Posts for Blog
Design and time frame boundaries
I find is astonishing how little though we tend to put into design really. Particularly when it comes down to buildings that are supposed to last 50+ years.
Purpose and bigger picture
I must admit that I am having one of those moments again. I had WWF calling me to help protecting some cuddly animal. Last time it was a polar bear, then a panda and I have to admit I have forgotten what it was this…
The affordable housing quest
As an architect I have seen never ending reiterations of the “affordable housing” subject. Right now, the NZIA CPD days are focussing again around the very same subject: “Little Boxes? The Shape of Affordability in the Modern City”. I am wondering that every time the…
The issues of cheap oil and what the solution may be
It really strikes me that the actions we are sometimes doing and the behaviour we are showing sometimes makes no sense whatsoever. I refer to the latest articles about oil spills, Siberia, Canadian tar sands, burst pipelines and similar articles throughout the press and various…
How a Seattle school became the region’s first ‘Living Building’
Via Puget Sound Business Journal, May 10, 2013 When it rains hard, a stream of water gushes through a Seattle elementary classroom. Teachers don’t mind. Nor do the students, who had a hand in designing the classroom, which is in the West Coast’s first certified…
Europe just banned bee-killing pesticides
I just had to publish that in order to be able to share it. (it came in via email) If you would like to change the world and make it a better place, join AVAAZ today. It’s free and simple. I have done it. They…
Sustainability and reduction
Sustainability in itself does not necessarily relate to any reduction. Please look up the definition of “to sustain” and I think you won’t find any mentioning of any “reduction”. The issue is what people attribute to the word when they talk about it.
Join Earth Hour 2013
Earth Hour has now become much more than a symbolic action. It has evolved into a continuous movement driving real actions, big and small, that are changing the world we live in.
Our Hybrid car
I have been driving “Paul” now for a year, a second generation model Prius, built in 2001, so about 12 years old. Despite of people’s fear of ageing batteries, costly battery replacements and the funny belief that it may be not a “real” car, slow…
Stripping the land
Why are we sinking so much money and time into reshaping the land? Why can’t we just do subdivisions the good old way? Remove some trees, put pegs in, highlight your building platform and leave it to the buyer to decide what to do instead…