News
Newly released numbers from the Census Bureau say Angelenos are living in the nation's most densely-populated urban area. New York still has the highest population, but at 7,000 people per square mile, the Los Angeles/Anaheim/Long Beach area takes the density prize. In light of these new numbers it is interesting to read about how a Facelift Project for Hollywood Stirs Divisions. Essentially some Angelenos are resisting efforts to rezone and allow/encourage TOD and higher density. They fear that a switch to tall towers, in effect making LA more "urban" would ruin the character of their neighborhoods and would be a boon to real estate developers rather than locals. jlarch argued "Density alone is not the answer.  Native American tribes were very low density, but also very sustainable.  Everyone seems to just jump on the density idea as if it is a proven fix to all of societies problems" while Will Galloway explained "its because new york has lots of low density suburbs offsetting Manhattan and LA is more even over all. it's pretty old news actually.  nice to see our prejudices and preconceptions highlighted so clearly however."

RMJM staff in New York are owed up to two-and-a-half month’s wages and last month more than 25 staff failed to turn up for work one day in an organised protest at missing wages. holz.box noted that it “looks like those actions cost RMJM at least a few jobs...”

Knute Berger, of Seattle-based Crosscut, opined on the long-pondered use of "gobbledygook" in archispeak, in reference to the architect's project descriptions from the recently announced results in the Urban Intervention: The Howard S. Wright Design Ideas Competition for Public Space. George Showman thinks "the big problem is that most of the confusing language in architecture is unintended.  Architectural practice is full of strange conceptual leaps that either work or don't.  Explaining them is a challenge that seems to be beyond most architects, IMHO, but I think a lot of the pie-in-the-sky terminology and bizarre obfuscations comes from a truly optimistic spirit that springs eternal in the profession's younger ranks. ..It seems to me that a lot of the irritating concept catch-phrases like 're-territorialization' have lost their original meaning and become a kind of universal archi-speak binder/goo simply because of bad (published!) English translations of foreign theorists (in that case Deleuze/Guattari, I think?)."

Back in 2009 SOM's City Design Practice took a comprehensive look at the the entire Great Lakes Lakes and the St. Lawrence, ecosystem and proposed The Great Lakes Century, a pro bono initiative - to begin a broad-based, bi-national dialogue. Reed Webster wrote that his "masters project was dealing with some of the same issues." His project waterWORKS was designed as a piece of a larger green-infrastructure plan for Traverse City, Michigan.

ArchitectureBoston, a quarterly publication of the Boston Society of Architect recently hosted a conversation Wide Open, which featured a group of young designers discussing their professional horizons and architecture’s future. As Paul Petrunia already pointed out "It's so great to see young architects discussing important issues like these. We need more of this! It's especially great to see this moderated by Archinect blogger Nicole Fichera and starring Lian Chikako Chang, our blogger from the GSD, among others."

Schools/School Blogs
David de Céspedes at University of Michigan live-blogged the recent RISK: Present Predicaments in Architecture and Urban Planning Conference. Ole Bouman presentation included a slide titled "From Risk to Brisk" and Bouman said "There are two totally different types of architecture, one with the small a, one with big A, which celebrates risk". David also wrote a personal, subjective reflection on Benedetta Tagliabue and the Recent Work of EMBT inspired by a recent lecture given by Benedetta Tagliabue. Therein he related "Perhaps, the aspect of the lecture that left students at Taubman College in a slightly euphoric state was the way in which EMBT's work exuded a type of beauty only existing in works of instinct, passion, and chaos. In conversation about this topic shortly after the talk, a few of us grew to question the role of the academic institution in training future architects, particularly institutions within the United States. Project after project that lept onto the auditorium screen was not easily classifiable, nor were they embedded within a particular theoretical discourse, nor were they dependent on environmental, social, or spatial ‘performance’....As the post-lecture conversation progressed, we had somewhat of a catharsis; the work was not about ideology. It was not about a critique of the contemporary condition. It was not a polemical reading on the typologies that preceded it."

Meanwhile philipb at Victoria University of Wellington blogged about a series of cluster-specific workshops aimed at jumpstarting the design process, and 'spatialising' our research question that he participated in this last week. He began by exploring a model of Constant Nieuwenhuys' New Babylon as precedent and the end result was some 3D printed objects/models and the students in Virginia Tech’s design/buildLAB have kicked off the prefabrication stage of their project at the Environmental Systems Laboratory not far from Virginia Tech's campus. 

Work Updates/Firm Updates/Blogs
Julia Torrubia recently worked on a summary plan ...to create a sustainable network in Madrid.

Scott Sivan introduced his new blog Design Elevates. He contends that "There are many factors influencing the de-prioritizing GOOD DESIGN in Israel, and other developing nations.  Lack of resources and more pressing issues are often the main reasons cited.  However, as the design of kibbutzim, and the City of Tel Aviv, UNESCO White City, attest, design has had positively lasting influences in the development of culture, commerce, and even security in this country." and Scott plans on using his blog to gather "all kinds of anecdotal and statistical evidences, references, examples, and suggestions, for building a catalog of information for bringing design, GOOD DESIGN, to the forefront of our efforts to make a more sustainable and commercially viable culture” in Israel."
 

Covachita a firm based in San Pedro, MX posted images of their project Casa Rosenda completed in 2010 in Guadalupe.

Discussion Threads
dillup is looking for advice on friendly spatial barriers. dillup’s boss has suggested "some kind of art piece, or a large lamp, or some kind of inflatable 'thing' with a shiny skin." instrumentOFaction offered up aerogel, Kalwall and solutions by CreatableInflatables, while Erin Williams thought dillup should "Go for outsize letterforms, or an assemblage of common objects that are related to the function of the space or identity of the proprietor".

c is desperately looking for precedents of massive mechanized glass doors. HandsumCa$hMoneyYo asked "don't the texas cowboys new football stadium have like a 100' opening glass door/wall or some otp shit like that, yo?"  and James Petty commented "I worked for a while in a facade fabricator. A 12' glass door is easy. We could even produce it to withstand a category 5 hurricane as sliding doors." For his part Noah Walkeroffered "If this is a US based project I'd look at "Doors in Motion".  There are much cooler products available Europe.  Schuco is making a motorized sliding door for the European Market.  I'd also look at Skyframe and Vitrocsa.  You should also look up Goldbrecht on Youtube."

Donna Sink was also looking for help, with outdoor dining barrier systems, preferably with  a Blumcraft aesthetic. Steven Ward told her "For the Midwest try Seward sales" and Rusty Shackleford cautioned "Donna, make sure the product you select is befree." Donna replied "Well I would choose the post with all the bees in it, because I like bees, and they give us not only honey but lots of vegetables and fruit and flowers too."

psteiner loves Archinect’s 'Working Out of the Box' series and wants to know "what's the story on 'Going to School Out of the Box''?" as he are going to be attending California College of the Arts MBA in Design Strategy Program in the Fall this year. mespellrong opined "frankly, there are several other reasons to look at this degree program with quite a lot of suspicion." psteiner responded "I picked a program that has the foundation, principles, approaches and interests that match my own.  On the interviews I've had there it was heartening to hear that alot of their students aren't going there with the end result of starting their own business once they graduate... I want the skillset but I plan on doing something else entirely with it".

Finally, gondol3 informed us that a new exhibition at the Yale School of Architecture running from  February - May 2012, will showcase the work of the renowned Italian architect, artist, and designer Massimo Scolari. Check out the post for some wonderful images of work by Scolari.

Additionally
The UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design will host a symposium on April 13–14, 2012, After Three Gorges Dam: What Have We Learned? The symposium "will convene invited experts both from within China, and outside, who are knowledgeable about the planning and environmental assessments of large dams, particularly the Three Gorges Project. We invite speakers to share their evaluations of anticipated and surprising project impacts, future long term impacts, and recommended management actions to minimize adverse impacts. These ideas and analyses could help shape further massive investment in new hydropower dams, whether in China or other developing countries."