Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)’s Post

I’ve always been a proponent of #adaptivereuse as a catalyst for sustainable city building in research and in practice. One of the best examples I’ve studied is the post industrial transformation in the cities of the Ruhr Valley in Germany. A few years ago my colleagues and I did a study tour there (factory converted to museum in photo). The lessons learned have been instrumental for framing thoughts on the potential of adaptive reuse in my practice. This article (link in the comments) illustrates the importance of adaptive reuse as the greenest method of city building. #globalurbanstudy #postindustriallandscape

This looks like a great idea, a self-guided public art trail through Downtown LA! (What I like right off the bat is that it doesn't require downloading or using a special app.) Conceptually, it is similar to the #FreedomTrail running through Boston's historic core (https://lnkd.in/g-qWPxYJ). Established over 70 years ago!, this trail not only guides you through history, but also helps you find your way through Boston's disorienting organic street network. It's kind of like an urban lifeline. I am really curious to test this virtual one out, because I proposed we do something similar in El Segundo.* What I'm most interested in understanding is: 1. Whether this leads you to explore new places and businesses. There should be an economic component, not just a voyeuristic one... kind of part of the mission of public art and entertainment. (They have stopping points at some venues labeled “Trail-Mix,” but it feels forced, too specific.) 2. How it shapes your spatial understanding of the urban fabric, if it does at all. Clearly, a virtual guide is not as tangible as a line embedded in the sidewalk, but LA may be too spread out for lines on sidewalks. —————— *At one of our El Segundo Arts & Culture Advisory Committee meetings, I proposed we do something like this, because as I started working on creating a map of public art in our small city through the #PublicArtArchive, I realized there are quite a number of artworks here. We have, for example, 3 (out of 14) Green Line Metro rail stops just in our small, 5.5 square mile city, and each one has several artworks in them. And many commercial developers have been adding interesting pieces to their properties since the #percentforart program was established 4 years ago (https://lnkd.in/gFsDRsaB), though some has also been naturally happening before that or separate from it. Honestly, there are way more public artworks in El Segundo than anybody realizes. #publicart #urbanism #urbandesign #urbancore #trail #arttrail #economicdevelopment #spatial #virtual #dtla #downtown #losangeles #elsegundo

This fall, Mary Miss launched a citywide public art project in Milwaukee, a series of beacons announcing a new era for the city’s municipal water system. A pioneer of earth art since the 1960s, Miss’s early installations began as minimalist environmental sculptures constructed on the grounds of museums, parks, universities, and urban developments like Battery Park City. Made of rough industrial materials influenced by manufacturing and production facilities, the structures heightened the immediacy of spatial experience in relation to their surrounding natural environments. Several of these works are currently on display in Groundswell: Women of Land Art at Dallas’s Nasher Sculpture Center, on view through January 7, 2024. In 2008, Miss established the nonprofit City as Living Laboratory (CALL) in collaboration with founding director Olivia Georgia as a way to build capacity to realize complex science, art, and advocacy-based projects that engage diverse stakeholders, community organizations, government agencies, and development partners. Meanwhile, Miss’s ideas were expanding to larger-scale initiatives tied to the urgency of climate change. … Over the last three decades, Milwaukee has almost completely eliminated the harmful release of sewage through a combination of gray and green infrastructure projects like deep retention tunnels and restored wetlands, putting it far ahead of cities like Boston, Houston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York City—many of them under court order to comply with provisions of the 1972 Clean Water Act requiring cities to prevent pollution of waterways during heavy rains. Full story linked below (or go to Projects tab at metropolismag.com). Thanks editors Avi Rajagopal  and Jaxson Stone! https://lnkd.in/eudYx-Hd

Hey LinkedIn! If you’re new to following me, I talk about #urbanplanning, #urbandesign, #sustainabledesign, and #exhibitiondesign. Main fields of my interest are public space analysis and defining problems and potentials of contemporary outdoor urban environment. Currently I am working on my dissertation project which is consisting of creating an evaluation system for the street reconstruction project "Rua Direita" in the city of Porto.

Bakar BioEnginuity Hub wins 2023 Modernism in America Award from Docomomo US. “Creative design and preservation go hand in hand, as evidenced by this year’s Awardees,” said Docomomo US Executive Director Liz Waytkus. Demolition or insensitive alterations are too often the easy way out. In the case of Bakar BioEnginuity Hub, formerly the Berkeley University Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, community pressure helped delay demolition long enough for a creative vision to emerge. A little imagination and strong partnership were all it took to transform this long vacant Brutalist building into a modernized, seismically sound, and operationally carbon neutral space for scientific innovation. This formula can be replicated for any site that is threatened today, keeping unnecessary waste out of landfills and preserving our Modern heritage for the future. https://lnkd.in/d-M95iHN

Explore the transformative power of art in public spaces, its impact on society, and the future trends shaping urban landscapes in our latest article. https://lnkd.in/eSMAtUA6

Today, Norman Foster, Dava Newman, Xavier De Kestelier, and Marc Guberman, AIA spoke about Space architecture and the benefits which this creative endeavour might, and will, offers to everyone of us here on Earth. Highlights for me: 1. Xavier De Kestelier was showing self-assembling building blocks for the outer shelfs of Moon/Mars habitats. I love that idea, ingenious, simple, and fun. Throwing tetrapods with a robotic arm. It is an idea from the pristine minds of kids unconstrained by the boring layers of knowledge. I would just add: Shake the tetrapods down using the inflatable support. They will lock together better :) 2. Marc Guberman, AIA was, rightly, pointing out that the Overview effect 2.0 is coming but leaving the anwer to the question "When?" open. In my view, the simple fact that this exiting event took place and that it has drawn in a crowd attests that the Overview effect 2.0 is already here.

Day 7 - Navigation: How Far Can you bike in Amsterdam for 15 minutes, after visiting Van Gogh Museum? On Day 7 of the #30daymapchallenge, I explored Amsterdam's bike route network to answer a question: 'How far can you bike for 15 minutes from a specific location?' Imagine visiting the Van Gogh Museum and then embarking on a 15-minute bike adventure through the beautiful streets of Amsterdam. This map is for the curious and the explorers. I utilized OSMnx to calculate the reachable area by bike within a 15-minute radius from the museum and visualized it using Folium. While this may not be a traditional navigation map, it's a visual representation of the extensive reach of bicycles in Amsterdam. The concept of '15-minute cities' has gained momentum, particularly in a post-COVID world. Accessibility to amenities within a short timeframe is vital for urban planning and community well-being. Data Source: OpenStreetMap (OSM) #30DayMapChallenge #BikeRoutes #UrbanPlanning #15minutecity

Livia Camargos Guimarães picked up the 2023 Nethercot Prize from the IABSE British Group a couple of weeks ago. The Nethercot Prize is aimed at early career designers who have been involved in inspiring projects. In her paper Livia hit on a really important topic for engineers, the preservation of existing assets. She discussed the challenges of refurbishing a listed building and the responsibility engineers have to consider structural preservation where possible. you can now read her paper here https://lnkd.in/ercUXpqu #iabsegb #nethercotprize #youngengineers #structuralengineering #bridgeengineering

Take a virtual trip to Las Vegas and see how this iconic city has transformed. Compare a vibrant aerial image from 2017 with a detailed topographic map from 1956. Witness the evolution of the Entertainment Capital of the World through our interactive map tool. 🔍 From Desert to Destination: See the dramatic growth from a quiet desert town in 1956 to the bustling metropolis of 2017. Observe changes in urban development, expansion of the famous Strip, and the rise of new neighborhoods. 🌟 A Story of Transformation: Discover how the city's geography has shaped its iconic landmarks and urban layout. Explore the topographic changes that underpin one of the most rapid urban expansions in history. 📸 Attached is a glimpse of Las Vegas's journey over six decades. It's more than just a comparison; it's a visual story of development, dreams, and innovation. Dive into the dazzling history of Las Vegas and see for yourself how a small desert town turned into a world-renowned entertainment hub!