Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico is a wonderful place to explore the world below. The unique caverns were formed over 4 million years ago by sulfuric acid dissolving limestone – creating long tunnels and amazing rock formations. Take a self guided tour of the Big Room or embrace adventure and follow a ranger into the deep, dark, tight recesses of this fascinating park. Photo courtesy of Aaron Bates.
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From the architect. The building is located in a 1950s residential area in the Paris suburbs. The large sports hall is positioned at the far end of the site, giving the street a degree of amplitude and generating a public space which reinforces the building’s status as a community facility. The volume of the accommodation is in keeping with the houses in the neighbourhood. The fragmentation of the programmes produces a displacement between the two volumes, offering glimpses of the central part of the site and opening up views towards the gardens.
This dispersion of volumes is contradicted by a continuous canopy which breaks up the perspective by obliquely distorting and twisting the vanishing lines. As it unfolds, it creates an invisible balance between the various points of tension the length of the canopy.
The displacement of the volumes expands the space and sets up contradictory vanishing lines. This open, dynamic shape alters the perception of limits and loosens the usual relationships between street and site. Architecture ceases to be a border between public and private spaces – the building allows glimpses of what is usually concealed.
A completely transparent gallery offers views from the street of the outline of the changing rooms. The contrasts produced by the matte, shiny and transparent surfaces accentuate the impression of an abstraction of space.
The large hall has natural lighting on the upper part of all four sides, with opalescent glass diffusing a uniformly soft light. The ceiling appears to be in a state of levitation, and the structure is absorbed to the point of disappearance by the double thickness of the glass. The lower part of the hall comprises spaced vertical slats; one side of the slats is grey. The hollows house the technical services and the black-coloured acoustic treatment. These gaps reinforce the impression of depth and lend thickness to the whole.
The grey concrete, the glass, and the shiny and matte surfaces are varied over the different spaces, creating a timeless atmosphere.
Over the last few years, the way Americans move around has changed remarkably, especially among young people. Previously the automobile was people’s preferred, if not the only, option. Now they are choosing to walk, bike, or use public transport according to recent studies.
This difference in preferred transportation methods has generated many benefits not only for residents but also for cities, in both economic and social terms.
A study conducted in 2014 by Smart Growth America, dedicated to improving communities, in conjunction with the George Washington University School of Business and the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, of 30 metropolitan areas were classified according to how walkable they are and how this influences their commercial development, talent attraction, or the educational level of people who are in those places and the economic performance of the sector.
The study found the three most pedestrian cities to be Washington DC (1st), New York (2nd) and Boston (3rd), while on the opposite end of the spectrum were Tampa (28th), Phoenix (29th) and Orlando (30th).
However, aside from each city’s position on the list, the investigation was able to obtain other data that until now had not been related to walkability. For example, that walkable cities have a per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 38% higher than those which are not and which in turn attracts people with a higher educational level, becoming more socially equitable.
This same study was carried out again this year and its results have just been published. This time the first part is based on the fact that “for the first time in 60 years, walkable urban places (WalkUPs) in all 30 of the largest metropolitan areas are gaining market share over their drivable sub-urban competition.”
Within the 30 metropolitan areas, 619 WalkUPs were evaluated, but represent, on average, 1% of the entire surface of a city. The population of the 30 zones represents 46% of the population of the United States, equivalent to 145 of 314 million inhabitants and at the same time generates 54% of the national GDP.
In each of these 30 places, they calculated the percentage of areas in the WalkUPs that are made up of businesses, offices and rental properties to compare it with the area they occupy in the metropolitan area. According to this methodology, the results for this year show that New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle are the most walkable.
But how does this relate to the economic performance of the area and the educational level of those who pass through there? As stated in the study, these indicators are linked “in some way.”
Land use and economy wise, research showed that walkable urban development appears to revitalize downtown areas and urbanize the suburbs, however, the greatest benefits are found in the former.
On the other hand, the more walkable areas are socially more equitable because they have low transportation costs and greater access to job offers that compensate for higher housing costs.
The results can be seen in the following tables:
The “Foot Traffic Ahead 2016” study can be downloaded here.
Yellowstone National Park – Wyoming – USA (by Henrik Johansson)
💙 Tsurara on 500px by Emanuel Love, Chicago, U.S.☀ NIKON… http://ift.tt/29qLJoX
“Originality is dead” is not an uncommon phrase to hear in our modern, information packed era of Big Data and easy access to source material. If you take a look at Google’s Ngram Viewer, the use of the word “originality” appears to have waned; it is now roughly as common as it was at in 1800, with its peak use occurring just before 1900. So what was going on around that peak time? In 1893, the first moving pictures were played; in 1989, the first escalator was installed; in 1899, aspirin was invented; and 1901 saw the first wireless transmission sent from England to Canada. [1]
At that time, the development of various forms of technology was allowing and encouraging people to explore and fulfill ideas that could only have been dreamed of in the past. But without this injection of new tools, it’s difficult to compete with 200,000 years of new ideas; so to help you do so, here are seven aspects of our modern world that make it difficult to come up with original ideas, and ways you can combat them.
With the constant media feed that now occupies our multiple screens, it’s pretty much impossible not to see the same things your coworkers or classmates see; and equally impossible not to subconsciously incorporate someone else’s idea into your own. The problem is that if everyone does this, it becomes hard to avoid similarities between projects and presentations.
Taking the extra effort to look for sources that are relevant but not fed on en masse could not only potentially open your eyes to something completely unexpected, but will also work to separate your ideas from the crowd. True originality may be an impossible phenomenon, but this is nothing to be ashamed of. We take previous ideas and experiences, learn from them, and make them better by combining them with something new. You just have to learn to look for original sources.
New technology that is evolving at an exceptional rate can be intimidating – many of the things you learn will soon be outdated. Yet it’s important for some to take the challenge to step out of his or her comfort zone and into this sometimes-ungraspable field of new architectural technology.
Using the new techniques that are constantly popping up, and more importantly, combining these new techniques with age-old tools, is a way to explore largely uncovered ground. Before the Industrial Revolution for example, architecture had remained largely unchanged for years. Then came the age of steel and mass production, and from it emerged the Eiffel Tower and the New York skyline. Of course now building high is no longer a novelty; originality only lasts for so long.
Staying within one’s home country throughout one’s education and maybe even professional life, can be a very comfortable, safe option to take. The effect that this has on your originality, though, is less than comforting; fortunately, exchange between cultures is becoming a more common design approach around the world, allowing us to learn from one another.
The essence of this is exemplified in projects such as this one by Ingvartsen Architects. Combining ideas and problem solving from a wide breadth of experiences can give birth to design solutions that would have been impossible in the past with less efficient transportation and communication systems. Taking advantage of the resources we have for a wide cultural and geographical understanding can help to fight the generic glass buildings that make up “Notopia.”
Despite the specific contextual parameters that come with encoding and programming building design, architecture created in this way has somehow managed to all blend into a single idea of what parametric buildings can be. The originality that catapulted Zaha Hadid Architects, among others, to fame, is perhaps losing its futuristic appeal to the point of being overdone.
Mixing up methods and materials used for different steps in a design process could add a breath of fresh air; instead of using technology to come up with form and sticking to the use of traditional materials, try form finding with old building techniques and experiment with the material components.
“Kill your darlings” is something every person along the architecture journey has heard before. It’s hard not to get attached to a design you’ve been working over in your mind, practically lived in and convinced yourself is the best way to go. Unfortunately, innovation rarely comes out of that one great idea. Many of the most successful people in history have had many failures along the way before succeeding. Thomas Edison for example, invented the light bulb, the phonograph and the carbon transmitter needed for telephones within 5 years; what’s less talked about are the over 100 patents he filed for now-forgotten inventions. [2]
Generating more ideas will statistically give you a higher chance for getting it just right. The struggle between quality and quantity, especially when pressed by time and money, is possibly one of the biggest barriers stopping architects from achieving originality. One possible way to try to overcome this is to, for example, take part in competitions on a regular basis. This will allow for a large quantity of ideas to be generated, slowly building up experience that can be used as a resource to come up with original designs in the future.
Specialization in modern society is another factor playing against originality. In the past there were “Renaissance Men” like Leonardo da Vinci, who essentially knew a lot about a lot, in part because there was less information to acquire but also because up until recently, it was ordinary to fully follow an idea through into production. In other words, one didn’t require very much external knowledge to come up with something new and unique. In current times, specialization has ensured that for every new creation, there are multiple industries with different sets of relevant knowledge.
So what do you do? Study until the age of 75, covering a degree in architecture, engineering, ecology and design? Alternatively you could extend your social circle to include people who are already knowledgeable in these fields; people who feel the same way about construction and design as you do, such that idea generation and communication is as unrestricted as possible. Finding a good team can lead you a long way.
Our modern image-based culture has turned the process of architectural design into one of the creation of beautiful objects. The danger of this is that architects can work towards creating that beautiful object instead of prioritizing the requirements of the design itself, resulting in a very open-ended design process. Let’s not forget that restrictions foster creativity – so create restrictions for yourself.
Writing down a set of values that you hold as an architect, a set of values that your buildings should achieve, can force you to uphold requirements in decision-making situations that your architecture must comply with. Creating something that is so closely tied to your values as an architect and a human being will undoubtedly help you work towards creating something as individual as yourself.
References:
Raise your hand if you’ve started a diet only to break it two hours later? How many times have you promised yourself to start going to the gym from tomorrow then six months later, you’re cancelling your gym membership. And how many of you promised to work for those washboard abs or flat tummy only to reach out for that last cookie?
Self discipline is a habit wanted by all but owned by only a rare few. Most of us wish we knew how to increase our self discipline but we just can’t seem to be able to.
Yet, all successful people possess self discipline. They knew what they wanted and they kept at it until they were finally successful. It is vital for a strong personality.
Self discipline doesn’t just improve one’s chances of success; it has been proven to make our lives healthier and happier. But it’s easier said than achieved. Learning how to increase self discipline requires time and effort. It’s difficult but it isn’t impossible.
To kick start your journey, we’ve shared some techniques for how to increase self discipline below:
It’s important to have a clear, precise goal in mind as it acts as a motivator. It’s easier to step away from the cookie jar if you know why you’re stepping away. Yet most goals are often defined in vague or unclear terms.
SMART goal setting is an alternative that ensures that goals are set and accomplished. It is often recommended to people who want to learn how to increase self discipline.
See Also: How to Set Personal SMART Goals To Succeed
Specific: What particular behaviours/attributes do you want to gain or get rid of?
Measurable: How will you know you’ve achieved your goal?
Achievable: Are you setting yourself up for failure or is your goal realistic?
Relevant: How does your goal fit in with your dreams and hopes?
Timely: What time frame have you set to achieve your goal?
By having a clear ideal to work towards, it makes it easier to increase self discipline.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither will you magically gain tons of self discipline in a number of hours or days. It can be a hard and discouraging process but the reward is ultimately worth it.
To quote Plato:
“The first and best victory is to conquer self.”
The trick is to start immediately and do a little, every single day. Over time, it will become much easier to stick to the goal and it will start feeling more natural too. The idea is to keep at it, no matter how hard or tiring it gets. Always keep the finish line in mind and use it to motivate you when the going gets tough. This will help you greatly in learning how to increase self discipline.
See Also: Top 10 Self-Discipline Techniques
Trying for that perfect beach body? Stop stocking chips or cookies in the kitchen. Instead, fill your refrigerator and cabinet shelves with healthy snacks that will let you indulge cravings minus the guilt trip! Hummus, crackers, and pita chips are all healthier alternatives than chocolate chip cookies.
Temptation is the biggest problem people face when they want to learn how to increase self discipline. Temptations can break the best of us and there’s nothing worse than going on a binge and breaking that perfect streak.
The solution? Out of sight, out of mind. The less temptation there is, the less inclination to go off the course.
Building self discipline can be an arduous, difficult task. Ultimately, it’s about conquering the negative habits in one’s personality and growing as a person. Learning how to increase self discipline is the first step in growing professionally and personally. Having a strong personality is a key component in being successful.
The post Building Self Discipline For A Strong Personality appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
Ocean Eye is a private home located in Santa Teresa Beach, Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. It was designed by Benjamin Garcia Saxe in 2016. Ocean Eye by Benjamin Garcia Saxe: “Our client bought a beautiful property with two breath-taking views: towards the ocean and into the jungle. We decided to rest the house against the back of the steep hill of the site in order to stabilize the soil and..
