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.

Come and show your Open Access Bridge support - NOACA meeting!

We need everyone who believes that an Open Access Bridge is good for Cleveland and good for the region in creating a sustainable, healthy, and wealthy region for ALL to attend the Dec 11 NOACA Mtg.

An Open Access InnerBelt Bridge would enable cyclists and walkers and joggers  a mainline connection between Tremont & Downtown.  Open, multi-modal access on highway bridges is nothing new, and has in fact been implemented on 30 Bridges across the USA.

If you believe in this idea, we need you to vote with your feet and represent the interests of bicyclists and walkers (and the 35% of residents on either side of the bridge that don't own cars) and SHOW UP at Friday's (Dec 11) NOACA Board meeting @ 10 am, so that we can prove to the NOACA Board that there is a constituency in Cleveland that supports bicycling and walking as legitimate forms of transportation.

For more information on this issue and a list of more ways that you can help >www.greencitybluelake.org/innerbelt

Connect with the FaceBook Campaign>>  and Spread the WORD....

Malcolm Wells passes at 83

image taken from Shelter blog

Call it kooky and kitschy but Malcolm Wells thoughtful work continuous battled with the burden that most architects and designers succumb to, an attempt to mark the land in such a way as to claim it for humanity. Well's solutions weren't in any manner simplistic, nor did they rely heavily on futuristic technology to decrease mankind's burden on the careful ecological balance of existing and "living". Instead time honored traditions and understanding of the natural world (as well as the mechanics of buildings) were continuously questioned and explored in order to develop less energy intensive systems, ones that wouldn't scar the landscape but instead celebrate it.

In this age of "green roofs" and "vertical gardens" attempting to mix nature with buildings it is interesting to to note how the idea of the earth sheltered house, as explored in the 1970's is actually a contemporary take on ideas practiced by what is generally considered non-technology societies.

He will be missed.

Times article

books:

Earth Sheltered House

Gentle Architecture

Infra Structures

Recovering America

Get your dirty politics out of my science.

I would really like someone to help me out here. How has concern for the natural environment become defined by political affiliations? Why is climate change considered a "Liberal Myth"? What makes it political enough to polarize society? Is the realization that our actions may have consequences limited to politics and political pundits?

The recent hacked emails of the Climatic Research Unit (whose link is sadly down) have been repeated and dissected to use as "spin" which devalues any information may actually have been included. Arguably this seems to be being accomplished for primarily political reasons (in the US). It makes me a little sad honestly.

I love science and data and find myself slightly repulsed by information that has been regurgitated for my consumption. Which is why I was initially excited by the leaked emails, "Finally," I thought "we can get some nuts and bolts data." which of course we didn't yet. Or at least I can't find any. I can find tons on what some talking head in Tulsa thinks about what the "liberal elites" want him to think and his reaction to what the "informed republican sources" that have dissected the emails for him want him to react but those aren't voices I am willing to listen to. Either of them. Which is probably the entire problem to begin with.

Scientific research and our federal reactions to them are viewed primarily though a political lens. It's either an "us against them" or a "them against us", very rarely is it seen as "us for ourselves by being against ourselves" which quite honestly is what it needs to come down to. There is an awful lot of spin put into what our research is telling us. For instance if manmade climate change is real (and I admit here, I believe it is) then that should be an entirely separate issue from anything else. So if our researchers and scientists are telling us this, then our belief upon it should be entirely separate from our reaction to what it means. Just because we don't like the idea of cap and trade, or energy taxes, or clean coal, or wind turbines, or global warming doesn't matter, what matters is the acceptance of the interpretation of the data.

It is then how we react from that acceptance that can become political, however when you hitch your actionable cart to a disingenuous horse based upon your political affiliations it makes you sound like a crazy person, and not crazy in that "you so crazy!" way but in the ramblings of a lunatic way. The argument needs to shift from whether or not science is acceptable to you (since you aren't doing the science you should listen to what the people who have trained for it and practiced it are telling you.) to what can be reasonably and responsibly done in order to affect our future based upon the science now.

Seriously. I am getting really sick of people telling me they do or don't believe this or that because of what they read or heard on some vapid source information (which I could list but would rather just preface by saying that anytime anyone attempts to quote something they heard on an extremist talk show as supporting fact I typically walk away before they can finish - it isn't worth my time). Lets get the facts out there and be very clear about them, apolitically, and THEN we can tear each other apart. Let's get to the truth first.

I am very interested in the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference and hope some clear information and sources come out of it. Enough so to tamper the crazy talk that we have had to listen to for the past (eight? twelve? more?) years.

This rant is brought to you by a designer who thinks that designing smart buildings and cities to maximize efficiency is not only nice for the environment (which I love to be able to live in) but for the pocketbook by minimizing long term operational, material and health costs. Crazy eh? The $ can be used for good.

Innerbelt Bridge for Everyone Rally

image of overlook on bridge

W. 14th St. and Kenilworth Avenue

Lincoln Park, Tremont Neighborhood of Cleveland Ohio

Sunday, December 6th

2 - 4pm

A rally to support pedestrian and bike access on the bridge will be held Sunday, December 6 at 2 p.m. at Lincoln Park in Tremont (W. 14th Street and Kenilworth Avenue).

Anyone interested in safe, convenient and healthy car-free access between Downtown and Tremont (and a great scenic overlook of downtown) is invited to attend. The event is free, and refreshments and entertainment will be provided. Cyclists are urged to ride their bikes, with free mechanical safety checks provided by the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op. Helmets are strongly suggested, and OCBC will have some available to borrow or purchase.

The rally will evaluate alternative walking and biking routes proposed by ODOT for the bridge and present other information about a dedicated path over the bridge. Participants will divide into groups, taking a different route from Lincoln Park to the intersection of Ontario Street and Carnegie Avenue, where a brief rally will address the issues of equity and civic interest in this nearly $1 billion project, before returning to Tremont for refreshments and discussion of strategies for further public input in this process.

After the rally, the job is not over. Please consider attending and voicing your support at a very important follow up: The December 11 meeting of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) at 10 a.m. when this local board will decide on ODOT's final proposal for funding of this project.

If you cannot make the meeting, consider sending an email, calling, or writing the Mayor's action line 216/664-2900, and the ODOT project director, Craig Hebebrand, at 216/581-2100 to let ODOT know you support biking and walking the proposed I-90/71 bridge. This huge taxpayer investment—ODOT's largest ever—will affect the places we live, work and play for the rest of our lives. Any donations to the event organizers will be used to help pay for engineering and professional services to document ODOT miscalculations of the feasibility and cost to safely accommodate pedestrians and cyclists in this project.

For more information, please stay tuned and visit http://www.gcbl.org/innerbelt

Facebook Page

Facebook Fan Page

Happy Thanksgiving - Followed by the bracing for the shopping glut

First off, I would like to actually acknowledge that there is quite a bit I am thankful for this year; the MarJ, I am still employed, my family (wherever they happen to be), that I have a roof, food/walls and some good friends.

So yay.

Next I would like to state that for "Black Friday" I am going to be hiding in my office, not doing anything but watching select videos online, hoping that the "Building Our Future Beyond Foreclosure" landbank lecture gets posted soon (and writing my thoughts on the event in the mean time), working on my submission for my Cleveland Design Competition (sans the new computer I purchased distinctly for the competition - grrr) and catching up on my reading for the weekend. It is amazing how much you can get done when not spending 4 to 8 hours watching (and tailgating) for some football (American) team. I guess the Browns are making me more productive, so I am also thankful for that.

Have a safe holiday weekend, whether navigating your living room while stuff with turkey and wine or navigating the roads and stores supporting our economy and finding that great sale - while not squishing anyone in your hurry.

Me, I will be shopping local and online, don't forget to check out your local Bazaar Bizarre for local indie/crafts and Music Saves for ear pleasure needs/ gifts.

What is design? An answer to the Sarah Rich lecture at CIA

"...but anything that is touched by man, is transformed by man, is by its very nature, design".

I was so easily disappointed, and I really didn't want to be. In fact, this was one of those rare occasions (similar to Episode One) where I went into a room expecting to like everything, or at the very least, the vast majority and instead felt worse for the experience. I enjoyed Dwell magazine when I had a subscription, I get Inhabitat daily emails (and weekly, which I can't seem to stop), I enjoyed the book Worldchanging (which was destroyed in the great flood of '07), I am completely in love with decentralized digital design production, oh hell, it doesn't even have to be digital, I love things that have been thought about and designed.

And I DO enjoy Dwell. It is sort of the vanilla/chocolate twist cone of design magazines. Just enough "normalcy" to make it tangible/accessible with just enough "strange" to make it exciting. I believe Dwell has introduced what design means to millions of people who wouldn't have taken the time and effort to seek it out on their own. Granted, it isn't much more than a changing Ikea catalog, I mean, there isn't much of a stance being taken, no one will be offended by pretty pictures and product placement, which is fine. I'm not expecting a cerebral twist on what "thoughtful" is all the time, sometimes I just like some eyecandy. Heck, any magazine that illustrates the importance of hiring professional designers to design things is alright in my book.

It is just that I wanted the lecture to have more import. The first half hour wasn't bad at all. Discussions on product transparency, utilizing information as empowerment, utilizing social media as community building to creating design communities and funding opportunities (community based investments), talking about invading and conquering food deserts and redefining consumerism by "sharing" were all good topics. I was into almost every nuanced word. My notebook reads like a grocery list of sites and projects to research.

The built projects were the downfall. As soon as we got to "architecture" I lost all interest, which is strange really. There was such a suspect application of sustainable (very rural seeming projects) and after reading Lloyd Alter's piece regarding Prefabricated Housing in Treehugger (I knew as soon as I started appreciating it, it would be a bust) I found the lack of critique horrendous to endure. So what? So I knew I shouldn't have expected more but I really wanted to hear some thoughts on how a modern commune worked, how the Yum Yum Farm live work house was more than pretty pictures, how horizontal wooden slats were incorporated THIS TIME in a NEW and EXCITING way.

Sigh, I wanted more. I wanted a lecture on design to be about the intent, the impetus, the resultant, the validation more than just the pretty. The sugary sweets always leave you hungry for something of substance.

Sarah Rich stated that she would put her presentation up on Slideshare (which is good because some was cropped by the projector). As soon as it is up I will link to it for you. Otherwise check on your own. Search for "sarah rich".

"Best Commentary by a Cookie" award

The post Forclosure Crisis Forum lunch yielded the most fitting of all cookie communiques I have ever received. It was so befitting the conversation that we were sure that someone with a typewriter was in the next room, eavesdropping and predicting.

For those of you who can't squint it reads:

"The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get less than you settled for."...Cleveland.

Oh dear cookies, you are delicious and oh so wise!

Tim Beatley non-lecture workshop - recap

To be completely fair and honest I did not attend Dr. Beatley's lecture at CMNH however I was included in the 2 hour workgroup which occurred before the lecture which was more of a Q&A session with Tim Beatley and others involved in the city. Luckily Erie Wire commented on one of my posts and directed me to a podcast of the lecture so I was able to at least listen to his presentation and mentally compare it to what I had seen in his movie preview clip (The Nature of Cities) as well as what was discussed at the workgroup.

The main concern that seemed to arrive from the discussion was a dire need for policy to support the grassroots involvement brewing to alter how communities and infrastructure are planned and thought of. I admit I was looking for specific case studies to apply to our current condition (in order to fortify policy discussion) which were lacking in the workgroup.

There was discussion of risk aversion and how it affects design. Brought up by the images of a wetland park lacking railings that leads to a park in the inlet which had a hole in the center to watch the tide rise and fall, and of course the clip of the children walking/hopping along larger stones, it was commented upon how a similar situation would be hard pressed to occur in the States due to our litigious nature. Which I have to admit is a damnable shame.

It seems that as a society and more nuanced, as a local community, we withhold ourselves from attempting anything truly innovative or ground breaking, instead we are awfully careful with our development. I believe this stems from a combination of not trusting the intelligence of the general public (hence we are not treated as adults, instead we are fed morsels of safe information about projects like children) and a lack of accountability/transparency. I would suggest that bold initiatives require strong leadership and change carries a risk however if the current situation is not very good the risk/reward ratio should be tilted to accommodate more risk. The difference between "bottom" and "rock bottom" isn't that great when you have no chance of moving above a current situation due to a declining situation (ie. Cleveland's tax supported school system, public transit (as transportation infrastructure) and job base).

However, the case studies were evidently saved for the lecture and not part of the discussion, which means that it is up to us again, looking to ourselves for leadership and solutions because, let's be honest, if we don't do it, no one will.

I don't blame Beatley for not being a savior, he wasn't brought here for that. Instead he offered some glimpses into what could happen if communities were better thought out, designed and were based upon a human scale, or at least a reaction to finding our humanity. Which is a point you don't hear often when words such as "sustainability" or "green" occur. Our humanity includes the natural environment (we are animals after all) and being "green" typically saves money (in operating costs anyway), so the symbiotic nature of our coexistence with ourselves should be a pinnacle purpose of this argument. Health, Safety and Welfare shouldn't be concerned with who can get sued instead HSW needs to develop into how beneficial something is. Designing for bikes instead of cars, building places for people to be outside, children's exposure to nature, natural foods, sunlight, wind, rain, are all glorious things to celebrate. I have even heard that some people even look forward to snow. How often do we design in order to shut this all out instead of incorporating and celebrating it?

Too often.

So I thank Dr. Beatley for coming to our city, for taking the time to answer a barrage of questions, to give a presentation and to work so diligently for his beliefs (as to publish, film, teach and practice extensively). I only hope we can persuade him (and others) to spend a bit more time studying Cleveland in order to better help us formulate stronger policies and procedures.

And I ask our communities to ponder the following points as we look towards how Cleveland can resolve its livability in the future.

• How do we properly educate ourselves so as to not fall into the trap of "popular marketing" and instead spend our time investigating solutions responsibly?
• How can we integrate functional design in lieu of just as a spectacle in order for communities, infrastructure and buildings act not just as passive structures (to be witnessed or experienced) but active objects that interact productively with the community/region/etc.?
• Which case studies can we properly look towards, emulate, adapt and make our own? Which data is imperative and applicable? How do we foster techniques to study and implement this research (ie. where is the funding from, how is it paid for, how is it validated)?
• What differentiation of scale is allowable for interventions to have any affect? How do case studies scale? How are regions and communities studied and through which lens best allows for application (and how does one convince designers and clients to look past the boundaries of their property when designing these solutions)?

Douglas Farr Lecture - Recap

cellphone photo

Last Thursday at the Case Medical Library Douglas Farr gave a brief lecture on smartly planned neighborhoods. I typically don't like to use words such as "green" or "sustainable" as they impose an aura of misplaced and misleading marketing that devalues the true intent, instead I would like to offer that Mr. Farr presented case studies and experiments in smarter urban planning with the intended goal of creating better used and useful communities. Regardless of which lens you would most enjoy peering through the end goal is to take these lessons and apply them in a manner that would benefit local community planning and development.

The crowd comprised of a few Case School of Architecture alum (which opened in 1929 and was closed in 1972, which is a shame as the City would no doubt benefit from a full local program), planning students from Case and CSU, some local architects, urban planners and community minded people who believe in strong communities. There were some noticeable people missing who shall go UNNAMED with the intent that they should already feel guilty enough about missing a local lecture on such a topic without being pointed out.

It is rather difficult to take a talk on planned communities and distill it into little memorable quotes. Luckily Mr. Farr did that for me and without his permission I will reveal to you some of the secrets you could have garnered for yourself if you bothered to show up. Take from it what you will. This is a TOIstudio public service announcement.

1- start an aspirational development

2- strengthen existing neighborhoods and corridors

3- fix the rules, ask the right questions

4- advocate for living locally

What exactly do those statements mean? They mean that for the most part American post war society has created an insular set of rules, mores and regulations that actually weaken neighborhoods and by extension communities. We (social humanity) are actually fighting an uphill battle to better neighborhoods and to do so requires a lot more work, understanding and manifested intent. They mean that for every decision that must be made it must be asked "why". Why is that decision shaped that way, Why do the building/zoning/planning codes require these solutions, Why is a development or community not interacting, not succeeding, not vibrant, not interesting? Ask the questions and think on the answers, then act in the necessary manner.

It really isn't rocket science, we had that licked in the 50's. This is a "soft" science and it requires diligent thinking to attempt to solve it instead of cookie cutter plans and misanthropic regurgitations of 20 year old books used as a marketing ploy. It requires a bit of research, critical thinking, a little bit of heart and quite a bit of hard work, and when it works a designer can sit back and go, "Well I tried to make the world a better place. How can I improve on what I last did to make it even better?"

resources:

Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With Nature (book)

2030 Challenge - Congress of New Urbanism

Timothy Beatley Lecture - CMNH

Green Urbanism: the Global Shift Towards Sustainable and Resilient Cities
Friday, November 13th, 2009
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
1 Wade Oval Drive University Circle Cleveland OH 44106-1767
7.30 pm

Dr. Timothy Beatley

Co-sponsored with the Cleveland Council on World Affairs

Dr. Timothy Beatley of the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, School of Architecture at the University of Virginia promotes green urbanism, a creative urban planning and design strategy that brings nature back into city neighborhoods, supports locally produced renewable energy and encourages growing food close to urban communities. He will present examples of innovative green projects and policies adapted by cities in Europe and North America that could be implemented in Northeast Ohio.

Please join this speaker for a book-signing session after the presentation. All books are available for purchase in the Museum Store.

Hear him on Sound of Ideas as well!

Made in the 216 Holiday Shoppe opens tonight!

Made in the 216 hosted by Room Service.

Innerbelt Bridge Meeting, Friday November 6th

image borrowed from GCBL

Cleveland Planning Commission Innerbelt Bridge

Start: 9:00 am

End: 11:00 am

Cleveland City Hall

601 Lakeside Avenue

Cleveland, OH

United States

ODOT presents plans for the aesthetics of the Cleveland Innerbelt Bridge to The Cleveland Planning Commission. Read more about Innerbelt Bridge aesthetic considerations here.

Included in the conversation is making the bridge a multi-modal source of pride for the community. Advocates are calling for a bike and pedestrian path built on the bridge. Read more.

Open to the public. The Planning Commission can accept comments from the public.

via our pals at: GreenCityBlueLake who write a bunch about putting a bike and pedestrian pathway on the bridge as well.

The OhioCityBikeCoop (saving money by not typing spaces today) also has a bunch of info on their facebook page about the meeting.

Show up and show your support for making the city a little more people centric. Its the human thing to do.

Gearing up for the Cleveland Design Competition 2009

Eh? What could that be? Eh? Looking a little familiar is it?

This year I have decided to not wait until the very last second to start thinking about the Cleveland Design Competition and instead at least start developing the canvas upon which my little idea will sprout. I figure building downtown Cleveland in 3D should take me about a week of some evenings and maybe a little fiddling on the weekend (don't hold me to that though, I tend to procrastinate).

So, bring it.

All You Can Eat - Recap

photo cred: POST (someone with a camera)

Last weekend the Sculpture Center hosted an event named "All You Can Eat", billed as "a buffet of architectural ideas for Cleveland". The exhibit received 46 submissions, some traveling all the way from Georgia, of proposals for our fair city.

Opening night (Friday) saw a pretty impressive turnout and conversation topics mostly stayed on the positive aspects of the city and this exhibition in general. If anything the overall vibe was that there isn't enough attention paid to our built environment locally and it will take many events such as this to carry the movement forward. Everyone seemed starved for new ideas and, well, interesting solutions in lieu of the local pedestrian proffering typically construed as "ground-breaking" (or even "good") architecture.

Saturday's round table discussion (from what I hear) was pretty interesting. I didn't make it, however Ferringer did capture the first hour on video and it should eventually find it's way onto the Post webbernet site.

Some of my favorite submissions were from a third year studio class at Kent State CAED by Professor Charles Fredericks. The student's projects were part of a presentation made earlier in the day to the Fairfax Redevelopment Corporation. The projects, entitled "Curbside Urbanism" explored utilizing residual space for garden paths and pavilions to create public space interventions and redefine neighborhood characteristics.

Granted some of the submissions were not "ground breaking" or "innovative" but their application locally would definitely be, at the very least, amusing. To be honest their is nothing wrong with offering a tried and true solution to be experimented with locally however my attention is drawn more to the suggestions from the absurd to the over analytical is the suggested solution is experimental enough to create interesting results. My caveat to this was the board of "S.L. Brainard House @ 4107 Denison Ave." where the local chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America suggested a complete historic renovation of the residence. The drawings and photographs made the offering completely reasonable in scope and scale but also historically necessary to understand the regional built history.

It will take many more exhibits and calls for work to move architecture and design forward enough to overcome much of the static complacency the region suffers from (education is usually the best weapon). I believe the All You Can Eat exhibit, coupled with the Cleveland Design Competition has made Cleveland a blip on national architecture/design radar. I would argue we are almost a quarter of the way there, but to be truly successful it (the need for and exhibition/celebration of thoughtful design strategies and innovative ides) needs to be so overpowering as to be happily annoying.

resource:
All You Can Eat
All You Can Eat on Facebook

Cecil Balmond Lecture at UMich - Recap

Last Tuesday the MarJ and I once again hopped in the trusty xBox but this time pointed West, not as far west as our hearts yearn but western enough to notice a substantial change in license plate design. Our destination, Ann Arbor, Michigan home to the University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and other good things to see and hear Cecil Balmond (of Ove Arup -AGU and UPenn) work his magic. We intentional sandbagged our journey with a couple extra hours to make up any confusing Google directions and to give some time for a greater exploration of UMich's program then we were allowed at Buffalo.

A couple of things were noticed immediately. Monica Ponce De Leon's (Of Office dA) posistion as dean of the Taubman College of Architecture is supplemented with an Associate Dean/Director and an Assistant Dean/Director, which was seemingly not offered to Steven Fong when he took the similar position at Kent State (and subsequently left). Secondly Ms. De Leon is lecturing all over the dang place as is illustrated in the hundreds of lecture posters that line the corridors of the school. Not that she is lecturing at every school on those posters but it came as a very noticeable difference between KSU and the last two schools I have visited in that there are lecture posters for lots of other schools on the walls, as if the school was striving for a non-insular learning experience. We didn't get a chance to talk to any of the students as we arrived on an open house day and most of the staff/students were busy with selling the school to prospective students and I didn't want to get mired. Instead we wandered the building, visited a gallery, looked lovingly upon the various lecture series (and is how I discovered a couple I couldn't find online) and then went out to walk some of the campus, which is tied together with a staggered series of open green spaces in a rather comfortable rambling way. I can imagine the campus is amazing to hang out on when the weather is nicer.

The Lecture:

Monica gave an amazing intro to Cecil. She seems like a genuinely nice and warm person which set the tone perfectly for Cecil's dry humor and deft sense of humanizing a rather difficult subject. The auditorium was packed with spill over to some back up spaces showing the lecture via closed circuit television. We got second row seats due to our pushy and uncompromising nature. For those there on account of the open house I can only say how lucky they are to be exposed to these sorts of ideas so early. Too early to understand but the intent and rigor should be now incubating in the back of those young noggins. If only I knew then...

I don't know how to properly sum up the Balmond lecture. He showed some built work and explained the thought process including a couple of Serpentine Galleries, the CCTV building and the pedestrian bridge in Coimbra, Portugal. He then walked the audience through the impetus behind a few unbuilt works and explained the purpose behind Ove Arup's Advanced Geometry Unit and his work at UPenn (H_edge) before giving us a glimpse of some unpublished work that he is currently working on based upon complex algorithmic interactions.

The intention behind a lot of the thinking of the projects, and arguing upon form based architecture versus architecture that strives for deeper exploration, was touched upon by Cecil but inherently augmented by the discussion. The overlying complexity of much of the forms was really nothing more than the scalable interpretation of a singular mathematical construct meaning that when a bias or intersection created an interstitial space/condition a revisiting of the original premise would allow for an intuitive solution that did not deviate from the overall scheme, resulting in very complex iterations that could be simply construed by understanding the basic premise. It was the complexity and simplicity, existing simultaneously that allowed for the natural discoveries to be made in the work and it was these experimentations that Cecil obviously savored. I was concerned that the MarJ, not being of architecture training, would find Cecil obtuse and confusing however her love of mathematics and Cecil's coherent lecture style gave us much to discuss on the 3 hour ride home. Obviously much of the audience wasn't ready for such heady discourse but it is sure to prove helpful in the coming studio years.

Throughout the lecture, however, Cecil's ability to concisely and clearly state his ideas (as illustrated in his written works) made the lecture experience quick paced and fluid. Illustrations deftly maneuvered the conversation through discussing the work with clients, contractors, other designers and the current audience. It was a sort of "happy learning" that made MarJ and I both realize we enjoy the lectures because you recieve the joy of learning something new and possibly exciting without the chore of having to recite/regurgitate it later (as if we were still in school). I don't know if Cecil's experience as an educator gave him experience in knowing how to easily discuss his ideas (and let his own excitement shine through) in a similar fashion to Dan Rockhill but I have noticed that educators seem to give better lectures than most "Design Professionals". They realize they have an audience there to listen to them care about what they are presenting about, they don't have to shock and awe the audience with made up architecture words that hinder the ability to understand a clear idea (those asking questions from the audience take note!).

Would I see him speak again? Undoubtedly, it was exciting and interesting and he presents fantastically. I feel very sorry for my friends who didn't get a chance to see him speak (cough) and hope they DO take the effort to catch him as soon as they can.

It was a fantastic lecture and I thank the University of Michigan for hosting it.

Sculpture Center Architectural Themed Exhibit Tonight and Tomorrow

Friday, October 30, 5-10 PM
Saturday, October 31, noon – 5 PM
Roundtable Conversation on Saturday at 3 PM

Labeled "All You Can Eat" by the people that name such things, an exhibition hits the shoulder season of the Cleveland Sculpture Center offering a large and varied selection of exhibits based upon the architectural vacuum that is Cleveland.

Having already stolen a completely unwarranted preview (I had no warrant) I will admit I am pleasantly surprised at the turnout in both scale and quality. Caveat: I have not really looked all that much into the exhibition, I just hung around causing trouble when it was being installed.

However the mere fact that it is being pulled off is impressive enough. I hope you come, take a gander, make your snarky remarks and then go home and think on what you really saw and thought.

Saturday includes a round table discussion hosted by some people who are probably listed on the web site.

Roadtrip (9)! - Bowling Green State University

BGSU School of Architecture and Environmental Design has posted their 2009/2010 Lecture series (probably a while ago but Google and the BGSU main page points to old architecture department pages) so I am posting them here because it is closer than Buffalo and UofMich, both of which I have already trekked out to for recent lectures.

Wednesday, Oct. 28th (tonight!)
Perry Kulper
6.30 pm in the Sky Bank Room

Ulrike Passe
Monday, Nov. 16th, 2009
121 West Hall
6pm

Leah Ray
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, 2009
Student Union Theater
6pm

Katerina Ruedi Ray
Monday, February 15th, 2010
Student Union Theater
6.30pm

Jose Oubrerie
TBD

Monica Ponce De Leon
Monday, March 19th, 2010
Student Union Theater OR BGSU Ballroom
6.30pm

I would love to post all the info that is on the site regarding the speakers but for some reason it is a swf and I can't copy and paste the text. So go to the lecture website yourself for more info.

The Aesthetics of Equity: Craig L. Wilkins

Not since Ian Borden's Skateboarding, Space and the City have I wanted to notate and dog ear pages like I have in Craig L. Wilkins The Aesthetics of Equity, a 200+ page romp through the tragic pitfalls and failures of current architecture practice in education and understanding exactly who the client or even the practitioner really is. I admit that the idea of racial disparity within the architectural profession is not a new argument but Wilkins manages to approach it in a much more logical manner than simply the marginalization of difference for difference sake and instead concentrates on the cultural shift in ideals that has admittedly hamstrung the profession, taken us from the field and the love of craft to becoming paper pushers behind desks in cubicles.

It is the ideals of the social contract, of wanting to do good that has brought so many students into the profession (the emulation of Michael Brady or Howard Roark cannot be enough of a reason) but it is the propagation of the profession as a profession that can only exist in social stratification that hinders our ability to make the changes or to accept the differing views that could allow real physical good to occur. Granted props are given to groups such as Architecture for Humanity, for attempting to bridge this chasm but it is the existence of those very groups that identify just how broken the system is. Wilkins argues that is the exclusion of minority/marginalized groups that has forced the architecture profession to become too self referential for its own good, relying on outdated information and standards to legally force the public acceptance. Art(architecture) in a vacuum does nothing to further the social good and who can the client be if not those affected by what is shaping the spaces?

Wilkins does a very fine job of championing his arguments with diagrams, copious notations and quotes as well as a relying on what are referred to as "remixes", recaps of the previous chapter written in "conventional" tone that is more plain spoken than the academic parsing of the previous pages. While much of the work centers on racial discrimination in architectural education and practice it isn't hard to see/understand the much of the current problem stems much deeper, necessitating what could be no less than a formal revolution of architectural thought, not from the form based perspective as much as a use/creation one.

The introduction of "hip hop architecture" in the book can be confusing to those not entirely open to understanding the impetus of the hip hop movement or to those who currently are only exposed to the misogynistic, racist, homophobic, shallow and boisterous nature of "gangsta rap", especially as Wilkins, in order to accentuate the need for understanding the intent behind the thought, refuses to simply explain what hip hop architecture looks like. For those requiring the visual interpretation to validate the idea, it doesn't exist simply because it cannot easily be categorized (and attempting to catalog the idea would devalue the exercise of its execution). While I do not claim to fully understand the many facets of Wilkins interpretation of hip hop architecture it could be argued that what Wilkins is referring to is simply architecture that is aware of the place and people in which it exists and interacts with. A simple notion that is all too often forgotten in broad stroke misapplication of misnamed solutions (Green, new urbanism, etc.) and fails to take the community (physically, mentally, historically) into context when developing (in concert) a physical intervention, usually in left over or fringe/forgotten.

For those teaching or working on public projects I recommend this read if only to further reinforce that new ideas can come from anywhere and valid opinions exist outside of the regulated schools of thought so it is our job to listen as much (if not more) than teach. For general practitioners of architecture interested in the philosophical means behind modern movements I would also offer this book as a primer on Lockean theory and a fine intro to Lefebvre's work (as well as others, did I mention all the notations?). For those who feel that the work they do focuses too little on the people affected or who wondered why most architects look the same this book is also for you. For those only interested in the form and theory behind shape making this book is mostly words so having it on your bookshelf will make you appear smarter and obviously appearances are important.

It was a good read, I am looking forward to going through it again with a pen and post-its in hand as I am sure to be using this book as a resource in further research.

house turned inside out - postponed!

I was getting all ready to post about the "house turned inside out" event, especially since Martin Papcun gave that really nice presentation at the last Pecha-kucha (it was hard to hear but the images were really fantastic and the jewelry was amazing) only to just get an email that it was being postponed until the 27th!

So mark your calendars appropriately and tell your friends the news otherwise they are going to show up Saturday and feel all stupid and you did NOTHING to prevent that!

House, turned inside out

3601 Siam Road, Cleveland

Opening October 27, 2009

4-9pm

Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative hosts Martin Papcun (Prague, Czech Republic) as he presents his newest large-scale, site-specific installation at 3601 Siam Road in Ohio City.

The artist, along with construction partners American Tank Fabricating and Affordable Demolition & Hauling Inc., has sliced into the walls of a house and turned them inside out to reveal the interior of the home. The installation, House, turned inside out, is a massive, yet intricate deconstruction. The installation will be open to the public for one month.

The project is funded by a grant from CEC ArtsLink New York.

For more info, contact:

Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative

820 Prospect Avenue

Cleveland, OH 44115

(216) 357-3434

www.cudc.kent.edu/shrink

HoJo Demo pix updated, added

I don't know what my fascination is with the demolition of this building. Mostly I remember it at as a landmark from my youth that acted as some sort of traveled distance marker which for the life of me I cannot recall for what. I do remember that the distinctive blue on the building and the vacant windows marked a blight that always made me realize how tenuous Cleveland's relationship between it's people and the land is.

Regardless, I have added more photos of the HoJo being demo'ed for everyone's amusement, especially my own.

Hopefully I won't be too sick to snap some photo's on the morrow. I'm thinking they will have the thing pretty much down by then.

Today's blog has been interrupted by the author

yadda yadda yadda - complain - complain- moan - yadda*

Until I read the following passage:

"But Landmarks doesn’t just enforce the status quo. Preservation and innovation aren’t mutually exclusive, and never were. No sooner was Brooklyn Heights designated historic in 1965 than the fledgling commission green-lighted Ulrich Franzen’s elegant, sere, and implacably modern design for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The commission realized early on—though at times it has forgotten—that copying ye olde dormers or pasting shards of antique façades onto new buildings threatens to turn the city into a reliquary, killing old architecture with unthinking conservatism. A flexible definition of appropriateness recognizes what makes a district historic."

Summation.*

It is an interesting point of view, one that needs further exploration.

*parts edited for clarity and because it was mostly a rant that wouldn't do anyone any good.

Shoreway Howard Johnson Motor Inn demo pix

For your action enjoyment I am going to take some sweet pix of the Shoreway Howard Johnson Motor Inn finally being demo'ed. I don't know if anything will eventually go in that location, as deserving as it is for something that could be really amazing and beneficial to the community.

Random views around Cleveland

I apologize about how I have been slacking a bit lately on the blog posts but I have been suffering some computer issues and am attempting to sort it out. Which I hope eventually to.

In the meantime enjoy this photo of the the old metal panel skin being taken off the building at 2000 East 9th Street on the Southwest corner of Euclid and East 9th exposing the brick/block beneath. I fear they cut some of the decorative pieces where it interfered with the metal skin. I don't know what the future really holds for this building, I don't work downtown anymore but it is nice to see things happening along Euclid.

Yay!

Dan Rockhill Lecture @ Univ.of Buffalo : recap

image from Studio 804 website

Last Friday the MarJ and I hopped in the TOIbox and headed east to the University of Buffalo to see Dan Rockhill speak at what we were to find out the 40th anniversary of the School of Architecture and Planning. Despite our directions from Google Maps (it was mostly a signage issue) we were able to find Crosby Hall on the South Campus. We even made it a bit early in order to do our due diligence and poke around a bit in order to see what the program was like before the lecture began. From what we could glean from our observations and some gentle questioning to a student or two the beginning of the Fall Semester dealt mostly with precedence studies. From the projects displayed on the walls the studies were more technical and biased toward passive design strategies but also illustrated the intent behind good precedence studies. The students were not merely creating a toolbox of previously successful projects, instead they were attempting to disseminate the driving force behind a selected design strategy in order to determine if the process and product were successful and (I can imagine) what changes or alterations could be attempted.

After our explorations we found ourselves in a medium sized lecture hall with between 80 to 100 other audience members ranging from students to faculty to alumni. It was then that we were informed that the School was celebrating it's 40th anniversary and that Dan Rockhill was indeed a University of Buffalo alumni and with that the presentation began.

I have been to numerous lectures, I actually enjoy them, especially if they delve deeper into the project's intent instead of merely demonstrating a slide show of built work with only the slightest veneer of the effort and thought that went into each project. This Dan did not do. Instead he spoke deliberately and clearly upon each project's intent, weaving between what the project goals were with his own personal goals and illustrating issues, shortfalls and successes. I was taken aback by a couple of points.

First, he didn't talk like an architect. He didn't talk down to his audience by using big, complex language to muddy and idea; instead his explanations and anecdotes evoked the sort of plain spoken charm that explains his success working with non-profit and municipal groups. He knows how to talk to people and he did a fantastic job Friday.

Secondly, Mr. Rockhill's Design/Build philosophy embodies the almost original beauty behind architect as master builder but couples this pedagogy with a playful exuberance that melds with the theoretical study of standard architectural educations instead of warring against it. The premise is that there is necessity for both. As the process unfolds there is a deliberate attempt to mix theoretical rhetoric with practical application but in doing so simply enough that the associations are manageable in both project scope and style.

The lecture began with Rockhill concentrating on the work of his firm, Rockhill and Associates, a design/build/construction practice that operates out of Lecompton, Kansas. A bevy of slides and stories explained how the projects are designed and built by the firm which allows for a time consuming amount of control and the ability to test new ideas and techniques. By assuming the task of construction explanation of construction techniques can wait until proofed in the field which allows for greater exploration by the designer to be made. As noted in the lecture they were able to be "asking clients for an excuse to practice architecture". Their precedence is the vernacular style of rural Kansas houses exemplifying decades of proven passive design strategies and the aesthetic of rural life. The structures were simple but beautiful and so very damn logical that when the intent was explained it was difficult to imagine any other outcome.

The second portion of the lecture dealt with Mr. Rockhill's design build studio called Studio 804 taught at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. Treated as a separate non-profit by the University, Studio 804 has full immersion design/build curriculum which is gifted one whole semester to design and build a complete structure. What began as an exercise in teaching students how buildings could be assembled became an award winning design studio using "marginalized neighborhoods" in Kansas and Missouri as playgrounds for energy efficient and low cost housing (albeit the latest project, a LEED platinum residential building, is hard to consider "low cost" at $350k). Regardless the projects are quite nice and utilize a rich palette of materials and modern strategies for living not typically seen in affordable housing.

In all it was a fantastic lecture and a wonderful excuse to visit University of Buffalo. I am hoping I was allowed to attend the lecture (I didn't ask ahead of time, I figure if one publishes it online without any stipulations it is considered free reign) and I look forward again to the next excuse to visit. Especially now that I know where I am going.

Books:

Designing and Building: Rockhill and Associates

Studio 804 Schemata

Number 9: Cecil Balmond

Number 9 - The Search for the Sigma Code by Cecil Balmond was purchased simply to delve into a great designer's fascination with numbers. Engineering (aeronautical) was my first path upon graduating high school before I decided architecture would be more interesting but I have always been fascinated by the science between good engineering for far more reasons than pure logic. I always felt there was a certain mysticism in numbers, a religious transcendence of belief that values of certain variables, when combined, could form something almost entirely different. What made me a geek in school remains interesting to this day (although I hate excel spreadsheets for various reasons, least of them math related).

It is this magic of numbers that Cecil speaks of profoundly yet almost concealing the punchline of a cosmic joke. Number 9 uses the parable of a character named Enjil as a vehicle for simplifying the complex path of numerical interactions and attempting to recognize and disseminate the many natural patterns of mathematical calculations were are exposed to each day. It is recognizing these patterns that is fascinating. In reconstructing them we are able to realize an inter connectivity that requires a certain ability to believe. I hesitate to use the word religious again, but at times there is a suspension of disbelief required as the reader begins down the path towards understanding.

The book is simple, almost cute in design. Storytelling weaved into basic proofs illustrated with various diagrams showing the connections and beauty of the relationships of numbers allows one to feel the main character's torn indecision at achieving success by exemplifying what his "teachers" wish him to be or by expressing what he naturally is, someone who understands that it takes the simplicity of a childlike mind to unlock the secrets of the universe.

I fantasize that this book will reach the hands of a young student who is just beginning their exposure to higher math lessons and who is able to live out the wonder that is youthful exploration of the sciences. Where would I have been if I had learned that math was a toy to be played with instead of a series of proofs and equations to memorize and recite?

Well, this blog would be a whole lot different.