UBC SALA Spring 2015 Lecture Series – Feb-Mar

Monday, March 2
BC Hydro Power Smart Lecture
Christoph Reinhardt
Sustainable Design Lab, MIT

Monday, March 9
Harry J Webb and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Lecture
Ron Williams
WAA and Landscape Architecture, Montreal

Monday, March 16
BC Hydro Power Smart Lecture
Philippe Block
Block Research Group, ETH Zurich

All lectures start at 6:30pm and are held at UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street

Lectures are free and open to the public. The SALA Lecture Series qualifies for British Columbia Society of Landscape Architects Continuing Education Credits.

Members of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada may self-report this activity for Learning Unit consideration.

Bolivia’s “Spaceship Architecture” Showcases The New Wealth Of Indigenous People

By Jeanne Kim
Feb 21, 2015, QUARTZ

The architect Freddy Mamani Silvestre’s extravagant urban mansions in El Alto, Bolivia, have been derided as kitschy-looking cohetillos, meaning “spaceships”—giving his work the nickname “spaceship architecture.”

But the admirers of Freddy Mamani, as he is generally known, say his colorful “new Andean” style has also served to reinvent a city once aesthetically monochromatic, and that he has found a way to bring traditional Andean and Tiwanaku cultures into an urban setting.

A recent show at London’s Architectural Association School of Architecture displayed a four-piece exhibit of Mamani’s architecture titled Salones de Eventos, or Party Hall. A documentary is in production detailing the architect’s life and architecture as well.

An Aymaran architect, Mamani was a pioneer of this architectural style, says Elisabetta Andreoli, an architectural historian and co-author of The Architecture of Freddy Mamani Silvestre. Quartz tried to speak with Mamani directly, but was unable to reach him after several phone calls.

Originally from rural La Paz, a city near El Alto, Mamani, who according to Andreoli is around 41 years old, started laying bricks at the age of 14 (link in Spanish). Later he went to engineering school. Read more…

7 Ways Architecture Can Tackle Global Warming

O-14, a Dubai tower by RUR Architecture, is covered by a concrete exoskeleton that creates a chimney effect, pipping hot air up through the three-foot-deep space between the perforated shell and the building’s glass windows, keeping the interior cool. As more areas of the world face desert-like conditions due to climate change, this kind of passive climate control could be used to reduce buildings’ carbon footprint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Shaunacy Ferro
Feb 24, 2015, Co.DESIGN

These ideas, from a structure made of recycled milk cartons to algae that can boost a sinking city, actually scale.

Architecture is one of the key drivers of climate change. Between construction and the energy required to keep buildings up and running, the industry is responsible for nearly half of the carbon emissions in the U.S.. Technologies and energy-savvy design can lower emissions, and in some cases, even generate energy. But scale proves a significant challenge. One off-the-grid tiny house won’t put a dent in the world’s carbon emissions.

Scale is the issue explored in a new book called Global Design, drawn from the global warming-focused New York University project of the same name. In it, architects Louise Harpman and Mitchell Joachim along with Peder Anker of NYU’s environmental studies department explore climate change solutions from the design world, both completed and conceptual. In contrast to the one-off starchitecture that disregards environmental impact for iconic glory (supertall glass towers in the middle of the desert come to mind), the book celebrates modern architects and researchers who, in both a local and global sense, are working with nature, not in spite of it. The projects address local concerns, but in a warming world, are applicable on a wider scale—innovations like algae that can boost a sinking city, concrete plazas that reflect heat to keep temperatures cool, and skyscrapers that passively combat heat. Read more…

Exhibit on Arctic architecture kicks off national tour in Winnipeg

By The Canadian Press
Feb 23, 2015, CBCNews

Canada’s award-winning entry at last year’s Venice Biennale in Architecture — a look at Arctic buildings past, present and future — kicks off a national tour this month at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

“Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15” includes soapstone models, made by Inuit artists, of some of Nunavut’s best-known buildings. Ideas for housing, arts and other projects in the next 15 years are also featured.

The exhibition marking Nunavut’s 15th anniversary in 2014 as a territory won a Special Mention at the Biennale, where a jury lauded its “in-depth study of how modernity adapts to a unique climatic condition and a local minority culture.”

A video explores the show inside Canada’s pavilion in Venice.

Read more…

Surrey’s PARKit Design Challenge 2015

Surrey’s PARKit Design Challenge 2015 – “Dueling Pianos” The City of Surrey is calling for submissions in the 2015 PARKit Design Challenge, a competition for the design and installation of a summertime pop-up park in Surrey City Centre.  Individuals and groups (students and professionals) are invited to submit their unique ideas for a creative, sustainable, outdoor public space capable of supporting 2 street pianos, part of the Pianos on the Street program. The winning team will receive $15,000 to fabricate and install their design. Honorariums will be awarded to second ($500) and third place teams ($250).

The 2014 PARKit design challenge was a great success and we received some fantastic entries by very creative teams –students and professionals. The winning entry was entitled “Gingham style” and was inspired by the traditional picnic basket fabric. The PARKit site is located adjacent to Surrey Central SkyTrain station, in the North Surrey Recreation Centre parking lot. This area has become an important pedestrian hub, linking SFU Surrey, Central City Mall and City Hall with the SkyTrain.

PARKit Design Challenge entries are due May 1, with the winner announced on May 8.  The site is expected to be installed by June 22, and will remain open through the summer. A site meeting is planned for March 24 at 10 am. They ask all applicants to register for the program and RSVP for the site meeting by sending an email to beautification@surrey.ca with your contact information. Students are especially encouraged to apply!

The City developed PARKit in 2012 as a pilot project to create temporary public park space, and to test the feasibility of mobile food trucks in City Centre.  The Design Challenge was introduced in 2013 to evolve the PARKit concept.

For more information visit www.surrey.ca/parkit

UBC SALA Lecture Series: Ron Williams

Harry J Webb and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Lecture

Ron Williams
Williams Asselin Ackaoui & Associates,
Landscape Architecture, University of Montreal, and author of Landscape Architecture in Canada

A longtime professor at the School of Landscape Architecture at the University of Montreal, Ron Williams is a founding partner of Montreal landscape architecture and urban design firm Williams, Asselin, Ackaoui & Associates. He has participated in many award-winning projects including the Montreal Beach Park on Ile Notre-Dame, the Biodome, the Jardin de l’Espace Saint-Roch and the rehabilitation of Avenue Honoré Mercier in Quebec City. His new book, Landscape Architecture in Canada, comprehensively documents the role landscape architecture has played in shaping Canada’s landscape.

The lecture will be followed by a reception sponsored by Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance.

Date: Monday, March 9, 2015 – 6:30pm
Location: 800 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC (UBC Robson Square)
RSVP: http://apsc.ubc.ca/apsc/sala-lecture-series-ron-williams-rsvp

Reception to follow sponsored by: Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance

Lectures are free and open to the public. The SALA Lecture Series qualifies for British Columbia Society of Landscape Architects Continuing Education Credits.

Members of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada may self-report this activity for Learning Unit consideration.

New Registered Educational Provider: ALPOLIC Materials – Mitsubishi Plastics Composites America

ALPOLIC Materials is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of aluminum and metal composite materials. Located in Chesapeake, Virginia, the facility began production in 1991 and continues to set the North American standard for innovation and quality.

To learn more about all AIBC Registered Educational Providers, please visit the AIBC website.