The Hypnosis and Inspiration of the Curvilinear

Hypnotic and Inspirational:  what a truly amazing form

We saw this in the New York Times and just had to share.  In his new book “Serpentine,” Mark Laita (Abrams, $50), presents us images of snakes photographed against a dark background that represent a shocking depiction of beauty in Nature. In his prologue Mr. Laita,,” tries to articulate what it is about snakes that spurred him to take on this project: “Attraction and repulsion. Passivity and aggression. Allure and danger. These extreme dichotomies, along with the age-old symbolism connected with snakes, are what first inspired me to produce this series.” 1 

Works Cited:
1 http://nyti.ms/15Hkgw4
2 All images courtesy of the NY Times 

When Humor and Creativity Collide

I know this entry is stretching it for this blog but from time to time we like to indulge our love of animation.  We also have, shall we say, a healthy sense of humor.  Case in point, this guy, Adam Patch, animated a joke told by his drunk wife and it is hilarious, in a good clean way...unless of course you are, on face value, horribly offended by corn chips. But really how awesome and creative and did I say awesome is it to actually take the time to animate something like that?  Let's hope it's true...but it would be really funny sans the intoxication angle as well.

Adam, my man, you are our newest hero!


"Two Chips" / An Animated Short from Adam Patch on Vimeo.

Chicago To America: "We Have The Greenest Streets!"

1. Bike lanes adjacent to parking lane; 2. Bike rack; 3. Bioswale planter (removes silt and pollution from surface runoff; 4. Solar bus shelter; 5. White light lamp (40% more energy efficient); 6. 100% post-consumer recycled content used for sub-pavement levels; 7. Light-colored pavement (39% of hardscape is reflective pavement); 8. Reflective pavement to mitigate urban heat island effect; 9. Pervious parking and bike lanes with detention area made from recycled materials.

Chicago may be known as a gritty, rust belt city, but lately they are looking more and more like a city that is trying to innovate its way out of a downward spiral that unfortunately affects many of the aging cities in that region (see also Detroit, Cleveland, etc). Case in point: the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) late last year "unveiled the first phase of their “greenest street in America” project. Located on a 1.5-mile stretch of Cermak Road in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, the street is made with air pollution-eating materials and features solar panels, native plants and stormwater-sucking pavement, among other impressive technology. The street’s success has since launched the city into the national limelight for innovative planning and design."1

Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com

This is an interesting claim, but lets unpack this claim a little and dive in to as many of the details as we can.

According to CDOT, this is the first commercial roadway application of photocatalytic concrete. We currently drafting a reasearch article on photocatalytic concrete but right now it looks like pretty amazing stuff. Imagine if you will, an abiotic material that not only cleans itself but also pulls carbon out of the air. The concrete’s "nanotechnology absorbs nitrogen oxide (i.e. car exhaust) from the air and cleans the road’s surface through a sunlight-powered reaction. The process uses titanium dioxide, so it’s not all roses — mining and chemical processing are needed to get titanium dioxide — but it’s a great application of the pigment. The sidewalk concrete uses more than 30 percent recycled content, and the cement’s reflectivity reduces the urban heat island effect."1 In this case it is worked into a road surface, but there are other possibilities, and something that looks to good to be true should be investigated further before we all start trumpeting it as the end-all be-all to global warming. Please stay tuned for our more extensive research!

On a more well known and tested note, they have incorporated stormwater capture where the "street diverts close to 80 percent of rainfall from the sewer system through permeable surfaces, rain gardens and street trees." The State of Illinois agreed to an Clean Water Act settlement consent decree with the EPA, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and with "the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to setlle a court case under the Clean water Act relating to Chicago's combined sewer system which during times of heavy rainfall results in combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into Lake Michigan and other water bodies. The settlement requires upgrading Chicago’s sewer infrastructure to reduce combined sewage overflows. The legally binding settlement mandates that MWRD make critical structural changes to improve the quality of Chicago’s waterways and includes green infrastructure projects to reduce runoff."2

The re-use of this runoff and plant selection in the CDOT solution eliminates the need for potable irrigation water. A wind and solar-powers the lighting system with LEDs. To complete their Green Infrastructure intervention, a half-mile of bike lanes. Sidewalks are made more walkable with a pedestrian refuge island — "which separates crossing pedestrians from motor vehicles — and curb-corner extensions that allocates more street space to pedestrians. CDOT also created educational signage and a walking tour brochure." 1

So the big question is, how much does this intervention cost? The near $14 million for the mile-and-a-half-project comes out to around $88 per square foot if you assume a 60' Right Of Way. "Funding came from Tax Increment Financing and assorted grants from the Federal Highway Administration, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and Midwest Generation. "1

Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com

WORKS CITED
1  www.gridphilly.com/grid-magazine/2013/3/11/steal-this-idea-chicago-street-cleans-the-air.html
2  geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2011/12/chicago-agrees-to-combined-sewer-overflows-consent-decree.html

Bike Share

Photo from bike-sharing.blogspot.com

The official start of The National Bike Challenge, a nationwide effort to increase bicycle ridership through camaraderie and friendly competition was yesterday.  To commemorate the kick-off, Alta Planning and Design was in Philadelphia displaying the wares of their successful Bike Share program.

I met with Fionnuala Quinn and Charlie Denney who were excited to tell me about their bikes and their expanding Bike Share program. Alta Bicycle Share designs, deploys, and manages bicycle share programs and systems worldwide. They launched and manage Melbourne Bike Share in Melbourne, Australia, Capital Bikeshare in Washington, DC, Hubway in Boston, MA, and Chattanooga Bicycle Transit System in Chatanooga, TN.

Alta is an exciting company who in addition to there planning and design efforts are, at any given time, actively working on several bike-share projects and studies for jurisdictions and companies interested in bringing bike share to their communities. Alta has locations all over the country - Pacific Northwest, California, the mountains and the desert, Midwest, and up and down the east coast and are considered experts in pedestrian and bicycle planning, green space design, and research and innovation in planning and design.

I had the opportunity to intern for Chuck Flink at Greenways Inc., which is now Greenways/Alta, in Durham NC. It was a terrific experience and highly recommend it to any aspiring planners or landscape architects out there. 

As Emily and I have continued our discussions on the definitions of "Green Infrastructure" we definitely consider the impact and importance of bicycles on urban design. Alta is conducting research on how a seemingly nano-intervention of a bike share can help transform the way people experience the city but perhaps more importantly how a city infrastructure's will morph in response to that use. Stay tuned!

Bending Masonry

Photo Courtesy of eat-a-bug.blogspot.com

 Check out this "Catalan free-form vault has been designed and build by students during a one week workshop organised by Prof. Deplazes and Prof. Block from ETH Zurich. RhinoVAULT has been used for the design of the complex compression-only shape. For details, visit the homepage of the BLOCK Research Group."1

WORKS CITED
1 http://eat-a-bug.blogspot.com/2012/11/masonry-workshop-at-eth-zurich.html 

A New Building that Uses Algae for Energy

"A grounbreaking new building in  Hamburg, Germany, "intends to generate heat, as well as revenue, from growing the micro-organism. The five-story Bio Intelligent Quotient (B.I.Q.) building, which was expected to become fully operational on Wednesday, has a high-tech facade that looks like a cross between a Mondrian painting and a terrarium but is actually a vertical algae farm."1

"Lukas Verlage, managing director of the Colt Group, part of the high-powered consortium that constructed the energy system, said in an e-mail that the building was “an outstanding and important development in the use of renewable resources in building technology,” comparable to advances in the space program."1

"And Rainer Müller, press officer of the International Building Exhibition, which introduced a competition in 2009 that led to the creation of the B.I.Q. house, said, “Using algae as an in-house energy source might sound futuristic now, but probably will be established in 10 years.”

The competition, won by a consortium including the Colt Group, asked entrants to use smart materials, defined as “systems and products that behave dynamically, unlike conventional building materials, which are static.”1

Read the complete New York Times article here:
When Algae on the Exterior Is a Good Thing



WORKS CITED:
1  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/business/energy-environment/german-building-uses-algae-for-heating-and-cooling.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0
2  All images courtesy of the NY Times

Photography of the (a)biotic

"Two Kyrgyzstan-based photographers, Andrew and Luda, run a joint Live Journal account where they post amazing photos of outdoor scenery, wildlife, and recently: active volcanoes."1  We love the image above in particular for its metaphorical and literal translation of the biotic and abiotic elements that define our vision as designers.

"Earlier this year the duo trekked to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia where the volcano complex known as Tolbachik was in active eruption. Among the numerous hellish vistas photographed by the team was this deep volcanic cave that offered a glimpse of what it might look like below the Earth’s crust. You can see dozens of shots from their trip organized into several sets here, not to mention the video below. (via ian brooks, my modern met)"



WORKS CITED
1  http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/04/journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth-an-incredible-glimpse-inside-an-active-volcano/. 
2 All images courtesy of thisiscollassal or Tolbachik unless otherwise noted.

City Branch Conceptual Design

Photo courtesy of OLIN/BCJ

Ben recently completed work on this OLIN/BCJ lead team to look at the what the City Branch in Philadelphia could become.  The plan is bold and in as much requires bold leadership from a variety of stakeholders, designers, and community members.

The City Branch is a SEPTA owned 2 mile long abandoned rail corridor that sits 30 feet below the surrounding cityscape.  It begins just east of where the Reading Viaduct transitions down to Broad Street.  It then passes under Broad Street and heads due West and disappears under Pennsylvania Ave, before jogging slightly and heading North.

Light and air wells under Pennsylvania Ave

The new below-grade park would extend from two points at the east end: the connection to the SEPTA Spur, where the rail viaduct dips under Broad Street (which is a bridge over the railway) and at Broad and Buttonwood in front of the School District Administration building. A key to the plan is the planned reconstruction of the Broad Street bridge, owned by PennDOT. The parking lot now in front of the School District building would be replaced with a multi-level public space leading to the park.1

Connection along the front of the  School District Building(Rotogravure building) originally designed by Albert Kahn

New connections are made throughout allowing for a steady, unimpeded flow to create a safe and vibrant space to move along and through.  Conceived as a series of connected program, adjacent buildings are provided an opportunity to connect to the park whether its retail or education.  The entire length is meant to function as a stormwater capture and treatment system.

Connection to Community College of Philadelphia

The draft of the Planning Commission’s Central District plan makes no mention of establishing a rail park and instead supports a Bus Rapid Transit line to take riders west to Fairmount Park.  This is viewed as an opportunity in that the width of the City Branch could allow for each to co-exist.

What is clear is that the current condition of the City Branch is such that it creates a drag on land use, property value, perception of safety, and overall health of the adjacent properties.  Why not imagine something better?  Well, we did.

Herb, Fruit, and Veggie Infographics

We at (a)biotic are no different than most slack-jawed designers who are as in love with grouping things in threes as we are of infographics.  These particular infographics are espespically sweet because they graph when different herbs, fruits, and veggies are in season.

They are developed by chasingdelicious.com and they were even clever enough to develop a definition of each that plant biology folks won't point and laugh at (well some might, but we won't invite them to dinner).  If you are a food-y-fooder-ton, then you will love this website.  The posters here can be found for sale on that website if you are the poster-buying sort.

Bowerbirds Recycled Recording Studio

 

 Members of the indie band Bowerbirds have been trying their hand at sustainable design with this fantastic self-built studio project. Since 2007, Beth Tacular and Phil Moore have been constructing their very own cabin and music studio, using only salvaged materials and running it on solar power. The band recently found success raising money on Kickstarter, and they are well on their way to minting a new album within the green construction.1

1 Read more: Bowerbirds Members Hope to Record Next Album in Self-Built Green Music Studio | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building 

2 All images and text courtesy of Inhabitat