Got History?

Hawthorne & 50th (1936)

Aerial View of Portland (1936)

My fascination with history and place is no secret.  While i am intrigued with urban history in many forms, there's always a desire for a connection with the place you inhabit.  Typically this fascination comes via maps, which have been well documented, but the timeline of the past 150 years plus of Portland is worth a bit of investment.   For folks on the go, there's also an app that highlights historical site - prepared by the Architectural Heritage Center.  Also a new site, WhatWasThere, is a crowd-sourced version that allows folks to upload history photos of their places.

In addition, there are a number of other sources that augmented by a number of great resources that are provided by city and other historical society archives.  Each has some overlap but occupies a unique and often personal niche for the blogger and site owner - to scratch their particular history itch, and all make for some great information.

A veritable decoupage of historical imagery awaits at Portland History - a no-frills site that organizes images, postcards, and a few words - sorted into categories like streets, amusement parks,  A good shortcut is to go the site map, which gives some links to the categories - but just randomly moving around the site isn't a bad idea either.

Council Crest, the Dreamland of Portland, Oregon

Lost Oregon is a great example of an engaging history tour, albeit typically focused on architecture and riddled with some really bad theme ideas like this one.  The site is simple and delves into some more details about some of the areas, buildings, and locations - which augments what is somewhat visually based on other sites.

A spinoff of Lost Oregon writer is PDX: Then/Now which juxtaposes historic and current photos of buildings and places.  Some show destruction or evolution, and some, such as the Union Bank Building in Downtown, are eerily similar over 40 years later.

Vintage Portland is another site 'exploring portland's past', through "...photographs, postcards, illustrations, advertisements, etc. ... It’s not a history lesson, it’s not an architectural critique. It’s a forum for displaying photos of the city’s past, to show how we lived, what we’ve lost (for good or bad) through progress and just to enjoy some wonderful camera work."

I particularly appreciate the 'mystery' posts - which show a building, corner, streetscape - with a question to help find where the site is.  Sometimes it's to fill in a missing link to an archival photo, but other times it becomes more of a game.  The context over time is fascinating evolution - and really highlights the impermanence/permanence of the urban realm.  This shot of MLK @ Ainsworth from the north - replace Texaco with Starbucks (old fuel/new fuel?) and Gilmore with Popeyes (old grease/new grease?).

Cafe Unknown is a new one for me, but author Dan Haneckow pulls you in with compelling history (more text than other sites) along with some good images.  A recent post on Mark Twain in Portland is a good read, and some of the trivial pursuits are great - like Will- vs. Wall- for our fair river (which subsequently ended up 'Willamette') are nuggets of pure gold.  Haneckow is a true historical writer - with the requisite head shots of historical figures quoted... along with some really solid writing and research.  These walking tour images were pretty interesting finds - along with the story of a missing sculpture found.  This stuff is priceless - and firmly about our place.

Check all of these resources out - It is true - you will be sucked in for a few hours/days/weeks - and might come out forever changed.   I feel like a landscape or at least urbanism oriented history site wouldn't be a bad endeavor - if someone is inclined to collaborate - look me up.  But the caveat on these sites, and historical maps, photos, and primary materials - it's addictive.  Don't say i didn't warn you.

Walking the Turtle

While familiar with the concept of the flâneur, the inquistive wanderer, or  "...detached pedestrian observer of a metropolis, a gentleman stroller of city streets".  Reading After the City last night, Lars Lerup, in discussing the idea of the 'speed' of the modern metropolis, made a passing reference to a 19th century custom of using a turtle to set the pace for the observer.  I was intrigued.

 :: walking the turtle - mixed media oil by michele maule - via etsy

A quote from the nonist (a post that also has some great links) entitled: "Taking the turtle for a walk and letting him set the pace." reinforces this idea in an uncredited quote.

"There was the pedestrian who wedged himself into the crowd, but there was also the flâneur who demanded elbow room… Around 1840 it was briefly fashionable to take turtles for a walk in the arcades. the flâneurs liked to have the turtles set the pace for them."

Another reference on One-Way Street - expands on this in the post on f 'A Turtle on a Leash':

"The second development in urbanism leading to the rise of flâneurie was the construction of the Paris arcades in the early nineteenth century. The arcades offered a respite from the bustling crowd outside. Dandies began to frequent the fashionable arcades, taking in the sights and offering themselves up as spectacles in their own right. Around 1839, Benjamin reports, it was fashionable to walk through the arcades with a turtle on a leash in order to enforce the slow pace really determined looking required."

The concept of speed in our modern city makes one appreciate the idea of a pace-car to offset the rapidity of our contemporary life.  This includes the physical (high speed rail, bus rapid transit, more horsepower, higher speed limits), as well as the virtual (rapid access to information via rss, web, smart phones, wi-fi) make just sitting (or strolling) and observing somewhat of a novelty. 

A recent exercise in a class on research methods reinforced that for me - by sitting in a space (namely a local plaza here in Portland) for three separate occasions to merely 'observe' and take notes was jarring in its simplicity.  I wasn't counting or doing anything qualitative, merely going for a rich description of activity and use of space.  The experience made me think of what we miss in our fast-paced lifestyle in car windows, or even on bike or just walking 'to get somewhere'.  Opening oneself up to observation at a slow(er) speed is invigorating and the polarity of our   We stare at computers, magazines, books, or other media, but when the subject is the city (urbanism), it is easy to forget this isn't a detached idea, hypothesis, or theory - but something right outside your door.   

Grab the turtle... its time for a walk.

Revisit: Fremont Troll

From a recent trip to Seattle, always a good excuse to visit our friend under the bridge. I hadn't been up there since the roadway was renamed 'Troll Avenue'... guess it's easier to find that way and an interesting address to boot.


:: image via L+U

Representing Motion

Picking up on the thread of Transect Representation, I recalled that Urban Tick had recently posted a graphic from 'The View from the Road' (Kevin Lynch, Donald Appleyard et al., MIT press, Boston, 1964) - one that I hadn't previously heard of and sounds somewhat applicable to the idea of representational strategies for movement.


:: image via Ephemeral Landscape in the page

The post linked to a longer related post called 'Ephemeral Landscape: in the page' with some additional imagery and a long tangents that include storyboarding and graphic novels to name a few themes. A snippet from the text of Lynch & Appleyard begins to make this link between representation and experience: "The sense of spatial sequence is like that of large-scale architecture; the continuity and insistent temporal fl ow are akin to music and cinema. The kinaesthetic sensations are like those of the dance or the amusement park, although rarely so violent.”

This alludes to the idea of my continual exploration of 'Soundtrack of Spaces' where the sequence can be somewhat choreographed within a design concept. The idea of representation of temporal processes is fascinating, as it's a two-dimensional representation of a four-dimensional process - making it a quite a representational leap. A diagram of t'ai-chi footwork captures the essence of this notational form.


:: image via Ephemeral Landscape in the page

This notation reminds me of the very specifically of Lawrence Halprin's concepts of 'motation' that fused the representational techniques of movement and notation derived from a system of graphically representating dance steps. It's difficult to find many good images of this system to describe it fully, but here's a couple of images from a fascinating study I found from a early 1970s thesis from MIT on "Notation Systems in Architecture" which uses Halprins system of Notation as well as the methods from 'A View From the Road'.






:: images via 'Notation Systems in Architecture' by Premjit Talwar

For architecture, the concepts are broken into four ways of describing environments. These include 1) motion channels, 2) orientation, 3) anatomy of visual space, and 4) form quality. These work in tandem to provide a framework for symbol-based diagramming of spaces that include movement and use (sort of captured in the following two images).




:: images via 'Notation Systems in Architecture' by Premjit Talwar

The scores from Halprin, et.al. cannot be immediately discerned without some deep knowledge, sort of like stenographers short-hand. These are specifically taken from the idea of labanotation, which is commonly used to represent dance, as shown in this snippet from Brittanica "A page from Rudolf Laban’s Schrifttanz (1928), the origin of labanotation, which became the most widespread method of dance notation."


:: image via Encyclopedia Brittanica

I've been fascinated by these notational systems since looking at a volume of Halprin's work back in the mid-90s... along with many years playing tablature for guitar and mandolin... definitely a connection there - but is it a viable methodology for modern representation of spatial and movement dynamics? I'd love to hear more thoughts on what ideas others have for representation of motion (including new media methods for representation).

More to come on this somewhat random line of inquiry.

More on Plant VOCs

A follow-up email from Susan McCoy at Garden Media Group offered some follow-up information on the my previous post related to Plants and VOCs (Sept. 6, 2009). My take on it was at least on the right track, unlike some others - but I figure the press release (and upcoming report) is a good opportunity to get some background from the actual scientific experts :



Here's the text from the letter from September 22nd, 2009:

"To Whom It May Concern,
There have been a number of recent discussions resulting from information taken out of context from an American Society of Horticultural Science press release concerning research conducted on plant volatiles in our laboratory at the University of Georgia.

The release indicated that indoor plants have been found to release volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Unfortunately the results were subsequently misrepresented on an internet site, giving the impression that it is undesirable to have plants in our homes and offices.

This could not be further from the truth. All living things give off VOCs; one of the simplest is
CO2 that we emit when breathing. Therefore, solely equating VOCs with “harmful” is totally inaccurate. The fragrance of a rose or the aroma of apple pie are each made up of volatile organic compounds.

The assumption that has incorrectly been made is that all VOCs are equal and are harmful.
Mankind has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years breathing VOCs from plants, nearly all of which are harmless at the concentrations encountered in nature. Unfortunately over the last 150 years there has been a logarithmic increase in the number of synthetic chemicals from other sources to which we are now exposed. A number of these are extremely harmful and in some cases, lethal. These undesirable volatiles represent a serious health problem that is responsible for more than 1.6 million deaths per year and 2.7% of the global burden of disease (WHO, 2002).

Critical questions with regard to VOCs include: What chemicals and what are their
concentrations? In the website account, much was made of a minute amount of volatiles derived from pesticides applied to the plants. In reality, these pesticide-derived volatiles emitted from the Peace lily represented less that four hundredth of one percent (0.038%) of the volatiles given off by the plant. Finding minute amounts of chemicals indicates the extremely high level of sensitivity of the analytical techniques but does not imply a potentially harmful situation.

Our research has shown that while plants give-off a small amount of harmless VOCs, they also
remove significant amounts of toxic VOCs from the air. The net effect is overwhelmingly positive. Plants in homes and offices are not only aesthetically pleasing, they can also increase the quality of the air we breathe and thereby the health of the inhabitants. As we continue to research and learn more about the potential of plants to remove harmful volatile compounds we should generate knowledge that will enhance our ability to create exceptionally healthy indoor environments.

Sincerely,
Stanley J. Kays, Professor
University of Georgia

More info and contact for Professor Kays can be found here and I will try to get my hands on the report and see if there are any nuggets of info out there. And thanks Susan for the heads up on this!

Video: The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

A great video series on YouTube - featuring 'The Social Life of Small urban Spaces' videos (a companion to the book, or is that vice-versa) by William 'Holly' Whyte . The content is kind of late Mad Men era (OK it's the 1970s, but one expects Don Draper to mosey through the shot looking dapper, but with someone other than his wife on his arm) but still fascinating. I wonder why no one is doing this type of urban analysis in our modern times (and please let me if you know some modern iterations of this) as our media-accessible world this seems easy - maybe even through a series of security cameras stiched together.

I've embedded the first installment below... but check out the full series of videos... I'm through a few and they are pretty intriguing.



Thanks @space2place on Twitter for the link to these.

Radical Cartography

A very cool site that was reintroduced to me recently is Radical Cartography, one of the most interesting collections of maps out there (with the exception of maybe the wonderfully oddball collection over at Strange Maps). I had lost touch with the site, after this cool post on Agriculture maps of the US from back in 2008 - and now this won't happen again since they now have a blog that alerts readers to new content on the site.

It's not a secret that I heart maps, and anyone that offers a quote from Baudrillard for their explanatory page is tops in my book. Also check out the fully packed resources page for some great links. It's worth a perusal... here's a few teasers that I thought I'd share:

THE CARGO CHAIN
Bill Rankin, in collaboration with The Center for Urban Pedagogy, Labor Notes, The Longshore Workers’ Coalition, and Thumb Design, 2008


:: image via Radical Cartography

POTZDAMER PLATZ
from Artur Fürst, Das Weltreich der Technik (volume II), 1924.


:: image via Radical Cartography

LAND HISTOGRAMS
Bill Rankin, 2008


:: image via Radical Cartography

This is but a taste... and hours of enjoyment. Thanks Kelly R. for jogging my memory on this one!

Soundtrack for Spaces?

A brief lull in posting due to a visit from family, and a kick-ass barbecue last weekend - which culminated in the inaugural usage of the new backyard fire pit. As an aside... this past Friday, we took a short half-day trip to a popular hiking spot in the Columbia River Gorge, with the route passing through the Historic Columbia River Highway. This scenic and windy route is a must-see both for the route itself, and for the multiple trailheads to waterfall hikes throughout the gorge.

So yes, soundtrack... as my passengers dozed on the slow road, I cued up the I-Pod with the fabulous Seattle band Fleet Foxes, which btw is fabulous driving music. As the road twisted, turned, slowed and sped up, and moved from light to dappled sun to dark - the music stayed sycopated perfectly... with lyrical and musical ebb and flow that seemed choreographed by some unseen hand.

:: image via Travel Oregon

:: image via Wild Nature Images

A video of the Fleet Foxes (if'n you don't know them) is below... and check out their tunes on their MySpace page.

Fleet Foxes


One thing that this made me think of what the idea of purposeful insertion of music into the idea of the narrative of the city, such as GPS-enabled smart phones and portable music devices that play particular rhythms or artists based on location, time, and activity - or better yet, are connected to traffic speed and the myriad ebbs and flows of city life. Perhaps an antidote to the obvious disconnect from reality that technological devices seem to elicit.

Directed back to Landscape Architecture, there are precedents in the idea of Halprin's RSVP Cycles and the conceptual framework of producing 'scores' of spaces.


:: image via google images

It also got me thinking about other sountracks to places both urban, wilderness, linear or static... such as my propensity to listen to Band of Horses while biking home from work, or the strange and short lived jogging to Elliott Smith. Anyone have the specific soundtrack to your urban life?

Delirious Detroit: Land of UnReal Estate

After a brief, work induced break from blogging, I've amassed a collection of posts from Detroit, which seems to be getting a lot of attention of late as perhaps the poster child of urban voids. The report that we worked on in last falls SDAT is slowly nearing publication, so definitely check back here for the full document soon. One of the major themes, obviously, is the rampant deterioration of both community and infrastructure in Detroit. Treehugger offers some more visual clues to the issue - a particularly poignant one being the box elder sapling growing from the detritus inside an abandoned Public School Facility.


:: Detroit Public Schools Book Depository - image via Treehugger

This image gives some clue to the solution - deterioration not equalling death but offering the potential for rebirth and regrowth. The flip side of all this chaos is the move towards positive change. For an ongoing update of some of the current goings on, an interesting blog analyzing the unique Detroit phenonomenon is Detroit UnReal Estate Agency, a collaborative with an aim to: "...produce, collect and inventory information on the 'unreal estate' of Detroit: that is, on the remarkable, distinct, characteristic or subjectively significant sites of urban culture. The project is aimed at new types of urban practices (architectural, artistically, institutional, everyday life, etc) that came into existence, creating a new local ‘normality’ and a new value system in the city of Detroit."


:: image via Detroit UnReal Estate Agency

A recent story on NPR discussed the work of a pair of artists who: "...have been recruiting artists from around the world to buy the foreclosed houses in the neighborhood and rebuild." The low cost of entry and abundance of stock allows for some artistic flair and innovation. A proposed redevelopment aiming to be completely off the grid, is the "Power House Project" From the article: "...they set their sights on the foreclosed house down the street — a working class, wood frame, single family house that was listed for sale for $1,900. The house had been trashed by scrappers who stole everything, including the copper plumbing, radiators and electrical lines... instead of putting it all back and connecting to the grid, we wanted to keep it off the grid and get enough solar and wind turbines and batteries to power this house and power the next-door house."

Read some more about this and the reinhabitation of Detroit at the NY Times.


:: Power House Project - image via NPR

There are no shortage of recent calls from virtually everywhere to 'save' Detroit in a range of potential ways... these range from the practical, as urbanism points out the potential for public-private partnerships. A middle ground perhaps is a proposed high-speed train, seen via The Infrastructurist: "An outfit called Interstate Traveler, LLC is proposing to build an elevated high speed maglev train running between the depopulating metropolis of Detroit and the state capital of Lansing as the first leg of a multi-use national transportation network. The trains would travel at 200 mph along current Interstate rights of way with stations near current highway exits."

Check out this video of the proposal:

And perhaps falling into the outlandish, a proposal to build mobile nuclear reactors, as seen in a fascinating post from Treehugger: "After all, alternative energy is huge now, and in World War II Detroit retooled from cars to tanks in a matter of months. How much of a stretch would it be for them to start churning out these portable nuclear power stations that the Russians used until the unfortunate events at Chernobyl nudged them off the road. This is a TES-3 built on a T10 tank platform, with an 8.8 megawatt output." Yikes!

:: image via Treehugger

A range of other options include a proposal to use Brownfield sites for renewable energy production (via The Dirt); to perhaps the more innovative (yet illegal) ultimate in guerilla gardening, from a post on Where: "We all know Urban Agriculture is the big thing these days, hailed to save our urban youth by offering values, safe havens, and job training. My question is, what will happen to these urban farms when we legalize marijuana. I don't know the answer, and I am not implying there is one answer, I just think it's an incredibly interesting question, and so I thought I would poss (sic) it to the community here at Where. I mean, the inner city has historically been plagued with drug crime and addiction but perhaps the legalization of marijuana could offer a way out? I mean, the urban farms, the knowledge of agriculture is already there, and certainly the abandoned lots are there, and the drug colonies are there. On the other hand, maybe it would be a terrible thing leading people to dependency and bigger addictions. Either way it's a compelling situation to ruminate on. Rustbelt - Weedbelt."


:: Weed City? - image via Where

So what to do with all of these ideas? All of these options and more are on the table and can be your guide to a current competition entitled 'Rouse [D]etroit'.


:: image via Treehugger

"This is an international open ideas competition challenging people to come up with designs that will rouse the city of Detroit and encourage an evolution of our understanding of its unique urban environment. We have studied, examined, photographed, and proposed our ideas many times over, but how can we begin to take action to improve the overall condition of what so many believe to be a modern day ruins? Every city has its history and Detroit is no different, but now it’s our turn to “bounce back” and maybe not in the traditional or conventional way, but in a new, unprecedented way that is specific to the one-of-a-kind condition Detroit presents to us. So the solution too, will be one-of-a-kind specific to our Detroit… let’s see what you’ve got… Ranging from macro to micro, explore all options; this project is not just about the large scheme, but also the small details. We are looking for the most CREATIVE and thoughtful designs that could help Detroit and make it better in some way. The competition does have one condition; the site or sites must be in Detroit. "

The ball is now in your court... submissions are due July 31.

Earthships to El Monte Sagrado

Back in the summer of 2005, I had the opportunity to travel for a number of days throughout New Mexico on a dual vacation/educational endeavor (what isn't educational,I ask?) Whilst digging through images to upload to Flickr, I found a hidden trove photos from that trip as well as some notes for an article I was writing and decided that an extended post was appropriate.

For those of you that did not get my reference in the title, the trip included a number of highlights, the biggest contrast coming from in one day. The start of the day included visiting the renowned and rustic semi-DIY ecological dwellings called Earthships outside of Taos, NW - followed by the evening of checking into and staying at the posh eco-resort - El Monte Sagrado, in Taos proper.


:: Earthships - image via Landscape+Urbanism


:: El Monte Sagrado - image via Landscape+Urbanism

The architectural differences are pretty evident, although both utilize local materials and apply them in ways specific to the arid desert environment such as thermal mass, daylighting, passive cooling and cross-ventilation, and earthen materials. And tires... did I mention tires?

To clarify with a definition, via the Earthship Website: "Earthship n. 1. passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials 2. thermal mass construction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy & integrated water systems make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills."


:: Tires and bottles at the Earthships - L+U

And to further clarify, El Monte Sagrado, via their website: "El Monte Sagrado, well-known as a leader in alternative energy, blends its commitment to sustainability with a setting of indulgent luxury. Of special note for our environmentally conscious travelers is the Biolarium and The Living Machine, a holistically designed eco-structure that incorporates recycled water, plants, and rock formation into a self-sustaining ecosystem that flows throughout the resort and creates an enclosed, lush sanctuary around the resort’s pool. By treating and recycling the water with natural filters and purifiers, El Monte Sagrado is able to sustain a lush and fertile year-round environment, even at 7,000 feet above sea level. With sunlit fish-filled streams, tropical flora, and the sounds of calming waterfalls, the nurturing effects of El Monte Sagrado’s Living Spa begin from the moment of your arrival."


:: The only tires are on the fancy cars out front at El Monte Sagrado - L+U

So, conceptually these are not two peas in a pod... but locally each strive for off-the-grid (to a degree) cutting edge sustainability in the desert ecosystem of Taos. One thing I was very interesting in checking out was the use of stormwater and wastewater treatment facilities - particularly outdoor waste processing and polishing from constructed wetlands. This reminded me that I did pick up a book on Water while at the Earthships that I should pull out some time and check into. It is authored by Mike Reynolds whom also fancies himself a practitioner of Biotecture, which is "...the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their sustainability.[or]... A combination of biology and architecture." Sounds like a quality portmanteau to me...




:: Water Gardens at Earthships - L+U

The water treatment at El Monte Sagrado was a bit more refined, and definitely in a high-visibility location (as you enter the pool area. This particular garden was a bit unruly, but another further along the path was more put together, evoking the concept of desert Cenote - which is a natural groundwater sinkhole common in Mexico. The design of EMS is the brainchild of local firm Living Designs Group out of Taos, who specialize in regional sustainability - interjecting the designs with sustainable strategies that are reflective of regional differences. For instance - Pacific Northwest Sustainability, for instance, is very different than Southwestern Desert Sustainability... we say with a 'duh!'




:: Water Gardens at El Monte Sagrado - L+U

The heavy lifting for wastewater is done with indoor living machines. I know for sure that El Monte Sagrado uses actual trademarked Living Machines - long stolen from John Todd - but not sure if I can use that term legally for Earthships. The contrast in technology here was less distinct and pretty consistent - as you can see from the following photos. Functionally similar to one another, each used the idea of plants, flora, and fauna, to break down wastes. Simple, right?

The living machines were remarkably similar, housed in a glass enclosure and rife with tropical vegetation. The Earthship prominately displayed their machine in the front room, where the series of multiple machines at El Monte Sagrado (treating all of the graywater from the hotel and spa) where tucked away behind the indoor pool in a lush and humid tropical garden oasis). Both were much more fun than a septic tank or mechanical room. Also, the bottom pic, You can see this living machine is chock fun and churning away at a load full of soap suds at this point...


:: Earthship Eco-Machine - L+U


:: El Monte Living Machine Array - L+U

What could the off-the grid eco-pioneers of Earthships and the swank high-brow lifestyle of the transient residents of El Monte Sagrado in common. In some sense, quite a lot. In others, absolutely nothing. What struck me was the continuum on which ecological design exists - and that it is perhaps able to transcend many social structures - but sometimes is a very powerful way of accentuating the haves and have-nots. Or perhaps it's the have's because you can afford it, versus the have's because you had the ingenuity to figure it out.

The details of both of these projects start to hammer home this point. For instance, the use of glass bottles for daylighting inside the Earthship - as well as a striking exterior facade articulation using beer cans and bottles.




:: Earthship aesthetics borne of availability - L+U

The water features and paving details at El Monte Sagrado speak of sophistication and simplicity - which seems to fit into the theme of this place - and separate the two even further. Water at the Earthships is for function primarily - at El Monte it is for function - plus art. Stone is the same way - as a natural material - or a paving accent - perhaps both giving a clue to the geology and geography in which projects exist.




:: The El Monte Sagrado budget and time for art and detail - L+U

Or the utilitarian solar array, versus the whimsical... the solar panels prominentely displayed at the Earthships to maximize exposure - while I don't think I saw one at El Monte Segrado, save this sculpture below:


:: Earthship energy to Live - L+U


:: El Monte art with a sprinking of solar - L+U

When it comes down to it, my major beef with the DIY ecological design is the overly rustic aesthetic. While I think the DIY eco-aesthetic is fine, and some would argue more authentic to the vernacular, there's a certain level of refinement that seems lacking - and this is usally chalked up to utility. I think that this utilitarian rationalization is just a cop-out due to lack of design talent and sophistication. A lot of project may be technically brilliant or regionally authentic - but look like crap (in the case of some cob building, literally.) Face it, functionalism can only bring you so far without the poetry. Or is there poetry in the simple functionalism? Organicism via shit-shaped structures - is not poetic organic form. Let's compare for instance, some materials choices for the two projects... first, the used tire and beer can wall filler of the Earthships...




:: Earthship aesthetic - L+U

It's not that I dislike this. I find it refreshing, fun, and interesting. But, is it an aesthetic that would be widely transferable to most people? Not likely? Is it because we are elitist pigs? Or is it just that when the choice is given,we'd rather not have Budweiser cans jutting from our mud-packed tire walls... On the flip side, the admittedly expensive sculptural wrought iron bridge railing - and stone inlay in the paving from El Monte Segrado. Not everyone's taste I'm sure - nor everyone's budget. Both seem specific to place and user - which makes them both equally authentic.




:: El Monte style - L+U

Many think that the concepts and technologies of ecological design are only available to the upper eschelons whom can afford either the design expertise or the rigors of implementation to make for sustainable living. While this is true to a degree - you can buy your way into sustainability - it's a matter of degree what success you can attain when looking at true sustainability. In the end, both are sustainable, in different ways.

This is not to make a value judgement, or to delve into monetary elitism (ok, maybe a bit - but I would guess the monthly operating cost for an Earthship is probably on par with one night at El Monte Sagrado). The purpose of pointing out a number of these differences (amidst the similarities) is to highlight the schism that inevitably is inherent in either of these types of development. One swinging along with the pendulum to minimalism, extreme reuse, and function. The other drifting into the realms of artistic expression, material excess, and decadence.

My point (if there is one amongst this rambling) is that, both projects aim for and are guided by a similar subject (for continuity let's call it desert sustainability). The direction, goals, and motivations for the designers, and ultimately the end users, of these spaces couldn't be more different. Yet do they differ as much as we think? The unifying theme is an ingrained searching for individuality that seems caught up in sustainability.

The individuality of forging on your own in the bare desert necessity of the Earthships is one way to acheive this - perhaps as a statement against society, excess, and on a budget. The individuality of choosing to pay a high premium for eco-luxury is another - perhaps to education or confront notions of lifestyle choice and opportunity.

In the end, one may ultimately be more sustainable that the other long-term (i'll leave it to you to decide) - but in our world of disparities, can there be room for both individuals - if they ultimately want the same thing?