Archinect - News

Woodbury Dean Norman Millar has passed away

2016-04-21T13:11:00-04:00

School of Architecture Dean Norman Millar, who previously taught at SCI-Arc, UCLA, Pasadena Art Center and was active on both the San Diego and Los Angeles campuses of Woodbury, succumbed to pancreatic cancer on April 14. He was 62 years old. Named "Educator of the Year" in 2014 by the AIA|LA and elected as President of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) in 2012, Millar's legacy extended not only to his pragmatic pedagogy, but his dedication to fostering a culture of warmth and joy among his students. According to a statement released by Woodbury, he once said that “I exited architecture school with the intention of making good buildings, and discovered that teaching expanded my passion by fostering it in students."

The head of the Woodbury architecture program since 1999, Dean Millar saw enrollment in the program triple during his watch. According to a 2013 discussion with Scott Johnson, as a child Millar initially wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon, ...

"SEEDING MICRO-CLOUDS. Power Transmission Lines & WaterTransmission Surfaces," an honorable mention in Dry Futures Pragmatic category

2015-10-02T09:00:00-04:00

In the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, there was a flurry of news about the Chinese government's attempt to seed clouds in order to engineer the weather. In fact, the technology – while largely considered imperfect – both exists and has been implemented. The SEEDING MICRO-CLOUDS. Power Transmission Lines & WaterTransmission Surfaces Honorable Mention proposal imagines a future in which existing infrastructure could be employed to serve as the base for a micro-cloud seeding operation to provide water to a thirsty California.

"SEEDING MICRO-CLOUDS. Power Transmission Lines & WaterTransmission Surfaces," by Cristina Jorge Camacho

INTRODUCTION. Why electric infrastructure is so important compared to water supply? How we can restore the natural balance? Cyberspace does not exist without electricity, humanity cannot survive without water. It is possible to take advantage of using electric grid for helping improve water resources. Transmission towers’ structure with an additional structural...

"Playing with Fire: Golf takes a new Course of action," an honorable mention in Dry Futures Pragmatic category

2015-10-01T09:00:00-04:00

Consuming disproportionately-vast quantities of water for the recreational pleasure of a small (typically elite) group of people, golf courses often become a first line of attack during droughts. But what if they could be appropriated in order to help mitigate the effects of a water shortage? The Playing with Fire: Golf takes a new Course of action Honorable Mention proposal is a proactive – incendiary, even – reimagining of the the role of golf courses in Southern California.

Playing with Fire: Golf takes a new Course of action, by Mark Faulkner

Fire has historically been a regular and natural presence in California’s environment. As the landscape becomes drier the threat to residents grows. Fire suppression can lead to greater fire catastrophe further down the line as fuels build up. The Wildland Urban Interface will continue to expand and California needs to plan for increased fire presence and to consider fire as a factor in design.

Golf Courses have become a key recreation for re...

"Growing Energy from Waste: a natural twist on Direct Potable Reuse," an honorable mention in Dry Futures Pragmatic category

2015-09-30T09:00:00-04:00

Long abandoned to the shadows of architectural thinking, the proverbial "throne" of the house – the toilet – is beginning to make a bit of a comeback, taking a central role in last year's Venice Biennial, and making an occasional appearance in Archinect features. While it may upset our lingering Victorian sensibilities, toilets – and what they flush – are an integral aspect of the contemporary house and the modern city. In the context of a drought crisis, these water-vaccuums take on a different hue. The "Growing Energy from Waste: a natural twist on Direct Potable Reuse" Honorable Mention submission reexamines the toilet and its contents within a larger framework, proposing using existing algae technology to treat our wastewater.

Growing Energy from Waste: a natural twist on Direct Potable Reuse, by Prentiss Darden and Algae Systems LLC

In Southern California, we fill our toilets with water that has traveled over 400 miles, consuming great amounts of energy and emitting carbon dioxid...

"Hold the Salt," an honorable mention in Dry Futures Pragmatic category

2015-09-29T11:30:00-04:00

One of the great ironies of the California drought crisis – or at least one that's repeatedly mentioned – is that the thirsty state borders the theoretically-endless water reserves of the Pacific Ocean. But, of course, closer examination reveals that a) desalination is no simple task and b) the saltwater, in fact, poses one of the great challenges to our water reserves, constantly threatening to leach into aging infrastructure. The Hold the Salt Honorable Mention submission takes the tenuous relationship between salty and fresh water as the starting point for an expansive proposal involving large-scale infrastructural rehabilitation and conversion.

Hold the Salt, by Erik Jensen and Richard Crockett

California’s water system depends upon a fragile balance of inbound saline water against outbound fresh water from the state’s watersheds. This tenuous and shifting watermark of salt intrusion is continually maintained with aggressively engineered systems controls. This year California w...

"HydroForest," an honorable mention in Dry Futures Pragmatic category

2015-09-28T09:09:00-04:00

Used in some of the world's driest places, fog-catchers can turn atmospheric moisture into potable water, effective on scales small and large – it's used by the South African Namib Desert beetle as an evolutionary trick to stay hydrated, and by a Chilean brewery to make beer. The HydroForest Honorable Mention proposal calls for a community-run fog-catching system in the famously foggy San Francisco, where residents can be responsible for their own moisture-trapping canopy in a local public space.

HydroForest, by Difei Chen and Ted Ngai (Advisor, RPI)

The HydroForest is a project that attempts to address climate change, namely the water crisis in California, through a crowd sourcing urban intervention strategy of implementing low-tech fog collectors to create what we call Community Owned and Managed Public Space (COMPS). This strategy takes precedence in how urban trees are managed in many cities, where residences can take responsibility of a tree pit in front of their properties and c...

"Liquid Bank", 2nd place winner in Dry Futures Pragmatic category

2015-09-16T14:00:00-04:00

Every drop counts

Liquid Bank, by Juan Saez

Liquid Bank confronts California’s drought from both a local and global perspective. The project addresses the relationship between domestic water consumption and the global water crisis with the development of water related infrastructure in emerging countries. Ultimately, the project aims to address California’s drought emergency situation by causing a behavioral shift amongst California residents.

Liquid Bank is a platform (app and website) that offers a system of rewards and incentives that encourage users to use water responsibly in both their domestic and corporate life.

Users sign-up for a profile at LiquidBank.com and begin earning the Liquid Bank’s digital currency, Aquo. Users can earn Aquos through implementing a variety of water-saving habits: installing low flow shower heads or faucet aerators, incorporating container gardening or drought resistant plants, reducing their household water bill or, as an enterprise, developing a plan...

"Recharge City", 3rd place winner in Dry Futures Pragmatic category

2015-09-16T14:00:00-04:00

Recharge City, by Barry Lehrman

Recharge City evaluates pragmatic options for recharging the groundwater in Los Angeles County by recycling the 502 million gallons of water that is dumped by Hyperion Treatment Plant and the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant into the Pacific each day. This is enough water to quench the thirst of 5 1/2 million people.

To identify plausible sites for recharge, this project undertook a holistic mapping of the water infrastructure for the metropolis - ultimately collecting data from over 50 local, state, and federal agencies.

Recycling water is a necessity for Southern California to survive, so how can this massive infrastructure project to close the water loop create a better city for us to live in?

Barry Lehrman is an assistant professor of landscape architecture at Cal Poly Pomona. You can view the Recharge LA project website at www.rechargela.org/.

Click here to see the other winners in both the Pragmatic and Speculative categories!

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"Liquifying Aquifer", 1st place winner in Dry Futures Pragmatic category

2015-09-16T14:00:00-04:00

What if the Valley could have multiple wells placed around the city in contingent locations for maximum water replenishment back into the Aquifer?

Liquifying Aquifers, by Lujac Desautel

The story of water in the San Fernando Valley is the by-product of the American frontier to the West and the seemingly unattainable ambitions to protect the mythicized image of lush palm trees and turquoise swimming pools. But, the illusion of water is on the cusp of extinction.

The San Fernando Valley is conceptualized as an archipelago of islands characterized by the infrastructures that sever its own territories. In between these forgotten corridors are the conduits, transportation networks, and energy easements that are a crutch to the livelihood of the Valley.

The largest of these corridors, the Tujunga Wash cuts the valley in half by a 13 mile artificial river that sends every drop of water to the Pacific Ocean. Its adjacencies are anything but monotonous, rich, poor, industrial, mega malls, and th...