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Sunday, August 10, 2008
The burden of being online
I received criticism today for not being as up to date on the many activities and hoopla going on around the town. I have no problem with being asked to post information about a certain event or to comment on a specific subject. Point of fact, when asked to I usually oblige if only because I then do not have to scrounge up a topic by myself.
Most of the posts and topics that I mention or comment upon are events or happenings that I have to verify with the many local organizations themselves to find out the particulars. Due to time constraints (there goes that darn "life" getting in the way) I don't have time to check with every single organization in this city constantly. Therefore, if I don't get a heads up or it is an event I usually don't go to, it will slip through the cracks.
I would like to apologize for that.
However, let me point out the variety of ways in which I attempt to utilize technology so that if you find mention of something you are interested in, you can get more information yourself;
-I like to link to the topic of discussion if there is a pertinent website. This particular example (the Murray Hill Artwalk) has taken down their website which makes it hard to keep track of when their next event is, hence my comments on the subject becoming increasingly lacking and eventually nonexistent.
-The existence of the internet itself. Chances are you found this website itself by utilizing search engines or external links from other websites. Keep on truckin' with that exciting technology! Chances are you can find what you are looking for if you put only half the tenacity you utilize for name calling into actually looking things up.
In order to foster feelings of goodwill I have even taken the time to use a search engine to find more information for the specific (anonymous) poster to find the information they are looking for: Little Italy Guide from Cleveland.com. You may need to pick up a phone and call someone to ask why their website is down or how they expect people to know about their un-posted events instead of resorting to aggressive and over-blown internet interaction which, while sometimes hilarious, is sort of rude.
In conclusion, to all you event planners out there let this go as a lesson to you. If you want someone to mention your event, let them know of it happening. Keep your event sites up to date and try to incorporate some sort of static resource of information so that the fine people of this city can come and visit you when you want us to.
Feel free to email me from the contacts link above to let me know of your events. If they are design/architecture/sustainable/beer-wine-food/bike/awesome related, chances are I will pass the information along.Labels: Cleveland
Friday, August 01, 2008
Design Sponge City Guide - Don't forget about the Cleve.
What can I say? Despite the recent negative news about Cleveland corruption, etc. that I feel unnecessary to rehash here (you can find plenty of sources for that sort of stuff), it is nice to find that when some people think of Cleveland, they do so with a smile in their hearts.
Danielle Deboe of Room Service on Detroit Ave. recently wrote a city guide for Cleveland to be posted on the Design Sponge website.
Not a bad guide at all. If you are looking for something to do in your neighborhood this weekend (besides the Waterloo or Lakewood Arts Fest) I suggest you peruse this list.
In other surprisingly uplifting news the Plain Dealer recently wrote an article entitled Cleveland's best, as seen through the eyes of the rest of America.
So next time you are moaning and complaining, give one of these bits a read and perhaps grab some ideas on a way to change your view, for at least a little while.
(Thanks to the MarJ for the heads up)Labels: Cleveland
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Burning River Garden discovered - urban gardening right on the river
While wandering around downtown Cleveland on the 4th I stumbled across the Burning River Garden, a little urban pocket garden where the Veteran's Memorial Bridge meets W. 10th on the East Side of the Cuyahoga River.
The corner is a rather nice spot that gets some good afternoon sun and marks the East entry of the Veteran's Memorial Bridge Tour. According to the BRG website the plots were designed with future expansion of more gardens and perhaps a community park in mind. While the community garden offers a great opportunity for the inhabitants of the nearby apartment/condo buildings to get their fingers and toes in the dirt, it also creates a fine respite spot for workers of nearby buildings and in creating the garden, marked a space that offers rather nice vistas of the Cuyahoga (our most valuable yet ignored resource).
Built in partnership with the Summer Sprout Program these folks have created a series of hubs for community place building and interaction and in doing so have made the city that much more livable. If you would like help the summer sprout program call Connie Booth for details (513) 221-0981.
Special thanks to Beth from BRG for taking some time from digging and weeding to explain the garden to me.
resources:
Burning River Garden made a music video of setting up the garden.Labels: Cleve. Diet, Cleveland, Environmental
Friday, July 04, 2008
Hisaka's CSU Student Center Photo Update
I have been meaning to get out to the Cleveland State University campus and watch the painful demolition of Don Hisaka's 1974 student center. I was never one who was sold that the student center was a weak demarcation of the entrance to the campus, mostly because as a commuter school a proper entrance seemed unrealistic to expect. Now that CSU is moving to create more on site residence halls I can see the argument for necessitating a "proper entrance" however I fail to see why the student center needs to mark that entry or why, with such a strong entry face, it didn't mark it enough.
I also have to wonder why a school with a seemingly decent engineering division didn't retrofit the existing structure or choose a designer who dealt with structures that expressed engineering intellect. Granted some may not enjoy the Hisaka building and even call it brutalist due to the raw concrete and expressed structure and materiality but I would think that very foundation could create a proving ground for one of Cleveland State's hallmark divisions to undertake and exploit. These are the sort of lost opportunities that sadden me. These are the chances that institutions have to set themselves apart.
Regardless of the semantics of what new urbanism is required to "front the campus upon Euclid" or "organize a proper main street" the tentative kid gloved nature that has resulted in this demolition work, and the proposed befuddlement of style could be construed as misguided at best and insulting at worst. If Euclid is to be the new Cleveland "main street", then the front door of our institutions should do their best to intrigue as well as welcome. Otherwise, who is going to come knocking?
more resources:
Action shots by Improvising Schema
Puff pieces do nothing to increase the quality of work expected
Ramsey Architectural GroupLabels: Cleveland
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Drinking beer in a Cleveland Park on a Friday evening was once legal?
It was a perfect dreary morning for starting to begin reading through the ridiculously large pile of books that has accumulated near the living room chair (Not to be confused with the gigantic pile of unread books in the office. These take precedent, they are from the library). I thought I would start out with the smallest of the bunch, a softcover book published by the American Planning Association and written by Project for Public Spaces entitled Managing Downtown Public Spaces.
More of a manual to running various urban planning exercises then a book on urban theory there were still plenty of case studies and interesting stories (and images) supplied including references to one of the few movies I remembered sitting through in college called The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces which, regardless of the quality of video and era in which it was shot, is still a surprisingly relevant and humanistic approach to looking at shared public/private space.
I am not posting to bemoan Managing Downtown Public Spaces, I'm not, it was a quick read and actually gave me something to ponder, I am posting because Cleveland (I can only assume Ohio) was used as a case study of successful urban spaces multiple times, most noticeably referring a regularly planned public event that actually made more money then it cost to put on. Yup, an actual income generating event that the city had hosted to bring people downtown.
I haven't been able to find any information online in regards to this event. Supposedly it was hosted by the Greater Cleveland Growth Association (who has recently merged with the Greater Cleveland Partnership and took place every Friday during the summer between the hours of 5pm and 8pm, each time in a different section of town, with the idea to keep people downtown after work and expose them to businesses or parts of the city they "normally wouldn't see".
It was called "Party in the Park" and was started in 1969 (or so I can surmise). It was self supporting and in 1979 grossed a profit of $6000 according to PPS which was distributed to the non-profit organizations that volunteered services.
I just was wondering what had happened to it. I almost remember hearing about the event and am sort of sad that it either a) went away or b) doesn't advertise enough for me to know about it.Labels: Cleveland
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Doing something with nothing, while waiting
Rust belt cities suffer from the heavy mantle of industrial exodus. The loss of jobs is reflected in the loss of tax revenue which decreases the city's ability to maintain its infrastructure, pay for basic services such as education and protection and maintain amenities such as entertainment or arts.
While lands are left vacant waiting for the local economy to turn there exists the potential to use the extended lag periods to passively increase the viability of polluted city sites in order to take advantage of passing opportunity. Many phytoremediation or phytoextraction strategies could be utilized to remove or decrease toxins from the polluted soils of vacated manufacturing plants. Phytostabilization or phytotransformation are strategies for stabilizing/containing a pollutant and for breaking down organic pollutants such as pesticides.
Passing over the Cuyahoga this morning I wondered how difficult or expensive it would be to begin a phytoremediation program to clean up selected sites in The Flats that are not currently slated for any development or where development is many years off.
Would it make sense to begin natural clean up solutions to decrease the toxicity? Would it increase the inherent land value for resale? Could brownfield clean up grants be available for such a project and if so could educational institutions become involved as part of biology or environmental study groups to monitor progress and attempt various techniques?
Could Cleveland become the case study for phytoremediation techniques, utilizing the massive amounts of undeveloped, post-industrial, poisoned land and turning these sites into amenities such as public parks, nature reserves, community gardens while they sit unused waiting to be developed?
Would a program such as this take too long to have an affect? Are we waiting for something worthwhile or amazing to happen instead?Labels: Cleveland, Environmental
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Getting close up to the old Cleveland Lifeboat Station #239
It was a glorious Saturday so the MarJ and I wanted to investigate the rumors that the Old Coast Guard Station had recently been made a bit more accessible.
We grabbed the camera and decided to check it out.
I have to admit that I have always been partial to the design of the station. Built in Art Moderne and designed by Cleveland architect J. Milton Dyer the station was a beautiful homage to nautical design. Years of neglect have compromised the structure but the current owner (the City of Cleveland) are currently looking at possible solutions to revitalize the site.
I am extremely excited about any plans to turn this part particular building into an amenity on the lake and feel that the design of the site should be preserved. I could not fathom a more well thought out and beautiful facility for that site, not that I would be one whom would preface any argument based upon the context of forcibly preserving historical precedence. I just believe that the design is an invaluable asset to the community and adds a much needed softness to our architectural vernacular. I am excited to keep tabs upon the future of this project.
Hopefully the increased access will result in greater attention. Make sure to visit it while the weather is nice and the building lasts.
resources:
Labels: Cleveland
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Beyond all convention (center) - or - I wish I knew now what I knew back then
Back in 1903 or so Cleveland underwent a rather amazing thorough urban public works plan commonly referred to as "the Burnham Plan". This great plan resulted in public square, the malls and the orientation of downtown north to south reaching to the lake.
Over the years many facets of the plan were ignored or changed, the relocation of transit centers from the North side of Mall C (see the location of the Amtrak station to Tower City), portions of public space "readjusted" to become building sites. Somewhere around 1929 a convention center was built under Mall B. It is the replacement of this convention center, in conjunction with the proposed Medical Mart complex that was the purpose of a public forum tonight at the Centers for Families and Children.
Of the three county commissioners only Peter Lawson Jones was able to attend. Estimates of about 70 - 80 of the general public attended. There were various government officials (of which I probably couldn't spell their names correctly so I apologize in advance).
The forum opened with Lawson Jones giving a brief presentation on the program of the convention/medical mart complex and a brief history of how the system has operated to date. Then two of the many suggestions for possible sites were further explained.
First up was Will Vogle of Forest City Enterprises who was a proponent for the site adjacent to Tower City. Dubbed "the Riverview Site @ Tower City" the proposal had the same fault shared with other developments with such bucolic names by falling sort of the conjured mental image relative to such a lofty title. It also had the mission statement of creating "an indoor and outdoor, front door" which I think means that when you enter from the street you know where you are, but when you enter from the interior, you also know where you are. It wasn't that it was confusing, just unnecessary. While Forest City would be offering commercial space to leverage the Medical Mart the strengths were also what I considered the main weaknesses. In a nutshell it created a completely self contained community of connected hotels and transit that would make it not only possible but extremely convenient to come into town for a convention and never leave the building. While that might bode extremely well for the business plan, for the city and the region is seems counter productive to the city as a whole. The project as a whole created a 7 story structure (4 levels of parking) directly on the banks of the Cuyahoga, creating a sheer canyon wall (with 4 levels of party) as the new Western image of the city.
While I don't want to beat on Will too much he did mention how the project would be designed via a "competition" (probably to the chagrin of HNTB who worked on the proposal with Forest City) that would strive to create an "architectural iconic building" that would "green" and whatever other buzzword could be tossed out to the hungry attention starved masses.
The second presentation was by Gene Baxendale of Osborne Engineering who presented a proposal done by LMN, Madison International and Bostwick Design Partnership which consisted of redesigning the existing convention center to handle modern exhibitions, refurbish the auditorium complex to the east and open up the site south of the current administration building for the Medical Mart which would put it right on Public Square. The Mall B&C proposal offered the most elegant solutions which seemed to offer the best opportunity to invigorate street life along a typically empty urban area while still allowing the Mall to retain it's usage as a public space. It also made allowances for connecting to the Lake via a pedestrian bridge that would cross the train tracks and highway and allow easy access to the Science Center and Rock Hall while creating back of house access that would allow trucks to utilize loading areas without having to traverse downtown streets from the highway.
After both presentations the public was allowed to speak. Most of the general public voiced the opinion that the Mall B plan was favored to the Tower City Plan. I would have to agree due to the statements above and also because...
- It would allow for a connection to be made to the Amtrak Station increasing the value of passenger rail travel.
- It would create an easy access to Browns stadium, the Rock Hall and the Science Center which unfortunately are currently cut off from the rest of the city.
- It allows for design statements to be subtle and controlled instead of an overindulging complex that would possibly overwhelm the context of the Burnham Plan and create an uncomfortable exterior space.
- The Mall B plan is more centrally located to parking, hotels, restaurants than the Tower City plan which is bordered by the Cuyahoga and therefore loses an entire side to ease of access.
- It would be similar distance to the Red Line as the Tower City Sight and both sites are directly on the Health Line around Public Square.
The important thing is that the people of the city are able to be involved in the planning and site selection for what could be the most important project with the greatest potential to change the fate of the city for the near future. It will a project that requires not only our scrutiny but also our diligence and care in order to make sure that it measures up to our necessary standards.Labels: Cleveland
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Verdant Walk - Mall B invasion
While it may look as if Mall B of downtown Cleveland has recently been invaded by some sort of weird alien pod people, what we are really witnessing is an amazing installation by Peter and Alissa North of North Design Studio. Complete with solar powered glowing spheres and strips of native field grasses the occupation of a formal park with natural objects and objectification is rather intriguing.
I think it is wondrous and beautiful and applaud the simplicity of execution.
Cleveland Public Art (click on the Mall B link) has the artist's statement which says it so much better.
It was a beautiful day downtown, the sun was setting, the city sparkled and the malls reminded me of how beautiful a formal city park could be. If there would have been a soft pretzel vendor about I would have been the happiest guy in town. Take an evening or a lunch and go check it out. I am unsure if there will be a ceremonial groundbreaking or whatever but it is out for everyone to see so you really don't have to wait.Labels: Cleveland
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Whiskey Island Access Bridge Now Open
I had heard rumors that the new bridge was officially open and decided to bike on over to Whiskey Island, one of my favorite parks in/around the city (once all the dead chad sink) to see for myself.
Apparently I was a day late for the official opening of the bridge but no bother, I will simply relish that it is open, wide enough for two cars to cross in opposite directions at the same time while also having a safe side bridge for pedestrian access.
While I have to admit I am a little disappointed that Burning River Fest changed venue to Nautica instead of Whiskey Island. I fear the reasoning was to accommodate more automobiles, which seems counter intuitive to the whole notion of the Burning River Fest. Actually I am a little saddened by the prospect that it will not be on the banks of a green lake park but rather shuffled off to take place on some asphalt oasis alongside the river surrounding by the empty hulks of our fallen industrial might.
However I do hope that this improved access will attract the people of downtown who would like another glorious spot to enjoy our all too short summers on the banks of the mighty Lake Erie and notorious Cuyahoga River overlooking (underlooking?) downtown. The views from the river portion of the park are much better than what I took from the bridge. Of course you should go and judge for yourselves.Labels: Cleveland
Friday, May 16, 2008
LAUNCH - Calling all NEO design companies
In order to facilitate a reasonable representation of the design capability of Northeast Ohio, LAUNCH Cleveland has put together an online survey in hopes of creating a centralized community of designers.
Why? To help clients find designers that are relative to the project, to help employees find compatible employers and vice-versa. All while proving that there is talent and interest in our area.
Every so often LAUNCH will have a more in-depth interview with a selected respondent and will showcase some selected works to demonstrate a cross section of local design.
Granted this has just started so there isn't much to show right now, but watch it grow and more importantly help it out by spreading the word to local designers who wouldn't mind the exposure!
Those links again:
LAUNCH Cleveland
Designer Survey webpage
Designer Survey PDFLabels: Cleveland
Monday, April 14, 2008
Cleveland College Town Pointers
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Dare to take back the sidewalks?
I suppose it happens even in Philly, where construction impedes the daily lives of pedestrian life. I never really thought about how easily contractors take over the side of a street by blocking the sidewalk off for construction and staging of vehicles without really making any sort of concession or arrangements for how people will traverse the site.
One of Philly's councilmen had a revelation whilst visiting New York, a city that undergoes roughly five times the amount of high-rise construction as his hometown. James F. Kenney realized that in New York City construction crews must make arrangements to protect pedestrians on the sidewalk by building shed shelters and by also creating protected paths that may intrude on the street to protect pedestrians. These techniques allow not only for pedestrians to move efficiently around the city but it also keeps storefronts and businesses open.
What an amazing idea! After traversing the Breuer Ameritrust Tower site debacle for the past year and so (still has up the lovely construction fence and closed sidewalk) I had found it so rude that they had to completely block passage on that side of the street. I wonder what going to Tribe's game would have been like if the sidewalks had been open.
Probably more pleasant.
It would be a wonderful thing if the city made concessions for its inhabitants and street level businesses by making construction teams stage equipment and protect the sidewalks and streets for those needing to use them.
resource:
Changing Skyline: The city has lost control of its sidewalksLabels: Cleveland
Sunday, April 06, 2008
The safety factor of staying the same
Work on Public Square was finished this weekend. Most of it at least. The part dealing with the collapsed water main that resulted in a sink hole at the intersection of Superior and Ontario and major reconstruction for the past month.
While waiting for Christopher Walken to make his "hundredth" appearance on SNL I managed to catch a local news story about how work on Public Square has been completed complete with interviews from locals discussing how difficult the construction at Public Square has made their lives, especially the congestion.
I suppose I had never considered Downtown Cleveland as having a congestion problem. Now the commute into and out of downtown, sure. 77 and 90/2 become a complete bear during rush hours. I can't blame downtown traffic patterns for that as much as the exodus to the outlaying suburbs (and to some extent the solo occupant commuting pattern).
I surmise my only issue with the 'news story' was simple based upon how much of a 'relief' it is to us lucky Clevelanders that Public Square has been rebuilt to what it was only a month ago. That our simple commutes into and out of downtown will no longer suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune but will instead be quick, easy, relatively harmless and unchanging. How difficult it would have been to imagine anything other then the simplest solution proffered. This is my concern. That the 'news' didn't bother digging any further into understanding the issue of Public Square, the conditions that caused the event or even how the city reacted (how were buses rerouted, was there a drop in ridership, were local businesses affected because of the buses or the complete disruption of any access?) and what the end result of any alternate solutions could be.
I would have been extremely interested in a news story regarding any of that. If only we had news agencies that were interested that sort of information. If only we actually wanted to experiment and study what would happen if we were willing to do something differently. This isn't just about the search for the facts or the proper information. A large portion of it has to do with the understanding that sacrifice of some sort needs to be made to offset the self destructive behaviors that, as a society, we ascribe to. Without a willingness to at least explore what change could lead to we have no right to complain, no right to argue that we have been dealt a bum hand. If we lack the understanding that by making small changes in our own behavior we very directly affect the larger outcome than there is no hope for us to come together as a connected community to create a better affect for ourselves.
I say this because there is a very large world out there that we are so quick to turn our backs on. Not environmentally, nor politically, nor religiously, but humanely.
Labels: Cleveland
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Car counting and watching the dance that is Public Square; the never ending burden of being bored
Whilst waiting for my bus on this morn I was taken aback by the massive number of automobiles that were zooming past me with only one occupant. I had decided to begin a quick and completely unscientific random sample.
In the 7 minutes or so that I was waiting at the bus stop I had counted a total of 174 cars. Of that quick sample only 34 had more than one occupant. Of those 34 vehicles operating at over 25% efficiency only one of the automobiles had more than 2 occupants meaning that only 1 out of 174 automobiles was operating at over what could be considered 50% efficiency.
Now we could begin to argue the semantics of "efficiency". Some could state that one would have to take into account vehicular mileage as well as designed seating capacity and eventually embodied energy to truly understand how "efficient" the automobile is, however I would like to base the premise that the vast majority of automobiles are designed with a comfortable seating capacity of 4 adult humans. Therefore I would state that any vehicle operating at less than full occupant capacity would therefore be working at less than full vehicular capacity.
This was my morning muse.
Of course my mind would then meander to hypothesizing whether a congestion charge upon commuting vehicles would encourage public transportation and cut down on the environmental (and economic impact) of under capacity commuting. Cleveland, however is one of those cities that doesn't suffer from expensive downtown parking or even a highway infrastructure operating at designed capacity, so in essence leveraging a congestion charge would probably pull businesses out of downtown to relocate in the suburbs even quicker then they would be doing without.
At about this point in my commute my bus had begun to traverse Public Square which in recent weeks has had the main cross traffic shut down to repair a sink hole that collapsed under the intersection of Superior and Ontario. The circular one way route around Public Square is still in use however the main cross intersection is closed to vehicular traffic in essence solidifying the main portion of Public Square into one actual large urban PUBLIC SQUARE which can be safely crossed and occupied by pedestrians (barring construction interference). While this traffic pattern may not be permanent it may prove worthwhile to at least take the time and effort to study how the square functions without the main vehicle intersection operating. Whether or not it may be feasible to completely reclaim the square for pedestrian traffic only and create a venue of events to activate the space or perhaps program it for a hybrid use of pedestrian and public transit only (with commuter vehicle traffic confined to circulate around the square) could, in fact, become a fine point of study and eventually contention into whether the city wants to become a walkable city at all.
I would argue that if public square became one large pedestrian location instead of multiple disparate elements segregated by high speed and high volume vehicular traffic that it may become a collection place for residents and visitors which may create opportunities for businesses looking for the next high profile location. There are few locations in the city that could actually be described as multi-nodal with Tower City being the fulcrum for many of the GCRTA's public transit systems (bus, rapid transit and soon the BTR) so the inherent exposure to such a location is already relatively high however short of street level business the are may be. Of course it is difficult to not further quantify that statement by referencing the prevalent surface parking that currently proves more economically feasible than office, retail or residential structures (hence it's proliferation) which is why downtown feels so very vast and empty anyway.
Hopefully someone is looking into it.
*edited because something wacky happened during the upload ~edLabels: Cleveland
Friday, March 28, 2008
People friendly cities may attract more...um...people
One portion of a pedestrian friendly city is designing streets to be safer for cyclists as well as pedestrians. There is a reason for this. Quick, safe and easy movement around a city on a Cycle of some sort (I don't want to rule out a unicycle or tricycle) results in more pedestrian level traffic and 'window browsing' instead of the vehicular based destination traffic pattern (parking lot to store to parking lot) and also allows for quick and easy adjustments to plans to accommodate spontaneous events (So and so is over at the coffee shop? I can just roll/walk right on over and not worry about the added parking cost or increased walk distance back to my car!). This all results in more activated streets (safer!) and possible consumers for street level businesses. Think about it only as a business plan if you have to. More customers = more money.
As the weather warms up (eventually) and those of us who don't trust our bikes on icy pavement roll out our rides and begin the seasonal tune up motions, clean the leaves out of the helmet and sprockets and immediately become agitated thinking about how horribly dangerous it is to ride around our city.
In an effort to increase Bicycle safety Portland, Oregon has implemented (and started enforcing) a bike box at some test intersections. These "bike boxes" are marked areas in which motorized vehicles are not allowed to rest at during red lights. They are only for cyclists to allow them to safely initiate their riding when the light changes to green. These bike boxes are at intersections where you are not supposed to turn right on red and where complaints against cyclists by motorists and vice versa have been made. This is only in its testing phases right now and Portland Police Bureau’s Traffic Division has started the rigorous procedure of informing and enforcing of the new traffic legislation.
I know I have ranted about it before. How if given the location to safely and securely store my bike I would love to risk riding it to work (as I can always toss it on the rack in front of a bus if I get a flat). If there were some sort of designated bike traffic pattern or even enforcement of automotive operation that would cause me to think cycling would be a safe alternative that could even tip the scale.
We need to stop worrying about our cars and start thinking about how we are going to get people onto the streets to keep an eye out for each other. I believe that investing in pedestrian based traffic infrastructure plays a key role in increasing the density of urban areas which in turn would bring people back to the 'downtown' areas of their community and eventually to our major downtown. The city of Cleveland itself.
Resources:
Ohio City Bicycle Co-op has a new website!
And don't just toss us a bone, make sure that bicycle infrastructure makes SENSE!
Dumbest Bike Lane in AmericaLabels: Cleveland
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Design Review, wherefore art thou?
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada once home to the world's largest mall (now only the largest in North America) has become known for refusing to allow "crap" to be built in the city. Specifically there is a proper ban on "square boxes with minimal features and lame landscaping" which is enforced by a city committee ominously known as the Edmonton Design Committee (EDC).
The civic volunteers have no real sway over granting a project the ability to proceed to the construction phase however no projects were approved by the body in power (the Edmonton development office) that were not supported by the EDC. The EDC has a mandate, they have the power to uphold it and they are flexing their muscle to include surrounding areas to Edmonton proper.
While at times there is still quite a bit of speculation about 'design review boards' and what they are worth I find it interesting that the EDC seems to be a completely volunteer group of individuals brought together out of love of their community. In fact they are described as a "volunteer coalition of experts". I don't know how one really becomes an 'expert'. I would love to see the process behind that title but for now I will move on.
The question of any design review council remains. "Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what is ugly and what isn't?" Granted in some instances bad design is rather telling however in others some really new, exciting ideas may seem too incredibly foreign to be accepted and that is where the power of the design review board scares me.
While I think it is all fine and dandy to hold city projects to a set of 'urban' guidelines and perhaps even zoning I am abhorred by what some real design review does. In Cleveland there are numerous projects that have sprung up that should have had to go through a design review process. One firm's entire portfolio could be considered suspect of utilizing any sort of measure of taste or finesse however prolific they may be yet they continue to infect our city with either a total disregard to a Design Review or worse, with the Design Review's blessing.
While Edmonton is willing to call a 'cow' a 'cow' and better yet call 'crap' projects for what they are I wonder who in the local community is attempting to interject a touch of civic pride into their decisions. I have been to few reviews and I wonder that quite often. For those of you interested in why things are being built in your community I suggest you contact your local building and planning boards to get a schedule of when meetings are taking place and go to a few of them. For the most part they are boring humdrum lectures of misplaced historical context (casement window's aren't historically correct since everyone has double hung, what?) you would be surprised at what slips through when people are watching the clock. Next time you wonder how that 'mixed use urban development' sprung up on your block you can attribute it to our design review peers asleep at the wheel.
Resources:
Canada looks better all the time
Cleveland Planning CommissionLabels: Cleveland, Design Rants
Monday, March 24, 2008
Toronto has a pretty nice streetcar system, I bet ours was pretty nice too.
You know, before we sold them ours. Well we didn't sell them the whole system. In fact we only transferred some of our fleet to Toronto in 1952 where they remained in service for 30 years. This of course is after complaints were alleged that the mayor at the time and city council members were gifted new General Motor automobiles in exchange for the city's purchase of a new General Motor's bus fleet (at the time the FBI wasn't able to investigate). Toronto's streetcar system was a familiar and predictable route for traveling to visitors in a new and strange city and I found the 24 hour a day service rather helpful. I don't want stir the water and start spouting conspiracy theories. That isn't what this post is about. Instead I wanted to mention that the streetcars of Toronto were a predictable comfort, one that Cleveland is missing and that will hopefully be brought back when the new Euclid Corridor BTR is completed. I think I can finally understand the import of a public transit corridor with such reliable repetition. While our Rapid and bus system do a fine job, the Rapid system does not offer the same street level conveyance and the bus system isn't really predictable nor understandable yet (signage, maps and clocks at/near bus stops would be a great way to alleviate this). I wholeheartedly look forward to the BTR project along Euclid being completed and would hope that when it proves successful, that other high traffic routes are make the leap to the BTR system (see Detroit Ave. line) comfortably connecting the east and west side to downtown. Resources (yes, I used the wikipedia!):Cleveland Railway CompanyToronto Streetcar SystemLabels: Cleveland
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Reinventing the wheel, Cleveland style; rolling along on a square.
There has been an awful lot of talk regarding the convention center for the medical mart recently. Hoards of ideas have been floated by the Plain Dealer (no I won't link until they get rid of that awful 'reader' survey you have to click through before you get to an article) and on other blurgs such as Cleveland Design City and BFD, etc etc.
Anyway, for those of you wanting to take a step back and look at some of the original plans for the city to perhaps surmise some original intent (best laid plans and all that) you may find the D. H. Ellison Group Plan webpage interesting. Not only for the old diagrams and images but also because of the *gasp* information.
It is almost as if at one time in the way distant past Cleveland was supposed to be a successful city!Labels: Cleveland
Monday, December 31, 2007
2007 Cleveland Architecture Milestones (as witnessed by TOIstudio)
TOIstudio 2007 Year in review - noticeable milestones:
-I don't want to call them 'awards' persay, as I have nothing to really give anyone. Regardless, the overarching plan was for BOTC, Design Rag and TOIstudio to collaborate on some notifications and appreciations for a job well done. If only we would have planned to actually get this done more then a week ago. Anyway, here are the results for the city as Dru from TOIstudio sees it.
Best Building completed in NEO in 2007:
Cleveland Institute of Music Expansion - Mixon Hall:
Architect: Charles Young
Cost: $32 million
Particulars: Total of 34,000 sf of new space including a 250 seat venue with 43' high glass backdrop, new entry from Wade Oval and practice rooms.
A particularly fine example of meshing programmatic restraints with the reimagining of what the concert experience can be. By creating a glass backdrop to the performers overlooking a small park (and the soft sculptural form of the east addition) the experience of listening to fine music can only be punctuated by the spectacle that nature can present. Whether winter concerts with a snowy background, soft diffuse light and the chance to shiver at both the weather and the captivating melody of a fine quartet to a hot summer night filled with dramatic lighting, the excitement of University Circle and the blood boiling crescendo of a full orchestra. Even without the amazing program the form and materiality of the structure is finely detailed, clean and exact and only improves with the many layers of acoustic and environmental control added to make the structure function. There is little addition of superfluous form as there is little room for it. A fine example of solving the given problem first and solving it well.
Worst Building Proposed in 2007 (I think this category was changed to something less insulting):
Cleveland State University's new student center by Gwathmey Seigle and Associates
Cuyahoga Community College/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Rock Archive by Robert P. Madison International
Best Urban Design Strategy Proposed in 2007:
Wolfstein's Flats development:
Whether you can state that this proposal was made in 2007 (it wasn't, it has been on the books for a while) is true, however the ball is moving and I find this one of the best hopes for the city to be close to achieving reality. A massive influx of people and entertainment mixed with the types of 'regular day' infrastructure (grocery markets, drugstores, etc) could jump start a 24 hour culture downtown recalibrating the city to accept a rank as a convention city. If only there could be a way to improve the school system to move families back downtown...
Medical Mart:
When was this one first mentioned? Mid 90's? Regardless, another project that is 'on the horizon' that could work in conjunction to some other proposals to activate the city.
Worst Urban Design Strategy Proposed in 2007:
E120th RTA station being relocated off from Euclid to Mayfield Road which manages to complete a number of dubious tasks. The current plan relocates a major public transportation nexus away from the Euclid Corridor instead of creating a multi use transit node that could service pedestrian, rail, bus and bike traffic in a centralized and safe location. It moves the station away from a major corridor and away from the front of what would be the Cleveland Institute of Art, MOCA and the 'front' of the northern complex of University Circle including CASE, CIM and CMA which could be used to consolidate the station traffic as a grand entrance and enforce the pedestrian urban model along a main artery instead of shunting it to the rear. Overall the location decision smacks of more public transit systems being designed by people who don't use it for people who wouldn't use it anyway (see practicing what you preach comments for a theme this year).
Best Lecture that Pissed People Off:
Robert Breugmann:
Granted the topic of sprawl is hotly contested, hard to define and difficult to argue without falling back to discussions of semantic purity, however when there appears to be a promise of a well thought out and lively discussion on how to deal with sprawl one expects, well, a well thought out lively discussion dealing with sprawl.
I think I made most of my points regarding this already right here: Earlier post on TOIstudio
Best Lecture that Inspired:
Bruce Mau:
It could be my kinship towards other "men of gravity" that are bearded, or my belief that architects have an inherent responsibility to increase the well being of the world that I found his lecture inspiring, captivating and informative. There is something about informing the public and going out and actually accomplishing things (research or practical application) that I find extremely more enjoyable than all the eye candy computer renderings in the world. Something about practicing what you preach.
Steve Badanes:
Same reasoning as above minus the beard and "men of gravity" comment.
Best Advocates for Design (Large Institution):
University Circle Inc.:
Just for being receptive and positive to the many groups and institutions wanting/willing to experiment with architecture and form within the enclave. It is University Circle that will set the benchmark for design for the rest of the city. Again.
Best Advocates for Design (Small Institution):
Cleveland Artist's Foundation - Jim and Nina Gibans for Cleveland Goes Modern
Green City Blue Lake - Susan Miller and Marc Lefkowitz for Greening the Modern Preservationist Movement - Ameritrust Tower Preservation Movement
Both groups did a bang up job of getting the general public interested and involved in Cleveland's architectural past and for that I personally thank them.
Best Net-roots Activity for Design:
Ingenuity Fest - What Would YOU Do with the Breuer Tower :garnering international attention to our historic tower.
Cleveland Design Competition -2007 Annual Competition :more international attention for Cleveland as a place wanting to harvest ideas (even though they never did get around to posting all the entries that were received *cough cough*)
Emerging Architecture and Urban Design to eagerly anticipate in 2008:
FOA - new MOCA building
MVRDV - new CIA addition
Euclid Corridor Project Completion
Cleveland State University Urban Affairs Lecture series (typically pretty dang good)
Kent State University Spring and Fall Design Lecture series (always a good excuse to go down to Kent)
Case Wester Reserve University Baker Nord Lecture series (even if they did bring Breugmann...)Labels: Cleveland, Design Rants
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Selfish altruism - buying things locally is really just spending money on yourself...
..if one figures that supporting local businesses means supporting local infrastructure (through taxes), and, um, supporting local government's descision making processes (which are at times questionable).
Anyway, there are only a couple of days left until the big Tuesday morning gift exchange. I wonder if one could hear the simultaneous sounds of millions of packages being unwrapped from space? I took a strange route this year. I didn't do the internet thing so much, instead I tried to wander around some smaller neighborhoods and window shopped. I have so far successfully avoided all 'Big Box' stores as well and instead concentrated on the many community downtowns that surround places that I enjoy visiting anyway such as Waterloo, Tremont, Cleveland Heights/Coventry and of course Lakewood. I could probably list off what I purchased from where since I doubt anyone in my family gives my internet voice any attention but I won't, just in case.
Anyway, for those of you in the time crunch, looking for ideas or places to window shop I would like to remind everyone of the many local gift guides available on the Internet.
Cool Cleveland's Local Gift Guide
COSE ibuyneo Website
Green City Blue Lake Gift Guide
Cleveland.com (Plain Dealer's) Local Guide.
Cleveland Free Times Local Guide
Of course a real treat to those receiving and those doing the shopping is to take a walk along the many commercial downtown streets of the neighborhoods you enjoy and window shop. Make sure to check out for any specials in the chocolate shops (or free samples), stop for some coffee or hot chocolate in a local cafe, grab a decadent bite and enjoy having the freedom to spend the time really picking out something special instead of madly dashing about in a frenzy. I know there is a rush, but you should take the time to enjoy all of the holiday and what it really means.
Happy holidays everyone.
PS. In case anyone is wondering, for the holidays I would really enjoy it if more people got involved in their local communities, whether it be mentoring a child, cleaning up a street or even just taking part in a community planning discussion. That would be a really nice gift for me. Oh, and chocolate.Labels: Cleveland
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Check the Fence, or yo-self, foo! (Example of irony part II - same guilty party)
This picture was forwarded to me by a concerned citizen who had noticed that the fliers posted on the construction barrier around the Ameritrust Tower on East 9th, South of Euclid has suffered from what could possibly be described as "adhesive surrender". The glue used to mount the fliers to the barrier has/is failing and the fliers are falling to the ground, and possibly, their doom. This is an example of irony for the following reason...
a) The fliers are promoting what Cuyahoga County is doing to promote, endorse or create sustainable initiatives. Their example is now littering the ground. Littering is not sustainable.
b) The fliers appear to be vinyl based, much like a picnic table cloth. Vinyl is by no means an acceptable sustainable material. Asbestos is probably safer for you. I have no factual material to back that up but I doubt anyone comes here for straight facts. That is what the BBC is for.
I will however offer the option that this is part of the County's plan to save money by utilizing an adhesive which fails exactly when the new fliers are to be posted (the next one goes up in December!) saving the energy and cost of labor needed to remove and dispose of the fliers. That seems somewhat sort of logical.
I for one, am ATWITTER at the possible December designs. If anyone knows what they are I would prefer for them to not spoil the surprise. I am sure it will be endlessly glorious.Labels: Cleveland, Environmental
Monday, November 26, 2007
Euclid Corridor, day one
It was cold, rainy and dark so I thought it the perfect weather to go for a photo jaunt with Bradley of the Design Rag to document the first day of operation for the Euclid Corridor Project. I was watching traffic attempt the new patterns from a comfortable office vantage and wanted to see how the thing operated from the street.
First off, I would like to congratulate the city on the sneaky way they are hindering the use of automobiles on Euclid. Seriously. With two main urban corridors (Chester and Carnegie) a block North and South I can understand why the city would want to make Euclid as pedestrian friendly as possible and they did everything short of making it pedestrian only to achieve this. By giving automobiles only one lane in each direction the street seems smaller and more manageable to forge.
Secondly, I would like to huzzah the center bus island stations. Again they work wonderfully as a traffic calming device, they make the street much more pedestrian friendly and they offer amazing vantages of the city while you wait for your bus. I cannot wait for the BTR to be up and running. I am actually excited about public transportation right now.
Thirdly, I didn't see the bike lanes. I hope that they are not shared with the parallel parking lane only because that has proven inherently dangerous for the cyclists. Maybe they just don't reach all the way to CSU.
Lastly, this area of Cleveland looks, well, like a real city. Mix in a good amount of people, toss in some more shops and restaurants and I think we could be on to something here. The street looks so much better than it did a couple of years ago (prior to this project starting), it feels friendly, cleaner and much more organized.
Yay.
resources:
Web Albums of various photos from todayLabels: Alt. Transportation, Cleveland
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Kauffman Park in danger - signs of greater troubles?
Public Meeting on Kaufman Park
Monday, October 29th, 2007
7.00-8.00 pm
Lakewood Seventh-Day Adventist Church
1382 Arthur Ave. - Fellowship Hall (Basement)
hosted by- Tom Bullock for Lakewood
There is an allure to Lakewood, Ohio that is relatively easy to discern. For an older suburb it still works the way neighborhoods did at the dawn of the century and in the way that new developers like to sell their developments as working. People here walk. There are parks to walk to, stores (specialty and grocery), libraries, movie theaters, all manner of bowling alleys, art galleries, restaurants, churches, bars, etc.
There is also a reason people walk. It is easy. The blocks are small, there are two major commercial strips that run parallel to (and create the spine of) the city, the sidewalks are big without being unreasonable gigantic, the crosswalks are marked and logical and commercial buildings are fronted right up on the street. Amidst a collection of single story to mid-rise the scale and composure of Lakewood 'downtown' has a particular feel; a small town without disjointed connection where one can easily peruse the windows whilst on your way to your destination.
If you are one who feels driving to your destination is quicker have no fear, there is ample side street parking or building specific parking nestled behind the buildings against the street (except for a couple of locations, noticeably Marc's surface lot that is somewhat tucked behind another building and park). These hidden parking lots do a few things that are rather nice to those of us that still enjoy walking the neighborhood. It keeps the front of the stores, and their windows, against the street making it easy to glance in and see if anything catches our eyes, it keeps eyes on the street due to proximity to the stores and it keeps large, barren, and crummy looking parking lots hidden away from the main image of the street.
With this in mind I bring up the Public Meeting on Kauffman Park tomorrow. I am not sure if this is an actual public meeting or just a publicity stunt for an elected official. I also am leery as I read the flyer which talks more about increasing safety forces at the park then attempting to create a way for future development (proposed office and retail) to keep the 'main street' feel instead of having a sea of asphalt butt up against Detroit Avenue. Yes, I fear that Detroit Avenue will turn into something akin to Mentor Avenue (Route 20) in Mentor, a strip of small retail stores, buffered from an uncrossable street by even more asphalt, parking entry and egress haphazardly tossed about until the whole street becomes a orgasm of commuter frustration . I feel that with a little bit of creativity and a small attempt at rational thought there would be a way to save most of the park, reorient the retail center and even add the possibility of office or even some residential units (if Lakewood needs more residential units, there are an awful lot of homes for rent/sale and adding to the mess doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense yet).
However that would mean that someone would actually want to spend time trying to design something that not only would sell but also something that would fit the sense and scale of the place and, well, work with the neighborhood and community.
Which probably means the usual suspects aren't up for the task no matter how many lamp-posts with banners declaring the 'Drug Mart Neighborhood Condo District' say they are.
resources
Plain Dealer ArticleLabels: Cleve. Events, Cleveland
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tri-C Rauc(ous) Hall Archive- for the love of all things holy...
 I admit I had seen what could have been a preliminary image of the Tri-C/Rock Hall archive thing earlier (which I commented upon), one where the stacked glass corner box was a pyramid with a large block balanced on top which was actually quite a bit more offensive then this.
This, this I can almost ignore without getting too angry about. Granted I had to lift the image from the ground breaking video since everyone that was so busy making the announcement somehow didn't get a simple image of what this thing was supposed to look like. This building that somehow they are breaking ground on, that supposedly went through a permit and review process that is supposed to protect the architectural and artistic merit of our city, this building that supposedly the people paying for it had been involved in the design...
Arts buildings should have the intent for delight professed within them.
Like This
ps. watch the video. After the squint/opera lecture/video showing at KSU you almost wonder how good design can easily influence the presentation. Also, they shovel a trough for the ground breaking. Really wacky stuff going on in this town.
Labels: Cleve. Events, Cleveland
Friday, October 19, 2007
Steel forged in fire - Cleveland Goes Modern; From the Architects Perspective
Last evening at the Beck Center I had the opportunity to watch two Cleveland architecture legends discuss the modern movement as it pertained to Northeast Ohio construction from the 1940's to the present. Peter van Dijk and Richard Fleischman created the panel which had collected quite a crowd of interested Clevelanders waiting to hear about the problems and solutions to having non-typical projects built in the city.
It was an impressive turnout and mostly consisted of a question and answer segment which began with the loaded question offered by van Dijk of 'what is modernism?' which quickly evolved into what happens when the client isn't trained to or unable to recognize visual aesthetics (this was blamed on the typical educational curriculum which is currently light in the arts) to questioning whether it gotten easier or harder to move projects through local design review stages and receiving permits.
In my mind this is where the conversation got rather interesting. Much comment was bandied about regarding architecture and design in this post 9-11 world. Yes, 9-11 was brought up as an actual excuse for the proliferation of 'comfort' architecture, those banal boring structure decorated with false gables, columns and friezes, attempting to look timeless while only succeeding in become garish mockeries. Apparently (and I was not aware of this) everyone in this country (or just Cleveland) feels so unsafe that we are uncomfortable with doing anything out of the ordinary, even with regards to architecture (what at one time was possibly considered an art). Even though the buildings that were showcased in this installation were built 40 to 50 years prior the flagrant excuse that these typologies and structures are so alien and hard to understand as to create an aura of uncomfort stuns me. I suppose I can force myself to understand and find value in that statement though, however I come from the completely opposite perspective when I state that the typical building stock still being recreated (poorly) make me feel even more insecure. They make it difficult to delineate place as they do nothing but add to the background noise of a street, they perpetuate what some may consider a style artificially granted merit due to sheer repetition and in doing so make any attempt to explore other ideas, designs that may very well be better suited to our modern lifestyles, seem strange, unfamiliar and elitist to the denizens who are meant to harbor our neighborhoods from decreasing property values, the design review committees.
It was also rather interesting to listen to the passion in the room. I have honestly feared that is was missing from our city in some aspects. I suppose the only reason I would be so bold as to state openly so is that even though there is copious amounts of TALK about what is wrong and what can be done to change it, there seems to be very little in means of ACTION.
Ignoring the problem doesn't do anything to solve them, however neither does talk.
There was boldness last night. There was a fire and a thirst that made me feel like I was surrounded by the sort of youth and exuberance that was willing to change the world and take the repercussions for having done so. In my mind it was a damnable shame that this took place in a reputable arts gallery instead of the dark and raw backroom of a bar, where we could have smacked our fists on the rough wooden tables and felt the camaraderie bursting forth, ready to carry us into the streets torches in our hands raised high marching towards the nearest townshack to evoke our own design review fury.
Alas, I romanticize quite a bit. I felt the fury in the air last night, the danger of our precarious current situation that we feel unwilling to fight against yet. There seems to be some difficulty with arguing against the problem, perhaps because it has become so dominant and ingrained it feels too large to overcome for now, it has become the natural way of things.
Until there is enough willing to act, and the opprotunities to do so, we can only hope that exhibits such as Building Goes Modern raise enough community awareness and incite enough curiosity to keep our hearts and minds alive.
As a quite side note, I also picked up the catalogue for the show which I believe you will be able to purchase at the installation for a mere $15.00. It is a wonderful foray into the existence and history of the modern movement around Cleveland. While you are there, try to find Nina Gibans amazing Historical and Cultural Notes for the Cleveland Goes Modern show. It is a wonder primer.Labels: Cleve. Events, Cleveland, Design Rants
Monday, April 09, 2007
Stop Building Shit
I had a whole tirade about SBS-44114, a blog devoted to poor construction and misguided design intent (while strangely ignoring aesthetics) but really thought that the whole thing spoke for itself.
Seriously, I have nothing to add. I couldn't even be upset about it. I suspect criticism eventually makes us better. I might actually love it.Labels: Cleveland, Design Rants
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Fairlawn gets set to captialize on wind power
Thursday, March 8th, the Fairlawn Planning Commission voted approval for a new prototype wind turbine called a "windcube". This new design acts much like |
