Starchitects

infomancer — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:28:16 +0000

I am not a fan of the starchitects. I find them to be irritating, using the same schtick over and over. Recently, ArchDaily posted the finalists from a competition in the Hague for a new dance / music center, and I was amazed to find myself enjoying a proposal from Zaha Hadid.

This submission is the first project from Hadid’s office that I have not strongly disliked. As I usually find, though, upon closer inspection, the details tend to fall apart for me. The facade is a wonderfully textural experience. But I am not a fan of the interior. Hadid’s schtick seems to be to constantly disorient overwhelm people. I appreciate that they managed dial it back a bit here, but the interior is back to the same old tricks. And the theaters appear to be from Star Trek TNG.

I like the model and some of the renderings from Diller Scofidio + Renfro / Solid Objectives / Idenburg L. But I did find some of the design moves to be a bit frivolous.

As Peter Griffin would say, some of the submissions really grind my gears. The Aedas Limited submission feels a bit like brutalist revival, though their interior renderings are a bit more subtle. Cruz y Ortiz made a big box with bubbles. De architecten Cie / KPMB Architects apparently made a mountain out of a molehill and then slapped a building around it. Henning Larsen / Grontmij’s proposal looks more like a children’s museum with a death star inside. Neutelings Riedijk / Kirkegaard made an entire wall of boxes for Statler and Waldorf. And OMA… well let’s just say it looks decidedly OMA-ish.

The Ian Simpson / Jonkman Klinkhamer submission is my favorite. It’s not overpowering, and has a well-choreographed interior organization. It doesn’t feel schticky in the least. It feels like a design concept that has been thought out and massaged into something that will work well for the users.

[ images via ArchDaily ]

Donate to Haiti

infomancer — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:30:29 +0000

(My apologies – this is quite a long post)

I still haven’t donated to any Haiti relief efforts. There are plenty of reasons for this – an overwhelming number of choices, laziness, etc. And, of course, it’s easy to justify – everybody‘s donating right away. But who’s going to donate later? Lazy old me, that’s who.

Well, I figured I should probably stop lying to myself (I can always donate now and later), and just do it already.

I took some time today to do a bit of research. The amount of information out there is overwhelming; I had well nigh 100 tabs open in my browser. I’ve compiled a list below with some of what appear to be the top dogs. My criteria were simple – have a solid reputation (preferably a four star rating on Charity Navigator, which is designated with a star next to the name below), and no overtly religious ties. Most of those listed below also have a preexisting presence in Haiti.

Animals

It’s so easy to forget about four-legged creatures in times of crisis. But non-bipeds (and even non-human bipeds) need help, too. Don’t forget the non-human animals!

*Best Friends
Best Friends is part of the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti. Their efforts are focused on providing animals with food, water, rabies vaccinations and safety. Their work in the U.S. is commendable as well, working to bring animal euthanization to an end. 100% of your donation goes to helping animals suffering in Haiti.

Health Related

*Partners in Health
PIH have been in Haiti for over 20 years, providing modern medical care to poor communities. They are based in Boston and have a worldwide presence of 11000 people, including doctors, nurses and community health workers. The organization has 5 fundamental principles: provide access to primary health care, free health care and education for the poor, community partnerships, addressing basic social and economic needs and serving the poor through the public sector. They are GiveWell‘s top choice for donating to Haitian relief efforts.

Gheskio via Weill Cornell Medical College
Gheskio is an organization founded by a Haitian graduate of Cornell’s medical school, and was the world’s 1st organization dedicated to fight HIV/AIDS. They have provided free services in Haiti since 1982. They are currently providing humanitarian assistance and emergency care, as well as vital medications to people with HIV/AIDS.

Doctors without Borders
You’ve most likely already heard of this organization. They have a solid history in Haiti, and a good portion of their staff there are Haitian. They have already accomplished a lot: started running mobile clinics to reach people who haven’t been able to reach help, built an inflatable hospital in port-au-prince, restored operation to a damaged dialysis unit, and more. They currently hope to create a post-operative “village” to tend to those who need or have already received surgery.

*Physicians for Peace
Physicians for Peace also have a history in the country, working with the disabled and training prosthetists. Their main concern is with the disabled, and they aim to provide prosthetics and mobility devices – particularly to those who are newly disabled as a result of the earthquake. They believe one of the best ways to improve health care in the developing world is not just to provide it, but to teach and train local health care professionals.

Shelter

Much of the structural damage that occurred in Haiti was due to subpar materia ls and construction methods. Not that everything would be hunky dory if it were properly constructed, but the level of destruction and numbers of dead and injured would most likely be lower. These organizations realize that, and hope to change the nature of construction in Haiti.

Architecture for Humanity (not yet evaluated by Charity Navigator)
I love AfH. They have a worldwide presence, and have done so much in their relatively short history. Their work is entirely based on the concept of being open source – and they encourage others to steal their ideas. The group is comprised of construction and design professionals providing pro bono work for affordable, sustainable development. Their presence in Haiti predates the earthquake, and they had already planned to spend a significant amount of time there. They will be working on reconstruction efforts, focusing on transitional and permanent housing, schools and community structures. They are partnering with Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, Yele Haiti, and StillerStrong (Ben Stiller’s organization), among others. They’ve created 7 point plan for sustainable redevelopment, which you can find on their website.

*Habitat for Humanity International
HfH have set out three phases of work in which they’ll engage in Haiti. During early recovery, they will distribute recovery starter kits to families and restore Habitat Haiti to full capacity. The second phase is rehab and cleanup, which is in preparation for phase three: reconstruction and recovery. During this phase, they will construct transitional shelters as a base for future homes. They will also create Habitat resource centers in an effort to improve local material quality, building design and construction skills.

*CHF International
CHF have been around for over 50 years, and already have over 170 staff in Haiti, including many infrastructure and construction experts. They have spent the last four years working on USAID-funded infrastructure rehab and job creation programs. In addition to their long-term efforts, they are assisting in immediate relief efforts, providing transitional shelters and employing locals in cleanup efforts. When the immediate needs have subsided, they will focus on creating earthquake-resistant buildings.

ShelterBox
This one doesn’t quite fit with the others, as they provide temporary shelter only. But I think it’s a neat program – a standardized concept that allows the receiving individuals enough flexibility to make it fit their needs. ShelterBox is literally a box which contains a custom-made 10-person tent with internal privacy partitions, children’s pack (coloring book, crayons and pens), blankets, mosquito nets, water purification means, a tool kit, wood-burning or multi-fuel stove and eating utensils. The first tents that arrived in Haiti are being used to house the injured, women with newborns, other highly vulnerable people. They have thousands more tents on their way.

Food

*Action Against Hunger
This is the American arm of ACF international (from the French Action Contre le Faim). Thus far, they have lauched emergency water distribution points for immediate access to clean water and supplied sanitation equipment. Additionally, they are working to restore water distribution networks, providing help to women with young children, and working to prevent malnutrition, especially among children.

*Friends of the World Food Program
This is an American group that was formed to support the UN’s World Food Program (the food assistance arm of the UN). Their sole mission is to get food to people. They have many donation methods available.

*ActionAid
In addition to delivering food, ActionAid is also delivering clean water, shelter, blankets and soap. In general, the organization works with poor and marginalized people to eradicate poverty, specifically in the areas of international policy, food rights, women’s rights, HIV/AIDS, education and emergency response efforts.

Children

*Save the Children
This organization was created to help children and families help themselves. They are delivering supplies to children and families, and have launched a radio outreach program to promote newborn/infant health. They are also working to reestablish schools as soon as possible, and are creating child-friendly spaces in Jacmel and Port-au-Prince.

In Summary

Keep in mind that donating money is the best way to help. Any donation you make now, you can claim on this year’s tax return.

If you’re a professional (doctor, architect, contractor, engineer, etc.), there may be opportunities for you to volunteer in the future. But not now. Consider this if you’re seriously thinking about it. If you are one of those professionals who has some time to donate later this year (or even farther down the line), pay a visit to the Center for International Disaster Information and/or Idealist.org.

Here’s a great post on what not to do.

For more information on some worthy organizations, see:

Tales from the Hood (tips from someone in the industry)
PhilanTopic

For a more comprehensive list of virtually every organization that has efforts in Haiti, see:

Magazine Wall = Brilliance

infomancer — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:12:43 +0000

Take a moment to look at that wall in the image above. On first glance, I thought it was a very interesting tile – perhaps made from recycled magazines. Well, not quite – it’s actually bundles of magazines. Check out the close-up below.

The wall is part of a remodel for graphic design firm Oktavilla in Stockholm, who do web, newspaper and magazine work. Architect Elding Oscarson created a marvelous space. Unified by the relatively raw finish of all materials used, the design features used by Elding Oscarson provide the perfect amount of punch.

If you’re wondering how it was built and if those magazines will topple over and land on someone, check out the video below. There’s a standard wall (studs with drywall) in between those two columns of magazines, and the magazines are held in place with a tieback system. It’s really fun to watch the wall go up – you get to see the whole process in just a few minutes (even less if you skip the night-time parts).

Check out the photographer’s other equally gorgeous shots here.

[via ArchDaily]

infomancer» architect