the Bridge

The Death Of The Honey Bee…A Issue of National Security

architectalbert — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:04:33 +0000

Did you know that if the honey bees in the US all die out, we will lose 1/3 of our farm crops? Which would cost over $100 billion a year. And they expect this to happen by 2030. Our kids will only eat corn b/c corn’s wind pollenated!

It happened in a province in China and they had to result to hand pollination…that means they had to take the pollen from one tree, and dash it into each and every flower in another tree, and so on.

Everyone should watch this movie: Silence of the Bees

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/introduction/38/

Rising from the Wreckage, a Detroit Free Press Special Report

architectalbert — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:11:47 +0000

This is a must-read. Unfortunately I’m with family for the holidays and don’t have much time for an analysis, but stop back soon. For now, here’s the link:

http://www.freep.com/section/special04

NextEnergy, a Michigan non-profit

architectalbert — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:50:52 +0000

NextEnergy

Energy drives America. We need it for transportation, for manufacturing and business, for our homes and offices. It fuels our economy and lifestyles today, and holds the key to our aspirations for the future, powering the next generation of American innovation and research.

Increasing energy demands, tightening supplies, and environmental concerns have increased the focus on alternative ways to generate and use it.

NextEnergy stands as a catalyst for change.

WHO WE ARE

Launched in 2002, NextEnergy is already one of the nation’s leading research catalysts and business accelerators for alternative and renewable energy. Our leadership team offers more than a hundred years of experience working with utilities, alternative fuels, hybrid power trains, business development, venture capital investment and more in the alternative energy industry.

Located in Detroit, we are within an hour of more than a dozen major research universities, and in the heartland of America’s transportation, technology, and manufacturing industries. Fostering dynamic research and innovation, we combine this intellectual capital with Michigan’s legendary manufacturing prowess and entrepreneurial ingenuity to help generate new technologies, viable businesses, solid growth, and industry leadership.

WHAT WE DO

Launched in 2002, NextEnergy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to become one of the nation’s leading catalysts for alternative and renewable energy. By bringing promising technologies to maturity and up to scale in the marketplace, we accelerate the impact and profitability of this increasingly important industry.

Already we are managing millions of dollars of research projects. Already we are developing new technologies for power-generation, transportation and fuels. Already we are launching them into your world.

Never has the opportunity been better for alternative and renewable energy to succeed. Never have consumers, industry and government been more open to them. Never have the economics and the marketplace been a stronger force to advance them.

Whoever you are in the alternative energy field, we have the keys to advance your project or to connect you to the resources you need to help you succeed.
(text taken from NextEnergy.com)

Michigan, a state geared

architectalbert — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:31:39 +0000

Michigan is a state geared for auto making, but why can’t they reconfigure for a new more sustainable industry? They are, or at least they’re trying to. Governor Granholm is attempting to re-gear ex-auto plants into wind turbine plants. It’s good for Michigan especially if the green revolution actually takes off. It’s good for the nation because the current major manufacturers of wind turbines are in foreign countries, giving us an opportunity to bring jobs home. Re-gearing happened in WWII when auto manufacturing plants contributed to the war effort to make machines of war. Today, Michigan seeks to contribute once again, but this time to creating machines of sustainability for both environment and economy.

Please see the Detroit News article for more on Granholm’s plan:
click here for Detroit News article

Michigan in Pictures Blog

architectalbert — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:53:04 +0000

I stumbled across this site and thought it was worth sharing….

http://michpics.wordpress.com/

The Detroit Foundation

architectalbert — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:45:36 +0000

I am an occasional contributor and relentless fan of The Detroit Foundation. Please visit the website: www.detroitfoundation.org

The foundation was started by three ex-detroiters, two which I went to high school with, the third I met more recently but I suppose he’s just as cool, even though he can’t say he went to school with Shane….ha ha.

The Mission

Detroit Foundation is a nonprofit venture fund that seeks creative-focused entrepreneurial endeavors to rejuvenate the Detroit Metropolitan area in the wake of recent economic crises. Our goal is to provide a blend of philanthropic capital and public funds, combined with business acumen and professional services, to stimulate the Detroit economy and revitalize its surrounding neighborhoods. Our investments focus on driving commercial business to Detroit through innovative approaches.

The Challenge

The spotlight is now on Detroit. With nearly one third of its residents under the poverty line, growing unemployment rates and mass exoduses from the housing crisis have had a crippling impact on Detroit’s economic stability. With pain, comes publicity. As journalists, politicians and bloggers across the country continue to discuss the ailments of Detroit, it is clear that someone must take action to heal its wounds, and get Detroit back on the right track.

Evolving the Social Fund Paradigm

We believe innovation and passion will ultimately drive the resurrection of Detroit. The entrepreneurs Detroit Foundation supports are focused on building businesses that inherently thrive within a community. The key element is financing. We will use both philanthropic capital and public funds to make disciplined and highly-monitored investments that yield both financial and social returns. Financial returns are both returned back to the public and recycled into new investments. We believe taking public initiative to drive business will result in a positive impact for both the City of Detroit and its inspired community.

Maltzan’s Inner City Arts Campus

architectalbert — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:04:27 +0000

Michael Maltzan’s Inner-City Arts Campus is another example of design put to good use. The Inner City Arts Project inherited an abandoned body shop in the middle of Skid Row, and turned it into center where, as Maltzan describes, “every space is a teachable moment.” The campus was built as an open air village, in which each building has its own function, with a central courtyard for student functions and meetings. In the eyes of the designers, this design functions to promote a sense of role and responsibility to the community. Students are engaged not only with those of like minds and interests, but with the rest of the student community.

Maltzan sees the campus as an agent for positive change. “I hope that people get that architecture is not only great form, but the way we structure our relationship to the way that we live in the city, and to find forms that can evolve as the city changes is important and is essential for the city to continue to emerge.”

Designers Michael Maltzan and Nancy Goslee Power have donated their time and efforts to this project.

Click here for more information on the Inner City Arts Campus on Bustler.com.
All Photos from Iwan Baan (www.iwan.com)

How an ex-architect designed away crime

architectalbert — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:59:00 +0000

As an architecture student I am thrilled to find material on how public works, buildings, and urban planning SUCCESSFULLY acheive public goals, going beyond making pretty buildings. This was the case with ex-architect turned mayor of Medellin, Columbia, Sergio Fajardo, who envisioned his city’s problems of drugs and crime as a problem that stems from poor urban design.

A few words from Fajardo:

“our most beautiful buildings must be in our poorest areas,”

“People who say that a beautiful building doesn’t improve education don’t understand something critical. The first step toward quality education is the quality of the space. When the poorest kid in Medellín arrives in the best classroom in the city, there is a powerful message of social inclusion.”

The last quote speaks immensly to me as an ex-detroiter, who understands that the illnesses of Detroit have largely been issues of inclusion and exclusion. It has taken the form of inner-city to suburban zones, race and ethnicity, the auto industry and employment in Michigan.

Please read more about Sergio Fajardo and how design relates to public revitalization:

Article from The Design Observer Group

Article in FastCompany.com

Above Photo: Jardin Botanico, designed by Sergio Gomez Photo from Iwan Baan (www.iwan.com)

Welcome to the Bridge

architectalbert — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:41:19 +0000

Welcome and thank you for visiting The Bridge. This past year has been the first time my life actually made sense to me. Goals have been coupled with dreams, where once before the two have seemed completely independent of themselves. I’ve started a quest to become an architect. The realization alone is something sublime. And it is to this aspect of my life that this blog is partially dedicated to.

While The Bridge is about my adventures in architecture, it seeks to bridge the role of architecture and design to the many other things that are important to me. These things include Sustainability, Professional Practice, Social Justice, all things Detroit (because 1. it’s an amazing city, 2. it needs our help, 3.it’s reinvention is going to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before), and most importantly I hope to bring all the people from my experiences in life together.

I am constantly reminded at how ridiculously diverse my circles of friends are. I have friends who are doctors, lawyers, business-men and entrepreneurs, consultants, hedge fund managers, private equity workers, musicians, architects, designers, teachers, politicians, people-in-high-places, people who want to be in high places, people definitely do not care about being in high places, husbands, wives, students, single people, evil people, good people, conservatives, liberals, dreamers, deadbeats, and the list goes on.

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have everyone I know get together. Sometimes I worry if it’s a good idea to mix groups, but one thing I’ve learned in my year and a half of Architecture School is that the best ideas actually are generated through conflict. I’m currently taking a class on Sustainability and constantly find the class to be insufficient due to the fact that everyone in the class shares similar values. It’s like one treehugger talking to another treehugger about how much we like to hug trees. And we delude ourselves that everything we say is good and right, until we come across someone with different values and all of a sudden we sound completely ridiculous. Conflict answers the difficult questions for us. We need more of it. Or at least….I do, I think.

The Bridge should not be tamed. I invite all responses no matter how contentious. You should feel free to be anonymous. Make up a name. That’s what’s great about the blogs. From here on I will be posting on various topics, as mentioned above. I can’t wait to see how my architect friends will respond differently to things than my doctor friends, or my lawyer friends when asked about health care. Or if we need to impose restrictions on having more than one children for the sake of saving the planet from over-population…because I kinda think we should. Or if we think the break up of Oasis is a good or bad thing. Or if we think Boston City Hall is actually a cool building. I know you guys…and know you all have different opinions, so you better speak up!

The Bridge is now open. Free free to cross.