The Mayor, urban planners, and economists agree: creative industries are key to Berlin’s economic development. In a city that doesn’t rely on larger industrial facilities, that holds a special position due to its historical heritage, that was perceived as an island for decades – music, film, and new media industries have started to settle; building [...]
“Free parking is at the root of many urban ills: congestion, sprawl, wasteful energy use and air pollution.” – Donald Shoup, Parking may not be an obvious urban design issue, but it affects the traffic patterns, environmental health, and landscapes of our cities. As the population in Austin, Texas continues to skyrocket, the city certainly [...]
A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Jasna Hadzic from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Born and raised in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but having spent most of her adult life in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.; Jasna Hadzic has been greatly influenced by both cultures, most specifically in terms of architecture, planning, and design. The transition of living [...]
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, new design guidelines are being recognized to preserve the context and character of the historic heart of the city. Following an extensive public hearing period and intensive research, these guidelines express value systems surrounding such notions as streetscape, access to the Mississippi River, potential archaeological remains, views, and the historic integrity of [...]
As President Barack Obama’s recent acceptance speech showed us, Twitter has become one of the largest social networking services in media today. His speech broke the twitter record with 52,756 tweets per minute and generated roughly 4 million tweets. In the realm of architecture, twitter can be used to promote, inform, and create dialogue with [...]
Downtown Tempe is home to Hayden Flour Mill, built around 125 years ago in downtown Tempe, Arizona. It was re-established in 2010, but up until then, it was a worn-down, old building, that created an eyesore for passersby. Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate the beauty in tarnished, historical buildings, but this building was [...]
Global Site Plans is happy to announce the acceptance of applications for the Fall Environmental Design Blogger Internship program. Applications for the Fall program close on September 21, 2012 and the internship will begin in October 2012. You should be willing to make a 6-month to one-year commitment to The Grid. For more details regarding [...]
Although Istanbul is the city which has the most green certificated buildings constructed in Turkey, other cities, such as Ankara, have unique examples also. One such example is the Gordion Shopping Mall. The Gordion Shopping Mall, whose architectural design was realized by REDEVCO, is the largest building with a BREEAM “Excellent” certification in Turkey and [...]
Downtown Tempe, Arizona has a variety of destinations that create a unique space syntax between modern urban blocks, natural desert landscape, historical buildings, and a man made lake, to name a few. It’s the perfect destination for anyone that likes good music, the sun, the desert, and interesting architecture. The desert doesn’t quite seem like [...]
Creating a unique engineering logo design is not an easy task. In the world there are thousands of different logos and it is difficult to stand out. And there are experienced consultants and websites specialised in the task. However, unique engineering logo designs must be designed carefully. Engineering logos are expected to be as professional, [...]
From a simple submissions post on my college jobs board, I began my writing internship for Global Site Plans in May 2011. As an undergrad I had dipped my feet in creative writing, authoring several articles for student publications, however blogging for The Grid was to be a new experience unlike any I had undertaken [...]
As map-making software grows in popularity, more people than ever have cartography at their fingertips. In response to the growing trend, many mapping projects have begun distinguishing themselves as radical cartography, choosing to highlight, not hide, the process and politics associated with map-making decisions. At Rhode Island School of Design’s (RISD) Digital+Media graduate program, the [...]
The City of Spokane, Washington implemented two of their first-ever SURGE (Spokane Urban Runoff Greenways Ecosystem) projects in 2010 with AHBL: Lincoln Street on the South Hill; [Bottom] [Official Surge Report]; Broadway Street in the West Central Neighborhood. [Top] [AHBL's Presentation to the City]. Both were the first of their kind in Eastern Washington, and [...]
It has been argued the cities in the Midwest are on the “decline.” Populations in urban centers like Detroit, Buffalo, and Cleveland are shrinking as old infrastructure decays. However, the newly relocated Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative takes an unorthodox approach to these “shrinking cities” and addresses the so-called problems as opportunities to engage in research [...]
Camelback Mountain is one of the many mountain ranges surrounding what Arizonians call “the valley”. The Valley is a flat area of Arizona desert that is home to 4 million of the state’s 6 million inhabitants. The valley includes Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Chandler, among others that, together, make up a sprawling [...]
Planning should be participatory; however, it’s often very difficult to get stakeholders to contribute to planning processes. Mail-in survey return rates are low, and more often than not, residents don’t want to sit through a Saturday morning design charette. Marketing online and social media platforms give urban planners and architects a set of contemporary tools [...]
What is crowdsourcing? For those uninitiated, the term essentially means problems or queries are broadcast publicly and everyone is invited to respond with solutions or ideas. Crowdsourcing itself is not a new concept. Municipalities and cities often looked to “focus groups” or town hall meetings to garner public opinion about city projects. However with the [...]
Istanbul will host its first design biennial between October 13 – December 12, 2012. The theme is proposed by the director of London Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic, as “imperfection.” This theme refers to Istanbul, a city far from being perfect, yet one of the most inspiring centers of the world, with infinite layers. Istanbul Design [...]
The Mammoth Gateway Project is an effort to elaborate on the entrance to the resort community of Mammoth Lakes, CA. Signage is crucial for travelers and Mammoth Lakes needs wayfinding markers to help tourists get around with ease, while creating memorable experiences. The Mammoth Gateway Project is the ultimate expression of Mammoth’s desire to stick [...]
Urban design is the bridge between urban planning and architecture design. It connects the feelings inspired by the architecture of a building and how the building interacts with the fabric of the neighborhood, and that neighborhood’s future development. A rendering for the new Seneca Casino in downtown Buffalo, New York, shown left, is an example [...]
