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Archive for December, 2008

Jeffrey Sachs on Sustainable Urbanization

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Sustainable Design, Water Management on 12/31/2008 | Leave a Comment »

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and author of numerous bestsellers, recently gave a lecture on sustainable urbanization in the 21st century at Columbia University’s School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning. Sachs defines sustainable development as the “science of global change in human physical systems,” and views the field as an ”emerging intellectual [...]

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Americans Spent USD 4.7 Trillion on Their Homes over Past Decade

Posted in Real Estate Development, Residential Design on 12/30/2008 | Leave a Comment »

According to The Wall Street Journal, Americans poured USD 4.7 trillion into their homes over the past decade, yet few new design ideas came out of this massive investment. The Wall Street Journal asked 15 architecture experts to list five of the most “influential and inspiring” houses created during the housing boom of the last [...]

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Ted.com: New Talk on Redwood Trees

Posted in Environment on 12/29/2008 | 1 Comment »

Ted.com posted a new video with Richard Preston, author of The New York Times Bestseller “The Wild Trees.” Preston discusses the  ”most enormous living beings on the planet,” the giant redwood trees of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. According to Preston, some trees may be 2,500 years old, and some can grow up to 380 feet tall. Preston says [...]

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Beyond Organic: Design in the State of Nature

Posted in Landscape Architecture on 12/29/2008 | Leave a Comment »

Archinect interviewed David Font, a landscape architect who created a exhibition and meeting space in the 6,000 square foot Collins Building at Design Miami, which was held in early December.  Furniture designs were highlighted within Font’s interior landscape, which included a mix of tropical plants. Font discusses the design and installation process for the exhibit. Watch the video interview with [...]

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Renzo Piano: “Ecology Can Be a Lovely Source of Inspiration”

Posted in Green Roofs, Sustainable Design, Technology on 12/23/2008 | 1 Comment »

Renzo Piano, winner of the 1998 Pritzker Prize, discussed ecology and architecture with Today Online.  On the Academy of Sciences building in San Francisco, Piano said “our duty is to translate the codes of this ecological language in a poetic way, to marry beauty with respect for the environment.” Furthermore, Piano argues that ”the architect should feel [...]

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Landscape Institute (UK) Releases Draft Position on Green Infrastructure

Posted in Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Design on 12/23/2008 | Leave a Comment »

The Landscape Institute released a draft position statement on “green infrastructure, and the value of connected, multifunctional landscapes.” The Landscape Institute writes: “green infrastructure approaches to land use planning must be afforded the same priority as conventional infrastructural components; a priority that it rightly deserves given its critical role in a wide range of challenges [...]

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Best Career 2009: Landscape Architect

Posted in Landscape Architecture on 12/22/2008 | 1 Comment »

According to U.S. News & World Report, landscape architects, one of 30 “best careers,’” must have “a talent for both the aesthetic and the functional, the art and the science — you’re creating an ecosystem that must thrive over time.” Furthermore, ecological restoration was listed as a “smart speciality” for landscape architects. ”Governments and nonprofit groups are restoring [...]

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Plant Rights

Posted in Environment on 12/19/2008 | Leave a Comment »

In its Year of Ideas issue, The New York Times Magazine highlighted a new trend in environmental protection: rights for nature. According to the magazine, Ecuador became the first country to extend constitutional rights to nature.  The constitution grants nature “the right to the maintenance and regeneration of its vital cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary [...]

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UNFCCC Conference Post-Mortem

Posted in Climate Change on 12/18/2008 | Leave a Comment »

The 11,000 participants and negotiators involved in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting have left in Poznan, Poland, without much progress towards a new agreement that can replace the Kyoto Protocol. According to The Economist, the promising developments were limited to: The launch of an USD 80 million Adaptation Fund, which channels funds from [...]

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New Plans for the 91-Acre Park at Base of St. Louis Arch

Posted in Historic Preservation on 12/17/2008 | Leave a Comment »

According to the San Franciso Chronicle, The U.S. National Park Service is reviewing plans to revitalize the 91-acre park that surrounds the St. Louis Arch. Parts of the park, which is called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, include ponds and walkways that mirror the movement of the arch. However, there also are roads and highways that also run across [...]

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