The Interventionist's Toolkit

The great recession is causing some design firms to be downsized, bought out or shut down, and the longer range effects (inevitably personal as well as professional) are only just sharpening into focus. But it's also inspiring a wave of creativity — what Mimi Zeiger calls "provisional, opportunistic, ubiquitous, and odd tactics in guerilla and DIY practice and urbanism." As Zeiger reports, an emerging generation of architects, artists and urbanists is responding to the scarcity of conventional commissions by devising inventive ways to engage the city and the culture. Here we present the first of a series on what Zeiger calls "the interventionist's toolkit."
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PLACES EDITORS

Penn Hosts Symposium on Water and Design

On April 1 – 2, the University of Pennsylvania School of Design will host an international symposium, “In the Terrain of Water,” featuring interdisciplinary dialogues, exhibits, workshops and talks that re-imagine the human relationship with water.

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BRIAN DAVIS

The New Public Landscapes of Governors Island: An Interview with Adriaan Geuze

New York Harbor is undergoing exciting transformations, as the old industrial and maritime waterfronts make way for new parks and public landscapes. The next major landscape, writes Brian Davis, is likely to be Governors Island — for centuries a military outpost, in recent years the focus of lively public discussion, and now the setting for a proposed new park designed by a team led by the Rotterdam-based West 8. Davis interviews West 8 founder Adriaan Geuze about his vision for a new public park in New York Harbor.
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TIM CULVAHOUSE

The New Orleans Corner Store

In the second installment of a series on the built character of New Orleans, Tim Culvahouse explores a once common type: the corner store or bar or restaurant. These often humble and convivial places were the byproduct of design ingenuity and local experience, and as such they are "worth the consideration of designers working on the rehabilitation of the city." But many corner stores are now derelict, casualties of changing demographics and the post-Katrina hollowing out of neighborhoods like the Ninth Ward. Their revival, says Culvahouse, "affords a rare opportunity" to designers struggling to find forms that both respect the past and create the future.
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PLACES EDITORS

Great Places Awards Entries Due February 11

The Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) is accepting submissions for the 13th Annual Great Places Awards for Place Design, Planning and Research. Entries are due February 11.

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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

University of Michigan Offers New Degree in Architecture and Digital Technologies

Taubman College at the University of Michigan has announced a new degree, Masters of Science in Architecture with a specialization in Digital Technologies.

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ALEJANDRO CARTAGENA

Fragmented Cities

In the past two decades Monterrey, Mexico, has grown very quickly, its growth fueled, as Places photography editor Aaron Rothman notes, "by the usual real-estate suspects: cheap land, the efficiencies of production home building, the easy availability of mortgages for low and mid-income families, the romance of home ownership, not to mention political corruption." For several years Monterrey-based photographer Alejandro Cartagena has been documenting the disappearing natural landscapes of the once small city of his childhood. Here we present a selection of recent work, curated by Aaron Rothman.
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PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2001

Village Vices: The Contradiction of New Urbanism and Sustainability

A critique of New Urbanism focusing not on its traditionalism but on the unsustainability of its planning models.
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PARTNER SCHOOL

Auburn University, College of Architecture, Design and Construction
Our objective is to continue the traditions of excellence established by the many fine graduates who have studied here and gone forward to distinguished careers in the design and construction fields. The seven programs housed in the CADC make up the major components of the design and construction industries. Whether one chooses to study building science, industrial design, graphic design, architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, or community planning, our commitment is to ensure that students gain the educational values, technical skills, knowledge and ideas to promote life-long achievement.

RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED

American Glamour
Alice T. Friedman

Reading the American Landscape: An Index of Books and Images
Lex ter Braak, David Hamers, Anne Hoogewoning, Erik de Jong, Frank van der Salm, Dirk Sijmons and Hanneke Schreiber

Boomtown 2050: Scenarios for a Rapidly Growing City
Richard Weller


WEEKLY EMAIL: FEBRUARY 09, 2011
FEATURED THIS WEEK : MIMI ZEIGER The Interventionist's Toolkit The great recession is causing some design firms to be downsized, bought out or shut down, and the longer range effects (inevitably personal as well as professional) are only just sharpening into focus. But it's also inspiring a wave of creativity — what Mimi Zeiger calls "provisional, opportunistic, ubiquitous, and odd tactics in guerilla and DIY practice and urbanism." As Zeiger reports, an emerging generation of architects, artists and urbanists is responding to the scarcity of conventional commissions by devising inventive ways to engage the city and the culture. Here we present the first of a series on what Zeiger calls "the interventionist's toolkit." READ MORE
PLACES EDITORS Penn Hosts Symposium on Water and Design On April 1 – 2, the University of Pennsylvania School of Design will host an international symposium, “In the Terrain of Water,” featuring interdisciplinary dialogues, exhibits, workshops and talks that re-imagine the human relationship with water. Read more READ MORE BRIAN DAVIS The New Public Landscapes of Governors Island: An Interview with Adriaan Geuze New York Harbor is undergoing exciting transformations, as the old industrial and maritime waterfronts make way for new parks and public landscapes. The next major landscape, writes Brian Davis, is likely to be Governors Island — for centuries a military outpost, in recent years the focus of lively public discussion, and now the setting for a proposed new park designed by a team led by the Rotterdam-based West 8. Davis interviews West 8 founder Adriaan Geuze about his vision for a new public park in New York Harbor. READ MORE TIM CULVAHOUSE The New Orleans Corner Store In the second installment of a series on the built character of New Orleans, Tim Culvahouse explores a once common type: the corner store or bar or restaurant. These often humble and convivial places were the byproduct of design ingenuity and local experience, and as such they are "worth the consideration of designers working on the rehabilitation of the city." But many corner stores are now derelict, casualties of changing demographics and the post-Katrina hollowing out of neighborhoods like the Ninth Ward. Their revival, says Culvahouse, "affords a rare opportunity" to designers struggling to find forms that both respect the past and create the future. READ MORE PLACES EDITORS Great Places Awards Entries Due February 11 The Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) is accepting submissions for the 13th Annual Great Places Awards for Place Design, Planning and Research. Entries are due February 11. Read more READ MORE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN University of Michigan Offers New Degree in Architecture and Digital Technologies Taubman College at the University of Michigan has announced a new degree, Masters of Science in Architecture with a specialization in Digital Technologies. Read more READ MORE ALEJANDRO CARTAGENA Fragmented Cities In the past two decades Monterrey, Mexico, has grown very quickly, its growth fueled, as Places photography editor Aaron Rothman notes, "by the usual real-estate suspects: cheap land, the efficiencies of production home building, the easy availability of mortgages for low and mid-income families, the romance of home ownership, not to mention political corruption." For several years Monterrey-based photographer Alejandro Cartagena has been documenting the disappearing natural landscapes of the once small city of his childhood. Here we present a selection of recent work, curated by Aaron Rothman. READ MORE		BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK \| FOLLOW US ON TWITTER PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2001 Village Vices: The Contradiction of New Urbanism and Sustainability A critique of New Urbanism focusing not on its traditionalism but on the unsustainability of its planning models. READ MORE PARTNER SCHOOL Auburn University, College of Architecture, Design and Construction Our objective is to continue the traditions of excellence established by the many fine graduates who have studied here and gone forward to distinguished careers in the design and construction fields. The seven programs housed in the CADC make up the major components of the design and construction industries. Whether one chooses to study building science, industrial design, graphic design, architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, or community planning, our commitment is to ensure that students gain the educational values, technical skills, knowledge and ideas to promote life-long achievement. RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED American Glamour Alice T. Friedman Reading the American Landscape: An Index of Books and Images Lex ter Braak, David Hamers, Anne Hoogewoning, Erik de Jong, Frank van der Salm, Dirk Sijmons and Hanneke Schreiber Boomtown 2050: Scenarios for a Rapidly Growing City Richard Weller
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