Five Ways to Change the World

"So you want to change the world? Start by changing the built environment." Here architect and educator Jonathan Massey offers a guide, "idiosyncratic and partial," to activism through architecture. Massey describes how the cumulative effects of comparatively ordinary activities — voting, shopping, building a house, organizing a community, throwing a party — can make our lives better — more just, responsible, connected and convivial.
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CENTER FOR LAND USE INTERPRETATION

Urban Crude

Every year 28 million barrels of petroleum are extracted from the 41 fields located within Los Angeles — making L.A. the most urban oil-producing site in the nation. Created by the Center for Land Use Interpretation, and now on exhibit at its gallery in Culver City, Urban Crude photo-documents this metropolitan petroscape — paying special attention to the myriad efforts to camouflage the fact that some 5,000 wells remain active in the second most populous city in the U.S.
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MIMI ZEIGER

Our Design Decade

Design USA, marking ten years of the National Design Awards program, opened last month at the Cooper-Hewitt. Mimi Zeiger describes an exhibition that balances a celebration of innovative (and often pricey) artifacts with recognition of our recessionary times.
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PLACES ARCHIVE: SUMMER 1983

An Interview with James Turrell

A 1983 interview with James Turrell, then beginning his transformation of the Roden Crater. The monumental work is scheduled to open to the public in 2012.
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PARTNER SCHOOL

University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
The fields of architecture and urban planning are poised to undergo dramatic changes. Beginning in the nineties, we saw the emergence of the "star" architect as a cultural force and the consolidation of architecture as an agent for physical and economic change in cities across the world. The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were a culmination of this era and a demonstration of the potential power of architecture. However, this model of practice has already shown its limits, its weaknesses, and its flaws. It is safe to say that a new generation of practitioners will not be able to follow in the footsteps of its predecessors and, more importantly, should not.

RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED

Shift: SANAA and the New Museum
Joseph Grima & Karen Wong, editors

Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places
John R. Stilgoe

194X: Architecture, Planning, and Consumer Culture on the American Home Front
Andrew M. Shanken


WEEKLY EMAIL: NOVEMBER 19, 2009
FEATURED THIS WEEK : JONATHAN MASSEY Five Ways to Change the World "So you want to change the world? Start by changing the built environment." Here architect and educator Jonathan Massey offers a guide, "idiosyncratic and partial," to activism through architecture. Massey describes how the cumulative effects of comparatively ordinary activities — voting, shopping, building a house, organizing a community, throwing a party — can make our lives better — more just, responsible, connected and convivial. READ MORE
CENTER FOR LAND USE INTERPRETATION Urban Crude Every year 28 million barrels of petroleum are extracted from the 41 fields located within Los Angeles — making L.A. the most urban oil-producing site in the nation. Created by the Center for Land Use Interpretation, and now on exhibit at its gallery in Culver City, Urban Crude photo-documents this metropolitan petroscape — paying special attention to the myriad efforts to camouflage the fact that some 5,000 wells remain active in the second most populous city in the U.S. READ MORE MIMI ZEIGER Our Design Decade Design USA, marking ten years of the National Design Awards program, opened last month at the Cooper-Hewitt. Mimi Zeiger describes an exhibition that balances a celebration of innovative (and often pricey) artifacts with recognition of our recessionary times. READ MORE		BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK \| FOLLOW US ON TWITTER PLACES ARCHIVE: SUMMER 1983 An Interview with James Turrell A 1983 interview with James Turrell, then beginning his transformation of the Roden Crater. The monumental work is scheduled to open to the public in 2012. READ MORE PARTNER SCHOOL University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning The fields of architecture and urban planning are poised to undergo dramatic changes. Beginning in the nineties, we saw the emergence of the "star" architect as a cultural force and the consolidation of architecture as an agent for physical and economic change in cities across the world. The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were a culmination of this era and a demonstration of the potential power of architecture. However, this model of practice has already shown its limits, its weaknesses, and its flaws. It is safe to say that a new generation of practitioners will not be able to follow in the footsteps of its predecessors and, more importantly, should not. RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED Shift: SANAA and the New Museum Joseph Grima & Karen Wong, editors Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places John R. Stilgoe 194X: Architecture, Planning, and Consumer Culture on the American Home Front Andrew M. Shanken
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