haha gotta stay one step ahead of the hipster wave, eh LD? how is Logan square treating you?
I saw this piece yesterday, The first part "Building the Vision" makes some great points about perception of the system. In some places people take pride in their transit system, the way we in Chicago might take pride in Millennium park, the lakefront or Michigan Avenue. In Chicago, as a general rule, I don't think we take much pride in the CTA, it is more just something we tolerate and use as required, and it shows.
I enjoyed his discussion of the bus stops and buses. I'm impartial, given that my brother works at the bus factory (New Flyer) that makes the Chicago buses, so I like them, but do agree that they would benefit from a little extra style in the decoration. The same goes for the bus stops, they aren’t bad, they just don’t really inspire. Color would be nice, especially during the winter when everything is so drab.
First and foremost, I think people need to take pride in and ownership of the system. I know confrontation sucks, and sometimes it can be dangerous, but if the ridership as a whole stopped accepting people vandalizing, littering and otherwise damaging the system, it would go a long way. In the lobby of your office building, no one tosses garbage on the floor, yells or disrupts others, but on the train it is almost routine behavior. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Yeah, thanks for showing me that article synergy...
as for the hipster wave... i am on the tail end... LS has been the official home of the hipster for a few years now... though i do love it so
i agree with you about taking ownership/responsability in the rail system, and i think on some lines and at some times, that does happen... During daily commutes, at peak hours, i think the CTA runs very well. Trains are frequent, people are generally responsible, and bad behavior is noticeable only in that its out of the ordinary. That has been my experience.
However, off peak hours, the cta really is a zoo. Honestly, the only way i can think that will change is if off peak hour ridership is increased.
1 lunatic amongst 10 and the lunatic wins... 1 lunatic amongst 30... they are generally less aggressive. Increase off peak ridership and i think the normal folks will eventually win out... as we are in the majority...
in general though, i dont think this country expects much from our public institutions... public libraries, public hospitals, public schools, public transit... the whole concept of public has a 2nd class connotation to most of the population... as long as that notion is prevalent, our transit systems will fail to reach their potential.
That is a good point about conditions during peak vs. off peak hours. The CTA could encourage ridership by giving off peak hour discounts. A lot of people only use the CTA for getting to and from work, I think if it were only $.50 they might consider it more often for when they go out or come home from leisure activities. It kind of builds on itself, the more you use the system, and when you use it in more diverse ways, the more knowledgeable and comfortable about its use you become, which leads to more use and so on and so forth.
LOL @ letdown. You think the CTA is a zoo now? You don't know how good you've got it.
BTY Wicker Park has been crawling with "nouveau riche frat kids" at least 15+ years now, only then they were wearing their trustafarian disguises and coming in on weekends just for the bar scene.
Have you seen what has happened to Division Street between Ashland and Damen in the last few years? And that is at the far SOUTH end of Wicker Park.
oh shoot you caught me whatever your name is... im an imposter who knows nothing of how bad it was in the olden times... thanks for calling me out... youre right, the amount of drunken homeless men pissing themselves on the red and blue line have decreased significantly in the past 3 years or so...
as for wicker park... at least 15 years now? i think thats a bit of an exageration... its been gentrifying for a while now but has picked up noticable steam in the last 5 years...
and yes, i have seen what happened to the south side of wicker park, division between western and ashland has exploded... if you consider the far south end of wicker park with the north end of UK village though, id take my chances there rather than in bucktown
The literary journal Granta has dedicated the upcoming issue to the writers of Chicago along with some photo essays. The journal showcases new writing talent and styles.
Please don't take things so harshly, I've accidentally sat in a pool of drunken homeless person piss on the CTA while on my way to work, and no it's not a great experience.
My point is that pre 2001, the CTA was not really even safe, let alone clean and urine free.
And as for Wicker Park...
Wicker Park's Around the Coyote Art Walk started in 1989. The Empty Bottle opened in 1992. The Double Door and Reckless Records both opened in 1994. So much for my 15+ years Wicker Park exaggeration.
Gentrification is an insidious process, what you now see in WP is end stage gentrification in all off its beautiful glory.
"My point is that pre 2001, the CTA was not really even safe, let alone clean and urine free"
Oh come on now. The CTA has been essentially the same for the last 25 years. Yes theres an occasional homeless or crazy person disrupting the ride, thats life in the big city.
I remember going to the early Coyote walks in 91 /92 - that was a really neat time for the area. To me it seems the same as back then except a lot more boutiques now days. The bars were always there just now are modernised. The edgy post grad crowd has always been there. The new yuppies are just more showy than the 80s yuppies, but they've been there all along to mixed in with the Puerto Rican bangers and old Eastern Europeans. There was more of a drug scene back then, heroin junkies, hookers etc. but it also fueled a cool industrial rock scene. I guess its a little more tame but not much. Cant through illeagal warehouse parties anymore but it's still exciting. Funny story; My brother in law bought an old worker cottage 1 block west of Damen in Bucktown around 1988 or so and they used to where oven mitts to retrieve their mail since the hookers would hide their needles in the mail boxes at night to hide them from the cops. Yet by day it was a quiet side street.
Anyone doing the Registered Energy Professional seminar tomorrow? Thinking of taking metra to Kedzie but there’s about a mile of bombed out neighborhood to get to the Green Tech Center. You would think they would have put it at an L Stop.
Strangely I still see them around. They only come out at night though. Seen sleeping in the stalled 3 flat construction sites to; just last fall saw a cute couple of junkies like out of Requiem sleeping it off behind a pallet of bricks on a narrow construction site along one of those angled side streets north of Milwaukee. Looked young and vibrant then, prob dead by now.
I actually am continually impressed by how clean, litter-, odor-, and crazy-person-free the CTA is. Of all the big city transit systems I've used, it ranks up there as one of the cleanest and most well-run -- with the exception of frequency of service (which in my opinion is dismal -- trains should NOT come only every 20 minutes on off-peak hours, which by the way include the middle of the workday). But I know I'm in the minority here -- everybody just loves to bag on the CTA...
Also, the bus service here is phenomenal (although I will grant you that the buses are full of crazies / homeless / generally poorly taken-care-of peoples). Except for the handful of times the bus driver has actually driven right on by without picking me up, I rarely have had reason to be dissatisfied with the buses here. The breadth of the system and good placement of express busses is something to commended (although frequency of service on some routes -- I'm lookin' at you, #50 Damne -- is woefully inadequate).
I ALSO think the price is fair, however I really like Synergy's idea of decreasing off-peak fares. That's a GREAT, great great great idea and TOTALLY should be done. I cannot think of a downside. The encouragement-to-use-transit factor is obvious, but I could see an added bonus in that off-peak users may be more likely to be jobless or working outside of typical 9-5 hours (aka more apt to be low-wage earners) and could probably use the cost decrease.
Also, not that anyone else probably cares, but apartment therapy broke the news to me of what's going in whole foods' cool ex-space over by Sam's Wine : a West Elm store. Not my fave home furnishings store but it seems like a good fit in that space (assuming they leave the roof and skylight structure exposed).
i've had better luck than you guys, but the one time the bus drove by me, was when i could clearly see the driver had fallen asleep, went about 100 ft. before he realized he had missed the stop. the other people waiting we shouting and running beside him, but i wasn't that anxious to get on the bus with that driver!
To clarify, I took the idea for reduced fares on off peak hours from teh Aaron Renn at the Urbanophile, who may or may not have taken the idea from another person. Regardless, I do still think it is a good idea.
I've never had (that I can remember) a bus pass me by, with the exception of cases of completely packed buses. I find the buses to be like the trains, in that clientele, cleanliness, safety, etc. all vary greatly. I ride the #11 bus to work and it is filled almost exclusively with professionals, many wearing suits, etc. so it is quiet and clean. On other times, I ride the #36, #22 up Broadway and Clark, as well as the #72 down North Ave. Those are mostly fine, but there is definitely a difference depending on the time of use. I’d like to think that if these buses ran more often and had more of the same commuter crowd, spread throughout the day, it would be good for all involved.
In terms of overall system quality and cleanliness, it is way behind the systems I’ve ridden in Guang Zhou and Hong Kong, and to a lesser extent, somewhat behind Glasgow’s system, as well as DC’s system. I do think the CTA is nicer and cleaner than New York’s system.
Hmm.. seems like a lot of you might live up north.
Try (just for fun) riding the number 12 westbound on Roosevelt from State Street during rush hour or perhaps the number 29 down State Street to IIT at 5:00pm.
Those can be really fun rides sometimes.
Cleanest subway I've every encountered was Kopenhagen's
so, Jack, how'd you enjoy that exciting REP seminar... yech. I wonder what they'll do with my $210.
it sounds like there needs to be a better system in place to review bldgs for energy code compliance. eh, well, at least we can handle bldgs in chicago on our own now.
I think measuring building performance is a key step in the green building process. I've read a few articles on it, for the most part, it seems there is little effort to measure if buildings actually perform as admirably as design calculations suggest they will. Unfortunately it is probably the hardest step in the process. Each building is so unique, it isn't like cars, where you can build one model, tests its performance, and then just duplicate it,
weird named person, half of the people youre talking to on this thread lived on the south side for 5 years or more...
agree with you on the 29... i hate that bus... not only is it slow as crap, but it gets mega packed...
best L experience i ever had were my days on the orange line...
never packed, smooth, trains in good shape, stations in good shape... obviously its the newest line, but its definitely the best... wish it ran later though...
The lady running the presentation was from the ICC yet was speaking about the Chicago Energy Code of which she knew little to nothing of the nuances or processes of inspection within the city. Most of that code I already know and deal with on a daily basis and have been using Com Check for years. How they could charge $200 for an overview of the code by a person who repeatedly said, " The Chicago version is different but Im not familiar with the city" is criminal.
All in all I think the $2.5 billion she mentioned in the ARAR Act of 2009 for pushing new codes nation wide will be ill recieved if not outright shot down. These people clearly are out of touch. I mean really, dual switching for light fixtures is odd and should be avoided? On what planet?
syn, I believe the industry is well on the way. there's been talk of adding evaluation periods of longer duration to get LEED, there's even been talk of stripping LEED status from buildings that under perform.
the IECC is a bit outdated... maybe not outdated, but they are recommended minimums like all codes. Minimums should be exceeded and generally are (i don't think i've done a bldg where we thought we were approaching the minimum in comcheck, sometimes lighting can be a bit tricky)
It's a good think that some simulation is happening, and I think the future will bring mandated energy simulation more along the lines of what Green Building Studio and other programs do. (Not the hokey comparison stuff, but the anticipated energy use) It will be an easy step once BIM gets rolling along.
It would seem Chicago's problem is that not enough attention has been payed to it.
I would support an architect or professional engineer being responsible for energy performance (within their respective areas) under the same licensed architect stamp. Maybe this has happened elsewhere already?
I'm sure I'm not breaking new ground here, but does anyone else think the codes are out of hand? They are too massive, too prescriptive, too expensive and are revised much too often. Does anyone actually even have all of the latest versions of the various codes in their office? Maybe if you are a big corporation you actually do.
I think PJN26 is making a comment regarding the current parking enforcement situation.
In relation to your code question. Our office (of three) always bought the current published codes, because as you mentioned they are often revised.
In fact some of our projects encountered code issues with the powers that be downtown over proposed code changes that had not even been approved yet, just because the of the 'cover your butt' mentality of the departments involved.
I was referring to the mayor’s recent trend of selling off every city service he can make a buck on that doesn’t supply him and his cronies with a lot of gaff. The garbage pickup is next and that is only in the wake of some recent scandals that has a lot of eyes watching what goes on there.
Bossman - my friends in Dallas said the recession is now really starting to ramp up down there. It was late getting going and He really thought they were in the clear 6 months ago. Friends in San Diego said they have barely enough work for the staff left. Same in NYC. I think packing up and leaving seems like a good idea but theres not a whole lot of places to go.
Where do you live?
Are you willing to work in the suburbs? ( There are openings at small suburban offices Ive heard of )
Do you have a car and are willing to drive?
To answer your main question, the recession will be declared over in the 4th qrtr, however for all practical purposes most people wont feel it for at least another year, and sadly architects will be in the dumps for another 2 years as we are closest to the epicenter of overbuilding and lending that caused it.
i live in lincoln park. i've been searching all over, in the suburbs and the city, i think by now i've applied to almost every firm. and i've been applying everywhere else, too. i've sent out 600 resumes in the past year. i've flown, rented cars, and paid for amtrak tickets to travel for interviews all at my own expense. the best i've been offered is a summer internship, and it's not worth picking up and moving everything for a few months for a job that pays the same as what i have right now. i've been looking for over a year now, i have a car and am definitely not afraid to drive. i've been to interviews in the suburbs. but i keep hearing the same thing: sorry, we have to cancel the second interview as we've decided not to hire anyone.
yeah, the recession has picked up in a few other markets, my old firm out west just laid off two people not less than a month ago. i'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place because i can't go back, but there's really nothing to do here.
For those renters out there in Chicago Land I heard that the market is bad for rentals and lots of apartments are vacant. Good news is if you are a good tenant and have a good history of paying on time you may be able to negotiate a lower lease. You can sweeten the deal by offering to mow the grass or clear the steppes of snow this winter, but do insist that this is temporary and a result of your economic situation my landlord was very willing to work out something until I had to move for a job and it saved me 100 a month. Not much but that is a month’s electric bill. I am afraid that a lot of us, me included, have to take or hold on to menial survivor jobs. I think doing nothing and languishing in despair or depression is wrong but the obstacles that keep us from doing something are also daunting. Software is expensive and looking for a job is a lot of work.
Good luck
it's an interesting idea, though I wonder if it will work in the more expensive neighborhoods. In my experience, many landlords in East Lakeview, LP etc. are doing well because there is a large contingent of people who were on the verge of buying a place, but now, with stricter lending practices, aren't able to get the size loan they require to make their purchase, as a result these people are electing to rent while they continue to save up.
Also, there may be an excess of units on the market, but they are not necessarily distributed equally through out all areas. So the principle you described may work well in some areas and not so well in others.
I have a rental property that is 100% rented, 3 units. I have'nt cut any deals but I have let people slide a month or two in rent until they can get it together. I'd rather have tenants who can pay, eventualy, and dont burn my place down than none at all. Now if someone from the city would cut me a deal on my property taxes.
Heard Southern Illinois University at Carbondale is seeking two Professors in architecture, must be licensed have a masters and 5 years experience working in the field.
So, I've got a job I need to take through the city. And I've never done this without an expediter or a project manager taking care of everything. So, I'm looking for insider (horror)stories about what actually goes on in that building. Anyone have stories about EPP, Standard Plan Review, or the Self-Cert process? I'm not totally comfortable advertising to some of the PM's that I'm doin' a little extra work outside the office. (BTW, no need to warn me about gettin' in trouble, I've got clearance.)
I've been through standard plan review. You really need to make sure you've got all your ducks in a row. My first time through Zoning was a treat. First of all, you definitely need to arrive really early, because it is a first come, first served ordeal, with people lining up outside the door at 6.
Pro Tip: if you have more than one project, they will allow you to line up, sign up for one project, and then return to the end of the line and sign up for another. I believe you can do this up to three times. Sometimes the expediters are able to do this to get three projects entered in before other people, who arrive only moments later, get their first project entered.
Of course it is bureaucracy, so you'll need photographs, site plans, survey plats, drawings, etc. or they'll be quick to send you off without looking at anything. To tell you the truth, I think there is still a culture of favoritism. Many of the expediters, who in my experience, are often little more than chair filling monkeys, get treated better than the professionals who come in, simply because the expediters are "regulars".
EPP is of course easier, but don't let your guard down, it is something of a kangaroo court over there too. Don't be surprised if a paper pushing secretary puts you in your place. Thank you, yes ma'am. no ma'am.
Aggregate Chicago
oh how wicker park has changed... though that makes a lot of sense... the north end by bucktown is crawling with nouveau riche frat kids
did anyone see this series of urbanophil blog posts?
There are 2 parts so far... worth a look...
haha gotta stay one step ahead of the hipster wave, eh LD? how is Logan square treating you?
I saw this piece yesterday, The first part "Building the Vision" makes some great points about perception of the system. In some places people take pride in their transit system, the way we in Chicago might take pride in Millennium park, the lakefront or Michigan Avenue. In Chicago, as a general rule, I don't think we take much pride in the CTA, it is more just something we tolerate and use as required, and it shows.
I enjoyed his discussion of the bus stops and buses. I'm impartial, given that my brother works at the bus factory (New Flyer) that makes the Chicago buses, so I like them, but do agree that they would benefit from a little extra style in the decoration. The same goes for the bus stops, they aren’t bad, they just don’t really inspire. Color would be nice, especially during the winter when everything is so drab.
First and foremost, I think people need to take pride in and ownership of the system. I know confrontation sucks, and sometimes it can be dangerous, but if the ridership as a whole stopped accepting people vandalizing, littering and otherwise damaging the system, it would go a long way. In the lobby of your office building, no one tosses garbage on the floor, yells or disrupts others, but on the train it is almost routine behavior. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Yeah, thanks for showing me that article synergy...
as for the hipster wave... i am on the tail end... LS has been the official home of the hipster for a few years now... though i do love it so
i agree with you about taking ownership/responsability in the rail system, and i think on some lines and at some times, that does happen... During daily commutes, at peak hours, i think the CTA runs very well. Trains are frequent, people are generally responsible, and bad behavior is noticeable only in that its out of the ordinary. That has been my experience.
However, off peak hours, the cta really is a zoo. Honestly, the only way i can think that will change is if off peak hour ridership is increased.
1 lunatic amongst 10 and the lunatic wins... 1 lunatic amongst 30... they are generally less aggressive. Increase off peak ridership and i think the normal folks will eventually win out... as we are in the majority...
in general though, i dont think this country expects much from our public institutions... public libraries, public hospitals, public schools, public transit... the whole concept of public has a 2nd class connotation to most of the population... as long as that notion is prevalent, our transit systems will fail to reach their potential.
That is a good point about conditions during peak vs. off peak hours. The CTA could encourage ridership by giving off peak hour discounts. A lot of people only use the CTA for getting to and from work, I think if it were only $.50 they might consider it more often for when they go out or come home from leisure activities. It kind of builds on itself, the more you use the system, and when you use it in more diverse ways, the more knowledgeable and comfortable about its use you become, which leads to more use and so on and so forth.
LOL @ letdown. You think the CTA is a zoo now? You don't know how good you've got it.
BTY Wicker Park has been crawling with "nouveau riche frat kids" at least 15+ years now, only then they were wearing their trustafarian disguises and coming in on weekends just for the bar scene.
Have you seen what has happened to Division Street between Ashland and Damen in the last few years? And that is at the far SOUTH end of Wicker Park.
Two Hipsters Angrily Call Each Other 'Hipster'
hipsters
This isn't much of a piece to read, but it does relate to the CTA and its not so pleasant side.
odor
oh shoot you caught me whatever your name is... im an imposter who knows nothing of how bad it was in the olden times... thanks for calling me out... youre right, the amount of drunken homeless men pissing themselves on the red and blue line have decreased significantly in the past 3 years or so...
as for wicker park... at least 15 years now? i think thats a bit of an exageration... its been gentrifying for a while now but has picked up noticable steam in the last 5 years...
and yes, i have seen what happened to the south side of wicker park, division between western and ashland has exploded... if you consider the far south end of wicker park with the north end of UK village though, id take my chances there rather than in bucktown
The literary journal Granta has dedicated the upcoming issue to the writers of Chicago along with some photo essays. The journal showcases new writing talent and styles.
link
lletdownl
Please don't take things so harshly, I've accidentally sat in a pool of drunken homeless person piss on the CTA while on my way to work, and no it's not a great experience.
My point is that pre 2001, the CTA was not really even safe, let alone clean and urine free.
And as for Wicker Park...
Wicker Park's Around the Coyote Art Walk started in 1989. The Empty Bottle opened in 1992. The Double Door and Reckless Records both opened in 1994. So much for my 15+ years Wicker Park exaggeration.
Gentrification is an insidious process, what you now see in WP is end stage gentrification in all off its beautiful glory.
"My point is that pre 2001, the CTA was not really even safe, let alone clean and urine free"
Oh come on now. The CTA has been essentially the same for the last 25 years. Yes theres an occasional homeless or crazy person disrupting the ride, thats life in the big city.
I remember going to the early Coyote walks in 91 /92 - that was a really neat time for the area. To me it seems the same as back then except a lot more boutiques now days. The bars were always there just now are modernised. The edgy post grad crowd has always been there. The new yuppies are just more showy than the 80s yuppies, but they've been there all along to mixed in with the Puerto Rican bangers and old Eastern Europeans. There was more of a drug scene back then, heroin junkies, hookers etc. but it also fueled a cool industrial rock scene. I guess its a little more tame but not much. Cant through illeagal warehouse parties anymore but it's still exciting. Funny story; My brother in law bought an old worker cottage 1 block west of Damen in Bucktown around 1988 or so and they used to where oven mitts to retrieve their mail since the hookers would hide their needles in the mail boxes at night to hide them from the cops. Yet by day it was a quiet side street.
ahh...Jack that is a good, creepy story. Very visual!
Anyone doing the Registered Energy Professional seminar tomorrow? Thinking of taking metra to Kedzie but there’s about a mile of bombed out neighborhood to get to the Green Tech Center. You would think they would have put it at an L Stop.
Jack thanks for backing up my claim of yuppies existing in Wicker Park in the late 80s/early 90's (now if we could only agree on the CTA).
Good description bty. I had forgoton about all the junkies.
Strangely I still see them around. They only come out at night though. Seen sleeping in the stalled 3 flat construction sites to; just last fall saw a cute couple of junkies like out of Requiem sleeping it off behind a pallet of bricks on a narrow construction site along one of those angled side streets north of Milwaukee. Looked young and vibrant then, prob dead by now.
i'm doin the REP seminar tomorrow. and i haven't figured out how to get there either... probably by bus
so we just show up and watch a show for 6 hours? anyone do this before?
I'd be careful Mr. Klompus, when junkies start to look "cute", it could be a sign that you have been working too much!!!
We had a group of transvestite hookers/junkies take over one of our stalled (ehrmm...) jobs in WP like ten years back.
It was weird, with the crew finding wigs, girdles, press on nails and syringes, almost every time they checked in on the job site.
I actually am continually impressed by how clean, litter-, odor-, and crazy-person-free the CTA is. Of all the big city transit systems I've used, it ranks up there as one of the cleanest and most well-run -- with the exception of frequency of service (which in my opinion is dismal -- trains should NOT come only every 20 minutes on off-peak hours, which by the way include the middle of the workday). But I know I'm in the minority here -- everybody just loves to bag on the CTA...
Also, the bus service here is phenomenal (although I will grant you that the buses are full of crazies / homeless / generally poorly taken-care-of peoples). Except for the handful of times the bus driver has actually driven right on by without picking me up, I rarely have had reason to be dissatisfied with the buses here. The breadth of the system and good placement of express busses is something to commended (although frequency of service on some routes -- I'm lookin' at you, #50 Damne -- is woefully inadequate).
I ALSO think the price is fair, however I really like Synergy's idea of decreasing off-peak fares. That's a GREAT, great great great idea and TOTALLY should be done. I cannot think of a downside. The encouragement-to-use-transit factor is obvious, but I could see an added bonus in that off-peak users may be more likely to be jobless or working outside of typical 9-5 hours (aka more apt to be low-wage earners) and could probably use the cost decrease.
Also, not that anyone else probably cares, but apartment therapy broke the news to me of what's going in whole foods' cool ex-space over by Sam's Wine : a West Elm store. Not my fave home furnishings store but it seems like a good fit in that space (assuming they leave the roof and skylight structure exposed).
"Except for the handful of times the bus driver has actually driven right on by without picking me up..."
Yea, I love it when that happens too.
I always wondered if the driver was running late for a checkpoint or if they just had to pee very, very badly.
i've had better luck than you guys, but the one time the bus drove by me, was when i could clearly see the driver had fallen asleep, went about 100 ft. before he realized he had missed the stop. the other people waiting we shouting and running beside him, but i wasn't that anxious to get on the bus with that driver!
To clarify, I took the idea for reduced fares on off peak hours from teh Aaron Renn at the Urbanophile, who may or may not have taken the idea from another person. Regardless, I do still think it is a good idea.
I've never had (that I can remember) a bus pass me by, with the exception of cases of completely packed buses. I find the buses to be like the trains, in that clientele, cleanliness, safety, etc. all vary greatly. I ride the #11 bus to work and it is filled almost exclusively with professionals, many wearing suits, etc. so it is quiet and clean. On other times, I ride the #36, #22 up Broadway and Clark, as well as the #72 down North Ave. Those are mostly fine, but there is definitely a difference depending on the time of use. I’d like to think that if these buses ran more often and had more of the same commuter crowd, spread throughout the day, it would be good for all involved.
In terms of overall system quality and cleanliness, it is way behind the systems I’ve ridden in Guang Zhou and Hong Kong, and to a lesser extent, somewhat behind Glasgow’s system, as well as DC’s system. I do think the CTA is nicer and cleaner than New York’s system.
Hmm.. seems like a lot of you might live up north.
Try (just for fun) riding the number 12 westbound on Roosevelt from State Street during rush hour or perhaps the number 29 down State Street to IIT at 5:00pm.
Those can be really fun rides sometimes.
Cleanest subway I've every encountered was Kopenhagen's
so, Jack, how'd you enjoy that exciting REP seminar... yech. I wonder what they'll do with my $210.
it sounds like there needs to be a better system in place to review bldgs for energy code compliance. eh, well, at least we can handle bldgs in chicago on our own now.
I think measuring building performance is a key step in the green building process. I've read a few articles on it, for the most part, it seems there is little effort to measure if buildings actually perform as admirably as design calculations suggest they will. Unfortunately it is probably the hardest step in the process. Each building is so unique, it isn't like cars, where you can build one model, tests its performance, and then just duplicate it,
weird named person, half of the people youre talking to on this thread lived on the south side for 5 years or more...
agree with you on the 29... i hate that bus... not only is it slow as crap, but it gets mega packed...
best L experience i ever had were my days on the orange line...
never packed, smooth, trains in good shape, stations in good shape... obviously its the newest line, but its definitely the best... wish it ran later though...
Yeah Orange line is nice. Brown/purple are good too, though they can be a bit busy during peak hours.
Postal,
The lady running the presentation was from the ICC yet was speaking about the Chicago Energy Code of which she knew little to nothing of the nuances or processes of inspection within the city. Most of that code I already know and deal with on a daily basis and have been using Com Check for years. How they could charge $200 for an overview of the code by a person who repeatedly said, " The Chicago version is different but Im not familiar with the city" is criminal.
All in all I think the $2.5 billion she mentioned in the ARAR Act of 2009 for pushing new codes nation wide will be ill recieved if not outright shot down. These people clearly are out of touch. I mean really, dual switching for light fixtures is odd and should be avoided? On what planet?
wierd named person, ive been rude and rightly reprimanded for my rudeness. my most sincere apologies
syn, I believe the industry is well on the way. there's been talk of adding evaluation periods of longer duration to get LEED, there's even been talk of stripping LEED status from buildings that under perform.
the IECC is a bit outdated... maybe not outdated, but they are recommended minimums like all codes. Minimums should be exceeded and generally are (i don't think i've done a bldg where we thought we were approaching the minimum in comcheck, sometimes lighting can be a bit tricky)
It's a good think that some simulation is happening, and I think the future will bring mandated energy simulation more along the lines of what Green Building Studio and other programs do. (Not the hokey comparison stuff, but the anticipated energy use) It will be an easy step once BIM gets rolling along.
It would seem Chicago's problem is that not enough attention has been payed to it.
I would support an architect or professional engineer being responsible for energy performance (within their respective areas) under the same licensed architect stamp. Maybe this has happened elsewhere already?
"I wonder what they'll do with my $210"
Probably buy her another fat burger. Shes was a parasite.
I'm sure I'm not breaking new ground here, but does anyone else think the codes are out of hand? They are too massive, too prescriptive, too expensive and are revised much too often. Does anyone actually even have all of the latest versions of the various codes in their office? Maybe if you are a big corporation you actually do.
Interesting looking gallery show opening tonight
link
"wierd named person, ive been rude and rightly reprimanded for my rudeness. my most sincere apologies"
lletdownl,
Ahh... gotta love those double edged admissions of regret.
I do however like your take on my screen name. Maybe I should change it to that?
So how long until king Richard II outsources the building code enforcement outright?
PJN26, are you referring to the Pear Reviewing process, or something else?
Interesting Art, Jack. I'm not really sure I followed the descriptive paragraphs, but the images grabbed my attention.
Synergy,
I think PJN26 is making a comment regarding the current parking enforcement situation.
In relation to your code question. Our office (of three) always bought the current published codes, because as you mentioned they are often revised.
In fact some of our projects encountered code issues with the powers that be downtown over proposed code changes that had not even been approved yet, just because the of the 'cover your butt' mentality of the departments involved.
I was referring to the mayor’s recent trend of selling off every city service he can make a buck on that doesn’t supply him and his cronies with a lot of gaff. The garbage pickup is next and that is only in the wake of some recent scandals that has a lot of eyes watching what goes on there.
so guys
any word on the street on when the recession is going to end? i'm seriously considering just packing up and leaving in the next few weeks.
Bossman - my friends in Dallas said the recession is now really starting to ramp up down there. It was late getting going and He really thought they were in the clear 6 months ago. Friends in San Diego said they have barely enough work for the staff left. Same in NYC. I think packing up and leaving seems like a good idea but theres not a whole lot of places to go.
Where do you live?
Are you willing to work in the suburbs? ( There are openings at small suburban offices Ive heard of )
Do you have a car and are willing to drive?
To answer your main question, the recession will be declared over in the 4th qrtr, however for all practical purposes most people wont feel it for at least another year, and sadly architects will be in the dumps for another 2 years as we are closest to the epicenter of overbuilding and lending that caused it.
i live in lincoln park. i've been searching all over, in the suburbs and the city, i think by now i've applied to almost every firm. and i've been applying everywhere else, too. i've sent out 600 resumes in the past year. i've flown, rented cars, and paid for amtrak tickets to travel for interviews all at my own expense. the best i've been offered is a summer internship, and it's not worth picking up and moving everything for a few months for a job that pays the same as what i have right now. i've been looking for over a year now, i have a car and am definitely not afraid to drive. i've been to interviews in the suburbs. but i keep hearing the same thing: sorry, we have to cancel the second interview as we've decided not to hire anyone.
yeah, the recession has picked up in a few other markets, my old firm out west just laid off two people not less than a month ago. i'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place because i can't go back, but there's really nothing to do here.
For those renters out there in Chicago Land I heard that the market is bad for rentals and lots of apartments are vacant. Good news is if you are a good tenant and have a good history of paying on time you may be able to negotiate a lower lease. You can sweeten the deal by offering to mow the grass or clear the steppes of snow this winter, but do insist that this is temporary and a result of your economic situation my landlord was very willing to work out something until I had to move for a job and it saved me 100 a month. Not much but that is a month’s electric bill. I am afraid that a lot of us, me included, have to take or hold on to menial survivor jobs. I think doing nothing and languishing in despair or depression is wrong but the obstacles that keep us from doing something are also daunting. Software is expensive and looking for a job is a lot of work.
Good luck
it's an interesting idea, though I wonder if it will work in the more expensive neighborhoods. In my experience, many landlords in East Lakeview, LP etc. are doing well because there is a large contingent of people who were on the verge of buying a place, but now, with stricter lending practices, aren't able to get the size loan they require to make their purchase, as a result these people are electing to rent while they continue to save up.
Also, there may be an excess of units on the market, but they are not necessarily distributed equally through out all areas. So the principle you described may work well in some areas and not so well in others.
I have a rental property that is 100% rented, 3 units. I have'nt cut any deals but I have let people slide a month or two in rent until they can get it together. I'd rather have tenants who can pay, eventualy, and dont burn my place down than none at all. Now if someone from the city would cut me a deal on my property taxes.
Heard Southern Illinois University at Carbondale is seeking two Professors in architecture, must be licensed have a masters and 5 years experience working in the field.
Chicago Bldg Dept Stories?
So, I've got a job I need to take through the city. And I've never done this without an expediter or a project manager taking care of everything. So, I'm looking for insider (horror)stories about what actually goes on in that building. Anyone have stories about EPP, Standard Plan Review, or the Self-Cert process? I'm not totally comfortable advertising to some of the PM's that I'm doin' a little extra work outside the office. (BTW, no need to warn me about gettin' in trouble, I've got clearance.)
I've been through standard plan review. You really need to make sure you've got all your ducks in a row. My first time through Zoning was a treat. First of all, you definitely need to arrive really early, because it is a first come, first served ordeal, with people lining up outside the door at 6.
Pro Tip: if you have more than one project, they will allow you to line up, sign up for one project, and then return to the end of the line and sign up for another. I believe you can do this up to three times. Sometimes the expediters are able to do this to get three projects entered in before other people, who arrive only moments later, get their first project entered.
Of course it is bureaucracy, so you'll need photographs, site plans, survey plats, drawings, etc. or they'll be quick to send you off without looking at anything. To tell you the truth, I think there is still a culture of favoritism. Many of the expediters, who in my experience, are often little more than chair filling monkeys, get treated better than the professionals who come in, simply because the expediters are "regulars".
EPP is of course easier, but don't let your guard down, it is something of a kangaroo court over there too. Don't be surprised if a paper pushing secretary puts you in your place. Thank you, yes ma'am. no ma'am.
pj
you can bet they'll get 200-300 resumes per position. this is pretty close to what i've been hearing across the board.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.