saw this article in metropolis mag and i get excited enough about ideo that i felt compelled to buy the magazine. but after reading the article, i found that what ideo is doing with their 'smart space' direction really bothered me more than anything. (don't miss the presentation slides on the right of the page, by the way.)
how is this "expensive" service that ideo provides any different from what our aia design assistance team does pro bono, as part of our professional service to our community? how is it different from what a lot of design studios (including some that i directed) do in the development of projects for neighborhood redevelopment?
they have no responsibility for implementation. not even a responsibility to suggest an implementation plan. they just swoop in and deliver ideas, in a nicely produced book, and call it done.
maybe my annoyance is partly sour grapes. sounds like a great gig. but what i've respected about what they (ideo) do in the past is the prototyping aspect of what they do - that there is a thing produced as a result of their brainstorming, idea-generation, and research that has the potential to push things forward. with these reports, though they are visual, they're certainly not complete visions for a future. they're teasers. at best they're tools to get people excited and aid in fund-raising.
end run around planning, zoning, etc? i don't think so.
ya...it does sound like a great gig. They package their service in a convincing way, and cities, organizations and institutions buy into the notion that they need to go through this process. i'm still not sure how I feel about it...
co-incidentally, there was an IDEO siting in Jacksonville's newspaper on Monday... + a slide-presentation. once again, they didn't execute - a local firm took their ideos and made the project real (granted this is an entirely different scale). ...you can compare renderings and concepts by IDEO with the photos of the finished, ahem, product.
to clarify - the process itself is great. the troubling part is the lack of responsibility to execute. even in the "architect of record" / "design architect" relationship there is usually some contractual obligation to stick around and see things through. Again, i'm trying to discuss planning within architecture's terms, but...
It seems mostly like flashing branding of public space, to tell you the truth,... kind of feeling out the spirit of a place and then building an ad to build on this locus, so to speak, to improve the area .... but if that what they need to reactivate the area, so be it. They are not planners in the strictest sense, nor are they architects, so i'm not sure what you are wanting them to do. Urban Planners aren't necessarliy bound to see a vision through, they offer it, and it is up to the communiity and developers to carry this out.
come to think of it, a good friend of mine worked on this ... hmm, i can see her name right at the bottom of the images.
i guess this is where the sour grapes to which i alluded comes in. what i am wanting them to do? maybe the same as i want a lot of star architect design firms to do: stop skimming the cream off of the top of the work that architects do, leaving only the churning.
not that i wouldn't be right there with 'em if i could land a job with ideo. but if they were hired to 'brand'/rethink parts of louisville while i'm here working in a professional capacity - and often (this saturday) volunteering for community design charrettes which do the same thing for free as part of our professional service to the community - i'd be thoroughly pissed off.
I was suspicious at first as well, but actually totally on board with this approach. What's interesting here is that they are filling a gap that planners are completely incapable of filling - and architects largely incapable as well. Planners can't draw, let alone articulate a vision through compelling prose and imagery that actually speaks to a community. And architects will only think spatially about these issues and draw unlikely, nostalgic perspectives of tree lined streets - ideo's team is trying some different things, like thinking in terms of time, activities, etc. - it's a more open, general conversation that is articulated graphically in a compelling way.
Obviously the implementation issues are critical. But that's not what makes this story interesting or newsworthy. They are filling an empty void. Now, if someone out there could find a clever and creative way to connect this type of approach to the realities of urban re-development, you'd really have something. But remember, city rebuilding is infinitely more complex than redesigning a shopping cart.
In the meantime, I'm super excited to see this kind of work happening.
and architects will only think spatially about these issues and draw unlikely, nostalgic perspectives of tree lined streets
off i go to a neighborhood redevelopment design charrette. thanks for the vote of confidence, rpsnino. will i lose my license if i talk to people about their values and the neighborhood's self-perception, community stakeholders, and landmarks? should i just draw a gateway to the neighborhood, maybe, with some trees around it?
hi, except for the graphics, i don;t see much difference in ideo's approach to this featured project from one i was involved in back in grad school. we ventured down to socorro, new mexico. scoped out the town. found "issues and opportunities" for the town square. Noted them, drew em up and presented them to the city in an open house at the libary. i think what is good about the ideo presentation is the straightfordwardness of the graphics. Graphic design is too busy these days. Read Ogilvie on Advertising you fancy graphic lover wannabes!!!
Yeah Steven, keep your head up, and consider drawing inspiration from other approachs to urban vision-making when you walk into your redevelopment meeting. Think positive, dude!
shux. my sarcasm must have been off. i was referring to rpsnino's simplistic dismissal of what architects do in this kind of design challenge. not to what i might actually do.
and, though the prospect of a job at ideo would be tempting/exciting and probably exactly what i'd want to do, unless i could telecommute from louisville it's not an option. thanks, knock.
I'm bumping this thread. I've skimmed it and it all sounds very interesting but I don't have time right now to comment. So I'm just bumping it until later.
Architects ARE too simple when they consider urban environments. We have just finished an entire century of mind-numbinly simplistic approaches to the design of the city.
This IDEO stuff is interesting because they take an inter-disciplinary approach and borrow methods from a variety of fields in order to record, intrepret and illustrate existing urban conditions and future possibilities.
So Steven, how did your charrette go? What did you put on the table?
Nov 10, 06 5:09 pm ·
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ideo's urban pre-planning
saw this article in metropolis mag and i get excited enough about ideo that i felt compelled to buy the magazine. but after reading the article, i found that what ideo is doing with their 'smart space' direction really bothered me more than anything. (don't miss the presentation slides on the right of the page, by the way.)
how is this "expensive" service that ideo provides any different from what our aia design assistance team does pro bono, as part of our professional service to our community? how is it different from what a lot of design studios (including some that i directed) do in the development of projects for neighborhood redevelopment?
they have no responsibility for implementation. not even a responsibility to suggest an implementation plan. they just swoop in and deliver ideas, in a nicely produced book, and call it done.
maybe my annoyance is partly sour grapes. sounds like a great gig. but what i've respected about what they (ideo) do in the past is the prototyping aspect of what they do - that there is a thing produced as a result of their brainstorming, idea-generation, and research that has the potential to push things forward. with these reports, though they are visual, they're certainly not complete visions for a future. they're teasers. at best they're tools to get people excited and aid in fund-raising.
end run around planning, zoning, etc? i don't think so.
While planning isn't a licenced profession, this doesn't seem quite legal- next we'll have real estater and lawyers offering planning services too.
Sic the AICP on IDEO, ASAP!!!
ya...it does sound like a great gig. They package their service in a convincing way, and cities, organizations and institutions buy into the notion that they need to go through this process. i'm still not sure how I feel about it...
co-incidentally, there was an IDEO siting in Jacksonville's newspaper on Monday... + a slide-presentation. once again, they didn't execute - a local firm took their ideos and made the project real (granted this is an entirely different scale). ...you can compare renderings and concepts by IDEO with the photos of the finished, ahem, product.
to clarify - the process itself is great. the troubling part is the lack of responsibility to execute. even in the "architect of record" / "design architect" relationship there is usually some contractual obligation to stick around and see things through. Again, i'm trying to discuss planning within architecture's terms, but...
It seems mostly like flashing branding of public space, to tell you the truth,... kind of feeling out the spirit of a place and then building an ad to build on this locus, so to speak, to improve the area .... but if that what they need to reactivate the area, so be it. They are not planners in the strictest sense, nor are they architects, so i'm not sure what you are wanting them to do. Urban Planners aren't necessarliy bound to see a vision through, they offer it, and it is up to the communiity and developers to carry this out.
come to think of it, a good friend of mine worked on this ... hmm, i can see her name right at the bottom of the images.
as is usually the case, I agree with Steven.
I wanted to work for ideo so badly when I first started school.
knock-
i guess this is where the sour grapes to which i alluded comes in. what i am wanting them to do? maybe the same as i want a lot of star architect design firms to do: stop skimming the cream off of the top of the work that architects do, leaving only the churning.
not that i wouldn't be right there with 'em if i could land a job with ideo. but if they were hired to 'brand'/rethink parts of louisville while i'm here working in a professional capacity - and often (this saturday) volunteering for community design charrettes which do the same thing for free as part of our professional service to the community - i'd be thoroughly pissed off.
ok done with sour grapes. now i'll just go back to admiring everything ideo does from a (quiet) distance.
I was suspicious at first as well, but actually totally on board with this approach. What's interesting here is that they are filling a gap that planners are completely incapable of filling - and architects largely incapable as well. Planners can't draw, let alone articulate a vision through compelling prose and imagery that actually speaks to a community. And architects will only think spatially about these issues and draw unlikely, nostalgic perspectives of tree lined streets - ideo's team is trying some different things, like thinking in terms of time, activities, etc. - it's a more open, general conversation that is articulated graphically in a compelling way.
Obviously the implementation issues are critical. But that's not what makes this story interesting or newsworthy. They are filling an empty void. Now, if someone out there could find a clever and creative way to connect this type of approach to the realities of urban re-development, you'd really have something. But remember, city rebuilding is infinitely more complex than redesigning a shopping cart.
In the meantime, I'm super excited to see this kind of work happening.
off i go to a neighborhood redevelopment design charrette. thanks for the vote of confidence, rpsnino. will i lose my license if i talk to people about their values and the neighborhood's self-perception, community stakeholders, and landmarks? should i just draw a gateway to the neighborhood, maybe, with some trees around it?
hi, except for the graphics, i don;t see much difference in ideo's approach to this featured project from one i was involved in back in grad school. we ventured down to socorro, new mexico. scoped out the town. found "issues and opportunities" for the town square. Noted them, drew em up and presented them to the city in an open house at the libary. i think what is good about the ideo presentation is the straightfordwardness of the graphics. Graphic design is too busy these days. Read Ogilvie on Advertising you fancy graphic lover wannabes!!!
Steven, you sound particularly jaded ... let me know if you want a job at ideo, i can try to make some calls.
Yeah Steven, keep your head up, and consider drawing inspiration from other approachs to urban vision-making when you walk into your redevelopment meeting. Think positive, dude!
shux. my sarcasm must have been off. i was referring to rpsnino's simplistic dismissal of what architects do in this kind of design challenge. not to what i might actually do.
and, though the prospect of a job at ideo would be tempting/exciting and probably exactly what i'd want to do, unless i could telecommute from louisville it's not an option. thanks, knock.
I'm bumping this thread. I've skimmed it and it all sounds very interesting but I don't have time right now to comment. So I'm just bumping it until later.
Architects ARE too simple when they consider urban environments. We have just finished an entire century of mind-numbinly simplistic approaches to the design of the city.
This IDEO stuff is interesting because they take an inter-disciplinary approach and borrow methods from a variety of fields in order to record, intrepret and illustrate existing urban conditions and future possibilities.
So Steven, how did your charrette go? What did you put on the table?
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