Researchers at UBC have studied the recycling behaviour of people who work in green buildings to those who don’t and found that – regardless of their past habits – people in green buildings recycle more. This is really nifty because it proves that design of an interior space alone can
Continue readingTag: architecture
Things Are Good: Earthships Taking Off in the Netherlands
Earthships are a type of house that are built using reused materials to construct a structure that is sustainable. Often the earthships are off the gird and can function autonomously from external systems. In the Netherlands, these types of buildings are growing in popularity. Earthships use dirt- and sand-filled tires
Continue readingArt Threat: The imagination, art, and activism of Herman’s House
Last week I attended the Toronto theatrical premiere of Herman’s House, a thought-provoking documentary written and directed by Angad Singh Bhalla. This Canadian film tells the story of an artistic collaboration between Jackie Sumell and Herman Wallace. Sumell is a multidisciplinary artist from New York. Wallace is a Black Panther from Louisiana who has been […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: Proposed Chicago Tower Cleans the Air and Looks Great
Chicago is already internationally known for his stunning architecture and that reputation is set to continue with a new eco-tower. The CO2ngress Gateway Towers will bring the skyline into the 21st century because that building is focused on cleaning the air that people in Chi-town breath. In attempt to cut
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: A school trip to London with a Kodak Instamatic camera
I think I’ve posted these scanned photos before, but today’s festivities along the River Thames brought back wonderful memories of a class trip to London which took place during March Break in 1976. The camera was a Kodak Instamatic – not very sophisticated – and the prints have not fared
Continue readingThings Are Good: Dwell’s Top Green Projects of 2012
Architecture magazine Dwell has released their top ten green projects in the USA for this year. It would be great to see this done in a global perspective. On April 19th, AIA’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) announced the COTE Top Ten Green Project Awards: their selection of the most
Continue reading350 or bust: TED Talk Thursday: The Wisdom Of Cradle To Cradle Design
I’m still up to my ears in hugelkulturing, and hope to share my photos and experience soon. In the meantime, here’s architect William McDonough, co-author of Cradle To Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things, discusses what our buildings and products would look like if designers took into account “all
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: “Neuf couleurs au vent” by Daniel Buren
Montréal’s steadfast, enviable care for public art, as a community (elected and unelected alike), is no better exemplified than in what flaps gloriously in the breeze just off the south-west corner of Parc La Fontaine in another little park unto itself – Place Urbain-Baudreau-Graveline. Nine rectangular banners are fixed on
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: The sun shines again on my final day in Montréal
I`ll soon be aboard an evennig train home. Oh, but I love Montréal!
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: Montréal gives me the rainy day treatment – it`s all good!
I started out at Le Château Ramezay where flashes are not permitted so my luck with photos was limited. After dodging showers in other parts of Old Montréal I took in some of the public art available in the city`s beautiful Métro system. (I cut the tour short so did
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: Town of Perth, Ontario moves to conserve downtown’s beautiful buildings
Perth Town Council has taken the bold, even if obviously necessary, step of creating a formal Downtown Heritage Conservation District. It comes in the form of a by-law which outlines the boundaries of the district – North and Harvey Street (to the south) and Wilson and Drummond Streets on the
Continue readingMy two cents on Calgary’s Peace Bridge
It’s finally done. Over budget and overdue, but it’s done. One of the most controversial pieces of infrastructure in Calgary’s history, the Peace Bridge, a pedestrian walkway over the Bow River, is finally open for traffic. I am a strong supporter of the compact city as a more efficient city,
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: 17th Century France in 3D
Hundreds of years before the advent of satellite photography and Google Earth, French monarchs used detailed scale models to micromanage their realm… Not only is it fascinating these intricate models of cities and forts would have been commissioned in the first place, but quite amazing they’ve actually been preserved intact
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: Recalling the optimism of Expo ’67
It’s hard to believe that it will be forty-five years ago this spring since the opening of Canada’s first World’s Fair – Expo ’67. I have assembled a number of post-card images from that summer (some photos, a few just artist’s concepts). (Post-cards were the text messages of the day,
Continue readingArt Threat: Art and inspiration meet on Montreal streets
J. R. Carpenter. Entre Ville. as appeared in Four Minutes to Midnight A text originally published in edition twelve of Four Minutes to Midnight, launched in November at Expozine in Montreal. Ideas expressed in this article largely are linked to and inspire the work of the Howl! arts collective in
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: The Winchester – from draft beer to coffee since before Confederation
I did a short double-take walking up Parliament Street today, approaching the former Winchester Hotel. At the sreet-level entrance to what are now apartments upstairs – to the south of Tim Horton’s – a sign says something to the effect &…
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Memorial Plaza
An architectural look at the heart of the Ground Zero redevelopment project. Seems altogether excessive when compared to past memorials to the dead, but perhaps that’s not altogether surprising if one considers it a reflection on the ridiculously oversized sense … Continue reading →