Dive into the archives.
- Sea Dust, pt 1
[Salt mounds at the Toronto port, near Cherry Beach. photo by katalogue on flickr.]
On January 21, Thomas L. Viola was charged with the theft of some 135 tons of road salt in Aurora, Illinois. Viola had (intentionally) sold the road salt, which did not belong to him, on October 1 at the bargain price of [...]
- Infrastructure for everyone! – not so fast.
[Money for Public Projects] The New York Times
With the global economy in recession and unemployment levels rising, elected leaders throughout the world are turning to infrastructure projects as a way to put thousands of people back to work.
With this massive forthcoming investment we just had to investigate what’s likely to come down the infrastructure pipeline. [...]
- Climate Proofing the Netherlands (and Saving Architecture)
[Storm Surge Barriers in the Netherlands. Photo: Ralph Hargarten]
In the last years it seems to be an agreed upon fact that sea levels are certainly on the rise due to global climate change. Over the past 100 years, the seas have been climbing approximately 1.8mm per annum. Scientists have more recently been recording [...]
- Power of Ecosystems / Ecosystems of Power
[Latitude: 42.03280 Longitude: -71.61592 and Half-Mile Radius Series of 3 16x16 in. Lightjet Digital C-Prints by Adam Ryder.]
Having recently endured a power outage during one of the coldest days of the year in a country that begins above the 45th parallel, we are bluntly reminded of the power of (electrical) power. There continues to be [...]
- Student Works: Suburban Defense
[Tom Vigar's (very) defensible suburban enclaves complete with bunkers and missile silos. All images by Tom Vigar.]
Caught somewhere between No-Stop City and an Everyday Virilio-ism, Tom Vigar's Master of Architecture thesis "Subtopian Dreams" at Sheffield University posits a shared economy (and landscape) of suburbia and military sites. Arguing the inevitable links and interdependence of one [...]
- From Ego to Energy – Towers of Power Revisited
[EnviroMission\'s Proposal for a Solar Tower in Australia via www.t-mation.com]
As the race for the tallest tower progresses, research into solar power design has created (perhaps for the first time) a need for height. The solar updraft tower – a combination of a solar chimney, greenhouse and wind turbine – was first presented in 1903 [...]
- Water Economy and Liquid Assets
[Zoning future underground waterbanks for a new liquid sub-urbanism.]
Scientists and economists predict that the wars of the 21st century will be waged over water rights. Some cities live under the threat of eradication through rising sea water levels, and others, under the threat of desertification. Counties in arid Arizona, whose main cities of Phoenix and [...]
- Weatherizing
[Jumeriah Beach, Dubai. via: wiki commons]
You have no doubt heard that even the luxury goods industry is smarting from the economic woes that surfaced prominently in 2008. And the development equivalent of this, the luxury urbanism across the Middle East, has now also decided to shelve a few projects. How odd in fact that a [...]
- Making a Better Place
[Electric Parking Lot in Israel: www.betterplace.com]
With the cost of a barrel of oil dipping below $40 a few weeks ago (recall this summer’s price of $140), imagining a post-oil future may not be on everyone's mind . This is not the case for venture-backed Better Place and its partners. Since 2007, Better Place, led by [...]
