tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4245828342619857342024-03-05T13:32:03.390-08:00urban|architexturethe observations and musings of a group of architectsmissemilyjoneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06877195676295721869noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-29365227362250523432018-11-09T13:37:00.000-08:002018-11-09T13:37:06.832-08:00On a day like this......you have to get out and sketch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9SAok16R0vqhf8YZ0J2mjZmZMBs7iXniIbxpBWJfZ1vSGtQl4Z6hcgMLdPccpPhuMyxOHybZyUyMsUyXMUQQYV3sGHeXHpK23Y8Yr2XAY26DAJxE9MpsDydN9pCF5Ei9t5Uh577JPmBr/s1600/44888653655_9acd50eb88_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9SAok16R0vqhf8YZ0J2mjZmZMBs7iXniIbxpBWJfZ1vSGtQl4Z6hcgMLdPccpPhuMyxOHybZyUyMsUyXMUQQYV3sGHeXHpK23Y8Yr2XAY26DAJxE9MpsDydN9pCF5Ei9t5Uh577JPmBr/s320/44888653655_9acd50eb88_k.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-60931705054816416672013-12-19T05:51:00.002-08:002013-12-19T05:51:22.320-08:00A Seasonal Lesson
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We learned last night the true nature of Semmes Avenue –
once the heart of our neighborhood, now just a corridor slicing through it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s Christmas time, so we had a group of children and
parents going caroling – not a radical, new subversive transgression; something
that probably has happened in our neighborhood every year since it was
built.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But – we started at a house on
the south side of “the Avenue” and were going to sing at several houses on the
north side as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Crossing the street with children is rough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crossing with about 20 children, from 2 to 10
is a nightmare.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We could only make half the trip at a time – to the thin
median strip (one child had to be quickly yanked by the hood to keep from
stepping over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We got two cars to stop to let us make the second half of
the journey – but a driver in the left lane must have irritated by the brief
pause, rolled into the right lane and ploughed into the back of one of the
stopped cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Thankfully that car had
good brakes or something, did not roll forward into the kids.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neither of the drivers was injured fortunately, and several
neighbors ran out to help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was pointed out that there was no crosswalk there (there
is not one for blocks and blocks and blocks across Semmes) and that drivers
don’t expect to slow down, and cars have the right of way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, that’s true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But that needs to change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Semmes Avenue used to be the heart of the neighborhoods
along it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Woodland Heights was built
hand in hand with a trolley line linking it to downtown (transit oriented
development version 1.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were shops
and businesses lining the street, and people from both sides met in the middle
to ride the trolley (I believe that is the origin of the median strip, and of
the concrete power poles down the middle.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now the two sides seem remote, like different
neighborhoods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our neighborhoods need their heart back.</span></div>
John Spainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597841767292770867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-60705085575527894022013-03-21T07:10:00.001-07:002013-03-21T07:10:10.176-07:00Waiting for the bus.<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/32401158@N03/8576488859/" title="2013 03 20 12th & Main"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8227/8576488859_f1a5521f35.jpg" alt="2013 03 20 12th & Main by va011101" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/32401158@N03/8576488859/">2013 03 20 12th & Main</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/32401158@N03/">va011101</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>Although the 5:30 bus never came, waiting for the 6:00 bus gave me enough time to sketch this.</p>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-28088283093268185442012-12-07T13:37:00.001-08:002012-12-07T13:37:13.912-08:00Friday Sketch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38ZDTXWoezpuJrM7B_5fHyZ-T1qSp6pO-iq5bSok73yAFfHa47IGnG_D9pURUBNFrFS9Hik91hcCz_E7YWdY6oST84w07nGD21P_tTVVCmgpDPPYVtHv-DlfeQUI2FYFkiuAgjKoLmf2-/s1600/2012+12+07+John+S+Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38ZDTXWoezpuJrM7B_5fHyZ-T1qSp6pO-iq5bSok73yAFfHa47IGnG_D9pURUBNFrFS9Hik91hcCz_E7YWdY6oST84w07nGD21P_tTVVCmgpDPPYVtHv-DlfeQUI2FYFkiuAgjKoLmf2-/s320/2012+12+07+John+S+Sketch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Well, half a sketch today, actually. Along the Canal Walk.John Spainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597841767292770867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-62154114564558339252012-10-05T10:44:00.000-07:002012-10-05T10:44:12.548-07:00Friday Sketch - October Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNwuExizC-RtM6wW1UyfYZBu3y3zrC63Hkx66G8e92_ZfzHBC25Of8udqwQ-e86Je2X_WQ8KRHGRmm202p3cWMfDowa-bjChGleOrCk5JAEs6rgMd1p1F_oV2zi58uozbuYGtuK9xCMUo/s1600/2012+10+05+John+S+Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNwuExizC-RtM6wW1UyfYZBu3y3zrC63Hkx66G8e92_ZfzHBC25Of8udqwQ-e86Je2X_WQ8KRHGRmm202p3cWMfDowa-bjChGleOrCk5JAEs6rgMd1p1F_oV2zi58uozbuYGtuK9xCMUo/s320/2012+10+05+John+S+Sketch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bloody Run Stairs</div>
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John Spain</div>
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John Spainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597841767292770867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-43005065892334967982012-09-07T10:56:00.000-07:002012-09-07T10:56:36.344-07:00Friday Sketches, September 2012 Edition<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Andrew Moore</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Lori Garrett</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWT_0Q9qlukrpEzJlE6BBCBlgpEADnMaYWrVXPhLqlGv03kd7dQqS8kXeFmOTtFwfm80AXf_ntHWQOaK7KD4sdU79f6JFLZH_aejnlQxpv30zhXqfzBE470wSDWo-hODTGjJMEvwYuBTi/s1600/2012+09+07+John+S+Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWT_0Q9qlukrpEzJlE6BBCBlgpEADnMaYWrVXPhLqlGv03kd7dQqS8kXeFmOTtFwfm80AXf_ntHWQOaK7KD4sdU79f6JFLZH_aejnlQxpv30zhXqfzBE470wSDWo-hODTGjJMEvwYuBTi/s320/2012+09+07+John+S+Sketch.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">John Spain</span></td></tr>
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<br />Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-87370267590005326872012-08-03T10:32:00.002-07:002012-08-03T10:32:32.450-07:00A Friday Sketch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnV2suEME18CQl7Q4F2oHB3QpViSaGsBajh-tIB5u-rC-kGPGjmOASobezwz1E4MiGH2Ov07BL-npWdtpeEcMHtyqMtlV6SWhAGD0CQlud1wc-7OR7Gpb3UO55T_Voxkzhpkasu3jLs5v/s1600/19th+&+MainJHS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnV2suEME18CQl7Q4F2oHB3QpViSaGsBajh-tIB5u-rC-kGPGjmOASobezwz1E4MiGH2Ov07BL-npWdtpeEcMHtyqMtlV6SWhAGD0CQlud1wc-7OR7Gpb3UO55T_Voxkzhpkasu3jLs5v/s320/19th+&+MainJHS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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21st and Main</div>
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<br /></div>John Spainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597841767292770867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-85301514874010347372012-06-20T05:46:00.001-07:002012-06-20T05:46:03.562-07:00Stella's - Well Peopled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuadqZnx1HZZbrvUv8JbvsRNFjjxQDZjOiKXBLdDIQatEj426yhKf61Qw6eRkH_BthyphenhyphenMUQA0VfZVuTlUcZQgnd1czqhpCTmZcPSP_bh7MUwD73iusjC0rSG_hR0LT6Lqw325VaTzl-UwzY/s1600/stellas-index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuadqZnx1HZZbrvUv8JbvsRNFjjxQDZjOiKXBLdDIQatEj426yhKf61Qw6eRkH_BthyphenhyphenMUQA0VfZVuTlUcZQgnd1czqhpCTmZcPSP_bh7MUwD73iusjC0rSG_hR0LT6Lqw325VaTzl-UwzY/s1600/stellas-index.jpg" /></a></div>
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Went to <a href="http://stellasrichmond.com/">Stella's</a> last night for a wonderful dinner with some friends. The food was outstanding; when you go try the kreatopita - seasoned beef with bechamel sauce wrapped in filo dough. Our party declared the crab cakes the best in the city.<br />
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But what strikes me about Stella's is that it is as much about the communal act of sharing food as it is about the flavor (which is all there nonetheless.)<br />
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The light wood panelling and furniture, and well done lighting give the place a warm glow that sets a convivial mood. There are a variety of seating arrangements - back to back with your neighbors, side by side, and a beautiful marble topped community table which occupies the center of the space, and has been full each time I've visited. We were seated at the one 'private; booth - toward the back with a low, perforated screen that gives a sense of intamacy without cutting you off from the generall hubbub.<br />
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Its been a very lively place at each visit. Last night there was not an open table until we were leaving around after a leisurely meal. The general noise of conversation creates an atmosphere of community, but you are still able to hear your own party, even at the side-to-side tables along the front (I have not yet sat at the community table, but people were talking, not sitting in overpowered silence.)<br />
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The portions are about sharing, too. Any of the individual entrees is plenty to share family style (especially the tasty Pastichiatho - Greek spaghetti.) And the Meze or small plates are not that small and well worth sticking to. If you can't think of something to talk about - the food will definitely spark conversation.<br />
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I like to think of building as a fundemental human act (might be a personal bias;) but Stella's makes me question that assumption. The sharing of food together may in fact be the foundation of cities. The sense of community that act fosters maybe compels people to make a place that it can happen again. <br />
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Stella's is a worthy example of such a place. John Spainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597841767292770867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-61965857174722817582012-06-01T10:28:00.000-07:002012-06-01T10:28:57.941-07:00Sketch Friday - June 2012Richmond Randolph Lodge on East Franklin Street:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_lkT7cyg0AddEqGKlYJddojJpUvyqIMJK405vlHpFlWmcd1u_KZhaCtsGBFQYHow3Zrh-_9eKCyL53NHbd65vzycxtNmUGIp38hi6VoDBC_BYQKUZf930fj0mx7IHLK-Ofqi0vZpz9lj/s1600/Richmond+Randolph+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_lkT7cyg0AddEqGKlYJddojJpUvyqIMJK405vlHpFlWmcd1u_KZhaCtsGBFQYHow3Zrh-_9eKCyL53NHbd65vzycxtNmUGIp38hi6VoDBC_BYQKUZf930fj0mx7IHLK-Ofqi0vZpz9lj/s320/Richmond+Randolph+.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>John Spainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597841767292770867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-13689615117538063102012-05-04T11:21:00.000-07:002012-05-04T11:21:36.049-07:00Sketch Fridays - May 2012<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the courtyard of the Richmond History Center -</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">Isolde Uecker</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">John Spain</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">Glenn Suttenfield</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicy-bcODbZkWUdzqG3IfAEyeVgiRNrv_0b6bUKesObORx7ljdnhuXKb_fEARmTG7VM_5BGK5LsQLmT5oxspHAzLi5Lf6SlqeU0ghqjwl74jpQfKJgioJM_T17yayVrH1nGGmHgSd9MvGWs/s1600/20120+05+04+Andrew+Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicy-bcODbZkWUdzqG3IfAEyeVgiRNrv_0b6bUKesObORx7ljdnhuXKb_fEARmTG7VM_5BGK5LsQLmT5oxspHAzLi5Lf6SlqeU0ghqjwl74jpQfKJgioJM_T17yayVrH1nGGmHgSd9MvGWs/s400/20120+05+04+Andrew+Sketch.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Andrew Moore</span></td></tr>
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<br />Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-79405548341283032392012-04-10T11:54:00.000-07:002012-04-10T11:54:21.069-07:00How to Climb a [Church] Hill, Postscript<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHtqi28C22S3FeZRmhGZb5pegTX5KWYQAh6QSNPN-PEhBga97frnkLiwbPLvKBfDEp5dMkVCccvNsgKezDIA8NnrtOJ1YH-ENdQysLsOhmvqX7ZH02r1GS0DkGJ6DcZSv1j5toqnBOr3r/s1600/IMAG0584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHtqi28C22S3FeZRmhGZb5pegTX5KWYQAh6QSNPN-PEhBga97frnkLiwbPLvKBfDEp5dMkVCccvNsgKezDIA8NnrtOJ1YH-ENdQysLsOhmvqX7ZH02r1GS0DkGJ6DcZSv1j5toqnBOr3r/s400/IMAG0584.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Back in August of last year, I made some <a href="http://www.urbanarchitexture.com/2011/08/how-to-climb-church-hill.html" target="_blank">observations</a> on a significant utility project at Taylor's Park Hill, a City-owned park below <a href="http://richmondhillva.org/home.html" target="_blank">Richmond Hill</a>. During construction, the contractor demolished a concrete stairway of monumental proportions, spanning the entire slope. I lamented that the reconstruction appeared to be just that - missing any opportunity for an enhancement of the park. And, unfortunately, I was right.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxx1JHX14tTf0lSk6FzOFyrAnZjcFzv3iNrWyB9oxmxxXnRM2sKxtl73O6Nr5EKMP2j99pPyXXrTvmX7Q5ym6Rq-uWOVPx6b5lfXikkf2ccv1z_ac8QHeu78bUz0_b58vZ51yVnMJPuQP9/s1600/IMAG0600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxx1JHX14tTf0lSk6FzOFyrAnZjcFzv3iNrWyB9oxmxxXnRM2sKxtl73O6Nr5EKMP2j99pPyXXrTvmX7Q5ym6Rq-uWOVPx6b5lfXikkf2ccv1z_ac8QHeu78bUz0_b58vZ51yVnMJPuQP9/s400/IMAG0600.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The new stair simply leads up in all of its glute-busting glory, with minimal ties to the terraces and without any apparent destination.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxx1JHX14tTf0lSk6FzOFyrAnZjcFzv3iNrWyB9oxmxxXnRM2sKxtl73O6Nr5EKMP2j99pPyXXrTvmX7Q5ym6Rq-uWOVPx6b5lfXikkf2ccv1z_ac8QHeu78bUz0_b58vZ51yVnMJPuQP9/s1600/IMAG0600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTGoS6JwM532lMCUV6PN3vXcS_DjTT_ip8_CiJRw6_8UVSHVAyQmGUGMSw-NNfgHHBHY_iCaFv8rCeVODuAEkVqLd8UjC5BUQzH0Ezky3I6Kdz3mhoCPQoNdATOUtYaU75cYxG-GTSDU9/s1600/IMAG0592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTGoS6JwM532lMCUV6PN3vXcS_DjTT_ip8_CiJRw6_8UVSHVAyQmGUGMSw-NNfgHHBHY_iCaFv8rCeVODuAEkVqLd8UjC5BUQzH0Ezky3I6Kdz3mhoCPQoNdATOUtYaU75cYxG-GTSDU9/s400/IMAG0592.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is particularly disappointing that the path to the overlook at the end of East Grace remains without improvement - an overgrown dirt path.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodcka4ot_r2ZhebDonA2Y2B5Io5L3C7AYxuSE8HHP2WXrfclithaF9jgwFdMSou3JvvfodIaH3_CakHyzGmun5LF9-ndAdZiPPk_06piOdrKx7VvFw3UO2j5ENxNw25cF1Db5n0t5XM6M/s1600/IMAG0588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodcka4ot_r2ZhebDonA2Y2B5Io5L3C7AYxuSE8HHP2WXrfclithaF9jgwFdMSou3JvvfodIaH3_CakHyzGmun5LF9-ndAdZiPPk_06piOdrKx7VvFw3UO2j5ENxNw25cF1Db5n0t5XM6M/s400/IMAG0588.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One quirk of the new stair that I do not recall from the original is a ridiculously short "landing" in one of the runs.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwF-_gjtgzATf4hmdiBLbydLUV9I4lUThFub4VlTWoGnXs0ViakvpBTP-fRMoxoQ81BTeBJlcs4Dnz4ipxF215tj5TDZEwBDPHAI2j4B7HZRKtPtBEWffM3oPY0D5hqqmhAq5GaEuwNu6/s1600/IMAG0585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwF-_gjtgzATf4hmdiBLbydLUV9I4lUThFub4VlTWoGnXs0ViakvpBTP-fRMoxoQ81BTeBJlcs4Dnz4ipxF215tj5TDZEwBDPHAI2j4B7HZRKtPtBEWffM3oPY0D5hqqmhAq5GaEuwNu6/s400/IMAG0585.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Public stairs and paths are an important part of the urban experience and should be subject to care. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sadly, the stairs in this park remains a missed opportunity.</span></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-40096885712655799102012-02-03T10:08:00.000-08:002012-02-03T10:08:12.938-08:00First Friday Sketches - February Edition<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the alleys of Shockoe Bottom...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NL641RRJIWkpIoRS9jn8JpqMDAsChlutXbWG5HcleT5t4jDdgX9kCXF3sOniRiYjLta43egfY0G_k1H_h2EBK7IrxK2R031Ea-u7sVIqBhDqf4MnmR0P4yjL9wNeGRoqyzFNREHbW7q2/s1600/2012+02+03+ABM+Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NL641RRJIWkpIoRS9jn8JpqMDAsChlutXbWG5HcleT5t4jDdgX9kCXF3sOniRiYjLta43egfY0G_k1H_h2EBK7IrxK2R031Ea-u7sVIqBhDqf4MnmR0P4yjL9wNeGRoqyzFNREHbW7q2/s640/2012+02+03+ABM+Sketch.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-69420085144500560762012-01-27T10:29:00.000-08:002012-01-27T10:29:09.465-08:00Steven Holl Sneak Peek<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A couple of weeks ago, I attended the <a href="http://www.c3richmond.org/" target="_blank">C3</a> Breakfast Club event where Dean Joe Seipel of <a href="http://arts.vcu.edu/" target="_blank">VCU's School of the Arts</a> presented the schematic design for the new <a href="http://arts.vcu.edu/blog/2011/08/11/vcu-announces-institute-for-contemporary-art/" target="_blank">Institute for Contemporary Arts</a>. The design is by <a href="http://www.stevenholl.com/" target="_blank">Steven Holl</a> and has been the subject of great anticipation by the Richmond design community, particularly since Richmond has few works of contemporary architecture by nationally-known, currently practicing architects. This particular project also seems destined to be a flashpoint for the perennial "modern versus traditional" and "what does contextual design mean" debates.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Because of its high profile and presumably because of anticipated controversy, VCU is carefully controlling the release of images of the new project, hiring a national PR firm to manage the process towards a spring roll out. Although Joe advanced the slides quickly, I did manage to make a few sketches of the schematic design. [I was briefly tempted to swipe the copy of the schematic design booklet that was available for viewing at the event, but decided it would be too much.]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaKdXUcY0Er6kW23YjqCkR6594kU4EikNm_kQf-vNMYZ2ZUv50YvXSfo1BoSHzSGGtp0IzVTDEqXJI7x3OOYpFA73O5ZEMRHbsUDZooSdHLSPpOVRRvjdR_6NdelZgYRvF5bXQ36A5IAU/s1600/Holl+Bldg+Plan+Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaKdXUcY0Er6kW23YjqCkR6594kU4EikNm_kQf-vNMYZ2ZUv50YvXSfo1BoSHzSGGtp0IzVTDEqXJI7x3OOYpFA73O5ZEMRHbsUDZooSdHLSPpOVRRvjdR_6NdelZgYRvF5bXQ36A5IAU/s400/Holl+Bldg+Plan+Sketch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway, this is a sketch of the plan showing the corner of Belvidere and Broad. The basic mass of the building is a tall volume on the corner with lower bars extending to the west, splaying out to form a sheltered courtyard. The foreground of the tall volume on the corner is planned as a small plaza. The major materials are weathered zinc and glass, which appears to be channel glass in some areas.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkN05bnw4EFPzV1gQG2XB_yuDJnH3sudoGajl06r4kizSe3KaBszSn0mbcQvFxL3_YRazhkqCrGG3mlOpqDiyZe4Ab5VjafdAWnnDFaXwkmtdaNFwKFVTidnPd0jlbG8pgOkiISXfvxbYP/s1600/Holl+Bldg+Sketch1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkN05bnw4EFPzV1gQG2XB_yuDJnH3sudoGajl06r4kizSe3KaBszSn0mbcQvFxL3_YRazhkqCrGG3mlOpqDiyZe4Ab5VjafdAWnnDFaXwkmtdaNFwKFVTidnPd0jlbG8pgOkiISXfvxbYP/s400/Holl+Bldg+Sketch1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a perspective sketch of the building from the corner.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What do you think?</span></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-15081458601624261062011-12-23T09:08:00.000-08:002011-12-23T09:08:22.589-08:00Can an Architect Be a Humanist?<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In 1984, author and playwright <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson_Davies" target="_blank">Robertson Davies</a> gave the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Coit_Gilman" target="_blank">David Coit Gilman</a> Lecture to an audience largely consisting of doctors and medical students at the <a href="http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins Medical Institution</a>. Davies entitled the lecture "Can a Doctor Be a Humanist?," raising questions about the nature of the medical profession and the potential tension between the doctor's allegiance to largely impersonal medical science, on the one hand, and the doctor's role as healer with a magical, personal touch, on the other. The text of this lecture can be found in<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Merry-Heart-Reflections-Reading-Writing/dp/014027586X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324657929&sr=1-1" target="_blank"> a collection of Davies' work published posthumously</a>.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrEMDMJzn7hGWciXgxdEtIBSvixejhrr4pil-qaXMpVLUlOXwYKYkb-Vsb4eOC9OI4B8kon3C9zd18Nd3yhx9wXTcWkdPKCt1JBzI8wO8RFaVpMa_EsF9DHbjF7au3Y52_PougR5LrCNw/s1600/caduceus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrEMDMJzn7hGWciXgxdEtIBSvixejhrr4pil-qaXMpVLUlOXwYKYkb-Vsb4eOC9OI4B8kon3C9zd18Nd3yhx9wXTcWkdPKCt1JBzI8wO8RFaVpMa_EsF9DHbjF7au3Y52_PougR5LrCNw/s320/caduceus.jpg" width="317" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus" target="_blank">Caduceus</a>, the snake-entwined staff that symbolizes medical practice, is invoked by Davies as the illustration of this tension, with the right-hand snake being Knowledge and the opposing left-hand snake, Wisdom. To the doctor, Knowledge is the outwardly obtained and applied science, the results of laboratory experimentation, and clinical studies of large numbers patients. In opposition resides Wisdom, an introverted element that looks "not at the disease, <i>but at the bearer of the disease</i> [italics mine]," and comes from within. It is Wisdom that establishes the link between patient and healer, allowing the patient and her condition to "speak" and for the healer to listen. For the purposes of his lecture, Davies renamed the snakes of the caduceus as Science and Humanism and posed the title question to point out that the medical profession seems to be increasingly and overwhelmingly concerned with science.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Davies goes on to describe something he calls "doctor psychology," characterizing doctors as loners and naturally suspicious of cooperative efforts. Doctors are Heroes with a drive to conquer and rule without interference, reinforced by the natural tendency of the patient to view the physician as a god, with power over life and death. This is where Wisdom, or Humanism, has the potential to make a difference - allowing the patient and the true nature of things to speak. Sometime the diagnosis has little relationship to the actual emergent illness and is linked to underlying issues. Davies cites a personal example of a wise doctor treating his severe cold symptoms with probing questions into the stresses within Davies' life, ultimately revealing an underlying issue related to his work. Wisdom determines the difference between "a first-rate healer and a capable technician."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This leads me to the question the architect. I believe that there is an "architect psychology" that, despite the pervasive invocation of "collaboration" within the profession, is based on a similar kind of hero archetype. The architect, armed with specialized knowledge, is all too often engaged in the practice of "conquer and rule," with a patronizing approach towards all who might "interfere." Although there is no doubt that lifelong design education and experience provide unique perspectives, are architects viewing the world through a lens with a balanced filter - with Knowledge and Wisdom held appropriately tensioned?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The term "humanism" is often associated with the rejection of theistic religion and the supernatural in exchange for a secular worldview that celebrates human achievement. Despite the historical precedent for this association, Davies is careful to direct his usage of the term to the broader meaning, that of "<a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/humanism" target="_blank">an ethical system that centers on humans ans their values, needs, interests, abilities, dignity and freedom</a>." For the architect, being a humanist in this sense does not mean the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountainhead" target="_blank">Howard Roark</a> model of architect-as-hero or any other kind of Randian elevation of the individual to god-like status. If anything is to be elevated, it is to be the values and spirit of the people that are touched by the architect's work. And these qualities are accessible only through listening and observing through the lens of Wisdom.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Like the diagnostician's approach to a patient, the architect has an obligation to gather the elements that influence a design. Perhaps the architect can cultivate an approach that looks beyond the obvious and reveals the underlying issues, tapping into the humanity of those served, and thereby avoiding the "heroic" treatment of symptoms.</span></div></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-15096629728028529542011-12-05T06:55:00.000-08:002011-12-06T08:02:00.033-08:00Re-roofing in Haiti - House #2<div style="text-align: justify;">Continuing the series on <a href="http://www.urbanarchitexture.com/2011/10/haiti-introduction.html" target="_blank">my recent trip to Haiti</a>...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the same time the construction team was <a href="http://www.urbanarchitexture.com/2011/11/re-roofing-in-haiti-house-1.html" target="_blank">re-roofing house #1</a>, another part of the team was prepping house #2. You can see a map of the location of both houses <a href="http://www.urbanarchitexture.com/2011/11/re-roofing-in-haiti-house-1.html" target="_blank">here</a>. All photos are by Kyle Lamy except as noted. You can see Kyle's complete set of construction photos <a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565923558_wMKBf5T" target="_blank">here</a>. Don't miss Kyle's other Haitian photos <a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Life/19822826_8dHhkF#1558201375_ssTvSmn" target="_blank">here</a> that are available for purchase. (All proceeds benefit the Haitian people.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsUE3C2B4YsZAWV4Dc0e_6k9fB32laaLe8R0IsaPlS-DEKdtSdL615KDk0ZQhDX9oxdXeeepzRk_EMibXYIMcjGW48DcLMzjqBfpV4UoFHd1c9oLWH6wz21tldTpKD3xFbWqTiQoTD3Lo/s1600/IMAG0421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsUE3C2B4YsZAWV4Dc0e_6k9fB32laaLe8R0IsaPlS-DEKdtSdL615KDk0ZQhDX9oxdXeeepzRk_EMibXYIMcjGW48DcLMzjqBfpV4UoFHd1c9oLWH6wz21tldTpKD3xFbWqTiQoTD3Lo/s400/IMAG0421.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo credit: Moore</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">House #2 was typical of the many <a href="http://www.urbanarchitexture.com/2011/10/haiti-poetry-of-incomplete.html" target="_blank">structures that remain incomplete</a> for various reasons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-tCM646Q/0/M/Haiti270-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-tCM646Q/0/M/Haiti270-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In this case, the property owner is a woman with several children and extended family members living in a makeshift shelter constructed of tarps and sheets of corrugated metal.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-mHV9JGG/0/M/Haiti112-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-mHV9JGG/0/M/Haiti112-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">However, her property also contained the beginnings of a house, with concrete block walls open to the sky...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-Qm4RM3v/0/M/Haiti114-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-Qm4RM3v/0/M/Haiti114-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">...and a dirt floor covered in rubble.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-c6FbSdq/0/M/Haiti140-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-c6FbSdq/0/M/Haiti140-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first step was to create a suitable floor, casting site-mixed concrete over the rubble. Parker demonstrates how to mix concrete in triathlon wear while Jacob, one of our amazing Haitian co-workers supervises. (The family's make-shift shelter is visible in the background.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-3f6836W/0/M/Haiti141-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-3f6836W/0/M/Haiti141-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The floor begins its transformation under the direction of Fenel (in red shirt), our other Haitian coworker. (The man in the blue shirt was a local volunteer.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-tQB2mRK/0/M/Haiti165-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-tQB2mRK/0/M/Haiti165-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, the floor complete.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDUeS6I26Ouebo5MbN6emU2MQIYu8fBRq4gWT0QEel1qMLjH2g5p10RoihcKA00LuLV9-4bpJ0rh3nW8p701KFYziFELqL3hG1t2ssaJiENUl7IZJtOtDa25AM9f1J3zFNMfGKuaw4eSV1/s1600/IMAG0432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDUeS6I26Ouebo5MbN6emU2MQIYu8fBRq4gWT0QEel1qMLjH2g5p10RoihcKA00LuLV9-4bpJ0rh3nW8p701KFYziFELqL3hG1t2ssaJiENUl7IZJtOtDa25AM9f1J3zFNMfGKuaw4eSV1/s400/IMAG0432.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo credit: Moore</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">On the next day and after some minor block work by our friends Jacob and Fenel, we constructed a roof over the concrete block walls.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-LHZ7fvx/0/M/Haiti267-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-LHZ7fvx/0/M/Haiti267-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Like House #1, the roof was built from new corrugated metal over rafters and purlins of wood.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-DjRzx68/0/M/Haiti268-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-DjRzx68/0/M/Haiti268-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">And the final result - a much improved (albeit still primitive) shelter for the family.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-r2r35WV/0/M/Haiti272-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-r2r35WV/0/M/Haiti272-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is the construction team at House #2 with the family.</div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com192tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-6778263140200163752011-11-21T10:54:00.000-08:002011-11-21T14:13:09.651-08:00Re-roofing in Haiti - House #1<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After seeing <a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011" target="_blank">Kyle Lamy's excellent pictures from our trip to Haiti</a>, I thought some of you might appreciate some more detail on the construction projects our team undertook. (Photo credits: <a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/" target="_blank">Kyle Lamy Photography</a>, unless noted otherwise</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.) You can read an introduction to the Haitian trip <a href="http://www.urbanarchitexture.com/2011/10/haiti-introduction.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&mpa=0&ctz=300&mpf=3&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=207568103296082646305.00046ca9159459ba50049&t=h&vpsrc=6&ll=18.531288,-72.208516&spn=0.00178,0.00228&z=18&output=embed" width="425"></iframe><br />
<small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&mpa=0&ctz=300&mpf=3&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=207568103296082646305.00046ca9159459ba50049&t=h&vpsrc=6&ll=18.531288,-72.208516&spn=0.00178,0.00228&z=18&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">My Saved Places</a> in a larger map</small><br />
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</small></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><small><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The projects both involved roofs in the village of Galette, shown here as "House #1" and "House #2." (Regrettably, I don't have the names of the residents.) The subject of this post is House #1; I will follow with another post on House #2.</span></small><br />
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</span></small></div><small><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565931952_4rWM42d-A-LB" title=""><img alt="" height="267" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-4rWM42d/0/L/Haiti109-L.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></span></small><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Typical house construction in this area of Haiti is concrete block walls built on rubble foundations, punctuated by cast-in-place concrete columns, usually at the corners. The roofs are typically corrugated metal on wood. Sometimes the walls are skim-coated with concrete to achieve a finished appearance. Often not.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565931526_B6LvTTp-A-LB" title=""><img alt="" height="267" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-B6LvTTp/0/L/Haiti107-L.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">House #1 is the home of a couple with several children, with the mother being the owner of the property. Although the house had a nominal roof, you can see that the condition was poor, at best - note the light coming through the holes. All of the metal panels appeared to have been reused from somewhere else, as evidenced by the multitude of nail holes.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565934299_22q5Ht9-A-LB" title=""><img alt="" height="267" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-22q5Ht9/0/L/Haiti124-L.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first order of business was to remove the existing roof, including the corrugated metal and the spliced poles supporting it. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565935454_RdkxTxq-A-LB" title=""><img alt="" height="267" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-RdkxTxq/0/L/Haiti127-L.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was interesting to note that although we took no special care in removing the old roof, all of the materials were reclaimed by the residents and neatly stacked for future use.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565936267_VjGhvj3-A-LB" title=""><img alt="" height="267" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-VjGhvj3/0/L/Haiti131-L.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After the existing roof was gone (and the odd rat inhabiting the walls killed), the tops of the walls were prepped to receive the new rafters.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565942955_Z9jdxrS-A-LB" title=""><img alt="" height="267" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-Z9jdxrS/0/L/Haiti154-L.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since the tops of the walls were particularly rough, the team installed new wood plates to provide a flattish surface. (Our in-country leader Jeff noted that the goal for Haitian construction is reasonably "straight and flat", not necessarily "plumb and square.") At the corners, </span><a href="http://www.urbanarchitexture.com/2011/10/haiti-poetry-of-incomplete.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">the ubiquitous rebar extensions</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> were re-bent over the plates to tie the roof to the walls.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565933928_6DvgNHx-A-LB" title=""><img alt="" height="267" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-6DvgNHx/0/L/Haiti123-L.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There was no shortage of spectators from the school next door. We were a constant distraction, much to the chagrin to the teachers, I suspect.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565943458_WQH3zn9-A-LB" title=""><img alt="" height="267" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-WQH3zn9/0/L/Haiti160-L.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Having set the plates in place, the rafters were toe-nailed to the plates, followed by purlins that were nailed and screwed to the rafters.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVECPzdJcJl6-7hyGD15MW-a-ozLkolHzuIROaT2cNu1Zx5zd1YOXOhOGaJTjClkMtjraNMuwN4vIZySBR0Vku4w3N5VkKgZs09EYrmddAZ4pW9PYFVWnaU88oy_gyejOr-BjUTHvgzkQ3/s1600/IMAG0425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVECPzdJcJl6-7hyGD15MW-a-ozLkolHzuIROaT2cNu1Zx5zd1YOXOhOGaJTjClkMtjraNMuwN4vIZySBR0Vku4w3N5VkKgZs09EYrmddAZ4pW9PYFVWnaU88oy_gyejOr-BjUTHvgzkQ3/s400/IMAG0425.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Credit: Moore</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Finally, everything was covered by new corrugated metal.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/19899983_9gqRGp#1565945331_sMW3Qqw-A-LB" title=""><img alt="" height="267" src="http://www.kylelamyphoto.com/Haiti/2011/Construction/i-sMW3Qqw/0/L/Haiti202-L.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One side effect of the new materials is the higher reflectivity properties, significantly improving the interior light of the spaces.</span></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-29706541182555951242011-11-18T06:34:00.000-08:002011-11-18T06:34:42.780-08:00Dialog in the Bottom<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.richmondgov.com/EconomicCommunityDevelopment/images/ShockoeBottomstrategyFront_800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://www.richmondgov.com/EconomicCommunityDevelopment/images/ShockoeBottomstrategyFront_800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At first, hosting a public visioning workshop for <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Shockoe+Bottom,+Richmond,+VA&hl=en&sll=37.530879,-77.424825&sspn=0.01283,0.017424&vpsrc=0&hnear=Shockoe+Bottom,+Richmond,+Virginia&t=h&z=15" target="_blank">Shockoe Bottom</a> at the <a href="http://www.va-holocaust.com/" target="_blank">Virginia Holocaust Museum</a> seemed strange and unsettling. The weighty narrative of THAT particular chapter of history provides some perspective for the inconveniences of finding a parking place or the non-local foods in the 17th Street Farmers Market. However, as the <a href="http://www.ie-rva.org/" target="_blank">i.e.*</a> sponsored event unfolded, common themes of memory and hope emerged as a conceptual backdrop for the conversation and the setting suddenly seemed appropriate (aside from being physically located in the Bottom and suitably sized for the event).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The event on Monday past, billed as being a continuation of the <a href="http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/nov/05/13/tdmain01-shockoe-bottom-plan-requires-major-commit-ar-1436623/" target="_blank">City government's focus on Shockoe Bottom</a>, began with introductory remarks by Peter Chapman and Mayor Jones, signalling the City's commitment. Next on the agenda was an extremely brief summary of the <a href="http://www.richmondgov.com/EconomicCommunityDevelopment/ShockoeBottomRevitalization.aspx" target="_blank">Shockoe Bottom Economic Revitalization Study</a> the City recently unveiled, with great emphasis given to the <a href="http://www.richmondbizsense.com/2011/11/02/full-steam-ahead/" target="_blank">renovation of the Main Street Station Train Shed</a>, presumably since that project is allegedly sunstantially funded. Finally, <a href="http://www.floricane.com/index.php/" target="_blank">Floricane</a> took the floor and led the assembled creative community through a short visioning workshop, focusing first on consensus themes for improving the Bottom (safety, traffic calming, mix of uses, etc.), followed by break-out sessions for topical brainstorming (Main St. Station, recommended goods and services, connectivity, branding, etc.). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In typical fashion for workshops like this one, the real value was not the collection of Post-it notes nor the flip chart lists (though seeds of good ideas may ultimately emerge). The event was worthwhile because it created a forum to shape and refine ideas through generative dialog, not destructive debate. More, please.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Where is all of this headed? The answer will depend on leadership. This workshop was loaded with City administration, local activists, influential citizens, business leaders and energetic creative types. There were many potential leaders in the room. Where is the champion for a compelling narrative in this effort to revitalize Shockoe Bottom? Will the City's latest BIG EXCITING PROJECT in the form of the Main Street Station Train Shed renovation break the cycle of failed BIG EXCITING PROJECTS? Stay tuned. Only time will tell.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-53733577769745026082011-10-31T14:02:00.000-07:002011-10-31T14:02:43.004-07:00Haiti - Poetry of the Incomplete<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Upon arriving in Haiti, one of the first </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">visual</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">impressions you receive is the national symbol of progress: rebar (concrete reinforcing steel) extending from the top of every structure.</span></div><div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5LJEUI9IHwpN5Qgbph5ehUJFv3w5OSMJgTbA2fceY8_GhqVMvay6UBy8vcNMdj-ReBkyN8IliSNwHunXtKSY1BUNndNqYM5lNvIsAkHbEYGHD8RwCXr2hzMk-Mzin73s2au_HeVmp53R/s1600/IMAG0469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5LJEUI9IHwpN5Qgbph5ehUJFv3w5OSMJgTbA2fceY8_GhqVMvay6UBy8vcNMdj-ReBkyN8IliSNwHunXtKSY1BUNndNqYM5lNvIsAkHbEYGHD8RwCXr2hzMk-Mzin73s2au_HeVmp53R/s400/IMAG0469.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Usually taking the form of four rods girdled by rings of wire (aka stirrups), these antennae indicate points (or future points) of strength in masonry walls. Sometimes the bars are clearly intended for the future construction, extending from the foundation of a planned wall or from the roof for a second story. Sometimes the extensions have intrinsic practical purpose, such as tying wooden rafters to the walls (as primitive hurricane straps) or serving as anchor points for razor wire. Sometimes, the bars seem to serve no practical purpose at all, seemingly an accepted form of decoration for all construction projects, finished or not.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0E-3vcAFTRtKNWX9xKPGsmJGeX7xNHqkr8bVF0iTu9UVGX3R-dv-tfgRHu-w0W9ZJCBwlW4xpNuAai39ZXcxxSOeZ8iFw5Yvr_hyphenhyphenXP1LA4YN28Wmr_k92m2FJ1zGqT1hYmqULJQEjogik/s1600/IMAG0405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0E-3vcAFTRtKNWX9xKPGsmJGeX7xNHqkr8bVF0iTu9UVGX3R-dv-tfgRHu-w0W9ZJCBwlW4xpNuAai39ZXcxxSOeZ8iFw5Yvr_hyphenhyphenXP1LA4YN28Wmr_k92m2FJ1zGqT1hYmqULJQEjogik/s400/IMAG0405.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Unlike the US, there seems to be a universal acceptance in Haiti of the in-process construction site as normal. In the US, when construction pauses more than a few days, the project is assumed to be in an unnatural state of delay or under duress of some kind. One explanation for the contrast is that when someone accumulates some cash in Haiti, however meager the amount, there is tremendous cultural pressure to share that wealth with friends and family until it is gone. Under this pressure, one of the few acceptable ways to actually accumulate wealth is to invest in your building project. Thus, every in-progress construction site is a kind of investment bank and every pile of gravel a deposit.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is another motivation for the construction to remain in a state of suspended animation. Property taxes are assessed on completed structures, exterior painting being the final sign of completion. Outside of commercial areas, almost nothing is painted.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntqBhnnL3VsBvyTuIvSaV1SH1Ywww4OmJL9as1cXH6IZGbmHTWxH7MR4HU5tCxICSINe8R1SiXnPK-N82UgfQb6I4c5At7grn5DiKioRdHZ3E8FJrI3RA8oZydwVUUXkgdEK4K4eNOiBm/s1600/IMAG0468.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntqBhnnL3VsBvyTuIvSaV1SH1Ywww4OmJL9as1cXH6IZGbmHTWxH7MR4HU5tCxICSINe8R1SiXnPK-N82UgfQb6I4c5At7grn5DiKioRdHZ3E8FJrI3RA8oZydwVUUXkgdEK4K4eNOiBm/s400/IMAG0468.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As an urban environment, this perennially mid-construction state tends toward slow evolution. Familiar viewscapes are modified incrementally in small bursts over long periods of time, giving the viewer time to assimilate the <i>process</i> as memory, not just the usual "before" and "after." This experience feels a little like being inside a giant stop-action animation production of city building.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ambiguity and mystery and abundant in this landscape of process - are these walls a post-earthquake ruin or mid-construction wealth accumulation or both?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApRNfZDg5lNphO4iy5rlDB6MKAquJVOstt_qBE9MvCY9iNPVS5h2WfxcYdFNQj2x0KRZburC4kTTUhHglo8Ytc45Owqoel6OGN8QnFyCZWiRJvSxTIXXeCc08U2NZ6OQZpkbRJOgL3xb-/s1600/IMAG0399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApRNfZDg5lNphO4iy5rlDB6MKAquJVOstt_qBE9MvCY9iNPVS5h2WfxcYdFNQj2x0KRZburC4kTTUhHglo8Ytc45Owqoel6OGN8QnFyCZWiRJvSxTIXXeCc08U2NZ6OQZpkbRJOgL3xb-/s400/IMAG0399.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Despite the obvious poverty and struggle for survival, strangely, this peculiar landscape also speaks of hope for the future and the resilience of Haiti's people. These enduring walls are always under construction, albeit at a leisurely pace.</span></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com7Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti18.5761111 -72.22694439999997918.562159599999998 -72.245136899999977 18.5900626 -72.208751899999982tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-80855958328957870672011-10-24T12:24:00.000-07:002011-10-25T10:02:06.966-07:00Haiti - An Introduction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebe3hdns2LqJveFM2t53jthArGOS3Kh7T7XFM5jQtcdi04U02Kq8jb7G7p0zxsL40M9qZxofZuQUxa9MNnuoASSFTrwuz11GczRgQ6lNCQTz9O_U4DTXFReUGKnK4kZO3E7MmtKMxfGLq/s1600/2011+10+08+Haiti+Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebe3hdns2LqJveFM2t53jthArGOS3Kh7T7XFM5jQtcdi04U02Kq8jb7G7p0zxsL40M9qZxofZuQUxa9MNnuoASSFTrwuz11GczRgQ6lNCQTz9O_U4DTXFReUGKnK4kZO3E7MmtKMxfGLq/s400/2011+10+08+Haiti+Sketch.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">View from guesthouse terrace,<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=207568103296082646305.00046ca9159459ba50049&msa=0&ll=18.562505,-72.22286&spn=0.003417,0.004383"> CSI, Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the second week of October, a medical/construction team of 22 people (mostly from Richmond) traveled to an area west of Port-au-Prince in Haiti. Hosted by <a href="http://www.csiministries.org/site/cpage.asp?cpage_id=180028403&sec_id=180005443">CSI</a>, an organization that provides in-country infrastructure for visiting teams, the medical portion of the team ran a mobile clinic for 4 1/2 days, treating over 500 patients and dispensing over 2,000 prescriptions. Meanwhile, the construction team constructed three roofs and painted a portion of an orphanage. A mere drop in the proverbial bucket. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The trip was far too short to claim any kind of comprehensive understanding of Haiti as a place or the Haitians as a people. However, I cannot help but look at the experience through the lens of an architect, making observations on the spaces, textures and relationships I saw during by brief journey. More to follow...</div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com5Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti18.5761111 -72.22694439999997918.562159599999998 -72.245136899999977 18.5900626 -72.208751899999982tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-40200344933456187512011-09-25T21:31:00.000-07:002011-09-25T21:37:19.975-07:00Envisioning Richmond's Golden Age - Introduction<br />
What would the urban fabric of Richmond look like if, over time, it grew in a way that people began to characterize it as a "great" city, in the context of not only the United States, but the world? What might it's "Golden Age" look like?<br />
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In his seminal book "Cities in Civilization"', Sir Peter Hall examined 21 great western cities that could be said to have experienced a "Golden Age" at some point in their history. These cities, beginning with the Athens of 2500 years ago, somehow marshaled creative, social, and technological forces to such a degree as to have unleashed a spirit of innovation or discovery so fantastic it left an indelible mark on western society and culture, or even changed its course. According to Sir Hall, the cities that have undergone a golden age were, like Athens, generally considered "great" in the context of the world at the time of their transformative era: Florence in the 15th century, Shakespearean London in the 16th century, Paris in the 19th, Berlin in the early 20th. Interestingly, he notes that the confluence of creativity and discovery necessary to foster these <i>belles époques</i> is a uniquely " urban phenomenon". He goes on to pose these questions, among others:<br />
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"How do these golden ages come about? Why should the creative flame burn so especially, so uniquely, in the cities and not in the countryside? What makes a particular city at a particular time suddenly become immensely creative, exceptionally innovative?" <br />
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Sir Hall offers some clues to the answers of at least some of his questions in the form of an excerpt of an autobiography written by Stefan Zweig, who, in the late nineteenth century, lived in one of the profiled cities, Vienna, during one of these brief golden ages:<br />
<br />
<i>"Growing slowly through the centuries, organically growing outward from inner circles, it was sufficiently populous, with its two million, to yield all the luxury and all the diversity of a metropolis, and yet it was not so oversized as to be cut off from nature, like London or New York... Within, the old palaces of the court and the nobility spoke history in stone... In the midst of all this, the new architecture reared itself proudly and grandly with glittering avenues and sparkling shops."</i><br />
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"Growing slowly, ...organically", having the "diversity of a metropolis", not "cut off from nature", "new architecture" that is "proud" and "grand". Keen observations of a lay person on some of the physical characteristics that may be important harbingers of a great city. While there are obviously myriad paths to making a great city, we will, over the course of subsequent posts, take some of these ideas as a starting point, as we envision what Richmond might look like were it poised to experience its own <i>belle epoque.</i> <br />
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Of course, there is no hurry. Though there were many great cities in the world at the time of Athens, Sir Hall does not record another one undergoing a golden age era until the Renaissance took root in Florence a thousand years later. Richmond is a very young city and has a lot of growing up to do just to get to be "great", not to mention being in a position to experience a golden age.<br />
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But as we believe Richmond has some excellent foundations on which to build, we will consider opportunities to grow, evolve, or transform the urban fabric in a way that would not only enhance current residents' enjoyment of the city, but attract new residents with a desire to feed off and add to the creative energy of our city. Perhaps one day, decades or centuries in the future, people will dream of visiting the magical city of Richmond on the James, hoping to see first hand its mesmerizing architecture and to partake in its impossibly rich culture, breathe in the sweet smells of its blossoming restaurants and cafes, and lose themselves in its endless oases of garden-like urban spaces...<br />
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What could you envision?<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-64010403214593383792011-09-21T10:56:00.000-07:002011-09-21T10:56:14.061-07:00Hanging in the 804...Maybe<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once upon a time, telephone area codes meant something specific about a telephone number: a current place.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlu2rXFPXMiYYRXwOhab8PqdZFMAqQsW-kXp5AtOIUluKOk82YoBmYJhV-XGPK1hg2ChU8h25eqAd81x3fazOMUo35IRrXmeono2uzvj6ybaj20x2gkzG0a8TO_GZf83BJ4gpRXavXEGS/s1600/area_code_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlu2rXFPXMiYYRXwOhab8PqdZFMAqQsW-kXp5AtOIUluKOk82YoBmYJhV-XGPK1hg2ChU8h25eqAd81x3fazOMUo35IRrXmeono2uzvj6ybaj20x2gkzG0a8TO_GZf83BJ4gpRXavXEGS/s400/area_code_map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">[Source: <a href="http://www.answering-services-phone-messaging.com/">http://www.answering-services-phone-messaging.com</a>]</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, with the loosening of telecom regulations and the widespread use of mobile devices, area codes no longer automatically identify the location of the "other end of the line." </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The list of mobile numbers for the employees of Glave & Holmes, all of whom are currently based in Richmond (804), include area codes for central Indiana (317), Idaho (208), Nashville (615), Shenandoah Valley (540), suburban Detroit (248), Minneapolis (612), Boston (617), St. Louis (314), Chicago (630) and Washington D.C (202). Although a call to or from one of these numbers tells you something about the one-time location of the phone, a call from 617 is no longer necessarily "from Boston." Increasingly, mobile phone users are usually given a phone number from place of the <b>phone's</b> origin and keep that number despite subsequent moves.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Even prefixes (the three digits after the area code) used to mean more. The prefix 232 used to mean a location south of the James river and prompt questions like, "Which part of Southside are you from?" With the advent of greater number portability, my 232 number is now able to (uneasily) coexist with the typically West End prefixes of 282, 285 and 747.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In a related lament for endangered experiences, it has been said that increasingly, we no longer call <b>places</b>, we call <b>people</b>. It is not uncommon for households to cancel landline service in favor of mobile phones. An unintended casualty of this practice is the incidental conversation with the person who answers the "house phone."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Profound observations? Perhaps not. Yet, it seems worthwhile to consider our connections with one another and how our identity with places are linked to conscious and unconscious signs. When you have an incoming call and see an unfamiliar number on your screen, what clues do you have for identifying the caller? What does a 757 area code mean? Maybe less than you think.</span></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-28348039536441879682011-09-09T14:19:00.000-07:002011-09-09T14:19:31.308-07:00Future Visions of Transportation<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A long-time fan of science fiction novels, short stories and films, I grew up reading authors like Orson Scott Card, Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, the author of the short story <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/I-Robot-Isaac-Asimov/dp/055338256X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315330173&sr=8-1">I, Robot</a></i>.</span> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJ1RCD5_u5gNp61etJyarqyVf_keSYH5-oiGK3dnPIgHlJeqY5i_BFjVSYMVkmU47xYP02igukD9IIPwSkqaaVRZihF_1Xlc_xxOKNkjLmvgAMD43ofR3N7_HgceAZXUa5CTcvXEx_thE/s1600/i-robot-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJ1RCD5_u5gNp61etJyarqyVf_keSYH5-oiGK3dnPIgHlJeqY5i_BFjVSYMVkmU47xYP02igukD9IIPwSkqaaVRZihF_1Xlc_xxOKNkjLmvgAMD43ofR3N7_HgceAZXUa5CTcvXEx_thE/s400/i-robot-poster.jpg" width="292" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">[Source: <a href="http://3d.about.com/">http://3d.about.com</a>]</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Recently, I had the chance to see the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343818/">2004 film adaptation</a> of the short story, starring <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000226/">Will Smith</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005256/">Bridget Moynahan</a>. Although the film simplified many of the intellectual subtleties of the story and added predictable amounts of Hollywood action, I still found the movie to be enjoyable. I am a fan, after all.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5i99kwlL-5YY_8pHVWufephg6pW2cJaGuizfvsRWCip216ybGKRP-rkvjW2bZ1aybVXr2nj4Rr_eDFS9bq6ObExbDvUY-zO04X6hI6J_Hg9cdwC-vvdAevtNp9Jh8r1FdQsE5qvCS-lb/s1600/3175972_11a6a60c58_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5i99kwlL-5YY_8pHVWufephg6pW2cJaGuizfvsRWCip216ybGKRP-rkvjW2bZ1aybVXr2nj4Rr_eDFS9bq6ObExbDvUY-zO04X6hI6J_Hg9cdwC-vvdAevtNp9Jh8r1FdQsE5qvCS-lb/s400/3175972_11a6a60c58_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">[Source: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ascentstage/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/ascentstage/</a>]</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The film <i>I, Robot</i> is set in the Chicago of 2035 and although there is at least one scene with the familiar elevated railway, all of the characters seem to prefer travel on freeways in private vehicles that appear to clock speeds well over 200 mph, all controlled by computers for safety and efficiency. However, the main character, Del Spooner, played by Will Smith, has a tendency to override the computer control and take manual control of his uber-cool 2035 Audi (product placement, please).</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKt4IXBx-dGak3kQaxLVEslcdjqjKuwGOefDOw5CQxRqFUYvsTsuM0uLAqxyTGZTVfbf4-0eaHIQUu3u5jZGDLBbQ2XKMIFqND2X-kEuA6zv3LZPUtMOQb-NnhklpSK-dNJtzZg7CbrzA/s1600/2004-Audi-RSQ-Concept-F-1600x1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKt4IXBx-dGak3kQaxLVEslcdjqjKuwGOefDOw5CQxRqFUYvsTsuM0uLAqxyTGZTVfbf4-0eaHIQUu3u5jZGDLBbQ2XKMIFqND2X-kEuA6zv3LZPUtMOQb-NnhklpSK-dNJtzZg7CbrzA/s400/2004-Audi-RSQ-Concept-F-1600x1200.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">[Source: <a href="http://ionstars.blogspot.com/">http://ionstars.blogspot.com</a>]</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of the most memorable action sequences in the movie involves Del being attacked by homicidal robots while hurtling down the futuristic freeway.</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4smaKURWpkHysS_p374-vNAKK4BnhrYriOX5x5zh35vKppgyYb99TGx6UFU39NtiQfF8g2nOKJNTBE_KkehSHOyL0AXhfAfN5cWmS7WAOAifMop8UllEBZketxNaFTli29RLi8QsrFPy/s1600/irobot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4smaKURWpkHysS_p374-vNAKK4BnhrYriOX5x5zh35vKppgyYb99TGx6UFU39NtiQfF8g2nOKJNTBE_KkehSHOyL0AXhfAfN5cWmS7WAOAifMop8UllEBZketxNaFTli29RLi8QsrFPy/s400/irobot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">[Source: <a href="http://foraslanandvolstate.wordpress.com/">http://foraslanandvolstate.wordpress.com</a>]</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To survive, Del takes manual control of the car from the traffic control system (a frequent, if discouraged, practice for the main character), ensuring that he can perform the necessary acrobatics. This idea of individual control versus centralized control is a key theme in the film. And, in the context of the movie-action heroics, we discover a particular viewpoint of the future of urban transportation, especially in the United States: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">[a] that technologically advanced private vehicles on technologically advanced superhighways are preferable to public transit and </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">[b] that efficient, computer sequenced highways are ok for the masses, but sometimes you have to "take the wheel" for individual expression or basic survival. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In other words, even the barest nod to public-spirited transportation found in computer-controlled traffic control is not to be trusted (just like those damn robots.)</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If the science fiction genre allows the positing of trends, what is being said about the future of transportation in our cities? In the case of <i>I, Robot</i>, the message seems to be that the largely car-centric culture of the United States will continue to evolve into faster, more efficient private transportation that reinforces an identity of hyper-individual liberty. At what cost? If today's freeway cloverleaf takes more land area than medieval Florence, how much land will be required for 200 mph turns?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQr9x9GkeWcpXe0sZxzSUHSGngSSQsnsVlKfn0zSDwHk3lIzH12ACW-zT_8CYQpYiKgnIkbnttv4miRTSRij98lcUUjg5jLFmATyQIbMPtT6M_UdYFMnuNA4qU8dMurdA0YRpWZMKXE7JV/s1600/Florence+Cloverleaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQr9x9GkeWcpXe0sZxzSUHSGngSSQsnsVlKfn0zSDwHk3lIzH12ACW-zT_8CYQpYiKgnIkbnttv4miRTSRij98lcUUjg5jLFmATyQIbMPtT6M_UdYFMnuNA4qU8dMurdA0YRpWZMKXE7JV/s400/Florence+Cloverleaf.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">[Source: Google Earth]</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As a contrast, what alternatives could a near-future science fiction propose for public transit in the United States? Is there an alternative that promotes public transit as an integrated way of life? What other near-future depictions of transportation do you remember from films? Leave a comment...</span></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-86368844755217398672011-09-02T12:40:00.000-07:002011-09-02T12:40:04.334-07:00First Friday Sketches - September Edition<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today we sketched from Jefferson Park at the edge of Union Hill. Enjoy.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzd2md-X9foNebO0-2fIqEi5yQGsOFyKv564T4z9UAhas1SIeQG-fBZ7PtcYtoNjAVszRINM9CEv-IiRhj-qKxUU50JbhrUHzK3uol_lKc8owPSOIhX6FvJMcnam2GDVlM7o3imytrDQbN/s1600/2011+09+02+JHS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzd2md-X9foNebO0-2fIqEi5yQGsOFyKv564T4z9UAhas1SIeQG-fBZ7PtcYtoNjAVszRINM9CEv-IiRhj-qKxUU50JbhrUHzK3uol_lKc8owPSOIhX6FvJMcnam2GDVlM7o3imytrDQbN/s400/2011+09+02+JHS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"> John Spain</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyc4gMT8oMpA0igIyWOLWdmCYq3xB7FAVXPGYWhFTBf0WrUHBhMnw5ItaELOeGhpC_evR_KeZdk82dtrzebGxrxSidK93pB4xTnLLdmLifUh1ik_LSUBs-ZpIcCCKhaBg0z8MPT6fiGaGG/s1600/2011+09+02+ABM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyc4gMT8oMpA0igIyWOLWdmCYq3xB7FAVXPGYWhFTBf0WrUHBhMnw5ItaELOeGhpC_evR_KeZdk82dtrzebGxrxSidK93pB4xTnLLdmLifUh1ik_LSUBs-ZpIcCCKhaBg0z8MPT6fiGaGG/s400/2011+09+02+ABM.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Andrew Moore</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslblRDDKfjEBcwRwhZoQM4NrEZYb8V_SUOmLhSPQl9pcTtu85gwNwyBksbtqFIfMw7grvgU4sCBMlMD7iosNnNsgxZakHmEuJzkbOF_aOnxqfpVZPtlG2VLqPPRFJvHaB6qA2LKbXAPeG/s1600/2011+09+02+LSG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslblRDDKfjEBcwRwhZoQM4NrEZYb8V_SUOmLhSPQl9pcTtu85gwNwyBksbtqFIfMw7grvgU4sCBMlMD7iosNnNsgxZakHmEuJzkbOF_aOnxqfpVZPtlG2VLqPPRFJvHaB6qA2LKbXAPeG/s400/2011+09+02+LSG.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Lori Garrett</span></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-65938905939175512832011-08-10T13:01:00.000-07:002011-08-10T13:01:55.300-07:00How to Climb a [Church] Hill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pdLtl5DpZ7_M1KvDyhGwbAId61BFG7-kel8jLvTqhvSxK1hu0yoTlIIHKgi4aNhpDJoaGszIHq1_Lb6hTLfkcavSn68RMf6zzBRd6aaneTBodYcNT9ytMAbvbManE9hjKsb-2yLXiYho/s1600/Church+Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pdLtl5DpZ7_M1KvDyhGwbAId61BFG7-kel8jLvTqhvSxK1hu0yoTlIIHKgi4aNhpDJoaGszIHq1_Lb6hTLfkcavSn68RMf6zzBRd6aaneTBodYcNT9ytMAbvbManE9hjKsb-2yLXiYho/s400/Church+Hill.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the north east corner of 21st Street and East Franklin is a steeply sloping hillside, known as <a href="http://www.courses.vcu.edu/ENG-nae/parks_in_richmond.htm">Taylor's Park Hill</a>. It is, in fact, a public park and the foot of the <a href="http://www.churchhillrichmond.com/wp/">Church Hill neighborhood</a>. At the top is a spectacular panoramic view of downtown Richmond. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sgk33GDDfDj8RVI5Rwqg8tm316jC8CbQIJ2GfajFY8gHyaHwbCeFxX9f2DHnbS508wFOO1808PO_diR6YLCqhQ7pDUsi_ciPix5r1QR87x3hqlbsEZ4BewjaqNK5botYUdvXmUdyITPc/s1600/90255012_d186f33aee_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sgk33GDDfDj8RVI5Rwqg8tm316jC8CbQIJ2GfajFY8gHyaHwbCeFxX9f2DHnbS508wFOO1808PO_diR6YLCqhQ7pDUsi_ciPix5r1QR87x3hqlbsEZ4BewjaqNK5botYUdvXmUdyITPc/s400/90255012_d186f33aee_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This hillside corner is a dramatic boundary between Church Hill and Shockoe Bottom and for as long as I have been in Richmond, the most direct way to cross the boundary was to climb the steep concrete stairs. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8LYLXEyK71c6q1SfvfRsKALItR_d3uIJh0UnbvBYjgjWBpFuFuUvechidN8ABzmUEJrp5_CHzzDbbdROvzuJ5iPEKf29kAb7dw6w22O-VU-1rbRko94jG8zgmX_iKV5t0uLoEugXFPvT/s1600/Church+Hil+Stair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8LYLXEyK71c6q1SfvfRsKALItR_d3uIJh0UnbvBYjgjWBpFuFuUvechidN8ABzmUEJrp5_CHzzDbbdROvzuJ5iPEKf29kAb7dw6w22O-VU-1rbRko94jG8zgmX_iKV5t0uLoEugXFPvT/s400/Church+Hil+Stair.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The stairs traversed the terraces of the slope and partway to the top, there was a paved walkway that followed the slope up to the right. At the very top, there was a muddy, overgrown path to the left that led you to the overlook. Neither path was easily accessible or used very often.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMZiXt2vl8JUBdbAjMJCao6qGpb0NjU1fnbyKlbRolWdRnoWvnq16yv36NKjN374-IJLKTWwzRpArGr0u5FsNodcb2kdzk9MVg9pKzLeLSx6wfw9qgz8CI7AfZ-ACh3K8IFyqXGP08S85/s1600/P1030531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMZiXt2vl8JUBdbAjMJCao6qGpb0NjU1fnbyKlbRolWdRnoWvnq16yv36NKjN374-IJLKTWwzRpArGr0u5FsNodcb2kdzk9MVg9pKzLeLSx6wfw9qgz8CI7AfZ-ACh3K8IFyqXGP08S85/s400/P1030531.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then, a couple of weeks ago, heavy equipment began excavating the hillside to install large storm water pipes, demolishing the existing stair in the process. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Immediately following the pipe installation, the contractor began recreating the demolished stair, a monumental construction task.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNtVWM-7zg6gFLlttUM_HizlDJE69ST-QzIZ2GCpmcMCgSn7RcKpvT2X-T5yQnw2-lbTVNImlw2uihlv2scTrPD09OI0XsxNwsAUP939Qy7WLtp-jhQBwsJfVw-iSQVYv2Puffc8cs7Id/s1600/P1030530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNtVWM-7zg6gFLlttUM_HizlDJE69ST-QzIZ2GCpmcMCgSn7RcKpvT2X-T5yQnw2-lbTVNImlw2uihlv2scTrPD09OI0XsxNwsAUP939Qy7WLtp-jhQBwsJfVw-iSQVYv2Puffc8cs7Id/s400/P1030530.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This begs the question of whether the stair should be simply recreated in its little-used, difficult-to-negotiate original form? Was there an opportunity for design that was missed? Building any stairway in this location is a significant (read "expensive") feat of construction. Could there have been a grander vision?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Surprisingly, there is actually a <a href="http://www.publicstairs.com/">site devoted to public stairs</a> and the <a href="http://www.communitywalk.com/richmond/va/richmond_stairs/map/984614">Libby Hill Stairway</a> makes the crowd-sourced list. The Taylor's Hill Park Stairway is at least as significant as Libby Hill.(Incidentally, The Libby Hill Stairway also appears to be a recently recreated project following the preexisting pattern.) </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Perhaps a "Church Hill Steps" would be the wrong scale...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3f9zSFUc7RIvdumVCIZ20xefNdndrrv8eNAi2zR8ypt0A1Lf5BXUsxkY3Vkzppgsmj6CVXVtpaR1FEVqyoHyRdAWpc9m0KeR-JI8Hyoub_ihXDljWw8cladeUqPFt7eql2LXzxNpboHw/s1600/spanish+steps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3f9zSFUc7RIvdumVCIZ20xefNdndrrv8eNAi2zR8ypt0A1Lf5BXUsxkY3Vkzppgsmj6CVXVtpaR1FEVqyoHyRdAWpc9m0KeR-JI8Hyoub_ihXDljWw8cladeUqPFt7eql2LXzxNpboHw/s400/spanish+steps.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">[Spanish Steps, Rome; www.earthinpictures.com]</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...but Taylor's Hill is a notable connection within the urban fabric and worthy of celebration. Instead, it appears that we will get a shiny new version of what was there before. Maybe the muddy path will be improved...</span></div></div></div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com2Church Hill, Richmond, VA, USA37.532142140704615 -77.423516588893937.526162640704612 -77.4315230888939 37.538121640704617 -77.41551008889391tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-424582834261985734.post-13913375960204367912011-08-05T12:35:00.000-07:002011-09-02T12:40:25.468-07:00First Friday Sketch<div style="text-align: left;">Between the flood wall and the train trestle, Shockoe Bottom.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6wceFTpb-SRBafEeiIS3dB3GllzfJcS85ErC4sedcKdXahhYq51lvWy5KRJ8PscmVyLHtEe8vE_njZLlEMUK9BCVWqqH7VuBXWCPv-U9eafZS0WBERZy7gpSV_1S0pG3FWW8qV3sGrt7e/s1600/2011+08+05+Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6wceFTpb-SRBafEeiIS3dB3GllzfJcS85ErC4sedcKdXahhYq51lvWy5KRJ8PscmVyLHtEe8vE_njZLlEMUK9BCVWqqH7VuBXWCPv-U9eafZS0WBERZy7gpSV_1S0pG3FWW8qV3sGrt7e/s640/2011+08+05+Sketch.jpg" width="395" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Andrew Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09197107112713289831noreply@blogger.com1