Archiculture

We shot this over two weeks at the end of June. It’s supposed to launch later this week on Architect Magazine’s website but we wanted to show it to you all first.

Let us know what you think? What did you like or didn’t like? Give us some pointers.

via: Irish Breakfast Time

Now go get you some!

Check out this interactive website that tracks people moving to and from NYC over the past 10 years. Each zip code is a circle which reflects proportionally how many have moved in, or out by color, and for what reasons they relocated in the adjoining graph.

“This map distills more than 4000 moves from over 1700 people, collected in an informal survey by WNYC, a New York based public radio station” by graphic designer Moritz Stefaner.

Thanks for the tip Stephen.

Check out this doc that our friend and fellow team member Emily Wettstein has been working on. Looks like they significantly surpassed their kickstarter a few days ago and will be working towards the release later this month with an eventual PBS broadcast.

“Small Farm Rising is a one-hour documentary film inspired by first generation farmers who are redefining agriculture in America.

Filmed in the Champlain Valley and Adirondack Mountains of New York State, the documentary follows a group of farmers from three unique farms as they carry plants, animals and soils through a growing season. These modern small farms have robust business models, sustainable practices and deep connections to the communities they serve: a goat farm that produces award-winning cheeses; a horse-powered, CSA (community supported agriculture) farm which provides 100 members with a full diet year round; and a vegetable farm run by two youthful entrepreneurs.

Adirondack Harvest has partnered with photographer/director Ben Stechschulte, and Mountain Lake PBS to produce this follow-up to Adirondack Harvest and Ben Stechschulte’s 2004 documentary Three Farms. Ben has shot over 120 hours of footage over ten months to depict an entire growing season.”

If you’re lucky enough to be near one of the handful of tour locations then by all means, go see this baby live! Fortunately the rest of us can view this amazing making of video.

Thanks for the tip Nick.

The folks over at Boswyck Farms have been busy this Spring building a hydroponic rooftop farm at the Bushwick Starr here in Bushwick, Brooklyn.  The farm includes cucumbers, tomatoes, and other vine plants in various hydroponic systems; with more crops in the pipeline.  Volunteers may contact Boswyck at events@boswyckfarms.org.

Hydroponics have been gaining traction lately as a solution for economic and sustainability challenges.  Their small footprint fits well in urban environments, yet have high-yield food productivity.

Boswyck is a hydroponic farm growing fresh food for the local community.  They bring sustainability and food security to an area that has historically been a “food desert.”  Boswyck runs hydroponic workshops and instals systems for residences, community organizations and businesses.

[video & photo courtesy of Boswyck Farms] 

“It’s a shame to only have dreams at night. You should have a few opportunities during the day.”  Those of us dreamers out there can take shelter in this optimistic quote, from Stephen Alesch.

Roman & Williams is the architecture / interior design firm of Alesch and Robin Standefer.  Their body of work is a balance between past & present.  Memory, romanticism and quality of materials are all common threads.  The firm’s portfolio includes Manhattan’s own “hipster hotel,” the Ace Hotel; The Standard Hotel; and the brownstone-meets-condo 211 Elizabeth.

The following short film explores these themes in a holistic way.  What might catch your eye, in addition to the subject-matter, is the inspiring beauty of the film itself, produced by The Scout (an online design magazine) and directed by Brennan Stasiewicz.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention The 555, an informal social group that hosts gatherings focused on urbanist principles.  Topics include mixed-use development, walkable/bikeable communities and other ideas of bedrock urbanist Jane Jacobs.

“Since March, Devin, an artist based in the Boston neighborhood of Somerville, has been making small posters and taping them up on phone poles and other public fixtures. These “BBC Broadsides” come in three varieties (or “flavors,” to use his term). The “Mappy Facts” broadsides show people demographic data about Boston, like average income levels by neighborhood, on colorful maps. The “Street Surveys” broadsides are more participatory, asking passersby questions about their relationship to their neighborhood, with tear-away tabs for them to answer with. A third flavor features poetry.” via Good

Download print-ready versions on the artist, Tim Devin’s website here.

“This Urban Omnibus video is the first in a series called City of Systems, a suite of short videos intended to offer a poetic peek behind the scenes of some of the complex systems that enable New York City to function. This video series is made possible by IBM as part of its commitment to use technology and information to help build more sustainable and intelligent cities.”

“12,400 traffic lights preside over New York City’s intersections, communicating to each user whether or not he or she has the right of way. Meanwhile, in Long Island City, the New York City Department of Transportation’s Traffic Management Center (TMC) controls half of those signals remotely. At the TMC, computers and live video feeds monitor real-time data — including current signal displays, traffic detectors and cycle lengths — at hundreds of intersections each. Coaxial cables connect these computers to the intersections, and 238 cameras allow the engineers to observe and adjust signal timing in case of an accident or other sudden change to the flow of traffic…” - read the rest of the article on Urban Omnibus

“During the 1960s and 70s, thousands of monuments commemorating the Second World War called ‘Spomeniks’ were built throughout the former Yugoslavia; striking monumental sculptures, with an angular geometry echoing the shapes of flowers, crystals, and macro-views of viruses or DNA. In the 1980s the Spomeniks still attracted millions of visitors from the Eastern bloc; today they are largely neglected and unknown, their symbolism lost and unwanted. Antwerp-based photographer Jan Kempenaers travelled the Balkans photographing these eerie objects, presented in this book as a powerful typological series. The beauty and mystery of the isolated, crumbling Spomeniks informs Kempenaer’s enquiry into memory, found beauty, and whether former monuments can function as pure sculpture.” - amazon.com

Series of photographs of abandoned monuments in former Yugoslavia. Willem Jan Neutelings, quoted from this book: “The Antwerp-based photographer Jan Kempenaers undertook a laborious trek through the Balkans in order to photograph a series of these mysterious objects. He captures the Spomeniks in the misty mountain landscape at sundown. Looking at the photographs one must admit to a certain embarrassment. We see the powerful beauty of the monumental sculptures and we catch ourselves forgetting the victims in whose name they were built. This is in no way a reproach to the photographer, but rather attests to the strength of the images. After all, Kempenaers did not set out as a documentary photographer, but first and foremost as an artist seeking to create a new image. An image so powerful that it engulfs the viewer. He allows the viewer to enjoy the melancholy beauty of the Spomeniks, but in so doing, forces us to take a position on a social issue.” - Roma Publications

Order a copy of Kempenaers’ book here directly from Roma Publications.