A photo of the Johnson Street Bridge, as seen looking west on Johnson St., shows how integral the bridge is to the fabric of Victoria’s Old Town. Destroy the bridge, and you destroy Old Town, too.
Tonight I saw a most impressive example of adaptive re-use in built form: the former Charles Street Jail, next to MGH (Massachusetts General Hospital) on the banks of the River Charles, turned into a stunning luxury hotel (the Liberty) that looks for all the world like a Jeunesse dorée hotspot. Here’s a link to the […]
This is not a Christo-wrapped art work, it’s a botched development project: . ^ A photo I took today: the back of Vornado’s stalled project in Boston’s Downtown Crossing (wrote about it earlier, here). Stunningly ugly, isn’t it? Not like a wrapped Reichstag at all. Just goes to show that there’s art, and then there’s […]
The title of my post is semi-serious, semi-ironic. I’m ambivalent about gentrification: if it means unslumming, I figure it’s good; if it means homogenization toward a single class (typically privileged) at the expense of economic diversity, it’s probably not-so-good, right? When I write “Gentrification 2.0,” I’m saying that I’m not sure how this particular example […]
Vornado Realty Trust destroyed Boston’s key downtown area. Damage done (courtesy of Vornado), are innovative repair options even possible?
Three months ago, on February 25, 2010, Elisa Yon and some friends helped instigate Victoria‘s first PechaKucha Night. That was Vol. 1, and it was a blast. Now, get ready for Vol. 2, happening this Thursday, May 27 at the Victoria Event Centre. . . I know I’ll be surprised by Vol. 2, just as […]
Matt Jones’s presentation, “People are walking architecture,” offers much food for thought: on architecture and ubiquitous computing, Debord and Jobs, Saarinen and Shirky, and finally Jane Jacobs.
Earlier today my husband pointed me to Jets Overhead‘s music video “No Nations” after reading Tim Bray’s post about the band. I really liked the song and will probably explore more of their music, which they offer via a Creative Commons license on their website. But what really struck me about the video were of […]
Pulchraphilia, a new word coined by Jason McLennan, makes the case for designing green and sustainable buildings with beauty in mind. This makes environmental stewardship easier, for humans are hard-wired to love beauty.
Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
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