VIAVOX tonight: Patrick Condon Book Reading + Signing

Please join us for an upcoming VIAVOX:

Book Reading + Signing: Patrick Condon’s

Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities

Design Strategies for the Post Carbon World

When: 5:30pm  Monday, November 28^th 2011

Where: Seattle Coffee Works - 107 Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101

Free; Open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

Patrick Condon, Professor at the University of British Columbia, will read samples from his latest book Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities:

Questions of how to green the North American economy, create a green energy and transportation infrastructure, and halt the deadly increase in greenhouse gas buildup dominate our daily news. Related questions of how the design of cities can impact these challenges dominate the thoughts of urban planners and designers across the U.S. and Canada. With admirable clarity, Patrick Condon discusses transportation, housing equity, job distribution, economic development, and ecological systems issues and synthesizes his knowledge and research into a simple-to-understand set of urban design rules that can, if followed, help save the planet.

No other book so clearly connects the form of our cities to their ecological, economic, and social consequences. No other book takes on this breadth of complex and contentious issues and distills them down to such convincing and practical solutions. And no other book so vividly compares and contrasts the differing experiences of U.S. and Canadian cities.

VIAVOX: giving a voice to current issues in architecture, planning, and design

Monday News Roundup

A roundup of the top headlines from art, design, sustainability and architecture:

Finnish supermarket develops slow check-our lane for disabled and elderly (Springwise)

The slow-track checkout lane at Finnish K-citymarket is aimed at the elderly, the disabled, and anyone else who wants a more relaxed shopping experience.

Hatert Housing by 24H Architects (Contemporist) 

This sturdy tower designed by 24H Architects acts as a recognizable sculpture from all sides. It will serve as a housing program, new public space for citizens and a community health center.  

Paris-based Designer Suzy Lelièvre (Colossal)

These assorted projects showcase her uncanny ability to portray ordinary objects in extraordinary ways

Dan Bertolet of VIA Architecture discusses Issaquah's zHome (Green Building)

VIA's own takes a closer look at the success and cost efficiency of Issaquah's net-zero energy townhouse development.

Great cities invest in great architecture (Planetizen)

ArtPlace America has issued a landmark series of grants dedicated to supporting the 'creative class' and enhance communities through the arts.

Ever seen a paperclip bike rack? (Colossal)

As seen on campus at the Minneapolis Art Institute

A fascinating bit of creative land use (Sustainable Cities Collective)

NYC's conceptual, subterranean public park attempts to pipe natural light underground

Co-Housing Offers A Fresh Approach To Sustainable Development (Planetizen)

A return to community focused development is changing the design of neighborhoods across the country.

opportunity to express and practice for house decoration

Decoration of the house itself is very active and enjoyable. It gives you the opportunity to express and practice their imagination to the fullest. Many people think of decorating a house needs a lot of cash and creativity. But that's not true at all.

Decorating a home is doing the things you love. If you like the embroidery, you can create a wall hanging from it and use it in their bedroom teens. The real success with the decoration is in the "detail", the little things that make a big difference.

For the little things I mean all aspects of the interiors of your house that is directly visible when someone enters your home. This may include pillowcases, upholstery, indoor plants, statues, windows and objects in picture frames on the wall hangings, wall clocks, and many more.

Any home decorating has two main aspects attached to it. The first is the actual design of the house, which obviously can not change because it is a structure built. This includes the size and shape of rooms, height, flooring materials and patterns, shapes and materials of the roof and the actual construction technology used for the construction of housing.

Another part of the decoration of the house are the accessories can be used to elevate the creative perception of built space. As previously mentioned accessories can be anything you can think of that will add a creative touch to the interiors of your home.

There are many points to consider when decorating a house. But I'll give you a little example here to demonstrate how the house decorating professionals decorate an interior when the house.

While the decor of your home to have one thing in mind when facing busy home furniture lining the walls of the house and the face becomes the most visible. That's why during the selection of furniture finishes to see that the color scheme of the wall and faces the furniture colors create a balance. Now if to create an effect of the merger or a complete contrast depends on the size of space.

However, if you go to buy furniture in a store, then you only have the option to change the wall paint to match the faces of the furniture. Some furniture stores allow you to change the faces of the furniture at no extra cost. If it is possible that you may request that bests suits the interior of your home.

This was just a small example of how to approach home decorating and generate ideas. Each individual housing construction is different and different people perceive it differently inside the house. So what really matters is what exactly you want the end result is. With some creativity you can easily transform a poor house looking at the masterpiece of decoration.

Monday News Roundup

Catch up on what you missed last week!

Architecture and design help the brain to recover (University of Gothenburg)
New research reveals that well-planned architecture, design and sensory stimulation increase patients ability to recover both physically and mentally.

Gorgeous oil paintings by Andrew Salgado (Colossal)

White and yellow themed health center debuts in Mallorca, Spain (Contemporist)

The Haunting Disappearance of Pine Point, Pop. 1200 (Switchboard)
A relatively normal small town for 25 years, Pine Point simply disappeared in the late 1980s after the local mining operation shut down. It exists today only as vacant streets, a cemetery, and the memories of its former inhabitants.

Corrugated Art by Mark Langan (Design Milk)
Hailing from a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, artist Mark Langan creates three-dimensional sculptures using reclaimed corrugated cardboard.

Dune House, Thorpennes, England (Design Milk)
The design of 'Dune House' is a creative one – fashioned after the concept of a floating roof

Suitcases from the Willard Asylum for the Insane (Colossal)
A photography series showcasing the entire attic-full of suitcases left behind by patients admitted to the asylum who supposedly never left.

The amazing resurgence of the South Bronx (Switchboard)
New York City's South Bronx is making an astounding comeback. Not that long ago, the neighborhood was perhaps the country's most villified, a setting for all that had gone wrong in urban America...

TransLink awarded gold sustainability status by APTA

We have previously written about sustainable transit guidelines, including work being done by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to set up “best practices” for sustainability in transit.

Just a few weeks ago, APTA recognized TransLink for its sustainability efforts, awarding it Gold Sustainability status – the highest level of recognition ever awarded to any North American transportation authority.

The following are just a few of the ways that TransLink achieved their gold status:

§  Having drivers turn off their buses when stopped for more than three minutes

o   Cutting diesel fuel use by 1.28 million liters (338,140 gallons)

§  Energy retrofits and energy efficiency improvements

o   Cutting energy use by 16%

§  Increasing ridership, adding 180 hybrid buses, and choosing less carbon-dependent transit options (such as the Canada Line)

o   Reducing carbon dioxide emissions per passenger kilometer by 18% 

“Marine Drive Station on the Canada Line" Photo Credit: Ed White



         Click here to read more about APTA’s 2010 annual conference,       and ways to include more sustainability in transit.



main focuses of living room

The first thing to make the design of a living room or living room is to see family. All involved. Maybe everyone writes a list of things that are most important to them or things they would like in a family room or living room. Then pick a few things from each of these lists. If everyone likes to watch TV, make sure it is one of the main focuses of the room. If someone likes to read, be sure to include some well-lit room and a comfortable chair that is quiet enough to read and relax in.

If someone likes art or drawing, make sure you have a desk or a space to express themselves through their art and drawing. It can also be a good idea to make this corner bright and colorful to inspire the person who likes to draw or paint. This can also make the rest of your family feel inspired or enjoy the space as well. There is much to consider in the design of living and family rooms. If you feel overwhelmed by the task of designing the room or just need some fresh ideas, new, can be a good idea to hire a professional interior designer.

Professional designers can help you listen and work with you to get the room and space that works well for everyone in your family. You may think that professional designers who come and take charge or cost you much money. The truth is that although many of them just want to work with you to ensure you have what you want and you will enjoy and to save time, energy and money in the long term. Therefore, if you want to design any room, consider hiring an interior designer, no matter if you live in San Diego, CA and New York. That way you will have a living room designed to accommodate everyone.

New Hire: Dan Bertolet

VIA Architecture has recently hired Dan Bertolet as an urban planner.

Dan is a planner and urban designer with a deep commitment to sustainable urban development. He holds a Masters Degree in Urban Design and Planning, as well as a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. With over seven years of experience, Dan has worked on a wide variety projects including station area planning, town center redevelopment, Hope VI master planning, and market-rate mixed-use urban infill.

He will continue to head up Citytank, a blog that believes that cities are a solution, and strives to provide ideas that “help fulfill the promise of cities to both expand the human spirit, and sustain a thriving planet.”