Scarcity contra Austerity

What is the difference between scarcity and austerity? Here Jeremy Till contrasts the political ideology of austerity — imposed reductions of public services and social benefits — with the physical condition of scarcity — the measureable dwindling of finite resources — and explores how this distinction might enable designers to grapple with big-scale challenges. A keener understanding of scarcity, he argues, "might inspire us to widen the field of practice and allow us to operate more creatively."
READ MORE

RICHARD CAMPANELLA

What the Nation's Best-Educated Amateur Planners Learned from Hurricane Isaac. And Gustav. And Rita and Katrina. And Cindy, Ivan, Lili, Isidore, and Georges.

In recent decades New Orleans and the Gulf Coast have been hit by one powerful hurricane after another. As geographer Richard Campanella writes, "Few regional societies have gained a more rigorous — if unwilling — place-based education. The past two decades have imparted, to nearly two million people, advanced lessons in geography, hydrology, climatology, engineering, civics, disaster recovery, sociology and urban planning." And as Campanella argues, the toughest test is yet to come.
READ MORE

PARTNER NEWS: ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

New Masters Degrees at The Design School

New graduate programs in industrial design, interior architecture and visual communication began this summer.
READ MORE

NEWS FROM DESIGN OBSERVER GROUP SPONSORS

Being sustainable has never been so profitable. See how the country's most innovative companies are improving their bottom line by staying the course on sustainability. Look into Sappi's paper mills that are setting a new standard for environmental responsibility.
Find out more about Sappi here >>
Order a copy of eQ003 >>
Download a PDF copy >>

SVA's MFA Designer As Author is predicated on the growing need for content providers throughout the visual media. On October 13th an information session will be held that will allow you to learn more about the program.
Register today >>
MFA Design Program >>
SVA Website >>

MELISSA DITTMER

Lafayette Park: Living in Ordered Exhibition

When architect Melissa Dittmer moved from New York City to Detroit, her reaction was a "year-long panic attack." Where, she wondered, were the people? "Where was the density, the sense of connection with strangers?" But then Dittmer and her family bought a townhouse in Lafayette Park, the modernist development created in the early '60 by Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig Hilberseimer and Alfred Caldwell — a place where the design itself encourages "a shared sense of intimacy that fosters community."
READ MORE

PARTNER NEWS: UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

Global Cities Institute Founded

This cross-disciplinary initiative will house a Global City Indicators Facility, a new Laboratory for Model Cities and an immersive Model Cities Theatre, which will draw on comparative data and emerging 3D and other visualization techniques to test and project alternative modes of urban design and development.
READ MORE

HSIAO-HUNG PAI

Factory of the World: Scenes from Guangdong

In the past three decades, Guangdong province, in southern China, has developed a powerhouse economy, with an estimated 60,000 factories that daily produce $300 million worth of export goods. As the London-based journalist Hsiao-Hung Pai writes, this is a success story — but only for some. Here she investigates the working and living conditions of migrant laborers in Guangdong's cities and the widening gap between the prosperous and the poor, what she calls "the most ruthless aspect" of contemporary Chinese urbanism.
READ MORE

PARTNER NEWS: UT AUSTIN

Students Win Charles E. Peterson Prize

A team of 14 students spanning two years won the 2012 prize offered by the Historic American Buildings Survey of the National Park Service, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia and The American Institute of Architects.
READ MORE

MARK ROBBINS & NANCY LEVINSON

Student/Teacher

In summer 2011, Mark Robbins, then dean of architecture at Syracuse University, traveled from upstate New York to Rwanda, to visit the Kigali Institute of Technology. There he took a series of photographs of students and their parents or guardians in their houses, part of an ongoing investigation into what Robbins describes as "questions of culture, space, decor and the body." We are pleased to present a selection from this portfolio.
READ MORE

JOIN PLACES ON FACEBOOK | TWITTER
JOIN DESIGN OBSERVER GROUP ON FACEBOOK | TWITTER

Information session October 13th.
Register today >>

The place to go for the latest and most trusted information regarding sustainability in our industry.
eQ from Sappi >>

NYC: October 26-28
Register today >>

OmniFocus >>

PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 1995

Splendid China
A tour of Splendid China, the "world's largest miniature scenic spot.
READ MORE

PARTNER SCHOOL
University of Manitoba, Faculty of Architecture
The University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture is the first faculty in Canada to offer four post-graduate, built-environment professional degree programs: Architecture, City Planning, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design. All of these are based on a comprehensive non-professional Environmental Design undergraduate program that results in a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree. The Faculty of Architecture also offers a Ph.D. Program. The Ph.D. in Design and Planning in the Faculty of Architecture focuses on research in the following areas: Planning and Design Theory; Sustainable Planning and Design; Planning and Design Education; Planning and Design Practice; and Design and Planning Technologies. Through its focus upon design excellence, teaching and research, the faculty demonstrates its commitment to improving the quality of the built environment and associated ecological, economic, physical and social well-being of the global community.


WEEKLY EMAIL: OCTOBER 11, 2012
FEATURED THIS WEEK : JEREMY TILL Scarcity contra Austerity What is the difference between scarcity and austerity? Here Jeremy Till contrasts the political ideology of austerity — imposed reductions of public services and social benefits — with the physical condition of scarcity — the measureable dwindling of finite resources — and explores how this distinction might enable designers to grapple with big-scale challenges. A keener understanding of scarcity, he argues, "might inspire us to widen the field of practice and allow us to operate more creatively." READ MORE
RICHARD CAMPANELLA What the Nation's Best-Educated Amateur Planners Learned from Hurricane Isaac. And Gustav. And Rita and Katrina. And Cindy, Ivan, Lili, Isidore, and Georges. In recent decades New Orleans and the Gulf Coast have been hit by one powerful hurricane after another. As geographer Richard Campanella writes, "Few regional societies have gained a more rigorous — if unwilling — place-based education. The past two decades have imparted, to nearly two million people, advanced lessons in geography, hydrology, climatology, engineering, civics, disaster recovery, sociology and urban planning." And as Campanella argues, the toughest test is yet to come. READ MORE PARTNER NEWS: ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY New Masters Degrees at The Design School New graduate programs in industrial design, interior architecture and visual communication began this summer. READ MORE NEWS FROM DESIGN OBSERVER GROUP SPONSORS Being sustainable has never been so profitable. See how the country's most innovative companies are improving their bottom line by staying the course on sustainability. Look into Sappi's paper mills that are setting a new standard for environmental responsibility. Find out more about Sappi here >> Order a copy of eQ003 >> Download a PDF copy >> SVA's MFA Designer As Author is predicated on the growing need for content providers throughout the visual media. On October 13th an information session will be held that will allow you to learn more about the program. Register today >> MFA Design Program >> SVA Website >> MELISSA DITTMER Lafayette Park: Living in Ordered Exhibition When architect Melissa Dittmer moved from New York City to Detroit, her reaction was a "year-long panic attack." Where, she wondered, were the people? "Where was the density, the sense of connection with strangers?" But then Dittmer and her family bought a townhouse in Lafayette Park, the modernist development created in the early '60 by Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig Hilberseimer and Alfred Caldwell — a place where the design itself encourages "a shared sense of intimacy that fosters community." READ MORE PARTNER NEWS: UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO Global Cities Institute Founded This cross-disciplinary initiative will house a Global City Indicators Facility, a new Laboratory for Model Cities and an immersive Model Cities Theatre, which will draw on comparative data and emerging 3D and other visualization techniques to test and project alternative modes of urban design and development. READ MORE HSIAO-HUNG PAI Factory of the World: Scenes from Guangdong In the past three decades, Guangdong province, in southern China, has developed a powerhouse economy, with an estimated 60,000 factories that daily produce $300 million worth of export goods. As the London-based journalist Hsiao-Hung Pai writes, this is a success story — but only for some. Here she investigates the working and living conditions of migrant laborers in Guangdong's cities and the widening gap between the prosperous and the poor, what she calls "the most ruthless aspect" of contemporary Chinese urbanism. READ MORE PARTNER NEWS: UT AUSTIN Students Win Charles E. Peterson Prize A team of 14 students spanning two years won the 2012 prize offered by the Historic American Buildings Survey of the National Park Service, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia and The American Institute of Architects. READ MORE MARK ROBBINS & NANCY LEVINSON Student/Teacher In summer 2011, Mark Robbins, then dean of architecture at Syracuse University, traveled from upstate New York to Rwanda, to visit the Kigali Institute of Technology. There he took a series of photographs of students and their parents or guardians in their houses, part of an ongoing investigation into what Robbins describes as "questions of culture, space, decor and the body." We are pleased to present a selection from this portfolio. READ MORE		JOIN PLACES ON FACEBOOK \| TWITTER JOIN DESIGN OBSERVER GROUP ON FACEBOOK \| TWITTER Information session October 13th. Register today >> The place to go for the latest and most trusted information regarding sustainability in our industry. eQ from Sappi >> NYC: October 26-28 Register today >> OmniFocus >> PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 1995 Splendid China A tour of Splendid China, the "world's largest miniature scenic spot. READ MORE PARTNER SCHOOL University of Manitoba, Faculty of Architecture The University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture is the first faculty in Canada to offer four post-graduate, built-environment professional degree programs: Architecture, City Planning, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design. All of these are based on a comprehensive non-professional Environmental Design undergraduate program that results in a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree. The Faculty of Architecture also offers a Ph.D. Program. The Ph.D. in Design and Planning in the Faculty of Architecture focuses on research in the following areas: Planning and Design Theory; Sustainable Planning and Design; Planning and Design Education; Planning and Design Practice; and Design and Planning Technologies. Through its focus upon design excellence, teaching and research, the faculty demonstrates its commitment to improving the quality of the built environment and associated ecological, economic, physical and social well-being of the global community.
Privacy Policy \| Contact Us You are subscribed as \| Unsubscribe Copyright © 2012 Observer Omnimedia LLC. All rights reserved. Design Observer, 150 Deepwood Drive, Hamden, CT 06517-3452 USA