Learning From Snowstorms: Originally published on www.core77.com on 13 May 2010. ‘When it snows, children take over the city: they sleigh, throw snowballs, make snowmen and are more visible than ever. But what a city needs for its children has to be more durable than snow.’ It is hard not to adore this quote by [...]
May 5, 2010
‘When it snows, children take over the city: they sleigh, throw snowballs, make snowmen and are more visible than ever. But what a city needs for its children has to be more durable than snow.’ -Aldo Van Eyck A few months ago I wrote about my visit last summer to the rather amazing Kolle 37 [...]
Can a really smart dance company help us see the inner workings of our cities more clearly? In the midst of the tidal wave of chatter about redesigning and rebuilding cities, it is often quite easy to forget or simply miss the beauty, and the importance of the everyday. On the most basic level without [...]
February 21, 2010
Install recumbent bicycle benches at CAP Metro Bus stops? Outdoor stair climbers on Congress Ave.? In-ground trampolines on Guadalupe? Criss-crossing balance beams on 2nd Street? Concrete ping pong tables at intersections throughout town? Climbing boulders on East 5th Street? Let’s face it, many of you would consider me quite out of my mind if I [...]
February 18, 2010
From the Public Workshop project archive: In 1976, a major earthquake devastated much of Guatemala. Fred Cuny, an American disaster relief expert, tried something novel in the world of disaster relief: instead of building new houses for and giving them to displaced Guatemalans, he and his staff trained them to build their own. They trained the Guatemalans to build earthquake-resistant houses and then helped these new master builders train others in villages throughout the region. After this humanitarian crisis had passed, much to the horror of Fred Cuny and his team, these master builders were murdered or forced to leave Guatemala by the government. These master builders were seen as community leaders and a threat to the dictatorial power structure because not only were they helping build homes, but by sharing their knowledge they were helping build stronger communities. The carpenters were valuable to their communities. Save for people such as Sambo Mockbee, Maurice Cox, or Brian Bell can we say the same of architects?
February 7, 2010
From the Public Workshop vault, by Alex Gilliam, May 2008. 5 Steps for Rebuilding the Profession of Architecture In 1976, a major earthquake devastated much of Guatemala. Fred Cuny, an American disaster relief expert, tried something novel in the world of disaster relief: instead of building new houses for and giving them to displaced Guatemalans, [...]
October 18, 2009
Want to see the original article and comments? Click (here) —— How far were you allowed to travel alone when you were a kid? Are you per chance Vicky Thomas, from Sheffield? If by some very unusual fluke you are from Sheffield, England and your name is Vicky, you are now in your late thirties, [...]
What if you and your neighbors decided one day to turn your street into grassed- over park, replete with pony rides, an oompah band and vegetable gardens? When presented with such a possibility, most would laugh derisively or mention something along the lines of, ‘Have you lost your ever-loving mind?!’. In many respects, this is [...]
If you missed last week’s post, the first installment of this two part series, click (here) How about a brief quiz to start things off, shall we? 1. Which would cause drivers to be more careful and drive conservatively when passing through an area with a substantial deer population? a. A high-tech flashing sign with [...]
September 22, 2009
Carnage, chaos and fender benders galore? How about slower traffic, less accidents, safer streets for children and wait for it, no more text messaging while driving? That’s right, in a never ending quest to make our streets safer and more predictable, we may have actually made them more dangerous and so mind numbingly easy to [...]
August 10, 2009
How do we as a city take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that is the crafting of Austin’s new Comprehensive Plan to make an even better Austin than the one we have today? Below you will find Public Workshop’s Ten Suggestions for invigorating the Comprehensive Planning process, for taking full advantage of this unique occasion. [...]
May 11, 2010
thinking