In a wonderful article in today’s NYT, Kathryn Shattuck covers The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s 2008 Landslide series, “The Marvels of Modernism.” Check it out.

And for those of you in Seattle, note that the article gives special mention to the two area works that were documented by Christopher Raushenberg, the Pacific Science Center and Herbert Bayer’s Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks. Please join us for the exhibition opening at the Design Within Reach studio on First Avenue as part of the First Thursday Art Walk. The boards arrived in our office on Friday and they look stunning. December 4th from 6pm to 8pm.

Seth Godin, marketing/ business consultant/author/etc, makes a great point today. Shocking in it’s simplicity, here’s what he says:“You’re responsible”. Some exerpts:

You take a job, you’ve bought into what the company does. You’re responsible.

If you work for a company headed off a cliff, hey, you’re going too. The fact that you’re just doing your job doesn’t make unemployment any better. And if the company is hurting people or the world you operate in, it doesn’t matter who told you to do it, you still did it.

It’s not just your job. It’s a big part of your life. And you’re way smarter than you’re giving yourself credit for. Speak up, change things or get out.

Like Seth, I’m frustrated by people complaining about their jobs–especially designers who have been working in market sectors that they knew were unsustainable (e.g. exurban housing) or auto executives who have been making completely irresponsible products–and not doing anything about it. Speak up, change things or get out.

Just a wee bit frustrated this evening…

We’re working on a project right now and we get to the part of the project where the wonderful euphemism “value engineering” comes into play. So the green roof is on the table and I ask how the extra insulation of the green roof affects the energy performance of the building. That’s when I learn that it has ABSOLUTELY ZERO EFFECT on the energy model (and therefore, the green roof extents get halved).

Any one have a similar experience? Is there a universal energy model that isn’t accounting for green roofs, or are these models proprietary?

I was here:

the sierra club/seattle parks for all campaign party

But I also wish I had been here, Seattle’s Pike and Broadway, dancing to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”

In the last week, Eric de Place of the Sightline Institute did a great post about the Perks of Parks (later picked up on WorldChanging Seattle) and the Seattle Parks for All levy. Last Thursday, I was invited to participate in a debate on the Seattle Channel. Check it out here; http://www.seattlechannel.org/CityInsideOut/ (this link will probably only work for about a week, then you’ll have to search the Seattle Channel website for Parks Levy/Pike Place Market Levy.

If you live within about a mile of our house in Washington’s 37th legislative district then you have a chance to vote for my lovely wife Bridgette.

For Democratic PCO, but still…pretty cool.

cross posted at the Great City blog

When the Seattle Green Factor went into effect in January 2007 there was considerable skepticism from many quarters. Developers, used to setbacks and open space percentages, were concerned about the financial impacts of the new ordinance. Neighborhood and open space advocates worried that the ordinance might lead to more lotline-to-lotline development. And the decision makers who actually had to make the ordinance law just hoped that it would work the way that DPD staff said it would. More than a year on, 60 plus projects have gone through permitting and preliminary numbers are showing amazing results

Othello Station South by Othello Partners one of the Green Factor projects that was reviewed

When the Seattle Green Factor went into effect in January 2007 there was considerable skepticism from many quarters. Developers, used to setbacks and open space percentages, were concerned about the financial impacts of the new ordinance. Neighborhood and open space advocates worried that the ordinance might lead to more lotline-to-lotline development. And the decision makers who actually had to make the ordinance law just hoped that it would work the way that DPD staff said it would.

More than a year on, 60 plus projects have gone through permitting and preliminary numbers are showing amazing results. Today, Dave LeClerque from DPD presented the findings from UW Urban Planning student Liz Stenning, who audited 42 Green Factor projects as they were submitted at MUP for her thesis. Dave did note that while the results are promising, it remains to be seen how what is built differs from what was submitted at MUP. Regardless, some fascinating things have emerged:

• The projects that have been permitted have ranged from 5,850sf to 400,000sf. Dave noted that the larger projects thought it was easier to reach the Green Factor targets if you had a smaller parcel. Smaller parcels, of course, thought the same about the large projects. Dave thought the “ease” factor really had more to do with length of adjacent right-of-way.
• In terms of which credits have been used, the visible landscape credit is most used, and the water feature credit is least used. Green roofs were used in about 50% of projects (turning over the conventional thinking that city’s need to subsidize green roof installations), and green walls in about 75% of the projects.
• Green roofs, despite being used in only 50% of the projects, resulted in almost 3 acres of new green roof area in the city.
• Liz Stenning also interviewed various designers/developers who used the green factor. 9 people had a positive response. 4 were neutral. 3 were negative.
• The Green Factor resulted in landscape architects being involved earlier in the project (yes!).
• Other concerns were about the original credits rankings for lawn and for water features. As well as some frustration regarding a disconnect between DPD and SDOT.

Dave also gave a preview of a revised Green Factor spreadsheet that will be implemented this summer and which will also be used in the revision of the Multi-family Housing Code. For multi-family residential, the Green Factor percentage is proposed to double to .6 per parcel.

Pretty great stuff all in all.

A few new posts up on the Great City blog…

http://www.greatcity.org/blog/ecodensity-passes-in-vancouver

http://www.greatcity.org/blog/adaptation-thru-innovation

http://www.greatcity.org/blog/where-have-all-the-green-gurus-gone

Arrives July 11…

cross posted from the Great City blog…