Cardboard cathedral being built in earthquake hit Christchurch – short news clip (1:45 min) about Shigeru Ban’s design for a cathedral made of cardboard tubes which is to replace the structure destroyed last year by earthquake. The city wants to use the cardboard building, designed to hold 700 people, …
If you’re an urban planner or if you’re interested in how cities work, check out the magazine The Urbanist from the San Francisco Urban Planning and Research Association (SPUR). The focus is on “good planning and good government in the San Francisco Bay Area” but the issues addressed, the …
CFP: Sound and Creative Processes, 1/1/13 – call for posts on the connection between sound and creativity from the people at Sounding Out!, a blog exploring “the role of sound and listening in our contemporary culture…” Submission deadline is Jan 1. Here are the guiding questions: How do artists listen? How …
Largest modular high-rise – post about recent groundbreaking in Brooklyn for what will be the world’s largest pre-fabricated building. The 32-storey / 363-apartment structure is the first of a planned 15. Designed by SHoP Architects (also image source). As quoted from the New York Times: …next spring, 125 …
HOK’s Leigh Stringer was part of a project team in Korea recently and makes great observations on Korean culture and work environment (love the photo, Leigh!). Here’s a selection: On being there in general: We didn’t see a lot of bikes but public transportation is good. Gangnam is an actual district where people actually …
If you’re looking for something to watch during this holiday season, you might consider Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander, especially the four-part TV version rather than the shorter film version. It starts out with Christmas celebrations in the home of a wealthy Swedish family in the early 1900s, a …
Check out PhiMatrix, software that applies the principles of Phi, the Golden Ratio – PhiMatrix is a design and analysis software application for Windows and Mac. The PhiMatrix grid system quickly overlays any image in any software on your screen to identify or apply phi proportions in various …
Top 10 Sustainable Business Stories of 2012 – Harvard Business Review’s blog network has collected their top stories on green business into a summary post which includes macro trends and company stories. Here are the main points: Historic drought and Hurricane Sandy sweep away (some) climate denial The math and physics …
‘Tis the season when you might appreciate a break from end-of-year and holiday preparations. Take 5+ minutes to watch the Som Sabadell flashmob and you’ll be smiling. What makes this particular flashmob so wonderful (aside from Beethoven’s Ode to Joy) is the way whoever filmed it has captured the mood …
e-News #88: Outdoor Lighting, More Light is Better…Or is It? – the latest newsletter from Energy Design Resources has good information about balancing the need for illumination at night and minimizing light pollution, including tables of recommendations from design guidelines. EDR is California-based, but the data applies no matter …
Interviews with Zaha Hadid – links to eight interviews with Zaha Hadid, “one of the youngest people and only women to ever win the prestigious Pritzker Prize – the highest award in architecture.” One is from 2010, three from 2011, the rest from 2012.
A $5 Light For The Developing World With An Ingenious Fuel: Gravity – provides illumination similar to a kerosene lamp and runs for about half an hour, but it’s safer and free, especially when the alternative is no light. Simply push the bag of sand up to start another half …
Designers talk about books that have inspired them on Designers & Books‘ section on Designers. Choose from 127 (as of today; what you see here is the first of three pages) “architects, fashion designers, graphic designers, interior designers, landscape architects, product designers, urban designers, and other design professionals” and …
Ravi Shankar, master of the sitar, had an immense influence on both Eastern and Western music, often through his friendships with musicians like George Harrison, Philip Glass, and John Coltrane. To honor his memory – he died yesterday (Dec 11) – here are a couple of clips that give …
Wind, solar power paired with storage could be cost-effective way to power grid – Recent research from the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College says this can be done by 2030 at costs comparable to today’s. The study drew on data from 13 states, about one fifth …
The website Find a Spring lists natural springs from around the world. As you can see from the map, North America and Europe have by far the most listings, but it looks like other regions are starting to be filled in – India, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, …
The Importance of Soil and Its Conservation [Video] – this 5+ min video is packed with statistics about soil and how we use and thoughtlessly misuse this most valuable of resources. See more at Global Soil Forum, a European partnership that recently sponsored the first Global Soils Week. The Global Soil …
A second life in the South Bronx – commentary on WAN (World Architecture News) about one project – Hunt’s Point Landing – in the 20-project South Bronx Greenway effort to reclaim the brownfields and industrial sites that make up much of the riverfront of the South Bronx. Details and background are …