Saturday, April 20, 2013

Upcoming LEAF Events

via: LEAF: Lakewood Earth & Food Community

Green Spring Cleaning & Organic Pest Control
You are invited to join the Lakewood Earth and Food (LEAF) Community for an educational session on Green Spring Cleaning and Pest Control.  For more information, go to www.leafcommunity.org

Tuesday, April 23rd at 7 p.m. 
at Mahall's 20 Lanes 
13200 Madison Ave.
Lakewood, OH 44107
Visit LEAF at these upcoming events...
Earth Day, sponsored by Keep Lakewood Beautiful
Saturday, April 20th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
at Lakewood Park Women's Pavilion
Welcome to Lakewood, sponsored by the City of Lakewood and the Lakewood Family Collaborative
Wednesday, April 24th from 7 to 9 p.m.
at Garfield Middle School
13114 Detroit Ave.
For more information: www.onelakewood.com

Lakewood Old House Fair
Saturday, April 27th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
at Harding Middle School
16601 Madison Ave.
  • Hens in Lakewood Forum 
Come and learn about the proposed ordinance that Hens in Lakewood has created. Ask questions and discuss how hens could be a beneficial addition to Lakewood.

Sunday, April 28th from 6 to 8 p.m.
Lakewood Public Library Multipurpose Room
15425 Detroit Ave.
Lakewood, OH 44107
  • Heirloom Plant Sale  
Our fourth annual heirloom plant sale. This year Lakewood Garden Center and LEAF wanted to kick it up a notch, by adding additional vendors to the beautiful heirloom seedlings. We hope to see you there! So far we have Old Husher's Farm, Ridge Bridge Farm, Maggie's Farm, Plant Kingdom Bakery, and Lake Erie Creamery. More vendors to be added.

Saturday, May 11th from 2 to 4 p.m.
Lakewood Garden Center
13230 Detroit, Lakewood, OH 44107

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Hope is a dangerous thing if used incorrectly.

It seems that whenever I find myself questioning the authenticity of the ideals behind "architecture" whether through a regional or institutional lens, I find some stupid article online that reinvigorates my passion of attempting to create sensitive and thoughtful solutions.

A nice library in Mexico City. An interesting retail policy in the UK. An art installation in LA. A re-invigoration of Main Street Retail to bring life back to tired areas.

I am completely unconvinced as to whether this is a good or bad thing.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Mario Carpo Lecture "Further Reflections on The Alphabet and the Algorithm - KSU CAED 2013.04.17



Carpo poster
Kent State’s CAED hosts Mario Carpo
Wednesday, April 17, 7:00pm
University Auditorium, Cartwright Hall
The CAED Spring 2013 Lecture Series continues on Wednesday, April 17 with a talk by Dr. Mario Carpo. He will discuss his book The Alphabet and the Algorithm (MIT, 2011) and draw out the implications of the book’s treatment of digital technology, new approaches to making, and his research into the long tradition of pre-digital efforts to index built form to graphic media.
Carpo is a Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Vincent Scully Visiting Professor of Architectural History at Yale. He has also taught at numerous universities in Europe and the US, including the University of Florence, Cornell, MIT, and Princeton. He has been a resident at the American Academy in Rome and a resident scholar at the Getty Research Institute. Carpo has published widely on topics at the intersection of media theory and architectural theory/history. His work on Leon Battista Alberti has revolutionized our understanding of the early development of renaissance architectural theory. His Architecture in the Age of Printing (MIT, 2001) is an authoritative guide to the role of print technology in the development of early modern architecture. His recent work brings a deep understanding of media technology to efforts to understand how digital modeling and simulation are changing design.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Directions and parking information may be found athttp://www.kent.edu/campuses/maps/map.cfm
For more information contact Professor Steve Rugare at srugare@kent.edu.

March 2013 Reading List Recap

My caveat for March is that I was out of town for a week or so with the new nephews which cut into my reading time somewhat. I know its a lame excuse but I'm making it anyway. I have also come to really not enjoy the days I have to drive to the office for the simple reason that it really cuts into my reading time. I know, what sort of real world problems are those when my biggest complaint is that I didn't read as much this month as I wanted to? Awesome problems, that's what.

Anyway, without much ado I took a massive flashback to the 1970's with four classic selections.

Future Shock - Alvin Toffler
Toffler coined the phrase "Future Shock" in reference to a person's inability to cope with or process the rapid pace in which society changes due typically to technological advances. While reading as a series of psychological/sociological studies and examples Toffler begins to explore the repercussions of rapid changes of personal life, education, government, work and military interventions (in fact Toffler begins to explore what has recently been diagnosed as PTSD). While I admit reading a book regarding the predictive shifts of society 40 years after the fact is sometimes humorous (there are some odd assumptions folks 40 years back were making about the future) it becomes even scarier when one realized just how right Toffler was.

What does this have to do with architecture? Probably it is only useful if the designer is interested in the social sciences and impact of the structure with regards to use (programmatic studies based upon shifting work flows, etc.). 8/10

Tools for Conviviality - Ivan Illich
What is the value of your time? How has the dependence on the automobile affected class economics? Illich begins to weave a careful thread between the desire to create, quality of goods, strong working class and our dependence on technology, automobiles and the ever growing complexity of our solutions. Potentially a wonderful primer for anyone exploring secondary economies or one who struggles with why they feel discontent with their office existence and struggles to feel "useful" or satisfied with the completion of tangible tasks. 8/10

The Right to Useful Unemployment - Ivan Illich
A further exploration based upon the previous Tools for Conviviality Illich further dissects the self replication purpose of most professions. As a former educator (and current "professional") I found quite a bit rather difficult accept even though I understood quite a bit of the reasoning behind it. The simplest explanation being that most professionals develop metrics for success that can only be met by members of the profession, in this manner the power of independence is striped from the common citizen as they are constrained to regulations and expectations of the professions that govern, and in exchange are governed by their specific fields. Illich argues (quite rationally) that this devalues the self reliance and productivity of our citizens in exchange for a sense of security and technological advancement. Quite a quick and smart read. 8/10

The Silent Language - Edward T. Hall
A boss of mine (I suppose I have many) mentioned that this book was considered a primer when he was in school during a conversation regarding the inherent differences between physiological and learned interpretations of our surrounding space, the standard nature versus nurture argument. Hall, an anthropologist, attempts to unravel the unspoken communication that establishes the baseline for interactions. While more general and not as rigorous as I would have liked it is a solid primer for accentuating that it is vital for a designer to understand not only their clients needs but also their culture in order to create complete solutions. 6/10

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Tremont Redistricting Discussion : 2013.04.15

This tax day, April 15th, there will be a public discussion and potential vote regarding the redistricting of the Tremont Neighborhood of Cleveland Council Representation (wards 12 & 3 beginning in January 2014). The new boundaries were already voted upon and Tremont will be represented by 2 different wards however due to the level of interest (you dang rabble rousers) Cleveland City Council has moved the discussion of the redistricting to be on the agenda and until a vote is cast on the provided map, specifics could change.

Cleveland City Council Meeting
Monday, April 15th, 2013
601 Lakeside Ave.
Room 220
Cleveland, OH 44114
Discussion and possible vote scheduled for 6pm

If you have concerns, comments, please attend.

.pdf map of ward boundaries

via: Tremont West

Lecture: The Professional Design Guide to Green Roofs w/ Lisa Lee Benjamin - CUDC + KSU CAED



Lecture:
The Professional Design Guide to Green Roofs
Lisa Lee Benjamin (co-author)
Friday, April 19th, 2013
CUDC @ 12pm
Rm 202 Taylor Hall, Kent State Main Campus @3.45pm

via Kent CAED Events


Lisa is a catalyst for the planet profoundly dedicated to altering the way we live. With a botanical background her work focuses on international collaboration to open possibilities and challenge our ideas of
sustainability and community. She has led and consulted on projects from California to Kenya. Her new book is a collaborative venture with designers to aid practitioners in green roof design. Come hear her speak
about vegetative roofs in our changing world.