The Revitalist

Out of San Francisco comes a fascinating new green idea—reusing shipping containers for housing that would otherwise collect and clutter shipping yards and overtime rust and degrade the acres of land they are stacked upon. The man behind it: Joel Karr, an architect who has devoted much of his career to sustainable solutions involving underused shipping containers (50% of shipping containers receive only a single use due to the cost of reusing them for shipping). Container Nation, a subsidiary of Karr’s firm, Group 41, recently revealed some of its newest concepts for reuse of shipping containers.

Karr’s first experiment in Tokyo involved using the containers as trash receptacles to power surrounding buildings with methane gas created by the waste. Since then, his ideas have become even more inventive progressing from rough reuse in the shipping yards to stacking containers to create mixed-income apartment housing. It seems improbable, but a housing project in Salt Lake City, Utah, begs to differ. There, shipping containers may provide a low-cost building material creating a simplistic and synergetic solution to low-cost housing and container reuse. Proposals for the project scheduled to begin in early 2010 include two different stacking designs: the “Red Container Scheme” and the “Curve Scheme”.

"Red Container Scheme"

 

"Curve Scheme"

Besides this ingenious use, containers may also be used for homeless housing or emergency housing. To see more on this, check out Container Nation's video for Google’s 10 to the 100th competition.

http://www.containernation.com/project-google.php

 

The blocks and neighborhoods of New York City are in a constant state of demographic, cultural, and physical change.  As attitudes and tastes change, architecture changes with them, and new replaces old in a continuing cycle.  The clash of old and new in the City has helped shape the evolution of historic preservation in America -- for example, the demolition of Penn Station in the 1960s galvanized the preservation movement that was able to save Grand Central Station from a similar fate.  One result of the Penn Station debacle was the creation of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, the small City agency charged with preserving the City's heritage as expressed in its built environment.  Last week, the New York Times set out to evaluate how that agency is doing today.  Now is an important time to think about preservation, as the City has been enjoying a remarkable building boom in recent years and development pressure has never been higher.  

Unfortunately, the report shows that the agency is underfunded and understaffed to successfully pursue its mission in a City where there are so many people who care about the physical environment.  The LPC is forced to choose between "pursuing its own priorities" and being able to respond to landmark requests from the public, many of which reflect the real concerns of real people about the imminent loss of important parts of their neighborhoods.  The LPC lacks the resources it needs to protect the public good in NYC, and it appears not to leverage effectively the resources it does have -- the commissioners do not play an active role in what buildings come up for designation, for example.  A State Supreme Court judge recently ruled that unreasonable delays in responding to landmark requests undermine the very purpose of the LPC and must be addressed.  The City should take steps to improve its preservation agency while there are still landmarks to be saved.  

http://www.irinnews.org/PhotoDetail.aspx?ImageId=2008102028

Due to climate change, much of Bangladesh’s minimal land (144,000 sq km) is rapidly returning to the sea with projections of 1/5 diminished land area by 2050. The solution for the nation's occupants? Go with the flow.

Mohammed Rezwan, a native of Bangladesh and a trained architect, proposed utilizing boats for schools, health facilities, libraries, and agricultural training in a country where land, even where available, is not always stable. He then formed an NGO that builds boats for these purposes. Now, even schools continue through monsoons as students board boats rather than waiting for floodwaters to recede before they can travel to the school. For a country that oscillates between land and water, the concept of a water village provides an innovative and attractive solution.

http://www.irinnews.org/PhotoDetail.aspx?ImageId=2008102030

The villages would also be sustainable. Equipped with solar panels, each community boat provides for its own energy needs and also charges inexpensive solar lamps for houseboats. These lamps, also developed by the NGO which Rezwan runs, are given to top students at the school and made available to others for $7.30 US dollars. Though students would be able to charge their lamps at the school for no charge, the rest of the community would pay $.60 US each a month to charge their lamps on the community boats.

A village on water proposes an interesting approach to planning in overcrowded areas. Rather than creating land through fill (which would not be possible in Bangladesh), ignore the confines of land and simply create a floating village on the water.

http://www.mnweekly.ru/local/20071025/55285009.html

Adjacent to Moscow’s Kremlin, Russian developers are jumping on the bandwagon in support of adaptive reuse. Though the main motivation for development stems from the high market rate near the Kremlin ($20,000-$50,000 per square yard), some developers are catching the vision of smart adaptive reuse that considers the historical and physical context of the structure.

The Krasny Oktyabr chocolate factory, later renamed Red October in remembrance of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, surprisingly lends quite a bit to understanding the history of Russia from the late 19th century to present. During a period of upheaval in Russia, the chocolate wrappers of the Krasny Oktyabr chocolate factory documented the feelings and impressions of the Muscovites and also provided political propaganda showing the great transition over from a Russia controlled by Tsars. Wrappers portrayed images of Tsars and later those of Muscovite children thanking Stalin for their happy childhood.

The sanitizing of the city comes straight from the Moscow government—no industrial facilities are now allowed within the city, so the chocolate factory had to go. The removal of the chocolate factory from the center of Moscow disbands a sense of associative history from a place where industry overlooked the Kremlin. Though developers plan to show sensitivity to the Kremlin through marketing the new lofts to “the thinking billionaire” who understands the importance of historical context, the loss of industry from the vicinity of the Kremlin cannot be salvaged through any design.

For some here on the east coast, in Boston especially, it is hard to imagine that the western United States could possibly have as rich an architectural and cultural history - but I assure you, it's true!  Living out west for five years, I gained quite an affection for the wide-open spaces - rolling plains and towering mountains - and especially for the State of Montana. 

Last month I spent a delightful week bumming around the western side of the state visiting friends and checking out "archinerd" hot spots like Butte and Virginia City.   

In addition to the lakesSunset on Swan Lake in Bigfork, mountains, Glacier National Park, and all the huckleberries you could want, Montana has an incredible history and some of the most amazing small towns I have had the privilege of visiting.  One of my favorites, Virginia City, is has a remarkable story and while I can't tell it all here, it's a story worth sharing.

Virginia City, a town of about 150 year-round residents, is the west's best-preserved gold mining town (and a National Historic Landmark to boot!), owned by the state and run by the Montana Heritage Commission.  Over 100 buildings and thousands of artifacts provide us with an incredibly intact and well-rounded view of burgeoning communities all over the western United States in the 1860s.  Virginia City sits in Alder Gulch, the site of the most lucrative gold strike in the Rocky Mountains. 

Virginia City Streetscape

Preservation of the community began as far back as 1899 through the Montana Historical Society, and by 1920 it had become quite a tourist attraction.  In the 1940s the Bovey family took on the unusual challenge of preserving this community while interpreting the site to attract tourists.  It wasn't until 1997 that the State of Montana purchased the deteriorated town (and neighboring Nevada City) and formed the Montana Heritage Commission to operate the site, with the goal of preserving and interpreting the site while attaining economic independence.

Virginia City streetscapeInterior of the Dry Goods store
Today the site faces real challenges such as waning funding and trying to balance a short, but intense, tourist season with the needs of full time residents.  My good friend Jeff MacDonald, Lead Preservation Specialist, has started the Virginia City Institute to focus the work of the historic preservation team.  This is the training division of the Montana Heritage Commission, and offers courses for certification in historic preservation and maintenance.  The incredible variety of historic building techniques, including rare and intact wood, masonry and stone buildings, offer a chance for training and for the preservation team on the ground in Virginia City get the help needed help in investigating and preserving these structures.  While this is a unique preservation situation, there are a lot of lessons to be learned.  If any of you have a chance to visit this unbelievable place, don't pass it up!  Be sure and have a beer at the Pioneer, catch the Brewery Follies show at the first brewery in Montana (1863), and grab a sweet roll and check out the beautiful artwork offered at the Metropolitan Market.

Next week: tune in to hear about Montana Preservation Alliance and their work on the Boulder Administration Building in Boulder on the campus of the Montana Developmental Center.

http://www.katrinadestruction.com/images/d/4611-6/hurricane+katrina+flooding+photos

It's common to every workplace; we want to impress our employer, and we will usually do what it takes to keep our jobs. As ht help politicians understand what we expect of them. To do so, we need to be well informed ourselves to give concrete feedback about their actions. Unless this happens, politicians will focus their efforts on large scale projects which sparkle and easily impress the untrained eye.

While repairing roads, bridges, or strengthening a river levee may not be front page news and attract multitudes of praise, they are paramount as the neglect of these improvements could ultimately lead to the loss of many lives in the face of disaster.  On a lesser scale, the monetary cost of repair after disaster will often be much greater than the cost of prevention. Considering the great losses of Katrina and the I-35 W bridge collapse, we need to stop ignoring risks and prepare for the "what ifs".

The job of the politician should be first and foremost to protect public lives and interests. Until these are protected, we should not be pouring funds into impressive new highways or parks. So, let your voice be heard for preparation--stop supporting the philosophy of "hoping nothing happens" now.

For a moment, picture a different New York City: rolling hills cover the landscape, birds flutter through the sky, and turbines spin as the wind whips them about. This is the New York City in Mayor Bloomberg’s dreams—with a few “minor” adjustments—the rolling hills are made of concrete and steel, and the only whipping wind comes from helicopters thousands of feet up in the sky.

Though the wind plan is not feasible in NYC, channeling wind or solar power offers sustainable solutions for energy production in cities as the demand for energy continues to increase. Outfitting a big city to run off vertical turbine wind power proves expensive and near impossible due to structural realities, but other options for harnessing wind power are constantly being developed. In Guangzhou, China, the Pearl River Tower will capture wind through large scoops placed incrementally throughout the exterior walls of the tower. Once captured, the wind will be directed to turbines inside the tower, and the energy will then be used to power the HVAC.

But to Mayor Bloomberg, stick with the solar panels. They’re a much more feasible option for NYC.

Images: Top, Statue of Liberty with windmill in hand; Bottom, Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou, China                        

David Byrne, a rock star from 'my generation' (The Talking Heads, if you have to ask) has gone on and done all sorts of cool things with the next chapters of his life, and there have been many chapters-- A current chapter includes urban bike riding, namely tooling around on his bike in New York City. As a man of many talents, he was recently asked to design some bike racks.I applaud him and the City of NYC for getting this done!

The NYT recently wrote about this accomplishment.

In twenty years, don’t be surprised if walking into a skyscraper feels like an amusement park ride. No more static working environments—the next generation will experience ultimate luxury. Just imagine sitting at your desk revolving around the central core of your building while taking in varied views of the city. The dynamic office would certainly simplify life for HR--no employee could complain about the view out his or her office because they would all have the same view. It’s all part of the move toward a more egalitarian society, right?

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Dynamic Architecture, a UK-based firm, specializes in designing skyscrapers with independently rotating floors. With one in Moscow and the other in Dubai on the drawing board, the firm has yet to produce one of the fantastical towers. In fact, the firm’s chief architect and visionary, Dr. David Fisher, has never produced a major piece of architecture.  

Dubai’s dynamic tower will not only have rotating floors, but it will also sport a car elevator which will deliver each tenant’s car to their own floor. It seems as though the Dubai tower would be a perfect car mall—what could be a more prime piece of real estate for a car dealer than a skyscraper with floor to ceiling windows that rotate around the city? Only requirement is the dealer better sell hybrids or low emissions cars. It would be a shame to cancel out all of the architect’s green building efforts—including being fully powered by solar and wind energy.

Currently, skepticism is the only thing revolving around the core of this structure, but don’t be surprised when your city’s skyline includes one of these slithering Vegas-style skyscrapers.