Step it Up Rally 2007

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Step it Up 2007
National Day of Climate Action

Nothing like spending a crisp Fall Saturday enjoying, well crisp Fall Saturdays. Find a local movement planning to rally your communities to press their governmental bodies to respond to the Climate Change Crisis. Already 71 Members of Congress and 7 Presidential Candidates will be joining local movements, pledging their support in making America more proactive to the looming environmental emergency and making our politicians aware of plans and priorities to slow global warming.

APTA release Public Transportation Website

APTA (American Public Transportation Association released a new website to disseminate public transit info including some iPod maps (San Francisco BART) and county specific system information hopefully making public transportation easier to understand for those of us who use it but are still confused by routes due to construction or just plain old route changes.

With all the discussion about sprawl and climate change one starts to wonder when or even if there will be enough of a personal stake to utilize and capitalize on public transportation systems or if American society will continue to pull away and concentrate on solitary lifestyles perpetuated by personal vehicle usage.

In other news part of Euclid has the Corridor project 'completed' and will be opened sometime this month to regular traffic. I am curious to see how people react to the new traffic patterns. Heck, I am curious to see how I react to them.

Kauffman Park in danger - signs of greater troubles?

Public Meeting on Kaufman Park
Monday, October 29th, 2007
7.00-8.00 pm
Lakewood Seventh-Day Adventist Church
1382 Arthur Ave. - Fellowship Hall (Basement)

hosted by- Tom Bullock for Lakewood

There is an allure to Lakewood, Ohio that is relatively easy to discern. For an older suburb it still works the way neighborhoods did at the dawn of the century and in the way that new developers like to sell their developments as working. People here walk. There are parks to walk to, stores (specialty and grocery), libraries, movie theaters, all manner of bowling alleys, art galleries, restaurants, churches, bars, etc.

There is also a reason people walk. It is easy. The blocks are small, there are two major commercial strips that run parallel to (and create the spine of) the city, the sidewalks are big without being unreasonable gigantic, the crosswalks are marked and logical and commercial buildings are fronted right up on the street. Amidst a collection of single story to mid-rise the scale and composure of Lakewood 'downtown' has a particular feel; a small town without disjointed connection where one can easily peruse the windows whilst on your way to your destination.

If you are one who feels driving to your destination is quicker have no fear, there is ample side street parking or building specific parking nestled behind the buildings against the street (except for a couple of locations, noticeably Marc's surface lot that is somewhat tucked behind another building and park). These hidden parking lots do a few things that are rather nice to those of us that still enjoy walking the neighborhood. It keeps the front of the stores, and their windows, against the street making it easy to glance in and see if anything catches our eyes, it keeps eyes on the street due to proximity to the stores and it keeps large, barren, and crummy looking parking lots hidden away from the main image of the street.

With this in mind I bring up the Public Meeting on Kauffman Park tomorrow. I am not sure if this is an actual public meeting or just a publicity stunt for an elected official. I also am leery as I read the flyer which talks more about increasing safety forces at the park then attempting to create a way for future development (proposed office and retail) to keep the 'main street' feel instead of having a sea of asphalt butt up against Detroit Avenue. Yes, I fear that Detroit Avenue will turn into something akin to Mentor Avenue (Route 20) in Mentor, a strip of small retail stores, buffered from an uncrossable street by even more asphalt, parking entry and egress haphazardly tossed about until the whole street becomes a orgasm of commuter frustration . I feel that with a little bit of creativity and a small attempt at rational thought there would be a way to save most of the park, reorient the retail center and even add the possibility of office or even some residential units (if Lakewood needs more residential units, there are an awful lot of homes for rent/sale and adding to the mess doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense yet).

However that would mean that someone would actually want to spend time trying to design something that not only would sell but also something that would fit the sense and scale of the place and, well, work with the neighborhood and community.

Which probably means the usual suspects aren't up for the task no matter how many lamp-posts with banners declaring the 'Drug Mart Neighborhood Condo District' say they are.

resources
Plain Dealer Article

Tri-C Rauc(ous) Hall Archive- for the love of all things holy...

I admit I had seen what could have been a preliminary image of the Tri-C/Rock Hall archive thing earlier (which I commented upon), one where the stacked glass corner box was a pyramid with a large block balanced on top which was actually quite a bit more offensive then this.

This, this I can almost ignore without getting too angry about. Granted I had to lift the image from the ground breaking video since everyone that was so busy making the announcement somehow didn't get a simple image of what this thing was supposed to look like. This building that somehow they are breaking ground on, that supposedly went through a permit and review process that is supposed to protect the architectural and artistic merit of our city, this building that supposedly the people paying for it had been involved in the design...

Arts buildings should have the intent for delight professed within them.

Like This

ps. watch the video. After the squint/opera lecture/video showing at KSU you almost wonder how good design can easily influence the presentation. Also, they shovel a trough for the ground breaking. Really wacky stuff going on in this town.

Whilst staying on the topic of 'report cards'

To round out my post about the 'Greenest States' and the 'Greenest Cities' I figured I had to pass along the Sustainable Endowments Institute's report rating College's Sustainability

Only Harvard, Dartmouth, University of Washington, Middlebury, Carleton, and University of Vermont performed well enough in all categories to merit the highest overall grade of “A-,” earning them the distinction of College Sustainability Leaders.

The Juilliard School, Howard University, Regent University, and Samford University yielded overall “F” grades, followed by 21 schools carrying a grade of “D-.”

My school, Kent State, must not have gotten invovled at all. That is a shame since it hosts a College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

236 page 3 meg pdf report for some light reading.

39 out of 50 really isn't too great...

Recently Forbes magazine released its rankings of America's Greenest Cities. The usual suspects topped the list; Oregon, Washington, Vermont.

In a ranking which was determined by weighting six categories equally (carbon footprint, air quality, water quality, hazardous waste management, policy initiatives and energy consumption) Ohio came in 39th.

39th out of 50.

Below Texas.

I am aghast. I would really love to see not only the culmulative rankings of what areas we did especially poor in but also what data was collected for this study. Not in an attempt to belabor the rankings either, just to see how the local society percieves itself, foibles and accomplishments.

I just found it interesting.

America's Greenest Cities, don't worry, Cleveland isn't on there at all.

Better yourself, better the world, Free Rice

Free Rice

An online vocabulary game whereas for every word participants get correct an approximate 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. The program automatically adjusts for your skill level whilst keeping track of your score through tracking your 'donation'. Advertisers along the bottom of the screen are the ones who are donating in your name. The adverts run in a rather limited capacity and are not overbearing or even noticeable enough to become annoying. Granted the game is multiple choice and limited as you have to pick the best word to define the word given, meaning that some synonyms are a stretch, but utilizing context clues and lucky guessing it shouldn't prove too difficult. Also, if you get one wrong you are shown the correct answer. At least as far as I have been told. I haven't gotten any wrong yet.

I find the most interesting part of this experiment the idea that that it is improving the English vocabulary for everyone, meaning it could prove to be an effective technique to educate people in new languages. I wonder if there will be non-English versions. I daresay, it could make learning fun and actually more rewarding.

Ameritrust Tower deal goes 'boom(?)', much like its lobby

Even as rumors circulate about the possible sale of the Ameritrust Tower someone is still taking the time to drive about the lobby in a Bobcat. While I must admit that driving a Bobcat about is rather fun, and the prospect of driving one around the lobby of a building that I am supposed to systematically demolish could make me feel rather giddy (if I felt the building deserved it) I should point out that this particular exercise in County mandated destruction derby depresses me.

The best part of the above mentioned article is the responses. Oh internet, you so crazy!

Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture Exhibit

If you happen to be in Washington DC between November 3rd and February 17th you may want to stop in at the
National Building Museum and check out the Marcel Breuer exhibit.

I found the timing of this show interesting, especially as I received the notice around the same time that I was sent the Plain Dealer article stating that the County Commissioners may not demolish the Tower after all. In what one could call an 'interesting' turn of events, it seems that the County didn't fulfill their due diligence in planning their new administrative complex. Whether the fault could be blamed on poor planning, lack of planning, total absence of foresight or some other descriptive term that basically calls the project incompetent, it is becoming more and more apparent that the premise for the project was severely flawed. The question that remains is how much the taxpayers are going to pay for this mistake. I am guessing the whole thing won't be cheap.

I am sure someone out there is doing some interesting investigative reporting on where the money came from and where the money went. I know I would be interested to see a breakdown.

Hopefully something that fills in the gaps on where the majority of the money went and to whom. I thought this was a fine start.

Squint/Opera Lecture and Video Screening

Squint/Opera
lecture
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
Cartwright Hall Auditorium

video screening
Friday, November 2nd, 2007
CUDC

The Kent State College of Architecture will be utilizing two members of the Squint/Opera production company to teach a 2 week long architecture graduate workshop in filmmaking and production. During their time here the two members will offer a free lecture taking place at Kent State University's Cartwright Hall and a video presentation at the end of the workshop at the CUDC in Cleveland.

You many remember their films from the MOCA Cleveland 'Expanding the Circle' and the 'New Uptown District' shows.

During their workshop with Kent State squint/opera will "guide students through the process of producing short films that reflect their site observations and design concepts for a mixed-use development in University Circle".

Squint/Opera save the date card courtesy of AIA - Clevland

Steel forged in fire - Cleveland Goes Modern; From the Architects Perspective

Last evening at the Beck Center I had the opportunity to watch two Cleveland architecture legends discuss the modern movement as it pertained to Northeast Ohio construction from the 1940's to the present. Peter van Dijk and Richard Fleischman created the panel which had collected quite a crowd of interested Clevelanders waiting to hear about the problems and solutions to having non-typical projects built in the city.

It was an impressive turnout and mostly consisted of a question and answer segment which began with the loaded question offered by van Dijk of 'what is modernism?' which quickly evolved into what happens when the client isn't trained to or unable to recognize visual aesthetics (this was blamed on the typical educational curriculum which is currently light in the arts) to questioning whether it gotten easier or harder to move projects through local design review stages and receiving permits.

In my mind this is where the conversation got rather interesting. Much comment was bandied about regarding architecture and design in this post 9-11 world. Yes, 9-11 was brought up as an actual excuse for the proliferation of 'comfort' architecture, those banal boring structure decorated with false gables, columns and friezes, attempting to look timeless while only succeeding in become garish mockeries. Apparently (and I was not aware of this) everyone in this country (or just Cleveland) feels so unsafe that we are uncomfortable with doing anything out of the ordinary, even with regards to architecture (what at one time was possibly considered an art). Even though the buildings that were showcased in this installation were built 40 to 50 years prior the flagrant excuse that these typologies and structures are so alien and hard to understand as to create an aura of uncomfort stuns me. I suppose I can force myself to understand and find value in that statement though, however I come from the completely opposite perspective when I state that the typical building stock still being recreated (poorly) make me feel even more insecure. They make it difficult to delineate place as they do nothing but add to the background noise of a street, they perpetuate what some may consider a style artificially granted merit due to sheer repetition and in doing so make any attempt to explore other ideas, designs that may very well be better suited to our modern lifestyles, seem strange, unfamiliar and elitist to the denizens who are meant to harbor our neighborhoods from decreasing property values, the design review committees.

It was also rather interesting to listen to the passion in the room. I have honestly feared that is was missing from our city in some aspects. I suppose the only reason I would be so bold as to state openly so is that even though there is copious amounts of TALK about what is wrong and what can be done to change it, there seems to be very little in means of ACTION.

Ignoring the problem doesn't do anything to solve them, however neither does talk.

There was boldness last night. There was a fire and a thirst that made me feel like I was surrounded by the sort of youth and exuberance that was willing to change the world and take the repercussions for having done so. In my mind it was a damnable shame that this took place in a reputable arts gallery instead of the dark and raw backroom of a bar, where we could have smacked our fists on the rough wooden tables and felt the camaraderie bursting forth, ready to carry us into the streets torches in our hands raised high marching towards the nearest townshack to evoke our own design review fury.

Alas, I romanticize quite a bit. I felt the fury in the air last night, the danger of our precarious current situation that we feel unwilling to fight against yet. There seems to be some difficulty with arguing against the problem, perhaps because it has become so dominant and ingrained it feels too large to overcome for now, it has become the natural way of things.

Until there is enough willing to act, and the opprotunities to do so, we can only hope that exhibits such as Building Goes Modern raise enough community awareness and incite enough curiosity to keep our hearts and minds alive.

As a quite side note, I also picked up the catalogue for the show which I believe you will be able to purchase at the installation for a mere $15.00. It is a wonderful foray into the existence and history of the modern movement around Cleveland. While you are there, try to find Nina Gibans amazing Historical and Cultural Notes for the Cleveland Goes Modern show. It is a wonder primer.

ecolect

With a plethora of materials touting how 'sustainable' or 'green' they are and claiming how just by spcifying them in your projects you 'could get up to (X) LEED points!' it seems, well, annoying to have to wade through the constant bombardment of salespeak to get to the actual 'meat' of the product. What does it really do?

Enter Ecolect, a new online materials database that is hoping "to be the largest, freely accessible sustainable materials library in the world".

What is seeming to set this database apart from others that have been so far created is that users can upload images of their own projects, descriptions and impressions in order to better inform other potential users.

If you happen to live in San Francisco you can even attend the launch party tonight.

Ecolect Launch Party @ Swissnex
Thursday, October 18, 6:00-9:00pm
730 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94111

Cleveland RTA lifts restrictions of bikes on transit

Cleveland RTA, currently ranked APTA's Top Public Transportation Organization (30 million annual riders and up) are increasing their flexibility to offering ease of access to downtown Cleveland via pedestrian scale and public conveyence. Currently announcing that 100% of buses are equipped with bike rackes the Cleveland RTA is lifting the non-rush hour only restrictions for taking a bus on the Rapid System. Here are the new regulations:

On the RTA Rapid Transit
An adult must accompany anyone under the age of 18 with bicycles.

With 100 percent of buses sporting bike racks, RTA officials want to allow more bikes on the Rapid Transit lines. Under new rules, effective October 16, 2007, bikes are permitted on all RTA trains at all hours of operation, based on operator discretion. If the train is already full, or if space at the end of the car is already taken by customers in wheelchairs, cyclists may be asked to wait for the next train. No tandems, recumbents, mopeds or tricycles are permitted.
At the Tower City station, bicycles may enter and leave by taking the elevator between the station level and Prospect Avenue level (3rd floor), using the Prospect Avenue doors to the left and right of the elevator.
Bicycles are prohibited from all other areas of The Avenue at Tower City Center, including stairs, escalators and retail areas.
At Tower City, cyclists can transfer between Blue, Green, Waterfront and Red Line Trains using the fare gates designated for wheelchairs.
At Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, bicycles may be locked outside in designated areas. For safety reasons, bicycles are not permitted inside terminal buildings.
Bicycles are not allowed on the escalators at any station. Cyclists must use stairs and elevators only.
No more than two bicycles are permitted per car, with space available on a first come, first-served basis.
Like other passengers, cyclists must yield to wheelchair passengers.
Cyclists must board the train after other passengers, and must stay with their bicycles for the entire ride.
Bikes must not block aisles or doorways on RTA trains, and must be securely held or tied in place.
When on the platform, please keep your bicycle well away from the edge at all times.
Cyclists will obey all posted signs and instructions from all authorized personnel, including RTA Transit Police, Service Quality Management, Rail District operating and supervisory personnel and municipal police.

Bike, Bus & Train.pdf
Links to Cleveland Cycling Clubs via GCRTA website

When buildings are just buildings

What is the vernacular of Cleveland? What language does our city talk to us in? A while back I mentioned the passing term coined by a friend of the "townshack" for explaining what he felt in Cleveland before going on his merry way; the poorly designed and perhaps poorly crafted backhanded attempt at urban lifestyle living designed by people who apparently abhor it. I took some photos around Cleveland of what was once an anomaly but somehow became the standard but left the camera in my bag, afraid to be taken out for fear that by acknowledging these monstrosities that they would somehow become 'more real'. I have a difficult time explaining why these structures are so very offensive, they fit such a wide and varied criteria for being 'wrong' that it seems rather difficult to narrow down succinctly how so. I suppose the most obvious problem is that even though they were knowingly designed by an architect, they lack all pretense and intent for any recognizable or identifiable expression of architecture. They neither offer explanation or exploration, expression or meaningful characteristics of anything beyond being a simple and cheap decorated box. Even the argument for the artistic merit of simplicity and cleanliness fail at the onslaught of these perpetually false ideologues, these ham-handed attempts to hybridize the suburban with the urban a monument of excess only in terms of tackiness.

It isn't that I favor the argument that all buildings should be gems, not for the 'elitist' reasoning that the building isn't the architecture but that the social implications of the building are. No, I have problems with that argument simply because it would be impossible to enforce and without the regularity of simple buildings, the standardized and institutionalized forms creating the backdrop, then true architectural gems wouldn't mean as much. Besides, glorious works of architecture can be more then shiny baubles and trinkets tossed about to please the public. They could be inspiring lobbies, wonderfully functioning workspaces, simple buildings dabbling in the wonders of materiality and function that lift the spirit and minds of the inhabitants. These attributes are not so easily seen from the street but are no less important.

So then, what is Cleveland's dialect? True there are some gems, those not being actively destroyed, buried within the confines of our boundaries, surrounded by placid neighbors and hidden among the lethargic, but they are few and far between and even more corrosive the new jewels being promised, surmounting the horizon, are under threat of being tarnished by the same forces that created the existing blight upon our city (Third parties in the Triangle project). Is our vernacular that the status quo is only a shield that our true heart lies behind? That Cleveland projects the image of the 'hidden gem' the 'beauty you have to want to see'?