Mass Transit

Interesting slide show of the latest innovations. The one that doesn't really say "mass" transit to me is the personal rapid transit prototype.

Architects play with public space

Atelier Bow-Wow, a small firm based in Japan, has built its practice on playing with public space and has created some very innovative spaces, inside and out.

via Architect

Another example of better scaffolding

This scaffolding is on 6th Avenue, in the Fifties. I had seen the guys whitewashing the boards when it was first built, but late one evening, I noticed the lighting that was also installed. It's just plain fluorescent lighting, but is much better than the construction light bulbs that are usually put up underneath. It's actually not bad for scaffolding. Also, the posts are placed in a way that doesn't obstruct pedestrian traffic.

Around Midtown

This seating is brutal on a cold, wet day, and went unused for most of the winter, but on a sunny day in the middle of the afternoon (and no other seating in sight) these marble stools in Midtown got a lot of traffic.

Blogs of Note

I never thought BttN was going to be up here!

Good streets summary

Josh Jackson of Built Environment Blog has a great article in this month's GOOD Magazine about alternative ways to manage our streets so that they move people, not just cars. Most of the prevailing theories are summarized right here, in decongestion.

Cheerleader for Brooklyn

I love this profile on the newly appointed executive director of the Brooklyn Public Libraries, Dionne Mack-Harvin.

"She views the library as a vibrant community center, not a book vault..."

Spotted around town

I noticed that more construction projects have "cleaned up" scaffolding. It's still not beautiful, but is a lot better. I noticed this particularly on "Bling Bond" (a phrase cribbed from a realtor who is "ultra-excited" about my neighborhood.)

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Also in my hood, WaMu, which opened a branch office last year, has decided that it will not put up with sitting anymore. The structure had some benches on the ground floor, which fit well with the root of "bank" being the Italian banco, for bench. Well, you're not allowed to sit anymore.

Latest Economist survey on cities

There's not much new in the latest Economist survey on the world's urbanization effect - except that the moment when the world's population living in cities exceeds 50% is within the next two months - a few years earlier than projections I learned about when I was in grad school a mere five years ago. Acceleration...

Public Space + Sustainability

Design Trust for Public Space releases its latest RFP, due date July 27 2007. The focus is Designining for a Healthy NYC 2030.

Thanks Stephanie!

Good events

A couple of good events this weekend...

Liz Christy Community Garden will be having a fund-raiser in the garden (Houston and Bowery). It's a Hat Party, from 1-4 PM, so come properly attired.

GOOD Magazine is hosting a Garden in Transit kick-off on Mother's Day, May 13, for the public art project that is to take over the city from September through December 2007.

A found green roof

And it's public too! The Elevated Acre

The official site.
A member of the architecture team's flickr set

Lame excuses for not taking care of a park

Gateway National Recreational Area has received the lowest marks in this year's ranking of national parks.

The general superintendent of the National Parks Service lamely shrugs off the criticism by saying that the park "received run-off from eight million people" and that it should not be surprisng that it's not as beautiful as Yosemite or Yellowstone.

It should be surprising! Parks like Gateway, regardless of the number of natural resources it has, would be a welcome respite for the eight million or so people who live in New York City if it is simply well-managed! So at least he gets this part right:

“Most importantly, the park needs an updated general management plan and resource stewardship plan to guide natural and cultural resource management.”

Van Alen Institute is holding a competition for a new Gateway (deadline was May 7...)

Same old struggle with new development

Frédéric Borel’s Paris Val-de-Seine Architecture School in an old factory (NYTimes)

People think of Paris as the quintessential pedestrian city, so what happens to the rich urban experience when it attempts a new infill development along the Seine with mixed-use, institutional, mixed-income, and innovative architecture?

This article in the NYTimes outlines some of the typical issues that occur with new developments in the US - only this time. NYC should pay attention, especially as it looks to develop Willets Point in the Bronx, next to Shea Stadium under PlanYC, or perhaps even more appropriately, downtown Brooklyn where a starchitect is leading the charge.

In particular,

like La Défense, the area lacks the street life and sidewalk-level charm for which Paris is loved. At the moment there are few cafes, restaurants or small shops to speak of. “It looks good on paper as a plan, but at an experience level it leads to the same old thing: well done, well detailed, just dry,” said Brendan MacFarlane of Jakob & MacFarlane, which is building a fashion institute inside an old warehouse. “We need something richer on an urban level.”

Arch events

A couple of big events coming up...

Postopolis...several straight days of architectural discussion May 29 through June 2...sounds kind of heavy but with the dynamic participants, it will probably end up being more fun than heavy.

And a triennial on architecture in Lisbon May 31 through July 31 with a couple of heavy-hitters including Zaha Hadid, Peter Eisenman, Thom Mayne, Mark Wigley, Souto de Moura, Elizabeth Diller, Carrilho da Graça, Felix Claus, Dominique Perrault, Rodolfo Machado, Emilio Tuñón, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Kengo Kuma, Saskia Sassen, Michael Sorkin and Jan Kaplicky, among many others.

BAM , Enrique Norten a No Go

Yes, the arch world is full of chatter this morning about Enrique Norten's design for a building that will house the Brooklyn Public Library in downtown Brooklyn.

Now that we got over the memorable hook "now seems likely to sink, unrealized, into the pavement," did you read through the rest of the NYT article? Namely,

“I always had this crazy vision of Brooklyn being the Left Bank of New York,” [Harvey Lichenstein] added. “It’s not so crazy anymore.”

Will this be a revolving door of potential arts projects? If you throw out enough ideas, maybe one of them will stick.

Updating "Social Life"

The Social Life of Wireless Urban Spaces : new research project

A green building leads to a green corporation?

View of cafe and atrium, from Hearst web site

Over the last month, I have had one tour of the Hearst Tower and I've heard maybe five presentations about it. The company certainly has something to be proud of, building in the heart of New York City, and building green (LEED Platinum Gold, green).

Being a media company, the inevitable next step is to launch a web site "The Daily Green" whose tagline is "the consumer's guide to a green revolution." All of this to further promoting itself as a responsible, sustainable corporation. The articles in the web site are taken from Hearst media properties, naturally. I never thought of the Hearst Corporation as a green company, but its shift in consumer perception is palpable. Did it all start with building green?

Droog Design: Climate Change

The Dutch collective Droog Design is holding a competition on climate change.

Ranging from ideas about food, heating, music, literature, fashion, architecture...anything you like in any form you wish.

Comments on Bloomberg's sustainability plan

I was away when the NYC sustainability plan was announced, and didn't have a good sense of reactions, other than what was reported by the NYT (blocked article) which was mainly lukewarm diplomatic responses from City Council members.

Here are some more reactions from today's Gotham Gazette.