Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

On Jan. 5, the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois hosted its virtual January dinner meeting on Zoom. Attendees saw a presentation from Eric Wheeler, senior associate at Thornton Tomasetti, and Lynda Leigh, project executive at Turner Construction, on the project requirements for the base transformation of the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), now nearing its 50th year of operation. The pair discussed the engineering and construction challenges in creating a new experience for tenants and visitors.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has named Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) and James Corner Field Operations to lead the team designing a new expansion of the Rock Hall in Cleveland. Cooper Robertson is partnered with PAU as part of the design team and Robert P Madison International (RPMI) is on the design team as the architect of record. The addition to the museum will also serve as a connector to the Great Lakes Science Center.

The Illinois Tollway awarded Walsh Construction a $182.6-million contract for roadway and bridge reconstruction of the southbound Mile Long Bridge on the Tri-State Tollway (Interstate 294) during its August meeting. The contract also includes $34.7 million going to diverse and veteran-owned firms. The northbound lanes were completed last summer by contractor F.H. Paschen.

Northpoint Developments second distribution facility at Gateway Tradeport in Pontoon Beach, Ill., was recently completed. Contegra Construction Co. built the 544,000-sq-ft warehouse six months after completing the first distribution center at the development. Gateway Tradeport was launched in 2019. It is a 600-acre master planned industrial park with more than 7.5 million sq ft of distribution space.

Developer Eterra Plus residential mixed-use project at 525 S. Wabash Ave. in Chicago has cleared its first hurdle toward construction in the Chicago City Council. The $300-million, two-tower development will have hotel and residential units and be connected by a retail, residential and parking podium. The project was designed by BKV Group and its lead designer Renato Gilberti, along with landscape architect Site Design Group. Eterra hopes contractor Walsh Construction can begin construction this fall.

James McHugh Construction, acting as general contractor, recently completed NEMA Chicago for Miami-based developer Crescent Heights. Located in Chicagos South Loop and reaching 76 stories, NEMA Chicago is the tallest all-residential building in Chicago. The residential tower was designed by architect Raphael Vinoly.

Through constant collaboration with the owner, architect and subcontractors, the project met the intent of the designers and was delivered on budget and ahead of schedule, said Dave Steffenhagen, McHugh Construction senior project manager on NEMA Chicago.

The board of directors and the strategic council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently honored Moody Nolan with its 2021 AIA Architecture Firm Award. The AIA Architecture Firm Award is the highest honor the AIA bestows on an architectural practice. The award recognizes a firm that has consistently produced distinguished architecture for at least 10 years. Moody Nolan is an African American-owned and operated design firm headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, with 11 offices across the U.S. AIA cited the firms history of serving clients with a knowledge of cultural sensitivities as well as a deep understanding of the impact its work has on individuals and communities.

The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission selected Woolpert on Dec. 10 as design engineer for the replacement of two bridges over Tinkers Creek on the Ohio Turnpike (Interstate 80) in Summit County. Woolpert will provide bridge and roadway design, maintenance of traffic, survey, mobile lidar and unmanned aircraft system mapping as well as manage the geotechnical and environmental engineering for the project. The bridges will be designed in 2021, and construction is expected to take place in 2023 and 2024.

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Midwest On the Scene: January 2021 | 2021-01-18 - Engineering News-Record

The AIANY year began with the announcement of the winners in its 2021 AIANY Design Awards.AIA New Yorks annual Design Awards program recognises outstanding architectural design by AIA New York members, New York City-based architects in any location, and work in New York City by architects worldwide. Interestingly, this years awards were only given in four categories: Architecture, Interior, Projects, and Urban Design. The jury members did not give any awards in the Sustainability category, instead opting to make it a requirement for an honor award. Indeed, some of the projects submitted for the Sustainability category were moved to other categories for consideration. This emphasises the importance of sustainable choices in the world of architecture as the foundation for every design.So lets look at the winners in the Architecture category. Well be taking a closer look in a dedicated article at the Best in Competition winner, Newark Housing Authority Training Recreation Education Center (TREC), selected as the recipient of this unique recognition from the Honor Award winners across all the categories. In the Architecture category, these wereMuse Atelier Audemars Piguety BIG Bjarke Ingels Group; Muller Illien Landschaftsarchitekten (link), Bennington College Commons Renovation by Christoff:Finio Architecture and Reed Hilderbrand, and the Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center by nARCHITECTS, which stands out as a newly constructed landscape, reclaimed from 4.8 hectares of demolished concrete parking, which surrounds the buildings other sides with native plant species, immersing it in an expanding natural environment. Completing the Honor Awards are two projects located in Mexico City, Rooftop PRIM by PRODUCTORA; PLANTA and DL1310 Apartments by Young & Ayata, plus the Pollinators Pavilion by Harrison Atelier in the Projects category that seeks to elicit awareness from the farming, cultural and educational communities in the Hudson Valley for the vital role of native pollinators in supporting our ecosystems.The Merit Awards include architecture like New York Public Library Van Cortlandt Branch by Andrew Berman Architect, Boulder House by atelierjun, National Museum of the United States Army by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with AECOM, Yale University Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking by WEISS/MANFREDI, Rhode Island School of Design Student Center by WORKac, and 6 Square House by Young Projects with Coen+Partners. The Merit Awards in the Interiors category are Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum by Atelier Alter Architects, New York Public Library Macombs Bridge Branch by Michielli + Wyetzner Architects andLMCCs Arts Center at Governors Islandby Pei Cobb Freed & Partners; Adamson and AAI. In the Urban Design category, the Merit Award went to St. Johns Park by Ballman Khapalova, reclaiming a traffic circle at the entry to Manhattan as a park that people can actually use. The River Ring urban design project by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group; James Corner Field Operations received a citation in this category for providing connectivity between the city and the waterfront. The LAND Community Center by EID Architecture; ZHOYU and GZ.S.P.I. LANDSCAPE DESIGN CO., LTD also received a citation for the Formal Exuberance of the Exterior.The 24 winning projects and architecture studios that designed them represent the outstanding work of AIA New York members and architects operating in New York City, which always looks to the future. The jury members were Marlon Blackwell, Julie Eizenberg, Stephen Gray, Andrea Love (Payette), Maria Paz de Moura Castro, and the Italian architect Francesca Perani, founder of Francesca Perani Enterprise and co-founder & president of RebelArchitette.

Christiane Brklein

2021 AIANY Design AwardsImages: see captions01_HONOR_Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center_nARCHITECTS_Michael Moran

02_MERIT_RISD Student Center_WORKac_Bruce Damonte

03_HONOR_Musee Atelier Audemars Piguet _BIG_Iwan Baan

CITATION_LAND Community Center_EID Architecture_Lujing Architectural Photography, Yike Studio, Hu Yijie

CITATION_River Ring_BIG_BIG

HONOR_Bennington College Commons Renovation_ChristoffFinio Architecture_Scott Frances

HONOR_DL1310 Apartments_Young Ayata and Michan Architecture_Rafael Gamo

HONOR_Pollinators Pavilion_Harrison Atelier_Ariane Harrison

HONOR_Rooftop PRIM_PRODUCTORA_Onnis Luque

MERIT_6 Square House_Young Projects_Alan Tansey, Jamie Gray, Camilo Lopez

MERIT_Boulder House_Atelier Jun_Namgoong Sun

MERIT_LMCCs Arts Center at Governors Island_Pei Cobb Freed Partners

MERIT_National Museum of the United States Army_SOM_Dave Burk | SOM

MERIT_NYPL Macomb's Bridge Branch_Michielli Wyetzner Architects_Alexander Severin

MERIT_NYPL Van Cortlandt Branch_Andrew Berman Architect_Michael Moran

MERIT_St John's Park_Ballman Khapalova_Ballman Khapalova

MERIT_Yale University Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking_WeissManfredi_Albert Vecerka, Jeff Goldberg

Merit_Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum_Atelier Alter Architects_Atelier Alter Architects

Best of Competition Newark Housing Authority TREC_ikon5 architects_Jeffrey Totaro

More here:
Winners of the 2021 AIANY Design Awards | Livegreenblog - Floornature.com

This post is sponsored by Azure Magazine

The AZ Awards has been recognizing excellence in design and architecture across the world for over a decade now. Since AZURE debuted the AZ Awards in 2011, the program has grown in size, scope, and momentum to be internationally recognized for its influence in the global design and architecture spheres. The 2021 edition of the AZ Awards adds the completely new category of Urban Design, encouraging developers to submit their projects.

The awards program welcomes submissions until February 25 and promises to attract entries from some of the most forward-thinking firms from all corners of the globe.

In 2020 the AZ Awards 10th anniversary the program received projects from over 1,200 architects, landscape architects, product designers, interior designers, students, and manufacturers from 47 countries. Out of that unprecedented number, the international jury of experts selected 68 extraordinary finalists.

This year, our jury of internationally renowned practitioners in the areas of product design, architecture, landscape architecture, and interiors will convene remotely from their homes and offices all over the world to evaluate the entries. Past jurors have included Thom Mayne, Nader Tehrani, Nina-Marie

Lister, Philippe Malouin, Marion Weiss, Omar Gandhi, Craig Dykers, Michel Rojkind, and Brigitte Shim. Stay tuned to find out who the members of the 2021 AZ Awards Jury will be!

Winners will be revealed at the AZ Awards Gala in Toronto in June. The gala has become the event of the season, an exciting evening with fellow members of the industrys elite. Every year with the exception of 2020, when we hosted our gala online close to 500 top architects, designers and industry-related professionals come together to meet and mingle and to celebrate the finalists and winners. Past finalists have traveled from as far away as South Korea,

Austria, Brazil, Peru, and Japan to join the festivities. The gala also welcomes an annual international guest of honor; previous years guests have included legendary landscape architect Martha Schwartz, architect Winy Maas (cofounder of the Dutch architecture firm MVRDV), and designer Gaetano Pesce.

Winners take home the AZ Awards trophy, recreated annually by a prominent designer in past years such luminaries as Luca Nichetto, Michael Anastassiades, Matt Carr, Philippe Malouin, Karim Rashid, and Omer Arbel have designed trophies for the AZ Awards. Look for announcements later this year about our special gala guest and the 2021 AZ Awards trophy designer.

Azure and its partners encourage design and architecture professionals, developers, students, and manufacturers to submit their work to the AZ Awards for an opportunity to step into the global spotlight, elevate their profile, and raise public awareness for their firm and their clients.

Submissions close Tuesday, February 25, 2021 (early-bird submissions end January 31, 2021).

Online entry portal and more information at awards.azuremagazine.com

Read the original post:
With an All-New Urban Design Category, the AZ Awards Kicks Off a New Decade. Now's the Time to Submit your Best Work. - Archinect

Editors note: Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com for the past week.

1. Summit County officials consider changing alcohol restrictions to align with state

Summit County officials are considering updating the countys 5 Star Business Certification Program to allow certified businesses to have looser alcohol-related restrictions.

At a Summit County Board of Health meeting Jan. 7, Assistant County Manager Sarah Vaine said restaurant owners have been asking the county to allow for alcohol sales as late as 10 p.m., which is the current last call mandated at the state level.

Under level orange, all Summit County restaurants have a mandatory last call on the sale and consumption of alcohol at 9:30 p.m.

Libby Stanford

2. Ice castles continue to stir debate among Dillon residents

Ice Castles officials provided an updated presentation to Dillon Town Council members during a regular meeting Jan. 5, the latest in a lengthy discussion on a proposed long-term agreement with the town. But the community remains deeply divided on whether the attraction can remain at Town Park without creating undue hardships on residents.

Pedro Campos, a landscape architect with Zehren & Associates, provided council with the most up-to-date plans, which included detailed drawings of the park for year-round use along with cost estimates for the proposal. Campos said the current proposal was heavily influenced by community feedback collected over the past year.

A year ago, we made a presentation to you all with this idea of creating the Ice Castles venue on the northern part of the park and some concepts to show how that might take place, Campos said. We heard a series of comments at that point. Weve since been trying to react and respond to it and integrate it.

Sawyer DArgonne

3. Summit County to prioritize full-time residents for COVID-19 vaccinations

Summit County will prioritize permanent residents for COVID-19 vaccination appointments.

In a news release sent Jan. 8, the county clarified that while part-time residents will be able to be vaccinated, officials will vaccinate only permanent residents at its drive-thru clinic.

Part-time residents, as well as any permanent residents that are unable to attend the clinic, will be able to make appointments for vaccinations at the Safeway and City Market pharmacies.

Libby Stanford

4. Frisco police investigate robbery of Main Street bank

The Frisco Police Department is investigating a robbery at Credit Union of the Rockies that took place Wednesday afternoon.

A man entered the credit union, at 111 S. Main St. in Frisco, just before 3 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, and asked the clerk to make a withdrawal of all the money in the banks drawer, Frisco Police Chief Tom Wickman said.

The clerk then gave the money to the man, who left through the front door and went east. Police have not made any arrests in connection to the robbery. The man did not draw a weapon, Wickman said.

Libby Stanford

5. Park Avenue in Breckenridge reopens after gas leak caused overnight closure

Red, White & Blue Fire District officials responded to a gas leak Jan. 9 that closed a section of Park Avenue and evacuated three buildings in Breckenridge.

Deputy Chief Drew Hoehn said the gas leak was called in at around 9:45 a.m. Hoehn said officials believe the leak was located underground in the area behind Breckenridge Town Hall and the parking garage nearby.

At about 10 a.m., officials closed Park Avenue between Ski Hill Road and Watson Avenue. At the same time, officials evacuated the Breckenridge Town Hall, U.S. Bank and FirstBank buildings. Park Avenue in Breckenridge reopened at about 9:40 a.m. the following day.

Libby Stanford

Continued here:
Top 5 most-read stories on SummitDaily.com, week of Jan. 10 - Summit Daily News

On Jan 5, after reviewing two proposals for developments submitted under the State of CT affordable housing statute 8-30g (28 Hollow Wood and 4 Orchard in Cos Cob) the P&Z commission reviewed an application for moderate or workforce housing.

The application was submitted under Section 6-110 of the towns building zone regs before a moratorium was issued.

The developer Andrew Toth seeks to demolish the former Friendlys building (now home to M&T Bank) at 100 East Putnam Ave in Cos Cob and create a 3-story building with 2 commercial spaces on the ground floor. M&T Bank would remain at the location in addition to a retail space.

The second and third floors would have 22 residential units (8 one-bedroom units and 14 two-bedroom units), of which 5 will be for residents of moderate income per 6-110.

The existing building is 2,581 sq ft.

The proposed building will be 28,353.04 sq ft.

Parking would be accessed from Taylor Drive, which many consider the entrance to CVS. There will be 49 parking spaces plus 2 ADA spaces to replace the existing 35.

Attorney Chip Haslun noted the project had already gone through five iterations since it was first submitted a year earlier on Jan 7, 2020.

Most of the discussion focused on cutting down of trees on the property. Mr. Haslun noted the commission had asked for more foliage to be retained on top of the ridge behind to the west and north of the development.

Representing the applicant was Carolyn Matthews, ecologist and arborist with William Kenny Associates (landscape architects based in Fairfield).

Ms Matthews said she had walked the property with tree warden Town of Greenwich Tree Warden Dr. Greg Kramer and and Jackie Pruitt, a Planner from P&Z, to look at trees that might be of value to retain.

Haslun said Dr. Kramer and Ms Pruitt realized some things of value werent necessarily savable because they were in the footprint of the building or envelope of the construction.

Most of the discussion on Tuesday focused on cutting down of trees on the property.

Fifty trees were assessed on the property. The majority of trees are on a steep rock- ledge.*

Carolyn Matthews said her assessment was that the trees were primarily invasive Norway Maples.

She said the tree warden gave a list of trees he believed had value. From that list, she said there were just 10 trees outside the building footprint.

She said 6 trees were along the western bank, but needed to come down because they were within the limit of disturbance and excavation would be occur very close, if not within those trees.

In the end, Matthews said that out of the long list of trees tree warden Dr. Kramer said had value, she recommended retaining just 4 trees.

She said many needed to be removed because they were either growing in ledge and leaning toward the building, or in poor condition, due to being on the steep rock slope and having a limited rooting zone.

The trees are showing defects, she said. Basal decay, hollowness of the trees, torsion cracks, which is the tree being stressed because it is trying to grow vertically on a slope when gravity is pulling it down to the ground, and broken or missing limbs.

She said some of the trees have vines growing on them.

You can have the vines removed if thats an issue, P&Z chair Margarita Alban said. You could just remove the vines. If thats a problem for the trees, that seems like a much easier solution for everybody.

The vines on the trees are certainly a problem, but not as problematic as the defects at the base of the trees, Matthews replied.

Matthews said the 4 trees with potential for preservation, were on the northwestern corner of the property, and included one 39 Northern Red Oak, a native tree.

She said two were invasive Norway Maple trees she recommended removing in favor of a native planting plan to provide higher ecological value compared to invasive trees that dont offer ecological value, and a Black Locust with vines on it. It could be kept if desired, she said.

There is value to trees, yes, Matthews acknowledged. I consider the trees have risk and are in poor condition and therefore that risk should be mitigated.

Does this suggest that we are eliminating all the trees along the ridge line? asked commissioner Peter Lowe.

Mr. Haslun said an adjacent lot that featured hundreds of trees that provided a layer of canopy.

Were talking about the trees on the ledge overlooking the job site on a precarious steep slope, he said.

Lowe asked whether removing a large number of small trees, would have a significant overall effect.

Haslun said the substantial trees were over 10 diameter.

Matthews said that beyond absorbing water, and providing both foliage and canopy, not all the trees had much ecological value (hosting butterflies and moths, for example) as a native planting plan would.

When were talking about the ecological value of these trees, a native planting plan is vastly superior to a non native or invasive plan. Theres the question of the canopy for aesthetics and different reasons, but theres also the ecological value in replacing that with something that in the long term will have ecological benefit, and will have the advantage of better growing conditions.

Haslun said that even a tree that had fallen over and is rotting on the ground has some value.

We were trying to get clarification from (Tree Warden, Dr. Greg Kramer), but he didnt feel that was necessary to do, Haslun said.

Jeff Scherr, a landscape architect with Granoff Architects, described the trees growing out of the ledge along northern and western property line as an existing invasive understory.

He said the proposal was to plant non invasive columnar and pollinator plants.

There was some discussion of the look of the buildings brick facade having variety without looking too Disney.

He noted that in the previous days briefing, he was surprised by commissioner Nick Macris comment about delineating different buildings without making them look like Disney.

Mr. Haslun said he thought that discussion on architecture was complete, having made changes to accommodate the Architectural Review Committees comments.

Ms Alban said just a few items were incomplete. The applicant needs DPW final approval of the traffic plan, and had to address outstanding comments from the towns traffic consultant, BETA.

The applicant, Andrew Toth, said he was disappointed not to have Sewer Department sign off, given that it had been 15 months since the application was first submitted.

Please, please light a fire in that department so we can get this into the end zone, Toth said.

Ms Alban said there was a staffing shortage in the Sewer Dept.

The application was left open, and is on the Wednesday, Jan 20 P&Z agenda (5:00pm).

See also:

RENDERINGS ADDED. P&Z Watch: Tuesday Agenda to Feature Cos Cob 22-Unit Multi-Story Building with Workforce Housing & Retail at Former Friendlys

Jan 7, 2020

P&Z Watch: Questions on Fate of Mature Growth Trees Behind Proposed 22-Unit Building at Former Friendlys

March 13, 2020

P&Z Advances Application for Moderate Income, Mixed-Use Development at Former Friendlys

May 6, 2020

Originally posted here:
P&Z Watch: Trees to Be Felled at 100 East Putnam are Focus of Discussion - Greenwich Free Press

After months of hearings, in front of several boards and committees, the Newport Zoning Board of Review voted 4-1 on Jan. 11 to approve a special use permit for Howard Wharf to construct a 21-room hotel with a restaurant at 24 Lees Wharf and 5 Howard Wharf.

The plan has been in the public consciousness for two years. It had already been heard before the Planning Board several times, as well as the citys Technical Review Committee, which is comprised of department heads and experts from police, fire, planning, building, economic development and others.

We have been thoroughly scrubbed down and vetted from a technical standpoint, said attorney David Martland, who represents the owners.

Nearby residents lamented the loss of their water view, and also expressed traffic and pedestrian safety concerns as a result of the hotel being built, which will take about two years. The board addressed their objections, but was generally effusive in its praise for the new hotel. Testimony continued for nearly four hours.

The lone dissenting vote came from board Chair Charles Allott. Its a great design. The petition was well presented, he said. Its not an unsafe condition. I have been down to the site a number of times. The problem I have with this petition is that it doesnt meet the Comprehensive Plan.

He added that the city is losing its waterfront and a true maritime use on parcels along the ocean.

There is nothing coming before us with traditional maritime uses, he said. I just think we are going overboard with hotels. This is a 32,000-square-foot parcel, and we dont have that many left in this district. I dont think we are striking a balance.

But board member Wick Rudd disagreed. To me, it meets all the four findings of fact, he said.

Board member Russ Johnson said, There are so many positives about it. [It is] not a very attractive site and they are putting in what appears to be a very attractive hotel.

Months ago, the board heard from the projects architect, landscape architect, traffic engineer, site engineer and other witnesses for the hotel owners. A revised site and landscape plan were heard at the last hearing, among other modifications.

James Houle, a real estate consultant, said the plan for the boutique hotel meets the standards of the Comprehensive Plan. I think it is extremely well thought out and will have a very positive impact on the area, he said. The lot site where the hotel will be built is covered in asphalt, surrounded by a chain-link fence, with no provision for any runoff containment, and no access to the water.

[The lot] is kind of unattractive; its environmentally insensitive, he added. The plan has taken turns to address all of the issues and all the shortcomings.

Houle said the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council CRMC is satisfied with the projected configurations. There are 50 parking spaces planned on the lot, surrounded by the hotel and restaurant, with the majority of parking under the building.

Its lower and smaller than all of the neighboring buildings, said Houle. It is entirely on this large lot with a newly formed portion that will allow access to the harbor walk.

Vehicular traffic will be reduced, and there will be more foot traffic, with a maximum walking distance of 20 minutes to many city amenities and destinations, he said.

I think this will be an anchor for the neighborhood, said Houle. I dont see any of the public buildings being impacted by this. It certainly isnt a wild and crazy use for the neighborhood.

Abutter Jacqueline Barnum, who lives at 433 Thames St., was upset that her view will be lost when the hotel is built, but her main concern was traffic congestion. There is no way two cars can fit making that turn onto Lees Wharf, she said. There is [also] no functioning sidewalk there. Pedestrians always walk in the middle of the street going down Lees Wharf.

She said [cars] fly down Thames, and that Young Street, at Spring, which is where cars will cross, is a very, very dangerous street.

A 21-room hotel is going to drastically increase traffic, especially people who are unfamiliar with the area, she said, adding that a stop sign should be installed and delivery trucks will create a burden.

Traffic engineer Paul Bannon defended his traffic numbers given at a previous hearing, which were called into question in terms of volume, lane markings and seasonal intensity. He said there was no added traffic danger with the plan, even without a stop sign. You have to inch your way out if pedestrians are coming down the road, he said.

Resident Elizabeth Weldon, who also lives at 433 Thames St., countered, We are only asking for a stop sign. I dont think thats a big deal.

Lori McEwen, who lives in the same building, echoed her neighbors, and contested the data proposed by Bannon, especially in regards to getting in and out of Thames Street onto Lees Wharf. The three women are urging the city to install a stop sign in the area.

I think that is a [legitimate] concern for abutters, said Allott.

But Martland said there is no alternative. To the extent we can make the situation safer, we have, he said. We have exhausted the alternatives.

McEwen also was concerned about utilities on the roof, adding to the obstructive height of the building. Martland said screenings were part of renderings, such as trellises, to block the sightlinesto the mechanical aspects on the roof, which was addressed before the Technical Review Committee.

The plan also calls for widening the easement to the ocean to five feet and further enhanced access. Allott, who made a motion to add these details, said the ultimate goal was to improve the publics access to the water.

Go here to see the original:
Zoning Approves Howard Wharf Hotel - Newport This Week

An urban farm developed on a former landfill site in northern Thailand boosted the food security and livelihoods of poor families during the coronavirus pandemic, and can be a model for unused spaces in other cities, urban experts said on Thursday.

The farm in Chiang Mai, about 700 km (435 miles) from the capital Bangkok, took shape during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus last year, when many of the city's residents lost their tourism-dependent jobs.

Supawut Boonmahathanakorn, a community architect who works on housing solutions for Chiang Mai's homeless and informal settlers, approached authorities with a plan to convert the unused landfill into an urban farm to support the poor.

"We had previously mapped the city's unused spaces with an idea to plant trees to mitigate air pollution. The landfill, which had been used for 20 years, was one of those spaces," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Poor families spend more than half their earnings on food, so when their incomes dried up, they were struggling to feed their families. This farm has been a lifeline for some of them," he said, pointing to neat rows of corn and morning glory.

Coronavirus lockdowns worldwide have pushed more city dwellers to grow fruit and vegetables in the backyards and terraces of their homes, and forced authorities to consider urban farming as a means to boost food security.

In Chiang Mai, after authorities approved the farm plan, an appeal on social media resulted in donations of plants, seedlings and manure from residents, Supawut said.

With diggers loaned by the city, Supawut and his team cleared some 5,700 tonnes of rubbish on the 4,800 square-metre (0.48 hectare) plot that lies next to a canal and a cemetery.

The land was levelled, and a rich topsoil added to offset the degraded soil. The farm opened to the community in June.

About half a dozen homeless families, students from a public school and members of the public grow eggplant, corn, bananas, cassava, chilli, tomatoes, kale and herbs, Supawut said.

"In cities, we have lost our connection with food production, but it is a vital skill," he said.

"Urban farms cannot feed an entire city, but they can improve nutrition and build greater self-sufficiency especially among vulnerable people. They are important during a pandemic - and even otherwise," he added.

Supawut Boonmahathanakorn stands by the urban farm he helped create.

Image: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Rina Chandran

Urban agriculture can potentially produce as much as 180 million tonnes of food a year - or about 10% of the global output of pulses and vegetables, according to a 2018 study led by Arizona State University.

Rooftop farms, vertical gardens and allotments also help increase vegetation cover, which is key to limiting rising temperatures and lowering the risk of flooding in cities.

While land in cities is scarce and expensive, rooftops and spaces below expressways and viaducts can be repurposed, said landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom, who designed Asia's largest urban rooftop farm in Bangkok.

"We need imagination and greater flexibility in our laws to turn such spaces into urban farms," she said.

"The Chiang Mai farm is a sandbox - it shows it can be done in even the most unlikely of spaces if the government and the community come together," she added.

For Ammi, a homeless indigenous Akha woman who has lived at the farm since July, the corn, melons and cabbage that she grows have fed her and her husband, and provided a small income.

"It gives people like me an opportunity to be self-sufficient," she said. "We need more such farms in the city."

See original here:
How have urban farms helped during the COVID-19 pandemic? - World Economic Forum

FORT WAYNE The public is invited to attend a virtual Rain Gardens and Native Plants Workshop on Jan. 30 from 10-11:30 am.

Presenters will broadcast live from the Purdue Universitys Environmental Resource Center. The workshop is designed for the beginner and will especially be of interest to people who are thinking about installing a rain garden with native plants. Information regarding available cost-share assistance to install rain gardens will be provided.

Citizens can help reduce stormwater runoff by installing rain gardens in their yards. A rain garden is a landscaped area that holds rain water runoff for a few hours to a few days. The benefit of using native plants in a rain garden is that they are well adapted to their natural surroundings and do not require a lot of maintenance, fertilizers or pesticides. Rain gardens and native plants help the soil soak up water and improve the quality of the water that does run off.

Presenters will be Stacy Haviland, landscape architect and community development manager with the City of Fort Wayne, and Martha Ferguson, owner of Riverview Native Nursery.

Registration is not necessary. For more information, contact Sharon Partridge, stormwater specialist with the Maumee Watershed Alliance, ssp2655@gmail.com or 755-8111.

The workshop is sponsored by the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative, the Maumee Watershed Alliance, the Northeastern Indiana Regional Coordinating Council and Purdue Universitys Environmental Resource Center. Funding to support this outreach event was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through an Indiana Department of Environmental Management Clean Water Act grant awarded to the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative.

Continue reading here:
Virtual workshop offered Jan. 30 on rain gardens and native plants - KPCnews.com

Dickinson ambles closer to the edge of its heros fame and madness in this seasons fourth episode, which serves as a meditation on creative blockage.

Though oft charming and frequently beautiful, the postmodern Apple TV+ show about the 19th-century poet still suffers from an irreconcilable identity crisis. This weeks episode, released Friday, takes no steps to resolve the situation.

Hailee Steinfelds Emily Dickinson feels like a kitten, stuck in a deep hole with no way to get out. Thats the first of this episodes visual metaphors.

To the writers credit, they do manage to spread the problems of each member of the Dickinson household. New amorous boarder Joseph (played by Gus Halper) cant get it up, so to speak, for Lavinia Dickinson (Anna Baryshnikov) because he wants to put his old womanizing and highly sexualized ways behind him, frustrating the less-famous Dickinson girl.

A mysterious hole in the backyard vexes Emily and Lavinias mother (Jane Krakowski). Their father (Toby Huss) has been told by a doctor to not spend time outside, so hes going stir-crazy and goes out anyway. To please his dad, brother Samuel (Adrian Enscoe) agrees to adopt his cousins without first consulting his wife Sue (Ella Hunt). And to cap it all off and tie it all together, Emilys suffering from writers block.

Emily meets Frederick Law Olmsted (Veeps Timothy Simons), the landscape architect who designed Central Park and thinks he might have the secret to opening her up.

Olmsted takes his work more seriously than any of the artists Emily met last season. His eccentric system of governing landscapes (this rock is making just the right statement) intrigues her, so she picks his brain. Anything to get her mind off of the fact that publisher Samuel Holmes (Finn Jones) is reviewing her work. They wind up fatefully lost while walking around talking about methods.

The business of being a show like Dickinson is a tricky tightrope. Its essentially a postmodern sitcom. Guest stars intrude on the business of the Dickinson household every week. And its filled with high-concept plot devices, visual motifs and the like.

This week, we get Olmsted and the hole. Everyone falls into the hole either literally or physically, and by the end of the episode, its been wrapped up. The show, by virtue of being postmodern, knows very well what its doing and announces it.

Im in a hole! Huss says over and over again, making it all but impossible to miss that Dickinson is poking fun at the very idea of attempting an idea this broad.

The show is frequently like this, announcing that itwill adopt the shtickiest sitcom tactics and both skewering them and just doing them in the closest thing to good faith the show can muster.

Its endearing. However, it does sort ofunseat the shows pretensions toward talking about the stifling conditions for anyone who wasnt a white male in the 19th century and, by extension, today.

I dont mean to dismiss the show and the considerable effort put into creating it. Dickinson delivers frequently stunning visuals. (The autumn colors this season look especially lovely.) The show also benefits from crisp editing, enjoyable performances, solid-enough construction and good intentions.

The trouble is that, by mixing up the modern and the past, you cant help but come across as more flippant than a show about a white hero who was alive while slavery was happening can support.

This episode, for instance, introduces Sue, a character were supposed to like, having her hair done by her black maid (writer Ayo Edebiri, who really ought to be playing bigger roles than minute-long servant parts, no matter how deconstructed) and babbling about race science.

Phrenologists are so in right now, she says determinedly. Its a joke, but the show will not go back and correct her or explain why its an insidious thing to have as a setup to an unrelated scene that ends with Sue as the put-out party. (Shes mad at Samuel for consenting to adopt his cousins without her.)

You can be glib about the past. And you can be serious about inherited female trauma. But the two things dont quite mix.

Rated: TV-14

Watch on: Apple TV+

Scout Tafoya is a film and TV critic, director and creator of the long-running video essay series The Unloved for RogerEbert.com. He has written for The Village Voice, Film Comment, The Los Angeles Review of Books and Nylon Magazine. He is the director of 25 feature films, and the author of more than 300 video essays, which can be found at Patreon.com/honorszombie.

Originally posted here:
Dickinson review: Everybody's stuck and frustrated in season 2, episode 4 - Cult of Mac

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Global Construction and Architecture Software MarketSize, Share, Value, and Competitive Landscape 2020 - NeighborWebSJ