From the CBC "Let’s look at the building technology," says Holmes, whose ideal First Nations home would be about 1,100 square feet and built with wood and other materials that won’t burn or be susceptible to mould. "I don’t care if you want a box. I don’t care if you want it off the ground. [...]
design
Another way to get a bridge built
In Saskatoon bridges cost hundreds of millions of dollars, deeply divide the city, and then tend to fall down because they haven’t been properly maintained. The locals of Nongriat in Meghalaya, India have a different approach to infrastructure, they grow it. They have been doing this for the past 500 years. Some of [...]
Architecture as a force to deal with poverty?
As Paris is finding, it may be overestimating the power of architecture Balzac has now been emptied, though, and a spidery mechanical arm tears away at it each day. The towering wall of stained concrete and tile, once 600 feet long and 16 stories high, is to be replaced by a cluster of smaller units, [...]
The Swoosh Turns 40
Here is how it all came together. The origin of the mark goes like this: Knight wanted to differentiate BRS‘s custom product from the ones they were importing from Onituska in Japan: "…so Knight turned to a graphic design student he met at Portland State University two years earlier." One day in 1969, the student, [...]
Poor Urban Design in Saskatoon & How to Do It Better
Sean Shaw has a great post on the new Holiday Inn in Saskatoon. How can this type of development be avoided? It will take a conscious effort by City Council to mandate more stringent and enforceable development guidelines, not just for the Warehouse District but all new developments within the city – this hotel would [...]
What makes Helsinki the best city in the world?
Check out this video that asks the question, “What makes Helsinki the city with the highest quality of life in the world?” As Monocle says, Rising from fifth position in 2010, Helsinki outperformed Zürich at number 2 and Copenhagen at number 3 to claim the mantle as the world’s most liveable city. An unorthodox but [...]
Urban Islands 2011
In case you are in the area of Oz in July, you may be interested in Urban Islands 2011. Urban Islands is an independent cross university program that brings renowned architectural practitioners from around the world to Sydney’s Cockatoo Island. Guest tutors each run an intensive 12 day workshop based at Cockatoo. Through processes of [...]
Why don’t more people live in a most “livable city”?
The Financial Times asks why more people don’t live in places like Vancouver? “Sure, Vancouver is beautiful,” says Kotkin, “but it’s also unaffordable unless you’re on an expense account and your company is paying your rent.” Burdett agrees: “Economically all these cities at the top of the polls are also in the top league.” In [...]
The impact of gentrification on San Francisco
From a series of articles written in 1999 in the San Francisco Guardian LET’S SAY THE NEXT major earthquake that hits San Francisco is of roughly the same magnitude as the Loma Prieta quake of 1989, or maybe just a little bit stronger. Let’s say it wipes out roughly 1,000 houses and apartment buildings and [...]
Affordable Rental Suites in Winnipeg
For all of the news about affordable housing in Saskatoon, most of the affordable housing units are still over $200,000. There is still a huge need for low rent units. A company in Winnipeg is solving both the problem of creating low rent apartments and finding a solution for how to build on narrow abandoned [...]
