Architecture | Modern Architecture Photos

Architecture Photos | Legal Issues Selling Or Using Stock Photos of Buildings Or Landmarks

2010-06-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

If you are trying to break into selling your photography as stock photos, or you're a small business who has recently discovered the joy of using low cost stock photography in your print or online publications, there are a variety of legal issues you need to know about. In this article we'll address a specific area of architecture: Buildings and Landmarks.

Not many people know this, but lots of new buildings are copyrighted or trademarked these days. Technically the buildings themselves may not be, but the designs of those buildings are. And if you try to sell stock photography which includes those buildings, you can be sued by the copyright or trademark holder.

The same applies to businesses who try to use those photos for their own advertising and marketing materials. Regardless of where you got the photo - or how much you paid for it - if the original stock photographer did not get a property release, then you are using the photos illegally, and this will usually get you wrapped up in a lawsuit with large amounts of money involved.

Trademarked building designs aren't the only things to worry about though. In almost any city or town across the world, you'll find a variety of statues, monuments, and other public artwork displays... and these are usually covered by copyright protection too. In some cases, statues and monuments are considered public domain because they're a government commissioned display. In other cases however, regardless of who commissioned the work, the original artist holds the copyrights.

Thankfully stock photo agencies do a great job of not allowing photos to be placed in their database if they may violate a copyright or trademark agreement. No one is perfect however, so some things slip in and get put up for licensing even when they shouldn't be. There are many websites around which have comprehensive lists of trademarked buildings and landmarks, and some of them also list those which might be problematic but no one is certain about.

Here's a few examples of common or popular architecture which could be covered by copyright and trademark laws:

- The Eiffel Tower: Only the nighttime light display is copyrighted. Daytime photos of The Eiffel Tower are still allowed to be sold and used for commercial photography purposes.

- The Sears Tower: Photos which feature this building cannot be sold for commercial purposes. In some cases a cityscape which happens to include the tower as a small part of the photo might be acceptable.

- Various Zoos, Theme Parks, and Aquariums: Entry tickets to many of these attraction explicitly state that no commercial photography is allowed.

See Kathy's excellent stock photography at http://www.ElectronicPerceptions.com

©2008, Kathy Burns-Millyard

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Burns-Millyard

Architecture Photos | Are You Looking For Photo Communities Online?

2010-06-12T00:03:00.000-07:00

As a photographer I can definitely appreciate and enjoy other people's work when it comes to any kind of art; not just photography. Recently I was searching online for some photography communities that I could get involved in and I found a few really interesting one's. These aren't regular image sites like that of Image Shack or Photo Bucket, but real communities where people can take their photos and post them online to share with other people.

The aim of these sites is it to categorize information in order to present typical impressions of a spot, of its nature, technique and industry, history, architecture and the people who are living there, allowing at the same time for a simple and intuitive access to the true gems of our surrounding world.

These sites are also terrific for the travelers out there because it also allows you to share places you have visited and share places you think other people would enjoy visiting. I signed up for an account and here is how it works. Simply upload any photos you might have (if applicable) and then add some information to the photos such as; category, title, spot, and external links. So it might look something like this:

Photo Image Here
Title Venice At Sunset
User yournamehere
Spot: Venice Italy
Categories: Italy, Rome, Sunset, Venice

Pretty easy stuff. Then, people can vote on your photo, view and even comment the photograph! It's all pretty simple but it really is an incredible site for those of us that really revel in our photography and like to see what everyone else is up to as well. This would be a terrific site to join up with if you were going on a worldly travel tour. You could take pictures like a photo journal of sorts of all the places you visited, ate at, stayed at, etc.

Right now these sites have worldly places listed on the site such as Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle America, Middle East, North America, Oceania and South America. Once you click on these countries you will then be taken to cities, towns and other locales within the country. So if I pick Middle America I can, then choose from Caribbean, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Belize.

Once you pick from those places (I'll pick Costa Rica) you are then brought to a map of the Costa Rican area along with some information about Costa Rica such as description, scenery, lifestyles, architecture, historical background and much more! Plus you will also see people's photos of Costa Rica if they are available. Really these are awesome sites to join up with, and why wouldn't you take advantage of something like this especially if it's free! I really hope you enjoy these sites and start placing your photos on them immediately! Have fun!

This author is a HUGE fan of Free and rapidly growing Photo Community of Our World

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristi_Ambrose

Architecture Photos | Feng Shui For Architecture - Book Review

2010-06-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

Feng Shui for Architecture: How to Design, Build and Remodel to Create a Healthy and Serene Home

By Simona F. Mainini, Dr. Arch.

Founder and President of Feng Shui Architecture, Inc. Beverly Hills, CA

Feng Shui for Architecture by Simona Mainini is a handbook for builders, homeowners, professional designers, and architects. There is valuable advice for each group to be found within its covers, not the least of which is her desires to "assist homeowners and professionals in designing houses with 'good' Feng Shui from the start instead of trying to put a bandage on problems or make patchwork corrections after the fact."

Ms. Mainini is a graduate of Milan, Italy's Polytechnic School of Architecture and interned with Eric Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles, CA. She studied with Master Larry Sang founder of the American Feng Shui Institute, where she also became a teacher. This book can be used as a reference for home/office design and furniture or as a check list for those of you who are planning to build or buy.

After an interesting discussion on the history and development of feng shui the subject turns to what feng shui can and cannot do, how to choose a consultant and a short discussion on western styles of feng shui that have become popular of late. The relationship between architect and feng shui practitioner can be fraught with misunderstanding. The author provides some valuable insights on this relationship. After all, both professionals want the same result, a beautiful building that functions well and provides an environment conducive to productivity and health.

In the following chapters the applications of feng shui to architecture are outlined. From the beginning step of selecting the site through designing the interiors, the building energy, customizing the building, to construction and timing are covered. Qi, the basic life force practitioners work with, is often difficult to explain. Here it discussed in terms that are easy to understand and connections are made to other culture and even modern physics. Yin and Yang, the forces that we balance in the environment, and the 5 element transformations, one of the ways we accomplish this balancing and the 8 trigrams/lo shu are also covered.

Concepts presented in the book are illustrated with photos and real case studies. This format makes it easier for the reader to relate to the information. You are not just told to do this or not to do that, but what might happen if you do. After covering topics such as land elevations, soils, plantings, water features, the different types of shas (negative energy), building shapes, doors, square footage, various rooms in the house, and more, Ms. Mainini gives a quick peak into more advanced theories such a 8 mansions, which matches occupants with specific buildings and flying stars, which take into consideration the element of time.

This is a handy and well written book for anyone interested in traditional feng shui and its application. If I had to make a criticism it would be that the black and white photos were not as sharp as I wished for. But that is indeed a very small thing. Go find this book and read it today.

Diane Kern has been trained in the ancient art of Feng Shui in the traditional method. The knowledge has been transmitted through 13 generations from Masters to student via an apprenticeship of extensive study and practical field experience. Ms. Kern was included in a small group of students selected by her Master for advanced training. She is a member of an international team of experts, Alliance Feng Shui, whose resources can be called upon to accomplish your goals.

Ms. Kern assures the privacy and confidentiality of clients. Your name will not be used for advertising or referrals. The culture of integrity, respect and discipline instilled by her Master ensures you a productive working relationship and attention towards successful completion of your goals.

http://dianekern.com

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Architecture Photos | Architecture Photography

2010-06-11T23:55:00.000-07:00

As a photographer, architecture offers many different challenges, especially for the new photographer. Technically, buildings can be very demanding to photograph, but the key in solving this and attaining good images is understanding image distortion and finding the best time to capture the building at its most glamorous moment.

Image distortion: When we look at a standard building, we see lines running horizontal and vertical. These lines often appear distorted and will make your image look warped. Image distortion occurs when we choose the wrong point to take our picture or use the wrong equipment.

With most SLR cameras a certain amount of image distortion will occur. Shooting directly in front of the building will limit your options but will limit the amount of distortion in your image.

View cameras are ideal cameras for architectural photography. They minimise distortion and allow you to shoot from any angle. If you are serious about architectural photography, an investment in a View Camera is something to consider.

Your lens may also make your image look distorted. A wide-angle lens will make the front of the building look massive compared to the rear.

If you are photographing a tall building, don't shoot too near to the base. This will make the base of the building look too large compared to the top. Find a high advantage point, if possible, to take your picture.

Different light brings out different moods in a building. Just as with all other types of photography, studio photography being the exception, the time of day can make a big difference to an image. A building that looks plain and uninteresting during the day can be transformed by lighting at night. Also look out for photos that tell a story such as an office block with a single light on.

Side lighting will create long shadows along the front of the building adding mood to your image.
Back lit buildings are extremely difficult to photograph and are only effective as a photograph when captured as a silhouette.

Most buildings are best captured at night and if possible shoot when there is detail left in the sky. You don't need the most costly camera gear on the market to get great building pictures at night - bring plenty of film and a good sturdy tripod.

Architectural photography doesn't finish when the outside of the building is finished. Images of the interior of buildings are also in demand with many agencies. Great care should be taken when photographing the interior as elements within the interior may be distracting to the final image result. Remove any object that may interfere with your image.

Industrial photography is also as demanding and rewarding as any other type of photography. Take extra care when approaching large structures, use standard photography techniques and use the light creatively to add humour and mood.

Architecture photography is very demanding, but the rewards are great for any person that masters the technique. But like all types of photography - practice makes perfect.

TJ Tierney is an award winning Irish Landscape photographer. For more tips you can visit his photography site. To view his images visit his on-line gallery of pictures of Ireland or see his travel site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=TJ_Tierney

Architecture Photos | 5 Techniques For More Appealing Architectural Photography

2010-06-11T23:51:00.000-07:00

We Have All Seen The Bad

A hurried real estate agent needs some last minute photos for a new listing, a construction company with a limited advertising budget saves some money by taking their own pictures for their website, a desperate developer finds a friend of a friend to capture a new development in time to have brochures made for the grand opening, and the list goes on and on. Millions of pictures exist online that are the result of situations like these, but the reality is that a great first impression is the most powerful tool you can use to your advantage when presenting a property.

Professional Photography Sells Homes

I know people that believe that the accuracy in that statement is dubious, but there is undeniable evidence to prove its point. If you were to show two separate sets of photos from two comparable homes, the home that had professionally taken images compared to "hurried agent" pictures will not only illicit more showings, but will have a final sales price closer to the original asking price.

The most recent experience I had with this came from only a two hour session with very minimal lighting. The experience, equipment, and knowledge allowed me to get some quality shots of a moderately sized home. The morning after the listing was posted, there were five parties scheduled for a showing. Not only that, but a full price deal was accepted within the same week. In an economy where the main focus lies on joblessness and the depressed housing market, we managed to pull off what many others endlessly struggle with.

You Can Do It Yourself

I strongly advocate investing a few hundred dollars with a professional photographer as it will pay off in multiples when you go to sell or rent your house. I do realize, however, that sometimes people simply can not afford it. Luckily, this post will have 5 different steps you can take to increase the appeal of your architectural photographs. The main focus of the article is geared towards somebody renting or selling a house, but the information is relevant in any situation.

1. A Neat House Looks Less Lived In

The allure of a brand new home is extremely enticing. Regardless, people love buying lived in homes because they are less expensive and often have valuable upgrades already installed. The optimum situation would be a slightly older house that has been well taken care of, and when you are planning on renting or selling, that is what you want to portray to potential buyers.

Besides the obvious things like vacuuming and dusting, you should remove everything from view that transforms "your house" into "your home". This will help potential renters or buyers to see a clean slate in a place that they can make their own, rather than moving into your old house.

Some people might not consider certain things personal items, such as the TV (large ones are OK because they are considered furniture) and phone, but every little item counts, including cords sticking out from behind furniture if you are able to hide them.

2. Clean It Up, But Don't Clean It Out

It is best to take photos of a property when it is still furnished, assuming the furniture has at least some essence of quality. Furnished rooms give a sense of size and dimension, as well as presenting layout ideas for a space. Partially furnished spaces are the worst for photos. They show that the space was lived in, but was not utilized for some reason. This can lead someone into thinking that it would be wasted space for them as well.

3. Show Your Stability

Use a tripod. The average lighting in a home is quite dark, around 1/60 shutter speed at f/4-5.6 and ISO 400 for you camera buffs. Higher ISO settings lead to more noise, while slower shutter speeds, like 1/30, 1/20, and 1/15, lead to blurry photos. For the sharpest image you should use a tripod and a lower ISO (50 or 100 is best) along with your cameras timer function.

4. Avoid Converging Lines

Converging lines appear when a photo is taken when the camera is not level. Tilting the camera up or down causes vertical lines to converge, giving the appearance that the building or room is leaning back or forward. If you want to capture more of the floor or more of the ceiling then you should physically move the camera up or down while keeping it parallel with the floor.

5. Use The Light You Have

For rooms with blinds, the best thing to do is point them directly at the ceiling. By doing this, the light will bounce off the ceiling and scatter around the room for more even lighting. It will also keep direct light from coming in, causing windows to look blown out. In many bathrooms there are glass block windows. These make for great, soft light sources. If possible, avoid shooting directly towards open windows. However, it is sometimes nice to have it partially visible as a special feature.

More Resources And Bonus Techniques - A professional photographer can definitely give you an edge against the competition, but these tips will get you pointed in the right direction of you decide to do it yourself. David Hobby of the popular Strobist blog did a series on photographing to sell a house with some similar points and more lighting tips.

J.T. Shaver
Shaver Studios Design and Photography

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Architecture Photos | Architectural Modeling, 3D Modeling For Photographic Views

2010-06-11T23:47:00.000-07:00

Architectural modeling is the most effective technology used widely to get realistic views for future buildings. Architectural modeling is a technical art of developing a wire frame representation of any object. Innovation in architectural industry has introduced 3D modeling for accurate and better outputs. User can view future building from all the angles and can make changes accordingly. This technique is not only limited for buildings, but it is widely used for product modeling.

In the past time there is no such technology available that shows future building on your TV or computers. So there may be possibility of redesigning and rebuilding. But today professional architects have introduced architectural 3D modeling to avoid redesign and rebuilding. Using this technology, architects are generating 3D models for various objects and allow users to apply their own thoughts to get better design for interior as well as exterior. Interior 3d models and exterior 3d models are the photo prints that shown on computer.

This technology is used in various types of buildings like residential, commercial, institutional, industrial and special mega structures like sky scrapers. For mega structure maximum accuracy is must required. 3D models serve every detail from all corners with maximum accuracy. User can view moving objects on computer and can make changes in applied designs.

To get actual photo realistic view all architects, engineering consultants, interior designers, real estate developers, multimedia firms, contactors and builders are using modeling technology. Builders use it to make demonstration models for presentation among customers. These type of model shows all details to customer as a moving object.

3D Architectural Modeling can be used for various purpose described as below:

• Architectural home designs
• 3D building Models
• Product modeling
• Interior models
• Exterior models
• Furniture models
• Landscape design models

As it provides more advantages, architect industry is using it widely. Exploration in internet world makes it a better resource for outsourcing. Various firms are offering affordable 3d modeling services. By outsourcing you can save your precious time and money.

If you want to get instant quotes for 3d architectural modeling projects please email us at info@architecturalmodelingindia.com

To view more about our services please visit us at http://www.architecturalmodelingindia.com/architectural-3d-modeling/

Jenny Shield
Email: info@architecturalmodelingindia.com
URL: http://www.architecturalmodelingindia.com

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Architecture Photos | Success in Selling Your Photos Online - Proven Techniques

2010-06-11T23:44:00.000-07:00

I have written this article to share my experience and knowledge with you, showing you what I am doing myself, because my friends and mates often ask me, how I keep earning extra money, selling my photos online and receiving money transfers for few hundred dollars each month. And I am confident that this information will give you not only something to think about, but also essential knowledge, how to make extra income, selling your photos online, and maybe for someone will become turning point in choosing a professional career.

There is camera in each and every family - film or digital. Someone has it in his or her cupboard to get dusted, someone carries it everywhere and shoot everything. And who doesn't have the camera - make photos, using mobile phone. You have made photos of your wife, children, your mother - in - low, your dog, cat, house and your car. But, what next? Don't you think that with the help of your photos, where you put your heart and soul, you can not only express yourself, share your experience and impressions, show yourself to the rest of the world, but also you can earn money! Before getting started in selling your photos online you need to take under consideration few very important questions, like

1) identify your specialisation in photography - what you shoot most of the times: landscapes or architecture, portraits or nature, or something else;
2) search internet, using keywords, to look for the market for your niche and know who is your targeted audience: to make any profit you have to know whether someone buys photos you want to propose;
3) to be accepted in any niche you need to have appropriate knowledge of the subject - do you have this knowledge and skills, if you don't - it is time to make self - upgrade!
4) also, for certain specialisations (portraits or studio photography), you have to consider buying special equipment, like tripods, spotlights, lenses...
5) you need to know your competitors and what you could propose to the market differently;
6) decide, whether you will work mainly in stock photo market, or go for assignments...

Stock photography is used by different companies for design, advertising and marketing and there is a great demand in quality photos. Stock photography can be anything from picture of the pen on your office desk to some sporting events.

Getting started in this business is fast and easy process, like you upload your photos to FaceBook or Photobucket photo-album online, but you must follow certain guidelines in order to your photos be accepted and most important - bought! You also must have permissions to sell photos if there are recognizable people or houses with known names on your photos. Some photo-sites require small investment from your side - host needs to store and manage your photos and some of the sites give you even special software to organize and manage your business.

In this business you don't need to create website to store your photos. All is done for you and waiting!

There are many themes you may cover doing photography, for instance:

- sporting events;
- architecture;
- transport;
- office life;
- portraits;
- flora and fauna;
- insects....
you name it!

You can sell almost any type of photo you have made and earn money! Range of pricing for one photo is very wide - from $1 to $400 - it really depends on category of projects you work for, and uniqueness of your photos.

And how would you like to make a nice screen-saver using your photos! It's possible to earn money creating screen-savers too!

If you choose to work in assignment role - it means that you will be hired by someone to produce photo report of certain event, either sporting event, public speech or wedding, or something else. There are even services, that require photos from field investigations, like Police, City councils, and medical establishments.

And you must give your customers exactly what they want!

You don't need to buy expensive and fancy equipment, but to make photos of high quality you need to invest some money to have good return!

In later articles we will go technical and discuss some issues about cameras and accessories for them. You always have to think quality! If quality of your photos is not up to certain marks - you hardly ever will make income you want!

Selling photos online can be a very profitable business and it takes not long time and it is easy to get started, but you must be dedicated and persistent in your desire of making it come true! I invite you to start earning money, selling your photos today, and have fun!

Author - Sergey M, photographer, specializing in landscapes, nature and military photography, close-up shots, 3D modelling. If you want to learn more not only about techniques of selling your photos on-line, but also photography techniques, which will make you practically an expert, visit My Photo Universe, where you will find more resources and useful links.

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Architecture Photos | Tips to Enhance Architectural Photography

2010-06-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

There are many ways and techniques to click interior and exterior home photography. So let us see few basic tips which would help us to improve and enhance architectural photography.

Light
Light can increase the shadow, texture, contrast and reflections. The more level of contrast can also lead to the exposure of photo in an incorrect scene, but photographers can easily surmount it by just applying the compensation of exposure. Another method that we can do is that bracket the shots at different exposure and then merges them in a program.

Lens
A wide angle lens or the fish eye is perfect for this kind of photography as it allows the photographers to get the complete building into the frame. Yet sometimes the glass might not be able to include the complete scene, than you require the panoramic format.

Exterior and interior
Architecture photography is not restricted with the front of the building. It could be difficult to correct the white balance. Interior shots are difficult to take in the older buildings as there are small doors and windows, which actually lack natural light. So, try to use a tripod and you can also use the Nd filter to prevent the highlights while shooting in the day. You can also use supplementary lighting like diffused flashing.

Silhouette
If you want to shoot as the silhouette at sunset, than place the architecture between sun and yourself. Also ensure that the flash is deactivated. Night shots could be atmospheric and dramatic, but just remember to click them when there is just some color and light left in the sky as this would help to add tone in the backdrop and illuminate the detail. Make the use of long exposure and wide aperture.

Click in all weathers
Like the other kinds of photography, good images can be clicked in all kinds of weathers. Revisiting and shooting the building in the various weather conditions, can actually help a photographer to create a good portfolio of shots.

Reflection
It helps to add the extra dimensions to the architectural images. Use it in your photos as this would allow a photographer to create the canvas, where the building can be easily indistinct. Lots of reflexive surfaces are there, you do not actually need to practice. For example, water features windows, wet streets, modern art, rivers and puddles. Also they should not be graphic and aesthetic so one should play with the lines, shadows and lights.

Author is amateur wild life photographer. He is associated with Pixpa - an photography portfolio website solution provider which provides portfolio website for photographers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Surinder_Sharma

Architecture Photos | Chicago Architecture - A Tour in Artistic Design

2010-06-11T23:36:00.000-07:00

Chicago is one of the most beautiful cities in the United States. It is a treasure of the Midwest with its gorgeous setting along Lake Michigan. Having visited most comparable cities, I think Chicago's skyline rivals almost any other in the country, especially because of its reflective position on the water.

A great focus for any tour of Chicago is its architecture. Chicago is known for its artistic design, especially in the modern world. Historic Chicago was largely destroyed by fire in 1871, so most of Chicago's prominent buildings date after that year. Therefore, one of Chicago's most notable structures might be its historic water tower along the Magnificent Mile shopping district. It was built in 1869 and was one of the only structures to survive the fire. The Magnificent Mile is otherwise an exciting and extremely modern business district with upscale designer boutiques and world class dining.

Another great architectural reason to tour Chicago is in order to visit the Sears Tower. Is it still the world's tallest building? You probably know this depends on whom you ask. But for all intents and purposes, the Sears Tower is still the world's tallest, habitable building. If you must specify further in order to win the pool at work, call it the world's tallest "office building".

The James R. Thompson building, which is often called the State Building in Chicago will still further impress your artistic eye. This building not only has a unique rounded design, it is also almost completely glass enclosed even to its glass-paneled ceiling.

The John Hancock Center has won architectural awards for its unique cross-bracing exterior that allows for more office space within. This building also provides one of the most fabulous observatories in the city. It is open air, which means you're about to discover exactly why they call Chicago the Windy City. It also includes innovative "sound scopes" with chirping birds and cheering crowds that give the viewer the impression of actually being in the attractions at which they are taking a closer view.

If the amazing architecture in Chicago inspires further study into the art of building design, then you won't want to miss the Frank Lloyd Wright landmark. It includes the home and studio from which he lived and worked for the first twenty years of his prestigious architectural career. Frank Lloyd Wright believed that well-designed buildings make a difference in our lives. Talk about a passion for your profession! From Chicago and beyond in his career, Wright went on to design more than 500 buildings that were completed and approximately 500 more never built.

Chicago, like many cities near the water, offers harbor cruises for its site-seeing tours. And because of its distinctive prominence in the world of design, some of these tours are specifically called architectural cruises. They predominantly navigate the Chicago River with expert guides pointing out the most notable of Chicago's skyscrapers and structures.

There are several great photo ops in Chicago to commemorate your architectural finds. Either the Sears Tower or the Hancock observatories will of course provide the best bird's eye views of this amazing city, and a cruise from the water would offer a unique perspective for your tourist's album. One extremely distinctive photo op, though, is offered on dry land, quite near the ground.

In 1999, artist Anish Kapoor's sculpture idea was chosen from several designs for a prominent place in Chicago's Millennium Park. This park holds the famous Jay Pritzker Pavilion with its state-of-the-art outdoor sound system and concert venue. And in this park stands the unique photo opportunity in the amazing sculpture by Kapoor. Often called "the bean", the stainless steel structure is curved to reflect the Chicago skyline. It's a unique - although popular - new way to capture this amazing city on film.

Whether you do it from the sky, the water, or the ground, you will want to capture somehow the skyline and beautiful architecture of Chicago, Illinois. Once you've seen it up close, the photographs will be a meaningful addition to your collection.

After graduating from Purdue University, I started a long and successful career as a teacher and coach. It was during my years as a teacher that I began to travel with students. As a father of the 6 best kids in the world, I still love to travel and I work hard to make sure other kids can travel and discover new experiences. click here.

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Architecture Photos | Architecture and Photography Books

2010-06-11T23:31:00.000-07:00

The Magic of Architecture

There are many different books that you can obtain for information on architecture. These would include 101 Things I learned in Architecture School and Analysing Architecture. You may also have many different questions pertaining to architecture as well. This could be:

What types of books can I find about the basics of Architecture?

Can find information of the history of architecture?

How hard of a field is it to get into?

All of these questions and many more could be running through your mind. Of course, there are many different areas of architecture such as the planning, different types, the techniques and tools needed as well as styles. Reading the information that you are interested in can help you to go a long way in this field. You may even be able to find an encyclopedia in reference to the subject.

The Beauty of Art

There are many different aspects when it comes to art. To be able to appreciate it, sit back and enjoy the beauty and grace of the work is truly amazing. You will find many different books on this particular subject such as The Art Book, Sleuth: The Amazing Quest for Lost Art Treasures and even This is Modern Art.

Is Fashion considered an art?

Can I find a book that will give me the basics of art?

Are there women involved in art and who are they?

These questions may very well be running through your mind if art is your passion. Some of these questions may be answered in The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art and Artists ( World of Art). Of course there are many different aspects of art such acrylic, objective and modern. Maybe just one of these subjects is of interest you or many tickle your fancy. Regardless, you are going to be able to find the information that you are looking for.

In Depth with Photography

One of the most popular types of photography is digital. You will be able to find books filled with information on this topic such as The Digital Photography Book: v. 3 and The Digital Photography Book: The Step-by-Step Secrets for How To Make Your Photos Look Like the Pro's! Of course, there are still many people that use film cameras to get the beautiful black and white photos that look very dramatic and real. You can almost feel what is happening in the picture.

How Do I Get Started in Photography?

What Types of Photography are there?

How do I become a professional photographer?

What is the history of photography?

These are all very important questions to ask if you are going to chose this as your profession. You will want to know about photographers, techniques and even the theory. You may even be interested in finding out about photo essays that you can enter and getting the information on that as well. There is so much to learn about photography such as the type of equipment, lenses, film and even the type of lighting that you need for a particular shot and what the best positioning is in the sun.

There are many sub-categories and subjects when it comes to the worlds of Art, Architecture and Photography. There are design studies, fashion design, sculpture, museums and even criticism. These are all very important aspects of these fields. Having the opportunity to be able to join in on a discussion to ask your questions and here the responses of someone else can be very beneficial. It gives you the opportunity to learn from others and combine what they know with what you know.

Other books that may of interest to you are Ways of Seeing (Penguin Modern Classics), High Voltage Tattoo, Wall and Piece and Architect's Pocket Book. You can even find a beginner's guide called Photoshop Elements 7 This can be very helpful if you are looking for a book that can give you an explanation that is simple and easy. It will simplify things so that all is broken down into plain English and sounds less complicated.

You may also be interested in painting and drawing, prints and decorative arts as well as sculpture. There are so many different aspects of Art, Architecture & Photography that trying to find a place to begin in your learning can be almost frustrating. With help of many different books, you will be able to find a great starting point, where you should be in the middle and then how things will end up. For many, you may decide to take a class in a certain subject and then need a refresher. This is where a lot of this reading material can come in handy.

In Conclusion

Regardless of which field you are working on, there are plenty of questions that need answers in order to be able to further your career and have a strong force. There are many books that you can get this information from and of course, you will most likely have questions about something that you have read in a particular book. As stated earlier, participating in a discussion about these books and asking questions can get you far and help you to better understand what you have read. It is very easy to get in on a discussion about the various books that you have read or on the ones that you want to read. Don't hesitate in having the opportunity to speak with others.

Art Architecture and photography books.

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Architecture Photos | What is 3D Architectural Rendering?

2010-06-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

3D Architectural rendering is the art of creating three-dimensional images which shows the attributes of a proposed architectural design. 3D renderings play major role in real estate sales. It also helps to take design related decisions well before the building is actually built. Thus it helps experimenting with building design and its visual aspects before real construction.

3D architectural renderings are available for houses, buildings, and bridges and for small to medium sized construction. Architectural rendering is a dominant and widely accepted tool used in the planning and development of building and interior space design.

3D visualization techniques help your designs to stand out with photo realistic 3D architectural rendering and animation and High end digital computer graphics and virtual images lead 3D architectural rendering into an exciting future. 3D rendering consists of visual presentations for various structural or non-structural schemes such as landscape projects and buildings. A walk through and fly by animation can help your structures for better and more dynamic view of the building.

Architectural Imaging can also be a supportive way to meet the financial planning of architectural rendering. With the help of 3D architectural rendering service, landscaping, neighborhood, required ambience and multiple design options can be investigated and resolved before the construction of actual building begin.

3D architecture rendering and design is the most excellent technique to acquire several ideas about the assets. 3D rendering sequence provides ideal direction to judge any assets. Architecture 3D Visualization of 3d models using CAD software brings simplicity into the design models with more efficiently. The latest technology for photo realistic renderings beyond basic ray tracing, through the stimulation of technology, faster computers and a new birth of talents photo realistic 3D rendering has been used all over the world among artist.

3D rendering and walkthroughs have become a dominant application. They are not only prevailing marketing tools, but also assist in finding design faults before construction work begins.

To get more information about 3D Architectural rendering services, please visit us at: http://www.hitechcaddservices.com
Or E-mail us your structural drafting and detailing requirements at: info@hitechcaddservices.com

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Architecture Photos | Perspective of a 3D (Architectural) Rendering

2010-06-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

What is 3D Rendering?

3D rendering or photo-real rendering is a nomenclature of producing an image based on three-dimensional data stored within a computer. 3D rendering can be designed to be abstract or as realistic as painting or photograph. Unlike photography, however, everything is imaginary and scenes need to be created. 3D Rendering requires a lot of work usually boundless amount of creative control over what may appear in the scene and how it is graphically presented to achieve good results. Before it could be done you first need to do the Modeling or Animating process. It is said to be "real time" because the computer makes the rendering without delay time, at each movement or modification of the 3D model.

The rendering and shading technology was first started during 1960's by venerable designer William Fetter who was attempting to devise a new process in order to maximize the efficiency of the layout inside an airplane cockpits. Over the years on the road of realism goes, 3D rendering was re-develop to increase complexity of the scene. It was called other names such as "Gouraud Shading Model", "Phong Rendering and later on "Ray Tracing" name by their developers until it was named "3D Rendering". I personally like the euphony of the word 3D rendering compared to the other names it was called.

The latest technology for photo realistic renderings wade beyond basic ray tracing, through the stimulation of technology, faster computers and a new birth of talents photo realistic 3D rendering has been ubiquitously used among artist.

Why 3D architectural rendering is a niche nowadays?

3D allows you to stimulate your creative horizons with movement, depth and animation. Over the years companies realize how to debouch the power of 3D visualization adds tremendous value to their presentations and other marketing campaigns, resulting to high volumes of sales for their products and services. It is important to heighten the awareness of what 3d can do for a business's growth. In 3d architectural you can easily presents your project/product in a turpitude or more appealing form then gives you an edge over old mediums. 3D photo real renderings play major role in real estate sales. Potential clients repose on the final product, so in order to sell you project its bes to present it realistically through 3d architectural rendering, animation or walkthroughs.

Qualities Of A Good 3D Architectural Rendering?

3D Rendering is a great way to display your products or ideas and deliver visual concepts ostentatiously to your potential clients so it's important to know how to achieve good rendering. Your ideas are translated in 3D to create Photo-Perfect 3D images. The 3D rendering artist must control all aspects of the scene such as Texture, Lighting, Transparency, Getting the right Angle, Detailed Model, and balance of Entourage in order to create a perfect result.

Texture - a method by which you add details, where you specify a color, a level of reflectivity and even a degree of bumpiness to scene. Textures allow 3D models to look significantly more detailed and realistic than they would otherwise. In order to achieve a higher level of realism make sure that the edges match closely to your model, have a larger number of smaller polygons and don't forget to to achieve good accuracy. Textures can also be repeated horizontally and/or vertically across a surface (with our without a degree of rotation), a technique used extensively for modeling surfaces such as brick walls, grass, roads, fences, etc. It can be applied in two ways: either the texture replaces whatever colour is already inherant to the polygon, or the texture colour is blended with the colour and surface properties of the polygon

Lighting - is an important aspect of scene setup in making it look realistic, this is the process where you create lightning sources to your environment, shade, shadows and refections. Lighting effects can contribute greatly to the mood and emotional response effected by a scene and can be a difficult art to master. The visualization of light in space, its effect on model cubature and scenery, is one of the great challenges in architectural rendering. The best bet to gain complete control over your lights is to experiment ,ignore standard practices and investigate exactly how your lighting instruments perform and react. A good lighting means everything in the scene is brightly lit so you can see every details.

Transparency - Transparency and light refraction within a transparent material are the key parameters in order to get a realistic rendering of a material like solid glass. In creating your scene photo realistic put simply, you can see shadows through your elements.

Getting the right Angle - having the right angle is one of the most important factor to consider, you have to make sure the important views are viewable in the scene and should not be distorted.

Detailed Models - Building models, is an extremely labor intensive process, even more so than our 3D models. It requires scrupulous attention to small details in order to achieve perfection. Basically a 3D model is a computer simulated wireframe representation of an object. In creating a good 3d models you need a powerful computer and processor to run most of the sofware. You can then output your 3D model by rendering it. A process that allows you to create a flat image of the model with texture and lighting added to the model to complete your work.

Balance of Entourage - in order to create a realistic rendering you need to populate your scene with people, cars, landscaping, etc. The trick is to find the right balance of elements, and avoid objects that are too unusual or detailed no matter how appealing may seem.

Last but not the least if your aiming for perfections, create a bit of imperfection to the edges of your scenes such as floor tile, glass, dirt on the street and walls to make it realistic.

What makes a Good Rendering?

* The true measure of good rendering is the ability to accurately and persuasively depicts the client's ideas.

* Good rendering should capture details.

*Each is met with a fresh look, based upon extensive experience with a diversity of media and building types, to create a singular expression for each project.

* Has the benefit of making clear and accurate presentations.

* It should be easy to understand, high impact and quick to inspire architectural renderings which can communicate about a proposed architectural design in the best possible manner.

* Evocative works evolves from an open client-artist dialogue which aims to create visage appearance that faithfully reflect designers' and developers' intentions and aspirations.

*Express the intangible emotional and spiritual qualities architecture can possess.

3D architectural rendering brings new designs to virtual life, allowing you to see everything in it's glory as though it was already built. A renewed interest in humanistic architecture has significantly enhanced the value of architectural rendering as a means of linking concept to reality.

Michelle Arcenal
http://www.Lazyanimation.com

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Architecture Photos | What Are Architectural Landscape Photos?

2010-06-11T23:17:00.000-07:00

There aren't many but some of us take an interest in architectural landscape photos. With a view to giving some insight on this subject I have created this article to give a basic understanding and supply some facts about its origins. Some of us become interested in architectural landscape photos later in life, it doesn't matter when you take an interest but when you do you'll be hooked.

If taking architectural landscape photos is one of your hobbies, it might be interesting for you to read a brief history of architectural photography. Commercial portraiture was the main area of interest in the early years of photography. The ones who made architectural landscape photos were generally travelers, for different business reasons, not only especially for photography. At that time (the middle of the 19th century), photographers usually worked from a convenient window rather than at street level, as they do now.

WHF Talbot, one of the first photographers, used to take architectural landscape photos from his hotel window, in the cities he visited. Roger Fenton, the first war photographer was the first one to take fine architectural studies, using calotypes, both in Britain, his home country, and in Russia (in Kiev, Moscow and St. Petersburg). He learnt the waxed paper calotype process from Gustave Le Grey, its inventor, in his journeys to Paris.

Francis Frith was the first one to make the Middle East familiar to the civilized world, by the architectural landscape photos he took in his journeys. He beard with him very large cameras and used the collodion process, as he had to work in hot and dusty conditions.
Samuel Bourne is another British photographer that became famous for his work in India.

Most of the early architectural landscape photos give the subjects the impression of import and grandeur. The lenses needed for architecture were quite different from the ones used in portraiture. They had to give sharpness and linear drawing, but there was no need for high speed, as buildings sit still.

In the late 19th century, photographers were advised to keep the camera back vertical and to photograph buildings from the normal eye level, instead of using elevated viewpoints, in order to suggest the normal impression of height. The frontage and a side of the building had to be both included in the architectural landscape photo. Camera movements were also considered essential, and the most important movement was the rising front.

Frederick H. Evans is regarded as the finest architectural photographer of his era. He is famous for his images of the exteriors and interiors of English and French medieval cathedrals. He adopted the platinotype technique, which best suited his subject matter. His ideal regarding architectural landscape photos was the "perfect" photographic representation, unretouched and not modified at all.

The city growth at the end of the 19th century lead to the development of commercial architectural landscape photography. The most important companies that took advantage on this new opportunity, in New York, were the Byron Company and the company founded by Norman and Lionel Wurts.

In the beginning of the 20th century, the modern movement brought new standards, both in architecture and photography. Some of the new modernist photographers in 1920s were Berenice Abbott in New York, Ilse Bing in Frankfurt and Margaret Bourke-White, best known as a photojournalist. One of the best-regarded companies that made architectural landscape photos was Hedrich-Blessing. It was founded in Chicago in 1929 by Ken Hedrich and Henry Blessing. Today, Jim Hedrich, Ken's son still runs the firm. The founder's well-known quote "Don't make photographs, think them." suggests that their photos had something to say about the building, not only record an image of it.

Although he was an architect by profession, Ezra Stoller established himself as a leading architectural photographer. Some of his most important works are the architectural landscape photos of Le Corbusier's Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp. The key elements in Stoller's work are light and space. Esto, the company founded by Stoller still makes some of the best work in the field.

Julius Shulman took a revolutionary approach upon modernism, turning the modernist principle upside down. He was the first one to introduce people in the frame of the camera. He did not want to show abstract images of wall details or empty rooms. In his architectural landscape photos, he "humanized" the houses designed by architects such as Richard Neutra, Pierre Koenig or Rudolf Schindler. Shulman is best known for his photograph "Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig, Architect". The end of modernism also represented the end of Shulman's career, as his ideas of composition, the sensitive images and his ways of working were deeply modernistic.

Some of the most important contemporary architectural photographs are Gerald Zugmann, Mark Citret and Richard Margolis. You can take a look at their architectural landscape photos on their web sites.

This article has been supplied courtesy of Roy Barker. Roy often works closely with Photography Business and is dedicated to coaching on how to start your own photography business but places strong emphasis on profitability issues & guidelines. You can also gain photography insights, help (mostly free) or even a Digital Photography Tip or two. For brief reviews on services or equipment see http://www.profitable-photography.com/resources.php

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Urban Architecture | Urban Planners of Earth; We Need to Talk

2010-06-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

If we are going to get serious about cutting down on the CO2 emissions and urban heat to slow the so-called Global Warming impending disasters then we need to get together and talk about how we design our cities and how humans live in these urban settings.

We need to discuss the saving of energy and even perhaps the coating of roads and design cities to be efficient without traffic bottlenecks which makes surface transportation idle and put endless CO2 into the air. What we need is to get serious and the sooner the better.

What Can You Do?

Good question, why not try living a carbon free life. Consider how much CO2 you are responsible for? You own an SUV, better get off your butt and plant four trees please. Look around your home and by efficient lighting and pay attention to your appliances too; may as well save some water too while you are at it.

What Can Planners Do?

Well why not join us all online to brainstorm and learn what others are doing? Urban Planet is a spectacular website for anyone interested in the future of transportation, urban planning, downtown revitalization, modern architecture, solutions to density and healthy environments in urban areas.

This is a huge site with 100s of thousands of posts from some true leading edge thinkers and observers of mankind's city dwellers. The concepts discussed are amazing. You will most likely learn a lot each time you visit, with new material posted daily from people around the world. http://www.UrbanPlanet.org Forums.

We all need to work together and now is a really good time to start. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

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Urban Architecture | The New American Urbanism

2010-06-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

American readers are going to be thrilled by this: somebody out there is trying to build a new America - without Americans, that is. And, to be more specific, it is the European Union (EU), Putin's New Russia and Capitalist China the ones that are trying to do it. They all call this trend the 'New American Urbanism'.

The New American Urbanism is what city planners, architects, civil engineers, developers, realtors, appraisers and bankers throughout the United States refer to as simply 'Urbanism'. It is the way so familiar to us all in which cities, towns and communities have been conceived, planned and built. There is nothing new about it, since Urbanism in the United States and to a lesser extent Canada is a phenomenon that dates all the way back to the Seventies. It is just the very practical way North American cities are structured: a mix of shopping, residential and light industrial districts effectively connected by a system of boulevards, roads, streets and alleys. Residential neighborhoods are comprised of mixed-use housing clustered with schools, sports centers, wide sidewalks and essentially with everything at close range from home.

Business is carried out in the city centre areas or in downtowns, with the typical characteristic skyline of concrete high-rise and low-rise buildings. One would not think that all this would cause such an uproar. But it has. There are three specific reasons for the rest of the world to all of sudden rediscover America and to put it (again) under the microscope: time, money and economy of scale. The EU, Russia and China all face the common dilemma of having to relocate millions and millions of people on relatively short notice and share the common denominator of minimizing social cost and maximizing affordability.

With the collapse of European borders and the fast-approaching disappearance of singular national identities, the urban trend throughout Europe nowadays is to create centers where jobs are being relocated and redeveloped. Cities and towns must follow the people who, in turn, follow economic prosperity wherever they may find it. As such, it is imperative that a social and living thread be created quickly and swiftly anywhere there is a need for it. Call it the logistics of capitalism, but the EU cannot possibly achieve its coveted objective of creating a free market zone of 600 million or so people, double the one in North America, if this area cannot be properly connected, effectively serviced and economically integrated.

Likewise, it has been over a decade that Russia is in the process of abating the old Stalinist organization of a modern, self-sufficient European Russia on one side surrounded by a cluster of backwards Asian republics and Putin - the former KGB boss - has now become for domestic political reasons the chief architect of the new Russian social integration. Consequently, the republic is now in the process of developing far away areas the likes of northern Siberia and the East Urals, and will shortly be facing the huge problem of having to accommodate, house, connect and integrate millions and millions of domestic migrants and workers.

China suffers of an ailment called 'one side development': its coastal areas, home to thirty-five percent of China's 1.3 billion people are expanding at the rate of 10 percent per year and have been doing so for the past decade, while the remaining sixty-five percent of the population living in the hinterland is housed in communities where running water is thought of as the ultimate luxury. Chinese leadership is very much aware of the economic rift that exists between the affluent, modern and westernized city dwellers on one side and the poor, uneducated and hopeless inhabitants of the countryside, as well as the tension, envy and huge social unrest that this situation - if not resolved quickly - will inevitably lead to.

Hence, America. Using standardized models of development it has occurred to urban planners throughout the globe to think (possibly at the same time) that it takes Americans four years to fully build, connect, develop, service and integrate from scratch a standardized community for 30,000 people. This would include building roads, viaducts, railway, shopping centers, living dwellings, parks, sidewalks, streets, lighting, school and sports facilities, utility installations such as electricity, telephone lines, cables, sewers, water mains, a small airport as well as plant trees everywhere. Furthermore, the typical housing construction time in the United States, counted from digging a hole in the ground to giving the keys to the owner, is five and a half months. Using the same standardized models but applied to different construction and development methods, it would take seven years for Western Europeans to accomplish the same objective, with the average housing construction time running to about one year. The Russians would take almost ten years to do the same, with a typical housing construction time of one year and data is unavailable for the Chinese - but it is common belief that it would take them longer than the Russians to build this model town in the countryside.

Moreover, what foreigners especially cherish of North American cities, towns and neighborhoods is the economy of scale: the more you build, the less expensive it gets. And, naturally, the fact that environmental concerns are of paramount importance, particularly in Canada. So much so, in fact, that Europeans have banded together none other than in Stockholm to draft, well ... The Charter of Stockholm, in fact, where the Council for European Urbanism has adopted officially as its mission the objective of maintaining and preserving the well being and integration of the present and future generations by building cities, towns and villages speedily and with mixed-use with architectural lines, construction techniques, planning and management modeled upon American cities.

Seems that somebody is eating back a lot of criticism these days ...

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

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Urban Architecture | Loft Living - Redefining Urban Lifestyles

2010-06-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

Defining what actually constitutes a loft condo is a highly debated question. Loft purists often have a very different connotation than definitions popularly used by developers creating new construction loft projects.

The loft movement first became popular in the SoHo section of New York City during the 1960s. Artist created living spaces on the upper-levels industrial of obsolete industrial buildings. These late 19th-century period buildings had prior uses as factories, sweatshops and warehouses. In the pioneering period of SoHo lofts, most SoHo buildings not zoned as residential and the lofts were being used illegally as living space. In 1971, New York City legalized the residential use of space in the SoHo and loft living became popular throughout the neighborhood. Loft living spread to other previously industrial Manhattan neighborhoods including Tribeca, Chelsea and Greenwich Village.

Beyond NY, Bohemian loft districts were established in other large urban cities including the Fulton River District in Chicago, the Warehouse District in Cleveland, the North Loop in Minneapolis, Washington Avenue in St. Louis, and Logan Circle in Washington, DC. One of the tragedies of the ongoing gentrification of these urban neighborhoods is that the artists that first established loft areas are now priced out of many of these areas.

Key features of former industrial space that makes for attractive reuse as a loft include high ceilings, large industrial windows, exposed brick or cinder block walls, unfinished ceilings and exposed duct work. Many industrial reuse lofts have only partial height walls separating rooms or areas within the space. Some lofts even have industrial-era freight elevators that open into the living space.

A more recent trend, which is particularly popular in Washington, DC, is to build new construction loft developments. Developers recreate the industrial feel of loft architecture with exposed duct work, dual level living, high ceilings and industrial finishes. While these purpose-built "loftominiums" don't have the raw, bohemian feel of a traditional industrial reuse loft, they have proven very popular with buyers in the seeking an urban lifestyle in the Washington, DC market.

Mark Washburn is a real estate agent serving the urban Washington, DC market. Mark and his team can assist clients in their search for a DC loft, condo or town home in neighborhoods throughout the District including Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, Logan Circle, Mount Vernon Triangle, Penn Quarter, Shaw, U Street Corridor and the West End.

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Urban Architecture | Implementing New Urbanism - Chapter One - Results of Land Use

2010-06-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

Introduction

As a result of homogeneous suburban neighborhoods and highway commercial sprawl, a strong emphasis is being placed upon the design and form of our built environment. One of the driving influences is to design places for people instead of the car. Vast seas of asphalt in front of stores or a line of barren garage doors on a residential street is vehicle based design. Interesting streets designed for pedestrian comfort is today's vision of placemaking. This article will first look at land use growth management, its beginnings and the resulting urban form. Then an alternative growth management technique using the form of development will be examined.

Chapter One; Results of Land Use

Land use controls began in New York City in the 1870's with the Tenement Acts and have been the primary growth management method in this country ever since. Like any system, there intended and unintended consequences inherent in the application of a process. In the case of land use growth management, the results have created many soulless places oriented to the auto. This chapter explores the history of our current condition and examines our behaviours and thoughts as a consequence of land use growth control.

LAND USE AS A GROWTH MANAGEMENT PROCESS; ZONING BEGINS

1916 New York; the Equitable Building

The Equitable Building was constructed and its significantly large scale caused a public outcry. Opponents of the building were outraged at the unprecedented volume of the building which cast a 7 acre shadow on the surrounding streets. In response, the city adopted the 1916 Zoning Resolution which limited building height and required setbacks for new buildings to allow the penetration of sunlight to street level. Specifically, new buildings were required to withdraw progressively at a defined angle from the street as they rose, in order to preserve sunlight and the open atmosphere in their surroundings for the good of city residents.

Zoning Codified; Euclid v Ambler Realty, 1926

Ambler Realty owned 68 acres of land in the village of Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland. The village, in an attempt to prevent industrial Cleveland from growing into and subsuming Euclid and prevent the change in character of the village, developed a zoning ordinance based upon 6 classes of use (residential, industrial and commercial), 3 classes of height and 4 classes of area.

The property in question was divided into three use classes, as well as various height and area classes, thereby hindering Ambler Realty from developing the land for an industrial use. Ambler Realty sued the village, arguing that the zoning ordinance had substantially reduced the value of the land by limiting its use, amounting to a deprivation of Ambler's liberty and property without due process. The Court decided that the zoning ordinance was not an unreasonable extension of the village's police power, the ordinance did have a rational basis and did not have the character of arbitrary fiat and thus the zoning ordinance was not unconstitutional.

Colors on a Map

At the time of Euclid, zoning was a relatively new concept, and indeed there had been rumblings that it was an unreasonable intrusion into private property rights for a government to restrict how an owner might use property. The court, in finding that there was valid government interest in maintaining the character of a neighborhood and in regulating where certain land uses should occur, allowed for the subsequent explosion in zoning ordinances across the country.

Results of Land Use Control

Planning has long been dominated by land use issues which are an awkward means of growth control as evidenced by our miles of highway commercial sprawl and auto dominated life. The main consideration with land use control is that adjacent land uses need to be compatible with each other. As a result, vast stretches of similar land uses have been developed all in the name of compatibility. This has then caused a total reliance on the auto to travel from remote suburban homes to jobs, shops, schools and entertainment.

Suburbia begins

The word suburb was first used in the 14th century to describe a residential area outside the wall of the city; between the city and the countryside. These first homes outside the urban area were for the underprivileged and the agrarian workers outside the safety of the town. With the advent of the industrial revolution, cities not only became denser but less healthy and dirty with primitive sanitation. The rich were the only ones who could afford to escape these early urban conditions by moving to the country in the original suburban developments. The first suburbs consisted of large lots designed in the English Landscape School such as Riverside outside Chicago and Llewellyn Park outside New York. Preserved open space systems, curvilinear roadways, emphasized view sheds all in a natural setting become the suburban design model for these early subdivisions all in a very park like setting.

A Better Suburban Model?

In 1929, Clarence Stein and Henry Wright designed Radburn, New Jersey twelve miles outside New York City. Known as the first "Garden City" in America because of its open space system, Radburn promoted itself as the "Town for the Motor Age"because it was the first community that planned for the automobile. Radburn broke with the established low density suburban practice by offering small lot sizes. Average lot sizes were forty-five hundred square feet fronting on a street and on an interconnected open space system to the rear. The open space system connected to commercial or civic uses providing a strong community pedestrian circulation system which was separate from the vehicular circulation system. The primary technique for separating pedestrian and autos was known as the superblock; a large block of land surrounded by main roads. Houses are grouped around small cul-de-sacs, each connected to a main collector road, introducing the cul-de-sac concept to suburbia.

Suburbia HO!; 1945

After World War II, there was a dramatic, national housing shortage. The lack of housing construction during the war coupled with the return of millions of young men, many who were starting families, created a critical shortage of housing. Between 1950 and 1960, new suburban developments on the outskirts of America's cities drew 20 million inhabitants. One response to the suburban housing demand was to develop new communities of primarily single family homes. The development pattern of these new subdivisions borrowed from the historical suburban antecedents; unfortunately, most of these suburban design ideals were lost in translation while preserving only the design techniques.

The war effort had caused industry to be more efficient (production lines) and produce much more cost efficient products; particularly true for automobiles and housing. While the suburbs had historically been the exclusive domain of the wealthy, they were now open to the working class. Thus, cars and the freedom they provide opened up the now suddenly affordable new suburbs to middle America.

Levittown

Abe Levitt built mass produced housing for the war effort. He translated this affordable product to a potato farm on Long Island with Levittown. It became a 14,000 home community loosely based upon the historic suburban model; however, lost in the translation were the open spaces, preservation of natural systems, pedestrian orientation and emphasized views. All that really remained were the curvy streets.

The houses were small two bedroom, one bath homes with the kitchen on the street side, no garage or carport, on a quarter acre lot. The price was affordable, breaking from the elitist past of earlier communities. It became a sign of status for the working man to be "admitted" to the heretofore unaffordable suburbs. To conjure up the vision of the exclusive, high priced suburbs of the past, streets were laid out in the English Landscape School's curvilinear pattern. However, because it had been flat farm land, there were few natural features to provide a basis for site plan organization. The curvilinear pattern of subdivision design was for mere effect without the design purpose of Riverside or Radburn.

The Ranch House; 1954

Levittown also introduced the ranch house (wide not deep) illustrating the suburban mantra of cheap, abundant land. The rearranged floor plan moved the kitchen to the rear for a backyard view while adding a carport to the front. This built upon the Radburn model of making the backyard the family's private retreat while the front yard was the domain of the auto (the primary transportation option) which was proudly displayed in front of the home.

Resulting Suburban Form

By coupling the lack of a strong pedestrian orientation with mandatory carports or garages, the Leavitt's refitted suburbia for the auto. Curvy streets were for autos. The front yard had no purpose other than parking the car and ceremonial aesthetics while the family retreated to the private sanctity of the backyard. The new and prevailing suburban model had emerged. Vast stretches of mono land use (which are thus compatible with each other) all connected by a dendritic system of roadways (arterial, collectors, locals) which are incompatible with residential use. This leads to a linear configuration of commercial uses along major roadways and then leads to the scale of the car being the dominant development theme for the highway commercial strips.

Results from Colors on a Map

Land use compatibility requires different land uses to be physically separated as a mitigation measure. This in turn causes similar land uses to cluster together thereby separating housing from jobs from retail from civic uses. The only means to get between land uses requires travel; usually by car. This exhibit is an example of "compatibility" from a land use/zoning perspective. In the adjacent aerial photo, single family homes in the background are "buffered' from the commercial use by a wall and physical separation. However, the only way to go buy a quart of milk at the nearby store is to drive your car out onto the collector streets to circle around to the arterial street and reach the commercial uses which are actually proximate to the housing. Because similar land uses are considered compatible, vast areas of a community end up with the same land use. With little diversity of use, basic needs are excluded from residential areas. The classic example of this homogenous land use pattern is single family sprawl stretching across the landscape. Adjacent land uses all being similar causes far greater problems than the mixing incompatible uses; poor and expensive public services, expanding carbon footprint, increased fossil fuel consumption and wasted time in traffic all result from this development pattern.

Colors on a Map Epiphany

Colors on a map do little to nothing for compatibility. I learned this when homeowners were arguing with me that the proposed 75 foot wide lots behind a wall with landscaping were still incompatible with their 90 foot wide lots. Land use compatibility is all a sham.

Auto Dominance; Commuter's Behavior

The only possible land use compatibility measures are physical separation or similar land uses being grouped together. This has led to vast stretches of homogeneous land use which created a complete reliance on the auto for everyday activities like getting to work, shopping, school or entertainment. Listed below are commuter behavior patterns:

• About a third can be classified as aggressive drivers.
• Six in 10 concede they sometimes go well over the speed limit.
• Sixty-two percent occasionally get frustrated behind the wheel.
• Four in 10 get angry.
• Two in 10 sometimes boil into road rage.

As a commuting mitigation action, the following behaviors occur:

• Take a less direct route 68%
• Leave earlier or later 60%
• Skip a planned stop 40%
• Changed work schedule 24%
• Moved closer to work 20%
• Changed/left a job 14%

If transit is available, Americans still choose to drive their autos even at significant cost:

• Six in 10 Americans have public transit available
• Just 10 percent use it regularly.
• Ninety-three percent call driving more convenient.
• Eighty-four percent drive alone to work.
• 80 percent of solo drivers aren't interested in car pooling.
• Switched to transit 4%

Auto Dominance; Roadway Design

The auto dominance is so complete that development codes are written to ease the use of the auto at the expense of people. Development engineering standards geared to vehicles is now the standard for our communities. Wider roads need wider safety margins so buildings are moved away from the street as a development requirement. Roadways become congested and need to be expanded. The increasing number of travel lanes allegedly can move more cars faster but the homogeneous development pattern only creates more and longer trips. Typical development standards are as follows:

Orange County, Florida Building Setback Standards

Principal arterial, urban 70 ' from the right of way

Minor arterial, urban 60 ' from the right of way

Collector, urban 55 ' from the right of way

Auto Dominance; Development Standards

With the heavy dependence on the auto for mobility, roadways and the surrounding development evolved to match the scale of wide, high speed roadways. The scale of roadways was "improved" to better fit the maneuverability of the auto and as such the orientation of development also switched to parking lots on the street side with buildings at the back of the lots out of view. Lack of visibility was resolved with large, attention grabbing signs scaled to high speed.

Auto Dominance; Compatibility

These roadway development standards have resulted in creating an environment for the auto. The roadway is a noxious use from a compatibility standpoint so line it with similarly noxious uses (auto dominated commercial) all designed to non-human scale. No wonder residential uses need to be physically separated from this "place" in the name of compatibility. Roadways only become more noxious; thus the land use option is to line roadways with similarly noxious uses such as commercial all in the name of compatibility. The suburban model is dominated by the need for autos with resulting suburban design standards based around the dimensions and maneuverability of a car and the human is relegated to second class standards.

Land Use and Auto Use

Land uses are categorized by trip generation and uses are then more or less intense by the number of trips generated by that use. The auto is the common denominator in all land use equations. This can be witnessed with trip destinations as well. The shortest average trip destination is 6.9 miles due to homogenous land use pattern.

Trip type % Miles driven

Commute 18 11.9
Shopping 20 6.9
Recreation 27 11.0
Other 38 9.3

Auto Dominance; Wasted Time and Money

For the nation as a whole, the average daily commute to work lasts about 24.3 minutes; thus, Americans spend more than 200 hours commuting to work each year. This far exceeds the two weeks of vacation time frequently taken by workers over the course of a year. The average commute costs $6.00 a day or $1,500 a year. Over the course of a working lifetime, this would equate to $800,000 if invested wisely.

Predominant Housing Choice

Single family subdivisions have evolved in the last 100 years from the domain of the wealthy to the predominant housing choice for most Americans. In 2002, the National Association of Home Builders stated "American homebuyers prefer large houses and large lots and are willing to live in distant suburbs and accept longer commutes in order to have more space inside and outside the home. 76% prefer a conventional single family detached community."

Time for a Change

There is a growing sentiment to resolve the ills of suburbia and its absolute reliance on the auto. There needs to be an alternative to land use based growth regulations and one such alternative comes from the New Urbanism development model.

CITY DESIGN; ORIGINAL APPROACHS

Humans have been gathering in urban areas for thousands of years; from early Greek cities to mid-evil fiefdom towns to pre-auto industrial revolution cities in the US. These cities were for people prior to the introduction of the auto. Yet there are many examples of successful urban places which conformed to the auto yet kept the original human scale.

The food bounty from organized agricultural practices allowed people to start living together in hamlets, villages, towns and, ultimately, cities. These were the first urban places as, prior to this time, all life had been in a rural setting. These urban places became denser as the population grew and the cities were organized around the street as a place for multi-modal transportation including walking, wagons and rail.

Savannah, Georgia 1733

Historic antecedents for city planning are found in Savannah, Georgia. This City was planned from scratch with a different motif than today; placemaking. There is a balanced land use program with the emphasis on creating great people oriented spaces for the residents, workers and guests.The city of Savannah was founded in 1733 by General James Oglethorpe based upon a repeating pattern of squares. Each square sits at the center of a ward. The lots to the east and west of the squares, flanking the major east-west axis, were considered "trust lots" in the original city plan and intended for large public buildings such as churches, schools, or markets. The remainder of the ward was divided into four areas, called tythings, each of which was further divided into ten residential lots.

Washington, DC 1791

Pierre L'Enfant developed a Baroque plan for Washington that features ceremonial spaces and grand radial avenues while respecting natural contours of the land. The result was a system of intersecting diagonal avenues superimposed over a grid system. The avenues radiated from the two most significant building sites that were to be occupied by houses for Congress and the President.

Chicago 1891

In 1891, Daniel Burnham was the lead planner for the 1893 Columbian Exposition World's Fair in Chicago. Burnham's concept called for a plan suggesting permanent buildings of a monumental scale; a dream city. Burnham used classical motifs as the general aesthetic of the fair grounds and structures so as to better blend with other architectural styles.

Garden Cities by Ebenezer Howard

Howard designed a prototypical city on 6,000 acres with a town center of about 1,000 acres and a population of 30,000. On the outer ring of the town there were to be factories, warehouses, etc., fronting on a circular railway. The remainder was to be an agricultural estate developed for agricultural purposes.

Historically, city design was form based to create memorable, endearing places. Land uses were an issue but the primary design principle was form. Older cities have had to deal with retrofitting the urban fabric to make room for the auto. Greenfield development has taken the opposite approach; development acknowledges reliance on the auto and is scaled to the auto with a corresponding loss of places for people.

ALTERNATIVE APPROACH

A Dramatic Change; Seaside 1982

The history of Seaside began in 1979, when developer Robert Davis inherited 80 acres of oceanfront land. Davis hired Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk to make his vision come true. They toured communities like Key West, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia and the adjacent Grayton Beach to reveal the physical fabric that produced both the visual comfort and social interactions that made these communities famous.

New Urbanism

Traditional Neighborhood Design or New Urbanism was a reaction to the state of suburban development. In the 1980's, designers started to question sprawling suburbia. Multiple car dependent residents living in single family homes spread across the landscape has placed an increasing demand on roads and the resulting roadway congestion has proved irresolvable. Other public infrastructure, such as schools and parks, fell below acceptable levels of service. TND was a modern adaptation of the historic pattern of development from small town America's past; compact development with a full mix of compatible uses oriented to the street with a strong pedestrian orientation.

The most dramatic New Urban factor is the change from auto dominated design standards to human and pedestrian oriented design standards. Couple this with regulations geared toward the form of development (not land use) and there is an entirely different mindset on growth management. This new thought pattern is being implemented as evidenced by Miami 21; Dade County's Form Based Code adoption in September 2009. There are now entire New Urban communities offering the advantages of New Urban design principles as compared to land use controls. One of the key differences is that compatibility is handled through the intensity of development and not by use. Denser areas of the community transition to less dense areas. This is greatly enhanced by controlling street design with two lane streets. By controlling the size of roadways, there are less noxious uses needing significant compatibility measures. In fact, the scale of New Urban communities is for the human; the pedestrian. The auto is still easily accommodated but not at the expense of the person living in the community.

BEHAVIOR TODAY

According to National Association of Realtors and Smart Growth America; 2004, 61% of soon to be home buyers would prefer to buy in a Smart Growth community with following community characteristics:

• Mix of housing types
• Sidewalks
• Shopping and schools at a walkable distance
• Public transit available

A recent study by RCLCO (the Market for Smart Growth; 2009) found that "Due to their compact design, pedestrian friendliness, protection of natural features and other smart growth approaches, it is significant that consumers not only prefer New Urban communities, they are willing to pay a premium to live in such communities."

In 2004, the National Association of Realtors and Smart Growth America concluded the following 61% of soon to be home buyers would prefer to buy in a Smart Growth community with the following:

• Community characteristics:
• Mix of housing types
• Sidewalks
• Shopping and schools at walkable distance
• Less than 45 minute commute
• Public transit available

RCLCO finds a correlation between life stage and the desire to live in a New Urban community as follows:

• Empty Nesters
• Singles
• Over 60 years of age
• Under 40 years of age
• Over 50's for close shops and restaurants
• Baby Boomers
• Health conscious

Recently, public opinion has swung from conventional suburban development towards a New Urban life style. This has caused the development industry to investigate conventional practices and examine other approaches to the housing marketplace. This ties into other current trends such as green practices and long lasting sustainable initiatives.

Planning Today

Today's planning emphasis has rightfully shifted from land use controls towards these goals:

• Sustainability
• Low Impact Development
• Multi-Modal transportation
• Urban Design
• Form Based Code
• Mobility

All these concepts are inherently about compact development. With increased densities and intensities, compatibility is the paramount concern. Thus, land use control is the wrong model to use for compatibility. New Urbanism with its form of development approach is much more in tune with compatibility measures.

Jim Hall; VHB Director of Urban Planning, Florida

• Over 20 years experience in central Florida
• Successfully worked in 35 different municipalities
• Primarily private client practice including:
• site design/master planning /urban design
• permitting and entitlement attainment
• land acquisition due diligence/site selection
• expert witness services

A rich design background provides exciting and realistic development solutions. Strong leadership skills allow the successful completion of projects in an increasingly difficult public approval arena while balancing the many competing interests on complicated projects.

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Urban Architecture | Architecture of Mesoamerica

2010-06-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

Mesoamerican architecture is defined as the incorporation of architectural traditions by pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of Mesoamerica. Their traditions are unmatched, known in the form of public, ceremonial and urban colossal buildings and structures.

The word architecture comes from the Latin "architectura," meaning chief, leader, builder or carpenter. It is the art and science of designing buildings and other structures. It is a method and creation of design and construction of spaces that imitate and are functional, artistic and have environmental consideration. Architecture works are often acknowledged as cultural and political ciphers and works of art.

An added remarkable part of Mesoamerican architecture is its iconography. The mammoth architecture of Mesoamerica is adorned with images of religious and cultural significance and in many cases the writings are made with some of the Mesoamerican writing systems. Iconographic decorations and texts on the buildings are important contributors to the overall current knowledge of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican society, history and religion.

An important part of the Mesoamerican religious system was replicating their beliefs in concrete touchable form, consequently leaving the world a personification of their beliefs. The Mesoamerican city was constructed to be a microcosm, manifesting the division that existed in their religious, mythical and geographical being. Also showing are divisions between the underworld and their human world. The underworld was represented by the direction north and many structures and buildings related to the underworld, such as tombs, which are often found in the cities northern half. The southern part represented life, sustenance and rebirth and often contained structures related to their continuity and daily function. Found in the southern parts are monuments depicting their noble lineage or sometimes their residential noble lineages. Between the two halves of the north/south axis, was the plaza which frequently contained stalae similar to the world tree the Mesoamerican axis mundi, and a ball court which served as a passage point between the two worlds.

Pyramids, temples and other configurations were designed to attain special lighting effects on the equinoxes or on other important Mesoamerican events. It is believed that much of Mesoamerican architecture aligns the pyramids to fact the sunset on August 13, which was the beginning date of the Maya Long Court calendar.

The Mesoamericans had a ballgame ritual which was a symbolic journey between the underworld and the world of the living. Over 1300 ball courts have been identified. All have the same shape but vary in size and all have a long narrow ally flanked by two walls with horizontal, sloping and sometimes vertical faces that are covered with complex iconography and scenes of human sacrifice. The early ball courts were open ended. Later the ball courts had enclosed end-zones.

The pyramids were plat formed and many used a style called tahud-tablero. This style consists of a platform structure, or "tablero," on the top of a sloped "talud." There were different "tableros" developed and manifested differently among the various cultures.

Mesoamerican architecture in Mexico is best known for its public, ceremonial and urban monumental buildings and structures, several of which are the largest in the world.

Aetna JB Are you thinking about visiting Mexico or would you like to have more information on Mexico and its' history and culture. You can find many articles aboaut Mexico's history and culture @ http://www.mexican-wholesale.com. You can also visit http://www.kwintessential.co.uk for additional help or information you may need.

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Urban Architecture | Securing Good Architecture Jobs

2010-06-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

A frequently asked question is how securing good architecture jobs are possible? Even you have tried to seek information on this and if you have failed, then do not worry anything more. You have come to the right place to collect more information on jobs. Architecture is not only about drawings and sketching. It includes lots of creativity and imagination in it. Together these things help in good architectural results.

A good proficiency hand in written and oral communications, computer knowledge and engineering can give a huge boost in your resume. If you really think that you want to pursue with this career only then start gearing up for studies. Meet your guidelines at your high school. Teachers can help you at any point of time. You can seek help from online. You can search various jobs at any of your favorite search engines. Major Websites like CareerBuilder and Monster.com are great help in job search.

In your school reports, you should at least get an average B grades. Try to maintain it. Seek for numerous institutions after you finish your high school graduation. You will also get information online about various architectural programs and certifications. Any job requires experience and degrees. So keep in contact with every concern head of your departments to get any job in the architectural field. Alongside get good drawing classes.

Be formal and have a positive attitude when you go for an interview. Be jovial and confident about your work. If possible get an architectural coach for yourself. A coach will help you in learning from your past mistakes, inner personal growth and will also help in sharpening of your skills. You can also seek help for a job search in getting architecture jobs in newspaper. Architect jobs are not very easy and simple. You have to dedicate a lot in your profession.

You have to do a lot of research. Learn more and more online about various types of designs. Various top construction companies and constructors and builders look for many architects. Different knowledge about designs will give a boost in your resume. Do not try to get involved into any dirty politics after you get a job. Be nice to everyone and do not comment. It is for sure that you cannot be in every body's good books. So don't even try to. Only be in the good books of your head of the department.

You can specialize in any subjects like Landscape Architecture, Architectural History, Architecture Professional Degree and Urban and Environmental Planning. You can also go for Urban Design, Historic Preservation, Real Estate Design and Development and Landscape Architecture. Thus, this is how securing of good architecture jobs can be done.

Silas Reed, Writer for ArchitectureCrossing writes articles that inform and teach about different Architecture job profiles. Please visit http://www.architecturecrossing.com for a list of some of the many jobs we offer in the Architecture profession.

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Urban Architecture | Landscape Architecture Schools: What a Degree can do for You

2010-06-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

One of the most creative career paths one can take is becoming a professional landscape architect. To do so, one must first enroll in a landscape architecture school where he can obtain the necessary education and training to acquire professional status.

Prospective students of a landscape architecture school should know that prior to enrollment in a graduate program; they will need a Bachelor of Architecture or Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from an accredited college or trade school. In addition to field-specific landscape architecture training, common coursework includes but is not limited to a standard education in biology; environmental science; English; geography; geology; and other associated natural and social sciences.

Students who participate in a landscape architecture school undergraduate program will gain a comprehensive curriculum and hands-on training in of course, landscape architecture; historical aspects of the field; design fundamentals; site design and implementation; ecology and regional design; urban design; professional development; cultural and environmental studies; CAD (Computer Aided Design); community design and other relevant topics.

A graduate program provided by a landscape architecture school will often include all of the above course matter, in addition to advanced graduate seminars; Colloquium; Interdisciplinary Design; and Thesis - to name a few of its diverse studies. Students who successfully complete a landscape architecture school program may earn their Masters of Landscape Architecture (M.LA) in about three years.

Graduates who have acquired adequate education and training in the field, and who have completed all required courses at a landscape architecture school may go onto plan, design and even shape the physical environments in which we live. As an art, landscape architecture is a field in which professionals create and develop a variety of landscaping projects including parks; campuses; golf courses; resorts; wetlands and many other urban and community developments.

Per the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, landscape architect jobs are expected to increase over the coming decade. Thus, students who have attained their Masters in landscape architecture from a landscape architecture school will have promising employment opportunities now, and in the near future. Potential income exists anywhere from $32,000 per year up to $90,000+ (on top end).

If you are thinking about enrolling in a Landscape Architecture School to attain your education in landscape architecture, feel free to visit the Traditional Schools Directory at SchoolsGalore.com for more information.

©08/28/2006 - Landscape Architecture Schools: What a Degree can do for You

By C. Bailey-Lloyd in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc., Managing Organization for SchoolsGalore.com

C. Bailey-Lloyd is the Public Relations' Director & Writer for SchoolsGalore.com -- Your source of information for Landscape Architecture Education; Architecture Schools; and other Environmental Engineering Schools.

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Urban Architecture | Surveillance, Architecture and Society

2010-06-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

Surveillance has a long history in architecture and society. Throughout history and modernity, surveillance has been used as a method of control, a symbol of power. Lately it has been used to assure, or attempt to manifest, safety in urban environments. This has increased the complexity of the issue and expanded the scope. Power, control, gender, fear and mistrust are entwined in surveillance. How is surveillance used in architecture and urban environments? What are its consequences and future implications?

Transparency, surveillance and architecture first came together with the advent of Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon in the late 18th Century. The panopticon was conceived as a prison in which a minimal number of guards could watch the entire prison population. Cells made up the perimeter of the round prison, creating a strong backlight on the prisoners. The center of the round prison was the guard tower, concealing the guards within. From this configuration, it was easy for the guards to see exactly what the prisoners were up to at all times. However, there was more to the prison than the cells. Because the guards could not be seen, the prisoners had to assume they were always being watched. Thereby, as Hille Koskela says in "The gaze without eyes: video-surveillance and the changing nature of urban space", "while the panopticon ostensibly keeps the body entrapped, it is in fact targeted at the psyche: in this mechanism 'the soul is the prison of the body.'" This is interesting because Koskela argues that surveillance does not only monitor a body moving through space, but also affects the mind of the body. The act of being constantly viewed by an invisible and unknown power makes one try to conform to the social norms expected. The mind and soul are forced to make the body behave in an acceptable way. While the body is imprisoned, it is the soul that suffers. Michel Foucault adds, "visibility is a trap. It is through this visibility that modern society exercises its controlling system of power and knowledge." Like in the panopticon, visibility sees the body, but inflicts changes in the mind. Visibility coerces people into conforming to social norms that are established by those in power.

Many people see a corollary between the panopticon and modern video surveillance and closed circuit television (CCTV). Increased fear, especially post 9/11, has led to a rapid increase in the number and density of surveillance in modern cities. The first use of CCTV was in 1942 to observe the launch of V-2 rockets. Olean, New York was the first city to implement CCTV on their main street to try to fight crime. The next development was the use of CCTV in banks to try to prevent theft by customers, outsiders, and staff. With increasing fear of terrorism and crime in the 1990s and 2000s, city centers became areas of constant surveillance. While the goal is to deter crime, CCTV footage is most useful in solving crimes and gathering evidence. CCTV footage was used to identify the London Underground bombers, and footage is regularly used to track the movements of missing children. Privacy issues are also debated, with many critics concerned that the technology encroaches on privacy and civil liberties. However, proponents argue that cameras surveil public space, where one can never expect to have much privacy anyways.
The increase in urban surveillance has led to a wide variety of effects and observations of the consequences of the camera. In studying the changing nature of urban space, Koskela observes 3 types of space: space as a container, power-space, and emotional space. Further observations have been made about the division of space, exclusion and division, and a blur between public and private.

Space as a container involves an exploration of the consequences of life put on a monitor, when space as a container for social activity becomes contained in the eye of the camera. Koskela suggests that several negative things result from this process. First, the camera is detached from the scene it is containing in several ways. The first being that it is designed to solve crimes, not prevent them, therefore working in a different time frame than we live in. Second, as with the panopticon, it is not known whether someone is behind the camera or not, and if there is, their location is completely unknown. This leads to uneasiness and skepticism about the camera and the urban space it covers. If something happens, perhaps the person behind the camera is too far away to do anything. Third, the camera views the scene as a contained object and has no interaction of influence on it. At the same time, surveillance forms are both transparent and opaque. Everything under surveillance is becoming more visible while the sources are becoming more opaque, producing an effect of uncertainty on the public. Lastly, space as container reveals an objectified reality, in which the image displaces reality. It is not unlike a stage space. People pass on and off of the frame of view, or stage. The lived world is transformed into a 2 dimensional projection of the world void of any human contact, increasing the sense of people as objects in a container. This is not unlike Foucault's observations of the panopticon cells, saying, "they are like so many cages, so many small theaters, in which each actor is alone, perfectly individualized and constantly visible." This is a very important connection because Foucault also asserts that visibility is used preserve society's controlling systems of power and knowledge. This connection suggests that CCTV use helps to keep structures of social hierarchy in place, with power remaining in the hands of the invisible.

Power-space is based on the studies of how video surveillance affects power interactions. What is readily noticed is that surveillance is not a power-neutral condition. "Looking connotates power, and being looked at powerlessness." Surveillance turns the city into a panopticon, linking power, knowledge and space. This is an extremely fascinating idea, questioning whether urban space under surveillance is in fact a prison of the psyche, conforming behavior to social norms established by those in power. Cameras are used to try to prevent deviant behavior through controlling people by controlling the space. But the lines are not clear as to who has the power. Many cameras are privately owned, making it impossible to know who is at the other end of the camera. Gender issues also are considered, because women are most often under surveillance, and men are most often behind the camera. Compounding the gender issue, feminist theory dictates that identity is largely formed through, and by, power relations. This implies that anonymous surveillance can have a negative affect on identity and raises questions about the camera being used as a tool for harassment.

Emotional space tries to understand the emotional impact of being under surveillance. While the obvious goal is to make urban environments safer, and instill a sense of security, attitudes are often more ambivalent. Some feel guilty, uneasy and uncertain as to who is watching, and it can create feelings of vulnerability. For a woman alone in a subway station, the camera may make her feel safe as well as unsafe. Who is watching? Being under control of the camera means not being in control of the situation.

Modern and evolving technology has given rise to even new forms of surveillance and the panopticon. Mark Poster sees our wired world as a "Superpanopticon, a system of surveillance without walls, windows, towers, or guards." People with camera phones respond to events by photographing and texting live information across communication networks. Implied also is that the public is now under scrutiny by the public. No longer are CCTV cameras the only form of surveillance and control, now the general population will use similar methods to control social behavior and record events in the city. Also called the Participatory Panopticon by James Casco, this development in technology and surveillance is a whole new form of surveillance architecture and digital space.

Surveillance technology also offers a new way to look at the creation, slippage and transparency of boundaries. Boundaries are set up where cameras cover, or end coverage, implying a change in space, social contact, and control. While the camera is the physical marker of the boundary, the lines itself are invisible, transparent. Surveillance also allows for a slippage of boundaries. By transferring events in one location to a remote location via the camera, boundaries are no longer definite and physical, and events are no longer contained in the space they happen in. By virtue of these possibilities, we also see that boundaries have become transparent and indefinite, expanding the area of influence a given site has.

As with transparency, surveillance has complex series of interactions with space and experience. By containing and flattening space, objectifying people, influencing power relations, and affecting the emotions and perceptions of people being watched, surveillance, coupled with architecture, has the choice of being interesting or viewed with ambivalence. My interest lies in both the spatial quality of surveillance, and the social ramifications of it. How can surveillance be exploited? Diller+Scofidio have several projects examining transparency and cameras that give good insight to the issues and applications to architecture. Case studies of these projects provide a valuable supplement to research. 'Jump Cuts', 'Facsimile' and the proposed installation 'Sky Space' all use transparency and cameras to defy expectations and change the apparent reality. The display of people and space are manipulated with the camera. While not as invasive as CCTV, the cameras in the project still objectify people, remove them from social contact with the viewers, and put them on display, submitting them to scrutiny from the people in the privileged position of watching.

Paul Goss is an architect, freelance writer, blogger and founder of the Architecture and Anthropology Curiosity Collaborative. Visit the blog to learn more about architecture and anthropology: http://architectureanthropology.com To learn more about Paul Goss and his work go here: http://www.paulgoss.com

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Urban Architecture | New Urbanism - A Critique of Disney's Celebration

2010-06-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Celebration: American Utopia or Stepford?

"The building of cities is one of man's greatest achievements. The form of his city always has been and always will be a pitiless indicator of the state of his civilization." Edmund Bacon, 1967

The art of city building, after being lost and rejected for over half a century in favor of decentralized commercial strip development and suburban sprawl (the stepchildren of Modernism), is being resurrected in several 'New Town' projects cropping around the country. Seaside, Newport, Windsor (all on the East Coast) and now Disney's Celebration have caught the hearts and wallets of Americans wishing for a middle ground between the infrastructure waste and social isolation of our refined suburbs and the higher density, raucous/ crime stereotype of the big city. A moot (perhaps) bonus is that somewhere in this in-between might be a new-found sense of community.

Millions of Americans in our sterile suburbs allow themselves to be robbed a human necessity: to experience a balanced social/ environmental upbringing (that our European counterparts enjoy day to day). Political isolationism and escapism have a root in our psyche. Throughout our lifetimes, minimal interaction on a daily basis for children and adults with a cross-section of individuals of varying ages with cultural, ethnic, and economic differences limits our world-view and understanding of each other. The core issues of community, democratic participation, and individual responsibility are ignored perhaps because they touch deeper philosophical and social themes that continue to be evaded by the American conscience.

As for New Urbanism, most Americans wouldn't know it if it bit them in the derriere. Starting with mitigation (a form of legal bribery: destruction of protected wetlands-flora and fauna, in exchange for $15M) Disney has not bettered the typical subdivision in many respects. At Celebration, inhabitants will commute out to their jobs while lower salaried workers in the CBD commute in. The net result is as much auto pollution as ever-even more since the whole mixed-use development is at a higher density. Commons and parks are by-products of tight lots which are improvements over the monotony of the typical subdivision, no doubt.

Celebration is over controlled and lacks social conscience. It is elitist: gingerbread glosses social inequity. There is no evidence of individual contribution by the citizenry nor will there be until ownership (Homeowner's Association) changes hands one day and Disney will be legally immune. Totalitarian control, as in Haussmann's Paris under Napoleon III, appears to be the only way that Americans can find a modicum of utopia. Relinquishing the Democratic process is an accepted trade-off in order to gain peace of mind (read ethnic, social, economic cleansing). Our dismal history of failed modern planning and zoning, originally intended to improve quality of life, has proven an antiseptic, deadening social and environmental conundrum where the only winners are bureaucrats and corporate developers.

At Celebration architects have been intoxicated by a power that could only have been relegated by corporate executive mandate. Design omnipotency tied to corporate ends has resulted in a high-brow, overpriced subdivision on steroids. Oddly, the downtown architecture appears to have been a product of weak management control over the imported 'name' architects. Pastel banality with a homogenous finish (due to single developer build-out of the entire ensemble and too much STO) is a Disney trademark. You can even spot a tinge of fascism at the entry sequence to the project where Disney Development offices stand abstractly in stark opposition to the truer to period Colonial and Classical Traditionalism of the other community buildings nearby.

On the whole the image of the residential sectors reminds one of the facades of early western boom towns which hide a more meager 'back of house'. Overblown facades are squeezed side by side on narrow lots while infrastructure is duplicated in the form of back alleys hiding 2-3 car garages. Sociability around the front lawns and curbside is thus dramatically impaired. Screening is allowed only at the rear where most families will spend their down-time in the pool and safe from bugs. They also won't be bothered by the parades of inquisitive tourists that Disney is planning to draw to the downtown.

While capitalizing on their brand-name and offering total predictability in all aspects Disney has tried very hard to make buying Florida swampland feel good: 'Utopia on a platter'. Sans serendipity, surprise, mystification, or complexity the overall theme is succinctly "defense by privilege". While 'citizens' are anxious to wake up in Mayberry they may find out to their chagrin that they have really bought into Stepford.

PART 1: An Early Look at Disney's 'Celebration'

What if they built a city and nobody came? (An intriguing thought but perhaps not the case here as corporate inertia and massive marketing will guarantee build-out.) In this instance I feel a strange sense of loss even though perhaps at first blush a Classicist's dreams are about to come true. While many traditional/Classicist architects and designers have decried the Modernist's indiscriminate foray into the built environment and hoped that the tide would someday turn back to a widespread use of classical or formal design principles coupled with a more traditional and organic planning theory, the concept of a Utopian setting to showcase a 'return to tradition' has not been attempted at this scale (except in Leon Krier's fantasies) in three dimensions. Until now.

In late February this year several local architects and residential designers were invited to a preview of Disney's 'Celebration'. This master-planned city of 20,000 will have state-of-the-art health and educational facilities, a town center designed by the usual cadre of 'important' period style architects (including a rather surprising modernesque Philip Johnson entry) and approximately 8,000 residential lots of differing types and sizes, the widest being 90 feet with 15 foot side setbacks.

The project manager, a Princeton architectural graduate with an MBA, insisted that the goal of the master plan was to induce a sense of community; the expectation is to achieve a varied mix of age groups and economic backgrounds where families would continue to live there throughout several generations. And there was a meticulously researched and produced architectural control standards manual (based on the 'pattern' books of yesteryear) illustrating the acceptable styles for the residential units: Classical, Victorian, Colonial Revival, Coastal, Mediterranean, and French.

Architectural control includes inviolable first and second floor heights as well as window and door types, setbacks, massing and materials use per each distinct style. Porch, roof, and facade treatments have recommended design standards as well. The picket fences, common areas, and shady boulevards as shown in the conceptual watercolor perspectives achieve a Mayberry-Savannah-Charleston feel with happy residents apparently enjoying the good life sitting at single and upper story front porches (highly recommended) watching the world go by.

I could not put my finger on what was troubling me except I remember that I felt either God was in the planning or I was hearing the drums of the Third Reich. The Strathmore model of the town center looked a bit contrived. Here were Pelli's, Venturi's, Stern's, and Moore's little monuments in the form of a bank, theater, apartment, office building, cultural center, lookout tower, etc. all arranged neatly on separate blocks. It seemed like a swell theme park to live in. Everything had its place, the main boulevard was on axis leading by the commercial zone to the lake-front promenade with intersecting streets that allowed a minimum of parking.

Further setback were the residential areas each grouped according to the size of the lots with alleys separating types and also eliminating the unsightly two or three door garage viewed from the front of the main street, no doubt a clear improvement over America's typical suburban layouts. Everything seemed as perfect as possible. Sometime after 1940 it was pointed out, "...architecture took a right, we are trying to continue the development (of well designed buildings, implied) as if it was never interrupted; we are taking the left fork in the road." Very true, I agreed, the Modernists surely drowned this country and the world with their banal excess of stripped down functionalism. I was rooting yet skeptical at the same time. A little voice inside me told me to stand up and defend... something--that was missing perhaps.

I asked if the entry points were to be gated. "Not foreseen, we want this to be an open community." What about security concerns? "No crime anticipated at the moment." We chuckled at the vision of 40's black and whites roaming the streets. Will the town center be able to sustain itself? "All space currently pre-leased." How can you make people sit out on the front porches in Florida's heat and mosquito swarms, especially since you are not allowing screened enclosures? "The overhead fans will cool and dispel the swarms." Well, there was nothing more to criticize, Disney had it all figured out. Satisfied we all left and thanked our host.

The next day I communicated the following in part:

I realize that your model incorporates the European traditional building forms in an American town setting, but wouldn't the more successful model (especially for the viability of the commercial activity) be to complete the circle and re-introduce the classic Italian, French or German prototype? Maybe this will be the theme of Celebration II? The other irony of Celebration is that I recall Walt's intent for EPCOT was for a viable 'City of the Future' which implied real examples of futuristic living and working (technological progress, etc.) nodes and the corresponding buildings. I guess we have looked into the future and really didn't want where the 'right-hand' fork was leading. For now, unless there is a proven better alternative I must agree with the premise that Celebration takes and its intent to re-educate America on what a community should really consist of. You have here a utopian layout that will re-ignite a spark of remembrance and longing in all who visit."

But that uneasy sensation kept grinding in my stomach. Finally I put it together: First, like Seaside, this community was designed to keep the visitor uncomfortable from just wandering into town and enjoying the sights. Second, with so much architectural control the organic tendency for creative growth was nipped before the bud like an Orwellian injection. Even with six allowable styles that quixotic architectural invention that makes a street-scape so charming and vital was not possible. A Victorian motif grafted onto Colonial Revival didn't seem credible. Mixing Mediterranean with Classical outlawed Palladio. Why, no Modernist touches were even thinkable! (I was surprising myself pushing for a bit of 'contemporary' styling).

"...Yet if the only form of tradition, of handing down, consisted in following the ways of the immediate generation before us in a blind or timid adherence to its successes, 'tradition' should be positively discouraged."

R. Venturi, 1966

Although the implicit goals of Disney are to introduce innovation for the better, their master plan has not sufficiently advanced modern urban planning practice in this case except to sterilize further. The free-standing artificiality of the town center reads more like an extension of Universal's or Disney's own facade-citecture at their studio lots. I will always prefer the historical prototype of the European (Italian, Greek, German, or French) town square with its natural liveliness and spontaneity that is so completely absent from American CBD's. (For that matter the caricature replicas of Old World themes in Disney World appear to be more people oriented than at Celebration!) The integration of many urban themes are required to present an enriching environment, especially in the 'downtown'. For example the infill of many years' growth, contraction, and rebuilding is vital to establish a thread of continuity and adds an indispensable degree of enrichment to the urban condition.

Everything of age in this country was indiscriminately torn down to make way for economic progress until the preservation movement took hold. What makes the Continental example so compelling is the mix of old (history) and new, the density and mix of commercial and residential, and the evidence of life --as witnessed by people enjoying their walking, chance social meetings, shopping and watching, eating and playing, etc. The main issue under contention is that Celebration isolates and zones functions like so many other modern plans which results in the same automobile centered or formally laid out suburban design. Consider the simple presence of street vendors (outlawed typically) which add so much color to the street life. And when the new Interstates bypassed so many of our nation's older communities even the opportunity for the tourist, traveler, stranger (gasp!) to enrich the citizenry by the chance meeting in the town square or at the market was extinguished. The complete interaction with the outside world is nullified. The town dies. This dilemma is especially true with planned towns such as Celebration and Seaside and the host of others 'a l'Americaine'.

You do know however before buying into Celebration that the proper inoculations have been made. I for one miss the smell of the diesel or the horse-drawn carriages down the dusty streets of Izmir, Turkey (where I spent my youth) as I might sit at a corner cafe, hailing a roasted nut vendor to sample the latest crop of sea-salted pistachios, while waiting for my olive oil braised lamb-chops to be served. Not just the smells but the sights and sounds as well of my fellow human beings involved in their daily way of life I miss and the rich environment that cradles this activity. Architecture cannot solve planning issues. Only people united to preserve their humanity can.

The final irony is this: over twenty five years ago Walt Disney created the Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow (EPCOT) as a showcase to house and employ a viable population; real people in a working environment. This did not come to pass. What materialized was a clever but kitschsy perpetually outdated theme park initially planted with rather exciting (for the youngster in us all) but cornball 'futuristic' carnival rides underwritten by corporate America. Now Disney has decided that the past is the key to the future. And they have a totalitarian vehicle to prove they are right. For a while I was rooting for them, now I am more convinced that the wives of Stepford will have a place for their own.

At a time of such diversity in the visual appearance of buildings it is absurd to enforce conformity which merely degenerates into uniformity. With the acceptance of the principles of the gradual renewal of environment it is desirable to follow the practices of the past in which they were applied: each period putting its new buildings next to those of earlier times and without taking up design elements formerly in use. This is healthy practice, unaffected by lack of confidence or by the morbid desire to let the past control the present. It has protected the urban and semi-urban areas of bygone ages from becoming museums and it makes for the delight of so many English towns where the buildings of different periods stand cheek by jowl together and where the history of the towns can be read from the difference of their buildings. Whoever has walked along the rue de Rivoli, the most depressing street in all Paris, will understand what is meant by 'living diversity', small-scale planning, intimacy and other environmental values which are gradually being rediscovered. Therefore no more 'design guides', no more control of visual appearance by officials of limited visual education and sensitivity or by neighbours who wish to impose their own tastes or, as estate agents contend, to protect their 'investments' and whose ulterior motives bear no examination."

Walter Segal, 1980

Afterword

Upon receiving some criticism for the above remarks and after considering the matter further I came across a social study of Pullman, Illinois (10 miles south of Chicago) considered a model community built in 1881 which included housing and basic service amenities (as well as the factory for the Pullman Palace Car Company) where 8,000 people lived and worked. My sensibility was shocked at the parallels. "One of Mr. Pullman's fundamental ideas" as social critic and economist Richard Ely wrote in his analysis of the town "is the commercial value of beauty". Pullman commissioned a single architect to master plan and design the entire town. There was a market-house, theater, library, offices, shops, bank, hotel, fire department, educational facilities, etc. In describing the street-scape Ely observes:

Unity of design and an unexpected variety charm us as we saunter through the town. Lawns always of the same width separate the houses from the street, but they are so green and neatly trimmed that one can overlook this regularity of form. Although the houses are built in groups of two or more, and even in blocks with the exception of a few large buildings of cheap flats, they bear no resemblance to barracks... French roofs, square roofs, dormer-windows, turrets, sharp points, blunt points, triangles, irregular quadrangles, are devices resorted to in the upper stories to avoid the appearance of unbroken uniformity. A slight knowledge of mathematics shows how infinite the variety of possible combinations of a few elements, and a better appreciation of this fact than that exhibited by the architecture of Pullman it would be difficult to find. The streets cross each other at right angles, yet here again skill has avoided the frightful monotony of New York, which must sometimes tempt a nervous person to scream for relief. A public square, arcade, hotel, market, or some large building is often set across a street so ingeniously as to break the regular line, yet without inconvenience to traffic. Then at the termination of long streets a pleasing view greets and relieves the eye--a bit of water, a stretch of meadow, a clump of trees, or even one of the large but neat workshops. All this grows upon the visitor day by day. No other feature of Pullman can receive praise needing so little qualification as its architecture.

Indeed he continues: "Very gratifying is the impression of the visitor who passes hurriedly through Pullman and observes only the splendid provision for the present material comforts of its residents. What is seen in a walk or drive through the streets is so pleasing to the eye that a woman's first exclamation is certain to be, 'Perfectly lovely!'

But approximately six years after the first spade was dug to begin this utopia a great riot broke out. Despite Pullman's efforts to maximize his returns through efforts to beautify the town and include as many practical comforts as possible for his workers the inevitable breakdown occurred. It should be pointed out that like many other company towns, the workers did not own their own properties. Strikes, individual initiative, charitable and mutual insurance associations were thwarted, discouraged, or put down. A woman who had been living at Pullman for two years told Ely only three families among her initial acquaintances were still living there. Ely asked 'It is like living in a great hotel, is it not?' Her reply was 'We call it camping out.'

Ely concludes: "There is a repression here as elsewhere of any marked individuality. Everything tends to stamp upon residents, as upon the town, the character best expressed in 'machine-made.' Note that in this passage his reference is not to the social problems which no doubt had a deep negative impact on the people but alludes more to the architectural and planning characteristics which had been previously described as idyllic! He finishes in a more political strain, "...the conclusion is unavoidable that the idea of Pullman is un-American. It is a nearer approach than anything the writer has seen to what appears to be the ideal of the great German Chancellor. It is not the American ideal. It is benevolent, well-wishing feudalism, which desires the happiness of the people, but in such way as shall please the authorities. One can not avoid thinking of the late Czar of Russia, Alexander II., to whom the welfare of his subjects was truly a matter of concern. He wanted them to be happy, but desired their happiness to proceed from him , in whom everything should center. Serfs were freed, the knout abolished, and no insuperable objection raised to reforms, until his people showed a decided determination to take matters in their own hands, to govern themselves, and to seek their own happiness in their own way." How much of the unrest in Pullman was due to negative social factors and how much could be attributed to the apparently utopian physical infrastructure?

"The more influence a person is able to exert on his surroundings, the more committed he becomes."

Herman Hertzberger, 1980

A free people must freely adopt their choice of habitation in terms of style, materials, costs, etc. In many areas where over-legislation occurs under the guise of protecting the integrity of the community a boring repetition results due to restricted size, height, materials, and style. In addition to floor area ratios with attendant design restraints the resulting structures (which desperately seek to find any loophole through which a mote of individualism may be imposed) are often hideous attempts to exert originality or personality into an oppressive architectural milieu. Rather than so completely legislating the total design, especially the style, why not leave it to the individual (and his architect!) to select, innovate within a better resolved set of guidelines?

Sometime after 1940 it was pointed out, "...architecture took a right, we are trying to continue the development [of well designed buildings, implied] as if it was never interrupted; we are taking the left fork in the road."

"There is a repression here as elsewhere of any marked individuality. Everything tends to stamp upon residents, as upon the town, the character best expressed in 'machine-made'...

Understandably, shoddy construction and ill conceived schemes should not be allowed but rejection because the strict canon of 'Mediterranean' or 'French' was not followed 'by the book' limits creative growth and experimentation which in the long run, if permitted, provides a fertile diversity, freshness, yes even controversy at times which can only enrich the built environment and 'empower' the individual with the right of free expression. Style should never be legislated. Bad architecture should be eliminated.

"A good architect will always do original work. A bad one would do bad 'modern' work as well as bad work (that is imitative) with historical forms." P. Johnson, 1961

It is unfortunate that in newly developing towns and smaller communities the rich texture of classic urban models cannot be convincingly replicated. Given the choice between a pasteurized and homogenized model town with its inherent philosophical anomalies I will take the path of worn cobblestones down dusty winding streets past antique, crumbling and weathered edifices with gnarled wooden doors of enchanting designs, where the smell of the baker's bread permeates my being in the morning, past markets where one can inhale the smell of fresh tomatoes, grains and meats, brought in from the fields where even the pungent odor of pack animals mix with exotic perfumes, where the hordes gather to banter over the price of goods under open air canvas canopies and with merchants tucked into the niches of mighty stone relics, where the smell of fresh ground coffee is served in sidewalk cafes, and where even the odor of an imperfect sewer mixes with diesel fumes. Above all it is the people who bring these places alive, like stage actors on a set in which they have had a chance to personally paint and by which they can remember their own history.

The key to urban vitality, as L.M.Roth describes the views of the prominent writer and editor of Architectural Forum in the early sixties Jane B. Jacobs, is "diversity and complexity." Leonard Kip wrote of Genoa in The Building of Our Cities (1870): "With what joyous contentment he (the traveler) wanders through its winding alleys, finding new surprises at every corner!" Of Paris he describes the feeling of "Losing ourselves...with the full knowledge that we cannot be disagreeably led out of the way..."

Americans have for too long accepted the fruits of modern planning principles which breed monotonous city-scapes erected by rote to planning manuals designed with dispersive (instead of implosive) zoning with the resultant isolation of its parts, suburban and infrastructural waste. If 'a house is like a city' we would be all living in extravagant wastes of space, empty corridors leading to distant rooms whose only functional connections can be comprehended through a mapping system. Kip aptly describes our characteristic new communities and neighborhoods: "...when the resident can see the whole street rolled out before him as a diorama, he soon ceases to feel any spark of individual taste, but, catching the spirit of others, builds and rebuilds in the same style as every one around him, and so, in having a house, becomes the owner, not of a home, but merely of a certain number of lineal feet measured off from a rule."

In the mid-twentieth century Lewis Mumford decried the result of increased appropriation of space for the automobile in America's towns and cities claiming that the city existed for the 'care and culture of men' rather than for compromise to the mechanical monster. Los Angeles is the epitome of the 'consummate insensitivity and deadly efficiency' (Leland M. Roth, America Builds) of the Federal Highway Act's tenets and provisions gone mutant. Mumford asked: "Why should anyone have to take a car and drive a couple of miles to get a package of cigarettes or a loaf of bread, as one must often do in a suburb? Why, on the other hand, should a growing minority of people not be able again to walk to work, by living in the interior of the city, or, for that matter, be able to walk home from the theater or the concert hall? Where urban facilities are compact, walking still delights the American: does he not travel many thousands of miles just to enjoy this privilege in the historic urban cores of Europe?...Nothing would do more to give life back to our blighted urban cores than to re-instate the pedestrian, in malls and pleasances designed to make circulation a delight!"

On this point Celebration misses the mark. Although alleys hide the automobile the overall layout does not truly compel the pedestrian to leave his clinically ordered street and venture for even the smallest item. Corner groceries were once evident in the zone-free organic town of yesteryear but are absent here. The planning looks good from the aerial perspective but in reality does not deliver. The look of Charleston and Savannah is being attempted here but the activity and vibrancy will be absent at least as a product of its own citizenry. (Oh yes, the lights in the homes of Celebration's absentee occupants will be timed to turn on and off at night should the homeowners be at their Swiss time-share during the months of May through October.)

"The building of cities is one of man's greatest achievements. The form of his city always has been and always will be a pitiless indicator of the state of his civilization.

Edmund N. Bacon, 1967

Does Celebration propound to be the quintessential American town? Charles Moore (one of Disney's selected icons for one of Celebration's downtown structures) characterized the American attitude in describing the 'contemporary North American vernacular' as: "the work of a nation composed of people who at one time or another, in greater or less degree, have eschewed tradition, to strike out on their own." But he concluded: "Some of our most lively and convincing places in fact, are fantasies, Williamsburgs or Disneylands."

Disney must be applauded for their grand efforts, and meticulous attention to detail as always but to attempt the ideal and miss the mark so clearly by organizing the layout of their dream town to exclude the components that constitute the soul and lifeblood of any community (as experienced in historically viable models of living cities) will only result in a sterile aggregate of construction to be possibly abandoned like the American towns whose main streets have been bypassed, shopping relegated to the peripheral super-malls, and inner core left to decay. If not abandoned by virtue of the elect who will sign their names on the mortgage papers, vacated on the streets more likely. Architect James Marston Fitch has described the Italian street as "the most delicious experience of embrace and enclosure of any space on earth". The satisfying people/streetscape that Disney has created in EPCOT is a fantasy enjoyed by millions. There the effect was achieved that Bernard Rudofsky describes as having streets made "into oases rather than deserts." Cities like Charleston and Savannah are perfect models for the living community. They reflect what Edmund Bacon has characterized in ancient Greek cities as "the intimacy of inherited tradition...maintained." Why not match more closely the example of their and other cities of similar vitality and charm by rethinking our sterile zoning regulations, reducing the size of wasteful private residential lots, compactly integrating the living and working areas, and adding green space at the most beneficial locations? Encouraging pedestrian traffic will be no problem if services and entertainment are nearby, if during a stroll to the park you could also pick up some groceries, if on your way to work you could easily buy a newspaper and a snack from the vendor on the street. Does this sound like utopia? It has been done. It can be done. Only the mindset and status quo --and our 90 year love affair with our cars prohibits this healthful and economic alternative.

John Henry is a practicing Architect based in Orlando Florida (acclaimed for period style detailing), Urban planner, writer, and winner of regional design competitions. Quoted and published in local and national publications concerning architectural/planning theory and period style projects. In practice for over 21 years. Master Architecture, Texas A&M University. Member American Institute of Architects, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Contact and web info: email: JohnHenry@cfl.rr.com

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Urban Architecture | Philosophy of Urban Design

2010-06-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

Imagine a vibrant urban streetscape. People walk the wide sidewalks, window shopping and going from store to store. Sidewalk cafe's and restaurants are packed with happy customers watching the passing streams of people, sipping latte's, chatting and laughing with friends or texting and tapping away on their favorite portable device. Other locations feature laughing patrons sipping a beer or savoring a fine wine while enjoying a tasty morsel of sushi or cheese. Sidewalk vendors and artists proudly display their wares as the crowds of people ebb and flow as the day moves on.

At night, the scenery and tempo changes as the nightlife gains dominance over the tempo of the day crowd. Nightclubs and bars fill up with dancing, laughing people, swaying to the beat of their favorite DJ, cheering on their favorite sports team or scoring points in the eternal game of romance.

This is the essence of a dynamic, successful streetscape which urban planners often miss while others sometimes come close. Some locations seem to generate this dynamic almost by accident, while several locations have achieved this vibrancy intentionally.

The urban streetscape is characterized primarily by two dominant features: One, the number of people visiting the streetscape throughout the hours of the day and throughout the days of the year and Two, the number of people that live within a walking distance of the street. Of these two characteristics, the former is a result of the latter. And it is this latter point which many urban planners neglect.

A successful urban core features numerous visitors strolling the sidewalks and exploring the sidewalks and shops, restaurants and nightclubs, spending their money along the street. The success of a city core depends on several features, each of which must be present for the intangible dynamic of a successful streetscape to occur.

These features include wide, user friendly sidewalks, narrow one or two lane streets, small, human scale establishments, friendly police presence, density of residential population within walking distance, total population within walking distance, density of residential population within one mile, total population within one mile, exteriorly oriented establishments, ease of public access, safe and secure parking and hours of operation. Additional features help to leverage these essential characteristics and provide for a greater vibrancy. These two additional features are the presence of sidewalk vendors and artists and light rail or subway access.

Several of these features bear further clarification. Small, human scale establishments refers to shops and stores scaled to the human presence. They should not be imposing nor grandiose, but rather be of a size and scale that typifies the comfort and walkable scale of people. Each establishment must be of a size which is comfortable to view, walk and browse. Exteriorly oriented establishments is the moniker used to identify the orientation and signage of the shops and stores along the street. Each facility must bear in mind that the pedestrian traffic along the street is literally where the money is and its store orientation and signage must reflect this fact.

Hours of operation covers all the establishments within the urban core and refers to the hours that each shop or store is open as well as the number of days a year that the majority of facilities along the street are open. Most successful urban streetscapes feature facilities that are open from approximately 8AM or earlier to late at night, often 1 or 2 AM. Generally, these successful urban centers are available to customers 365 days a year. This produces the necessary tempo of activity a dynamic, exciting and vibrant streetscape requires.

A friendly police presence helps people to feel safe and secure, prevents minor theft and crime and provides the sense of security necessary for a safe and secure environment. Police must be trained in customer service and crowd control as well as the usual police training. plus have knowledge of the area to provide helpful directions and advice to visiting tourists and visitors.

Light rail and or subway access is not a necessary component of a successful cityscape but helps to leverage and magnify the effects of the components which are required.

A dynamic streetscape presents a quality of life that only an urban lifestyle can promise. A vibrant urban center provides people with the excitement of city living with the scale of a small town. Living near such a location is one of the better benefits of urban life.

Perry Jones is a successful author and urban philosopher.

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Architecture Design | Choosing Your Home Designer

2010-06-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

Building a new home is a serious endeavour. There are many different things that you will need to think about, but the most basic decision comes in choosing your home design and the architectural designers that you want to work with. You should place emphasis on finding home builders that have experience, suit your tastes, and who can get the job done within the budget and time frame that you have in mind. Whether you are looking for home plans or a completely original design for your new home, there are many services out there that can help you with what you need.

Your search for architectural designers begins in your home town or region. Some home builders or designers will travel, but you may prefer to choose from those who are closest to you or where you plan to build. While many designers are willing to travel, you might not need to worry about that. There are plenty of great designers in New Zealand, and you don't usually have to go far to find them. Just make sure that you take the time to look at your options and choose what is best for you.

Some people will enjoy traditional homes, while others might like a more contemporary style in their home building. Either way, there are architectural designers that can suit your needs. You will need to find designers that suit your tastes, and home plans or design services that are within your budget. When you are building a new home there is so much that you have to deal with and home design shouldn't be a hassle for anyone. With the world at your fingertips online, you can search for the best architectural design services in your own time and at your convenience.

Architectural designers are not all created equally, and neither are their home plans. You will have to look through the various options that you have and choose the best home design for your needs. Whether you are looking for a basic one-level home or a majestic, luxurious dream home design, you can guarantee that you will find it or someone who can design it for you. All that matters is that you get the design that you want, because it is your home after all. Don't sell yourself short or limit your options by searching for prices only. Find quality first and worry about affordability later.

dsigna Concepts is a professional architectural designers offering design and draughting services company based in New Plymouth, Taranaki on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. We deliver services from architectural design to council permit drawings. With the use of computer-aided design programs, we not only offer 2D drawings, but also computer generated 3D images. As well as servicing our local market with custom architectural house design services, we also offer a searchable online database of architecturally designed house/home plans, available to anyone in New Zealand. http://www.dsignaconcepts.co.nz

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Architecture Design | Finding the Right Architectural Design Firm

2010-06-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

Architectural design is an important part of the home building process in New Zealand like any other country around the world. Finding a professional and experienced firm in New Zealand is the first step towards creating a beautiful and elegant design for your future home. If you have no idea whatsoever about the type of house plan to consider, then we recommend you start your search by looking for a firm who also offers existing online plans. Choosing from a range of home plans saves you both time and money.

Find an online architectural design company that provides a search function form on their website, whereby you can enter all the house components you wish to include in the general layout of your new home. Such components will include: how many levels you would like, what approximate size you are looking at (if you have purchased a section already then you can enter in the measurements of your plot), if you would like to factor in a family room, how many bedrooms you would like, whether you would like an ensuite in the master room and/or main guest room, and lastly if you would like an internal access garage, plus how many bays. This process will generate a selection of house plans that you can view.

You may find an existing blueprint that is absolutely perfect or nearly perfect and just requires minor customisation with the help of your architectural design firm. It may be that you would prefer to have the deck off the master bedroom to stretch around the whole house. Such adjustments are much more cost effective if done during the planning stage rather than once the physical foundations and structure are in place.

Finding the right architectural design firm in New Zealand is a matter of choosing which one can provide you with the designs that you need and a structure that is going to be safe for many years to come. It is a good idea to ask to review customer testimonials, or photos of work done. This all helps you get an idea of the level of service you can expect, the firm's credentials and the experience of the architects who will be working on your home plans.

Architectural design firms are very different from one to the next. It can often seem like a daunting task to try and choose the ideal company to design your new home, but a little research will soon narrow down the right firm for you. Make notes of the house designs that most suit your tastes and what you've been looking for.

Architectural design is an important part of any new home. Give yourself enough time to review a few firms and their collection of blueprints - you want your future dwelling to be perfect after all.

dsigna Concepts is a professional architectural design and drafting services company based in New Plymouth, Taranaki on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. We deliver services from architectural design to council permit drawings. With the use of computer-aided design programs, we not only offer 2D drawings, but also computer generated 3D images. As well as servicing our local market with custom architectural house design services, we also offer a searchable online database of architecturally designed house/home plans, available to anyone in New Zealand.

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