Category: Architecture

Get Your Garden Room Right

Susan Henderson
Susan Henderson Instagram Facebook
It's that time of year here in central New Mexico when I start eating lunch in my courtyard so I can watch the tomatoes turn red. I’m reminded while sitting here of a visit from Steve Mouzon of the Original Green who was lecturing at the University of New Mexico. (more…) Continue Reading
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Get to Know the Awkwardly-Named “Terminated Vista”

Scott Doyon
Scott Doyon Twitter Instagram Facebook
I’ll admit it: I wish there was a more user-friendly way to say “terminated vista.” Perhaps I’m more sensitive to it because, as regular readers here know, I’m not an urban designer. I just work with them. That means I’m more inclined to scratch my head like any other layperson when I hear wonky expressions... Continue Reading
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Building a Custom, Multi-Century House for Under $80 a Square Foot

Scott Doyon
Scott Doyon Twitter Instagram Facebook
Affordability is a tough nut to crack. For decades, the production housing industry has operated under a simple premise: Americans value space above all else. If you want to make a house more affordable, you build the same house with lower quality materials and cheaper details. Goodbye four-sides brick, hello one-side... Continue Reading
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Eisenhower Memorial Controversy Puts Focus on Urban Design

Howard Blackson
Howard Blackson Twitter Instagram
How do we honor our heroes? The current dust-up over Frank Gehry’s proposed Dwight D. Eisenhower memorial has brought the issue, and the conversation, to the forefront. Within it has been some well-articulated opposition from prominent urbanists, including this from Léon Krier, this from Dhiru Thadani and this from... Continue Reading
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The Social Network: Community Edition

Howard Blackson
Howard Blackson Twitter Instagram
Likes. Friends. Followers. We’ve got hundreds of ‘em. Plus, LinkedIN for professionals and Google+ for, uhhhh, well, for someone and then all kinds of iPhone texting, FaceTime, email, and Skype-ing. Who has time to make a phone call anymore? In trying to understanding and leverage the power of our wired social networks,... Continue Reading
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Rowhouses Without the Wiggle

Susan Henderson
Susan Henderson Instagram Facebook
The townhouse, or rowhouse, is a traditional urban approach to density that, somewhat ironically, has been embraced by suburban builders. Over time, this once simple and elegant species has evolved (some might say devolved) to reflect its newfound environment, becoming “squeezed” in its appearance, with little bits... Continue Reading
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Retail: When it bends the rules and breaks the law

Hazel Borys
Hazel Borys Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
Getting ready for a TEDx talk in a few weeks, I’ve once again been noticing how the places that I love the most usually break the law. The contemporary development codes and bylaws, that is, which are geared to the car, not to the pedestrian and cyclist. Then last week’s urban retail SmartCode tweetchat with Bob... Continue Reading
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Do We (Still) Need Vancouver?

Howard Blackson
Howard Blackson Twitter Instagram
A few years ago Urban Guru Leon Krier asked this question -- “Do we still need Vancouver?” -- at CNU XVII Denver. In response, the Next Generation of New Urbanists invited then-new Vancouver planning director Brent Toderian to speak in favor of Vancouver, which is easy to do. For, since the fall of Hong Kong, Vancouver... Continue Reading
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Poggibonsi and other Tuscan Lessons

Hazel Borys
Hazel Borys Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
With all the angst over Italy this week, I’m in the mood to count some blessings. To elaborate on some assets. To look at the local marketplace. And to debunk a couple of frequent idealist notions about European urbanism often heard from North Americans. Last month, I was traveling in the Tuscan countryside, which... Continue Reading
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My Right Turn at the Intersection of Good Ideas

Howard Blackson
Howard Blackson Twitter Instagram
When things get tough, people start digging in ideologically, increasingly viewing the world through the lens of their own experiences to fortify their already entrenched positions. Yes, experience counts for a lot and, chances are, they do hold some piece of the larger solution. But as we’ve learned time and time... Continue Reading
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