An hour-long video looking at use of small urban spaces. People tend to sit where there are places to sit. As simple as that.

Another example of how small (and inexpensive) changes in a Memphis neighborhood can go a long way in rejuvenating community life.

Kamal Meattle reported the results of his efforts to fill an office building with plants, in an effort to reduce headache, asthma, and other productivity-sapping aliments in thickly polluted India.

He presented his innovative idea at the TED Conference this year.

The Gateway National Recreation Area is currently planning on furthering the potential of the park and with the help of Van Alen Institute, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and Columbia University are conducting a design competition. The competition has already attracted more than 100 architects, planners, and conservationists. The finalists are posted online and are pretty impressive. In a rare move, the competition has now moved to the voting stage where the public votes on the design of their choice. Head over and vote for the design of your choice; especially so if you live in the tri-state area. Conservation and protection of the last vestiges of our ecology are of utmost importance however it is equally important for us to reconnect with our natural habitat even if it is for recreational purposes.

But as soon as I landed at the Changi Airport, I was blown away by how green the city was. Green as in landscape profusely; not just in grand city parks that we normally associate with a landscaped city but also in small details like traffic islands, road dividers, and even the space under the flyovers. Govindraj had a similar experience recently and he took additional effort to find the secret of making a city green. He learned that Lee Kuan Yew took personal interest in the subject of soil and vegetation, trees and drainage, climate and fertilizers:

In an equatorial forest, as Lee learnt, with big tall trees forming a canopy, the rain water drips down. But in Singapore, the trees had been chopped down, it would all come down in a big wash. So Lee decided that fertilizers would replenish the soil and began the task of making the compost from rubbish dumps, adding calcium and lime where the ground was too acidic.

Lee asked his officials to find out which plants could survive below the flyovers where the sun did not shine much. And instead of having to water these plants regularly, which was expensive, he got his officials to find a way to channel water from the roads, after filtering it to get rid of the oil and grime from the traffic above.

Govindraj is right in observing that although Singapore is geographically located in a hot tropical zone, thanks to the urban greenery you feel a lot more at ease. Greenery in Singapore, as we learnt isn’t an accident but a deliberate attempt led from the top. It is true when they say that great cities don’t just happen but have to be shaped either by individuals with foresight or an ever-interested community.

tags: landscape, Singapore, urbanscape, city

[tags]Singapore, urban, Lee Kuan Yew[/tags]

• Choose the corner that is furthest from your entrance for your desk. You will then be in a position to control your work which enhances your confidence.
• Face in the general direction of the door when conducting business. This symbolism will help you remain open to possibilities.
• Mirrors create distraction and anxiety. They leach away your control of the environment. Keep them away from your work area.

Read the rest at Adkins’s Elemental Truth. Now I would slightly wary of following these guidelines without completely understanding their significance. Vaastu Shastra, the ancient Indian architecture guide has also been reduced to a similar set of specific guidelines that emphasize more on spirituality instead of climate orientation that it was initially based on. The effects of therapeutic landscape are psychological as well as elemental in terms of environment and climate (hence the advice to go live seaside for some ailments). I hope such guidelines do not cross the bridge to blind faith and remain rooted to factual findings as Ulrich did.

The National Park Service is making its symbols and patterns available for free download in Adobe PDF and Illustrator formats. How long before someone offers stickers? I’ll definitely buy some.

Technorati Tags: National Park, maps, symbol, pattern, graphics, art

The houses — going for $550,000 to $850,000 — will feature gabled roofs with faux-straw thatch made from thin strands of PVC that promotional literature says “is essentially windproof, rainproof, fireproof and guaranteed not to
discolor.”

Meyers has taken the liberty of renaming an irrigation canal next to The Shire as Brandywine Brook. He’s happy to show off two Hobbit holes otherwise known as storage sheds. Still, the parts of The Shire that are complete — the small amphitheater, paved pathways, flowery gardens — have an undeniable Middle Earth quality.

When built out at 6.5-acres, The Shire will have 15 cottages and 16 town houses encircling a central gathering place called the sanctuary. The first properties will go on sale this winter.

Like Meyers, I haven’t read LOTR but enjoyed the movies immensely. I particularly loved Bilbao Baggin’s home with its rounded openings. It reminded me of Nari Gandhi’s creations. For ardent LOTR fans, you might enjoy walking down streets of Village Homes in Davis, California where they are named for people or places in the trilogy.

Technorati Tags: Lord of the Rings, LOTR, Shire, Oregon, sub division, housing, residential