This May 2012, craftsmen from across the United States and Canada will descend on Port Townsend, Washington to discuss a building tradition developed in the 12th century, timber frame construction. The first question the uninitiated may ask is, “What is timber framing?” This construction method uses heavy wood joined together in intricate joints to create [...]
Brownfield sites prime for building. Derelict architecture crying out to be regenerated. Both are common sites up and down the United Kingdom, but why? With a long standing housing shortage only predicted to get worse, what are we doing to utilise these potentially valuable resources? The value of the land on which they sit is [...]
While at one time it was counted among the most productive manufacturing areas in the world, the area of former heavy manufacturing bordering the Great Lakes, known as The Rust Belt, has suffered from decaying industry and deserted cities. Through the 1980′s and 1990′s, The population drop in cities like Cleveland, Buffalo, and Detroit has [...]
Are you an architecture student with a digital portfolio? Or an emerging professional seeking a client base? Or a designer with a growing architectural firm? If so, defining your brand and marketing your talents can be difficult. Fortunately, a free website review from Global Site Plans can help you build stronger industry distinction. Not quite convinced? Here [...]
Shigeru Ban, a renowned architect with an international design firm, is most famous for his novel use of recycled and low cost materials in design. Ban studied at the Cooper Union School of Architecture under famed Architect John Hejduk. Using his background in Japanese architecture, and influenced by Hedjuk’s western school of thought, Ban embraces [...]
The Cold War could be described as the golden age of the bomb shelter. Fears of nuclear and chemical warfare caused many governments and individuals around the world to construct fortified bunkers. Urban planning anticipated massive bombing campaigns by fortifying schools and underground tunnels. This is one of the more utilitarian examples or architecture Global [...]
Most readers at Global Site Plans are familiar with structures made of concrete, wood and steel. These are the common construction materials for the vast majority of the buildings people inhabit and experience. However, have you ever seen a structure made out of paper? Or what about water? Many architects and engineers around the world [...]
In the run up to the 2010 general election, “The Big Society” constituted a key part of the Conservative party manifesto, aiming to “create a climate that empowers local people and communities,” largely through asking them to volunteer in local initiatives. In truth, “The Big Society” initiative was met with a great deal of apathy. [...]
Nottingham is stagnating. Retail growth has stalled, along with Westfield’s promise of a shiny new Broadmarsh shopping centre. The city has proved its potential as a linear city time and again, with the many shops along Clumber Street and Bridelsmith Gate benefiting from one of the highest footfall figures in Europe, but the Broadmarsh is [...]
Global Site Plans is happy to introduce the newest Environmental Design Blogging interns for October 2011. Each of these individuals will be with Global Site Plans team until May 2012, with a few who have committed to one-year. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for their featured biographies on the www.GlobalSitePlans.com homepage. Welcome to The GRID! Benjamin Ha: Los [...]
Many of the bloggers at Global Site Plans continue to learn about urban planning and urban design long after they finish formal schooling. One of the most interesting ways to go beyond standard classroom education is by attending any of the multitudes of conferences that are presented by colleges, research facilities, and companies each year. [...]
While many influential architecture firms, like Bjarke Ingels Group, are attempting to bridge the gap between avant-garde and practical, nearly one hundred years ago, the retro-futuristic Lingotto Fiat Factory in Turin, Italy set the precedent with its combination of innovative form with sensible organization. The Lingotto Fiat Factory is regarded as the first built example of [...]
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci This spring, the first LEED certified house in Aspen, Colorado sold to a private buyer. Featuring all the bells and whistles of modern environmental design, the house is a massive 6,750 square feet (the average United States home is around 2,000 square feet) situated on 2.33 [...]
In the late 1950’s, influenced both by developments in contemporary architecture and the technological advances of the space race, a small group of Japanese designers began to produce works under the banner “The Metabolists.” In a post WWII Japan, where many of the cities and traditional structures had been reduced to rubble by bombs, these [...]
My professor recently told a story about an individual that was picking out trees for a landscape design he was working on. Of all the trees available to him at the nursery, he chose ones that had been improperly planted so that the soil and mulch covered the root flare and was piled too high [...]
In a previous blog, I wrote about the car-free suburb in Vauban, Germany. However, whether by intentional design or chance circumstances, quite a few other cities around the world continue to operate without automobile usage. Here is a selection of some of the more idiosyncratic car-free towns and cities around the world. Supai, Arizona is [...]
New Urbanism, among other movements, strives to make a community more walkable, while establishing a strong sense of community. While the design of New Urbanism communities can create an environment in which pedestrians are more welcome and neighbors can easily gather; this does not always promote a sense of togetherness. For various reasons, providing the [...]
While Alvar Aalto is famous for his contributions to modernist architecture, he also designed and built numerous summer homes for his clients and himself. While most modern architects work with steel and concrete, Aalto focused on timber constructions and warm interiors with attention to detail. These cottages combine a modern aesthetic with traditional vernacular influences [...]
As much as I enjoy commuting to work and school on my bicycle, oftentimes I dislike riding it for regular errands. Incomplete streets, limited bicycle trails, and routes are one problem, but a lack of bicycle facilities are another. When you’re hopping out of your car to patronize stores at strip malls, do you ever [...]
Global Site Plans is offering a one-year internship opportunity for contributing bloggers for topics related to architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, sustainable design, and sustainability. If you are a student with a passion and talent for writing about any of the aforementioned topics, then Global Site Plans wants you as a contributing [...]
