Not environmental nor Cleveland related but definately about design tools

Ripped from the headlines

A group called The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) were apparently sitting around a pub one evening, no doubt luxuriating in a glass of the good stuff when it dawned on someone that their pint glass wasn't quite full. They (relatively) quickly got off their duffs, conducted a survey, and discovered that over 25% of drinks poured at pubs contained at least 5% less beer then they should have. Camra is estimating the discrepancy at 481 million pounds ($956,305,471.74) a year (someone check that math).

Camra has called the shortcomings "a disgrace" and have begun an online petition to "end short beer measures".

Seriously. THIS is news.

thanks to the Bradford for the heads up.

Low Calorie Diet - Local film about local food

Monday, April 16th, Hallock Auditorium, 7:30pm

Lewis Environmental Studies Center, 122 Elm Street, Oberlin College

Wednesday, May 9th, Talkies Coffee House, 6:00pm

2521 Market Street, Ohio City, across from Great Lakes Brewing Company

There is a noticeable disconnect as we continuously de-evolve into consuming prepackaged and preprepared meals. Food comes to us "quicker" and "cleaner" or at least boxed and bagged to make us think so. The joy of cooking is slipping from the grasp of the typical American family and being replaced with eating from glossy containers with a growing absence of communication and interaction between family members.

Bit by bit you can see people start to wonder, consciously, why that is. Why are we constantly rushed? Why is it that meal time is taken so for granted? Why is ordering a pizza really better then making a dinner together? With all the time saving kitchen technology we have at our disposal, why is the phone the most used? What the heck are the ingredients in this stuff?

Most importantly, why is it so hard to figure out where our food is coming from?

Check out the trailor for The Low Calorie Diet and if your interest in local urban community farms and community farms project is piqued, check out the showings listed above.

This is all part of the New Agrarian Center that I am so happy about, especially as the City Fresh program is up and running again.

Stewardship, community, education, nutrition, these are building blocks for a new and healthy urban economy and they are not as overlooked as one might fear. Of course neither are they as accessible as they ought to be.

RTA -redline "community workshop"

April 18th - 5pm - 9.30pm
April 19th - 8am - 1.00pm

Community Workshop regarding E120th Red Line Station
Community Room, Abington Arms Apartments
11501 Mayfield Road

There is a lot going down in University Circle. FOA will be designing a new home for Clevland's MOCA and MVRDV will be designing the new expansion for Cleveland Institute of Art. Now there is the option for Cleveland to tie it all together by creating a wonderful travel nexus for the GCRTA by refurbishing/re-imagining the E120th Redline Station between Euclid and Mayfield roads.

This station is a rather important one as it serves Case Wester Reserve University, CIA and University Hospitals as well as offers access to the University Circle collection of cultural institutions and various neighborhoods around Euclid and Mayfield. Over the years the existing 120th station has gathered some rather questionable accolades such as "Station you don't want to be at after 6pm", "Most akin to reeking of stale urine", "Best place to bring new visitors you hate", etc and is in dire need of becoming something more functional, pleasant and with the current movement of design in the area, wonderful.

The attached photo was the first I had heard of a specific date/time for a community workshop regarding the planning of said station. I discovered it on Friday (the 13th) whilst jumping off the red line early to make my way to Tremont for the ArtWalk. The notice asked for an RSVP by Friday. I don't know when this was posted (I am responsible for removing one "free guitar lesson style" pull tab) but it seemed to generate enough interest to at least have two other people pull tabs. I am concerned that I didn't see one of these at the Triscuit station or at Tower City (my two regular stops) since one has a gigantic lot and collects a lot of riders and Tower City which is a major nexus.

I also noticed nothing on RTA's website. In fact, during various google searches the only thing that actually came up was Green City Blue Lake (who know EVERYTHING) so I have no idea how anyone was really supposed to know about this thing.

Regardless, there is opportunity here for those interested in making sure that a major cultural gateway in Cleveland is designed with, well, attention to things that are typically overlooked, you might want to swing by a workshop. I know it is too late to RSVP so pack a lunch or dinner and bring your own notepad and camera. There is a lot of possibility and potential here and careful attention will have to be paid to an area and structure of such importance so that it doesn't get screwed up. We don't need any more examples of poor public spaces in Cleveland.

E4S - 3rd Tuesday - Future of Sustainability in NE Ohio

Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Great Lake Brewery Tasting Room
5.30-8.30

Exactly what is the future of sustainability in Northeast Ohio? Sure, the local Garland Co. is leading the nation in green roofs and the current plans for installing a PV array at Jacob's Field and the Science Center, and of course since it is spring there is an surge in community garden projects, but what are you doing?

The latest E4S event will center on a discussion about the goals that many businesses are attempting to attain in order to create a more sustainable city.

registration

Guerilla's in the street...

More specifically, designers need to take a more active role instead of just complaining and blaming the helpless; designers need to change their role from that of commander and decision-maker to coordinator and facilitator (Hsia, 1993; Liu, 1995; Sanoff, 2000).

With quotes like that, I wonder if anyone could resist the wonderful Guerrilla Wars in Everyday Public Spaces: Reflections and Inspirations for Designers by Kin Wai Michael Siu.

Kin presents the history of deciphering of the urban spaces and the singular attempts of conventional planning by attempting to combine sociological thinking into the rather pragmatic equation of urban planning. While using three Hong Kong market streets as a basis for studying the ways in which we should study public spaces the concentration is removed from the traditional study of how built spaces impact the user to how the user inhabits the provided space. In fact, by working in the vacuum of a city street with restricted vehicular movement one can see the territoriality and social behavior of those that utilize the public domain in the most intimate of manners.

Not that every movement is unnecessarily unprescribed or even perhaps too regimented to present itself as a proper case study, the area under investigation finds a rather delicate harmonic between the rules and regulations of the street as well as the intent of those that use it. A major portion of the argument for studying the social behavior of design actually respects this dialog between what is described as the "weak" (inhabitants/hawkers) and the "strong" (governmental authority) and presents a rather wonderfully flexible and respecting solution while showing how the "weak" can actually rely on their flexibility to overcome restrictive regulations and rules.

While not inherently a proper study for American society and public space planning (in that cultural consumer and social differences, coupled with our prescriptive space planning techniques refuse to accept flex-space as a proper solution) there are arguments and nuances that could be further applied to perhaps facilitate good spaces in our fair city of Cleveland.

Regardless, it was a good read.

Tremont Art Hop/Walk

Friday, April 13th 2007

Once again it is time for the Tremont ArtHop, or if your knees are a little sore the Tremont Art Walk.

You can find past date information on the sites. Nothing for the new one yet. Sigh, don't get discouraged, I am sure it will be an awesome way to spend some nicer spring weather outside wandering about.

Take a loved one and pretend to have some culture or something.

First National Architecture Week?

I am not entirely sure what we are really supposed to be celebrating, but I will never turn down an event.

I assume the whole thing was started by the AIA which have created a myriad in rules and regulations about what an architect really is and who can call themselves an architect. Since I am still short of completing my exams I cannot technically wear the mantle of an actual architect, however I have developed software programs so perhaps I can sneak in under the radar that way. Still though, this celebration is for the building type of architects, not the software guys (especially because it annoys me so when I do job searches in cities I love and the only "architect" position that shows up is for the non-architect degree holding sorts).

Anyway, if anyone really cares, you can read about it here.

In the time it has taken me to write I have become completely indifferent. I may however still use it as an excuse to act silly and perhaps imbibe a bit. Maybe.

Stop Building Shit

I had a whole tirade about SBS-44114, a blog devoted to poor construction and misguided design intent (while strangely ignoring aesthetics) but really thought that the whole thing spoke for itself.

Seriously, I have nothing to add. I couldn't even be upset about it. I suspect criticism eventually makes us better. I might actually love it.

Easter weekend breakdown

Well, sorry to be missing out on some posting this weekend, I was in Indianapolis for the Manufacturing Materials Effects seminar hosted by Ball State University in the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

I don't really know if I can make intelligible comments upon the seminar without launching off into a tirade about current assumptions and failures in vision and similar thoughts that made me feel very frustrated about working with and around certain peoples. I will say that the seminar was well put together, that the food and venue were amazing, that the discussions/lectures were so invigorating as to instill in one a euphoric feeling of self realization and intent that could prove very dangerous if not properly stifled in the up coming weeks.

It basically made one feel as if they could change the world. I hadn't felt that way for a while actually. It was creeping back in after being properly trampled upon but now my veins course with the power of potential.

Shaping metal with explosives underwater will do that to you.

I will actually attempt to possibly break down some of the lectures, the uses for technology and possibilities as I see them for the local and environmental economy. I just need some personal time for shoveling the driveway, sleeping and catching up with loved ones.

Happy holidays.

Ideal Bite - a sassier shade of green...

For some of us, the idea of becoming more environmentally friendly is nice and all, but it requires effort and work...

Well, it doesn't have to require that much. Welcome to Ideal Bite, a webbernet site that collects tips, ideas and goods of the "green" variety for visitors to search, collect and become more informed. You can find food, clothes and other goods as well as tips on how to live a more "ideal" lifestyle or how to supplement your already greenish one.

Special thanks to MarJ for another fine lead.

CSU - Urban Affairs Lecture Forum

Thursday, April 19, 2007
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
Glickman-Miller Hall, Atrium

printable invitation (.pdf)

What happens when you attempt to combine skilled craftsmanship, sustainable practices and progressive design? In Cleveland you probably get unemployment.** If you are lucky you get a design build firm that lives on site during construction, practicing what they preach such as Jersey Devil - Design Build.

As a matter of coincidence, Steve Badanes, founder of Jersey Devil, will grace our fair town with a forum at Cleveland States Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at the above mentioned time. Topics will include the "social responsibilities of architects and the role of architecture in building communities". I have a feeling it may be a tough crowd.**

**sorry, still a little bitter about the Cleveland Trust Tower/County debacle.

Skyfarming - a primer on sustainable urban use

Urban density and sprawl at times are two separate and distinctly opposing problems. On one hand as urban centers increase in density and size the area of land needed to manufacture, grow and process the goods that supply the city increase exponentially. As tougher environmental laws tighten restrictions on processing and manufacturing techniques these facilities find they must relocate further away from the expanding ring of inhabited space.

Conversely suburban sprawl (typically a buffer to denser urban regions) requires much of the same in terms of spatial requirements but passes the restrictions of land use and to neighboring municipalities who must in turn balance community safety and well being with fiscal responsibility. In turn great amounts of land are used to support a commuting society in terms of infrastructure requirements as well as support facilities for said infrastructure. Sprawling communities can find themselves mixing in manufacturing and processing facilities within the inhabitable fabric in order to mitigate some of the resulting infrastructure requirements from displacing said units. As density decreases habitable space is taken over for privatized greenspace which is also un-buildable and becomes another buffer for the production of goods to support said area. In essence the growth or suburban spaces pushes the agricultural production and processing facilities further away from the denser areas that most need the those products. This results environmentally for an increase in yield per acre (fertilizers, pesticides, displacement of natural area), greater shipping distances (oil consumption, emissions increase), larger centralized production facilities (run-off, toxin concentration, emission increase, displacement of natural area) and finally with a displaced or commuting population to support production facilities (oil consumption, emissions increase, longer work days). Typical manufactured goods work the same way as plants must centralize facilities in order to maximize economy of scale and take advantage of technological, legal and financial methods in order to maximize fiscal return.

While not a new problem, or even really what some would consider a problem, urban areas are looking at ways in which to circumvent the need to constantly move processes that the city requires further and further away. Many municipalities are examining local conditions that can be utilized to lessen dependence upon neighboring regions in terms of products and space. The classic example was to build denser structures and utilizing height in order to concentrate population. Then came the centralization and distribution of transit lanes in the form of shipping, rail and auto to ease mobility to and through areas. Currently many municipalities are looking at utilizing "wasted" roof exposure to capture sunlight for heat or electricity. Some of urban areas are attempting to capture power from the same amenities that made them great cities to begin with (see Lake Erie Wind Farm) which lessens the need for remote power stations that typically concentrate hazardous materials. The final solution to the self sustainability of urban areas seems to be the attempt to move food and goods production back to the urban core in a manner that is socially and environmentally responsible.

Enter the idea of Skyfarming. Not entirely a new idea but one that is growing in acceptance. While many communities are supporting the idea of urban farms (setting aside vacant land in urban areas for community farming projects) and the proliferation of growing a small "victory" garden in your own apartment marks an extreme to the organic "know your food" movement the idea of a centralized community farm (or urban center specific farm) has yet to truly be realized. The Skyfarm solution may be the perfect answer for those aging cities with vacant lots in urban centers looking to lure inhabitants that are concerned with their food and health (most of which are younger professionals who can afford the surcharge for the "organic" label). Of special interest to me is the possibility of a city using centralized urban farming as a marketing technique to not only support its citizens and attract new inhabitants but also as a means to subsidize school lunch programs, horticulture and science educational programs, foster community growth and relations and drive down the cost of the typical "organic" produce making it more attainable for the entire community.

While the whole enclosed garden idea may make one feel as if they were in Silent Running (and depending on the company you keep, Bio-Dome) I think that the amenities of capitalizing on underused urban space could possibly be the catalyst many urban centers are looking for to recreate themselves.

I look forward to watching this idea grow and develop to incorporate even more sustainable practices, lessening the burden of the urban core on the environment.

Tuesday, April 3rd - 90.3FM discussion on architecture

Just when you thought it was safe to put away the Breuer Trust Tower Trading Cards WCPN 90.3FM will present Christopher Diehl, Steven Litt and Robert Madison to discuss the woefully and wonderfully delicious debacle that is the County's decision to raze the tower.

Again, I wish I had actual minutes of the county's meeting to really make some good jabs at the expense of others but one can only PRAY that Litt and Diehl will have the veracity of soul to do it for me. While I personally believe that the County is only capitalizing on the city's complacency in its actions of demolishing the tower I find the fight not without merit and will welcome any action that moves to point out the bureaucratic hypocrisy and fallacy that has helped run the region into the ground.

In other news the Cleveland City Planning Commission did what others were afraid or unable to and attempted to put the brakes on the County's plan to demolish the Breuer Tower. They are allowing the removal of 3 pedestrian bridges but want the County to re-evaluate whether the Trust Tower does in fact, need to come down. In fact the city demands to first approve a master plan for the site and a presentation on preserving the tower as conditions for approval to move forward with any development of the site in question.

Hope you all tune in tomorrow and be sure to have your phone and email ready as I am sure that there will be ample opportunity to be heard.

Another local design challenge!

It appears that the kids over at |re|Design Cleveland have yet another design challenge in mind. This one is centered around the Columbus Road Lift Bridge and fits a certain hobby of mine, you know, designing bridges.

Anyway, this one is due at the end of April and looks like they are fulfilling their mission of attempting monthly design challenges for anyone to partake in. I am very excited to see what came of the last design challenge and hope that they had enough submissions to make this sort of thing a real conversation. I am actually giddy with excitement about this.