Roadtrip (12)! - Univ. of Michigan (Spring 2010)

The University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture has posted their Spring 2010 Lecture/Symposium Series and has quite a few decent events and speakers coming up, enough to warrant yet another trip to Ann Arbor. I haven't found the lecture series poster yet (which for some reason is a big part of the lecture series to me, perhaps I just like marketing, etc.) but as soon as I do find it I will post it for your very own enjoyment.

Lecture Series

Lectures are at 6:30 PM in the A+A Lecture Hall, unless otherwise noted, Room 2104 at the Art and Architecture Building. Events are free and open to the public.

Taubman College Lectures

January 12^th

Gerald Frug
Harvard Law School Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law
"Designing Government"

January 21^st
7:00 PM
University of Michigan Museum of Art

Asylum-Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals: Christopher Payne, photographer
Co-sponsored by the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, the Department of English Language and Literature, the Center for the History of Medicine, the Victor Vaughan Society, the Institute for the Humanities, and the Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshops

January 22^nd

Amale Andraos and Dan Wood
WORK Architecture Company principals
Wallenberg Studio Lecture Series: I

January 26^th

Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi
Founding partners Weiss/Manfredi
"Sequence/Section"
Wallenberg Studio Lecture Series: II

February 4^th
Michigan Theater
5:10 PM

Bjarke Ingels
Bjarke Ingles Group (BIG)
"Yes Is More"
Part of the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Visitor Series

February 12^th

Mark Dorrian
University of Edinburgh Reader in Architecture, Director of the Master of Architecture Programme
"Clouds of Architecture"

February 18^th

Michael Kyong-il Kim

February 19^th

Keller Easterling
Yale University School of Architecture Associate Professor of Architecture
Wallenberg Studio Lecture Series: III
"Some True Stories"

February 23^rd

Curtis Moody
Moody/Nolan Ltd., Inc., President and CEO
"Challenges of an Architectural Firm"
Co-sponsored by UM National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS)

March 9^th

Jefferson Han
Perceptive Pixel, Founder and Chief Scientist

March 11^th
Michigan Theater
5:10 PM

Dayna Baumeister
Biomimicry Institute Co-Founder
"Biomimicry"
Part of the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Visitor Series

A+A Building
6:30 PM

Sonit Bafna
Assistant Professor, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology

March 16^th

John Ochsendorf
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Structural Engineer
"Form & Forces"

April 1^st

Zeynep Çelik Alexander
Lecturer, Mellon Post Doctoral Fellow
Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, NY

April 16^th

Alejandro Aravena
Elemental S.A. Executive Director
The Raoul Wallenberg Lecture

Symposiums

January 19^th
7:00 PM

Urban and Regional Planning Martin Luther King Day Symposium
"Immigration: A Catalyst for Change in American Cities"
Presenters include: Ismael Ahmed, Michigan Department of Human Services Director; Francisco Lara-Valencia, Arizona State University Assistant Professor and Southwest Borderland Scholar; Hussein Samatar, African Development Center of Minnesota Executive Director

January 30^th
1:00 – 4:00 PM
University of Michigan Museum of Art

"Contemporary Strategies in Documentary Photography" Symposium, Part 1, with Alec Sloth
Co-sponsored with U-M Museum of Art, Office of the Vice President for Research, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, School of Art & Design, Institute for the Humanities, International Institute, Rackham, Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, Institute for Research on Women & Gender, History, English, American Culture

February 6^th
1:00 – 5:30 PM
University of Michigan Museum of Art

"Contemporary Strategies in Documentary Photography" Symposium, Part 2, with Allan Sekula and Sally Stein
Co-sponsored with U-M Museum of Art, Office of the Vice President for Research, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, School of Art & Design, Institute for the Humanities, International Institute, Rackham, Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, Institute for Research on Women & Gender, History, English, American Culture

March 19^th & 20^th
Rackham Auditorium

Future of Urbanism Conference

Event Supporters

Guido A. Binda Lecture and Exhibition Fund, John Dinkeloo Memorial Lecture Fund, Raoul Wallenberg Lecture Fund, Frances and Gilbert P. Schafer Visiting Professionals Fund, J. Robert Swanson Fund, Taubman College Enrichment Fund, Taubman College Lecture Fund

Architecture for Humanity responds to Haiti quake

Massive Quake Causes Widespread Destruction

On January 12th around 4.50pm local time a powerful 7.0 earthquake hit the impoverished nation of Haiti.This was followed more than 30 strong aftershocks. There has been widespread major damage and a loss of life estimated to be in the tens of thousands. We had been set to send a design team to Haiti this month to partner with local NGO Yele Haiti but have put this on hold until we can get a full assessment of the situation. We've connected with both Yele and our close friends at AIDG (Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group). We have made a full commitment to support both their efforts in the long term rebuilding of affected areas. We have launched an appeal for supplying construction and design professionals and supporting earthquake resistant housing and community structures.. If you care about building back better, donate today. Cheers, Cameron Sinclair Executive Director, Architecture for Humanity 848 Folsom Street, Suite 201, San Francisco, CA 94107-1173 W: 415 963 3511 | M: 646 765 0906 | cameron@architectureforhumanity.org Donate Now to Support Rebuilding > Updates: All updates will be via this link. Twitter: I've been doing updates at www.twitter.com/casinclair - If you cannot contribute and want to support our appeal, please link to our site with your social network accounts and/or blogs. Volunteering: In a few months we will organize a volunteer build for Yele but for now we request that you do not 'go to Haiti' unless you are a member of emergency services. We will be doing transitional and long term reconstruction, much like our work after Hurricane Katrina. Chapters: The San Juan Chapter will be the chapter lead and we will coordinate efforts with them. Donate by mail: Architecture for Humanity 848 Folsom Street, Suite 201 San Francisco, CA 94107 Recent Images New York Times Slideshow Vancouver Sun Images Recent Haiti Trip Report Read the Huffington Post piece written about our trip in August 2009 NB. We will not be doing emergency services. Our role is to help house those in the long term and to rebuild safer and stronger buildings.

cameron@architectureforhumanity.org • Architecture for Humanity

Roadtrip (11)! - Carnegie Mellon (Spring 2010)

The Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture has posted their Spring 2010 Lecture Series. More Roadtrip fun for those with the gas money!

Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture Lecture Series, Spring 2010:

All lectures take place at the Carnegie Museum of Art Theater, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh and are free and open to the public. The Spring 2010 lecture series is cosponsored by the Heinz Architectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art.


CECIL BALMOND Ove Arup, London
3:30 PM Saturday 06 February 2010
reception at Forum Gallery exhibition following lecture

LARS SPUYBROEK NOX, Rotterdam
‘The Radical Picturesque'
6:30 PM Monday 08 February 2010
cosponsored by Epic Metals

PABLO GARCIA POINT/ CMU
‘Supravision'
6:30 PM Monday 15 February 2010
Lucian and Rita Caste Chair in Architecture and Urban Design

LA DALLMAN Grace La and James Dallman, Milwaukee
‘Post Industrial Narratives'
6:30 PM Monday 22 February 2010
exhibition opening following lecture

BEN ARANDA Aranda\Lasch, New York
‘Recent Work'
6:30 PM Monday 29 March 2010
William Finglass Lecture

ANDREW FREEAR Rural Studio, Auburn University
‘Education of a Citizen Architect'
6:30 PM Monday 05 April 2010
Hans Vetter Memorial Lecture

THOM MAYNE Morphosis, Los Angeles
‘W.I.P. #176 Work in Progress'
6:30 PMMonday 19 April 2010
Henry Hornbostel Lecture


Please also note:
wats:ON? Festival
17- 20 March 2010

including installation of solid light film by Anthony McCall,
screening of select films by Ernie Gehr,
Machinema film festival, Arcade Night and more....
The Wats:On? festival is sponsored by the Jill Watson Family Foundation;
Location of events TBA.

postcard

poster

Celebrating what we do, it shouldn't be that hard, really.

While perusing one of the online blogs I frequent daily (A daily dose of architecture) I realized that as the author (John Hill) is currently putting together a book on new architecture in New York he had stumbled across an occurrence that made me pause for a variety of reasons. While compiling a list of projects Mr. Hill had asked for his reader's to help out and suggest a few projects. The interesting part wasn't that quite a few projects unknown to Hill were suggested by his readers instead what was interesting was that it was incredibly exciting to see a wide variety of newer projects, ones that may not have gotten much press. To be fair quite a few smaller projects allow designers to take some chances with form or material or program layout, etc. and don't get the exposure or recognition they really deserve.

And here is where I wonder about local application.

Now, by no means do I profess to know everything about what is going on in Cleveland when it comes to architecture. In all honestly I wax and wane between paying attention and wanting to ignore the whole situation. I wouldn't at all mind though knowing exactly what was built or renovated in the last year just to see if anything interesting had indeed occurred.

I don't think I would be the only person interested in the information. I would even suggest that if a list was provided or created that there would be enough archi-nerds to take photos and post them online and maybe even offer us some critical non-snarky commentary, which, in my opinion, would be rather amazing.

So, what would be the best way to go about this? One option is asking the City of Cleveland Building Department for a list of projects that filed for Occupancy Permit and then sort out the smaller residential projects, etc. to get the list down to an interesting and manageable sort.

The other option would be to ask all the firms in Cleveland to help list all their recent projects. This is a little unfair because the projects would undoubtedly undergo some sort of scrutiny to make sure they reflected a specific image for the firm instead of seeing and learning about all the projects that make up the fabric of the city.

Of course perhaps this is already being done and I am completely unaware of it. If that is the case I hope some nice person will inform me. I have seen older blogs that had started and then stopped for various reasons but nothing recent.

Celebrating local architecture should be paramount to informing the public about what hiring an architect adds to a project (in quality, not cost) and can be best done by showing the wide variety of projects (types, styles, etc.) that are being done locally. Attempting to intelligently converse about these projects may not only inspire practicing architects but perhaps those looking towards a new career path. Perhaps discussions of this sort could even help further the disparate but all slightly connected branches of design and create a cognitive culture within the city. I know this is all waxing poetic but lets be honest, the city would be more creative seeming and interesting if this were to take shape, or form, or exist. There are so many interesting ways of solving problems (something designers are specifically trained for in various ways) that existing in an insular self-referential fashion does nothing for one's own experience or knowledge let along for creating the best product/project solution possible.

Sigh, dare to dream, eh?

Roadtrip (10)! - the Ohio State University

Ohio State University's Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture has posted their Winter/Spring 2010 Lecture series. What better way to spend a dark evening then inside some lecture hall learning about ideas and what not? Seriously, going to lectures has to be infinitely more interesting than catching up on repeats of Cougar Town.

KSA Lecture Series: Winter + Spring 2010
Economy

All lectures are free and open to the public.
Unless noted, all lectures will be held at the Knowlton Hall Auditorium (KN 250) at 5:30 PM.

Design Ecologies Book Launch Event

Wednesday, January 6
Special Event
Speakers: Lisa Tilder, Beth Blostein, Jane Amidon, Scott Colman, Stephen Turk

Geoffrey Thun

Wednesday, January 13
Associate Professor, University of Michigan

Heather Roberge

Wednesday, January 20
Murmur

Charisma Acey

Wednesday, January 27
Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning, KSA

Nina Rapport

Wednesday, February 3
Yale University
(co-sponsored with the Engineering Education Innovation Center and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science)

Jesse Reiser

Wednesday, February 10
Reiser + Umemoto, 2009-2010 Herbert Baumer Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture

Michael Speaks

Wednesday, February 24
Dean, University of Kentucky, College of Design

Beatriz Colomina

Wednesday, March 31
Princeton University
(co-sponsored with the Film Studies Program)

Julia Christensen

Wednesday, April 7
Assistant Professor, Oberlin College

Chris Reed

Wednesday, April 14
StoSS, 2009-2010 Herb and Dee Dee Glimcher Distinguished Visiting Professorship Lecture

Chris Lukinbeal

Wednesday, April 21
Arizona State University
(co-sponsored with the Film Studies Program)

Sarah Cowles

Wednesday, April 28
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, KSA

Ronald Coan

Wednesday, May 19
Council for Community Economic Research

Brian Holland

Wednesday, May 26
2009-2010 LeFevre Fellow, KSA

About the KSA Lecture Series

As part of the Knowlton School's commitment to bringing the highest level of design thinking to its students and the community at large, the KSA lecture series invites prominent researchers and practitioners of architecture, landscape architecture, and city planning to present their work in a variety of areas. These lectures offer technical, cultural and theoretical understanding of the contemporary built environment and represent the contemporary and future state of the art in design thinking.

Saving Ohio's Public Transit

Today's e-newsletter from the GCRTA asks me to click a link so that I can inform my legislative representatives that I think more money should be supporting public transportation. Which I do. I believe that wholeheartedly. I believe it with a deep seated burning passion that easy and logical public transit is paramount to livable communities. When I say "livable communities" I don't just mean those places you just feel safe and warm all alone in your house watching (ironically?) episodes of House ignoring your family and neighbors before you go off to work and have your electronic twitter relationships with people you will never see (but will know intimate details of). I mean livable as in you can be alive there and people would know because other people are being alive there. They are interacting and seeing each other and perhaps even conversing and god forbid touching (not in a perverse manner, just in the lend a hand, hold a door, shake hello sort of manner, geeze). There is a humanity to a "livable" community because your life means something to other "real" people and this knitting of existence gives some sense of purpose. Your couch will not win the eternal battle with gravity and fly off into space without your butt holding it firmly down. I swear, you have nothing to worry about. Also, contrary to popular belief, television actors have no idea when you are not watching them during their antics. They cannot see or hear you. Even at a movie theater (I don't understand the clapping thing).

However apparently all this costs a ton of money. All the making people live by each other and want to talk to each other and see each other and accept the fact that although some of the people may look and act just like the people you may see on the television or interweb they may not be as funny without the team of mac/hack writers at their disposal and the cold harsh reality of paying attention and being polite may be a burden to bear but there it is.

At some reasonable point I think the logic behind the argument of how tough sprawl is upon infrastructure (including transit and what not) is going to become more of a reality to those who depend upon it the least. Those of us who find public transportation an option because we own a car or bike or have legs that work pretty reliably will eventually notice that it won't be an option because it will be completely gone. Our city won't have been able to take the strain as it spreads out and spreads thin. Will gas be (I actually hope that soon it will be) $10 a gallon by then? What will our human reaction be? Hide in a cave and pray to Dr. House for sweet merciful death or will we try again to concentrate into a dense area to interact and shop and play?

Why is a state so unwilling to fund public transit so full of people willing to invest millions and millions and more millions and then a few extra millions and how about a secret few billions of dollars to expand highway infrastructure (making it easier for people to spread further and increase the burden upon our infrastructure which is GOING TO KEEP COSTING US MORE)? Is this a quick fix to a problem I don't understand? Are the sprawling suburbs of the state so damn enticing that our suburban tax base is going to grow enough to offset the constantly starved and ill treated urban cores? Seriously? I would like to know what the heck people in NOACA are thinking promoting interchanges in Avon and the like. How about trying to imagine what it will take to keep the ridiculously vital parts of the region (such as Cleveland) not just shuffling along on Life Support but actually work to inject some sort of this LIFE everyone keeps talking about.

I want to live.

So when you are writing your emails or snailmail or texting or twittering your state reps and the like about how you wouldn't at all mind being able to take the bus or train to work instead of having to find a new job or just move out of state ask why it is so very hard to inject a little humanity into planning/money allocation process as well. I mean, this is all being done for us people, isn't it? Isn't it?

CMA expansion clarified

First off I appreciate the comments. I wish I got less comments from the guy named Anonymous but I can't pick and choose who comments here. Actually I can, I have that control.

I am posting this as a full post because I didn't type anything up tonight and part of my new resolutions is to write more on this thing again and also because my response was so long that by the end putting it in the little comment box was driving me batty.

This isn't me yelling at the person who asked the understandable and defendable question:

If Breuer refused to acknowledge the 1916 buliding, why should Viñoly have acknowledged Breuer more than he has?

...this is just my knee jerk, its been a long day and my proofreading skills are at the nocturnal low responsiveness level. I am quite nice in person, I swear it so take any strange aside commentary just as you would an uncle at Thanksgiving who has had a little too much everything interrupting his primary story to tell you about the time his day sailor tipped over in the bay and he lost the pocket knife your aunt gave him when they first met but he was too ashamed to tell her so he saved all his money and bought a new one on his own, pretending its the same one ever since. It's all meant to be a cute allusion. There, just like that.

Anon,

One architect "refused" to acknowledge an existing building during their phase of an addition (if I can utilize your interpretation of Breuer's addition, 60ish years after the original which drastically altered the layout and facing of the museum). The third architect to the mix (Vinoly's office) gave a "tip of the hat" to the addition but failed at all to react sensibly enough to distinguish and or assimilate; the addition is too similar to stand on its own and too dissimilar to be a strong interpretation. Similar to when a really poor addition is done to a public school or when an institution has run out of funds during an expansion and substitutes cheaper, off color materials (can't afford to match the brick) and the whole concoction feels slightly off putting. Sure everyone says that it's all become a cacophony of material and joyous expression but what it ends up feeling like is an unplanned tumor, not strong enough to have an ego of its very own but still slightly sapping the life out of the main body. Jagged boxy edges of the perfect square modern box sitting on a curved retreating wall isn't interplay or even intercourse but indecision as how to react to an urban pedestrian problem. Creating a “slice” or “valley” in order to separate two forms would go over better if the two had some sort of dialogue stronger then just a seemingly coincidental geographic location. Just because you sit next to a pretty girl on the bus doesn't mean she is going to have dinner with you, you need to start a conversation.

It's the whole "finish your business or get off the pot" concept, either make a statement or agree with the person before you, don't mumble your business and hope that no one takes offense.

Cultural institutions are some of the last bastions (or were at least when this was all being planned) of physical built expression. Not everyone likes the ROM but you sure as hell want to react to it and from an urban/placemaking/experience level that is pretty dang interesting. It could all be dismissed as trend/eyecandy but a cultural institution exists quite a bit on making the bold statement of “this is what I am, this is what I do, this is where I am, come and visit, explore, support”.

The shame is that it isn't even that I don't like it. I just can't be bothered to care. That is the real crime. At least make me care, not just yawn and go “I remember when Breuer was reacting to the faux-classicism that Cleveland embraced so wholeheartedly back when it was a booming city with eyes wide open towards the brightest future, where it would last the ages so our buildings, our built representations of how we wanted people to see ourselves, would echo the sentiment of what our interpretations of timeless, classical beauty are. Lo, we are timeless, we are Cleveland! (Spartacus theme) So the idea of creating the insular solid, heavy box seem thin and light, stone alternating as it turns the corner to reveal that it is but a thin veneer, impossibly compressive cantilevers over entry ways, the faux is the celebration. We can recreate the exuberance of the past by celebrating that we acknowledge the lies. Our stone buildings are built by machines, fastened by technology, harnessed by knowledge instead of might.” Breuer knew what he was building onto and used the contemporary style to comment upon it.

If anything I wish Vinoly would have reacted half as cleverly as Breuer did. Then I could have cared or at least not dismiss it.

Of course, who the heck am I? Maybe there are some clever twists in there. Perhaps the poorly met joint work, the sad panel system is meant to convey something. Maybe the way some of the stripes align and others don't quite make it, but aren't off enough to create a sense of deliberance, as if the building is already is a state of slumping decay, like a ruin left to the elements, stripped of frescoes and sculpture and icon by conquering armies and we are to stumble upon it and make it our own secret treasure. Perhaps it is Vinoly's own commentary upon Breuer stating “No Marcel, you have it all wrong, the responsible reaction is that we can build something quite solid and dense and we don't have to comment upon it because we are to be completely apolitical as architects seeking patrons.”

Maybe. I sure as hell hope not, it seems such an easy way out.

2009 TOIstudio Year in Review

So this is the third year I have tried to complete some sort of milestone to track the potential progress the city has to offer. In doing so I checked back with my 2008 Year in Review looking for some sort of benchmark to hit. My, the bar was set so low.

The economy may have stifled the Flats East Banks project but the city has stepped in offering money for a truncated phased development in hopes of revitalizing some drastically underused portions of the city. No news? Some news.

The Euclid Corridor is starting to spark interest and has definitely improved conditions along Euclid albeit not noticeably as for commuting by public transit. Perhaps a transit corridor should time the traffic signals for the public transit...no? At some point telling auto commuters to "deal with it" may be required but I think that will take the importing of manufacturing materials, mostly giant steel balls.

CIA still hasn't seemed to move much on the exterior changes for the maligned MVRDV now Burt Hill expansion project which I don't mind not seeing going up. It's similar to waiting to hear the bad news you know is coming, you can put it off hoping that everyone will forget about it and the problem will go away on its own. Hey, its the Cleveland Way.

CMA phase one expansion is completed to fanfare. I haven't figured out why yet. I don't have a problem with meandering art museums, I think you are supposed to get lost in the art. As for white rooms, congratulations, you built some white rooms to show art. I suppose they don't have to be inspiring or interesting but it probably wouldn't have hurt. The half hearted attempt to communicate with Breuer's addition seemed to be done without either understanding Breuer's commentary on materiality or just not caring, which, if that was the case, then the addition should have been a complete departure not a bastardized caricature. Regardless the detailing is pretty miserable which is sad to see for the home of a cultural institution you hope to last longer than 15 years.

Uptowne what?

Ameritrust Tower is still vacant after the economy forces K&D development to abandon plans for it. 668 is going strong though. Yay.

The HoJo got all torn down! It took forever but it was finally accomplished. Now people with have to find another vacant building to watch the airshow from the roof of. Good luck with that!

Detroit Shoreway got all prettified with a rehabbed Capital Theater as an anchor. The neighborhood seems to be doing well which is pretty nice to see. It is also a nice place to visit. The street was improved for vehicular traffic and parking, the sidewalks got cleaned up, park benches, better lighting, trees, buried power/comm lines, it's all pretty dang snazzy. Feels completely different, in a good way.

Waterloo Entertainment District also got some minor street scape improvements, mostly noticeably a green space where the strangest parking/street occurrence was placed. It cleaned up the street and started to create a identifiable gateway for the area which is running on the sweat and dreams of some of the hardest working people I know. When asked what I love most about Cleveland I have to admit those folks are some of the first that come to mind.

ODOT refuses to admit that people can move by any mode other than vehicular and seem to want to slug it out over the long debacle Innerbelt Bridge project. At some point one has to honestly wonder if Cleveland would be better off if we just let it fall into the river.

That would probably reinforce the need of the 490 Innovation Corridor which is under re-advisement. I'm not sure what that means anymore to be honest. I think it means that I will be writing about how nothing has changed with it by next year too.

Speaking of reoccurring themes the Medical Mart project is still being discussed. Any day now some news will break. Any day. See you in 2011!

Remember the aquarium we have been hearing about for the past 30 years? Guess what, we may get two! Maybe. Two different groups are trying to be the first to put a Cleveland Aquarium back on the map. The Jacobs group is looking towards the Powerhouse Building and the non-profit Cleveland Aquarium Inc. who is raising funds and looking for a site.

And if that isn't enough water related news for you, the Port Authority was moving to East 55th, but after Adam Wasserman left that plan is also undergoing scrutiny. What does that mean for the new Lakefront Plan that just received approval from the Planning Commission? Not much it seems, that is still a go. So where will the Port move to?

Not to Whiskey Island, at least if they do then the newly released land acquired by Parkworks for the bike-n-hike (part of the Cleveland Towpath Trail) trail will lead to a very unappealing terminus. Unless you are a huge fan of container shipping, then the bike ride would be amazing for you! And although the Old Coast Guard station is sitting vacant and exposed it still stands stalwart to the elements, a beacon of hope looking for someone to love it.

Perhaps in response to the Cleveland Planning's new paradigm shift of planning for people (seriously that statement was made at the landbank lecture at CSU's Maxine Goodman, check the video when it becomes available, I have been waiting for over a month!) Public Square is getting a second look. PPS already calls it one of the 10 worst public spaces in the world, apparently we are looking to shed the infamy and called in Field Operations (NYC High Line Project) to work with the CUDC in rethinking what would make Public Square better/nicer for, well, people. This should be really interesting to see develop, for those interested in design and the jerks who just like to make snide comments. Everyone can be a winner with this one.

Also, Ohio legalizes casino gambling with Cleveland slated as one of the four "lucky" city's to receive it's own casino, supposedly slated to go behind Tower City (they can probably reuse the Med Mart Plans). Will this improve things for Cleveland (or Cleveland architecture)? I'm not going to bet on it.

Speaking of snide comments, Sustainable Cleveland 2019 had their first meeting. A whole lot of people got together, ate bagels, drank coffee, made puppets and posters and decided to work towards making Cleveland more Sustainable. I don't know if the definition of sustainable was ever proffered but I think enough people know what they think it means to move forward with it. I didn't make the snide comment I was going to. It wasn't about the summit though. I'm going to be nicer in the new year.

Scout's honor.

Here's to 2010. Let's hope it is a ton better than 2009 was. That year sucked.

(ps. yay Browns for ending better then expected)

Happy Holidays 2009

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season.

Cleveland itself has really begun to push towards some new sensibility with its self image. Projects such as the Euclid Corridor are starting to show their strengths as other projects such as the Lakefront Development Plan, East Banks Project and the Medical Mart struggle to gain traction but are still slowly pushing forward. Investment in public spaces are starting to take some precedent such as at Cedar Hill RTA Station or Public Square but are currently being reviewed as ancillary such as with the Medical Mart project. In a very unique twist Philip Johnson's (a Cleveland native) only Cleveland based project is currently being threatened as the Cleveland Clinic gobbles up land with its ever expanding campus.

New projects reach completion, most noticeably a series of townhomes and a major art museum expansion represent Cleveland's reaction to the apparent burden of contemporary design and Cleveland's struggle to create it's own vernacular or at the very least a local flavor.

These are things I look for in the new year.

Here's to 2010!

Post Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit Report Out

A 42 page post summit report has been made available online for your viewing pleasure if you happened to have missed the 3 day summit in person. You can catch up on the major occurences and discern synapses of major events.

Summit Report pdf

The Website where you can hopefully figure out how to keep in touch with updates and happenings.

I am hoping that some things are happening/in process due to the summit. If I find anything out I will share. I believe that quite a few of the groups were attempting to move projects forward, it is rather soon though for major progress to be revealed. Hopefully some good news will be heard soon.