(a) biotic design studio

When Humor and Creativity Collide

2013-05-06T09:32:00.000-04:00

I know this entry is stretching it for this blog but from time to time we like to indulge our love of animation. We also have, shall we say, a healthy sense of humor. Case in point, this guy, Adam Patch, animated a joke told by his drunk wife and it is hilarious, in a good clean way...unless of course you are, on face value, horribly offended by corn chips. But really how awesome and creative and did I say awesome is it to actually take the time to animate something like that? Let's hope it's true...but it would be really funny sans the intoxication angle as well.

Adam, my man, you are our newest hero!

"Two Chips" / An Animated Short from Adam Patch on Vimeo.

Chicago To America: "We Have The Greenest Streets!"

2013-05-03T12:42:00.000-04:00

1. Bike lanes adjacent to parking lane; 2. Bike rack; 3. Bioswale planter (removes silt and pollution from surface runoff; 4. Solar bus shelter; 5. White light lamp (40% more energy efficient); 6. 100% post-consumer recycled content used for sub-pavement levels; 7. Light-colored pavement (39% of hardscape is reflective pavement); 8. Reflective pavement to mitigate urban heat island effect; 9. Pervious parking and bike lanes with detention area made from recycled materials.

Chicago may be known as a gritty, rust belt city, but lately they are looking more and more like a city that is trying to innovate its way out of a downward spiral that unfortunately affects many of the aging cities in that region (see also Detroit, Cleveland, etc). Case in point: the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) late last year "unveiled the first phase of their “greenest street in America” project. Located on a 1.5-mile stretch of Cermak Road in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, the street is made with air pollution-eating materials and features solar panels, native plants and stormwater-sucking pavement, among other impressive technology. The street’s success has since launched the city into the national limelight for innovative planning and design."1

Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com

This is an interesting claim, but lets unpack this claim a little and dive in to as many of the details as we can.

According to CDOT, this is the first commercial roadway application of photocatalytic concrete. We currently drafting a reasearch article on photocatalytic concrete but right now it looks like pretty amazing stuff. Imagine if you will, an abiotic material that not only cleans itself but also pulls carbon out of the air. The concrete’s "nanotechnology absorbs nitrogen oxide (i.e. car exhaust) from the air and cleans the road’s surface through a sunlight-powered reaction. The process uses titanium dioxide, so it’s not all roses — mining and chemical processing are needed to get titanium dioxide — but it’s a great application of the pigment. The sidewalk concrete uses more than 30 percent recycled content, and the cement’s reflectivity reduces the urban heat island effect."1 In this case it is worked into a road surface, but there are other possibilities, and something that looks to good to be true should be investigated further before we all start trumpeting it as the end-all be-all to global warming. Please stay tuned for our more extensive research!

On a more well known and tested note, they have incorporated stormwater capture where the "street diverts close to 80 percent of rainfall from the sewer system through permeable surfaces, rain gardens and street trees." The State of Illinois agreed to an Clean Water Act settlement consent decree with the EPA, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and with "the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to setlle a court case under the Clean water Act relating to Chicago's combined sewer system which during times of heavy rainfall results in combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into Lake Michigan and other water bodies. The settlement requires upgrading Chicago’s sewer infrastructure to reduce combined sewage overflows. The legally binding settlement mandates that MWRD make critical structural changes to improve the quality of Chicago’s waterways and includes green infrastructure projects to reduce runoff."2

The re-use of this runoff and plant selection in the CDOT solution eliminates the need for potable irrigation water. A wind and solar-powers the lighting system with LEDs. To complete their Green Infrastructure intervention, a half-mile of bike lanes. Sidewalks are made more walkable with a pedestrian refuge island — "which separates crossing pedestrians from motor vehicles — and curb-corner extensions that allocates more street space to pedestrians. CDOT also created educational signage and a walking tour brochure." 1

So the big question is, how much does this intervention cost? The near $14 million for the mile-and-a-half-project comes out to around $88 per square foot if you assume a 60' Right Of Way. "Funding came from Tax Increment Financing and assorted grants from the Federal Highway Administration, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and Midwest Generation. "1

Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com

WORKS CITED
1 www.gridphilly.com/grid-magazine/2013/3/11/steal-this-idea-chicago-street-cleans-the-air.html
2 geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2011/12/chicago-agrees-to-combined-sewer-overflows-consent-decree.html

Bike Share

2013-05-02T10:06:00.001-04:00

Photo from bike-sharing.blogspot.com

The official start of The National Bike Challenge, a nationwide effort to increase bicycle ridership through camaraderie and friendly competition was yesterday. To commemorate the kick-off, Alta Planning and Design was in Philadelphia displaying the wares of their successful Bike Share program.

I met with Fionnuala Quinn and Charlie Denney who were excited to tell me about their bikes and their expanding Bike Share program. Alta Bicycle Share designs, deploys, and manages bicycle share programs and systems worldwide. They launched and manage Melbourne Bike Share in Melbourne, Australia, Capital Bikeshare in Washington, DC, Hubway in Boston, MA, and Chattanooga Bicycle Transit System in Chatanooga, TN.

Alta is an exciting company who in addition to there planning and design efforts are, at any given time, actively working on several bike-share projects and studies for jurisdictions and companies interested in bringing bike share to their communities. Alta has locations all over the country - Pacific Northwest, California, the mountains and the desert, Midwest, and up and down the east coast and are considered experts in pedestrian and bicycle planning, green space design, and research and innovation in planning and design.

I had the opportunity to intern for Chuck Flink at Greenways Inc., which is now Greenways/Alta, in Durham NC. It was a terrific experience and highly recommend it to any aspiring planners or landscape architects out there.

As Emily and I have continued our discussions on the definitions of "Green Infrastructure" we definitely consider the impact and importance of bicycles on urban design. Alta is conducting research on how a seemingly nano-intervention of a bike share can help transform the way people experience the city but perhaps more importantly how a city infrastructure's will morph in response to that use. Stay tuned!

Bending Masonry

2013-05-01T17:59:00.001-04:00

Photo Courtesy of eat-a-bug.blogspot.com

Check out this "Catalan free-form vault has been designed and build by students during a one week workshop organised by Prof. Deplazes and Prof. Block from ETH Zurich. RhinoVAULT has been used for the design of the complex compression-only shape. For details, visit the homepage of the BLOCK Research Group."1

WORKS CITED
1 http://eat-a-bug.blogspot.com/2012/11/masonry-workshop-at-eth-zurich.html

A New Building that Uses Algea for Energy

2013-04-30T09:57:00.000-04:00

"A grounbreaking new building in Hamburg, Germany, "intends to generate heat, as well as revenue, from growing the micro-organism. The five-story Bio Intelligent Quotient (B.I.Q.) building, which was expected to become fully operational on Wednesday, has a high-tech facade that looks like a cross between a Mondrian painting and a terrarium but is actually a vertical algae farm."1

"Lukas Verlage, managing director of the Colt Group, part of the high-powered consortium that constructed the energy system, said in an e-mail that the building was “an outstanding and important development in the use of renewable resources in building technology,” comparable to advances in the space program."1

"And Rainer Müller, press officer of the International Building Exhibition, which introduced a competition in 2009 that led to the creation of the B.I.Q. house, said, “Using algae as an in-house energy source might sound futuristic now, but probably will be established in 10 years.”

The competition, won by a consortium including the Colt Group, asked entrants to use smart materials, defined as “systems and products that behave dynamically, unlike conventional building materials, which are static.”1

Read the complete New York Times article here:
When Algae on the Exterior Is a Good Thing

WORKS CITED:
1 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/business/energy-environment/german-building-uses-algae-for-heating-and-cooling.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0
2 All images courtesy of the NY Times

Photography of the (a)biotic

2013-04-25T09:54:00.001-04:00

"Two Kyrgyzstan-based photographers, Andrew and Luda, run a joint Live Journal account where they post amazing photos of outdoor scenery, wildlife, and recently: active volcanoes."1 We love the image above in particular for its metaphorical and literal translation of the biotic and abiotic elements that define our vision as designers.

"Earlier this year the duo trekked to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia where the volcano complex known as Tolbachik was in active eruption. Among the numerous hellish vistas photographed by the team was this deep volcanic cave that offered a glimpse of what it might look like below the Earth’s crust. You can see dozens of shots from their trip organized into several sets here, not to mention the video below. (via ian brooks, my modern met)"

WORKS CITED
1 http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/04/journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth-an-incredible-glimpse-inside-an-active-volcano/.
2 All images courtesy of thisiscollassal or Tolbachik unless otherwise noted.

City Branch Conceptual Design

2013-04-24T14:57:00.001-04:00

Photo courtesy of OLIN/BCJ

Ben recently completed work on this OLIN/BCJ lead team to look at the what the City Branch in Philadelphia could become. The plan is bold and in as much requires bold leadership from a variety of stakeholders, designers, and community members.

The City Branch is a SEPTA owned 2 mile long abandoned rail corridor that sits 30 feet below the surrounding cityscape. It begins just east of where the Reading Viaduct transitions down to Broad Street. It then passes under Broad Street and heads due West and disappears under Pennsylvania Ave, before jogging slightly and heading North.

Light and air wells under Pennsylvania Ave

The new below-grade park would extend from two points at the east end: the connection to the SEPTA Spur, where the rail viaduct dips under Broad Street (which is a bridge over the railway) and at Broad and Buttonwood in front of the School District Administration building. A key to the plan is the planned reconstruction of the Broad Street bridge, owned by PennDOT. The parking lot now in front of the School District building would be replaced with a multi-level public space leading to the park.1

Connection along the front of the School District Building(Rotogravure building) originally designed by Albert Kahn

New connections are made throughout allowing for a steady, unimpeded flow to create a safe and vibrant space to move along and through. Conceived as a series of connected program, adjacent buildings are provided an opportunity to connect to the park whether its retail or education. The entire length is meant to function as a stormwater capture and treatment system.

Connection to Community College of Philadelphia

The draft of the Planning Commission’s Central District plan makes no mention of establishing a rail park and instead supports a Bus Rapid Transit line to take riders west to Fairmount Park. This is viewed as an opportunity in that the width of the City Branch could allow for each to co-exist.

What is clear is that the current condition of the City Branch is such that it creates a drag on land use, property value, perception of safety, and overall health of the adjacent properties. Why not imagine something better? Well, we did.

Herb, Fruit, and Veggie Infographics

2013-04-22T10:35:00.000-04:00

We at (a)biotic are no different than most slack-jawed designers who are as in love with grouping things in threes as we are of infographics. These particular infographics are espespically sweet because they graph when different herbs, fruits, and veggies are in season.

They are developed by chasingdelicious.com and they were even clever enough to develop a definition of each that plant biology folks won't point and laugh at (well some might, but we won't invite them to dinner). If you are a food-y-fooder-ton, then you will love this website. The posters here can be found for sale on that website if you are the poster-buying sort.

Bowerbirds Recycled Recording Studio

2013-04-21T11:57:00.004-04:00

Members of the indie band Bowerbirds have been trying their hand at sustainable design with this fantastic self-built studio project. Since 2007, Beth Tacular and Phil Moore have been constructing their very own cabin and music studio, using only salvaged materials and running it on solar power. The band recently found success raising money on Kickstarter, and they are well on their way to minting a new album within the green construction.1

2 All images and text courtesy of Inhabitat

Dexterity by Design

2013-04-19T13:16:00.004-04:00

Photo courtesy of ipad.iwalls.org

Dragonflies are simply amazing creatures and are, in fact, the ultimate predator. "Intercepting a moving object requires prediction of its future location. This complex task has been solved by dragonflies, who intercept their prey in midair with a 95% success rate" versus a lion's 25% or a shark's 50%1. For your conveinence find a link to the the NY Times article, Nature’s Drone, Pretty and Deadly, by NATALIE ANGIER . We at (a)biotic constantly strive for inspiration from nature. What better teacher than the incomparable dragonfly. The short clips below are stunning in and of themselves!

University of Glasgow; Jay Iwasaki/Combes Lab, Harvard University

Clockwise, from left: “An Exposition of English Insects” by Moses Harris, published in 1782 with some 50 hand-colored engravings; a blue dasher dragonfly; a Ruby meadowlark dragonfly.

1 Article: "Eight pairs of descending visual neurons in the dragonfly give wing motor centers accurate population vector of prey direction" http://www.pnas.org/content/110/2/696.abstract?sid=f4fdddf7-bf52-4ecc-9e7f-1142102e0f8c

Moscow Metro Map

2013-04-09T17:44:00.000-04:00

We just discovered this Moscow Metro Map (larger version) on the Coudal Partners website. What is truly striking is the extent of this system . A fantastic web of public transportation with a loop ring and fingers into the surrounding city. Communists can sure do some things right...SEPTA I'm talking to you! Below is Philly's rail system map. You will notice how large swaths of the city are completely unserved by a rail system that consists of mainly feeders to and from the suburbs.

The simplicity of the Philadelphia SEPTA system is dwarfed by the system shown below. The Moscow Metro Map gets more complex when they add all the layers, although confusing, just look at how connected this place is...amazing.

Using Sheep To Mow the Lawn in Paris

2013-04-08T20:08:00.003-04:00

Check out the video below. The New York Times reports on the City of Paris using sheep to maintain park lawns. Paris is turning back the clock. Many parks around the world previously used sheep to maintain lawns including Central Park where sheep grazed from 1860′s until the mid-1930′s. (Video Source | New York Times | Length 2:05)

Put a Bird In It - Part II

2013-03-27T09:44:00.000-04:00

The Urban-est was designed by Snohetta as a nest/birdhouse that could fit within the hollows of a standard masonry block. The prototype was developed for the Design Trust for Public Space’s 2009 Annual Benefit auction.1

The exterior surface was comprised of laser-cut 1/8″ birch and acrylic layers built up into a topography creating perches and entrances into the nest. The laser-cut birch pieces extended back into the hollows of the masonry unit, with the opposite end clad with one-way glass allowing those on the inside of the wall to observe the nesting habits of the birds (a clear acrylic panel was used in the prototype). Since the dense birch plywood develops a char along the cut line in the laser, all of the birch pieces were hand-finished to remove the discoloration.1

Snohetta describes the piece as

An Organic topography of perches and holes, while the interior wall of the unit is clad with one-way glass for observing the nesting habits of birds without disturbance.2

Works Cited
All images courtesy of Snohetta unless otherwise noted

1 http://www.baseheight.com/home/portfolio-item/birdhouse-by-snohetta

2 http://www.snohetta.com/#/projects/226/true/installations/image/998/

Interactive Paving

2013-03-18T12:28:00.003-04:00

Discovered this wonderful video from Benjamin Boré on thisiscollasal.com. Benjamin created a "liquid brick" installation as part of a collaboration at Raum à La Box in France. Meant to “question the harshness of the city” the idea is really quite simple, to embed a water-filled pouch beneath the city streets, and the effect is pretty charming, especially for the kids clamoring all over the thing. 1

VIDEO:

1 All text, images and videos courtesy of http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2011/06/liquid-bricks/

Anthropormorphic Landscape In The Fourth Dimension

2013-02-06T20:32:00.005-05:00

Image courtesy of Pixar

Day & Night is a Pixar animated short film, directed by Teddy Newton and produced by Kevin Reher (1) that heretofore has escaped my acquaintance. It demonstrates quite simply, succinctly, and (depending on your feeling towards cartoon animation) entertainingly, the notion of time in a landscape as the fourth dimension of experience.

Day & Night follows two characters, Day and Night. Inside Day is a day scene with a sun in the center, and inside Night is a night scene with a moon in the center. Whatever goes on inside of Day or Night expresses normal events that typically occur within a day or night, respectively, and these events often correspond with actions or emotions that the characters Day or Night express. For example, when Day is happy he will have a rainbow inside him, and when Night is happy he will have fireworks inside him. (1)

It captures quite well in all of its five and a half minutes the idea that we experience space, man-made or otherwise, in all of its dimensions, including time. Our feelings and impressions of that space are highly affected by a seemingly infinite amount of factors to create what we like to call experience. This tapestry of experience weaves all of the physics that only physicists understand with the collective human experience and individual memory and emotions carried autonomously by whoever occupies that space--the latter I dare say no one understands. Least of all this author. But what is truly interesting is that through the combination of 2D and 3D cartoon anthropomorphism and maybe a little silliness, we begin to grasp more valiantly at those concepts simultaneously.

Brilliant or silly is of course a value judgement. The throwback 2D character style merged with the new-ish 3D animation is creative and fun. Whether or not you 6 year-old will ponder the enormity of the universe and our human experience, well, only time will tell. Enjoy:

Works Cited

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_%26_Night_(2010_film)

Edinburgh Gardens Raingarden

2013-02-02T12:51:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of Landezine

In 2010 GHD Pty Ltd designed this recently constructed and elegant raingarden for Melbourne Water in collaboration with City of Yarra at the Edinburgh Gardens: St Georges Road- Fitzroy North in Melbourne, Australia. It was constructed on on the site of the demolished Ladies Bowling Club within the southern section of the park and it is intended to improve the health of Merri Creek and the Yarra River by filtering pollutants from captured stormwater. 1

Some of the facts and figures brought to us by our friends at Landezine are below, but we were impressed on first glance by the overall composition and diagram. A thoughtful design apparently well executed. Although, we would probably have to contact the City of Yarra to find out how it is truly performing. In the meantime, enjoy the some of the initial info and the eye candy!

Nice Diagram! Image courtesy of Landezine

"The raingarden is to provide a sustainable source of treated stormwater for the parks mature trees and sporting fields in a way that added to the existing landscape character of the park and added interest for users. Melbourne has experienced drought conditions for a number of years now and this project was to replace the existing need for potable water being used to irrigate our parks and gardens.

This raingarden is designed to remove 16,000 kg of annual total suspended solids per year of operation. It will also remove a further 160 kg of nutrients, phosphorus and nitrogen, through vegetation growth. This litter and pollutants would otherwise end up in Melbourne’s waterways. Filtered water is then collected into a 200KL underground storage tank, and used to irrigate existing trees within the Edinburgh Gardens; providing around 60% of their irrigation needs in a normal year.

In a normal year, the raingarden is expected to reduce potable water use for irrigation by 4 ML per annum.
The project involved sourcing stormwater from the North Fitzroy Main Drain and diverting it to a newly designed terraced raingarden within the Edinburgh Gardens, with the treated water being harvested for storage and irrigation of the trees within the park and local precinct.

Image courtesy of Landezine

The main components of the project were:

Diversion pipe from North Fitzroy Main Drain with gross pollutant trap

Surcharge pit into 700 sq.m rain garden.

Terraced raingarden with appropriate planting and filter media to treat stormwater.

Overflow pit with underground pipe connected to 200 kilo-litre underground storage facility with pump to irrigation distribution.

As described above the majority of the works undertaken to achieve this were underground with the large raingarden providing the visual element. The main design features of the raingarden are:

Native plant species planting
Filter media and appropriate plants that help to treat the stormwater through uptake of excessive nutrients and filtering fine sediments.
Four large terraces that respond to the sites natural grade, therefore minimising the requirement for taller retaining walls and balustrade, allowing informal public interaction,
Terrace walls that extend out into the landscape to create lawn ‘room’ areas for passive recreation. These areas will create elevated views over the raingarden and provide different spatial experience in this area of the park which is currently characterised by large unbroken lawn areas.
The strong lines of the extended terrace walls is repeated in the bands of planting in response to the recent history of the site as the location for the Inner Circle Railway Line.
A ‘zig zagging’ feature steel low flow channel, connected to the surcharge pit, that delivers water to all four terraces in rain events.
New tree planting to provide shade and enclosure for new small lawn areas
Continuously curved edge to reinforce line of new shared path and existing avenue planting."2

Image courtesy of Landezine

Works Cited:

1 http://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/Environment/Parks-and-reserves/Edinburgh-Gardens/Proposed-Raingarden/
2 http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2012/10/edinburgh-gardens-raingarden-by-ghd-pty-ltd/

(a)biotic Tree Tenders

2013-02-01T12:04:00.000-05:00

Packed house last weekend at the Tree Tenders Course

Yeah! Emily and I recently became Tree Tenders. I know what you, the plant-snob reader, is thinking, but the Philadelphia Horticulture Society has done a really good job developing this program and it not is your grandmother's tree care seminar....but at the same time it unabashedly is just that. With instructors from Penn State Extension, Bartlett Tree Experts, Temple Department of Horticulture, and the Audubon Society, there was a lot of really great information for people of all skill levels. These were talks by people who love trees, what is there that can't be learned from people who are passionate and well read on their topic?

PHS promoting the Flower Show. This year's theme is Great Britain.

The PHS Tree Tenders program offers hands-on tree care training in the five-county Philadelphia region. The training covers tree biology, identification, planting, proper care and working within your community. Established in 1993, PHS Tree Tenders has trained thousands of volunteers who plant and care for trees throughout the region.

If you live in Philadelphia or the ou can find a Tree Tender group near you and volunteer to help plant street trees in the Spring and Fall on this Interactive Map:

View Larger Map

There is a wealth of information for tree planting on this website. As with any source you should shop around a little and gather best practices from many places...not everyone agrees on everything when it comes to planting trees (or planting anything for that matter). And that is what Emily and I were doing: continued research, and the Tree Tender program was well worth it. We were amazed by the shear number of attendees, and it was exciting to see the interest in trees and what they can do for the health of our cities.

Videos on Tree Planting:

Watering

Mulching

Weeding, Cleaning and Protecting

Pruning

Regional Celebratations: Winter

2013-01-29T20:28:00.003-05:00

Photo by Mark Kurtz Photography

You can ask anyone who lives in an extreme weather region and they will all invariably attest that it is advisable to embrace the condition and make the most of it. One way the tiny town of Saranac Lake has been doing this since 1898 is through its Winter Carnival.

The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival began as an integral part of Saranac Lake’s history as a renowned health resort. Back in the late 1800s, the village was a thriving logging community nestled deep in the Adirondack wilderness. Its pristine setting provided healing and rejuvenation for hundreds of sufferers of tuberculosis from all over North America. In the course of “taking the cure” here, many patients experienced a renewed passion for life, and took every opportunity – in every season – to explore the natural beauty that surrounded them. The long, cold Adirondack winters with snow-covered mountains and ice-encrusted lakes provided the opportunity to enjoy outdoor recreational activities such as skiing, sledding, and skating. In order to break winter’s chill and to promote “outdoor sports and games”, the Pontiac Club was formed in 1896, and a year later, they sponsored the first “Mid-Winter Carnival”. This first Winter Carnival was a two-day affair that featured skating races, a parade and an “ice tower” – features that have been, in one form or another, part of every Carnival since.1

Photo courtesy of facebook.com/downtownsaranaclake

One of the more interesting and most notable aspects of the Carnival is the Ice Palace. The original was known as an “ice tower” that then evolved into an “Ice Palace.” The Ice Palace was an outgrowth of the village’s ice industry, which, in the days before electric refrigerators, harvested ice from local lakes for use in ice boxes across the country and around the world. Despite some refinements in machinery, the Ice Palace is still constructed in much the same manner as it was in 1898, the first year it was built.

About six weeks before the Carnival, an ice field is marked off on Lake Flower’s Pontiac Bay. Once the ice reaches a suitable thickness, the ice is partially cut using a saw that was designed and built locally in the 1940’s for the harvesting of refrigeration ice. It is essentially a huge circular saw blade mounted on a sled and driven by a gasoline engine. The saw can cut to a depth of approximately eleven inches. Since the ice often reaches depths in excess of 20 inches, the cutting process must be completed with large hand saws that are relics of the traditional ice harvesting process. The blocks taken from the lake are two feet wide and four feet long, are anywhere from one to two feet thick, and accordingly will weigh between four and eight hundred pounds.1

Photo courtesy of facebook.com/downtownsaranaclake

The blocks are moved onshore via a conveyor belt, and are maneuvered into place with “peaveys” – metal-tipped poles with hinged metal hooks – and ice tongs. The 2’ by 4’ blocks are hoisted onto the structure by cranes and “log loaders” and then cemented to one another with a “mortar” made of slush. As the slush freezes, the block walls become rigid. While designs vary from year to year and reflect the theme chosen, a small palace requires about 1,000 blocks while a large one requires 3,000 or more. Within each palace is an array of colored lights that transform the Palace into a vivid sculpture of ice and light every evening! Be sure to look at the ice blocks carefully because they sometimes have water plants, fish or other items captured within them! The Palace is generally adorned with brightly colored flags and ice carvings reflecting the carnival theme. Fireworks over the palace take place at the opening ceremony and again at the closing of the carnival.1

While early palaces were constructed by private contractors, currently they are built by community volunteers. As many as 75 people may provide sufficient volunteer hours to achieve a one-year membership in the Ice Palace Workers (IPW) Local #101. The volunteers often work for extended periods in sub-zero cold. Numb fingers and cold feet are warmed by the camaraderie of the workers and the support of those providing hot drinks, sandwiches and good-natured banter. As the palace rises, the workers are encouraged by the growing crowds of admirers happily snapping pictures to send to friends and relatives around the country.1

Once completed, the Ice Palace stands as both centerpiece and symbol for the Winter Carnival: for what distinguishes Saranac Lake’s mid-winter festival is that it is brought about by the efforts of its citizens, volunteering their time, energy, enthusiasm and resources so their children, neighbors and guests can enjoy a Winter Carnival.1

For a more detailed history click here

Works Cited
1 http://www.saranaclakewintercarnival.com/history/

A Warehouse In Chicago Catches Fire In January

2013-01-24T13:42:00.004-05:00

David Schalliol

The Chicago Tribune reports a A 5-11 alarm fire engulfed a warehouse building in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood late Tuesday night. The result of the battle then waged with spraying water produced an amazing ice spectacle. We do not in anyway want to in anyway minimize the potential loss the owner of the building may have suffered and most importantly, no one was injured in the blaze. What we are left with from Photographers Robert R. Gigliotti, David Schalliol, and Darek Szupina are some stunning pictures of the aftermath to share.

David Schalliol

Robert R Gigliotti

David Schalliol

Darek Szupina

Special thanks, as usual, to http://www.thisiscolossal.com/

The Beetles Take LA...And It's Way Worse Than Ringo and Paul Going It Alone

2013-01-10T09:34:00.005-05:00

Ravaged box elder at Huntington Botanical Gardens shows damage from a
voracious new beetle. Photo/Maxx Echt

"No one is certain how it got here, but the Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB) is a new pest in Southern California. This boring beetle, from the group of beetles known as ambrosia beetles, drills into trees and brings with it a fungus that is lethal to some species of trees."

Female polyphagous shot hole borer. Photo by Gevork Arakelian,
LA County Agricultural Commissioner

Description
"The beetle is dark brown to black and tiny, with females between 0.07 and 0.1 inches long, and males even smaller, usually about 0.05 inches long. Pregnant females bore through the tree’s bark, creating galleries under the bark. They plant the fungus in these galleries, where it grows and spreads throughout a susceptible tree. The female then lays her eggs in these galleries and when the eggs hatch, the larvae eat the fungus. The larvae develop into adults in about a month. Many more of the larvae develop into females than males, and the females mate with the males (their brothers) while still in the gallery. The pregnant females then pick up some of the fungus in their mouths, and leave through the entry holes created by their mothers to start the process again."

What Is Known
"The PSHB seems to have originated in South East Asia or Africa. At first, researchers identified it as the Tea Shot Hole Borer (Euwallaecea fornicatus), which it very closely resembles, but DNA evidence points to it being a new, as yet unnamed species in the same genus. The symbiotic fungus may also be a new unnamed species, in the genus Fusarium, which is commonly associated with ambrosia beetles."

History in the USA
"The best guess as to how they arrived is that it stowed away on a Southeast Asian shipping crate. The first local sighting appears to have been in 2003 at Whittier Narrows. By 2010, it was suspected of killing box elders in Long Beach. The first local sighting appears to have been in 2003 at Whittier Narrows. By 2010, it was suspected of killing box elders in Long Beach.

By 2011, it had infested the first of hundreds of trees at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia and the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino. By the spring of 2012, alerts were being issued throughout the avocado industry.

Now, scientists are warning that a new species of beetle, tinier than a sesame seed but devastating as poison, has gained a foothold in Southern California, threatening scores of tree species, including the native California sycamore and the iconic coast live oak.

“This has been like something out of a science fiction novel,” says Tim Thibault, the Huntington’s curator of woody collections. Thibault says the bug initially was assumed to be an exotic pest called the “tea shot hole borer” that afflicts tea plants in Asia. But when it turned up on more than 100 species, killing some in less than two years, DNA tests revealed that both it and a lethal fungus it carries were new to science."

Its Spread
"So far, scientists say, the new beetle has been found throughout Los Angeles and northern Orange Counties, as far south as Laguna Beach, as far north as Azusa, as far east as Pomona and as far west as Los Angeles International Airport, where it has infested a stand of coral trees.

Whether it has spread to wildlands such as the Santa Monica Mountains is as yet uncertain, but researchers are hoping a January 12 symposium at the Huntington for arborists, gardeners and homeowners will help track the infestation."

Management
"Protect your trees and local habitat from a variety of pest species by avoiding moving infected wood around – use firewood locally.

PSHB has been found to attack healthy trees, but as always a good defense against disease is to keep trees in optimal health. Healthy trees are also more likely to recover more quickly from an attack. Choose trees that are appropriate for the site and don’t require a lot of additional water. Provide appropriate soils and access for roots to grow and expand.

Avoid excessive pruning, over- or under-watering, and planting inappropriate companion plants within the drip-line. If trees are infected, systemic insecticides generally are poor for treating ambrosia beetles. Prophylactic spraying of the bark could be used to protect uninfected trees in some situations. Sterilize pruning tools between uses to avoid spreading the fungus. Chipping and solarizing/tarping infested wood may help to limit the spread of the beetle/fungus complex.

If you think PSHB is affecting your trees, please contact your local Agricultural Commissioner's office. In Los Angeles County,click here."

Positive Take-Away
"Some trees are less vulnerable than others; the main concern is for the 20 or so species of trees in which the beetles prefer to reproduce. Eskalen says the fungus, carried in the beetle’s mouth, is what kills the trees, and it spreads as the beetle burrows to lay eggs in the heartwood, attacking the plant’s vascular tissue and blocking the flow of water and nutrients."

Sources:
1.) R. Stouthamer, P. Rugman-Jones, A. Eskalen, A. Gonzalez, G. Arakelian, D. Hodel, S. DrillDepartment of Entomology & Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, University of California,Riverside

2.) Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures UCCE-Los Angeles County

3.) http://zev.lacounty.gov/news/beetle-mania-hits-socal-trees?goback=.gde_1008567_member_191410654

4.) http://ucanr.edu/sites/socaloakpests/Polyphagous_Shot_Hole_Borer/

Dutch Highways

2013-01-08T11:38:00.004-05:00

Leave it to the Dutch to bravely explore and implement new ideas. “A futuristic highway that can save energy and improve road safety is set to be installed in the Netherlands by mid-2013 that features photo-luminescent paint which are charged during the day and light up during the night; temperature-responsive paint which indicates slippery roads; interactive lights along the highway that light up as cars approach; as well as "wind lights".

Let's acknowledge and accept first that the notion of a highway and everything it entails is not a "sustainable" archetype. Beyond that, it is really interesting to see new ideas that are attempting to improve on an old concept.

Check out the video below to hear more about the features mentioned above:

Nano Photographs With a Macro Lens

2012-12-05T14:45:00.003-05:00

Photo courtesy of thecuriousbrain.com

Russian photographer Andrew Osokin captures some wonderful ice formations at a truly nano scale. The awe inspiring combination of fractal geometry and the curious interchange of symmetry and asymmetry. Its a chicken or the egg causality dilemma that leaves one humbled by the capacity of the universe to dictate that ficklest of all perception peccadilloes: Beauty. And if you needed more evidence that we are all infinitely tiny, check out even more big images of tiny things, check out Osokin's LensArt profile. (via the curious brain).

Photo ccomourtesy of thisiscolossal.

Photo courtesy of thisiscolossal.com

Micro Intervention: Urban Rainwater Harvesting

2012-12-02T10:01:00.002-05:00

Photo courtesy of aia.org

Australian inventor and architect Sally Dominguez's invention, the HOG system makes use of otherwise overlooked spaces for use as rainwater harvesting.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reports that the inspiration for Dominguez’s rainwater harvesting system came to her while working on residential infill projects in inner-city Sydney. As a city on the edge of literally running out of water, it is no surprise that such innovations are spun from Australia. Discouraged by the lack of small-scale solutions for stromwater storage, Dominguez wanted to look beyond the existing large-scale solutions the city has been exploring in recent years, (1)

Photo courtesy of aia.org

The HGO is a water storage system that makes use of spaces that are largely overlooked: underneath floors, inside walls, and along narrow alleys. She solved the problem of how to make flat-walled steel tanks fit in those spaces without bulging with the weight of their water by placing a hole in the middle of the container. In this way, the hole’s circular walls act as an inside-out brace (see below).It helped that Dominguez had some prior product development experience, and knew that the manufacturing method known as “rotomolding” (rotational molding) worked well for creating hollow plastics — and might apply equally as well to creating modules that could stand on any of their sides and join conveniently to the next one. Using this method, she created a highly scalable water storage system that can easily link one module to the next while allowing water to flow through them without impediment. (1)

The first Rainwater HOG tank debuted in Australia back in 2005, at a time when rainwater was still considered gray water (i.e., used household water). Thus the name: H2O Grey, or H2OG, or HOG. Now a version of the tank manufactured in the U.S. is available to the U.S. market, where the system has gained widespread popularity among green builders and architects in recent years. (1)

We thought this was interesting in its potential application in places like Philadelphia and other large cites on the East Coast that are struggling to meet the EPA requirements for combined water/sewer outflows (CSO). Obviously there would need to be a way to completely drain and bypass these during the winter months, but it is nothing that a little engineering can't handle. Like many complicated urban problems, these tanks are far from a complete solution, but represent a step in the right direction.

Photo courtesy of aia.org

Works Cited
(1) earthtechling.com
Thanks to JTLA for the heads-up on the story

Simply Amazing Doodles

2012-11-28T13:32:00.001-05:00

Photo courtesy of thisiscolossal.com

So we realize this is a sort of departure from our normal blog posts, but we do like to identify art that we think is really amazing, really fun, and/or really creative. Sagaki Keita certainly fits in with many if not all of those adjectives. Kieta is a master of using manically scribbled doodles to create mind-melting illustrations of classic Roman statues. Please visit his website, Keita is a beast at cranking these terrific images out.

Photo courtesy of thisiscolossal.com

Dilworth Plaza Parking Day Video

2012-11-09T11:42:00.002-05:00

CCD Parking Day Rendering, Image Courtesy of OLIN

Check out the video that was made by OLIN for the Center City District's (CCD) Parking Day exhibition. Through his work at OLIN, Ben is assisting with the construction administration of Dilworth Plaza which includes collaboration with artist Janet Echleman (see her TED Talk here). CCD reached out to OLIN, Urban Engineers, and Kieran Timberlake to help with a teaser space for the new Plaza.

Dilworth is located on the Western side of Philadelphia's City Hall at 15th and Market and is undergoing a major renovation. In another OLIN video, Paul Levy, president of CCD, brilliantly describes the project here: