Q & A with IIT Professor Marshall Brown (Architect's Newspaper)
"One of the ideas that I hold consistently for myself and for my own practice, but also try to communicate to the students, is that I truly believe, and I try to help them understand, that architecture is a cultural practice. It’s a discursive practice that sometimes, if we’re lucky, results in building. Exploring the implications of what that means is really important for me."
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Can Chicagoans save the waterway that made their city great? (Matthew Power, On Earth Magazine)
"In the alternate vision, however, the river meets all of these demands -- and more. Its proponents seek nothing less than to turn the Chicago River into a civic treasure, its newly cleaned banks lined with parks and homes and restored ecosystems, its very presence a clear and shimmering symbol of a great city built on making, trading, connecting: a symbol of American history’s inexorable flow toward progress. And in the bargain, they seek to make the river a living -- and flourishing -- example of environmental innovation and ecological stewardship, one that generations of Chicagoans will cherish."
"In the alternate vision, however, the river meets all of these demands -- and more. Its proponents seek nothing less than to turn the Chicago River into a civic treasure, its newly cleaned banks lined with parks and homes and restored ecosystems, its very presence a clear and shimmering symbol of a great city built on making, trading, connecting: a symbol of American history’s inexorable flow toward progress. And in the bargain, they seek to make the river a living -- and flourishing -- example of environmental innovation and ecological stewardship, one that generations of Chicagoans will cherish."
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Why do we keep anointing "it" cities? (Chuck Thompson, The New Republic)
"It starts with the local brewpub. Always with the goddamn local brewpub, located in some renovated craftsman schoolhouse or 1920s fire station with the locally sourced Czechoslovakian-style hops and the brewmaster with the certification from the Golden Barley Council or whatever governing body oversees alcoholic hipsterdom."
"It starts with the local brewpub. Always with the goddamn local brewpub, located in some renovated craftsman schoolhouse or 1920s fire station with the locally sourced Czechoslovakian-style hops and the brewmaster with the certification from the Golden Barley Council or whatever governing body oversees alcoholic hipsterdom."
Why We Love Beautiful Things (Lance Hosey, NYTimes)
"Yet, while we are drawn to good design, as Mr. Hamel points out, we’re not quite sure why.
This is starting to change. A revolution in the science of design is already under way, and most people, including designers, aren’t even aware of it.
Take color. Last year, German researchers found that just glancing at shades of green can boost creativity and motivation. It’s not hard to guess why: we associate verdant colors with food-bearing vegetation — hues that promise nourishment."
"Yet, while we are drawn to good design, as Mr. Hamel points out, we’re not quite sure why.
This is starting to change. A revolution in the science of design is already under way, and most people, including designers, aren’t even aware of it.
Take color. Last year, German researchers found that just glancing at shades of green can boost creativity and motivation. It’s not hard to guess why: we associate verdant colors with food-bearing vegetation — hues that promise nourishment."
Monday, February 18, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Illinois Adopts New Energy Efficiency Standards (Chris Bentley, The Architect's Newspaper)
"On January 1, Illinois became the second state, after Maryland, to adopt the nation’s strictest energy-efficient building code to date. Mandatory blower door and duct tests and mechanical ventilation are among the provisions now required for new commercial and residential buildings in the Land of Lincoln."
"On January 1, Illinois became the second state, after Maryland, to adopt the nation’s strictest energy-efficient building code to date. Mandatory blower door and duct tests and mechanical ventilation are among the provisions now required for new commercial and residential buildings in the Land of Lincoln."
Anatomy of a Heroin Ring on Chicago's West Side (Mick Dumke, The Chicago Reader)
"The DEA estimates that 80 percent of the heroin and cocaine sold in Chicago originates with the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. Distributors here extend the cartel's reach by connecting with street gangs. The gangs, in turn, hasten the decline of distressed communities into open-air drug markets through their skillful use of product promotion, their ability to offer job opportunities where there are few, and their willingness, when necessary, to use violence to stay in business."
"The DEA estimates that 80 percent of the heroin and cocaine sold in Chicago originates with the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. Distributors here extend the cartel's reach by connecting with street gangs. The gangs, in turn, hasten the decline of distressed communities into open-air drug markets through their skillful use of product promotion, their ability to offer job opportunities where there are few, and their willingness, when necessary, to use violence to stay in business."
U of I to Open Chicago Manufacturing Institute (Greg Hinz, Crain's)
"Gov. Pat Quinn will announce today in his State of the State speech that the Urbana-Champaign school, in partnership with its National Center for Supercomputing Applications and private companies, will be forming an Illinois Manufacturing Lab likely to be located in the central area of Chicago.
The facility will be a somewhat smaller, more applications-based version of the UI Labs tech-research center that was announced in January by U of I President Robert Easter and others. The prime goal will be to make the state's manufacturers more competitive, something that has become increasingly challenging as overseas firms take control of many of the world's factories."
"Gov. Pat Quinn will announce today in his State of the State speech that the Urbana-Champaign school, in partnership with its National Center for Supercomputing Applications and private companies, will be forming an Illinois Manufacturing Lab likely to be located in the central area of Chicago.
The facility will be a somewhat smaller, more applications-based version of the UI Labs tech-research center that was announced in January by U of I President Robert Easter and others. The prime goal will be to make the state's manufacturers more competitive, something that has become increasingly challenging as overseas firms take control of many of the world's factories."
Can Chicago Become America's Next Great City for Artists? (David Zarley, Atlantic Cities)
"Broadly categorized as a performance artist, Duguid obtained her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has lived and worked in various locations across the U.S., including New York City. Duguid is a firm believer in Chicago as a place for an artist to flesh out his or her work. "You have a better opportunity of building a richer portfolio," Duguid explains. And there are an abundance of small scale, DIY apartment galleries which allow artists a freedom that may be hard to come by in Gotham."
"Broadly categorized as a performance artist, Duguid obtained her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has lived and worked in various locations across the U.S., including New York City. Duguid is a firm believer in Chicago as a place for an artist to flesh out his or her work. "You have a better opportunity of building a richer portfolio," Duguid explains. And there are an abundance of small scale, DIY apartment galleries which allow artists a freedom that may be hard to come by in Gotham."
Friday, February 1, 2013
Chicago & America Divided By Race, Economy & Violence
In the last month, as the gun control debate has become the focus of our national attention, Monica Davey of the New York Times has written a couple of important articles about the epidemic of violence on Chicago's South and West Sides. These articles have included excellent supporting graphics. Whet Moser of Chicago Magazine has added a local perspective as well.
In a Soaring Homocide Rate, A Divide in Chicago (Monica Davey, NYTimes)
Chicago’s experience reveals the complications inherent in carrying out local gun laws around the nation. Less restrictive laws in neighboring communities and states not only make guns easy to obtain nearby, but layers of differing laws — local and state — make it difficult to police violations.
Chicago Gets Its Guns Where it Used to Get its Blues (Whet, Moser, Chicago Mag)
This is an extremely complex and frustrating issue. To begin, it should be noted that Chicago does not even crack the list of America's top 25 most violent cities. The City's murder rate is half of what it was twenty years ago. Last year not withstanding, the murder and crime rate has consistently declined since about 1992. There are a lot of reasons for the overall decline in the city's murder rate, including demographic change, gentrification, improved medical technology and improved policing strategies.
To put things in perspective, deaths by automobile accidents and suicide both outnumber death by murder in the United States by a rate of more than 2 to 1. Last year 32,310 people died by car accident, the lowest since 1949. By contrast there are around 13,000 murders a year in the United States.
Nevertheless, Chicago's murder rate remains significantly higher than what we would like to consider our "peer" national and global cities - places like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc. The murder of Hadiya Pendleton a mile from President Barack Obama's Kenwood residence has personified the tragedy and self-destruction that the City's gang violence has caused.
American Violence and Southern Culture (Whet Moser, Chicago Mag)
"Part of Lemann's thesis, not that he ignores the effects of segregation and concentrated poverty, is that the divide between city and backcountry was also brought north: "Every aspect of the underclass culture in the ghettos is directly traceable to roots in the South -- and not the South of slavery but the South of a generation ago."
In a Soaring Homocide Rate, A Divide in Chicago (Monica Davey, NYTimes)
More than 80 percent of the city’s homicides took place last year in only about half of Chicago’s 23 police districts, largely on the city’s South and West Sides. The police district that includes parts of the business district downtown reported no killings at all. And while at least one police district on the city’s northern edge saw a significant increase in the rate of killings, the total number there still was dwarfed by deaths in districts on the other sides of town, and particularly in certain neighborhoods.
Homicide, Social Efficacy & Poverty in Chicago (Whet Moser, Chicago Mag)
Homicide, Social Efficacy & Poverty in Chicago (Whet Moser, Chicago Mag)
Chicago’s experience reveals the complications inherent in carrying out local gun laws around the nation. Less restrictive laws in neighboring communities and states not only make guns easy to obtain nearby, but layers of differing laws — local and state — make it difficult to police violations.
Chicago Gets Its Guns Where it Used to Get its Blues (Whet, Moser, Chicago Mag)
This is an extremely complex and frustrating issue. To begin, it should be noted that Chicago does not even crack the list of America's top 25 most violent cities. The City's murder rate is half of what it was twenty years ago. Last year not withstanding, the murder and crime rate has consistently declined since about 1992. There are a lot of reasons for the overall decline in the city's murder rate, including demographic change, gentrification, improved medical technology and improved policing strategies.
To put things in perspective, deaths by automobile accidents and suicide both outnumber death by murder in the United States by a rate of more than 2 to 1. Last year 32,310 people died by car accident, the lowest since 1949. By contrast there are around 13,000 murders a year in the United States.
Nevertheless, Chicago's murder rate remains significantly higher than what we would like to consider our "peer" national and global cities - places like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc. The murder of Hadiya Pendleton a mile from President Barack Obama's Kenwood residence has personified the tragedy and self-destruction that the City's gang violence has caused.
American Violence and Southern Culture (Whet Moser, Chicago Mag)
"Part of Lemann's thesis, not that he ignores the effects of segregation and concentrated poverty, is that the divide between city and backcountry was also brought north: "Every aspect of the underclass culture in the ghettos is directly traceable to roots in the South -- and not the South of slavery but the South of a generation ago."
More Losers than Winners in America's New Economic Geography (Richard Florida, Atlantic Cities)
Our main takeaway: On close inspection, talent clustering provides little in the way of trickle-down benefits. Its benefits flow disproportionately to more highly-skilled knowledge, professional and creative workers whose higher wages and salaries are more than sufficient to cover more expensive housing in these locations. While less-skilled service and blue-collar workers also earn more money in knowledge-based metros, those gains disappear once their higher housing costs are taken into account.
Our main takeaway: On close inspection, talent clustering provides little in the way of trickle-down benefits. Its benefits flow disproportionately to more highly-skilled knowledge, professional and creative workers whose higher wages and salaries are more than sufficient to cover more expensive housing in these locations. While less-skilled service and blue-collar workers also earn more money in knowledge-based metros, those gains disappear once their higher housing costs are taken into account.
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