tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124657432024-03-12T22:50:04.421-05:00blog like you give a damnThe Official Blog of Architecture for Humanity: MinnesotaColinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-68907807116358654392008-03-12T17:04:00.011-05:002008-03-12T17:43:13.683-05:00Blogeda... what the... ken?In an effort to drum up a little conversation, <a href="http://thewhereblog.blogspot.com/">Where</a> is hosting a Blogedanken. This blogedanken (a riff on the German word "gedanken" that translates, roughly, to "thought experiment") starts simply enough: create a wishlist of urban projects for the city you live in. After a few steps though, you'll likely have something completely unexpected and hopefully quite thought provoking!<br /><br />If that's not enough, Where is upping the ante with a book give-a-way. See below for more details on the offering. The contest ends on Saturday, March 22, so hop on over to Where and check it out!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://thewhereblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/blogedanken-wishlist.html">Participate in the Blogedanken here</a>.<br /><a href="http://thewhereblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/do-gedanken-win-copy-of-hyperborder.html">Read more about the contest here</a>.<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R9hV45lxdtI/AAAAAAAAAg0/TIAcIsnCITk/s1600-h/1568987064.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R9hV45lxdtI/AAAAAAAAAg0/TIAcIsnCITk/s200/1568987064.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176982207682672338" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Hyperborder-Contemporary-Mexico-Border-Future/dp/1568987064"><span>HYPERBORDER</span><br /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">By Fernando Romero</span><br />The Author is also the founder of the <a href="http://www.lar-fernandoromero.com/">Laboratory of Architecture (LAR)</a> in Mexico city "with the ambition of addressing contemporary society through a process of architectural translation and urban study." If you have any interest in border urbanism and the works of <a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2006/07/teddy-cruz-trans-border-urbanism.html">Teddy Cruz</a>, this looks like a must-read.<br /><br /><br /><br />With only one entry so far, your chances of winning if you participate are quite good!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-64036966204726966322008-02-29T20:16:00.006-06:002008-03-12T17:44:26.170-05:00Page 123What's this? BLYGAD has been tagged by Brendan @ <a href="http://thewhereblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/where-was-tagged-today-by-webs-slickest.html">Where</a>! Here's the game:<br /><br />1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).<br />2. Open the book to page 123.<br />3. Find the fifth sentence.<br />4. Post the next three sentences.<br />5. Tag five people.<br /><br />For my entry, <a href="http://project.cyberpunk.ru/lib/neuromancer/">Neuromancer</a> by William Gibson:<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">"If you have trouble walking, just look at your feet. The perspective's a bitch, if you're not used to it."<br /><br />They were standing in a broad street that seemed to be the floor of a deep slot or canyon, its either end concealed by subtle angles in the shops and buildings that formed its walls.</blockquote>And becuase the rest of this passage is so great...<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">The light, here, was filtered through fresh green masses of vegetation tumbling from overhanging tiers and balconies that rose above them. The sun...<br /><br />There was a brilliant slash of white somewhere above them, too bright, and the recorded blue of a Cannes sky. He knew that sunlight was pumped in with a Lado-Acheson system whose two-millimeter armature ran the length of the spindle, that they generated a rotating library of sky effects around it, that if the sky were turned off, he'd stare up past the armature of light to the curves of lakes, rooftops of casinos, other streets... But it made no sense to his body.</blockquote>And now I tag (I'm going local on this one):<br /><br />Paul @ <a href="http://eyeteeth.blogspot.com/">Eyeteeth</a><br />Taylor @ <a href="http://mediation.tumblr.com/">Mediation</a><br />Ed @ <a href="http://www.thedeets.com/">The Deets</a><br />Aaron @ <a href="http://s4xton.com/">S4xton</a><br />James @ <a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/whee0113/architecture/">Up Your Architecture</a><br /><br />---<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update!</span><br /><a href="http://mediation.tumblr.com/post/27698696"><br />Taylor's 123rd page</a> is from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Targeted-Homeland-Security-Business-Immigration/dp/1583227288/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204691735&sr=1-1">Targeted: Homeland Security and the Business of Immigration</a> by Deepa Fernandes:<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Their underlying question is: who DHS could possibly be protecting from an eldery Baptist minister?<br /><br />Dantica’s family sees no contradiction in the dual purpose of his visit. He was fleeing Haiti out of a fear of death, but he was also visiting his family, thus fulfilling the stated reason on his visa. Instead he met his death while in U.S. immigration custody. There is mounting evidence that the incarceration that led to Dantica’s death had less to do with DHS viewing him as a threat to society than with his being Haitian. Since Haitians began fleeing politcal violence and repression fifty years ago, there has always been a second tier of justice to deal with those who made it to the United States.</blockquote><a href="http://www.thedeets.com/2008/03/04/page-123/">Ed's 123rd page</a> is from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Land-Amber-Waters-History-Minnesota/dp/0816652732?tag=4factorscom">Land of Amber Waters: The History of Brewing in Minnesota</a> by Doug Hoverson:<br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">For new president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the return of beer was not so much a return to cultural tradition as a way to increase tax revenue and to eliminate the drain on the public purse from the cost of the ineffectual enforcement of Prohibition. While total repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment was in the uncertain future, the first steps to return legal beer were taken quickly. The Cullen Bill, passed almost immediately after Roosevelt’s inauguration, modified the Volstead Act to define beer of 3.2 percent alcohol by weight as nonintoxicating and allowed its sale in any state that did not have conflicting prohibition laws.</span></blockquote>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-40964381406803711662008-02-08T00:30:00.000-06:002008-02-08T01:19:49.243-06:00Friday Photography | The Architecture of DesireWhat better way to pay homage to our favorite manufactured holiday then by taking a virtual tour of the Midwest's premiere fantasy hotel chain, FantaSuites. With names like Jungle Safari, Grecian Bath, & Le Cave; each room tantalizes with the prospect of the unknown. From <a href="http://www.fantasuite.com/Location.asp?LocationId=1">their website</a>:<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">From the ancient land of Caesar's Court to the futuristic Space Odyssey, let our FantaSuite Suites transport you to the world of your dreams. Each is a unique experience, an adventure, a romantic retreat designed to completely immerse you in the getaway of your choice...</blockquote>So what might this world of your dreams look like, exactly?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vpVlHHOXI/AAAAAAAAAfw/eukp6p1FLVg/s1600-h/burnsville_lovers_leap.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vpVlHHOXI/AAAAAAAAAfw/eukp6p1FLVg/s400/burnsville_lovers_leap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164477954658875762" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vpWFHHOaI/AAAAAAAAAgI/XF86Q0qD234/s1600-h/burnsville_space_odyssey.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vpWFHHOaI/AAAAAAAAAgI/XF86Q0qD234/s400/burnsville_space_odyssey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164477963248810402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_FHHOSI/AAAAAAAAAfI/sP5jGrkXPSM/s1600-h/burnsville_arabian_nights_bed.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_FHHOSI/AAAAAAAAAfI/sP5jGrkXPSM/s400/burnsville_arabian_nights_bed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164477568111819042" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_lHHOTI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/SQ_OGPvO1c0/s1600-h/burnsville_cave.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_lHHOTI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/SQ_OGPvO1c0/s400/burnsville_cave.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164477576701753650" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_lHHOUI/AAAAAAAAAfY/F5I1VXt3DKQ/s1600-h/burnsville_cupids_corner.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_lHHOUI/AAAAAAAAAfY/F5I1VXt3DKQ/s400/burnsville_cupids_corner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164477576701753666" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vpjFHHOcI/AAAAAAAAAgY/FMlBfi9EJwg/s1600-h/burnsville_venetian_holiday.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vpjFHHOcI/AAAAAAAAAgY/FMlBfi9EJwg/s400/burnsville_venetian_holiday.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164478186587109826" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_1HHOVI/AAAAAAAAAfg/qkAkmi-nNqk/s1600-h/burnsville_grecian_bath.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_1HHOVI/AAAAAAAAAfg/qkAkmi-nNqk/s400/burnsville_grecian_bath.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164477580996720978" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_1HHOWI/AAAAAAAAAfo/Ifz2biXIlJ0/s1600-h/burnsville_jungle_safari_tub.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R6vo_1HHOWI/AAAAAAAAAfo/Ifz2biXIlJ0/s400/burnsville_jungle_safari_tub.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164477580996720994" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Unlike <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life">another kind of fantasy tourism</a>, FantaSuites is faced with realizing it's escapism with real life brick and mortar. Or as is often the case: plush carpet, creative plastering, and faux plant life. Sadly, about the closest you'll find to a FantaSuites experience online are the wonderful 360° panoramas of each room on their website, all collected <a href="http://www.fantasuite.com/panorama.asp">here</a> for easy viewing.<br /><br />Happy Friday!Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-86828302654022507872008-01-23T08:21:00.000-06:002008-01-23T10:22:31.696-06:00Visualizing Change: Upcoming Workshops Blend Design & Civic EngagementFebruary is always a big month for BLYGAD. With two annual <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charrette">design charrettes</a> that focus on important aspects of our Twin Cities built environment (homelessness and sustainability), it's also a great time for Twin Cities designers to really get involved with the community.<br /><br />First up is the <a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cdescomm/cdes_memo/2008/01/2008_greenlight_charrette_febr.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">3RD ANNUAL GREENLIGHT DESIGN WORKSHOP</span></a> on February 1st and 2nd. Sponsored by the <a href="http://www.cdes.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota's College of Design</a>, <a href="http://www.covantaenergy.com/facilities/wte/hennepin.asp">Covanta Energy Recovery Center</a>, and <a href="http://www.co.hennepin.mn.us/portal/site/HCInternet/menuitem.3f94db53874f9b6f68ce1e10b1466498/?vgnextoid=aad2c95fa29fc010VgnVCM1000000f094689RCRD">Hennepin County</a>, the workshop will take a look the waste-to-energy facility located directly next to the new Twins Ballpark site. Once built, the ballpark will bring thousands of people to the area, so there are many opportunities to design a more sustainable and hopefully inviting public interface. Additionally, necessary roof replacement and site work will allow us to provide options for new sustainable interventions.<br /><br />All are welcome to participate in this intense day of design: college faculty, community members and of course students and professionals with backgrounds in graphics, design, and sustainability are encouraged to participate. The workshop will be held at Rapson Hall on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. Things get kicked off on Friday night from 5:30 to 7pm. The doors will open at 8am on Saturday for a full day of design, followed by presentations.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TO REGISTER</span> | Please RSVP by January 29th to <span style="font-weight: bold;">grnlight</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">[at]</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">umn</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">edu</span> with your contact information, experience level, and any dietary preferences (vegan, vegetarian, or allergies). See this <a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cdescomm/cdes_memo/2008/01/2008_greenlight_charrette_febr.html">CDES MEMO post</a> for more information.<br /><br />Two weeks later is the <a href="http://www.aia-mn.org/committees/SFS.cfm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">21ST</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ANNUAL SEARCH FOR SHELTER</span></a>, sponsored as always, by <a href="http://www.aia-mn.org/committees/SFS.cfm">AIA</a><a href="http://www.aia-mn.org/committees/SFS.cfm"> Minnesota's Housing Advocacy Committee</a>. The Boston Marathon of design charrettes, Search for Shelter kicks off the night of Friday, February 15th, lasts throughout the day Saturday, and doesn't usually wrap up until 2 or 3 on Sunday. But I can say from experience that the time you put into it is well spent. Students, professionals and community members work together to benefit local non-profit organizations that focus on affordable housing and homelessness, and by the end of the weekend, produce a semesters worth of design in less then 3 days.<br /><br />Search for Shelter also takes place at Rapson Hall at the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. The weekend will kick off with an Opening Program on Friday night from 5:30 - 8 p.m., with <a href="http://www.rosefellowship.org/fellows/byyear/katieswenson/">Kate Swenson</a> from the <a href="http://www.enterprisecommunity.org/">Enterprise Foundation</a> will present information on the <a href="http://www.rosefellowship.org/">Rose Architectural Fellowship</a>. Saturday is a working day for the teams, including site visits, brainstorming, and design. The weekend concludes with a final presentation at noon on Sunday when designs are shared with clients. Ample substinance (and caffeine) is provided throughout the weekend.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TO REGISTER</span> | For more information and to register for the charrette, visit the <a href="http://www.aia-mn.org/committees/SFS.cfm">Housing Advocacy Committee's website</a>.<br /><br />If either of these have piqued your interest, please don't hesitate to sign up. And if you have any questions, I'd be happy to hunt down answers for you. 'Design like you give a damn' isn't just a catchy phrase around here, and these two charrettes are great opportunities to show the rest of the nation that Twin Cities designers walk the talk better then anyone.Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-21917618375996392142008-01-17T21:07:00.000-06:002008-01-18T17:28:28.486-06:00The Museum of Nature & Possible Zoological Futures<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5ANrcxvRxI/AAAAAAAAAeY/zP_Vk2Y6ELE/s1600-h/u01.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156636613449565970" style="" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5ANrcxvRxI/AAAAAAAAAeY/zP_Vk2Y6ELE/s400/u01.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;">[Museum I, 2004]</span><br /></span><br /><a href="http://ilkka.halso.net/">Ilkka Halso</a> is a Finnish artist whose work examines the tensions between our natural and built environments and ultimately, how we act to save and/or destroy both. GOOD Magazine <a href="http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Features/museum_of_nature1">featured his Museum of Nature series in this month's issue</a> and wrote this:<br /><blockquote>If there's a small upside to global warming, it's surely this: After centuries of neglect and skepticism, we've finally come to appreciate just how real—and personal—our connection to the environment is. The Finnish artist Ilkka Halso imagines a time, perhaps in the less-than-distant future, when that relationship will be even more precious. Nature, or what's left of it, has become nothing more than an attraction.</blockquote>I'm drawn to his work not only because the subject matter is immediate and the execution superb, but because his fantastic near-future landscapes often involve beautifully realized architectural invasions.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AOmcxvRyI/AAAAAAAAAeg/6Lsa10wkeVA/s1600-h/u02.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156637627061847842" style="" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AOmcxvRyI/AAAAAAAAAeg/6Lsa10wkeVA/s400/u02.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">[Theatre I, 2003]</span><br /></span><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AOmsxvRzI/AAAAAAAAAeo/q6ixesPt_8s/s1600-h/u04.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156637631356815154" style="" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AOmsxvRzI/AAAAAAAAAeo/q6ixesPt_8s/s400/u04.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" >[Kitka River, 2004]</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" ></span><br /><span style="font-size:0;"></span><span style="font-size:0;"></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AOm8xvR0I/AAAAAAAAAew/XWKfeieCZeo/s1600-h/u08.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156637635651782466" style="" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AOm8xvR0I/AAAAAAAAAew/XWKfeieCZeo/s400/u08.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">[Cube - inside]</span><br /></span><br />The photograph above, though thematically similar to the three images featured before it, is different in that the human intervention (scaffolding) was actually built. Similar to artist Florentijn Hofman (<a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2007/07/friday-photography-curiously-large.html">previously on BLYGAD</a>), I find myself equally drawn to the construction of the work of art as I am to the the work itself.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AOnMxvR1I/AAAAAAAAAe4/y36Mj2jkGMU/s1600-h/u09.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156637639946749778" style="" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AOnMxvR1I/AAAAAAAAAe4/y36Mj2jkGMU/s400/u09.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">[stills from Cube, 2004 - a 15 min video]</span><br /></span><br />On a very related note, I just listened to a podcast on the topic of zoos and more specifically what zoos might look like in the near future. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Lab">WNYC's Radio Lab</a> co-host Robert Krulwich interviews former zoo director <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8850.html">David Hancocks</a> about his dream for the zoo of the future. Incidentally, it looks allot more like a Haslo's Museum of Nature then our conception of the modern zoo; it's much more of a natural landscape preserved plus windows into it (real or virtual) for humans, then a faux landscape recreated for humans plus animals.<br /><br />For a look into this future zoo today, you can find all manner of 'animal cams' online (<a href="http://www.animalcameras.com/index.php/page/3/">Animal Cameras Blog</a> is a great resource). For example, check out the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2007/12/28/musselcam-interesting.html">award winning</a> <a href="http://www.flexmussels.com/musselcam.html">MusselCam</a> based out of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AWjcxvR2I/AAAAAAAAAfA/xEX5laKCV2c/s1600-h/musselcam-05.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156646371615262562" style="" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R5AWjcxvR2I/AAAAAAAAAfA/xEX5laKCV2c/s400/musselcam-05.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><br />Links<br /><a href="http://ilkka.halso.net/">Ilkka Haslo (Finnish)</a> | <a href="http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Statement/museum_of_nature">GOOD Magazine - Statement by Ilkka Haslo (2 high res images)</a> | <a href="http://www.anhava.com/?http://www.anhava.com/exhibitions/halso/index.html">Art Critic Pessi Rautio on Ilkka Haslo's Museum of Nature series</a> | <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2008/01/15">WNYC's Radio Lab Podcast: Zoo Keeper's Dilemma</a> | <a href="http://www.animalcameras.com/">Animal Cameras Blog</a><br /><br />Related<br /><a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2007/07/friday-photography-curiously-large.html">Friday Photography | The Curiously Large Animals of Florentijn Hofman</a></div>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-75659951970816397912008-01-15T17:40:00.000-06:002008-01-18T17:25:38.656-06:00Mapping Shanghai with Sim City 2000<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41H-cxvRhI/AAAAAAAAAcY/8-2O6ZtqU8E/s1600-h/shanghai+map+-+1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41H-cxvRhI/AAAAAAAAAcY/8-2O6ZtqU8E/s400/shanghai+map+-+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155856286611359250" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:85%;" >[click the image to see at full size]</span><br /><br />Well, it's not really <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimCity_2000">Sim City 2000</a> - but the map's axonometric vantage point and beautiful pixel art graphics are certainly reminiscent of the game I spent far too much time playing as a kid.<br /><br />Our <a href="http://www.solutionstwincities.org/videos/worrell.htm#anchor">good friends</a> at <a href="http://www.worrell.com/blog/">Worrell, Inc</a> linked to this <a href="http://sh.edushi.com/">interactive map of Shanghai</a> via their new office there. Here's what Pete had to say:<br /><blockquote><strike>Someone told me there are 4,000 buildings over 25 stories tall here with 1,000 more scheduled to be built in the next few years. To put that in perspective, New York has 2,000.</strike></blockquote><strike>4,000 buildings over 25 stories tall... here's what that actually looks like:</strike> [See Update below.]<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41Ey8xvRfI/AAAAAAAAAcI/yKUAw6ISTv8/s1600-h/shanghai.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41Ey8xvRfI/AAAAAAAAAcI/yKUAw6ISTv8/s400/shanghai.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155852790507980274" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:85%;" >[image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmorgan/32606683/in/set-72157603712029974/">pmorgan</a>]</span><br /><br />The map takes on a whole new life once you realize that buildings are really quite accurately modeled. For example, here's a stunning shot of the landmark <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Pearl_Tower">Oriental Pearl Tower</a> in the Pudong district of Shanghai:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41OusxvRlI/AAAAAAAAAc4/J6Q8rlY1HaE/s1600-h/537350642_2ce33ed865_b.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41OusxvRlI/AAAAAAAAAc4/J6Q8rlY1HaE/s400/537350642_2ce33ed865_b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155863712609814098" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:85%;" >[image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/92706698@N00/537350642/">Franck</a>]</span><br /><br />And it's pixel art representation in the map:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41KmMxvRjI/AAAAAAAAAco/GGLxdRCSZWU/s1600-h/pearl+tower+-+map.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41KmMxvRjI/AAAAAAAAAco/GGLxdRCSZWU/s400/pearl+tower+-+map.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155859168534414898" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Pretty cool!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41LY8xvRkI/AAAAAAAAAcw/nU_hw-xUXM0/s1600-h/shanghai+-+shikumen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R41LY8xvRkI/AAAAAAAAAcw/nU_hw-xUXM0/s200/shanghai+-+shikumen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155860040412776002" border="0" /></a>Finally, it was a real treat to find examples of the traditional Shikumen style of building I've <a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2006/07/friday-photography-shanghais-shikumen.html">previously covered</a> at BLYGAD. You can really get a sense for how out of scale they are with the rest of the city when seen in context like this. Like a cartological Where's Waldo, can you find Shanghai's Shikumen?<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Links<br /><a href="http://sh.edushi.com/">Edushi Map of Shanghai</a><br /><a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2006/07/friday-photography-shanghais-shikumen.html">Friday Photography | Shanghai's Shikumen</a><br /><br />Updates<br />It turns out Pete might have gotten some bad info. <a href="http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/sr/">Emporis tells us that New York City has 5592 buildings over 12 stories while Shanghai has only 946</a>. Thanks Bronson!<br /></div>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-22524873555964293422008-01-14T18:41:00.000-06:002008-01-18T17:15:24.937-06:00Video from inside Kowloon Walled CityA quick post today following up on my <a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2007/09/friday-photography-kowloon-walled-city.html">previous effort</a> to make sense of Kowloon Walled City<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City"></a>. The first video surfaced on YouTube about 6 months ago. It was apparently filmed in 1990, what would have been 2 years before the city's demolition. This is truly amazing footage, I don't think anything else like it exists. You'll find a quick guide below the video.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OSnvqBhWUOc&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OSnvqBhWUOc&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">0.00 - 0.50</span> | Kowloon Walled City at a block or two away<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">0.50 - 6.04</span> | Street life on the shell of the city<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6.04 - 7:49</span> | Cutting a straight path beneath the city<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7.49 - 9.04</span> | Re-emergence and more from the street<br /><br />The next clip comes, surprisingly enough, from the Jean-Claude Van Damme fighter flick <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092675/">Bloodsport</a> (1988). It's a 2 minute 20 second clip, of which the last 1 minute 40 seconds are are shot on location within the Walled City. It's kind of an airbrushed version of the clip above.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KEo6ogAnoZ8&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KEo6ogAnoZ8&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />If anybody has any other resources on Kowloon Walled City that I haven't previously covered on BLYGAD before, do share!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Related<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2007/09/friday-photography-kowloon-walled-city.html">Friday Photography | Kowloon Walled City</a><br /><br />Updates<br />Kowloon City is featured in Ron Fricke's <a href="http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/baraka.aspx#images">Baraka</a> (1992), <a href="http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/slideshow.aspx?image=baraka0516">see stills here</a>. Thanks Fred!<br /></div>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-44646589686661377002008-01-12T17:30:00.000-06:002008-01-16T08:37:45.518-06:00Archo-Urbo-Blogo-Mania | January '08I'm consistently amazed by what my archo & urbo blogging colleagues are coming up with and 2007 only confirmed this amazement. Over the New Year I gave BLYGAD's "Like-Minded Links" blogroll a much needed update and I just wanted feature some of the recent additions that I've really been enjoying lately. Happy reading!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p1ncxvRYI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/K0JoKZAQX7I/s1600-h/airoots.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155062044079113602" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p1ncxvRYI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/K0JoKZAQX7I/s200/airoots.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://airoots.org/"><strong>Airoots.org</strong></a> | Airoots is, to me, one of the stand out blogs of 2007. Keywords here are <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">"adventituous roots, urban forests and villages, natural cities, lost tribes, new nomads, and everything inbetween." </span>Infinitely fascinating, Airoots brings a unique perspective and critical eye to some of the fundamental urban issues of our time, but never without a playful sense of unreality. <a href="http://www.airoots.org/?p=405">RECENT HIGHLIGHT</a> | A recent post entitled "Tokyo-Mumbai Remix" accurately captures the two author's own urban roots with some fantastically mashed up scenes of urban life from both cities coexisting side-by-side as if one - challenging some deeply seated assumptions about class and urbanism.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p14MxvRZI/AAAAAAAAAbY/JN5mVSF0o1Y/s1600-h/building-minnesota.jpg"><strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155062331841922450" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p14MxvRZI/AAAAAAAAAbY/JN5mVSF0o1Y/s200/building-minnesota.jpg" border="0" /></strong></a><a href="http://buildingminnesota.blogspot.com/"><strong>Building Minnesota</strong></a> | Building Minnesota is a radio series, podcast and blog by Twin Cities reporter and radio journalist Todd Melby. Todd's work offers a behind-the-scenes and often in-depth look into the Twin Cities built environs. Highly recommended if you're a TC local or simply interested in the architectural process. <a href="http://buildingminnesota.blogspot.com/2008/01/skyways-in-minnesota-necessary-or-city.html#links">RECENT HIGHLIGHT</a> | Some of Todd's recent posts reflect an age old debate in our fair city: To skyway or not to skyway. For the record, Todd is an advocate of the skyway system. I tend to fall on the other side of the fence and agree with Jay Walljasper, who recently visited the city and offered this critique: <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">"When you glass in the city, you eliminate the 'bad' days but also all the 'good' days. That is too much of a price to pay. You miss the fresh air, the street life. You may have 20 bad days a year when you want to stay indoors, but 200 good ones you miss. I say you make the city as good as possible for the good days, and that will carry it through on the bad days." <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/681069">BONUS</a> | Todd's podcast covered a great AFHMN project back in 2006.</span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p2L8xvRaI/AAAAAAAAAbg/Ma3cCiJnbd0/s1600-h/civic-nature.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155062671144338850" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p2L8xvRaI/AAAAAAAAAbg/Ma3cCiJnbd0/s200/civic-nature.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://civicnature.org/"><strong>Civic Nature</strong></a> | The Where Blog recently turned me on to this blog by Peter Sigrist, a Master’s student in the University of Cambridge Department of Geography. Peter is most interested where the areas of <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">"interrelationships between environmental conservation, urban & regional planning, and international development"</span> converge. <a href="http://civicnature.org/?p=110">RECENT HIGHLIGHT</a> | Peter's latest post unearths a report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, IRIN, on the effects of post-election violence in Kenya has had on regional slum dwellers.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p3KsxvRcI/AAAAAAAAAbw/wn1rA66u3qY/s1600-h/critical-spatial.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155063749181130178" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p3KsxvRcI/AAAAAAAAAbw/wn1rA66u3qY/s200/critical-spatial.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://criticalspatialpractice.blogspot.com/"><strong>Critical Spatial Practice</strong></a> | Nicholas Senn writes this blog with a wonderfully critical eye towards our built environment as a reflection (successfully or not) of how we see ourselves - individually and as larger networks of ever shifting communities. <a href="http://criticalspatialpractice.blogspot.com/2007/12/lesbian-national-parks-and-services.html">RECENT HIGHLIGHT</a> | Nicholas' most recent offering highlights the Lesbian National Parks and Services, of which he writes: <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">"In full uniform as Lesbian Rangers, Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan patrol parklands, challenging the general public's ideas of tourism, recreation, and the "natural" environment. Equipped with informative brochures and well-researched knowledge, they are a visible homosexual presence in spaces where concepts of history and biology exclude all but a very few."</span><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p278xvRbI/AAAAAAAAAbo/oOinFikTplU/s1600-h/mobile-city.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155063495778059698" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R4p278xvRbI/AAAAAAAAAbo/oOinFikTplU/s200/mobile-city.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.themobilecity.nl/"><strong>The Mobile City Blog</strong></a> | The Mobile City Blog is the companion blog/ homepage to the upcoming Mobile City Conference in Rotterdam. The conference will aim at answering the following question: what happens to urban culture when physical and digital spaces merge? <a href="http://www.themobilecity.nl/2007/12/15/jane-jacobs-bloggy-neighbourhoods-and-cell-phone-sidewalks/">RECENT HIGHLIGHT</a> | In a recent post linking Jane Jacobs, the mobile phone, and urban street life, the author highlights two articles that <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">"can be easily associated with the work of Jane Jacobs, in which the experience of the sidewalk is central to the formation of local communities. As she stated: “word does not move around where public characters and sidewalk life are lacking.” The conclusion of both pieces is very different: One is rather positive and optimist, the other somehwat grumpy, in the ‘how technology killed the authentic experience’-category."</span><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>Also new to the blogroll...</strong></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.celsias.com/">Celsias</a> | <a href="http://insourceoutsource.blogspot.com/">Insource/Outsource</a> | <a href="http://maddecent.com/blog/">Mad Decent</a> | <a href="http://www.offbeathomes.com/">Offbeat Homes</a> | <a href="http://www.playanddesign.org/content/">Play & Design</a> | <a href="http://blog.groundswellcollective.com/">The Groundswell Blog</a> | <a href="http://johannareed.blogspot.com/">This is That</a> | <a href="http://thisrecording.wordpress.com/">This Recording</a> | <a href="http://unhoused.livejournal.com/">UNHOUSED</a> | <a href="http://www.varnelis.net/blog">Varnelis.net</a></div><div align="left"><br />And finally, some BLYGAD highlights from 2007 to wrap up one year and bring us into the next.</div><div align="left"><br />+ BLYGAD topped out <a href="http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s=s24afhmn">20,000 hits</a> just in time for 2008. What a nice way to ring in the New Year!<br />+ East Coast Architectural Review (eCar) recently named BLYGAD in their <a href="http://ecoastarchreview.blogspot.com/2008/01/top-10-urbanism-blogs.html">Top Ten Urbanism Blogs</a>. Thanks Bradley.</div><div align="left">+ International Listings, um... listed their <a href="http://www.intlistings.com/articles/2007/top-100-architecture-blogs/">Top 100 Architecture Blogs</a> and BLYGAD made number 28. When they aren't listing things like blogs they are "the premier listing service for luxury homes worldwide". Go figure.<br />+ <a href="http://livemodern.com/blogs">Live Modern Blogs</a> is now syndicating BLYGAD. Thanks Marshall.<br />+ BLYGAD has always been ad-free, but thanks to <a href="http://www.adfreeblog.org/">addfreeblog.org</a>, we finally have the button to prove it.<br />+ Finally, don't forget to check out my latest experiment in online "writing": <a href="http://tumblelikeyougiveadamn.tumblr.com/"><strong>BLYGAD 2.0</strong></a>, it's built environs & culture streaming at it's finest!<br /><br />Here's to a great "Archo-Urbo-Blogo" 2008!</div>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-73902223893955491902007-12-16T21:00:00.000-06:002007-12-16T21:21:18.516-06:00Holiday Like You Give A Damn<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2W-DcxvRKI/AAAAAAAAAZA/B9tJmxew0dM/s1600-h/winter+carnival.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2W-DcxvRKI/AAAAAAAAAZA/B9tJmxew0dM/s400/winter+carnival.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144727115814356130" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" >[The 2004 <a href="http://www.winter-carnival.com/">St. Paul Winter Carnival</a> Ice Palace as photographed by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/84853337@N00/363136708/">MNkiteman</a>.]</span><br /><br />No matter what you're celebrating this time of year, many of us choose to express our holiday spirit by giving gifts to the people we love. Expanding on<a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2006/12/holiday-like-you-give-damn.html"> last year's short list</a> of alternative gift ideas, here are my picks for the "Holidaze 2008". They might just bring you a little sanity and humanity during the coming hustle and bustle.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XFnsxvRLI/AAAAAAAAAZI/YfSYQoR2yAM/s1600-h/changing+the+present.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XFnsxvRLI/AAAAAAAAAZI/YfSYQoR2yAM/s200/changing+the+present.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144735435166008498" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.netsquared.org/blog/britt-bravo/changing-present-facebook-gifts-and-free-enhanced-listings">Changing the Present on Facebook</a> | For my friend Kristin's birthday this year I sent her a virtual gift through the social networking website <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>. Just a small image that she can display on her profile page, it's essentially a virtual expression of our real-world friendship. It cost me $1. Well now <a href="http://changingthepresent.org/">Changing the Present</a>, whom I featured in last years Holiday Like You Give A damn, has partnered with Facebook so that your $1 gift purchase can go to a non-profit of your choice. If you're linked into Facebook, just run a search for "Changing the Present". Happy gifting!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XP48xvRQI/AAAAAAAAAZw/6vwX1MlBEFM/s1600-h/need.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XP48xvRQI/AAAAAAAAAZw/6vwX1MlBEFM/s200/need.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144746726635029762" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.needmagazine.com/">NEED magazine</a> | Now 4 issues strong, the quarterly NEED magazine has really come into its own since I featured it last year. The magazine proclaims "We are not out to save the world, but to tell the stories of those who are". Stephanie and Kelly Kinnunen, the creators of the magazine (and Twin Cities residents), have been doing an amazing job of it. You can watch Stephanie talk about their work <a href="http://www.solutionstwincities.org/videos/need.htm#anchor">here</a>. A quick and exciting aside: issue 4, now hot off the presses, <a href="http://www.needmagazine.com/Issue04/cooperation01.html">features a story</a> on the AFHMN/ MNSLFF project in Sri Lanka and photographs by AFHMN's own <span class="t_story_caption">Richard Koechlein.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XHgsxvRMI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/1iWSJwwyGN0/s1600-h/q-ba-maze.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XHgsxvRMI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/1iWSJwwyGN0/s200/q-ba-maze.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144737513930179778" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.q-ba-maze.com/">Q-BA-MAZE</a> | The Q-BA-MAZE is another very cool gift idea with a Minnesota connection. Andrew Comfort, the inventor of Q-BA-MAZE, studied architecture at my alma-mater, The University of Minnesota. In the same vein as Froebal Blocks and Legos, the Q-BA-MAZE is a beautifully simple set of objects designed to let the user's imagination express itself through the act of building. A gift for children of all ages, I can tell you from experience that you will likely loose hours playing with it. Andrew also writes a blog called <a href="http://www.playanddesign.org/">Play and Design</a> that features some great posts on the Q-BA-MAZE design and development process.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XJZcxvROI/AAAAAAAAAZg/AUALSgOcY0Y/s1600-h/xo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XJZcxvROI/AAAAAAAAAZg/AUALSgOcY0Y/s200/xo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144739588399383778" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://laptopgiving.org/en/index.php">XO Laptop: Give One Get one</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>| So you probably know the scoop by now: you buy two of these tiny yet robust laptops; one goes to a child in a developing country and the other gets shipped right to your doorstep. Twin Cities blogger Aaron Landry recently "gave one got one" and wrote about his <a href="http://s4xton.com/1647/one-laptop-per-child-xo-laptop/">first impressions</a> of the laptop, it's definitely worth checking out if you're interested in the project. The Give One Get One program has been extended through the end of December, but after that you won't really be able to get your mittens on one of these, so act quickly.<span><span><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XJ7MxvRPI/AAAAAAAAAZo/fW01nvPkUzU/s1600-h/voltaic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XJ7MxvRPI/AAAAAAAAAZo/fW01nvPkUzU/s200/voltaic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144740168219968754" border="0" /></a><span><span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.voltaicsystems.com/bag_messenger.shtml">Solar Panel Messenger Bag from Voltaic</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>| I can't attest to the functionality of this bag, but I love the concept: 3 photovoltaic panels make it a </span></span>mobile power generator designed to charge all of your electronic gadgetry while you're on the go. The bag includes a battery so that energy you've collected over the course of the day is stored and can be used to provided a constant charge, day or night. <span><span>If you're in the Twin Cities metro region, get over to </span></span><span><span>locally owned and operated <a href="http://www.sunnydayearthsolutions.com/">Sunny Day Earth Solutions</a></span></span><span><span> to check out this bag and other eco-conscious gift ideas first hand<a href="http://www.sunnydayearthsolutions.com/"></a>.<br /><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XV3MxvRRI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/qG9bXdqfODM/s1600-h/charitable+giving.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2XV3MxvRRI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/qG9bXdqfODM/s200/charitable+giving.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144753293640025362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Smart Generosity</span> | There are so many non-profits and great organizations out there deserving of your charity that the shear breadth of options can easily become daunting. So how to best figure out where you should donate your hard-earned cash? I think the most important thing is to choose a non-profit working towards goals that are important to you or the people you are gifting. As with any gift, the more thought you put into it, the more it will mean to both you and the receiver. If you're still looking for a place to start, <a href="http://www.needmagazine.com/Issue04/generosity01.html">NEED magazine recently published a list</a> that has some truly unique organizations looking for your help.<br /><br />Happy Holidays from Architecture for Humanity Minnesota and Blog Like You Give A Damn! See you in the New Year!Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-35391384225765261822007-12-14T12:53:00.000-06:002007-12-14T16:08:36.937-06:00Friday Photography | Andreas GurskyAndreas Gursky's large scale prints are some of the <a href="http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/newswire/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003466018">most expensive in the world</a>, but he's new to me. Sometimes measuring up to 10 or 15 feet long, the thumbnails below hardly do his work justice, but I'm sold regardless.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LTysxvRDI/AAAAAAAAAYI/GkiRfpjdNm0/s1600-h/2181904-STANDARD.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LTysxvRDI/AAAAAAAAAYI/GkiRfpjdNm0/s400/2181904-STANDARD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143906592377226290" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LTy8xvREI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/HIRBDaQrlV0/s1600-h/2181913-STANDARD.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LTy8xvREI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/HIRBDaQrlV0/s400/2181913-STANDARD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143906596672193602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LTz8xvRGI/AAAAAAAAAYg/O_foEcbs5C0/s1600-h/gursky2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LTz8xvRGI/AAAAAAAAAYg/O_foEcbs5C0/s400/gursky2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143906613852062818" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I especially love the two shots below:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LUB8xvRII/AAAAAAAAAYw/B5bM8Gi3_Fk/s1600-h/maydayIII-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LUB8xvRII/AAAAAAAAAYw/B5bM8Gi3_Fk/s400/maydayIII-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143906854370231426" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LUBsxvRHI/AAAAAAAAAYo/dGt6OX_Hn0c/s1600-h/maydayII.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2LUBsxvRHI/AAAAAAAAAYo/dGt6OX_Hn0c/s400/maydayII.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143906850075264114" border="0" /></a><br /><br />+ <a href="podcast:%20http://only-sleeping.com/gursky/gursky1.htm">Listen to a podcast considering the work of Gursky here</a><br />+ <a href="wiki:%20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Gursky">More information here</a><br /><br />Happy Friday!Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-36852132846637797512007-12-14T10:14:00.000-06:002007-12-14T10:20:17.733-06:00Solutions Happy Hour on Friday, Dec. 14th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2KswMxvRBI/AAAAAAAAAX4/l9zXKeJhNdg/s1600-h/happy+hour+1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2KswMxvRBI/AAAAAAAAAX4/l9zXKeJhNdg/s400/happy+hour+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143863668474070034" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Over the past year we've heard from audience and presenters alike that they'd like a place to get together and continue the conversations started at previous <a href="http://www.solutionstwincities.org/">Solutions Twin Cities</a> events. This is a great idea.<br /><br />We'd like to invite you to attend the first of many casual gatherings with this in mind. Come to meet presenters from past and future events, talk with other like-minded individuals, and enjoy an end-of-the-work-week happy hour. It'll be fun.<br /><br />We'll be meeting at the <a href="http://331club.com/home.php">331 Club</a> in NE Minneapolis between 5 and 8pm on Friday, December 14th <span style="font-weight: bold;">(that's today)</span>. The 331 Club is located at 331 NE 13th Ave., Minneapolis, MN. Please let us know if you have any questions, we hope to see you there.Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-88261660575520399322007-12-14T02:46:00.001-06:002007-12-14T10:33:55.405-06:00BLYGAD 2.0: Predicting the present to better design the future.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2JOfsxvRAI/AAAAAAAAAXw/sULD6uMxWTo/s1600-h/archive1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R2JOfsxvRAI/AAAAAAAAAXw/sULD6uMxWTo/s400/archive1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143760030913217538" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Over the course of the day I often come across 6 or 7 items that I wish I had time to write about here on BLYGAD, but I've always felt pressured by the format to only post here when I had the time to do something substantiative, which can leave this place a little on the quite side at times.<br /><br />As a possible remedy for this, I've been experimenting with <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> lately, appropriately at <a href="http://tumblelikeyougiveadamn.tumblr.com/">www.tumblelikeyougiveadamn.tumblr.com</a>. And as you can see from <a href="http://tumblelikeyougiveadamn.tumblr.com/archive">the Tumblr archive</a> image above, I've been having allot of fun with it (56 posts in 12 days to be exact).<br /><br />I call the site <a href="http://tumblelikeyougiveadamn.tumblr.com/">BLYGAD 2.0</a> and the format is all over the place: images, links, videos, short editorials by yours truly, found quotes... even BLYGAD HEARTS MUSIC, where I've been throwing up a new tune just about everyday, giving the site a pretty fresh soundtrack (in my opinion).<br /><br />Otherwise, much of the content has been around the intersection of probable technology and culture futures, allowing me to explore a growing thought experiment along of the lines of 'predicting the present to better design the future.' It's also proving to be something of an incubator for future posts here on 1.0.<br /><br />So if you're looking for a daily dose of Blog Like You Give A Damn, head on over to <a href="http://tumblelikeyougiveadamn.tumblr.com/">BLYGAD 2.0</a> or subscribe to the <a href="http://tumblelikeyougiveadamn.tumblr.com/rss">RSS FEED</a> and thanks for reading!Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-39239988161691106302007-12-07T18:36:00.000-06:002007-12-08T11:48:56.340-06:00Friday Photography | National Geographic's International Photography ContestAmazing work over at the <a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/photo-contest/photo-contest.html">winner's page</a>. These are some of my favorites:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nngSMN11I/AAAAAAAAAWw/UObzNfDwsWU/s1600-h/1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nngSMN11I/AAAAAAAAAWw/UObzNfDwsWU/s400/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141394991445038930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nnhCMN13I/AAAAAAAAAXA/Mq1UWkaB1gs/s1600-h/3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nnhCMN13I/AAAAAAAAAXA/Mq1UWkaB1gs/s400/3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141395004329940850" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nnhSMN15I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/83Pfvclseo4/s1600-h/5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nnhSMN15I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/83Pfvclseo4/s400/5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141395008624908178" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nnhSMN14I/AAAAAAAAAXI/oyzzEpLylNw/s1600-h/4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nnhSMN14I/AAAAAAAAAXI/oyzzEpLylNw/s400/4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141395008624908162" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nnhCMN12I/AAAAAAAAAW4/5ri-JGjT5h0/s1600-h/2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1nnhCMN12I/AAAAAAAAAW4/5ri-JGjT5h0/s400/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141395004329940834" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1npSyMN16I/AAAAAAAAAXY/iOlfIyb_uMQ/s1600-h/6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1npSyMN16I/AAAAAAAAAXY/iOlfIyb_uMQ/s400/6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141396958540060578" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Happy Friday!Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-2988209819814927082007-12-06T12:56:00.000-06:002007-12-06T13:25:13.159-06:00Report from the field: Hindu Temple CharretteAFH MN member and charrette participant Maureen Ness has this report for us:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Members of </span><a style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);" href="http://www.afh-mn.org/">AFH MN</a><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> and members of the </span><a style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);" href="http://www.hindumandirmn.org/">Hindu Temple of Minnesota</a><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> convened on the evening of October 12</span><sup style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">th</sup><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> and morning of October 13</span><sup style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">th</sup><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> to engage in a design charrette for a Garden of Remembrance for the burial of the icons damaged by vandalism last year. On Friday evening, AFH MN toured the temple and met with the priest to learn more about the Hindu religion and appropriate guidelines for the burial of damaged statues.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1hLYSMN1yI/AAAAAAAAAWY/41xTXL_JJAY/s1600-h/htc-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1hLYSMN1yI/AAAAAAAAAWY/41xTXL_JJAY/s400/htc-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140941855215441698" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">On Saturday morning, AFH MN conducted a site analysis and then broke into two design teams to develop conceptual ideas for the Garden. In addition to the burial place, the teams were asked to include a flower garden for flowers to be used in worship and a vegetable garden for food to be ate at Temple meals. The two design concepts will be presented to the Temple Executive Committee at an upcoming meeting this winter.</span><br /><br />Thanks Maureen! Here are the two conceptual site plans the team came up with (click to see full version):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1hLYyMN1zI/AAAAAAAAAWg/tlUvbNh7ZBo/s1600-h/hindu+mandir+cassie+plan+present+flat.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1hLYyMN1zI/AAAAAAAAAWg/tlUvbNh7ZBo/s400/hindu+mandir+cassie+plan+present+flat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140941863805376306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1hLZCMN10I/AAAAAAAAAWo/boOWKuT4b2Y/s1600-h/Hindu+Mandir+kathy+plan.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1hLZCMN10I/AAAAAAAAAWo/boOWKuT4b2Y/s400/Hindu+Mandir+kathy+plan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140941868100343618" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We'll keep you updated with new developments as they happen.Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-7921916483724733092007-12-04T20:37:00.000-06:002007-12-04T22:18:39.149-06:00Hey there old friend...... it's been a while. I apologize for the lack of posts lately but I've been a bit busy as of late. Here's the quick version:<br /><a href="http://www.solutionstwincities.org/index.htm"><br />Solutions Twin Cities</a> (my other labor of love) put together two events over the past two and a half months. The first, at the <a href="http://www.walkerart.org/index.wac">Walker Art Center</a>, was called "Gift to Forever" and focused on how kids can get active in shaping their world. Part of that was the art-making activity you see below. <a href="http://www.solutionstwincities.org/blog/2007/11/gift-to-forever.html">Read a full report here</a>.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n6fVjUGL6TI&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n6fVjUGL6TI&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />The other event was the second installment of the Solutions flagship Volume serious. If I do say so myself: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wow, what a great time.</span> The space <a href="http://www.studio1414.com/">kicked a**</a>, the presenters were amazing, the food was delicious, the music bangin, and the drinks cheap (and <a href="http://www.finnegans.org/">for a good cause</a> to boot!). Troy and I are wrapping up post-production this week and next - videos should be out before the new year, if not sooner. <a href="http://www.solutionstwincities.org/blog/2007/11/event-wrap-up-post-belated-as-usual.html">Read the full Volume 2 wrap up post here</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1YZ_SMN1xI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/KW4GVoEXwhE/s1600-h/2007_10_19_0141.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/R1YZ_SMN1xI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/KW4GVoEXwhE/s400/2007_10_19_0141.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140324599695529746" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" ><a href="http://www.zamyatheater.org/">zAmya Theater Project</a> reaches climax at Solutions Volume 2, 10/19/07.</span><br /><br />In <a href="http://www.afh-mn.org/">AFH:MN</a> news, the <a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2007/09/3rd-annual-architecture-for-humanity.html">Hindu Temple Charrette</a> went really well. Look for a wrap up post soon. As for whats next: we're looking into a handful of possible projects overseas, have started prep work for a few in our own backyard, & are taking the first steps towards getting our own non-profit and 501c3 status. We are also eagerly anticipating the annual <a href="http://www.aia-mn.org/committees/SFS.cfm">Search for Shelter</a> charrette coming up in February.<br /><br />On the blogging front... well, I haven't been a total slouch! I started to shake off the cobwebs last month with a little bit of guest blogging over at Brendan's blog, <a href="http://thewhereblog.blogspot.com/">Where</a>. I joined a handful of other <a href="http://burghdiaspora.blogspot.com/">guest</a> <a href="http://airoots.org/">bloggers</a> <a href="http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/hiper-barrio/">much</a> <a href="http://conveyermag.com/">finer</a> then myself to keep things rolling while Brendan focused his pen on <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoMo</a> (Hey B, if you're reading this: I'm still waiting for my autographed copy). I took over the Weekend Reading segment. My posts?<br /><br />WEEK ONE: <a href="http://thewhereblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/weekend-reading-november-3-november-9.html">Near future urbanism: how an ubiquitous and multi-layered network might effect our urban environment.</a><br />WEEK TWO: <a href="http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2007/11/15/103/urban_designers_minneapolis_should_dump_skyways">Skyways</a>, <a href="http://www.snap-shot-city.com/">Snap-Shot-City</a>, <a href="http://www.53w53.com/">I heart Jean Nouvel</a>, <a href="http://socialdesign.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/slum-rehabilitation-authority-mumbai/">Slum Rehab in Mumbai</a>, & <a href="http://www.planetizen.com/node/28363">250 Million urban planners</a>.<br />WEEK THREE: I ate too much turkey.<br />WEEK FOUR: <a href="http://thewhereblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/weekend-reading-november-16-november-30.html">A little shameless self-promotion: I highlight some of my favorite presenters from past Solutions events.</a><br /><br />The whole guest blogging thing was a ton of fun and I highly recommend you check out <a href="http://thewhereblog.blogspot.com/">Where</a>, it's truly top-notch urbanism-blogging from the Windy City.<br /><br />They say a month without a post means death for any blog... it's been two months and a week. So if you're still reading, thank you. There's still allot of kick left in this BLYGAD and I've got some great stuff lined up, so stay tuned.Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-21530580382817328352007-09-29T18:45:00.000-05:002007-09-29T18:43:12.283-05:003rd Annual Architecture for Humanity Minnesota Design Charrette | A Memorial Garden<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv7gRpqJbpI/AAAAAAAAAU4/5Tde6Gp7Fsw/s1600-h/panoramic+view+from+site+bw.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115772820584492690" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv7gRpqJbpI/AAAAAAAAAU4/5Tde6Gp7Fsw/s400/panoramic+view+from+site+bw.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#666666;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">The site of a future Memorial Garden.</span></span><br /><span style="color:#666666;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We are happy to announce that the 3rd Annual </span><a href="http://www.afh-mn.org/index.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Architecture for Humanity Minnesota</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> Design Charrette is quickly approaching. Here are the deetz:<br /><br /><strong>WHERE</strong><br />Hindu Temple, 10530 Troy Ln N, Maple Grove, MN 55311<br />[</span><a href="http://hindumandirmn.org/aboutnew.php"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">directions</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">]<br /><br /><strong>WHEN</strong><br />Friday, October 12th (6pm to 9pm) - Introduction<br />Saturday, October 13th (9am to 6pm) - Design & Present<br /><br /><strong>WHY</strong><br />In July of 2006 two young men broke into the then still incomplete Hindu Temple through windows with baseball bats and destroyed many of the sacred deity statues that were to be honored inside the temple. </span><a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/07/14/hindutemple"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> MPR article provides a good backstory of the vandalism that was the catalyst for the Hindu Society’s request for design help from AFHMN.<br /><br />Architecture for Humanity Minnesota connected with the </span><a href="http://hindumandirmn.org/index.php"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Hindu Society of Minnesota</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> through Shivanthi Sathanandan, a member of the Pan-Asian Tsunami Healing (PATH) group who we worked with to design a </span><a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2007/08/friday-photography-afhmn-in-sri-lanka.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">recently completed community center</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> in Sri Lanka (coincidently, the result of our First Annual Design Charrette back in 2005). She is a very active member of the Temple and thought of us when they started talking about designing a Memorial Garden for the burial of the icons damaged in the vandalism of 2006.<br /><br />We learned that the traditional way of burying icons is to immerse them in water but that due to State and City code, the temple will not be allowed to bury the icons in this way and has asked us for some creative ideas for their burial and a concept design for a memorial garden next to the temple. The garden will be a place for people to reflect on the events that occurred at the temple and will honor the memory of these important deities.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv7gwJqJbrI/AAAAAAAAAVI/6MPrh5iKXag/s1600-h/IMG_4237.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115773344570502834" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv7gwJqJbrI/AAAAAAAAAVI/6MPrh5iKXag/s400/IMG_4237.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">For more information visit </span><a href="http://www.afh-mn.org/index.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">www.afh-mn.org</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> or contact Jeffrey at jeffrey[at]swainhart[dot]com.<br /><br />We hope to see you there!</span>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-66704627244398548912007-09-29T11:59:00.002-05:002009-12-06T20:14:09.449-06:00Friday Photography | Kowloon Walled City<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5_FJqJboI/AAAAAAAAAUw/lq3xmFzYaHg/s1600-h/kwc_1915.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115665953208233602" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5_FJqJboI/AAAAAAAAAUw/lq3xmFzYaHg/s400/kwc_1915.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102);font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Kowloon Walled City in 1915</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We "</span><a style="FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms" href="http://www.amazon.com/Content-Rem-Koolhaas/dp/3822830704">Go East</a>"<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> in tonight's episode of Friday Photography. I wanted to follow up on <a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2007/09/further-evidence-of-creative-solutions.html">a previous post</a> about density in which I mentioned the Kowloon Walled City because it really is a fascinating story. I first learned about the city in reading William Gibson's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Idoru-William-Gibson/dp/0425158640">Idoru</a>, and later learned that he took further inspiration from the city for his amazingly realized anarchic sqautter city built into the <del>Golden Gate Bridge</del> Oakland Bay Bridge in his novel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Virtual-Light-William-Gibson/dp/0140157727/ref=sr_1_10/102-1588651-4159324?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191104446&sr=1-10">Virtual Light</a>. As a real life local, the city has shown up up in various movies, even a Jackie Chan flick (1993's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_Story_(film)#Filming_locations">Crime Story</a>). The Walled City even inspired the virtual settings for the video game <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenmue_II">Shenmue 2</a>. An abbreviated & slightly annotated </span><a style="FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City">Wikipedia entry</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> will weave us a short story about the amazing but now demolished Walled City:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:0;"></span></span><blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102);font-family:trebuchet ms;">The history of the Walled City (known as Kowloon then) can be traced back to the Song Dynasty, where <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">it served as a watchpost defending the area against pirates and managing the production of salt. </span></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102);font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory of 1898 which handed parts of Hong Kong to Britain for 99 years excluded the Walled City [which at this point was located in the heart of Honk Kong proper], with a population of roughly 700.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102)"><br /><br /></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102);font-family:trebuchet ms;">[Throughout the next 50 years] the Walled City remained a curiosity - a tourist attraction where British colonials could have a taste of the old China - [that is] until 1940, when during its WWII occupation of Hong Kong, Japan evicted people from the Walled City, and then demolished much of it - including the wall.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102);font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102)"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After Japan's surrender, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">squatters [mostly newcomers] began to occupy the Walled City, resisting several attempts by Britain in 1948 to drive them out. With no wall to protect it, the Walled City became a haven for crooks and drug addicts, as the Hong Kong Police had no right to enter the City.</span> Mainland China refused to take care of it. The foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949 added thousands of refugees to the population.</span></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This is my favorite paragraph. By this time it is the late 1970's and 1980's:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102);font-family:trebuchet ms;">Square buildings folded up into one another as thousands of modifications were made, virtually none by architects or engineers, until hundreds of square meters were simply a kind of patchwork monolith.<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> Labyrinthine corridors ran through the monolith, some of those being former streets (at the ground level, and often clogged up with trash), and some of those running through upper floors, practically between buildings.</span> The streets were illuminated by fluorescent lights, as sunlight was rare except for the rooftops. The only rules of construction were twofold: electricity had to be provided to avoid fire, and the buildings could be no more than about fourteen stories high, because of the nearby airport. A mere eight municipal pipes somehow provided water to the entire structure (although more could have come from wells).</span><br /></span></blockquote><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">... the story continues:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><blockquote></blockquote></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102);font-family:trebuchet ms;"><blockquote>Over time, both the British and the Chinese governments found the massive, anarchic city to be increasingly intolerable - despite the low reported crime rate. The quality of life in the city, sanitary conditions in particular, was far behind the rest of Hong Kong. After the Joint Declaration in 1984, the Peoples Republic of China agreed with British authorities to demolish the City and resettle its inhabitants. The mutual decision to tear down the walled city was made in 1987. At that time, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">it had 50,000 inhabitants on 0.026 km², and therefore a very high population density of 1,900,000 / km². At its height, it was one of the most densely populated urban areas on Earth.</span><br /><br />Evacuations started in 1991 and were completed in 1992. The 1993 movie Crime Story starring Jackie Chan was partly made in the deserted Walled City, and includes real scenes of building explosions. Kowloon Walled City was destroyed in the same year. Also, as the Walled City was beginning to be torn down, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">a group of Japanese explorers took about a week to tour the empty walled city, making a sort of map and a cross section of the city.</span></blockquote></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">That last part is fascinating. Whoever that group was, I really hope they published their research. If anybody has any information on it, or on the Kowloon Walled city in general, get in touch! Until then, I'll be keeping my eyes out for it...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">OK! Enough chit chat, on with the pictures (all of which were found with a simple Google search):</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-opqJblI/AAAAAAAAAUY/gYoDrqZa6UE/s1600-h/kwc_3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115665463581961810" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-opqJblI/AAAAAAAAAUY/gYoDrqZa6UE/s400/kwc_3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Kowloon Walled City in 1973</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-oZqJbkI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/NJRIOVhGXaY/s1600-h/kwc_2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115665459286994498" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-oZqJbkI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/NJRIOVhGXaY/s400/kwc_2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-oJqJbjI/AAAAAAAAAUI/Umx2ddfre84/s1600-h/kwc_1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115665454992027186" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-oJqJbjI/AAAAAAAAAUI/Umx2ddfre84/s400/kwc_1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-pJqJbmI/AAAAAAAAAUg/FJ_FSEh6muo/s1600-h/kwc_5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115665472171896418" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-pJqJbmI/AAAAAAAAAUg/FJ_FSEh6muo/s400/kwc_5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-pZqJbnI/AAAAAAAAAUo/nTh-6lVO_iY/s1600-h/kwc_4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115665476466863730" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rv5-pZqJbnI/AAAAAAAAAUo/nTh-6lVO_iY/s400/kwc_4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/City-Darkness-Ian-Lambot/dp/1873200137"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">City Of Darkness: Life in Kowloon City</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> seems to be the definitive book documenting the city and what it was like to live there with beautiful full color photographs - this has been on my wish list for years. The only other online resource worth mentioning, besides the Wiki entry above, is <a href="http://www.twenty4.co.uk/on-line/issue001/project02/KWC/">this</a> page from <a href="http://www.twenty4.co.uk/on-line/issue001/project02/KWC/">Twenty4</a> - there are some great photographs (presumbly taken from City of Darkness) there.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Happy Friday!</span>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-52027882060686090362007-09-27T12:36:00.000-05:002007-09-27T12:51:34.704-05:00Extreme divides between rich & poor<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Disparity manifest in land use patterns pulled together by the always interesting <a href="http://deputy-dog.com/">deputyd</a></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://deputy-dog.com/">og</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The first two come to us from </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracas">Caracas, Venezuela</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RvvsDZqJbhI/AAAAAAAAAT4/1yhdEM0xB0g/s1600-h/2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RvvsDZqJbhI/AAAAAAAAAT4/1yhdEM0xB0g/s400/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114941344980758034" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RvvsDJqJbgI/AAAAAAAAATw/uRadBYivaiw/s1600-h/3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RvvsDJqJbgI/AAAAAAAAATw/uRadBYivaiw/s400/3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114941340685790722" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This one is taken on the edge of the Paraisopolis Favela in </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morumbi">Morumbi, Sau Paulo</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RvvsDpqJbiI/AAAAAAAAAUA/HdvNKHmSz8E/s1600-h/1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RvvsDpqJbiI/AAAAAAAAAUA/HdvNKHmSz8E/s400/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114941349275725346" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracas"></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Full post </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://deputy-dog.com/2007/09/19/extreme-rich-poor-divides/">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. Thanks Maureen!<br /><br /></span>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-52868249710544844642007-09-22T11:00:00.002-05:002009-12-07T10:15:04.039-06:00Talk about mixed useThis is right up there with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City">Kowloon Walled City</a> in terms of jaw dropping examples of shear density. I have no idea where this video was taken, but it's incredible. File under further evidence of ingenuity in the face of massive over population.<br /><object width="425" height="353"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uuYVV3-00Qw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uuYVV3-00Qw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="353"></embed></object><br /><br />Skip to the end of this one for some beautiful shots from the side of train.<br /><object height="353" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xNoLpCb7K1U"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xNoLpCb7K1U" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="353" width="425"></embed></object>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-61574622814868652982007-09-01T10:45:00.000-05:002007-09-01T10:51:40.403-05:00The role of design in global, social, & humanitarian crisis<object height="353" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2wVZ-rqP_uU"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2wVZ-rqP_uU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="353" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The lovely Cassie Neu on why design matters and our approach to it here at <a href="http://afh-mn.org/">Architecture for Humanity: Minnesota</a> - let it be local, let it be sustainable, let it be appropriate, let it be collaborative.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Recorded on May 2nd, 2007 at <a href="http://www.solutionstwincities.org/videos.htm">Solutions Volume 1</a> in Minneapolis, Minnesota.</span>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-25541189014682577342007-08-31T08:30:00.000-05:002007-08-31T09:15:25.179-05:00Friday Photography | AFHMN in Sri Lanka<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">As reported earlier, 4 lucky AFHMNers recently took a trip to Sri Lanka to represent <a href="http://afh-mn.org/">Architecture for Humanity: Minnesota</a> at the grand opening of a new community center in the new village of Hikkaduwa.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Read more about our community center project with the <a href="http://www.mnslff.org/">Minnesota Sri Lanka Friendship Foundation</a> <a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2006/01/starting-over-in-sri-lanka.html">here</a> and <a href="http://bloglikeyougiveadamn.blogspot.com/2007/07/mondays-odds-ends.html">here</a>.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdptG-qAVI/AAAAAAAAASw/MGXUZDCN-3Q/s1600-h/community+center.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdptG-qAVI/AAAAAAAAASw/MGXUZDCN-3Q/s400/community+center.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104664926336188754" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The built community center.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdptG-qAWI/AAAAAAAAAS4/W8Iq70orLaM/s1600-h/library.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdptG-qAWI/AAAAAAAAAS4/W8Iq70orLaM/s400/library.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104664926336188770" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Inside the library.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdptW-qAXI/AAAAAAAAATA/O2n_qumaBC8/s1600-h/dancers.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdptW-qAXI/AAAAAAAAATA/O2n_qumaBC8/s400/dancers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104664930631156082" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Young dancers getting ready to perform at the opening.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rtdptm-qAYI/AAAAAAAAATI/k0IGhQlQFCo/s1600-h/kids.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rtdptm-qAYI/AAAAAAAAATI/k0IGhQlQFCo/s400/kids.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104664934926123394" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Back row - the AFHMNers: Cassie, Jeffrey, Maureen & Rich / </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Front row - Sri Lankan children (with ball)</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">They also got to spend some time touring the region and have some great pics to prove it:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdtHm-qAbI/AAAAAAAAATg/xmmyw0CDOCM/s1600-h/elephant+entrance.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdtHm-qAbI/AAAAAAAAATg/xmmyw0CDOCM/s400/elephant+entrance.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104668680137605554" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdtHm-qAaI/AAAAAAAAATY/fW6je6tYecQ/s1600-h/wrapped+buddha.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdtHm-qAaI/AAAAAAAAATY/fW6je6tYecQ/s400/wrapped+buddha.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104668680137605538" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rtdpt2-qAZI/AAAAAAAAATQ/Omw34cyCJeU/s1600-h/tea+factory.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rtdpt2-qAZI/AAAAAAAAATQ/Omw34cyCJeU/s400/tea+factory.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104664939221090706" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdtH2-qAcI/AAAAAAAAATo/rBQOpscVxrI/s1600-h/golden+temple.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtdtH2-qAcI/AAAAAAAAATo/rBQOpscVxrI/s400/golden+temple.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104668684432572866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Check out the whole set <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30496871@N00/sets/72157601519559545/">on Flickr</a>. (Thanks to Maureen for making her photos available!)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Happy Friday!</span>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-20698515465750079652007-08-30T21:20:00.000-05:002007-08-31T11:55:29.868-05:00Prefab or Prefad?<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The always thought provoking <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Rybczynski">Witold Rybczynski</a> has compiled a <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2171842/fr/flyout">short slide show essay</a> on why the modernist prefab movement hasn't caused the architectural revolution so many are hoping for. (cough<a href="http://www.dwell.com/">Dwell</a>cough)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RryjyBlmHvI/AAAAAAAAASA/mQyQ044JUXU/s1600-h/3_LV.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RryjyBlmHvI/AAAAAAAAASA/mQyQ044JUXU/s400/3_LV.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097128958091468530" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The, in my opinion, superbly designed <a href="http://www.rocioromero.com/">LV Home by</a></span><a href="http://www.rocioromero.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> Rocio Romero</span></a></span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">On why this might be so, he quotes Colin Davies’ book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Prefabricated-Home-Colin-Davies/dp/1861892438">The Prefabricated Home</a>:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">The strength of the prefabricated house lies in its popularity, its cheapness and the industrial base from which it operates," he writes. "These are precisely the areas in which modern architecture is weakest. Modern architecture is unpopular, expensive and divorced from industrial production. That is why whenever it has tried to extend its field to include the territory of the prefabricated house it has failed and been forced to retreat.</blockquote>As much as it pains me to say so - Witold, Davies, and other are right. At present date, the reality of the situation is such that the prefabricated modernist movement is not fulfilling its promise of bring good design to the masses. Homes like those pictured above will remain in the realm of second homes and "cabins" for the wealthy while those picture below will remain not only more accessible, but more desirable, to the so called masses...</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RryjxhlmHtI/AAAAAAAAARw/_HBXkObmr3A/s1600-h/7_construction.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RryjxhlmHtI/AAAAAAAAARw/_HBXkObmr3A/s400/7_construction.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097128949501533906" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RrypBRlmHwI/AAAAAAAAASI/4ZXJL1GI1Uw/s1600-h/8_finishedhome.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RrypBRlmHwI/AAAAAAAAASI/4ZXJL1GI1Uw/s400/8_finishedhome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097134717642612482" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">That is, unless we begin to realize that the systems that make the above suburban monotony possible can also lead to other far more intriguing design outcomes.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">[insert shameless plug here]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One example comes from St. Paul based </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://cermakrhoades.com/">Cermak Rhoades Architects</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> (whom I do happen to work for). They've gone back to the drawing board to design <a href="http://cermakrhoades.com/bbn_mod.html">a series of modern homes</a> that utilize the same smart growth principles and well designed house plans already developed for a <a href="http://www.gmhf.com/">Greater Minnesota Housing Fund</a> program called <a href="http://cermakrhoades.com/bbn_np.html">Building Better Neighborhoods</a>.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dESsUjQaiow/Rtd3IAJLsAI/AAAAAAAAABc/Q8UCy_gbXZM/s1600-h/cra+mod+bbn.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dESsUjQaiow/Rtd3IAJLsAI/AAAAAAAAABc/Q8UCy_gbXZM/s400/cra+mod+bbn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104679682008920066" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Though none of these homes have yet to be built, the fact remains that good contemporary design </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >can </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">be affordable when you use existing construction standards. From <a href="http://cermakrhoades.com/bbn_mod.html">the website</a>:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">... these affordable homes are designed in a manner that reinforces a livable and efficient community. Smaller lot sizes, welcoming front porches, and alley access garages all contribute to help make these communities walkable and inviting... clean lines, simple forms, and rich colors.</span><br /></blockquote></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dESsUjQaiow/Rtd28AJLr_I/AAAAAAAAABU/-hTdcJ4A1Qg/s1600-h/poster.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dESsUjQaiow/Rtd28AJLr_I/AAAAAAAAABU/-hTdcJ4A1Qg/s400/poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104679475850489842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The problem now is of course that pesky little thing called the "market". It doesn't matter how affordable or well designed it is if people won't buy it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Check out the other side of the argument, as presented by local prefab gurus, <a href="http://www.weehouses.com/">Alchemy Architects</a> (whom again, I think do great work), recorded at <a href="http://www.solutionstwincities.org/videos.htm">Solutions Volume 1</a>:</span><br /><br /><object height="353" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rboDV_guk50"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rboDV_guk50" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="353" width="425"></embed></object><br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Brief disclaimer: The contents of this blog reflect only my opinion and not those of any other organization or business, present employer included.</span></span>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-27235193716427451702007-08-30T13:00:00.000-05:002007-08-30T13:03:24.779-05:00Black Balloons - Making CO2 Real<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://www.climateprotect.org/">The Alliance for Climate Protection</a> has a great advert up on their site called <a href="http://www.climateprotect.org/ah12">Black Balloons - Making CO2 Real</a> (click for video).</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />The piece does a great job of making something invisible and possibly hard to comprehend very real and accessible.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtWQdG-qARI/AAAAAAAAASQ/T7dmGbHQbl4/s1600-h/1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtWQdG-qARI/AAAAAAAAASQ/T7dmGbHQbl4/s400/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104144582458343698" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtWQdW-qASI/AAAAAAAAASY/HUadmftZX5I/s1600-h/2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtWQdW-qASI/AAAAAAAAASY/HUadmftZX5I/s400/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104144586753311010" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtWQd2-qATI/AAAAAAAAASg/JP_NMM8QbRg/s1600-h/3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/RtWQd2-qATI/AAAAAAAAASg/JP_NMM8QbRg/s400/3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104144595343245618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">(Thanks Jeffrey!)</span>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-88401801621607856902007-07-23T20:05:00.000-05:002007-07-23T20:45:37.725-05:00The Children & The Soldiers<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Three views from Iraq:</span><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m9A_vxIOB-I"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m9A_vxIOB-I" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nQZlTsqp3-I"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nQZlTsqp3-I" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">If the clips above are extremes on a spectrum of interaction, I have a feeling the one below is more representative of day-to-day life in Iraq. They explode a can of Pepsi, exchange gifts, have a plum fight, and finally debate their views on Michael Jackson.</span><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4LL9fTI0Ijk"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4LL9fTI0Ijk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Pardon the colorful language; these are scenes from a war, delivered unfiltered to your desktop.</span>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12465743.post-10632163948690043552007-07-18T07:36:00.000-05:002007-07-18T07:54:55.566-05:00Friday Photography | The Curiously Large Animals of Florentijn Hofman<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I just couldn't hold out on these so Friday Photography is early this week. Enjoy!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">"A yellow spot on the horizon slowly approaches the coast. People...watch in amazement as a giant, yellow, rubber duck approaches. The spectators are greeted by the duck, which slowly nods its head. The 'Rubber Duck' knows no frontiers; it doesn't discriminate...and doesn't have a political connotation."</span><br />- </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.florentijnhofman.nl/index.php?page=projects&id=50">From the artist's website.</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HWv8wObI/AAAAAAAAAQo/EwtcGxjFiXA/s1600-h/DSC02870.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HWv8wObI/AAAAAAAAAQo/EwtcGxjFiXA/s400/DSC02870.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088371978896685490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2JD_8wOgI/AAAAAAAAARQ/eCjeCJ6U668/s1600-h/029.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2JD_8wOgI/AAAAAAAAARQ/eCjeCJ6U668/s400/029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088373855797393922" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HW_8wOcI/AAAAAAAAAQw/kktUm2mhNMo/s1600-h/02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HW_8wOcI/AAAAAAAAAQw/kktUm2mhNMo/s400/02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088371983191652802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HW_8wOdI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/ZFP5Ak8YgWw/s1600-h/023.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HW_8wOdI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/ZFP5Ak8YgWw/s400/023.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088371983191652818" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HXP8wOeI/AAAAAAAAARA/-vUylcHAmdU/s1600-h/12.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HXP8wOeI/AAAAAAAAARA/-vUylcHAmdU/s400/12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088371987486620130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2JD_8wOhI/AAAAAAAAARY/Pv47okKF_3M/s1600-h/03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2JD_8wOhI/AAAAAAAAARY/Pv47okKF_3M/s400/03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088373855797393938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HXP8wOfI/AAAAAAAAARI/ghvkKBBb6d8/s1600-h/04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp2HXP8wOfI/AAAAAAAAARI/ghvkKBBb6d8/s400/04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088371987486620146" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The architecture beneath the surface is often equally as interesting as the final product. Florentijn documents the building process of his oversized animals at <a href="http://www.florentijnhofman.nl/index.php?page=projects&id=11">his website</a>.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp4MEP8wOiI/AAAAAAAAARg/oiAd7zFR0MM/s1600-h/11.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZuzoYSK2B8/Rp4MEP8wOiI/AAAAAAAAARg/oiAd7zFR0MM/s400/11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088517896115599906" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Via the </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=15&entry_id=18438">SFGate</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. Happy... Wednesday!?!?</span>Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013533311671140038noreply@blogger.com4