Though I can’t say I’m a huge fan of George W. Bush, I have to admit that one of his infamous coined words seems to be appropriate for my topic for today: misunderestimate.

One trend that seems to be applied to more and more problems today is underestimation. We as Americans seem to want to deny most of our large issues. Climate change, oil spills, deforestation of rain forests, many environmental conflicts and issues fall into this category, along with the most recent British Petroleum oil leak in the Gulf.   Read more…

When humans started creating what we call “architecture”—standing buildings made for a purpose—their motivation was simple. They were not stuck with problems of aesthetics or design. They created structures for their own protection from the elements.

Over time, these spaces came to hold meaning for us, and we desired to make them more permanent. As we began to form societies and changed from nomadic hunter-gatherers to farmers and eventually expanded to citizens of cities, our architecture became more constructed, invasive. Architecture began to allow mortals to leave an indelible mark upon the earth: the Egyptians and their pyramids, the Greeks and their temples, and the Gothic artists and their cathedrals. There are structures that have lasted thousands of years—and will stand for thousands more.

I don’t want this post to simply be a history lesson. But to understand where architecture is going and what it needs to do, we have to see what it has done.   Read more…

In the past, I’ve talked about green trends in architecture and design. I’m usually very cautious about new hip and popular “green” programs or products. There are flaws in a number of programs and materials out there, who are simply riding the “green wave” to more profits while not necessarily upping the ante when it comes to lessening our carbon footprint.

A new program called Earth Aid, however, seems to be a well-planned, well-designed, and well-thought-out program that is simple and easy-to-use, and encourages people to make an impact.   Read more…

About two years ago, I participated in a design competition for RIM Blackberry. Luckily, my team won second place, but aside from that we learned a good deal about interface/product design and the influence of patents on the world of design in general. In the process of researching and developing our team’s ideas, we ended up looking through dozens of phone patents from many different companies.

Every week, corporations like Apple, Windows, RIM, and other major design players put out dozens of patents. Most of this is under the radar of the general public and the design world (other than those few in the know), thereby taking many design ideas out of general play.   Read more…

Ecotect Example Output

This is my last semester at Penn, and in the architecture department, that usually means it will be the most difficult and time-intensive semester of your undergraduate career. So while my Econ-major friends are taking 3 credits and having fun on the weekends, I’m spending free time working in teams and learning how to use a new piece of software: Autodesk’s somewhat unknown Ecotect Analysis.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bitter about the dichotomy of work vs. play; most of us architecture students would much prefer learning a new piece of software or discussing the latest smart building material over a night of drinking, so this is pretty exciting stuff. I had never heard of Ecotect prior to about a month and a half ago, and what I knew was very limited.   Read more…

Jess is far too modest to advertise this herself, but I just have to tell you about it. She now has her own website with all her graphics and architectural designs. It’s a gorgeous portfolio. Please give it a look, and tell your friends: http://www.jessicaleebutler.com/Index.html. — AWO

A large portion of my posts relate to the trends, shortcomings, and advantages of the “green” movement within the realm of architecture. I have my opinions and concerns about the popularity of the green movement as just a “fad,” something that people just do for the sticker price or for first impression. While I don’t deny that it’s good people are moving in a more sustainable direction for whatever reason they choose, we need to be changing not just our standards and incentives, but also our motivations and thought processes.   Read more…

I recently read an article on Good Magazine’s website about LEED and its comparison with other current green building measures. This article, along with many others that have mentioned the economics of the new green movement, spurred my thinking about the different costs of a green building (and in particular homes, as that is my main interest). I’ll take a look at some of the aspects of designing and building a green structure and evaluate their relative costs and products.   Read more…

Sorry for our brief hiatus, but our schedules have been a little crazy of late. We have heard your feedback loud and clear! We are replacing the daily “What to Read” series with weekly top-10 “Best of the Week” posts, and we will strive to post original analysis daily, beginning with this brilliant post from Jessica Butler! — AWO

I have to preface this post by saying that I am an avid Apple fan, I have a Mac laptop and an iPod Touch (and I wish I had an iPhone), and I plan to never buy a PC-related item of technology again, unless under very special circumstances. That said, I think one very interesting topic of conversation these days is the differences between Apple and PC products and how they are designed. Of course this discussion will be through my own bias.   Read more…

One of the subjects that surrounds my daily life is sustainable architecture. Being from an architecture background and having a mother who gave money religiously to the Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club, I learned to appreciate sustainable planning and architecture early on. One of the organizations that has been getting quite a bit of press in the last few years is the United States Green Building Council, a federally-operated organization that runs the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, or “LEED,” as most people know it. As part of the recent “green” trend that has swept the nation, LEED has been borne to the forefront of the issue of sustainable architecture.

While this program and others like it are admirable in their efforts, it becomes apparent that they are usually costly and complicated in their endeavors, acting as a disincentive for homeowners especially. I think that while this is a good step in the right direction for green architecture, we still have a very long way to go before we can make a country that builds (as a whole) green architecture.

The process to plan, design, and certify a LEED building can be very costly, confusing, and if not done correctly, will fail. The costs of registration alone can deter some people (especially smaller businesses and homeowners), and the upfront cost of investing in sustainable and efficient measures for a new building can be overwhelming for some. As part of my work at the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, I have been doing some research on LEED for Homes in the Philadelphia region, and the results were a bit startling, if not depressing: There are currently only four (yes 4!) registered and completed Platinum-certified homes in the City of Philadelphia. And they were completed by a developer for a profit. The total number of completed, certified homes in the region is sixteen. While the Mayor of Philadelphia proclaims that he wants to make Philadelphia the “greenest city in America,” the residential sector is a place that is quite obviously and painfully lacking in the green department.

Other cities and states are far ahead of us here in Philly: Chicago, Portland, New York, and a number of other major cities now require that all new government buildings be LEED certified. Others help with financing green projects (Chicago being on the forefront), and still others have tax incentives and grants that are available. Philadelphia is in a state of transition right now, rewriting the zoning code and implementing new programs like GreenWorks Philadelphia and is following the paths of many of the aforementioned cities. A lot of the environmental groups in the region, however, are wondering how we are planning to pay for new programs in the economic downturn and how we can incentivize green building. Both of these are heated topics, but I think that it needs to start first with education. Anyone who is vaguely interested in this topic should read up on the USGBC website and learn a little bit about green building in your area and what programs and incentives are available to do green projects. Pennsylvania has state-wide grants available for solar energy projects, green roofing, and other retrofits for small businesses and homes. We need to start taking responsibility for the type of architecture we are putting forth now, as buildings consume almost half of our energy resources. As a part of global climate change that is not really being addressed, architecture needs some serious scrutinizing in how we make standards of green building, how we incentivize it, and how to educate people about it.

A few days ago, I was riveted by an opinion contribution in The New York Times entitled “A Flash of Memory”. This short piece was written by a Japanese fashion designer who survived the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. His thoughts were not of negativity, but rather of a hope that President Obama would visit the site of the Peace Bridge on Peace Day (Aug. 6) and help to extend a hand in creating a world that does not in live in fear of atomic warfare.

I thought this article was touching, but also significant. One thought that jumped out at me was that this individual turned to creativity in order to get away from the destruction that had enveloped his life at a young age. I immediately began thinking about the works of art in the past that have been inspired by tragic events and that make an attempt to understand, translate, and convey the emotions, memories and ideas that are carried with such events. The author mentioned one: the Peace Bridge, with artwork designed by Isamu Noguchi. But around the world there are so many works of art commemorating wars, massacres, and other tragic events. Maya Lin’s Vietnam War Memorial, Rodin’s Burghers of Calais, and an overwhelming number of Holocaust memorial works are among these pieces of art. One of the largest and most famous paintings of the 20th century, Picasso’s Guernica, also deals with this heavy subject matter. The list goes on and on.

Thinking about this I realized that artists, in their own way, try not only to create a message that conveys the loss that was suffered in these acts, but also to point ahead to the future—to remind others of the mistakes of the past, to remember the cost of our actions, and to slowly and subtly try and change the course of the future. Creation is the opposite of destruction, and therefore it seems an appropriate response to wars, crimes, and devastating events. The question of this is, does it make any difference? Does this type of art change anyone’s mind about war? Does it prevent killing? Does it make us more able to cope with loss? Here I would have to agree with and extend the assertion of the author of the article, that a work of art as a symbol has meaning, but it can do nothing without people. Without the people who try and make a difference behind it, no worldly change can occur.

So, I suppose the conclusion we should reach is, kudos to those artists who are trying to say something with their art, and even more so to the people that read into it and try to do something about it.