zaha hadid

A tiresome question in architecture is whether unbuilt projects have a greater value than real buildings. Generally, a complete realization of architectural service is necessary to pay the bills. Hadid persisted as an artist before getting shovels in the ground. Her dramatic career cut short lends an air of drama to her unfinished designs and entertains the speculation of how feasible her more uncanny visions will be--provided a client with deep enough pockets.. Her firm persists, which makes us wonder how derivative they will be, and how long they will last. Frank Lloyd Wright's studio produced nothing of significance after his death.

american infrastructure costs

The punchline to the joke of American infrastructure seems to be: "Spend more and get less." There does not seem to be a good solution to anything. Some clamor for privatization, but fail to understand that land acquisition is a public policy challenge. Others demand cheaper service with the stipulation that all areas are served regardless of demand density. Planning costs time and money--with time being the more onerous burden as system failures have to build to a critical mass before emergency funds are dispensed to solve small problems with great inefficiency. Towers of ilium will think about his more while stuck on the train today.

Oh, that punchline also applies to our healthcare system.

shoots and leaders

Market watchers are starting to make more haphazard predictions of late. The Trump bump is fading--the market will surge once tax reform passes---earnings are good--wages are too high, etc. The economy feels sound and secure to the point where no one shock will have an adverse effect. Towers of ilium is willing to concede that things will continue on this path through the fall and beyond.

squaring the circle

It's a boat, it's a plane, it's deeply flawed piece of urban real estate! Towers of ilium confidently predicts (is there any other type of prediction on this blog?) that nothing dramatic will happen to Widett Circle in the next ten years. No Olympics, no hipster development, no railyard expansion. Even if the food wholesalers move somewhere else the complexity associated with this site will overwhelm a speedy decision. The circulation systems surrounding and through the site defy human activities. Although some developers have built on marginal sites further up the road they haven't had to overcome the triple obstacle of highways, truck services roads, and rail lines.

we are not running out of sand

An overly dramatic article in a recent issue of the New Yorker talked about the coming worldwide sand shortage. Using some anecdotes and selective statistics the author was able to weave a tail about the "Sandpocalypse." Meanwhile, the world continues to move on. Natural resources are finite, but it is worth noting that the surface of the planet is composed mostly of water and rocks. The rocks turn into sand naturally, but if you're in a big hurry and have the right equipment we can make sand directly from rocks--much like we can make electricity directly from the sun. Granted, this is more expensive than just digging it out of the ground, but expensive products and services tend to create competitive production environments.

The earth has plenty of resources. In fact, the one resource that exhibits frequent scarcity is human intelligence.

manchester

People far away of whom we know everything. Four years on from the Marathon bombings and Boston has achieved a state of normalcy. The next terrorist attack on U.S. soil may take the form of the Manchester concert attack. New York City is the mostly likely target, and we would hope that the majority of counter-terrorism efforts are focused on that region.

security concepts

Security is a social contract that is deeply related to the disproportionate exercise of force. The theft of an item worth a few hundred dollars can result in police investigations and legal actions that can reach several hundred thousand dollars. But, to not pursue the action ultimately creates an environment of mistrust and chaos. The use of resources expended to stop a criminal is justified by the threat of future actions.

Architectural features that promote security have a high rate of failure. Walls can be scaled, locks picked, doors kicked in, etc...and a fortress under siege is not a fun place to live. In most instances, transparency and density can create better outcomes. A pile of treasure is safer inside a city than out in the wilderness.