/// in case of a fire

Stair of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago IL

A Fire Inspector came into the office today to do their yearly routine check the only non compliant thing in the office is the stairs to the second level mezzanine that has no handrails. Somehow the office has been here for the last 4 years and no other inspectors had ever caught that. It makes me thing that with Fire Inspectors or Officials of any sort the acquiesce of their work is according to their daily mood. For example if in the morning the sun is out and birds are singing just like wakening from a musical then you are good, if they have a fight with their significant other or just have a bad commute to work all of us mortals have to pay, regardless of being compliant or not.

/// architect or urbanist

I talked to my friend Cinthya this afternoon she studies Law, while being in her last semester and after a trip to India she is undecided of becoming a lawyer or not. She would like something more. After 6+ years studying I asked her why she wants to do this radical change she replied:

"While I was in India this summer and coming from a Socioeconomic background... We go preaching development ... but at the end of the day... the so called development we bring is not sustainable we create more chaos and inequality...I get home sad, I have seen a reality that I was blinded to see."

I explained to her that she didn't really wanted to be an architect she wants to be an urbanist. Being an urbanist is much more than making houses or buildings. An urbanist intertwines every space of the public realm with what is private creating a pleasant living to the urbanites of a town not only one city dweller.

I gave her some pointers of stuff to read of New Urbanism and Civilization.

/// wal-mart in the city

No one could ever understand how political/business affairs work. Despise of all the effort from the City and Miami's Downtown Development authorities and their urge to revamp Miami's Downtown with a new logo that promotes the upcoming buildings, shops restaurants and a nice livable town, proposals as having a big suburb shop, aka Wal-mart, disrupt the area should be out of the question. People really do not understand the impact of having this Mega-Superstore with cheap prices around the corner.

Economically it does bring new jobs to the area but it affects the nearby retail trade, it has been seen that more than half of businesses of a small town close down after a Wal-mart is open near their premises. Also Wal-mart has several law-suits against them for the mistreat of employees with paid low-wages and poor working conditions.

Urbanistically it affects the urban scene were this boxed-inward all-in-one store may be located upcoming shops and restaurants may had provided a über chic scenery, immediately walkability is deprived. I do understand that a Wal-mart works in a rural/suburban areas, I mean they are part of sprawl, but would you really want to support this type of business urge?

/// recyclable newspaper

As part of the being "Green" rage that has hit the world in the last year companies like Pier1imports are selling baskets made out of recyclable materials i.e. newspaper. This technique of weaving from low-cost printed paper is not new to me and due to "save the earth" and "save us from recession" times. I will do my part and start doing some of these storage containers in different shapes and forms to sell.

/// awareness intervention

'bush baby'
'bombed'

'octopied building'

Being an artist is not only creating art, it is so much more broad a profound than that. Artist like *Filthyluker and Pedro Estrella through installations in different points in the United Kingdom manifest a way of how nature and city collide, a way of remembering that mother earth is still here and that buildings and cityscapes can be perishable too.

via [desingbloom]

/// a farm in the city

Near by the city of Ottawa Downtown, we can find the Central Experimental Farm. This National historic site with 400 hectares of land was designated in 1887 as an Arboretum and Experimental site. For over a century the city grew around it and the farm maintained its original 19th century landscape, today it is a major tourist attraction. This is another proof that cities not only long streets and buildings, urbanites desire open space, preferably Green ones as opposed to Gray.

Via : urban-ism and Friends of the Farm

/// cinebistro

A new hype has hit town (or West Doral I should say) for all of us +21 year olds that may want to enjoy the experience of a more adult atmosphere for watching a Movie, have a nice dinner and sip a Martini, CinéBistro in Dolphin Mall is it.

I have no idea how they actually did get a permit to sell alcohol in a movie theater but I find it marvelous. I mean this is Miami and you have to be chic.

/// concealed view

A mimic to the building garage door versus a regular coiling door.
It makes the city streets feel a little bit warmer and not so back alley like.

via: anArchitecture

/// 240 sq.ft.

This 12'x20' house fully customizable house includes a front porch, a multi-use room, kitchenette and full bathroom. And are made with 95% recycled vintage materials, combining well the idea of small space living
and going green with a Victorian kick.

/// SR 874

The proposed connector to continue SR 874
and extend one more exit,
does not sounds like a good idea to me
I feel bad for all the residential areas on 137th Street.
I hope the communities fight back and someone will disapprove it.

/// the supercity trend

"No two cities in the world, or even cities within the same country,
ask the same questions that results in the data that describes themselves.
No two cities create maps to the same scale, or with identical legends"
- 19.20.21.org

Cities like New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Berlin and Mexico City are intensive urban hubs, similar in core but yet each one with different needs. The 19.20.21 organization mission is to understand 19 cities, with 20 million inhabitants, and on the rise during the 21st century. How their different growing patterns, demographics, social, and economical tendencies will impact the future world to come. The findings will let us better understand what this supercities are all really about.

/// suburbanite in the city 2: Part VI - Of trails and taverns

Boston as the historical city it is has a pedestrian trail that goes through important landmarks of the American Revolution, the trail is marked with red brick pavers. It resembles that yellow brick road on the way to Oz. This road has no wizard at the end, there is the Bunker Hill Obelisk the Memorial built to remember the Battle of 1775 against the British. Also on the trail you can find The Green Dragon Tavern also called by some "The Revolution Headquarters" where the Boston Tea Party planned their amazing bit and also this venue was from where Paul Revere was sent out to Lexington with the coded message for John Hancock.

/// suburbanite in the city 2: Part V - The Avenue Mall

The definition of a mall it is not precisely what you might think. The Commonwealth Avenue Mall is the green spine of Back Bay neighborhood serving as a beautifully shaded promenade that connects the public gardens and park systems of the city. It reminds me so much of Paris.

/// suburbanite in the city 2: Part IV - The unexpected

The greatest thing of walking cities is
finding that little red bar tucked in a corner or

that Coffeshop on an Alley.

/// suburbanite in the city 2: part III - The Library

The Boston Public Libary main building is of Reinassance Revival style the extension added in the early 70's is Phillip Johnson's interpretation of modernism taking over, which in design not all times is the way to go.

/// suburbanite in the city 2: Part II - I.M. Pei

"I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art.

To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity."
— I.M. Pei

The John Hancock building by Pei is one of the first minimalist skyscraper in the 70's. This 60 stories tower was envisioned as a transparent structure that would not disrupt it surroundings. The building architecturally achieves successfully the design idea but it is not what is known for. Structurally it was a failure from the foundation to the 4'x11' glass spandrels that kept falling off, it was also called "The Plywood Palace" as a homage to the patch work that it had to endure.

Being Boston home of Pei's firm other buildings can be found the Christian Science Headquarters (pictured above), the Government Center Master Plan, The Green Building at MIT and several other projects.

/// suburbanite in the city 2: part I - New England

Also known as the Cradle of Liberty, the City of Boston in Massachusetts was founded by Puritans from England. Throughout its history the city has been shaped to portray the growing pains of a swelling immigration, followed by the initiation of the American Revolution and in later years industrialization and technological boom, have made the first emerging rural villages to evolve and extend into a quite pleasurable metropolis.

/// suburban farms

In the desire of reinventing or better well said "uninventing" suburbia, neighbors like in Boulder, Colorado have transform their lawns into mini-farms, not only to grow produce for their own but furthermore for local restaurants and businesses. Creating a new type of what I might say is a morphed residential zone
not all rural but not all urban either.

/// bizarre sightings - 7

Breaking the rules / Rompiendo las reglas

/// bizarre sightings - 5

The Green Voodoo with no rules.