Landscape Architecture: The Profession
Buildings are tangible and real, and after 9/11 all urban citizens understood that buildings are symbols, icons, tangible manifestations of our aspirations. Landscape, however, is quiet. Open space is the absence of something, not a thing. Yet that space is integral...
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Affordable Housing
We started working with MAP Architects last summer. Since their primary area of expertise is affordable housing, and since that happens to also be a HUGE area of interest for the mayor and his administration right now, it seemed reasonable and responsible to...
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London in April
If you've only seen London in movies and TV shows, like I had until last week, you'd imagine that there are a few streets where historical dramas are filmed, and a couple of neighborhoods that are pretty, and then, perhaps, like me, you'd think that the rest is urban...
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Three Lectures
I have heard three fantastic lectures in the past six weeks, and that it has made me rethink in wonderful, questioning ways about some of my long-held opinions about urban planning, buildings and the economy. I'm not going to go on and on, but I recommend hearing any...
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Haunting Images
Several months ago, there was a flurry of interest in micro-housing in New York. The Museum of the City of New York opened an exhibit that displayed the winners of a city-sponsored competition to design very, very small apartments - smaller than are now considered...
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The Story of Stuff and the New Year
Several years ago I was at a client office (Guenther 5 Architects, which became part of Perkins + Will New York) when a group of us gathered around somebody's computer one afternoon to watch a very smart, cogent, animated film called The Story of Stuff. In it, a...
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Thursday, November 15
A recurring theme in my life, and probably yours too, if you live in New York, is that we have astounding access to people, information, events and ideas here. Infrequently it's overwhelming; more often it simply creates richly textured days. On Thursday the 15th I...
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Post-Hurricane
Park Slope was luckier than many neighborhoods; we never lost heat or electricity. We lost many trees, some of which fell on cars, others just blocked the streets. But it was minor inconvenience given what the rest of New York and the suburbs went through - and are...
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Really Interesting Awards
http://bit.ly/XDVCV6 I generally read the daily posts from Co.Design Daily; of course some are better than others. This listing, however, is fantastic, as it's a compilation of winners of the Fast Company Innovation Award. It takes a bit of time to look into the...
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The First Post.
Welcome to my blog. I’ll resist the temptation to be high and mighty, to reflect on the issues of the day. Here’s a simple list of what I expect to post; now you can make an informed decision on subscribing or checking in occasionally. SUBJECTS I MIGHT BLOG ABOUT:...
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