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Archive for January, 2009

Interview with Laurie Olin, FASLA

Posted in Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Design on 01/30/2009 | Leave a Comment »

In a wide-ranging interview with ASLA, Laurie Olin, one of the world’s best known landscape architects, discusses the ideas and processes behind award-winning projects, such as the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and Columbus Circle in Manhattan. Olin also add his thoughts on landscape architecture’s relationship with sustainability, and the effects [...]

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Actions: What You Can Do with the City

Posted in Exhibits, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 01/29/2009 | Leave a Comment »

Design Under Sky wrote about an exhibit at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montreal entitled Actions: What You Can Do with the City. The exhibit runs through April 19, 2009. CCA’s site lists 99 actions that instigate positive change in contemporary cities. According to CCA, “The 99 actions featured include projects related to the production [...]

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Design Thinking by IDEO

Posted in Sustainable Design on 01/28/2009 | Leave a Comment »

Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, a firm that continually tops Fast Company’s rankings of the most innovative companies, wrote an article in Harvard Business Review entitled “Design Thinking.” The article says “thinking like a designer can transform the way you develop products, services, processes – and even strategy.” Brown outlines “some of the characteristics to look for [...]

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World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009

Posted in Environment, Policy and Regulation on 01/28/2009 | Leave a Comment »

The World Economic Forum 2009 Annual Meeting began yesterday in Davos, Switzerland. Andrew Schneider, Chief Operating Officer of the Forum, said in an interview last week: “We need to rethink the business model in view of sustainability and ethical frameworks.” Clearly, a goal worth focusing on. The environment, transportation, green jobs, and sustainability are all on [...]

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Using Energy Efficiency to Support the Economic Recovery

Posted in Policy and Regulation on 01/27/2009 | Leave a Comment »

Charles Ebinger, Director, Energy Security Initiative, at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., has written an op-ed on how energy efficiency could be a key tool for ensuring that “the economic recovery leaves no one behind.” While President Obama pitches the Economic Stimulus Plan on Capitol Hill today to critics who view the USD 150 billion environmental [...]

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Flower Game for PlayStation 3

Posted in Environment, Technology, Urban Revitalization on 01/27/2009 | 3 Comments »

Sony will soon release a new game “Flower,” which explores the path of an urban flower that seeks to escape to the countryside.  Sony’s designer says the game is an interactive poem, which uses abstract landscapes, and the ”flower is the gamer’s dream.” According to Wired, “flower lets the player explore the dreams of city blooms trapped in urban decay, [...]

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Energy Exports vs. the Environment in Norway

Posted in Climate Change, Environment on 01/26/2009 | Leave a Comment »

In a sense, Norway is home to one of the world’s most environmentally- conscious populations. 98-99 percent of Norway’s domestic energy comes from hydro-electric plants. According to The Economist, in 1991, Norway became one of the first countries to implement a carbon tax. Also, it was one of the first countries to capture and store [...]

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Climate Change Thinning Western U.S. Forests

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Forests on 01/26/2009 | 1 Comment »

According to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey and researchers at various U.S. universities, trees in the Western U.S. are dying at faster rates, and climate change seems to be the reason. According to the study, temperatures across the Western states have risen by 0.5-0.9 degrees Fahrenheit every ten years. The warming has resulted in reduced snowfall, less dense winter [...]

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Governor’s Island Becoming Eco-Park

Posted in Sustainable Design, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 01/26/2009 | Leave a Comment »

West 8 , a Dutch landscape architecture firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Roger Marvel Architects are proceeding with plans to turn Governor’s Island in New York City into an “eco-park.” Governor’s Island, which was purchased by New York State and City for $1 in 2003, was previously used by the Coast Guard. The park is expected [...]

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U.S. Ban on Illegally Sourced Wood

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Sustainable Materials on 01/23/2009 | Leave a Comment »

Jonathan Nash, President of the World Resources Institute (WRI), argues that the “most interesting and overlooked” environmental victory of 2008 was the extension of the Lacey Act to cover the U.S. import of illegally sourced plants, including trees, and wood products, such as flooring, furniture, and paper. According to WRI, illegal logging may make up 8-10 percent of [...]

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