Architects have the awesome task of defining the spaces that we work and live in. The creation of this space can be for aesthetic beauty or for simple functionality. Architects can define space by light, shadow, color, massing, materials, repetition, objects and so on. Ultimately these spaces that Architects create that we all live in, reflect their culture or their clients' culture through space. These spaces help give us index clues on the values and mindset of the larger overall culture.
The spaces that have been created in America have often been very Euro-centric. While America boasts about it's ever increasing melting pot, the defining of space through an Afro-centric viewpoint has been absent from the stew. Moreover from race, studies have shown that women might perceive space differently then men, especially in dealing with conformability and safety. While women have made significant inroads in the male dominated profession of architecture, the percentage of licensed black architects is still at 2 percent. The percentage for black women in architecture is even more abysmal. Here is an excerpt from a story in Architect Online last year about the percentage of black women in architecture:
"First, the good news: The number of black women licensed to practice architecture in the United States has quadrupled over the past 15 years.The bad news? That number is still only 196."
By the article's percentage, black women only make up 0.02% of architects in America. So the question this blog poses is, How does the lack of diversity in architecture affect public spaces?Please comment and tell us your opinion.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Stumping for Obama
Check out this February 4th article in the Baltimore Sun about the Democratic Presidential nomination race which features a nice blurb about Donnell Zeigler, the main author of this blog.
Excerpt:
Carrying a clipboard with printed lists of Democratic voters, Donnell Zeigler, 26, was knocking on doors Saturday in the Hillendale neighborhood in which he grew up, asking voters whether they plan to support Obama. If they said yes, Zeigler asked them to sign the paper. The campaign would contact them later, making sure that they vote in the primary.
"Eighty percent of the people who do sign, they say, come out and vote," said Zeigler, a Temple University graduate who works in the Baltimore County planning office.
Baltimore County has a growing black population, and is considered a bellwether in state elections. The Hillendale neighborhood of brick-faced attached houses built in the 1960s is about 85 percent black, and while many residents were reluctant to answer door-knocks, "once you say Barack Obama, people are kind of energized," Zeigler said.
To read the full article, click here.
Excerpt:
Carrying a clipboard with printed lists of Democratic voters, Donnell Zeigler, 26, was knocking on doors Saturday in the Hillendale neighborhood in which he grew up, asking voters whether they plan to support Obama. If they said yes, Zeigler asked them to sign the paper. The campaign would contact them later, making sure that they vote in the primary.
"Eighty percent of the people who do sign, they say, come out and vote," said Zeigler, a Temple University graduate who works in the Baltimore County planning office.
Baltimore County has a growing black population, and is considered a bellwether in state elections. The Hillendale neighborhood of brick-faced attached houses built in the 1960s is about 85 percent black, and while many residents were reluctant to answer door-knocks, "once you say Barack Obama, people are kind of energized," Zeigler said.
To read the full article, click here.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
The House that Reagan Built...wasn't built in the 'hood
The GOP often cites former President Ronald Reagan as their icon for the Republican party. Reasons cited for this were Reagan's fiscal policies, the reduction of federal government interference and Reagan's ability to reach across the aisle and gain Democratic support. This current idealist image of Ronald Reagan was further advanced by last week's Republican Presidential nomination debate that was held at the Ronald Regan Presidential Library. All of the GOP Presidential hopefuls have a clear affinity for the 40th President of the United States and were even asked if the former President would have endorsed them as President.
The hero worship given to the former President, leaves one to wonder, Do any of the GOP Presidential candidates realize the negative effects the "Reagan Revolution had on American cities? With 80% of the country living in urbanized locales, is it smart for a political party to rally around a man that cut off so many social programs that were in critical need in many of America's inner-cities as well as preside over a time period when drugs, specifically crack cocaine devastated the inner-city with unpredicted levels of crime and addiction.
In fact some have even called Ronald Reagan the first "Hip Hop President" because of the deplorable conditions he left America's inner-cities that Hip Hop rapped about back then in songs such as "The Message" and songs that Hip Hop still raps about today.
What is your opinion of how Ronald Reagan's Presidency affected cities?
The hero worship given to the former President, leaves one to wonder, Do any of the GOP Presidential candidates realize the negative effects the "Reagan Revolution had on American cities? With 80% of the country living in urbanized locales, is it smart for a political party to rally around a man that cut off so many social programs that were in critical need in many of America's inner-cities as well as preside over a time period when drugs, specifically crack cocaine devastated the inner-city with unpredicted levels of crime and addiction.
In fact some have even called Ronald Reagan the first "Hip Hop President" because of the deplorable conditions he left America's inner-cities that Hip Hop rapped about back then in songs such as "The Message" and songs that Hip Hop still raps about today.
What is your opinion of how Ronald Reagan's Presidency affected cities?
The Green City...The Masdar Initiative
A British architectural firm is teaming up with other architects and engineers to create the world's first first zero-carbon, zero-waste city in Abu Dhabi. Named Masdar City, which means “the source,” the 1,483-acre project will include commercial and manufacturing space dedicated to developing ecofriendly products, housing, a university, and the headquarters for Future Energy Company. The city which will be run almost entirely by solar electcicity that is denerated on site will be a car-less city with a light rail system that will have driverless 'pods' on magnetic tracks to move people around.
An excerpt from the February 3, 2008 article in the Khaleej Times:
"...Masdar — it means 'source' in Arabic — is one of the mostambitious building projects of the last 20 years, rethinking from scratchthe idea of a city, and putting it at the heart of the environment debate.The concept of how it is laid out, and its prime objective of beingself-sufficient and sustainable, should be transferable anywhere, from Chinato Chorleywood."
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To view the entire article, click here.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Explaining 10 myths of urban design
The London Free Press recently ran an opinion article about the 10 myths of Urban Design.
Here is there list below:
10. It's all about front porches. Indeed, building more houses with front porches is important, but it's really about making friendly buildings and attractive street-scapes.
9. It wants to eliminate the back yard. Back yards are important for privacy, but urban design reminds us not to forget the front yard as a place of activity and usefulness.
8. It's all about density, density, density. It's about providing variety and diversity, allowing people to grow up in a single-family home, move to an apartment, then a townhouse, then back into a single- family home, then back into an apartment as their life progresses -- all in the same neighbourhood.
7. It expects everyone to walk everywhere. It's about providing friendly streets and sidewalks and public transit and other infrastructure to entice people to walk more. Nobody expects the car to be eliminated.
6. It is just about the rear laneway. London is fearful of the rear laneway (for reasons nobody is sure of, considering they are all over Old North and Old South, for example). Some can be unpleasant, but there are examples of attractive back alleys in new urbanist developments across North America. Not everyone wants a big house with a big back yard.
5. It will not fit into a "normal" person's lifestyle. What is normal? People may want to drive to the supermarket for the big shop, but do they want to get in the car and face traffic just to pick up a loaf of bread or litre of milk? People want options. They want variety in the kinds of buildings they interact with, variety that makes the experience of living in a community richer.
4. It is just about creating pre-war housing architecture. It's not about replicating Victorian architecture; it's about eliminating repetitive architecture that saps identity from a neighbourhood.
3. It is all about new urbanism or placemaking. New urbanism a catchphrase, but it's about old-fashioned, grid-style developments with a diversity of home types and architecture. Placemaking involves integrating all industrial, commercial, residential and retail areas.
2. It is just about what the buildings look like. No, it's about how we deliver our walking spaces, our driving spaces, our open spaces. It's more than just architecture and landscaping.
1. It is not economically viable. New urbanist communities are thriving across North America. New ones are being built every day. They're sought after by home buyers.
For the rest of the article, click here.
The biggest fears that we encountered locally from developers and communities about Urbanism would be myths 6 and 7. People fear that planners are going to take their struggling suburban commercial corridors and instantly turn them into inner-city corridors.
I also take notice with myth 4, even though good urban design is supposed to make varied styles and sizes to buildings and neighborhoods, too often New Urbanism makes everything the same with the same standard retail chains with very little independent local stores.
Lastly, I agree with the critique of myth 3. Good Urban Design is about placemaking, making a built environment that is healthy and one that attracts people to visit.
What is your opinion of the 10 myths?
Here is there list below:
10. It's all about front porches. Indeed, building more houses with front porches is important, but it's really about making friendly buildings and attractive street-scapes.
9. It wants to eliminate the back yard. Back yards are important for privacy, but urban design reminds us not to forget the front yard as a place of activity and usefulness.
8. It's all about density, density, density. It's about providing variety and diversity, allowing people to grow up in a single-family home, move to an apartment, then a townhouse, then back into a single- family home, then back into an apartment as their life progresses -- all in the same neighbourhood.
7. It expects everyone to walk everywhere. It's about providing friendly streets and sidewalks and public transit and other infrastructure to entice people to walk more. Nobody expects the car to be eliminated.
6. It is just about the rear laneway. London is fearful of the rear laneway (for reasons nobody is sure of, considering they are all over Old North and Old South, for example). Some can be unpleasant, but there are examples of attractive back alleys in new urbanist developments across North America. Not everyone wants a big house with a big back yard.
5. It will not fit into a "normal" person's lifestyle. What is normal? People may want to drive to the supermarket for the big shop, but do they want to get in the car and face traffic just to pick up a loaf of bread or litre of milk? People want options. They want variety in the kinds of buildings they interact with, variety that makes the experience of living in a community richer.
4. It is just about creating pre-war housing architecture. It's not about replicating Victorian architecture; it's about eliminating repetitive architecture that saps identity from a neighbourhood.
3. It is all about new urbanism or placemaking. New urbanism a catchphrase, but it's about old-fashioned, grid-style developments with a diversity of home types and architecture. Placemaking involves integrating all industrial, commercial, residential and retail areas.
2. It is just about what the buildings look like. No, it's about how we deliver our walking spaces, our driving spaces, our open spaces. It's more than just architecture and landscaping.
1. It is not economically viable. New urbanist communities are thriving across North America. New ones are being built every day. They're sought after by home buyers.
For the rest of the article, click here.
The biggest fears that we encountered locally from developers and communities about Urbanism would be myths 6 and 7. People fear that planners are going to take their struggling suburban commercial corridors and instantly turn them into inner-city corridors.
I also take notice with myth 4, even though good urban design is supposed to make varied styles and sizes to buildings and neighborhoods, too often New Urbanism makes everything the same with the same standard retail chains with very little independent local stores.
Lastly, I agree with the critique of myth 3. Good Urban Design is about placemaking, making a built environment that is healthy and one that attracts people to visit.
What is your opinion of the 10 myths?
Friday, February 1, 2008
TransFORM Baltimore
The City of Baltimore Department of Planning is holding a community open house on Wednesday, February 13 from noon to 1.30pm to outline the highlights of TransFORM Baltimore: The Zoning Code Rewrite.
From the Baltimore Department of Planning's Website:
"Transform Baltimore is a two-year initiative that will develop a state-of-the-art zoning code and thereby streamline the development process. The goal of this ambitious effort is to review, rewrite and replace the existing code (circa 1971) with modern toools that will support and guide City investment, enhance and protect neighborhood character, strengthen retail districts and promote job growth."
From the Baltimore Department of Planning's Website:
"Transform Baltimore is a two-year initiative that will develop a state-of-the-art zoning code and thereby streamline the development process. The goal of this ambitious effort is to review, rewrite and replace the existing code (circa 1971) with modern toools that will support and guide City investment, enhance and protect neighborhood character, strengthen retail districts and promote job growth."
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