You have the power to choose where (and on what) you spend your money...so take this into account.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
The World on Green Transportation
Love the Upworthy post about the photos taken in Munich, Germany in '91 to show how much less congested and yuck the world would be without cars! All in just three photos...
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Mother Nature remains #1 in Design
You've heard of chameleons; they change color to blend in or camouflage themselves to avoid predators. They aren't the only animal to do this; there are various species that mimic others to protect themselves or to hunt.
What is rather unexpected, however, is to find a plant that biomimics. Even crazier, and the first of its kind to be discovered, is a vine that doesn't just mimic one specific alternate (by any measure a surprise given that plants cannot see what they are mimicking) but multiple alternates. So, the vine, in some way as yet to be determined by scientists studying it, senses the shape, size, color and even the veins of the host plant's leaves in order to camouflage itself. Now THAT'S good design.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Amazon Architecture Competition!
Given the beauty and uniqueness of the Amazon, I couldn't avoid passing on this opportunity for students and recent grads to share their ideas in this international design competition for an educational center for NOA (the Nature Observatory of Amazonia). What an awesome opportunity to design for global leadership in sustainable education in the largest jungle in the world! Please let us know if you decide to participate and tell us how it goes!
Dado la belleza y el hecho de que es tan única la región del Amazona, no pude evitar de pasarles esta oportunidad para estudiantes y recién graduados para compartir sus ideas en esta competencia internacional de diseño para un centro educativo para NOA (the Nature Observatory of Amazonia). Que oportunidad mas asombrosa diseñar para el liderazgo global en la educación sostenible en la jungla más grande del mundo! Por favor, déjanos saber si decidan participar y cuéntenos como les va!
Dado la belleza y el hecho de que es tan única la región del Amazona, no pude evitar de pasarles esta oportunidad para estudiantes y recién graduados para compartir sus ideas en esta competencia internacional de diseño para un centro educativo para NOA (the Nature Observatory of Amazonia). Que oportunidad mas asombrosa diseñar para el liderazgo global en la educación sostenible en la jungla más grande del mundo! Por favor, déjanos saber si decidan participar y cuéntenos como les va!
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Lazy...Stupid...Ignorant
Did I get your attention? Good. Read this. Remember the last 8 words
(use them both literally AND as a metaphor for your LIFE)
Share this post and act accordingly...
so you won't have to worry about me calling you any of those names.
Now that you've read it, "ignorant" is off the list (you can't be ignorant once you have the knowledge).
...but you can be stupid and not think about the knowledge you've been given.
You can also be lazy and choose to ignore what you know by choosing not to utilize the power that you have to make a difference.
Don't do that.
Be the change!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Technological Turn of Events!
In a fascinating turn of technological events...
cue the return of the Post-It note: back in full force and then some!
Hurricane Design Proposal
I love when your everyday artist becomes an architect. I've always said that something many architects and designers lose is their ability to relate with real people and to create solutions that are outside of the proverbial "box." So when I saw that Dionisio Gonzalez created an idea for hurricane-resistant homes on the shores of Dauphin Island, I was, needless to say, giddy.
These are unbuilt, hypothetical structures but they are a great theoretical project that begs a few important questions. Why simply continue to rebuild temporary structures each year that become devastated at the first hurricane of the season? Why waste time, materials, energy, and memories that these people lose forever, on a seasonal basis? Why not think bigger? Why not consider alternatives that could be a permanent addition to the lives of these people and the shores that they call home, live from, love, and respect?
I am no often one to say "build on the beach," or "try to be more permanent than nature" because neither of these are usually in line with the sustainable principles that I hold dear, but to design something permanent means less waste.
I don't know if Gonzalez's structures would work structurally. I don't know if the transparent material could be protected from the wind and debri nor if the concrete and steel could withstand the rising tides and crushing waves. But I do know that if no one ever tries then nothing will ever change. These people who live from the sea will continue to build and will continue to lose cyclically. So I sincerely appreciate Gonzalez's effort to open the conversation about designing for permanency that lasts beyond just the next sucker who will buy a property, or 'til the end of a season for a big box store. T
his conversation isn't just about Dauphin Island...it's about the way we build all over the world. Can we utilize our resources? Can we build to respond to our environment? Can we build things that last like the pyramids and the Parthenon? Or will we continue to turn our nose up at nature, only to have her strike us back down? When we design with the environment in mind, we design with ourselves in mind. Maybe that's how we need to begin to re-focus the way that we propose the changes. When most people realize it's about them, they are more likely to pay attention and to take some stake in an idea.
These are unbuilt, hypothetical structures but they are a great theoretical project that begs a few important questions. Why simply continue to rebuild temporary structures each year that become devastated at the first hurricane of the season? Why waste time, materials, energy, and memories that these people lose forever, on a seasonal basis? Why not think bigger? Why not consider alternatives that could be a permanent addition to the lives of these people and the shores that they call home, live from, love, and respect?
I am no often one to say "build on the beach," or "try to be more permanent than nature" because neither of these are usually in line with the sustainable principles that I hold dear, but to design something permanent means less waste.
I don't know if Gonzalez's structures would work structurally. I don't know if the transparent material could be protected from the wind and debri nor if the concrete and steel could withstand the rising tides and crushing waves. But I do know that if no one ever tries then nothing will ever change. These people who live from the sea will continue to build and will continue to lose cyclically. So I sincerely appreciate Gonzalez's effort to open the conversation about designing for permanency that lasts beyond just the next sucker who will buy a property, or 'til the end of a season for a big box store. T
his conversation isn't just about Dauphin Island...it's about the way we build all over the world. Can we utilize our resources? Can we build to respond to our environment? Can we build things that last like the pyramids and the Parthenon? Or will we continue to turn our nose up at nature, only to have her strike us back down? When we design with the environment in mind, we design with ourselves in mind. Maybe that's how we need to begin to re-focus the way that we propose the changes. When most people realize it's about them, they are more likely to pay attention and to take some stake in an idea.
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