Lake Erie Boat Float

Lake Erie Boat Float
Saturday, Oct. 3rd, 2009
Boat Launch at Edgewater State Park Beach
9am

In 2003 Marcus Eriksen sailed down the Mississippi River on a plastic raft called Bottle Rocket

In 2008 he sailed across the Pacific Ocean on a raft made of 15,000 plastic bottles called JUNK

In 2009 he will sail Lake Erie on a raft made of bottles called The COLA-HOGA!

Come and cheer on all the folks who built their very own recycled rafts as they take to the high um... Lake and bring back their rafts for responsible recycling.

RIBApedia - wiki for architects

The Royal Institute of British Architects or RIBA launched an architecture based research wiki today specializing in Journals, Online databases, Awards for architectural research, Funding, Conferences, Projects and Reading lists.

They call it RIBApedia

While the internet is a useful research tool the democratization of of public information banks, such as through Wikipedia, and the plethora of personal subjective websites (such as this one) make culling reliable information from the internet somewhat tricky. Not that print media is inherently more reliable, however there seems to be a more thorough vetting process for information as well as a more permanent record of topics that are discussed and opinions that are stated.

Now that RIBA is moving forward into the realm of information archiving and dissemination through a public "wiki" platform I hope that the RIBApedia can become a reliable and researched centralized location for gathering data. While this may eventually require quite a bit of work on RIBA's part as more and more "articles" are created, there is some level of responsibility assumed when one makes the claim that they hope to "become the online bible on study guidance, funding guidance on research and worldwide scholarships, and links to journals and professional societies." The Architect's Journal

Which is a good thing. A professional body taking the step to create a usable public domain of knowledge about the profession. I am very excited to witness RIBApedia grow and evolve into a reliable and usable reference material.

For you students though, don't forget your school's architecture/design library. There is a tremendous source right at your fingertips, usually full of materials that your professors have personally selected as being pertinent to the projects that you will be undertaking while in your specific curriculum.

Books! Check em out!

Breuer Tower Demolition has started

Apparently the County is moving faster then even THEY anticipated. I admit some surprise as I assumed that an event of this import would have been announced/covered/mention by our local news networks. I guess no one is paying attention anymore.

The east sidewalk of East 9th is closed to make room for 2 construction trailers (one of which I am assuming is a sub-shop in case Mr. Jimmy stops by to view his folly). The good news is that Kurtz Brothers is handling the construction demo/recycling (as an expressed part of creating a new 'green complex'). I am assuming that they do the material separation off site which makes sense due to the constricted nature of the job site. We don't need Euclid and East 9th completely closed down.

Combined with the Euclid Corridor project I feel the financial district will look completely foreign in a couple of years. (Of course the timing of both makes me suspect that the relocation of the County offices was used to inflate the projected 'job numbers' that were used to justify the Euclid Corridor project.

It doesn't really matter too much now. I feel a little ashamed. Like I have been 'had', as if a schuckster sold me some snake oil and I had just recently discovered my foolishness. At least I will admit it, I tried to speak out, attended meetings, shook my fist at the establishment, and apparently have resolved myself to documenting the change because for better or for worse it is out of my hands.

I suppose the question is now, what can we do to stop this mess from happening again? Should we even protect our past or just recreate it to reflect whatever we envision our future to be? (I love that the etymology for 'erie' is given in that article but not a understanding or investigation into 'terminal' or even the derivative 'terminus', instead if was glibly given whatever definition fit the author's preconceived notion)

When Trailor Parks attack.

Sometimes I actually feel a little sick when I read things that mostly pertain to people not thinking things all the way out. I don't really believe that anything done in this case was malicious, just perhaps not properly planned nor executed.

According to the South Mississippi Sun Herald FEMA trailors that are currently being used to house Hurricane Katrina victims are making inhabitants sick due to exposure to formaldehyde that was used in the construction materials of the trailers. Granted, the trailers were not built nor designed to be inhabited as long as they were but it strikes me as odd that a government agency would make such an oversight and it strikes me as odd that we are still building small enclosed spaces out of materials that contain known toxins.

This whole disaster continues to break my heart. First the impact and devastation followed by a ham handed response, then the barrage of corruption and people acting at their worst and finally stories of how the affected areas are still ravaged, that basic life needs are not being met, that we still can't provide safe shelters for people. I know there have been gems in the muck, people acting for the better good and helping their neighbor and I in no way mean to tarnish those actions. I am just commenting on how hurt we still are.

Seament - Seacrete Research

"The use of electrodeposited calcareous deposits (solidified calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide) for the corrosion protection of metals immersed in sea water has been researched for over a half century. In 1974 Wolf H. Hilbertz professor of architecture first researched using thick electrodeposited calcareous deposits as a marine construction material. This sea water derived electroaccreted construction material is commonly referred to as 'seament' or seacrete.'"

Intrigued? You should be.

How much of the earth is covered with sea water? How much with land? How much of our known life is based upon land living? What is a natural defense against hurricanes reaching landfall? What could slow down or disrupt a tsunami? As cargo ships get bigger and ports grow to handle them where does our precious oceanfront property disappear to? What happens to wildlife habitats along developed coastlines?

What if you could answer how to restore shoreline, create more areas for crowded cities to grow, move heavy port traffic slightly off shore to free up shoreline, create shallow water habitats, rebuild barrier islands and marshes and find a way to use the ocean's suspended materials to build and power off shore communities?

I don't know if all the answers are there, but this collection of Wolf Hibertz and other's research into extracting materials and energy from the ocean sure raises some good questions.

Found on the Material Explorer newsletter and all said and done without a single "Kevin Costner with gills" joke.

Five Limes Maps

The Five Limes website (a consumer drivin green rating system of services and products) has just become more city specific by offering a user updated mapping system which allows visitors to search for LOCAL green products and services.

While The Pharos Project that I have written about before is based more upon rating building materials for the construction and design market Five Limes offers a rating system for services. I enjoy imagining that this site won't get hijacked by architects and designers in an attempt to tout just how wonderfully "green" they are and instead hope that cleaning companies, natural landscapers, restaurants, markets and more community driven organizations and institutions can use Five Limes to not only get their message out but also drum up more conscientious business.

Either way, I am not surprised at the cities that are currently on the list and hope that soon Cleveland based businesses will start to use this site, until then it is up to us to nominate local businesses and post them up ourselves. Time to start putting a list together. I hope you will join me in getting the word out, not only to area entrepreneurs but also to the international public that Cleveland not only supports a "green" economy but actual excells at it rather well on a local level.

Material Selection Tool - Pharos

Lack of holistic design is one of the many concerns that I have when it comes to utilizing LEED as a framework for implementing "green design". This problem is mostly based in the building and construction industry's way of evaluating and quantifying success as well as a lack of allowing a broad scope design process to take place. As more and more materials become "green" (itself an entire different conversation) and more varied building systems come only for study the designer, contractor and client are all faced with the question "how green IS green?". Is accumulating enough LEED credits to be granted a plaque truly an example of sustainable design? Can someone rightfully say that they own/operate/design green buildings without third party verification? Who are trustworthy sources for newer materials and building products?

Currently there are a PLETHORA of fun and wonderful websites that deal with green design, active environmentalism, sustainable living, etc etc which can all contribute to becoming well educated citizens, clients and designers. The main problem is that it is not only difficult to organize and catalogue material and technique information but also objectively disseminate said information.

Enter the The Pharos Project. There has been word of this project going live bouncing about the web for some time and it seems that it is finally starting to bear fruit. The Pharos Project is an interactive open forum and "wiki" system that will "guide discussion", create a standard rating system (see included image) that rates products in three categories, Environment and Resources, Health and Pollution and Social and Community. Each category includes a series of sub-categories that are also rated in hopes to simplify the complexity of material selection and comparison. The Pharos Project also hopes to accomplish an industry acceptance of a standardized label.

One of the rather amazing parts of this project is that it calls for a consumer driven rating system and transparency of manufacturers in order for a material/technology to qualify. If this project actually works and maintains its transparency not only could this call for a major boom in the "green" industry as it becomes easier to quantify what is and isn't truly a sustainable product but should drive manufacturers to re-evaluate their system of product creation, development and manufacturing.

As for the usefulness of LEED in today's building environment I believe that is up to the included parties to not design to LEED standards but create buildings that work so well, utilize sustainable principles so successfully and are so well thought out that LEED can be applied as an afterthought.

That's what I think at least. We will see how that works out for me in the up coming months.

Smog eating concrete

If you just so happen to be visiting the Italian Pavilion of the architecture exhibition in the Venice Biennale between now and November 19th you might notice that the air seems a little bit crisper, the sky a little bit clearer or you may just notice the demonstration of concrete that utilizes titanium dioxide that when exposed to light (natural or artificial) can break down nitrogen oxide, benzene and carbon monoxide in a difficult to pronounce chemical process called Photocatalysis. So far measurable affects have been rather impressive with a 45-60% reduction in nitric oxides. The concrete doesn't magically sequester or destroy the smog creating compounds but rather breaks them down into relatively less harmful compounds of carbon dioxide, nitrates and water. It would seem to me to be a perfect material to build urban planters out of.

The "smog-eating cement" (known in Italy as "cemento mangiasmog" - by Italcementi ) is a patented technology which of course demands a premium price, however the actual smog eating cement need only be applied to the exposed surface material of the building, sidewalk, etc.

Paving blocks may cost up to a third more the traditional materials however the cost of upgrading a facade (the article did not mention it they meant upgrading an EXISTING facade with a screed, etc. but I suppose that would be possible) would demand a relatively small cost.

Besides decreasing atmospheric pollution the concrete would also preserve the building's appearance as it prevents build-up or discoloring and corrosive material.

Definitely not something that we should expect would alone save our cities and atmosphere but instead this represents a material that would help and provides multiple advantages for any urban environment. Sidewalks, roads and building facades present an incredible amount of surface area in any inhabited environment and increases proportionally with density, mirroring automobile traffic and pollution creation. While I would rather see a city lined with trees and covered in green roofs I can definitely adjust my Utopian "clean(er)" city to welcome the wonderfully plastic material of a smog eating concrete.

Cite your source: Businessweek