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Kevin Matthews
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 687
Location: Eugene, Oregon
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ellefagan
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 11
Location: www.ellefagan.com
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 Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 9:38 pm Post subject: Call for Innovation,Courage & Winning Vision in GulfReco |
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Architecture Week may have inspired it, but, lifelong arts and redcross work,
I was working on my modest relief art benefit, and thinking about the enormous workload involved,and the equally enormous challenge to those
who will design and rebuild, when Rita broke the levees again. Just then, I was gifted with that wonderful
insight / a vision that made me sit up straight and open my eyes wider:
Construction plans in such places of changing sea level have been fighting nature, rather than co-operating with her.
Rather than block off the waters with levees that break, why not build a water city that celebrates what the sea does ? The image of beautiful communities, buildings and roadways dancing over the seas came to my mind's eye and dazzled me.........after all,
we are going that way before long, I have read.
And the vision is not at all far-fetched. The modern abilities to create sound foundations beneath the seas, and build up, are proven and done. The vision now reveals construction that is co-operating with nature, rather than fighting it, which is always more beautiful as well as practical.
The "mommies" taught , "when life deals lemons, make lemonade"...so why not use this catastrophe so? Think about it.....humanity needs such
response to its new challenges....our survival depends on winning initiatives that show "life wins"....
We are regularly informed of progress in top news stories, but we could use more ..... so much of what needs to reach the public, seldom does......
Architecture, its achievements and plans are among our basics, and yet,
how often do they get news coverage. The news coverage possible for rebuilders in this major reconstruction scenario
brings the opportunity to do amazing things, and educate the public to the
third millennium options that offset disaster and other discouragements, and I hope to see architectural planning updates in the news more often , for the much needed and lifegiving dynamic in it for all.
Commment welcome.......I know so little!
_________________
enjoy the arts and writings at
ellefagan artsite
www.ellefagan.com
you are most welcome
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P.C.
millennium club
Joined: 26 May 2004
Posts: 2163
Location: Denmark
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| Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 5:02 am Post subject: |
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Hi
ellefagan I hear what you say, I just want to tell that I have round 30 years experience with house boats and sorry to say so ,but I think the efford are better spend rethinking t evaluating architecture and the build works.
Will the new plybox houses be better than the old , is it possible to further refine the crafts that is almost forgotten in prefab housing , I don't think so.
I think that what is needed are these new digital options ,but put into new building methods instead of trying to further refine the bad craftmanship into bringing even sader building crafts in even vorse materials. --- The new houses will become even more fragile than the old.
Bringing it all onto a floating platform will just be further expenses, and sadly architects seem to know less about these matters than even before ; if you ask a group of architects to project a floating town all you will se, is houses just as build before, placed ontop square floating tanks ; today's architect lost the feel of beauty to the degree, that a discussion about the means will end up in how genious a square box work , no one own the capasity to even design a boats hull that can offer a bit of practic solutions and a bit beauty ontop no, it is much more efficient to place a bunch of shipping containers ontop a number of expensive square floatation boxes and that the beauty and cosyness went out of it, as soon as the easy floatation boxes took over, no one have the memmory to realise.
Sorry to say --- but with all this rebuilding all over the world, fiddeling and refining the old methods is not the ansver ; the houses must now be made cheaper and stronger and continuing the dead end road is not the ansver.
You need tools so that what you project on a screen go strait to the mashin that manufactor the assembly pieces , you need a new way to put things together that is not the old way's just put into computer code, you need new visions and new way's to build houses.
Sorry but the idea to just float the houses will not work , what about the instalations the network every house need how to do that unless it will cost 10 times as much and with 10 times the trouble, beside if you ever tried free a beached ships hull you wonder if floating the houses will not just make things vorse next time ,think about the beached casino barges they will never move but need to be scrapped, why shuld it be any different with a house on a barge.
Open your mind realise where architecture ended , look closer into the digital tools and ask yourself if what is needed, isn't a complete revolution. One that make it possible to make a direct link from projecting to production, one that spark the new jobs and realy make digital do the work and not just the fancy renderings, something visionary and fantastic, something that will make the family house at a third the cost four times as strong in just one material. |
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ellefagan
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 11
Location: www.ellefagan.com
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| Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 7:59 am Post subject: Thanksomuch for your comments . |
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You answered part of what I hoped for ... the concept of using modern tech to formulate houses that WORK ... ones of easy to use materials, that sustain through bad weather and satisfy modern goals concerning energy an upkeep,
and still inspire a quality lifestyle within.
Discovery and our public documentaries share the story of that part of the country: the rising sea level in some places, especially New Orleans, is the issue. No matter what they build... in some of the worst impacted areas, it is not going to hold up the first time something happens.
My idea was to abandon rebuilding in these low-lying areas, except for the
floating city structures.....these structures will not really float , of course, but be built over the waters and low-lying areas, with the foundations driven sustainably below the waters...down deep enough to hold up soundly, like the mega-malls built in other places on earth.
Even if they build Mega-Levees, they will become obsolete in time, due to the ever-rising sea level in a few areas....and, again, dependence on levees is a full-time hazard, and will only repeat the death and destruction the first time they fail.
Abandoning construction of traditional housing in the endangered areas WORKS.
Building new residential neighborhoods where the water-level is safer WORKS, and mega-complexes right over the more watery areas with the sound foundations, driven stably, below sea-level WORKS.
After what happened, I don't have faith in levees, but I DO have plenty of faith in modern architecture's ability to let the nature of the area do its thing, and build on the spot in ACCORDANCE with that nature, not in OPPOSITION to it.
Every disaster is an OPPORTUNITY... new design and modern use of digital and new materials, etc. give us there the opportunity to create a shining EXAMPLE of Architecture responding triumphantly to Nature and to Man.
I don't know enough about digital concepts in modern architure... would be happy for studylinks and explanations of how the digital becomes so powerful an issue in things today. Your note seemed very excited about digital... so it must be an important concept. Enlighten me, if you wish, or refer me. This Architecture Week site has shared some of the sort of construction ideas you speak of, and I may search the archives to refresh myself.
Thanks again for your comment here. I appreciate it and welcome more, more more.
If you want to pray for a thing....this week's danger spot is MONEY...
the enormous need, has found lots of response money, and every penny is needed for it and more. But the issue is misuse of funds, not by criminal activity so much, but by incompetence, due to the crisis level of the original
need. I think they should bank all funds, and be made to sit it out through a cooldown.....and get a group going to review the whole rebuilding and create an intellingent action plan.....it frightens me, the idea of what might happen if some sort of organization and proper planning is failed.
And of course, not so long ago that part of the country was positively famous for its crooks in power positions. Today the leaders are great, but
the opportunity for miracles provided by catastrophe creates opportunities for mega-crooks and badguys in it, too. I don't know what interest could be maintained for TV fiction, when the real thing is such a story!
The Hurricane devastation happened at the other side of the country from me, and so I have felt able to help with my Arts Benefits and prayers and notes like these. But on 9-11-2001, the thing was near, and did
http://www.ellefagan.com/patriotsite/wtcreconstruction.html
over it, and about to update the page again.
I live in Connecticut; my neighbors here lost loved ones who worked in the Twin Towers at Ground Zero New York City. The rebuilding of the Ground Zero area has snagged so many times because of the poor planning that came from our need to respond immediately, patriotically and emotionally to the horror with New Hope and a place called the Freedom Tower......Have we learned nothing? We will not stop, calm, plan and implement better in this new reconstruction scenario... before it becomes a
reconstruction fiasco.
If you like tell your leaders/newspeople.....I am doing so here.
Again, comment welcome.
_________________
enjoy the arts and writings at
ellefagan artsite
www.ellefagan.com
you are most welcome
& browsing is always free |
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ellefagan
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 11
Location: www.ellefagan.com
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| Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:49 pm Post subject: Gulf Coast devastation a Big Opportunity for Innovation. |
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I really enjoy my Architecture Week and Design Community mailings.
Since, otherwise the kind of innovation news I crave does not reach me.
With all our powers, we sort of have an obligation to bring the restoration of the Gulf Coast devastation over the top ... they call them setbacks because they set us back, and so three spaces more than catch up is the thing, you see....our existence is like any other life energy thing....too many setbacks and we go down a major level......it is not just jobs and buildings....it is our survival expressing the great gifts of which we are possessed as Americans and citizens of the world.
The Architecture week and design community notes and forums help me to see , at midlife, that "you youngsters" are doing it, doing it , and doing it right.........
It's just that I am sure I am not the only one who feels so....
we want to see it in the five o'clock news....the innovation, the salvations, the triumph over obstacles we could not win!
Why do they only news-feature architecture when it falls down? That's not "balanced converage".... it also fails to use public opinion power to help architecture achieve its dearest and best goals.
must I make my "do something constructive joke?" I'm supposed to be classier than that. 
Young lions ruling the world:
We took you to Disney World, and everything...and to Grandmother's house , a lot....spend quality time reading LOTR, loved truly, and disciplined wisely, and spent quality-time and careful money and supported you with example and encouragement for any and all good goals in education, work and life-passion.
But we are not hearing enough of the winning logical happy results for all of this. The tools and torch are yours, and your ability to manage your powers to use them well improve each day.
I will be watching.....enthrall me.
elle
http://www.ellefagan.com
_________________
enjoy the arts and writings at
ellefagan artsite
www.ellefagan.com
you are most welcome
& browsing is always free |
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