"ubiquitous" firm spotlight: zoka zola

zoka zola from chicago, illinoise.

this post got its inspiration from john hill's archidose blog.

zoka zola will also be added to the 'firm' favorites list on the right. among many projects in the US and UK, there are some fantastic diagrams of new chicago zoning proposals for residences here. enjoy.

fastracks budget cut

source: denver post

according to planners, construction costs for the anticipated west line light rail are suffering from bloated estimates, and therefore the project scope must be cut by $113M. more on the "healthy" budget cuts here.

fastracks has an overall budget of $4.7 billion to build 5 new light rail corridors over 12 years-one of the largest public transportation expansion projects in the usa. Some facts about fastracks:

-rather than constructing one corridor at a time [typical] which takes decades to accomplish, fastracks is comprehensive regional-wide approach to transit development.

-40 miles of light rail

-79 miles of commuter rail

-18 miles of bus rapid transit improvements

-base bus services to increase by 1% per year between 2006-2020, and 1.5% from 2021-2025

-from 2003-2025 bus service hours will increase by 30%

-financed by voter approved 0.4% tax increase in regional sales and use tax

-$815.4 million in federal discretionary new grant funding; $110 million in other federal grant funding

kuelap 2006

every year, arquitectum international agency sponsors a competition based upon "cooperative or particular clients interested in carrying out an architectural project."

last year the highlighted project was a landscape competition called "kuelap 2006". kuelap is an ancient mayan ruin located in northern peru, south america. despite its appearance, archaeologists believe that it was not primarily used as a fortress, but as a warehouse for grain storage and emergency shelter. the competition called for a design of a new lodge-museum that would honor the existing context in a more natural scenario, rather than a theme park-hotel.

"The proposal had to present an up-dated and accurate image that represented the actual spirit of the present times, but taking into consideration the usual economics of resources and the most suitable materials. It also had to signify the lowest physical investment possible. Furthermore, the project needed to include issues such as an ecological conscience, as well as respect for the landscape and the environment."

the winners are as follows [click hyperlink to go to enlarged image]:

first prize
second prize

third prize

*********
honorable mentions:

first mention

second mention

third mention

fourth mention

fifth mention

sixth mention

seventh mention

eighth mention

for january-march 2007, the agency has selected san isidro: loft buildings in lima, peru as the next private competition initiated by the real estate company arquia. the arquitectum site has an extensive brief about the competition and the city of lima on their flash site.

mile hi modern

for all those modern home fetishists [oneself included], check out the Distinctive Properties Ltd. sect specializing in modern homes: mile hi modern. for better or worse, here is a list of modern properties for sale, ranging from $315K to $2M, and a short history about modernism in denver.

on thursday february 22nd, there will be a grand opening house for russia 43: 2540-2550 WEST 43RD AVENUE from 4.30-7.00pm. cocktails and food stuffs provided.

greenprint denver

in july of 2006, mayor john hickenlooper introduced a list of initiatives called "greenprint denver" as a way to set goals in improving the sustainable practices within denver communities over the next 5 years.

plan highlights:

1] Reduce Denver per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2011.

2] Work in partnership with other local governments, universities and the business community to develop and implement effective strategies to reduce the risk of and potential consequences of global climate change.


3] Plant thousands of new trees annually in our parks, natural areas and on private property, thus increasing Denver's tree canopy from 6 percent to a total of 18 percent tree cover, as identified in the Denver Parks Game Plan.


4] Increase Denver's residential recycling by 50 percent in the next year and reduce total landfilled household waste by 30 percent (130,000 tons) over the 2004 baseline by 2011.

5] Construct solar and methane power plants capable of powering/heating the equivalent of over 2,500 homes, and generating revenues to help support other Greenprint Denver programs.

6] Increase the incentives for energy-efficient affordable housing to $1,250,000 within five years. Increase the funding available for energy efficiency improvements for low-income residences.

7] Require that all new city buildings and major renovations be certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® Silver standard and meet the EPA's Energy Star® guidelines.

8] Expand the city's "Green Fleet" by ensuring that when replacing light-duty vehicles (excluding patrol cars), they are replaced with hybrids or the highest-efficiency vehicles available. Continue the recent progress made in shifting all diesel vehicles to biodiesel B20 fuel.

9] Decrease reliance on automobiles through increased public transit access and use, transit-oriented development, and bike and pedestrian enhancements. Boost mass transit use by city employees by 10 percent within one year, and increase by 20 percent the new development located within a half mile of existing transit stations by 2011.

10] Significantly improve water quality in the South Platte River by 2011 through a combination of activities, including maintenance and repair of sanitary and storm sewers, education and outreach, and enhanced data collection, analysis and tracking. Use recycled water for parks and public areas, and promote water conservation in both building and landscape use.

11] Partner with the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation to advance high performance building and energy efficiency in the private sector. Help revitalize 35 acres of formerly polluted lands in Denver (Brownfield redevelopment) to support urban development and environmental equity. Position Denver as a regional center for balanced and renewable energy and green industries by creating 1,000 new training and job opportunities in these areas for metro Denver residents by 2011.


to learn more about the entire action agenda, you can download it in PDF form here.

in more recent developments, senator ken gordon-d is outlining a bill which would require all state funded buildings and renovations to be LEED certified.

ds+r website

not major news, but dillier scofidio + renfro finally have some substance on their website. for those that do not remember, they were a part of the clyfford still museum architect selection process here in denver. the url will be added to the links located on the right.

to make this post worth somewhat more than the text it is printed with, here is the flickr page for the ica [pictured above].

high rise denver

in case you haven't been doing anything since christmas from playing your new z-box 350 or whatever - denver is BooM-ing. here is a medley of proposals for skyscrapers in downtown within the next 5 years.

"the murano"-14th & lawrence

residential & retail

50 stories

$160 million

completed 2008

architect: solomon cordwell buenz and associates

"El Jebel Tower"-18th & sherman

hotel & retail

60 stories

cost unknown

completed 2009

architect: tryba architects

"The Spire"-14th & champa

residential, retail & parking

40 stories

$110 million

completed 2009

arhcitect: rnl design

"one lincoln park"-20th & lincoln

residential, retail & parking

30 stories

cost unknown

completed 2008

architect: byg

"1800 larimer"-18th & larimer

office

20 stories

$150 million

completed 2009

arhcitect: rnl design

"four seasons" private residences-14th & arapahoe

hotel, residential, retail, & parking

50 stories

$135 million

completed 2009

architect: carney architects

solar lunar microwave power

in the may 2002 archives of the american institute of physics

SOLAR POWER VIA THE MOON:

"...many different beams of 12-cm wavelength microwaves would deliver power to receivers at sites located worldwide. Each receiver would supply commercial power to a given region. Such a receiver, called a rectenna, would consist of a large field of small rectifying antennas. A beam with a maximum intensity of less than 20% of noontime sunlight would deliver about 200 W to its local electric grid for every square meter of rectenna area. [italics added] Unlike sunlight, microwaves pass through rain, clouds, dust, and smoke. In both scenarios, power can be supplied to the rectenna at night."

microwaves from the moon?????!!!!!!

brilliant!

here is a follow-up [and a bit more technical] article by the same author david r. criswell:

MICROWAVES FROM THE MOON

amazingly enough, this is not a new idea. first know studies of using microwaves from the moon as an energy source were from a hungarian physicist, Zoltan Bay.

here some images and scans of the original notes regarding his studies. another little fact is that he helped develop the tungsten filament for light bulbs. wikipedia entry.

adjaye: out of the ground

...was driving yesterday along 15th st. near delgany and saw that the MCA was finally getting the steel treatmant, and flying [relatively] high.
some construction photos:


this is an overview shot of the site, taken from across the street

a closer look on the east side, along Delgany street

again on delgany, further around the backside

a closer look

the view below

looking alongside 15th st.

the future entrance ramp location

also-from the MCA website about the new building:

OUR NEW HOME
The New MCA, designed by David Adjaye, one of the leading architects in the world today, is at once bold and refined, meeting all the criteria set forth when a permanent home for MCA was first envisioned:
- A DESIGN THAT SUPPORTS RATHER THAN DEFINES THE MUSEUM'S MISSION. The design clearly articulates the Museum's exhibition and program requirements.
- A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE PROJECT. The construction cost for the new building is $11.3 million making the project $418 per square foot.
- AN ENVIRONMENTALLY-EFFICIENT BUILDING. MCA is actively pursuing LEED certification, which would make MCA the first contemporary art museum in the country to achieve such status.

the wesite claims to be constructing a museum at a [fiscally responsible] $418/sf, but looking at the renderings show bare concrete walls and glass. one has to imagine that means the glass is a dual-skin, and the concrete finish will be like butta.
interior renderings:

some more links regarding MCA, adjaye, and other things english:

bookstore

adjaye associates

making public buildings

houses

fish & chips

pints pub

best of [my] 2006

alright-a brief recap of 2006

best travel destination:

nova scotia. canada: ghost lab 8


runner up: nyc

best book read [fiction]:

haunted. chuck palahniuk

runner up: house of leaves

best book read [architectural]:

plain modern. malcolm quintrell and brian mackay-lyons

runner up: sean godsell

best new music [album]:

the eraser. thom yorke

runner up: at war with the mystics. the flaming lips

best music [live]:

nine inch nails. red rocks amphitheater. may 31

runners up: sigur ros. paramount theater, february 23; devotchka. boulder theater. october 31; bloc party. ogden theater. march 19

best film:

the fountain. darren aronofsky



runners up: brick; half nelson; the science of sleep

favorite photos of 2006 [personal]:

runner up:

best architectural additions to denver:

highland pedestrian bridge over i-25

photo by denverinfill.com
runners up: light rail expansion; hyatt convention center hotel; denver art museum expansion

fetish objectification and technological singularity

Scheherazade by EuanUglow

"...we treat people as objects, and objects as people."

- excerpt from the book Haunted by chuck palahniuk

so... there were some cool little toys that came out today to keep all the masses rabid for tech gear and virtual entertainment.
we find it fascinating that the design of certain objects can make them more appealling-even lusted after. while the devices themselves are merely infrastructural nodes for tele-communication, "their" physicality and operation tend to make us personify "them. " think about it one step further: the work of a machine is doing the tasks of 100 people, or in this case let's say one very, very, very talented individual. so instead of the rationale that the computer/monitor in front of you is a souless piece of silicon, we associate it's functions to human qualities for the sake of our psychological health. now think about it another step further: that very, very, very talented personification that sorts your emails, shows you videos, and draws your buildings is actually a person staring right back at you. all the sorting, filing, saving, and deleting are conversations with a colleague.
too far? maybe...
but maybe if we didn't treat these things as people, we would feel more alone than ever, and would go insane.
and then there's the big picture: technological singularity. what does this mean for the future of man and machine. will it be man vs. machine?, man loves machine?, or man-machine?

“Let an ultraintelligent machine be defined as a machine that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man however clever. Since the design of machines is one of these intellectual activities, an ultraintelligent machine could design even better machines; there would then unquestionably be an ’intelligence explosion,’ and the intelligence of man would be left far behind. Thus the first ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make.”
can we apply this outlook to our built environment? what kind of structures could exist beyond the event of technological singularity? can they even be labelled as "buildings" after that? and does anyone really give a F?

in the mean time head over to the flckr pool which highlights photos taken of architectural models. then appreciate the craftmanship of the humans that made them, and be glad you haven't been replaced by a machine...yet. luckily, architects still practice in the weirder realm of objectifying ideas as buildings.

denver channel 8

denver's local tv station, channel 8, has some decent videos of recent public presentations on topics ranging from the mayor's design awards, the clyfford still museum presentations, fastracks, and the civic center alternatives presentation. happy searching. so sorry we weren't able to link you directly to them-you lazy sods!

steven holl back on track

steven holl's newest addition to the nelson-atkins museum in kansas city, has been lit up for the holidays and causing traffic jams by gawking motorists. an article at the NYT goes deeper into holl's design intent, and his recent false starts with high profile projects including the denver courthouse, cornell school of architecture, the "turbulence house" and of course the controversial MIT dorm. but amidst all the criticism, holl remains ever optimistic and intensely devoted to his approach to ideas with the new addition:

“It’s not an object, “ Mr. Holl said. “You can’t compare it to anything like Bilbao or all the generations of Bilbao’s. The only way to see it is to move through it.”

opening on 06.09.2007, the $196 million overhaul of the 73-year old institution will be a chance for holl to "return to form."

inevitability

an update on post-occupancy blues at the libeskind designed denver art museum:

those DAM leaks...
NO! not the karl rove kind. the type of roofing concern.
and if you happen to be walking by the hamilton building after a heavy snow-

head's up. you might be caught in an avalanche.
here's what they plan to do about it..
also, the artist for a piece slated near the denver justice center has been selected, in one of the largest subsidized artworks in the history of the "denver percent for art program". the budget is reported as being an easy $1.2 million. new york sculptor dennis oppenheim is known for his abstract conceptual sculptures and land art.

houses at sagaponac

photo by jparchitectus

houses at sagaponac is the dream of the late developer harry j brown. the project consists of 34 houses, each designed by its own starchitect, on a 65 acre site in the hamptons, new york. some notables include: richard rogers, carlos jimenez, eric owen moss, stan allen, samuel mockbee, MVRDV, zaha hadid, steven holl, and the hariri duo.

here's a link to pushpullbar for an inside peek at the ban project under construction called the 'furniture house'. the "walls" are composed of customized cabinetry, intead of conventional framing techniques, for structural support. also-the entire roof is pitched 1/8" per foot in one direction, so there are none of those pesky scuppers or downspouts all over the place.

ghost in blueprint

featured in the most recent issue of BLUEPRINT magazine is an article on canadian architect brian mackay-lyons. he is best known for his book plain modern, on the subject of "regionalism in architecture" and the abstraction of the nova scotia housing vernacular into a modern idiom. every year, mackay-lyons holds a 2 week design-build seminar, dubbed the "ghost lab", on his coastal farmland located 1 hour south of halifax, ns. yours truly had the honor of being a part of ghost lab 8 this past summer, building a permanent structure only known to us as "the studio". the article's photos explain it best, but being apart of this phenomenal gathering was similar in spirit to programs like sam mockbee's rural studio. here are some scans of the article by oliver lowenstein.