I also have quite the To Do list on my iphone right now:

1. Write a paper on carbon taxes
2. Study  French
3. Write a paper on Life Cycle Assessments
4. (blog about events)
5. Study for final exams
6. Make block & material library for autoCAD
7. Learn Revit
8. Learn Rhino
9. Study for LEED CI

I’m hoping most of these can be completed or at least started by Jan 4th. This term I am taking 3 UBC classes (French 101, CIVL 200 and ENDS 221), working part-time as an interior designer, co-chairing the student sub-committee of IDIBC and, of course, being a mommy. Next term I will have Design Projects at BCIT, in addition to french 102, Ends 223, GEOG 350, and hopefully CIVL 498. I may also try to keep up with Standford’s free course on green building. I love being busy.. is that crazy?!!

1. Environmental Science: A study of interrelationships Enger & Smith
2. Teaching Green: The Elementary Years Tim Grant
3. Understanding Environmental Issues Hinchliffe
4. Sustainable Living: the role of whole life costs and values Nalanie Mithraratne
5. Understanding the Earth System: compartments, processes and interaction Ehlers krafft
6. Energy to 2050: Scenerios for Sustainable Future International energy agency
7. Young people, education, and sustainable development  Peter Blaze Corcoran
8. Our Choice Al Gore
9. Sustainable Construction Charles J Kibert
10. Climate Change: The Science of Global Warming and Our Energy Future  Edmond Mathez
11. The Long Thaw Daved Archer
12. The Weather Makers Tim Flannery
13. Manual on Oil Polution International Maritime Organization
14. Education and Climate Change Kagawa & Selby
15. Resources for Environmental Literacy  Environmental Literacy Council
16. Environmental Science: Working with the Earth  Miller

For some odd reason, I’m addicted to books. I dream about having tonnes of money just so I can buy books! Whether it is a crisp new book that educates and inspires me or an antique book that expands my world view and makes me think more creatively.

 Currently I’m reading Our Choice. Right now I want to learn as much as I can about climate change and environmental science. There is no way I  can convince someone else to change unless I can explain the reasons to them with resources that back me up!

Yesterday in class, we had Troy Glasner from E3 EcoGroup teach us about sustainable building methods and it was incredible. He really inspired me. I keep thinking about how I want to ‘make a difference’ (I know.. how cliché!) and I think he may be my connection to making that happen… we’ll see where that goes.

The reason I came back to my blog was to read about the incredible designs nature has already accomplished. I couldn’t remember where I had read it and wanted the information for an application essay I am writing. After 9 months of the Sustainable Building Advisor course, I want more. I’m amazed/saddened/disgusted by things we do everyday, mostly out of ignorance, but sometimes we do know the consequences.

I was just reading a textbook about groundwater aquifers and it is frightening! North American’s use over 100 litres of water each day (per person!) doing simple things like flushing the toilet and brushing their teeth, let alone the 1000s of litres being wasted on the perfect lawn. We aren’t concerned until there is a drought and we have brown lawns. Most of the time people think that we’ll have enough water, I mean, our planet is covered with it, right? Of all the water on the planet, only a fraction is available drinking water. That stuff that fills our wells is the remnants of the last ice age, so it is as renewable as petroleum.

Sorry, totally off topic! I’m applying to go back to UBC in the fall. I’m 3 courses away from finishing my B.Sc. but I’m going to apply for the Environmental Sciences degree. It will require two more years of full-time study! I don’t think I have fully made up my mind on it.. not sure if should take myself away from Madison that much, how much it will aid me as an architect, if I’ll come out wanting to pursue something else, if I’ll be able to stay excited about it in my 11th year of post secondary education (UGH! obviously that wasn’t all full-time, but at least one course every term since high school!)

2 of the 3 courses I need to graduate are also required for this degree so I’ll take all three of those classes during the next year as well as many others, so I will still have a choice next April.

A) Stop with a general B.Sc and a diploma in interior design

B) Get an honours degree in Environmental Science

The next choice will be:

1) work as an interior designer

2) work in environmental science

3) get my masters in architecture

Sometimes life is easier without the choices

The next two weeks are crazy ones filled with big assignments and midterms and quizes, so what I end up writing about will most likely be directly related to what is going on in one of my classes. Today I was doing my reading for my Sustainable Building Advisor course on Friday. It was incredibly depressing, yet inspiring. The book I was reading was The Philosophy of Sustainable Design by Jason F McLennan, who is the CEO of Cascadia Region Green Building Council. I found the chapter on Respect for the Wisdom of Natural Systems extremely inspiring. Nature is such an incredible designer and if we were to study it more carefully instead of destroying it, we would learn so much! Already most of our medicines come from tropical plants and animals that produce the chemicals naturally and new materials (ie. Velcro) look to nature for ideas. “The inner shell of an abalone is twice as tough as our high-tech ceramics. Mussel adhesive works underwater and sticks to anything, even without a primer. Rhino horn manages to repair itself, though it contains no living cells. Bone, wood, skin, tusks, antlers, and heart muscle – miracle materials – all are made to live out their useful life and then to fade back, to be reabsorbed by another kind of life through the grand cycle of death and renewal.”

 A great example of design is spider silk: “ounce per ounce it is five times stronger than steel and five times tougher than the Kevlar we use in our bullet-proof vests. At the same time, it is elastic in nature, able to stretch and maintain its integrity after impact. Properly scaled, it could catch a 747 in flight, and then stretch and bounce back to its original shape.” Reading stuff like this is exciting. Nature is already capable of so much, we should learn from it and mimic it instead of trying to invent from scratch. Unfortunately, we are destroying many of the species that could be teaching us about medicine, materials and architecture. And not just small animals and plant species but cultures. Mark J. Plotkin “reminds us that one quarter of the world’s six thousand languages, mostly from indigenous tribal cultures, are dying and will likely disappear this century, and with them the knowledge learned from nature.” Individual cultures need to be respected (not “westernized”), as they are just as endangered as the thousands of species in our rainforests.

A big part of sustainable design has to do with site (or ‘place’). It is insane how we will build on agricultural land, ruining any chance of future generations being able to use the soil to provide food for the increasing population. We also choose to build on floodplains, earthquake zones, hurricane paths, in fire prone forests and areas liable to mudslides… and then we want millions from the insurance companies and governments to rebuild in the same accident prone location when our structure is ruined. All this tends to go on when there are abandoned buildings and lots already primed for a  building. This also relates to our suburban culture of building on virgin land just outside cities. Not only does this sprawl destroy the natural environment but it creates a dependence on one’s car! Between driving to and from work, driving children to schools and activities, driving to pick up groceries, etc. there is no time to spend with one’s family and friends. I really loved Jane Jacob’s ideas on urban planning: mixed use buildings, high density, eye’s on the street, etc. Everything that suburban sprawl is not!

In the U.S. there are 101.5 housing units with nearly 2 million more homes being built each year (and ~250,000 are torn down). Houses are being built larger and embodying larger environmental impacts. Especially because they aren’t built to last. Houses, and the hundreds of objects inside of them, will be replaced many times over one’s lifetime.  But a grocery bag, disposable diaper or take out container will be around for many generations. Who came up with this??

I know we are just beginning to focus on sustainability but there is soooo much more research that needs to be done. We need to have the option of using sustainable materials for everything (such a hypocrite: I’m still using disposable diapers! I need to switch her back to her G diapers.. ) and we need to be able to get the energy needed from renewable resources. I read today that “enough solar energy falls on the earth in a single day to provide the whole planet with its electricity needs for the next twenty seven years!” If only we could efficiently harvest a fraction of that! Also, ” it is possible to get all of [the] energy needs in [the U.S.] from the wind available in just three states; Texas, North Dakota and Kansas.” Both wind and solar energy are 100% renewable and clean energy, yet we are still destroying our environment and fighting wars to get petroleum-based products.

I’m quite excited about my history class. Again, I’m a dork and history is fun! We got our first assignment which is to choose a house built in the last century and to find the plans, elevations, site plan, concept, style, etc. It’s more work than  it sounds because a lot don’t have that information out there. I wanted to choose a local architect so I could possibly meet them and go see the house. The Shaw house by the Patkaus is incredible and made my decision easy.

I was able to find everything but the concept/style when looking online. I love concepts. They make design exciting. I really want to hear more about how these architects approach their designs because everything they do is amazing. Patricia Patkau spoke about concept at the AIBC awards last week.. I wish I had been there! I’m in love with a couple of their new designs that aren’t finished yet, but the models look like origami sculptures!

Our history class also had our field trip to Arthur Erickson’s house. It was incredible to see where he had lived for the last 50 years.. probably not what most people would expect. Our tour guide was a friend and colleague of Erickson’s and told many stories of him throughout the tour of the gardens. I think that was my favourite part. I hadn’t found anything really exciting on him when I was doing my research ahead of time so it rekindled my interest! I hope to finish writing about him this week after I complete my history homework.

The opening night Pecha Kucha at IDSWest was great. Judson Beaumont of Straight Line designs talked about his inspiration which included many childhood references, such as Pixar films and Toon Town.  When I was talking to him after he explained that he wants people to look at his design and realize that you don’t have to do what is expected. Go beyond what is expected and surprise people. Nancy and Niels Bendsten talked about their furniture factory and Nancy’s love of cars. She is so vibrant and dynamic, I could listen to her talk about anything! I would love to visit the Bensen factory for a month to observe and learn how furniture is produced. Tony Robins also spoke, which sadly I couldn’t tell you about what because I was too mesmerized by his work. He is an insanely talented architect! Marie Khouri is also incredibly talented. I was already planning on taking a sculpting class in January but she makes me so much more ecstatic! It’s also inspiring to know that she didn’t start any of this until later in her life. Her concrete chaise that was in a display at the show was so comfy my daughter curled up on it and said “night night.”

The first two days of my Sustainable Building Advisor class were great. The students are a diverse group in age, education and profession. Our instructor is super nice and full of information. Everyone is passionate about sustainability and makes me want to do more. I find myself being much more consious of turning lights and taps off, bringing a reusable water bottle or coffee cup, I’ve even thought about my diet and how it affects the environment. I do eat meat and I know that farms are a major producer of methane but cockroaches actually are the largest producers of methane!

On Sunday I went back to IDSWest to listen to the Trade talks about BC design. Brent Comber was first. I have always admired his designs but knowing the story behind it makes it that much more interesting. He started out as a landscape designer and he couldn’t find outdoor furniture that he wanted to be part of his landscapes so he carved some large pieces of wood into stunning sculptures. He uses wood that is found around us every day (at least on the west coast!) and he searches to find “the unknown in the known.” I love that line. Every piece he designs has a story and that is what makes them so fascinating! The Shattered designs are my new favourite!

Omer Arbel spoke about designing objects that ”bring an emotional response.” He made people reflect on all the objects that pass through our possession in a lifetime. There are thousands to millions! Whereas pre industrial revolution a person may possess only 100 objects throughout their entire life. If you could only have 100 objects throughout your entire life, how would you decide what they are? He really made me think. This is something that he thinks about when designing buildings and objects. Would this object/building that you just designed be passed on for generations or disposed of in the next couple of years after the trend has passed? He also went on to discuss light and its use to define volumes and edges. He is really inspiring and talented!

Ok, off to do homework, then I’ll work on more informative blog posts!

Most people understand that bamboo is a renewable resource because it is a grass and it grows insanely quick! Up to 1″ an hour. The plant is harvested after only 5 years (any younger and it may end up being a softer product), which is a much shorter time than the decades, or even centuries, that a tree may grow for! It is also harvested without the need to replant.

Another benefit of bamboo is that it “can sequester up to 70% more carbon/year than a hardwood forest.” This is due to the fact that it grows so quickly, constantly taking in more carbon to produce more growth. Also, the quick turnover of the forest means new bamboo to take up more carbon, unlike the hardwood forest that has the same trees for an extremely long time (some companies will use this fact to offset the carbon production required in shipping the product from China.) It’s root structure also prevents erosion on the hillsides that it typically grows on. When grown and harvested in the lowlands it is not taking food away from endangered pandas because their habitat is in the higher elevations.

The species of bamboo that is used for flooring and plywood is Phyllostachys pubescens (commonly called Moso or MauZhu) and is native to China. Typically no pesticides or fertilizers are needed on the plantation because bamboo is so dense, pests can’t bother it. Also, when harvesting the older plants, the poles are stripped of their branches which are left on the forest floor as mulch for the younger plants.

When the bamboo forest is managed and harvested ethically, it may become a FSC certified forest. The first time this happened was in April 2008 for Smith & Fong’s Plyboo forests. Teragren is also in the process of certifying their bamboo forests. Included in the FSC certification is Principle #4: Community Relations and People’s Rights. Treehugger points out that there are 6 million people in China that work in the bamboo industry and 600 million people worldwide that rely on income from it. There aren’t any Fair Trade bamboo products yet but being FSC certified is getting closer to ensuring proper working conditions and wages.

Quite a few bamboo products are now being made without adhesives containing too much urea formaldehyde. Some are even making products without any formaldehyde (Plyboo… not trying to sell the stuff, they are just the first to do it!) This chemical can affect indoor air quality and is a known carcinogen. Unfortunately, anyone can claim “no added urea formaldehyde” so you need to make sure their has been a 3rd party lab test (MSDS).

For a bamboo product (flooring or plywood) that is FSC certified and has no/low VOCs, there are three possible LEED credits available:

• EQ 4.4 low emitting materials
• MR6 rapidly renewable materials
• MR7 certified wood

This is exciting because there have been so many incredible designs that use bamboo. Here are some favorites:

Bamboo Cabinetry

Bamboo bar

Bamboo Kitchen

While researching, I came across a lot of forums with people complaining about the softness of bamboo flooring and how easily it dents. According to everything I’ve read, this is probably due to bamboo that was harvested too early (under 4 years old). Strand bamboo, which is the strongest type, is up to three times harder than red oak! It can be used in commercial spaces. I also like the look of strand bamboo more than flat or edge grain bamboo. The strand bamboo is the left over strips of bamboo bound with resins and then compressed with heat and pressure. Flat and edge grain are both solid bamboo. The bamboo is cut into slats (approx 1/4″ x 1″) and then glued together on edge (aka vertical grain) or laying flat three layers thick (aka horizontal grain). Horizontal grain is the most traditional look of bamboo. Orientation of the slats isn’t the only thing that can affect the strength. Carbonizing the bamboo also makes it much softer, although if it was harvested correctly it will still be a durable product.

Edge grain

Flat grain

Strand bamboo-light carbonizing

Strand bamboo- dark carbonizing

Bamboo Flooring & Plywood in a Sustainable Design Environment is a course where you can earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning unit. It is sponsored by Plyboo, but through the McGraw Hill Construction Continuing Education Center. It is a free 1 hour course that has a lot of information in it that is similar to the information found from many of the other sources I looked at, so hopefully it is not too biased.

She had time to develop these techniques, because her first structure was not built for nearly a decade! During these early days, her inspiration is said to come from her mentor, Rem Koolhass (he had been a tutor of hers at Architectural Association) who would bend his plans, and her drawings are an evolution of Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist art.

Kasimir Malevich painting

Media Park, Dusseldorf: painting by Zaha Hadid

Before computers could produce the curvilinear forms and interactions of volume and space that she is known for, she would develop her ideas from taking drawings to the photocopier and literally draging the images across the glass as it was copying. This created a distorted version of the original drawing. She would also add fish eye perspectives and forced perspectives to visualize her ideas and produce unique alternatives.

In an interview with Telegraph.co.uk, she says that her inspiration and “ideas come from observation: of the site, of nature, of people moving through the city. It’s always about how you move people through a space, and how they use it.” This is reminiscent of Corbusier’s promenade architecture, that allows “a gradual exploration of the project,” with the “perception of the space and the elements surrounding it changing progressively, depending on the location in same and time within the project.” I have never been in or even near any of Hadid’s work but from the hundreds of images I have seen, I can imagine that one would feel that dynamic flow within the space.

Nuragic and Contemporary Art Museum in Cagliari, Italy

Symbiotic Villa, house in Taiwan

Again, she says that the “one thing that has remained consistent in [her] work is the connection between project and site” during an interview with her former collegue Rem Koolhaas. For me, the most obvious representation of this is the Cairo Expo city project with the topography of the Nile valley being the inspiration for the fluid structure. One can imagine that water had once carved the formations and left the central canal rich in soil for the greenery that now grows there.

Cairo Expo City

When reading about Zaha Hadid, you can not help coming across Patrik Schumacher’s name. He is a partner in Hadid’s architectural firm. I enjoy reading many of the interviews conducted with him because he will go into more detail about their process of design. In 2007, he says that the formal ideas come from “systematic research.. where we look at source domains for analogical transference like landscape formations, mountain ranges, dune scapes, river beds; all on multiple scales. And then to draw out, try to model these on the computer, graphics and abstract them. That is important and interesting. You find new sensations, new textures, patterns and so on.”

Stone Towers, Cairo

Szervita Square, Budapest

Patrik Schumacher also describes that their firm’s major breakthrough movenment was winning two different competitions in 1 year! The Rome competition for MAXXI museum of 21st century art and Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center. This established Zaha Hadid as more than just a “visionary architect.” People were starting to believe that her avent-garde buildings could stand up! And look stunning!

MAXXI, Rome

Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati

Her buildings are not the only objects that she is known for. She has designed furniture and interiors, stage sets, exhibition designs, sculptures, a water fixture, light fixtures, shoes and even a car! My favourites are the Genesy lamp and the Aura sculptures in Palladio’s villa Foscari. The design of the Genesy lamp evolves from natural systems. Similar to a tree, it has a wider base with a narrow trunk that branches off into a canopy. In the latter, she pays respect to Palladio by incorporating his use of number theory, music and harmonic proportions into the design (I love the use of math in design, such as the Golden proportion.. future blog post!)

Genesy

Aura

Sculpture

Triflow Tap

Melissa Shoes

VorteXX Candelier

Z-car

I did read one thing from the Harvard Design Magazine about Hadid’s architecture that didn’t excite me like all of the information above, it made me think a little differently… less awe.

Do you think designers can and should play an important role in preventing and/or reversing degradation of the natural environment? If so, what role? If not, why not?

We do not think that the discipline of architecture can really take on this agenda of the preservation of nature. Architecture is about the creation of artificial , social habitats – mostly urban. Architecture might exploit and co-opt the natural environment for the purposes of creating effective environments for the various societal processes that need to be given room to flourish. The natural environment becomes a domain of architecture only to the extent that it is drawn in to play a role in the overall construct of society’s habitat – not to the extent that it wants to be left alone. Certain aspects of environmental sustainability can be represented within the design-process by bringing in respective specialist engineering disciplines. For architecture with its focus on performance with respect to the facilitation of (specific segments and institutions of) social life environmental sustainability is just one more constrain (like the budget, or constrains of available construction methods etc.) that might be imposed as a limitation. This does not exclude that some architectural researchers might take on these constrains as primary concerns to develop models of environmentally sustainable buildings. Such attempts are useful experiments. For us however, this to foreground this agenda would be a distraction from our primary investigation into the possibilities of retooling the discipline to cope with more societal complexity.

I look forward to the day where architects are designing amazing avant-garde structures that are also sustainable.

Fall is also my favourite season, so I’m enjoying the cooler temperatures during my early morning runs. The quietness and smell of wet earth is incredible at that time as well. An hour hasn’t even passed since I finished my run, but I can hear the cars racing each other along 4th Ave now. 

My ”resolution” of pre-reading my textbooks is turning out to be harder than expected. Not because I can’t find the time or don’t want to do the reading. I have been doing tonnes of reading! But two of my textbooks were to be bought at Light House Sustainable Building Centre, which is closed until November 7th. I ended up ordering them on-line from their U.S. publishers and am patiently awaiting their arrival.. which will hopefully happen before the pre-reading and homework are needed for class on the 18th! Also, I received the course outline for history and the “required” history text I purchased isn’t the book that we need to be reading from. Oh well! One can never have too many sources of information. And I’m a bit of a picky text book reader… I like a certain layout.

Since my last post I have been doing a lot of reading on bamboo and Zaha Hadid. Completely unrelated, but I wanted to start looking at sustainable materials and researching different Architects. Now I have to decide the format in which I want to write about them… Originally, I was thinking that I would write in more of a formal essay style but I think I may work up to that. Right now, I just want to enjoy learning about new products/materials/designers/architects/design periods/etc. and to share the information and the sources (internet sites, journal articles and books) with anyone who may be looking for it.  I will write the posts about these topics this week.

I had written in my planner different topics to research for the next month but after receiving the email from my history instructor, I realized that I will probably choose topics based on my classes. Next week, we are going to Arthur Erickson’s Secret Garden. I’m very excited. I live in False Creek, so I see the Waterfall building nearly every day and I have enjoyed watching the progress on The Erickson while running the sea wall. I also know the Museum of Anthropology well from my time at UBC.  I will admit that I had thought about how incredible it would be to meet him and learn from him (I would like to get my masters in architecture one day) so it was disappointing when he passed away. That being said, he is my next architect that I’m going to research. The other topic will probably be related to my history class which 1900′s to present. I think I will review a couple decades before this so I can have all the influences fresh in my memory for when class starts next week.

Alright, I should get started on all this so I can finish it before IDSWest!

There are also some productive things that I would like to get done before school starts again. My biggest goal for this term is to overcome my need to procrastinate! I’ve been reading a lot of the articles on Steve Pavlina’s blog and they are extremely motivating. I also find “An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth” by Bruce Mau is able to get me through any “designer’s block” I get! Some favorites of his are:

• Stay up late. Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.
• Avoid fields. Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.
• Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.
• Make new words. Expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of thinking. The thinking demands new forms of expression. The expression generates new conditions.

I kinda do that last one already.. if only teachers would accept them!

This fall I am only taking two courses at BCIT Sadly, my daughter broke her arm during the second week of the spring semester and I had to drop 2 classes which were prerequisites for the other 2 fall courses. Priorities! The classes I’m taking are Design History 2 and Vector Works for Interior Design. I’ve also registered for the Sustainable Building Advisor Program in hopes that it will assist me in getting my foot in the door of a chosen design firm. It doesn’t sound like a lot of work, but it is in addition to caring for my own daughter 24/7 and another little girl 10 hrs/day, 3 days/week! I’ve already bought my History text and I’m going to start reviewing it next week. I’m also determined to start waking up at 5am every day so I can workout before my daughter wakes up. I know this habit will help with school because I come up with some great ideas out on my runs!