One portion of a pedestrian friendly city is designing streets to be safer for cyclists as well as pedestrians. There is a reason for this. Quick, safe and easy movement around a city on a Cycle of some sort (I don't want to rule out a unicycle or tricycle) results in more pedestrian level traffic and 'window browsing' instead of the vehicular based destination traffic pattern (parking lot to store to parking lot) and also allows for quick and easy adjustments to plans to accommodate spontaneous events (So and so is over at the coffee shop? I can just roll/walk right on over and not worry about the added parking cost or increased walk distance back to my car!). This all results in more activated streets (safer!) and possible consumers for street level businesses. Think about it only as a business plan if you have to. More customers = more money.
As the weather warms up (eventually) and those of us who don't trust our bikes on icy pavement roll out our rides and begin the seasonal tune up motions, clean the leaves out of the helmet and sprockets and immediately become agitated thinking about how horribly dangerous it is to ride around our city.
In an effort to increase Bicycle safety Portland, Oregon has implemented (and started enforcing) a bike box at some test intersections. These "bike boxes" are marked areas in which motorized vehicles are not allowed to rest at during red lights. They are only for cyclists to allow them to safely initiate their riding when the light changes to green. These bike boxes are at intersections where you are not supposed to turn right on red and where complaints against cyclists by motorists and vice versa have been made. This is only in its testing phases right now and Portland Police Bureau’s Traffic Division has started the rigorous procedure of informing and enforcing of the new traffic legislation.
I know I have ranted about it before. How if given the location to safely and securely store my bike I would love to risk riding it to work (as I can always toss it on the rack in front of a bus if I get a flat). If there were some sort of designated bike traffic pattern or even enforcement of automotive operation that would cause me to think cycling would be a safe alternative that could even tip the scale.
We need to stop worrying about our cars and start thinking about how we are going to get people onto the streets to keep an eye out for each other. I believe that investing in pedestrian based traffic infrastructure plays a key role in increasing the density of urban areas which in turn would bring people back to the 'downtown' areas of their community and eventually to our major downtown. The city of Cleveland itself.
Resources:
Ohio City Bicycle Co-op has a new website!
And don't just toss us a bone, make sure that bicycle infrastructure makes SENSE!
Dumbest Bike Lane in America
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Neighborhood Public Art Workshop
Neighborhood Public Art Workshop
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Wooltex Gallery at the Tower Press
1901 Superior Avenue Free parking
Cleveland, OH
11am - 3pm
To help community development organizations and staff navigate the possibilities of working with artists, the Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition and Cleveland Public Art are hosting this workshop. Learn the various ways in which public art can be used as a tool to promote community and economic development agendas, as well as for marketing and branding neighborhoods. Topics include:
* successful neighborhood public art projects;
* where to find funding sources;
* how to engage with artists;
* case study: Public Art in Neighborhood Parks. Joy Johnson, Sherita Williams, and Jeff Sugalski from Burten Bell Carr Development, with artist Melissa Daubert;
* case study: Public Art on Neighborhood Streetscapes. Steve Lorenz from Kamm's Corners Development with artist Gauri Torgalkar.
For information, call 216-621-5330.
$10.00 registration fee.
Lunch will be provided.
Now this is late because you should have registered before March 25th but perhaps if you call and are VERY POLITE you may still be able to go.
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Wooltex Gallery at the Tower Press
1901 Superior Avenue Free parking
Cleveland, OH
11am - 3pm
To help community development organizations and staff navigate the possibilities of working with artists, the Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition and Cleveland Public Art are hosting this workshop. Learn the various ways in which public art can be used as a tool to promote community and economic development agendas, as well as for marketing and branding neighborhoods. Topics include:
* successful neighborhood public art projects;
* where to find funding sources;
* how to engage with artists;
* case study: Public Art in Neighborhood Parks. Joy Johnson, Sherita Williams, and Jeff Sugalski from Burten Bell Carr Development, with artist Melissa Daubert;
* case study: Public Art on Neighborhood Streetscapes. Steve Lorenz from Kamm's Corners Development with artist Gauri Torgalkar.
For information, call 216-621-5330.
$10.00 registration fee.
Lunch will be provided.
Now this is late because you should have registered before March 25th but perhaps if you call and are VERY POLITE you may still be able to go.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Back of the Envelope Design Contest for the G.W. Bush Library - the vote is in your hands
The Chronicle Review has posted some of the 120 submissions to the George W. Bush Back-of-the-Envelope Design Contest. They are asking readers to vote on their favorite of the submissions.
If you are a disenfranchised voter, don't fret. You do not have to claim a political affiliation nor should you be worried whether your electorate will be seated at the next convention. This is a one time, winner take all vote and the winner receives an iPod Touch for all their diligent and no doubt patriotic work.
There are some rather good sketches in there so check them out.
If you are a disenfranchised voter, don't fret. You do not have to claim a political affiliation nor should you be worried whether your electorate will be seated at the next convention. This is a one time, winner take all vote and the winner receives an iPod Touch for all their diligent and no doubt patriotic work.
There are some rather good sketches in there so check them out.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Design Review, wherefore art thou?
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada once home to the world's largest mall (now only the largest in North America) has become known for refusing to allow "crap" to be built in the city. Specifically there is a proper ban on "square boxes with minimal features and lame landscaping" which is enforced by a city committee ominously known as the Edmonton Design Committee (EDC).
The civic volunteers have no real sway over granting a project the ability to proceed to the construction phase however no projects were approved by the body in power (the Edmonton development office) that were not supported by the EDC. The EDC has a mandate, they have the power to uphold it and they are flexing their muscle to include surrounding areas to Edmonton proper.
While at times there is still quite a bit of speculation about 'design review boards' and what they are worth I find it interesting that the EDC seems to be a completely volunteer group of individuals brought together out of love of their community. In fact they are described as a "volunteer coalition of experts". I don't know how one really becomes an 'expert'. I would love to see the process behind that title but for now I will move on.
The question of any design review council remains. "Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what is ugly and what isn't?" Granted in some instances bad design is rather telling however in others some really new, exciting ideas may seem too incredibly foreign to be accepted and that is where the power of the design review board scares me.
While I think it is all fine and dandy to hold city projects to a set of 'urban' guidelines and perhaps even zoning I am abhorred by what some real design review does. In Cleveland there are numerous projects that have sprung up that should have had to go through a design review process. One firm's entire portfolio could be considered suspect of utilizing any sort of measure of taste or finesse however prolific they may be yet they continue to infect our city with either a total disregard to a Design Review or worse, with the Design Review's blessing.
While Edmonton is willing to call a 'cow' a 'cow' and better yet call 'crap' projects for what they are I wonder who in the local community is attempting to interject a touch of civic pride into their decisions. I have been to few reviews and I wonder that quite often. For those of you interested in why things are being built in your community I suggest you contact your local building and planning boards to get a schedule of when meetings are taking place and go to a few of them. For the most part they are boring humdrum lectures of misplaced historical context (casement window's aren't historically correct since everyone has double hung, what?) you would be surprised at what slips through when people are watching the clock. Next time you wonder how that 'mixed use urban development' sprung up on your block you can attribute it to our design review peers asleep at the wheel.
Resources:
Canada looks better all the time
Cleveland Planning Commission
The civic volunteers have no real sway over granting a project the ability to proceed to the construction phase however no projects were approved by the body in power (the Edmonton development office) that were not supported by the EDC. The EDC has a mandate, they have the power to uphold it and they are flexing their muscle to include surrounding areas to Edmonton proper.
While at times there is still quite a bit of speculation about 'design review boards' and what they are worth I find it interesting that the EDC seems to be a completely volunteer group of individuals brought together out of love of their community. In fact they are described as a "volunteer coalition of experts". I don't know how one really becomes an 'expert'. I would love to see the process behind that title but for now I will move on.
The question of any design review council remains. "Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what is ugly and what isn't?" Granted in some instances bad design is rather telling however in others some really new, exciting ideas may seem too incredibly foreign to be accepted and that is where the power of the design review board scares me.
While I think it is all fine and dandy to hold city projects to a set of 'urban' guidelines and perhaps even zoning I am abhorred by what some real design review does. In Cleveland there are numerous projects that have sprung up that should have had to go through a design review process. One firm's entire portfolio could be considered suspect of utilizing any sort of measure of taste or finesse however prolific they may be yet they continue to infect our city with either a total disregard to a Design Review or worse, with the Design Review's blessing.
While Edmonton is willing to call a 'cow' a 'cow' and better yet call 'crap' projects for what they are I wonder who in the local community is attempting to interject a touch of civic pride into their decisions. I have been to few reviews and I wonder that quite often. For those of you interested in why things are being built in your community I suggest you contact your local building and planning boards to get a schedule of when meetings are taking place and go to a few of them. For the most part they are boring humdrum lectures of misplaced historical context (casement window's aren't historically correct since everyone has double hung, what?) you would be surprised at what slips through when people are watching the clock. Next time you wonder how that 'mixed use urban development' sprung up on your block you can attribute it to our design review peers asleep at the wheel.
Resources:
Canada looks better all the time
Cleveland Planning Commission
Monday, March 24, 2008
Toronto has a pretty nice streetcar system, I bet ours was pretty nice too.
You know, before we sold them ours. Well we didn't sell them the whole system. In fact we only transferred some of our fleet to Toronto in 1952 where they remained in service for 30 years. This of course is after complaints were alleged that the mayor at the time and city council members were gifted new General Motor automobiles in exchange for the city's purchase of a new General Motor's bus fleet (at the time the FBI wasn't able to investigate).
Toronto's streetcar system was a familiar and predictable route for traveling to visitors in a new and strange city and I found the 24 hour a day service rather helpful. I don't want stir the water and start spouting conspiracy theories. That isn't what this post is about.
Instead I wanted to mention that the streetcars of Toronto were a predictable comfort, one that Cleveland is missing and that will hopefully be brought back when the new Euclid Corridor BTR is completed. I think I can finally understand the import of a public transit corridor with such reliable repetition. While our Rapid and bus system do a fine job, the Rapid system does not offer the same street level conveyance and the bus system isn't really predictable nor understandable yet (signage, maps and clocks at/near bus stops would be a great way to alleviate this).
I wholeheartedly look forward to the BTR project along Euclid being completed and would hope that when it proves successful, that other high traffic routes are make the leap to the BTR system (see Detroit Ave. line) comfortably connecting the east and west side to downtown.
Resources (yes, I used the wikipedia!):
Cleveland Railway Company
Toronto Streetcar System
Toronto's streetcar system was a familiar and predictable route for traveling to visitors in a new and strange city and I found the 24 hour a day service rather helpful. I don't want stir the water and start spouting conspiracy theories. That isn't what this post is about.
Instead I wanted to mention that the streetcars of Toronto were a predictable comfort, one that Cleveland is missing and that will hopefully be brought back when the new Euclid Corridor BTR is completed. I think I can finally understand the import of a public transit corridor with such reliable repetition. While our Rapid and bus system do a fine job, the Rapid system does not offer the same street level conveyance and the bus system isn't really predictable nor understandable yet (signage, maps and clocks at/near bus stops would be a great way to alleviate this).
I wholeheartedly look forward to the BTR project along Euclid being completed and would hope that when it proves successful, that other high traffic routes are make the leap to the BTR system (see Detroit Ave. line) comfortably connecting the east and west side to downtown.
Resources (yes, I used the wikipedia!):
Cleveland Railway Company
Toronto Streetcar System
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Reinventing the wheel, Cleveland style; rolling along on a square.
There has been an awful lot of talk regarding the convention center for the medical mart recently. Hoards of ideas have been floated by the Plain Dealer (no I won't link until they get rid of that awful 'reader' survey you have to click through before you get to an article) and on other blurgs such as Cleveland Design City and BFD, etc etc.
Anyway, for those of you wanting to take a step back and look at some of the original plans for the city to perhaps surmise some original intent (best laid plans and all that) you may find the D. H. Ellison Group Plan webpage interesting. Not only for the old diagrams and images but also because of the *gasp* information.
It is almost as if at one time in the way distant past Cleveland was supposed to be a successful city!
Anyway, for those of you wanting to take a step back and look at some of the original plans for the city to perhaps surmise some original intent (best laid plans and all that) you may find the D. H. Ellison Group Plan webpage interesting. Not only for the old diagrams and images but also because of the *gasp* information.
It is almost as if at one time in the way distant past Cleveland was supposed to be a successful city!
The distinction between art and science; architecture as a craft
It was my first night in Brooklyn and Suzi was defending her choice of concentrating on a fine art (sculpture) and stepping out of the study of architecture. She intoned that she actually wanted to build things, to keep the intent pure and found the act of architectural creation mired in the 'magic' of cost projection and marketing archaic, a feeling that I can well understand.
I had traveled to New York City to see Suzi's MFA and to visit another TOIcollaborator whom I had also worked with in Cleveland. We had all met while in the employ of what was considered (and still may be, these things take time to evolve) an 'up and coming' young firm. A firm building a considerable portfolio and hungry to prove their creative merit. There were however the growing pains of a small firm trapped in a local community tentative about flexing design muscle that sent those two to New York while I attempted to find an office closer (physically) to home.
Regardless, the question of architecture as either and art or a science reveals a difficult determination. While 'good' architecture requires a creative flair with the spatial understanding of an artist the act of construction and building itself lends more to the scientific arena of understanding materiality and the phasing of assembly.
So how then would one define architecture or at least its many facets? At one time architects were master builders or craftsmen who would idealize the form and shape the construction to meet the ideal. It was required to depend on the skill and the eye of the builder to help realize the dream as well as the patience and confidence (arrogance?) to convince the patron the path the project was taking was indeed the correct one. Many great projects of old would take unreasonable amounts of time to complete by modern standards. Where great cathedrals would require generations of builders to complete nowadays it is not uncommon to require a project to go from dream to realization in less then 2 years.
It has become almost too easy to stray from the path of understanding not only what is being built but a more complete understanding of what it is being built with. Where architecture is devolving to little more than a study in form without any sense of grasping the science of construction or the intonation of function or even interactivity which in the end is what is killing the field. While educational programs remove the students from the actual art of building and the schism continues to divide developer and designer the general public (or client pool) only sees edifices to ego being constructed in the most bizarre and unsustainable fashions further mystifying the role of the designer and in the end relegating architects to the role of decorating boxes designed for the lowest common denominator and documented with the intent of being constructed in a vacuum by the lowest bidder.
As I sit here in Toronto, in a house that was built in the 1850's, listening to the few others at the B&B walk around and check in without the telltale creaky floors and squeaky stairs I wonder if in our quest for cheaper construction we are truly cheating ourselves by requiring more materials for shoddily built and overly quickly design product that incur huge maintenance and operating costs later. What ever happened to the love of constructing something that we can be proud of, that we plan to hand down to our children, that we know will stand testament to our existence and our community? How do we expect those with a passion for beauty and grace to continue to want to practice in a field where taking the time to understand how to build things correctly is typically excused from the project's time line as an extraneous cost?
Not that I want to make excuses or that I am blameless from 'the process' that has befallen so many architects in their quest to eventually build things they can be proud of. Part of me wonders why it is so difficult to draw a line in the sand. To state in a non-argumentative manner that good product and good craft is going to cost more and take more time to accomplish. Not that this is an excuse for wasting time or money, just the opposite, that if projects are considered to include the lifespan of the building and it's efficiency and craft then care must be required up front in order to plan and design the proper solution as well as the assemblage for it to last long enough to capitalize on the initial costs. Otherwise similar mistakes will perpetuate. Buildings will leak, walls will lean and everything will look similar enough to dull the eye.
Part of me, a good part of me, is jealous of Suzi for having the strength and the wherewithal so realize her happiness lies in sculpture more than architecture. I can see the allure. Part of me is frustrated with the status quo and am growing eternally bored of the conflict of science and art being bypassed for a buck. Most of me yearns to return to the exploration of craft that attracted me in the first place.
I had traveled to New York City to see Suzi's MFA and to visit another TOIcollaborator whom I had also worked with in Cleveland. We had all met while in the employ of what was considered (and still may be, these things take time to evolve) an 'up and coming' young firm. A firm building a considerable portfolio and hungry to prove their creative merit. There were however the growing pains of a small firm trapped in a local community tentative about flexing design muscle that sent those two to New York while I attempted to find an office closer (physically) to home.
Regardless, the question of architecture as either and art or a science reveals a difficult determination. While 'good' architecture requires a creative flair with the spatial understanding of an artist the act of construction and building itself lends more to the scientific arena of understanding materiality and the phasing of assembly.
So how then would one define architecture or at least its many facets? At one time architects were master builders or craftsmen who would idealize the form and shape the construction to meet the ideal. It was required to depend on the skill and the eye of the builder to help realize the dream as well as the patience and confidence (arrogance?) to convince the patron the path the project was taking was indeed the correct one. Many great projects of old would take unreasonable amounts of time to complete by modern standards. Where great cathedrals would require generations of builders to complete nowadays it is not uncommon to require a project to go from dream to realization in less then 2 years.
It has become almost too easy to stray from the path of understanding not only what is being built but a more complete understanding of what it is being built with. Where architecture is devolving to little more than a study in form without any sense of grasping the science of construction or the intonation of function or even interactivity which in the end is what is killing the field. While educational programs remove the students from the actual art of building and the schism continues to divide developer and designer the general public (or client pool) only sees edifices to ego being constructed in the most bizarre and unsustainable fashions further mystifying the role of the designer and in the end relegating architects to the role of decorating boxes designed for the lowest common denominator and documented with the intent of being constructed in a vacuum by the lowest bidder.
As I sit here in Toronto, in a house that was built in the 1850's, listening to the few others at the B&B walk around and check in without the telltale creaky floors and squeaky stairs I wonder if in our quest for cheaper construction we are truly cheating ourselves by requiring more materials for shoddily built and overly quickly design product that incur huge maintenance and operating costs later. What ever happened to the love of constructing something that we can be proud of, that we plan to hand down to our children, that we know will stand testament to our existence and our community? How do we expect those with a passion for beauty and grace to continue to want to practice in a field where taking the time to understand how to build things correctly is typically excused from the project's time line as an extraneous cost?
Not that I want to make excuses or that I am blameless from 'the process' that has befallen so many architects in their quest to eventually build things they can be proud of. Part of me wonders why it is so difficult to draw a line in the sand. To state in a non-argumentative manner that good product and good craft is going to cost more and take more time to accomplish. Not that this is an excuse for wasting time or money, just the opposite, that if projects are considered to include the lifespan of the building and it's efficiency and craft then care must be required up front in order to plan and design the proper solution as well as the assemblage for it to last long enough to capitalize on the initial costs. Otherwise similar mistakes will perpetuate. Buildings will leak, walls will lean and everything will look similar enough to dull the eye.
Part of me, a good part of me, is jealous of Suzi for having the strength and the wherewithal so realize her happiness lies in sculpture more than architecture. I can see the allure. Part of me is frustrated with the status quo and am growing eternally bored of the conflict of science and art being bypassed for a buck. Most of me yearns to return to the exploration of craft that attracted me in the first place.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Happy World Water Day
TOIstudio scours the news everyday to find interesting tidbits regarding architecture and environmentalism that may have slipped by the mainstream media, however I am not one for completely disdaining our larger broadcasting brethren and was actually caught by surprise when I saw this major news network story about World Water Day.
All joking aside without conservation or some minor technological breakthroughs potable water is poised to become the next major conflict instigator, most likely surpassing the volatility of oil in coming decades.
Perhaps it is the growing pains of our civilization that let us forgo the importance of drinking water in such a way that we continued to poison and waste it in such a manner that may become threatening for us as a species if we do not start taking some sort of responsibility. I am not advocating that we all only sponge bath once a month, instead I advocate that we realize that every decision we make has an impact upon another entity. You don't have to over-water your lawn to keep it green, you could plant lawns of non invasive species that have a deeper root structure so they will not suffer the 'burn of summer' as readily.
You could take your own bags to the grocery store instead of relying on being provided bags that take precious resources to make only to be thrown away at the end of their extremely short lifespan.
You could use low flow fixtures in your house and fix drips and leaks.
There are hundreds of water conservation techniques that could be easily employed without making any impact on our lifestyles and in the end would be better for all of us.
Some resources:
Water Conservation Web Portal
Water Conservation Techniques from Canada
2008 Water Conservation Showcase
Natural Resource Conservation Services for lawncare
Earth 911 water conservation
All joking aside without conservation or some minor technological breakthroughs potable water is poised to become the next major conflict instigator, most likely surpassing the volatility of oil in coming decades.
Perhaps it is the growing pains of our civilization that let us forgo the importance of drinking water in such a way that we continued to poison and waste it in such a manner that may become threatening for us as a species if we do not start taking some sort of responsibility. I am not advocating that we all only sponge bath once a month, instead I advocate that we realize that every decision we make has an impact upon another entity. You don't have to over-water your lawn to keep it green, you could plant lawns of non invasive species that have a deeper root structure so they will not suffer the 'burn of summer' as readily.
You could take your own bags to the grocery store instead of relying on being provided bags that take precious resources to make only to be thrown away at the end of their extremely short lifespan.
You could use low flow fixtures in your house and fix drips and leaks.
There are hundreds of water conservation techniques that could be easily employed without making any impact on our lifestyles and in the end would be better for all of us.
Some resources:
Water Conservation Web Portal
Water Conservation Techniques from Canada
2008 Water Conservation Showcase
Natural Resource Conservation Services for lawncare
Earth 911 water conservation
Sunday, March 16, 2008
City Fresh Monday - Adaptive Re-Use of Old Urban Buildings for Local Food
***The monthly City Fresh Monday meeting has been moved from the 17th to the 24th to accomidate St. Patrick's day***
City Fresh Mondays - Adaptive Re-Use of Old Urban Buildings for Local Food
Monday March 24th, 2008
Great Lakes Brewing Company Beer Cellar
6pm - 8pm
Sometimes I think the New Agrarian Center has something planted in my head. Everytime I see one of their topics I immediately think "Wow, what a freakin' great idea!". I appreciate the subtle undertone of turning some of Cleveland's liability (underused land) into an assest (community garden and space) and doing it in a way that strengthens communal bonds as well as nurtures our connection to the natural environment. An attempt to accentuate the connection between the natural urban environment in a manner that doesn't alienate inhabitants or create formalized sterile parks that seem too unnatural to physically enjoy.
City Fresh Monday is a monthly gathering of folks who want to learn, dialogue and collaborate on issues of food, health, community development and the environment. Presented by the New Agrarian Center (NAC), the FREE and OPEN City Fresh Monday forum is hosted in the Great Lakes Brewing Company Beer Cellar the third Monday of every month from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. RSVPs are not required, but attendance will likely maximize at 60-70 people.
Topic:
Adaptive Re-Use of Old Urban Buildings for Local Food - featuring presentations from students of Cleveland State University's Levin School of Urban Affairs who are looking at plans for adapting potential buildings in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.
Please note: the Beer Cellar is not wheelchair-accessible.
City Fresh Mondays - Adaptive Re-Use of Old Urban Buildings for Local Food
Monday March 24th, 2008
Great Lakes Brewing Company Beer Cellar
6pm - 8pm
Sometimes I think the New Agrarian Center has something planted in my head. Everytime I see one of their topics I immediately think "Wow, what a freakin' great idea!". I appreciate the subtle undertone of turning some of Cleveland's liability (underused land) into an assest (community garden and space) and doing it in a way that strengthens communal bonds as well as nurtures our connection to the natural environment. An attempt to accentuate the connection between the natural urban environment in a manner that doesn't alienate inhabitants or create formalized sterile parks that seem too unnatural to physically enjoy.
City Fresh Monday is a monthly gathering of folks who want to learn, dialogue and collaborate on issues of food, health, community development and the environment. Presented by the New Agrarian Center (NAC), the FREE and OPEN City Fresh Monday forum is hosted in the Great Lakes Brewing Company Beer Cellar the third Monday of every month from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. RSVPs are not required, but attendance will likely maximize at 60-70 people.
Topic:
Adaptive Re-Use of Old Urban Buildings for Local Food - featuring presentations from students of Cleveland State University's Levin School of Urban Affairs who are looking at plans for adapting potential buildings in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.
Please note: the Beer Cellar is not wheelchair-accessible.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Cleveland needs to look north for inspiration - the Puglies
TOIstudio heads up to Toronto next week. I know I just returned from New York but the spring travel bug has bitten. I haven't been to Toronto since I was 13 or so and while a part of me wants to hunt down Steven Fong and complain about Kent's floundering ways I would rather walk the waterfront, compare the Condo situation with Cleveland's own and remiss not putting the journey off until May.I will also attempt to tap into the vibrant and seemingly vocal local criticism of local architecture. Something that may be just starting to coagulate in Cleveland. While there have been some attempts to criticize and critique perhaps it should be taken a step further and openly judge.
The MarJ sent me a fine website called The People's Choice Awards for Architecture or the Puglies for short. There some of Toronto's architectural projects receive the dubious award of being shortlisted on a website where the public can chose which particular project is more offensive. The website is amazingly easy to navigate, offers quite a huge selection of choices and imagery and really does a fine job of driving the point home that the public has some discerning taste and it would be nice for developers to recognize that.
While I think the options in Cleveland may not be as varied (due to the same particular group of people churning out the same particularly poorly designed product) it would be nice to collect and disseminate imagery of the debacle, if only to share with the world and hopefully incite a revolution of good taste and proper decorum.
Viva la Revolucion!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Suzi's MFA - De-Wared
Suzi's MFA exhibit went off quite well. In fact I was rather impressed with how it turned out. I hope to get some more information (conceptual statement, etc) to put up on the collaborator's portion of the site with some video that I shot on a digital camera.
Artist's Statement-
In Denis Hollier's Against Architecture the writings of Georges Bataille, Hollier notes Bataille's discussion of language's possibility as a commodity or expenditure for control over subjectivity. Here the implications of exchange value (profit) over use-value (subjectivity), dictate the practice of art and architecture's effect on human experiences and thus resonates as post-modernism's current language of late capitalism.
In De-Wared, I attempt to utilize a new language to reverse the state of postmodernism's domination of exchange value as supported in Frederic Jameson's text: The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. In defining language, I attest to Bataille's theory of language's ability (both visual and verbal) to either propel "into a dance, or fall into intoxication". Here language is a labyrinth, our existence, were an exit or discovery of freedom from confusion can be found when "lexical prisons are broken open". Confusion occurs when on loses identity and subjectivity within the barriers and entanglement of the web. In this way I search to exit from the commodity value of mass-marketed standards which over-power creativity and individual freedom.
By forcing standard, quarter-inch steel rods down to an unusable item so it is no longer representative of a ware, I find independence from the form it dictates to the user, and therefore coin a language that is not bound by market-value but rather by my own reality within this labyrinth. Although purchased as a commodity, I manipulate the steel to no longer promote the language of commodity and to remove its exchange-value. The de-wared steel serves as a metaphor to a culturally larger problem within late-capitalism in the hopes that it too can be ameliorated.
-Susan Quilligan
Monday, March 10, 2008
TOIstudio, on the road
For those of you wondering where the heck I have been lately, I was quite occupied with work for a while there and didn't really have much time to explore any opinion or thoughts on much except for being tired and hungry.
Currently though I have started fulfilling my wanderlust and am sitting in a rather nice apartment of some other TOIstudio-ers who have made the move to NYC in an effort to see what all the hubbub has been about.
Thoughts and impressions are varied. I actually really like the city because there is really so many interesting things to see and do, however at times the cacophony can be quite overwhelming, especially to such a small town boy as myself.
I haven't really done any things that one could consider 'touristy' except for Cai Guo-Qiang exhibit at the Guggenheim.
The major reason for my journey to NYC is Suzi's MFA exhibition at Pratt which I am excited to see the end result of the installation and will hopefully have some good pictures of the exhibition up soon (with Suzi's permission of course).
Regardless for those of you curious as to where I have been, that is where. Next week I plan on heading up to Toronto with the MarJ (who did not make the NYC trip and whom I admit I miss quite a lot) for some exploration of their waterfront. Hopefully I will have some coherent thoughts and impressions in a little while as I get to take the time to type something up. In the meantime I hope everyone is enjoying this little respite from my angst and taking some time themselves to relax.
Currently though I have started fulfilling my wanderlust and am sitting in a rather nice apartment of some other TOIstudio-ers who have made the move to NYC in an effort to see what all the hubbub has been about.
Thoughts and impressions are varied. I actually really like the city because there is really so many interesting things to see and do, however at times the cacophony can be quite overwhelming, especially to such a small town boy as myself.
I haven't really done any things that one could consider 'touristy' except for Cai Guo-Qiang exhibit at the Guggenheim.
The major reason for my journey to NYC is Suzi's MFA exhibition at Pratt which I am excited to see the end result of the installation and will hopefully have some good pictures of the exhibition up soon (with Suzi's permission of course).
Regardless for those of you curious as to where I have been, that is where. Next week I plan on heading up to Toronto with the MarJ (who did not make the NYC trip and whom I admit I miss quite a lot) for some exploration of their waterfront. Hopefully I will have some coherent thoughts and impressions in a little while as I get to take the time to type something up. In the meantime I hope everyone is enjoying this little respite from my angst and taking some time themselves to relax.
Tremont Art Walk March 2008
Tremont Art Walk
March 14th, 2008
Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio
6pm - 10pm
Alright, I don't know if this is a new website for the Tremont Art Walk but it is the most current one. At least it has the correct year on the calendar. Anyway, it seems to be still going on (13 years so far!) and despite the massively horrible winter weather it looks like it will start to really warm up Thursday and possibly be quite nice on Friday. So...go check out some galleries that typically have stringent hours when you have the chances to visit a bunch of them in one fell swoop.
March 14th, 2008
Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio
6pm - 10pm
Alright, I don't know if this is a new website for the Tremont Art Walk but it is the most current one. At least it has the correct year on the calendar. Anyway, it seems to be still going on (13 years so far!) and despite the massively horrible winter weather it looks like it will start to really warm up Thursday and possibly be quite nice on Friday. So...go check out some galleries that typically have stringent hours when you have the chances to visit a bunch of them in one fell swoop.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
LEAP night recap
LEAP night redux
I wussed out and drove down to LEAP night instead of taking the train. Mostly because I was travelling with the delightful MarJ and another friend and figured we would be too cold to wait around for the Red Line when the night schedule takes over.
Upon showing up at the site the first thought was that we had stumbled upon a homeless encampment. Huddled masses arranged around metal drums filled with fire, in the distance a small bonfire burned. I suppose the major difference would be the food tents, the projected "Rock Band" competition, the fire troupe and the freestyle snowboard, ski ramp.
I was amazed at the good turnout. When we were there (for the hour and change that our poorly dressed bodies could handle) we saw entire families with little kids running around, young and old couples, and the typical 20something crowd looking at the ruins of the city, the frozen river and the going-ons.
Gypsy Bean and coffee operated a food tent supplying pizza and similar fare (and cookies!) with coffee or hot chocolate to stay warm. Either folks dressed as bears, or well spoken actual bears, mingled in the crowd handing out snacks and checking on everyone's health. The only thing that didn't cooperate was the weather. If it would have stayed cold then the ground wouldn't have devolved into inches of slush. It is hard to argue when the weather gets warmer in February around here so I won't make much of an issue about it.
As we were leaving it seemed as if many more people were arriving and that parking was going to get quite scarce, quite quickly. I was actually really excited and think the folks putting this thing together deserve quite a bit of credit. They managed to pull off a rather fun and interesting event on a spectacular locale and, well to be honest, it rekindled a little spark of hope that has seemed so dim lately*.
*I will wax poetic any damn time I please.
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