Industrial Kitchen Aesthetic

Bulthaup and EOOS, have designed a their B2 kitchen, on a workbench esthetic with a sink which looks like a woodworking bench and kitchen cabintes which look loike tool cabinets.

Architecture for digital prefabrication

September 2008 issue of Architectural Record has a continuing education unit on "Some Assembly Required" on the advantages and challenges of prefabrication with an emphasis on digital tools used in design. This discusses the five demonstration houses for the exhibition Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Unlike the poorly executed web sites about the exhibition by MOMA and by the architects, the AR learning module is a work of clarity.

1. Cellophane House: Stephen Kieran, FAIA, and James Timberlake, KieranTimberlake Associates KTA; transportable aluminium modules with PET skin,
2. Digitally Fabricated Housing for New Orleans: MIT developed house of computer cut plywood and high-density polyethylene sheets,
3. BURST*008: Jeremy Edmiston and Douglas Gauthier; computer cut plywood ribs clad with structural insulated panels,
4. SYSTEM3: Oskar Leo Kaufmann and Albert Rüf, house designed to be delivered in two shipping containers.
5. Micro Compact Home (MCH): Richard Hordenand Haack + Höpfner Architects, one container sized home.

Digitally Fabricated Australian Beach Hose In New York

ABC TV this week features Jeremy Edmiston's digitally fabricated "Burst" house in a display at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York. The building is designed on a computer and the each piece is cut by a computer controlled system.

Unfortunately unlike the architecture and the TV report, which is a work of art in itself, the web information about the exhibition by MOMA and by the architects are poorly designed. It may be that art galleries and architects do not understand how to design usable web sites, or simply don't care about usability. As it is I was unable to navigate within the architect's web site and had to use an external search engine to find my way around. To make it harder the designer decided to have the links move around the screen, making them very hard to click on.

See also:

• Digital architecture

• Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling

Broadcast:

Synopsis

Sitting just off Sixth Avenue, amid the skyscrapers of Manhattan, the beach house is disarmingly simple in appearance. But Burst is a structure on the cutting edge of technology and design.

Its twisting, sculptural form is generated by a computer and was assembled on site from 1,100 laser-cut pieces of plywood.

Architect Jeremy Edmiston says, “There’s no way to arrive at that twisting form easily without the computer …the twisting is about creating the right conditions to take advantage of the cross-ventilation of the site … to take advantage of the heating and the cooling the sun gives us on the site.“

Barry Bergdoll, curator of the Home Delivery exhibition says, “We threw our net incredibly wide.... Burst is just a fantastic piece of architecture … brilliantly formally inventive … intriguing.”

Bergdoll says the beach house has been a real hit with MOMA patrons. “It’s a house which is at the cutting edge of applying the forces of digital fabrication ….. it really is something which you wonder if, historically, people will look back and see as the beginning of something.”

From: New York - Aussie Beach Shack, Reporter: Michael Maher, POSTCARD SERIES 18, EPISODE 15Foreign Correspondent, ABC TV, 07/10/2008

Futuro House in Canberra

ninaribena left a comment on my post "Reducing ICT greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2020":

Hi Tom, completely off topic ... there is in fact a Futuro dome/pod structure located in Dickson. ...

Yes, more for relevant to my " Prefabricated homes as art", about the MOMA book "Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling". In this Barry Bergdoll and Peter Christensen document the history of prefabrication of homes, inlcuding the Futuro prefabricated house.

It happens that I used to live about 40 metres away from the example of the Futuro home in Canberra. It was part of the Canberra Planetarium and Observatory, which was run by the "Dickson Tradies" club as a community facility, but it closed in early February 2008.

After watching a large silver dome being constructed, with what appeared to be a spaceship next to it, I discovered the big silver dome was a planetarium and the small dome was used as part of the facility. I went to the opening of the planetarium in 1997 and wrote a web page about it, whioch the Shopping Sherpa linked (I guess that is how you found me).

Do you know of anyone with access to the interior of is,...

I guess I must have walked through the dome but don't recall seeing it from the inside. I suggest contacting the Dickson Tradies club to ask them about it. I suspect if you have a good community use for it, they would probably let you use it, or even have it, at a token fee.

Prefabricated homes as art

"Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling" (by Barry Bergdoll, Peter Christensen, Birkhäuser Basel; 1 edition August 1, 2008) is a book about the history of prefabrication of homes. It approaches the topic from the point of view of architecture as an artistic endeavour. Many of the systems of prefabrication listed appear to have had a commercial and social intention behind them, particularly to bring affordable housing to the masses. But the emphasis is on the artistic aspects of building as sculpture.

The book includes such historic oddities as the "Manning Portable Colonial Cottage for Emigrants", prefabricated in the UK in the 1800s and shipped as a flat pack to Australia. All the components could be lifted by one person and no nailing was required for assembly. One of the buildings, La Trobe’s Cottage, is still standing in Melbourne and is pictured in the book.

One omission from the list of prefabrication systems is Walter Burley Griffin's patented "Knitlock" system of interlocking concrete tiles. A factory was set up in Sydney to produce the system for use at Castlecrag in Sydney. While not a financial success, the system seems to have progressed more than the Textile Block System of Frank Lloyd Wright and deserves to be mentioned. The Knitlock system is described in "The Writings of Walter Burley Griffin" by Professor Dustin Hadley Griffin and an eyewitness account of the blocks being fabricated in Wanda Spathopoulos' "The Crag: Castlecrag 1924-1938". Copies of the drawings from the Knitlock patent are with the National Library of Australia. The first house built, Pholiota, is on the Register of the National Estate, as are seven in total:

Gumnuts 619 Nepean Hwy	Frankston, VIC, Australia
Julian St Jefferies House 7 Warwick Ave	Surrey Hills, VIC, Australia
Lippincott House 21 Glenard Dr	Heidelberg, VIC, Australia
Manyung Recreation Camp 35 Sunnyside Rd	Mount Eliza, VIC, Australia	(Indicative Place)
Pholiota 23 Glenard Dr	Heidelberg, VIC, Australia
The Duncan House 8 The Barbette	Castlecrag, NSW, Australia
The House of the Seven Lanterns 4 The Barbette	Castlecrag, NSW, Australia	(Indicative Place)

Compact and bijou not he slums of tomorrow

In "Compact and bijou - the slums of tomorrow?" (by Ray Furlong, BBC News, 12 September 2008) the question is asked if small apartments will become inner-city slums. The issue here is not the size of the smallest apartment, but the mix of sizes and styles. I purchased a 64 m2 one bedroom flat in Canberra's "City Edge" complex.This is ideal for one or two people. This was built by a consortium of a non-profit housing cooperative and a developer. There is a mix of housing styles, from small 50 m2 bachelor flats (with an innovative sliding bedroom wall) to three bedroom family flats and town houses.

It is silly to suggest a mandated minimum size will somehow increase the quality of housing; all it will do is reduce choice and increase cost. What is needed is a mix of different sizes and styles to suit different families and different stages in life.

Other things being equal, the cost of building a home is proportional to the floor area. If the floor area was set by legislation to 100 m2, this would double the price of the smallest home someone could buy. This would not result in everyone getting a home twice as big, just in many more people not being able to afford any home at all.

Continuing Education Learning Units for Professionals

The publication Architectural Record provides articles for American Institute of Architects (AIA) Continuing Education learning units . Members read the article (in the paper edition with some materials online) and answer test questions. A recent topical article is "Inside Beijing's Big Box of Blue Bubbles", (Joann Gonchar, July 2008), about the technology in the Beijing 2008 Olympics water cube swimming stadium.

US requirements for architects are for between 8 and 12 hours of Mandatory Continuing Education per year (varies by US state). The Beijing article is about 5 A4 pages (50% illistrations), with ten test questions.

The AIA scheme is much like continuing eduction programs of other professional bodies. However, most do not require a test, just completion of the education activity. As an example, the ACS's Computer Professional (CP) Program requires of thirty hours development a year. Many of the events listed in the ACS calendar qualify, but most do not have a test. The CPEP also has online learning modules with formal assessment, but these are full semester long course units, not something you can do in an hour or so.

Perhaps something between just reading an article or attending an hour long talk and a full formal semester unit is needed. This could be a form of blended learning, with a face-to-face talk and an online component and test. Those not wanting the points could still attend the live event, or read the articles.

Experimental approach to campus planning

On a visit to the Home Ideas Centre in Sydney I found they have a very good architecture and design bookstore. I asked about books for designing electronic classrooms. Jon Ruwalt, the bookstore manager, was not put off by the unusual request and suggested The Oregon Experiment by Christopher Alexander.

This was the project which lead to Alexander's theory of Pattern Languages, now used for software design as well as architecture. It would be appropriate if this could be used to design both the classroom and the systems for it. However, that is a long way from practical designs. But perhaps someone has done some patters which are applicable.

Capital idea the Canberra that might have been

Marion Halligan's "Capital idea" (The Australian, July 12, 2008), is not so much a book review as a review of the work of the book's subject. The book referred to is "The Writings of Walter Burley Griffin", a collection of work by the architect of Canberra edited by Dustin Griffin (Cambridge University Press, 2008). About all she says of the Griffin's prose is: "often rather claggy, but there are pearls buried in it". Most of the review is actually about Griffin's architectural work, particularly the design of Canberra, and the way it has been treated by bureaucrats.

Griffin's work is steeped in legend. Exactly what was designed by him and what was by his wife (an architect in her own right) and by otehrs in his practice is debated. Exactly if such a distinction makes sense for an architect is also debated. As an example Halligan claims that one of the two constructions by Griffin in Canberra is an incinerator. However, a well researched article by the ACT Library and Information Services attributes the incenerator to Eric Nicholls. Walter Burley Griffin had formed a partnership with Nicholls in the early 1930s and Griffin's input is evident in early designs. However, the Canberra incinerator was built in 1937-38, after Griffin’s death. This lacks some of Griffin's design touches and is most likely the work of Nicholls.

The Writings of Walter Burley Griffin

The book "The Writings of Walter Burley Griffin" will be launched in Sydney 3 August 2008. The launch will take place at the Glebe Incinerator, one of the few remaining buildings designed by Walter Burley Griffin, best known for his design for Canberra. The Walter Burley Griffin Society has issued an invitation to book launch:

Walter Burley Griffin Society - invitation to book launch, Sunday 3 August at Glebe Incinerator

Members and friends of the Society,

Cambridge University Press and the Society invite you to the Sydney launch of the new book titled The Writings of Walter Burley Griffin by Professor Dustin Hadley Griffin, on Sunday 3 August 2008 at 2.30pm at the Glebe Incinerator, corner Forsyth Street and Griffin Place, Glebe.

Councillor John McInerney of City of Sydney, our guest speaker, will talk about the Griffin legacy and the continuity of the Griffins' ideas.

Professor James Weirick, President of the Walter Burley Griffin Society, will be giving a scholarly background to Professor Griffin's book.

For those who have not yet visited the Glebe Incinerator, this is an opportunity to see the results of the restoration work to this important industrial building in its fine harbourside setting on Blackwattle Bay.

Parking at the incinerator is limited.

For the event, Cambridge University Press is offering members of the Walter Burley Griffin Society a discount of 25% off the retail price - you pay only $149.25 + $9.90 postage and handling - reduced from $199. The Society will forward any email replies/book orders to the publishers, for those who are unable to attend the event.

For a review of the book, please see the review section of the Weekend Australian (12-13 July) newspaper.

Regards,
Kerry
info(a)griffinsociety.org

From the book description:

Walter Burley Griffin (1876-1937) was a distinguished modernist American architect, landscape architect and town planner. His work attracted world-wide attention in 1912 when he won the international competition to design a new capital city for Australia. Griffin was also a prolific lecturer and writer. In this edition, his 71 pieces of writing have been thematically categorised under ten headings to reflect the variety and interrelations of his professional interests: Canberra; Town and Campus Planning; Residential Communities; Designing the House; Building the House; Landscape Architecture; Public Buildings; India; Architecture and Politics and the Future of Architecture. At a time when Griffin's design for Canberra has attracted renewed attention, this canon of his work provides unparalleled access to his thinking about architecture and town planning.

Book Description
Walter Burley Griffin was a distinguished modernist American architect, landscape architect and town planner. His work attracted world-wide attention in 1912 when he won the international competition to design a new capital city for Australia. In this edition, his 71 pieces of writing have been thematically categorised.

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (August 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521897130
• ISBN-13: 978-0521897136

Other books: Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin

Greek temple in Canberra

After many weeks away in the Eastern Mediterranean I felt I had come full circle when I noticed the stone set into the foyer of the National Library of Australia. This is a marble block from from the Library of Pantainos in the Ancient Agora of Athens and was a gift of the Greek Government in 1973. The NLA building is in a style called "Stripped Classical", looking like a Greek temple, with all the fiddly bits removed. The library currently looks even more like a Greek site, as there is a large wire fence around part of it and a temporary steel roof, while refurbishment work is done. Just about every second public building in Greece seems to be having work done on it.

Apple Store Sydney

Apple's new store in Sydney opened 19 June 2008. I visited yesterday and found it still crowded with people. The store has the same glass curtain wall, transparent minimal design as other Apple stores. It makes an interesting contrast with the Telstra T.Life store opposite. Telstra have tried very hard to be cool, but can't quite achieve it, whereas Apple seem to do it effortlessly.

The architectural highlight of the Apple store is a glass staircase. The treads appear transparent when looked at side on, creating anxiety as to how substantial they are. However, they are made of multiple sheets of laminated glass and when you look down at the step you are standing on you see that the top surface is frosted and has a miniature checker plate non slip pattern on it. The result is something which looks insubstantial from a distance but solid close up.

The store has minimal blond wood furniture and a white back lit wall. It looks best from across the road at night and appears to be a large glass display case. The ground floor has desktop and note book computers, with iPods on the first floor and training and support above. Like the Telstra store, it is so minimal that it is difficult to discover there are other floors or what might be on them and so I needed to ask one of the numerous and very helpful staff.

One dangerous flaw with the store is that the presence of glass indicators on the curtain wall are inadequate. These have been done in frosting and, particularly from the side, are not easy to see. As a result I almost walked into the glass wall of the building. I pointed this out to one of the staff , suggesting they needed to add more and easy to see markers (they said they would tell the management). Apple need to fix this quickly; apart from the danger to pedestrians, a service or emergency vehicle maneuvering on the footpath could well drive into the building, not seeing the glass. Australian Standard AS 1288-2006 Glass in buildings - Selection and installation, section 5.19: MAKING GLASS VISIBLE (MANIFESTATION) requires a glass panel to be marked to make it visible with an opaque band which is readily apparent. The Apple store does not meet this standard.

Also the front steps are in gray stone, which is hard to see and could be improved with some warning Tactile Ground Surface Indicators. The architect might think these additions would detract from the minimal design, but it would be better than death or injury to the customers or staff.

Corporate Governance in Malaysia

This week I attended the Malaysian Corporate Governance Conference at the Securities Commission, Kuala Lumpur, 15 - 16 May 2008. The conference was organized by the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute. These are some impressions from the first day of the conference, format, topics, venue and business in Malaysia.

Format of a Malaysian Conference

A business conference in Malaysia seems to have much the same format as in Australia, but with some of the elements of the one I attended in China. There was more formality with the opening of the program than usual in Australia, the dignitaries being introduced and presented with gifts. There was a generous amount of time in breaks to meet people and the conference organizers spent a lot of time introducing people to each other, which made for a more interactive event than many Australian conferences.

As well as a lectern on the stage there were two comfy arm chairs and coffee table. Each session started and ended with the moderator and speaker sitting down, which made for a more comfortable atmosphere.

Opening Address: CEO Malaysian stock exchange

The conference keynote address was by Yang Berbahagia Dato' Yusli Mohamed Yusoff, Chief Executive Officer, Bursa Malaysia (the Malaysian Stock Exchange, previously the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, KLSE, or Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur ). Like Australia, the Malaysian stock exchange is a non-government entity, with some regulatory functions delegated from Parliament. Malaysia introduced new governance rules in late 2007, so governance is topical.

The Bursa Malaysia CEO said there was more room for reform in governance by Malaysian companies and they needed to do more than just comply with the rules. He addressed the need for leadership in companies, with accountable and prudent governance in the interests of shareholders, in response to scandals in companies. The board of directors of listed companies are charged with safeguarding the assets of the company. The primary market focus of the stock exchange is to maintain good governance to encourage investment. He said the most important tool was to create a corporate culture for accountable conduct without reducing the need for risk taking. Investors are looking to invest in companies with ethical business practices.

The CEO also mentioned environmental and sustainability issues as ones which make business sense, with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Two years ago Bursa Malaysia produced a CSR Framework for Malaysian PLCs, at the time the government included a requirement for CSR reporting by companies.

This year the role of auditors is being reviewed. The stock exchange has its own guidelines for audit oversight.

The CEO also addressed the need for global standards. In January 2007 corporate governance requirements were changed to require a corporate audit committee.

Having the stock exchange chief at the conference was a high honour for the conference delegates. After his address there was a media scrum with the CEO outside the door.

The Venue: Securities Commission Building

The conference was held in the headquarters of the Malaysian Securities Commission. This is a showcase high technology building by Hijjas Kasturi Associates (construction management by Bovis Lend Lease) is a parkland setting.

One feature of the building is underfloor air distribution, using Cementitious Infill Steel Access Flooring. A false floor is used for the air conditioning and also cables for power and data.

One logistical problem I had was the lack of espresso coffee. I wandered downstairs to the Securities Commission cafeteria, but they did not have any. On the way I noticed that as well as impressive conference rooms, the SC also had a fully equipped video conference facility, called the "Dialogue Room" (there is a video of the room online):

The Dialogue Room situated at the Lower Ground Level 1(LG1) has a seating capacity of 44. The room set-up is ideal for press conferences, small group training, board meetings as well as discussions. The room has a U-shape seating arrangement and each seat is equipped with a touch-panel console for a microphone and a voting system.

From: SC BUILDING Conference Facilities, Malaysia Securities Commission, 2007

One interesting inclusion in the building are day rooms, in the lower level:

Guest Day Rooms These air-conditioned rooms situated at the Lower Ground Level 2 (LG2) are specially built for guests and are supplied with double beds, bathrooms with showers, as well as telephones. These facilities are for guests to freshen-up before their sessions.

Conference sessions for day one

SESSION ONE: CREATING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN THE GLOBAL
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Moderator: Mr Puvan J. Selvanathan, Executive Director, Caux Round Table Malaysia
Speaker: Yang Mulia Tunku Abdul Aziz, President, Caux Round Table Malaysia, Former Special Advisor on Ethics to the UN Secretary General

• What are the growing trends in corporate governance in global economies?
• What are the detrimental factors to the sustainability of businesses in global emerging economies?
• What do companies in developed economies do to create sustainability? What can Malaysian companies learn from them?
• Does size matter? Does sustainability differ from a large multinational company to a small company?
• What do Malaysian companies need to leverage on to create sustainable growth in global businesses?

The Caux Round Table is a body I had not previously heard of. My understanding is that it is a non-government body formed in response to problems of corruption in business, to foster more ethical practices internationally with moral and responsible capitalism. Caux Round Table currently do not have an Australian branch, although there are some Australians involved internationally.

Yang Mulia Tunku Abdul Aziz reminded the audience that is is ten years since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. He criticized the misuse of "Asian values" as a cover for corruption, saying that values such as respect for elders should not prevent questions being asked about the actions of corporations.

Puvan J. Selvanathan looked at the details as used in Caux Round Table projects, concentrating on sustainability. Unfortunately he did not define what he meant by "sustainability" (nor did other speakers at the conference). In Australia, this term is currently used almost exclusively to refer to environmental sustainability, but in Malaysia seemed to be referring to social and business issues as well.

Puvan argued that corporations needed to move to an "involve me" model, with shareholders actively involved, not just observers. He then mentioned Corporate social responsibility (CSR), which seems to be a hot topic in Malaysia. He argued that lack of CSR can result in very negative publicity and good corporate governance is a risk mitigation strategy.

Jay Bragdon's 2007 book "Profit for Life", was cited emphasizing companies stewardship of resources. He argued that this "hyppie" language was coming back into vogue for business. He then quoted Porter in the Harvard Business review on companies needing a healthy society. Cannon was given as an example of the Japanese concept of "Kyosei" with companies acting responsibly.

However following the new Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd's emphasis on evidence-based policy , is there evidence to support these claims for CSR? While it might be good in the long term for socially for companies to act ethically, doesn't the evidence show that in the sort term they can make such large profits by acting unethically that this outweighs the risks?

In response to a question about this Tunku argued that there was a need to ask hard questions about the actions of senior people, even if this causes some embarrassment. He used the example of the former Secretary General of the UN setting up a foundation for humanitarian purposes, with prizes given. Even though the funds were given for, and to be used for, humanitarian purposes there were ethical issues as the funds were not to be used through the UN. Puvan advocated using a code of ethics, using the example of that for architects (he is by training an architect). This seems to be essentially the same issue as ethics for ICT professionals. The Malaysian 2020 plan also got a mention from one of the questioners at question time (an interesting comparison could be drawn with the Australian 2020 Summit).

See also Books:
Corporate governance
Technology and Corporate Governance
Leadership in corporate governance
Audit and Corporate Governance
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Shareholder Activism

New Concord Library

Greetings from the Community Open Day of the New Concord Library Sydney. This is a new building. It has several different types of perforated metal sunshades on the north curtain glass wall, as well as what appear to be solar powered ventilation towers, with wind vanes on the top. Two candy cane shaped vents, each more than a metre across, come out of the ground at the western end of the building and are presumably part of a low energy ventilation system.

There are breakout rooms for about six people on the north side with glass sliding doors on both sides of the rooms. When open, these doors provide access between the stacks and a corridor between the curtain wall of the building. When closed the rooms can be used for meetings. The idea of having a space which can be opened for general use when not needed otherwise is similar to that used in the Biological Sciences Library Building, University of Queensland . Other alcoves are on on one side and have two rows of tree PCs. Other alcoves have no PCs and were used on the open day as booths for community displays.

The library is equipped with HP Compaq dc7800 Ultra-slim desktop PCs fitted to the back of HP L1750 LCD screens. This arrangement eliminates the desktop computer boxes, but there still a lot of wires packed behind the units. ASUS's "E-Monitor" built into an LCD screen would suit a library. Most of the PCs are on very functional and solid laminated plywood benches. The hard uncovered chairs might need to be replaced with more comfortable ones.

There are also some of the "jellybean" desks in the open plan areas, similar to those at RMIT Library Melbourne. Unlike the desks at RIMT, these have very stable legs and may suit a flexible learning centre. There are power/data points recessed in the floor under the desks. These are made from stainless steel and look very solid, however the edges of the steel covering plates are sharp and may be a hazard for small children and also careless adults (a run over the edges with a file should fix the problem).

Welcome to your new Concord Library. IT'S YOURS TO
ENJOY!
Join us when the opening ribbon is cut by Mayor Angelo Tsirekas at
11am.
When: Saturday, 10 May 11am-3pm.
Where: Concord
Library, 60 Flavelle Street, Concord.
There's Something For
Everyone
tour the library;
join the library;
face painting by Colleen
from Bunnings or Cheekie the Clown;
gift-making for Mother's Day;
feeding of farm animals;
kid's nutrition;
first aid;
calligraphy
writing;
public speaking with Concord West Toastmasters;
demonstrations
on Internet, email and databases;
information from University of the Third
Age (U3A);
Canada Bay's history and culture with Concord Heritage Society;
health checks at Health Expo on Level 3; and
meet your community heroes
from the Police, SES and Fire Brigade.
Entertainment
Concord West Public
School choir;
My Guitar School pop music ensemble group;
McDonald
College performers; and
Funky Butts dance routine.
Food
Sausage
sizzle, soft drinks, tea, coffee and cakes.

From: Community
Open Day, Concord Library, City of Canada Bay, 2008

Sustainable Sydney Plan

The Sydney City Council has released a "Sustainable Sydney" plan, with a light rail in the city centre, more pedestrian malls, and a green corridor. However, before you get too excited, this is a plan for 2030 and is a long way from being funded or implemented.

• Cover Letter by Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP | 550kb PDF
• City Vision
  
• City Futures
  
  1. A Globally Competitive and Innovative City
     
  2. A Leading Environmental Performer
  3. Integrated Transport for a Connected City
     
  4. A City for Walking and Cycling
  5. A Lively, Engaging City Centre
  6. Vibrant Local Communities and Economies
  7. A Cultural and Creative City
  8. Housing for a Diverse Population
     
  9. Sustainable Development, Renewal and Design
  10. Implementation Through Partnerships

Appendices

Unfortunately the City of Sydney has created a very difficult to use web site for the plan. The council seems to have gone out of its way to make the document hard to find and read. The web site states: "Accessible versions of the Sustainable Sydney 2030 document will be made available here shortly." This is contrary to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

Designing classrooms like Greek Temples

In his thesis (and later book) "Architectural Space in Ancient Greece", the architect Constantinos A. Doxiadis advanced the theory that the layout of buildings at ancient Greek sites, such as the Acropolis were not as haphazard as they appeared. He argued that, rather than the grid pattern seen from above used by modern planners, the ancient architects thought in terms of how the buildings looked from an important vantage point, usually the main ceremonial entry point. The buildings and monuments were arranged so that they were all visible from this point and not obscured by each other and arranged at pleasing angles, such as multiples of 30°.

Perhaps the same approach could be taken to designing a computer equipped classroom: Think of the teacher as the observer at the focal point, the computer screens as monuments and the desks as buildings. Alternatively each student could be thought of as the observer and the teacher as a statue, with the screens as buildings.

The point of this exercise is to free the designer from the rectilinear plan view of the room, which is not something the people actually in the room can ever see.

The book The Internet and the Language Classroom (by Gavin Dudeney, Cambridge University Press; 2 edition, March 19, 2007) shows two suggested layouts for computer equipped language labs on page 34. This shows a conventional layout with a rectangular table. There are many designs used, but little written about why.

Perhaps it is where there is a constraint imposed an more interesting design happens. One example is OBS' mobile classrooms. These have to fit onto thew back of a truck on trailer.

Did Frank Lloyd Wright invent the Prairie Style?

In Architecture of the Absurd: How "Genius" Disfigured a Practical Art John Silber asks why architect Frank Lloyd Wright became less client friendly in his later years. The answer to this may be that Wright was never particularly focused on the needs of his clients and did not actually develop the architectural works attributed to him. It was his staff doing the good work,

In his talk in Sydney in January, Perry Brown, Director of the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries of the Art Institute of Chicago, suggested that Wright was reluctant to give his staff credit for work done in his office. The prairie style, may well be the work of Walter Burley Griffin, when he worked in Wright's pratice. Other work attributed to Wright may be that of Griffin's wife, Marion Mahony Griffin, who worked on commission neglected by Wright.

Tactile Ground Surface Indicators

ABC Radio National By Design program had a segment on Tactile Ground Surface Indicators (TGSI) today. The guest was Murray Mountain, Chairman, Australian Standards Technical Committee ME/64. TGSIs are bumps or ridges on the ground to help people with limited eyesight to find they way around. Australia leads the world in standards and design of TGSIs and you will see them at Australian railway stations on the edges of platforms, and at the bottom and tops of flights of stairs in public buildings.

As Murray described them, the most common indicators are truncated cones 4 to 5 mm high. They are arranged in a rectangular grid. The indicators are designed not only to be easily felt through the feet or with a cane, but also to be seen. Their design has been carefully researched to make them prominent enough to be noticeable, but not a tripping hazard. Also they have to be long lasting and easy to install.

The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) released Guidelines on access to buildings and services in 2007. This provides guidance to designers, builders, planners, certifiers, building managers and access consultants about access to buildings and services for people with disabilities, inlcuding use of TGSIs. This accompanied by The good, the bad and the ugly – design and construction for access which has examples of what can go wrong. The first problem covered is inappropriate use of TGSIs.

As well as the round knobs for warning of a hazard, there are directional tiles with ridges to steer people in a particular direction, such as to the entrance to a railway station. Usually the directional tiles end with the warning tiles, to indicate where to stop. I saw an unfortunate absence of warning tiles on the footpath outside the Beijing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games headquarters. Directional tiles had been laid down the center of the footpath with no warning tiles. So the path guided people into obstructions such as poles and off the high curb into six lanes of traffic. In contrast the Sydney Olympics had a clear policy for use of the paths and was praised for its efforts.

As Australia is the leader in TGSI standards, there would be an opportunity for training materials, planning an installation aids. These could be web based and include tests and checks. The would appear to be a large market for such support in China.

Standards and guides include:

1. AS/NZS 1428.4:2002 Design for access and mobility - Tactile indicators
2. TRAINING PROGRAM Tactile Ground Surface Indicators Workshop - 1428.4
3. BS 7997:2003 Products for tactile paving surface indicators. Specification
4. DR 04020 Design for access and mobility - Part 4.1: Tactile indicators
5. JIS T 9251:2001 Dimensions and patterns of raised of parts of tactile ground surface indicators for blind persons

TGSIs are also known as tactile guide pathways and Tactile paving. US ones are known as Detectable Warnings and use truncated domes, rather than cones. The indicators need not be any particular color, but must have sufficient contrast to be easily seen. The international work is under Working Group ISO/TC 173/WG 7 - Provisions and Means for Orientation of Visually Impaired Persons in Pedestrian Areas.

In Japan, TGSIs are commonly known as "Braille Blocks" (Tenji Block) , by analogy to Japanese braille (Tenji 点字). The paths (usually yellow) do not use braille, just the same grid of dots as used in Australia.

See also books:

1. Americans with Disabilities Act

Magic in Castlecrag

The Walter Burley Griffin Society created magic in Sydney today, with a talk by Jack Perry Brown, Director of the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Institute released a web version of Marion's book The Magic of America, last August and this talk about the book was held in the Haven Amphitheater, designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin.

The Haven Amphitheatre is at the corner The Scarp and The Barricade, Castlecrag is in a bushland gully with native trees. The seating is on rock terraces, with a wooden deck and bush backdrop.

The Magic of America was completed in 1949 by Marion Mahony Griffin after the death of Walter Burley Griffin in India. The unpublished work is half original text by Marion and half transcripts, newspaper clippings and other materials. Jack Brown argues that it is her final work of art, covering the time of her her husband's work in India, Canberra, Castlecrag and Chicago.

Unfortunately I had to leave the excellent talk early. The question I wanted to ask, but did not get the chance, was could Marion's work now be published. The manuscript was not in a form suitable for use other than for scholarly research. Placing the manuscript on the Internet has made it available for research, but it is still not something readable by a wider audience. Could the material be edited into one or more books suitable for online and print publication? By the time the material which was from other sources (and so would be difficult to obtain copyright clearance to include) was removed the work would be a more manageable size. With other editing, could it it be made into something with more of a conventional narrative, or would that destroy its essence?

The fact that the full manuscript is already available should allow the work to be edited without doing it any great harm. An electronic abridged version could have a switch to allow the reader to see what had been removed. By using online collaborative tools, the editing need not be an overwhelming or lengthy task. By using the approach used in developing open source software, where disagreements between editors could not be agreed, different versions could be produced, with the result being a discussion and analysis of the work, a process and not just one supposedly final result.

Another was to look at the manuscript would be as Marion Mahony Griffin's blog. After all, the Griffin's were early pioneers of multimedia, producing a film promotion for Castlecrag in 1928. ;-)

See also:

• Books about Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin

Eric Milton Nicholls Collection of works by the Griffins

The National Library of Australia has advised that the Eric Milton Nicholls Collection, featuring works by of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin has been digitised. This has a 2500 drawings, lithographs, photographs, transparencies, postcards and negatives.

Designing Sustainable Schools

While looking for class room designs, I came across the book Designing the Sustainable School, by Alan Ford. This shows 45 schools around the world, with photographs and plans, plus a few paragraphs on their use of sustainable techniques for reduced energy, water and materials:

This book presents a survey of K-12 schools from around the world that combine the best in aesthetics, sustainability, and high-performance design. K-12 school construction currently represents one of the largest sectors of new construction of any building type. Considering rising energy costs and concerns for the environment, there has never been more attention focussed on the need to design schools responsibly. It highlights the work that the best architects are doing to respond to those needs while still creating beautiful schools for enhanced learning. Author Alan Ford has designed more than 75 K-12 schools projects, and with a longstanding commitment to sustainability and a passion for architecture, he is perfectly positioned to present this illuminating collection of sustainable school projects from around the world. This colourful book is a compendium of ideas illustrating how some very talented architects and committed facility planners are meeting the challenge of creating better schools.

Most of the schools are in the USA, but five are in Europe, four in Australia, two in Africa and one in Japan and India:

1. Chum Creek Outdoor Education Centre, Australia
   
2. St Leonards College Sustainability Centre, Australia
   
3. Mawson Lakes School, Australia
   
4. Woodleigh School Science Building, Australia
   
5. Primary School, Burkina Faso
   
6. The Anglo-American School - Sofia, Bulgaria
   
7. American International School of Chennai, India
   
8. Hakuou High School, Japan
   
9. The International School, The Hague, The Netherlands
10. Trias VMBO School, The Netherlands
11. The Business Academy, Bexley, UK
    
12. Capital City Academy, Brent, UK
    
13. Alexander Dawson Lower School, USA
    
14. Alpharertta High School, USA
    
15. Ash Creek Intermediate School, USA
    
16. Aspen Middle School, USA
    
17. Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, USA
    
18. Berkeley Montessori School, USA
    
19. Cesar Chavez Elementary School - Long Beach Unified School District, USA
    
20. Clackamas High School, USA
    
21. Cottage Lake Elementary School, USA
    
22. Discovery Canyon campus, USA
    
23. Druk White Lotus School, India
    
24. Eagle Rock Elementary School, USA
    
25. Ebenezer Trust School Campus and Orphanage, USA
    
26. Fossil Ridge High School, USA
    
27. Francis Rarker School, USA
    
28. Hector Garcia Middle School, USA
    
29. Hector Godinez High School - Santa Ana Unified School District, USA
    
30. High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, USA
    
31. Holten-Richmond Middle School, USA
    
32. Lick-Wilmerding High School, USA
    
33. Mead Middle School Gymnasium, USA
    
34. Newark Science Park High School, USA
    
35. Phelps Academy Center, Phillips Exeter Academy, USA
    
36. Rosa Parks School, USA
    
37. Sidwell Friends Middle School, USA
    
38. Solana Pacific Elementary School, USA
    
39. The Dalles Middle School, USA
    
40. West Brazos Junior High School, USA
    
41. West Columbia Elementary School, USA
    
42. The Willow School, USA
    
43. WMEP Interdistrict Downtown School, USA
    
44. Woodward Academy Middle School, USA
45. Esther Eastman Music Center, Hotchkiss School, Zambia
    

Marion Mahony Griffin's Magic of America

The Walter Burley Griffin Society will be having a talk Sunday 20 January 3.00pm, by Jack Perry Brown, Director, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries of the Art Institute of Chicago. They released a web version of Marion's book The Magic of America, last August. The talk will be held in the Haven Amphitheater, designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin:

Walter Burley Griffin Society Inc. invites you to

Marion Mahony Griffin as Author: The Voice of Magic of America

Sunday 20 January 3.00pm
Haven Amphitheatre
corner The Scarp and The Barricade, Castlecrag

Jack Perry Brown, Director
Ryerson & Burnham Libraries
Art Institute of Chicago

will talk about the Art Institute of Chicago's exciting project completed just last August that publishes on the net The Magic of America written by Marion Mahony Griffin when she returned to USA after Walter Burley Griffin's death in India in 1937. It was in part intended as 'a testament to their life and work together'. The website created to publish this important architectural document collates 1400 pages of text with approximately 650 accompanying illustrations from the three known copies of The Magic of America. Go to
www.artic.edu/magicofamerica/

How to get to the Haven: There is no parking at the Haven Amphitheatre so we suggest you leave your car in Rockley Street and walk the 500 metres along The Bulwark to the Haven. Alternatively leave your car near The Citadel and walk about 300 metres down the steps between 17 and 19 The Citadel then follow the roads downhill to the Haven.

Wet weather alternative venue: The Community Centre, Castlecrag.

Further information:
contact Kerry McKillop 02 9958 4516
or info@griffinsociety.org

See also:

• Books about Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin

2007 National Architecture Awards

The 2007 Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) National Architecture Awards included several buildings I have visited and blogged:

1. The Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture: State Library of Queensland, South Bank, South Brisbane, QLD, Donovan Hill Peddle Thorp National
2. RAIA Award for Public Architecture: John Curtin School of Medical Research - Stage 1 Redevelopment, ANU, Canberra, ACT
3. The RAIA Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design: Southern Cross Station, Spencer Street, Melbourne, VIC): Grimshaw Jackson JV
4. Sustainable Architecture National RAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture, UTAS School of Architecture , Launceston, TA, SBE & Six Degrees Pty Ltd
5. National RAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture, Council House 2 (CH2), Melbourne CBD, VIC, City of Melbourne + DesignInc Melbourne

Apart from CH2, which I found disappointing, I the judges made reasonable choices.

City Integration Key to Olympic Success

Lawrence Nield of Bligh Voller Nield Architects, talked on Olympic Designs and his experience in planning and design for the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympics at Old Parliament House in Canberra today. There is also an exhibition "Olympic Cities: Designing for Winning" at the same venue until 17 February 2008. There was also supposed to be a display of winning entries in a design competition for a The Athletic Village: Designs to Combat Obesity., but I did not notice them.

This is part of the University of Canberra's Canberra Biennial: Winning by Design: Designing for Sport in 21C. This seems to be a poorly organised and halfhearted attempt at a cultural event. Those responsible should either put the resources into the 2010 or cancel it.

Lawrence Nield gave an excellent talk, despite having just arrived from London, where he has been part of bids for the 2012 Olympic venues. He argued that the sport is an important urban ritual. Cities are more important that countries for the Olympics. He pointed out that an Australian competed in the first modern Olympics in 1896. Later games were not just about sport and incorporated art and some where held in conjunctions with expositions (Paris and St Luis). Helsinki has the most influential Olympic stadium architecture. The architect for the 1940 (unofficial) Olympics is unknown. Mexico had the best graphics. Barcelona integrated the games into public spaces of the city. Atlanta had the poorest public transport. Sydney succeeded by bringing heavy rail into the Olympic venue. Athens similarly used transport well.

Lawrence Nield suggested London 2012 would have been better off using the new Wembley stadium than building a new venue. He said that the time of the games could be extended and cheaper venues used to allow African and South American cities to host the games.

For my more modest contribution to Olympic design, see: Making an Accessible and Functional Website for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Official Website Preliminary Strategy Plan Symposium, Beijing, November 2003.

See also:
Books on Olympic architecture
Web pages on Olympic architecture

Walter Burley Griffin's Castlecrag

Wanda Spathopoulos' book "The Crag: Castlecrag 1924-1938", about the suburb designed by Walter Burley Griffin, will be launched by Alan Saunders at gleebooks in Sydney 29 November 2007. The books isn't on Amazon.com yet, but you can buy it from Gleebooks.

This book tells a story of Castlecrag, the creation of Walter Burley Griffin, architect/landscape architect of Canberra fame, and his architect wife, Marion Mahony Griffin. Using her own recollections as a starting point, Wanda Spathopoulos gives an overall picture of life on Castlecrag during the first two formative decades. In drawing the various threads together she had attempted to present some kind of a coherent narrative, a chronicle of the events. The events and anecdotes themselves serve as the vehicle for conveying very simply some of the basic ideas of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, as the founders of Castlecrag. At the same time the reader becomes acquainted with the community, a vital and integral part of the experiment, which remained constant in concept but often changing in its composition.

From: Events, gleebooks, 2007