Month: January 2009

Bourtange, Netherlands

Bourtange Plan - 1740

Bourtange, Netherlands, is a star fort initially built during the Eighty Years’ War (c. 1568-1648) when William I of Orange wanted to control the only road between Germany and the city of Groningen which was controlled by the Spaniards. In the 1960’s the village decided to restore and rebuild Bourtange to replicate its state of 1742 and operate as an open air museum.

Pianta di Palmanova

Pianta di Palmanova

Palmanova, a fortress created by the Republic of Venice in 1593, was designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi and built in the shape of a nine-pointed star. In between the points of the star, ramparts protruded so that the points could defend each other. A moat surrounded the town, and three big, guarded gates allowed entry. The outer line of fortifications was completed under the Napoleonic domination. From 1815 to 1866 the city was under the control of Austria, and was annexed by Italy in 1916.

Deep Thought – Social Work Program Edition

If the Civilian Conservation Corps worked for FDR, why don’t we dust it off, give it a shine and start building things? We have the US Army Corps of Engineers which could help in the beginning and the number of unemployed architects, engineers and construction workers grows daily.
CCC now, CCC tomorrow, CCC forevah!

Architected & Architecting Are Not Words

Dear English Speaking World,
Architecting and Architected are not what you think they are and are not even words. Please stop using them. While I believe that the English language is a bastardization of the Romance Languages, and the result of appropriating words from conquered cultures, and simple making shit up, the madness has to stop. Like people who put an “s” on the end of all words to make them plural, the uncouth take architect and put “ed” or “ing” turning the noun into a verb or adjective.
I notice that the use of Architected and Architecting crop up predominantly in the computer, software and project management iron triangle. Just look in an Amazon.com search: The Business Knowledge Investment: Building Architected Information or Developing Client Server Applications in an Architected Environment. People who want to sound smart use Architected; appropriating the residual fame and glory the architectural profession has retained.
The most egregious example is from Nancy Horan’s Loving Frank: A Novel about Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney’s love story. Found on page 202: This house – the word seemed somehow wrong – was like nothing else she had ever seen. It looked so modern so architected. Yet it was harmonious with the hills its overhanging roofs echoing the pitch of the ridge. Ballantine Books should ask for their money back: it is unfair to butcher the English language in such manner and get paid for it.
Say this word out loud: Architected.
Shiver. Notice all of the hard “ch” and “t” sounds you have to spit out? Notice the four syllables? This is a mongrel of a word; even if language is speech, this word spoken out loud is ridiculous.
Now try, Architecting.
Same hard sounds and four syllables. Surely we can do better?
In their place, dear English Speaking World, why don’t you try: design, designed or designing? These are ready-made words for your use, which have pedigrees dating back to the 14th Century (design, designed), and 1653 (designing)! You save yourself the trouble of all those hard “ch” sounds and you use less syllables. Win-win.
And you don’t sound stupid.

Pittsburgh’s Rebirth

US SteelUS Steel, originally uploaded by plemeljr

From the New York Times, For Pittsburgh, There’s Life After Steel:

A generation ago, the steel industry that built Pittsburgh and still dominated its economy entered its death throes. In the early 1980s, the city was being talked about the way Detroit is now. Its very survival was in question.
Deindustrialization in Pittsburgh was a protracted and painful experience. Yet it set the stage for an economy that is the envy of many recession-plagued communities, particularly those where the automobile industry is struggling for its life.
…
software and biotechnology. Two of the biggest sectors are education and health care, among the most resistant to downturns. Prominent companies are doing well. Westinghouse Electric, a builder of nuclear reactors, expects to hire 350 new employees a year for the foreseeable future. And commercial construction, plunging in most places, is still thriving partly because of big projects like a casino and an arena for the Penguins hockey team.
The question is whether Pittsburgh can serve as a model for Detroit and other cities in the industrial Midwest as they grapple with large-scale cutbacks in the automotive industry. Even with the federal government’s $17.4 billion bailout, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford are expected to continue shrinking.

I was recently in Pittsburgh for the first time in five years and was amazed, again, at how nice it was (of course this was in the Summer). I am investigating if there is any correlation between population density of Rust Belt cities as a secondary indication of economic viability. But Detroit is much denser than Pittsburgh (6,856/sq mile vs 5,636/sq mile) so I don’t think there will be any correlation.
My guess is that because Pittsburgh was slow to recover between 1990-2006, the region as a whole wasn’t able to take “advantage” of the economic boom Sun Belt cities felt. The article cites a less than insane housing appreciation of 2.2% versus 4% nationally as a factor cushioning the region from the current housing debacle. Since much of the economic boom has turned Potemkin, Pittsburgh should be thankful they were sidelined during this period.

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