | 1.9% | 32.2% | 2.9% | 5.4% | 88.1% |
| Indianapolis | 1.3% | 1.0% | -22.2% | 3.0% | 3.7% | 24.7% |
| Austin | 2.5% | 2.8% | 11.7% | 3.6% | 5.9% | 64.6% |
| Norfolk | 1.7% | 1.4% | -17.7% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 27.9% |
| Providence | 2.4% | 2.7% | 12.8% | 2.2% | 3.6% | 64.5% |
| Nashville | 0.8% | 1.2% | 38.5% | 3.2% | 4.3% | 34.6% |
| Milwaukee | 4.2% | 3.7% | -12.5% | 2.6% | 3.2% | 25.3% |
| Jacksonville | 1.3% | 1.2% | -9.1% | 2.3% | 4.0% | 73.8% |
| Memphis | 1.6% | 1.5% | -8.1% | 2.2% | 3.1% | 41.3% |
| Louisville | 2.0% | 2.4% | 20.2% | 2.5% | 3.1% | 22.9% |
| Richmond | 1.9% | 2.0% | 6.5% | 2.7% | 4.7% | 76.8% |
| Oklahoma City | 0.5% | 0.4% | -13.0% | 2.9% | 3.1% | 4.7% |
| Hartford | 2.8% | 2.8% | -1.3% | 2.6% | 4.0% | 53.6% |
| New Orleans | 5.4% | 2.7% | -50.3% | 2.4% | 2.9% | 19.2% |
| Birmingham | 0.7% | 0.7% | -2.3% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 29.5% |
| Salt Lake City | 3.3% | 3.0% | -10.1% | 4.0% | 4.7% | 17.8% |
| Raleigh | 0.9% | 1.0% | 10.7% | 3.5% | 6.0% | 74.4% |
| Buffalo | 3.3% | 3.6% | 7.9% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 8.3% |
| Rochester | 2.0% | 1.9% | -4.3% | 2.9% | 3.3% | 13.7% |
| Tucson | 2.5% | 2.5% | 1.8% | 3.6% | 5.0% | 36.3% |
| Total | 7.5% | 8.0% | 6.4% | 3.2% | 4.4% | 37.7% |
| Other | 1.0% | 1.2% | 12.3% | 3.4% | 4.2% | 23.0% |
| National Total | 4.6% | 5.0% | 9.2% | 3.3% | 4.3% | 30.9% |
| Major metropolitan areas: Over 1,000,000 population in 2009 | ||||||
| Metropolitan Area definitions as of 2009 | ||||||
| Data from 2000 Census and 2009 American Community Survey | ||||||
via Decade of the Telecommute | Newgeography.com.
So the front of the 15-story tower can be read as an incorporation of numerous religious symbolism; or as a bunch of diagonal lines that are thin to allow in natural light, and thicken where abundant light is not desired, a functional response to what is inside. The avant-garde design reminds me of Daniel Libeskind’s early designs for the World Trade Center masterplan, before his signature diagonals and slashes gave way to business-as-usual corporate architecture. I’m guessing the same may happen here if and when the project happens. Speculation puts ground breaking in 2013, and SOMA Architects is not the official architect for the project. Nevertheless I see their role as an important one: create images that neutralize the religious associations and drum up even more attention for the project towards raising money for the its construction.
via A Daily Dose of Architecture: The Language of Park51.
the new museum in Bozen designed by Berlin based practice Studio KSV
via Museion in Bozen / Studio KSV | ArchDaily.
Fans of the WHO Farm Project and other crazy green bus projects will enjoy Bus Roots, a green roof system designed for buses by Marco Castro Cosio. Ethereally speaking, it grounds the urban, metallic inflexible atmosphere of modern transport with the essence of nature. Logically speaking: it’s a green roof for a bus.
Showcasing a contained sprawl of mostly low-growing succulents, Bus Roots earned second runner-up in the DesignWala Grand Idea Competition. Cosio created the project as his thesis at NYU. The project posits: “If we grew a garden on the roof of every one of the 4,500 buses in the MTA bus fleet, we would have 35 acres of new rolling green space in the city.” The BioBus sports the current prototype on its roof, touring it around to festivals and fairs. It’s a traveling habitat, a way to reduce the urban heat island effect, and another excuse to grow succulents. Pretty. We like.
via Bus Roots: Green Roofed Bus is a Garden That Goes | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World.
Chongqing sits in the world’s most important new region for important cities: interior China. These interior Chinese cities, notes architect Adam Mayer, offer a healthy alternative to coastal megacities such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzen and Guangzhou, which suffer from congestion, high prices and increasingly wide class disparities. China’s bold urban diversification strategy hinges both on forging new transportation links and nurturing businesses in these interior cities. For example, in Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province, new plane, road and rail connections are tying the city to both coastal China and the rest of the world. And the city is abuzz with new construction, including an increasing concentration of high-tech firms such as Dell and Cisco.
India, although not by plan, also is experiencing a boom in once relatively obscure cities. Its rising urban centers include Bangalore (home of Infosys and Wipro), Ahmedabad (whose per-capita incomes are twice that of the rest of India) and Chennai (which has created 100,000 jobs this year). Many of India’s key industries–auto manufacturing, software and entertainment–are establishing themselves in these cities.
The growth of India and China also creates opportunity for other emerging players, particularly in Southeast Asia by creating markets for goods and services as well as investment capital. Potential hot spots include places like Hanoi, Vietnam, which is attracting greater interest from Japanese, American and European multi-national firms upset with China’s often bullying trade practices and rising costs. Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur–with its rising financial sector–also displays considerable promise.
via The World’s Fastest-Growing Cities | Newgeography.com.
