FIRE FEATUREScreative outdoor fire concepts

With the chill of Winter wind kisses brushing upon us, the outdoor elements need to be softened by a little warmth from dancing flames. These designs by Elena Columbo provide some interesting and creative natural gas or propane fire installations.

FIRE BOWL


Standard Firebowls come equipped with a connection for propane or natural gas and a choice of ignition systems; manual pilot or electrical remote spark.

FIRE WALL

Fire Walls are a 30ft long by 9ft high curved tangle of steel branches hovering atop a shallow collecting pool. The pool is filled with pebbles in variegated shades of white and a curved burner for gas is hidden among the branches for day or night ignition.
The surface of the pool may be either still and reflective, or undulate in endless ripples from a water agitator.

FIRE GRASS

Embedded in a shallow pool of water, Fire Grasses are thin metal coils that gently sway in the wind reflecting their flame off the water surface.

information: Fire Features website

RECESSED COURTYARDSthree urban oases

The lack of green space and access to natural elements is a fundamental struggle in a densely packed urban environment. The American Society of Landscape Architects gives awards each year to public and residential landscaping projects and among this year's winners there were a few favourites that incorporate the concept of creating urban oases. The idea of bringing natural lighting and plants via a recessed courtyard seems to be an excellent solution for places where land space is scarce.

Court Square Press Courtyard, Boston, MA
by Landworks Studio
images: landworks studio






Light-On Electronic Headquarters, Taipei, Taiwan
by SWA Group
images: tom fox, swa group
more information
Principles of green building evident throughout the project in both sustainable material use, energy-efficiency, and relationship to existing environmental context.









Tahari underground courtyard, Millburn, New Jersey
by Valkenburgh Assoc.
images: paul warchol, elizabeth felicella
more information
This small recessed courtyard is smaller scale than the other projects featured here and therefore easier to replicate on a more modest budget and more constricted spaces. They accomplish the task of bringing light, plants, and the seasons to the underground offices.

MATERIALICA 2006 conference and exhibition of new materials

Again this year, representatives, designers, and engineers from automotive, aerospace, and consumer product markets attended The Materialica conference in Munich, Germany, which exhibited new materials available for use in industrial design. Generally, the theme appeared to be the typical commitment to lighter yet stronger materials but the conference was also evidence of a clear embrace of sustainability as well.


jar made from pebbles bound together by a clear resin made by Riverstone, Italy.


sink and bathroom walls


Waterproof and airtight zipper made from a combination of nylon and thermoplastic elastomer


natural cork fabric

WALL GARDENSReconciling the urban with the natural without losing valuable square footage

Patrick Blanc, the esteemed French botanist/designer, creates vertical garden walls for exteriour and interiour uses. He has done many high profile outdoor projects in Paris, including the Musee du Quai Branly, The Pershing Hall, and The Ministry of Culture in Paris, but my favorite works by him are the interiour walls that bring such a deep lushness to otherwise isolated environments.


Most of his plant selections are a mélange of tropical and sub-tropical varieties commonly available at nurseries and generally the walls last a minimum of 30 years with relatively low, carefree maintenance. The most difficult aspects of the project are the construction of a exoskeleton on the supporting wall which will hold the waterhoses. The plants are woven onto the exoskeleton and either mature gradually outdoors from seeds or are planted fully mature for interiour environments.


With his popularity on a sharp rise Blanc intends to do many more public spaces such as squares, public housing projects, train stations, and more to help reconcile major urban environments with natural ones.

Information:
Archiguide France: Patrick Blanc
Official Patrick Blanc website

AIRPORT WI-FIwhich airports offer it free, and why don't all?

A rencent trip from Austin to San Francisco and back took us through four airports -- silly me assuming that all of them would naturally have free wi-fi available so I could continue to make my deadlines for design clients... ooops wrong.


Here's a breakdown of airports (anyone have others or changes to add?):

AUS Austin Bergstrom International:
$6.95 (good until midnite of date used) or various monthly or pre-paid plans, serviced by local company, Wayport. Free limited wi-fi access available for airport services. To their credit they were the first US airport to install 802.11g network.
PHX Phoenix Sky Harbor:
Free full-featured Wi-Fi, thank you.
SFO San Francisco International:
$6.00 for first hour + $.10 for each additional minute, $9.95 per 24 hours or many other available plans, serviced by T-Mobile HotSpots
OAK Oakland International:
$9.95 (24 hour access) or $49.95 monthly, serviced by Sprint. Free limited wi-fi access available for airport services.
LAS McCarren International Las Vegas:
Free full-featured Wi-Fi, thank you.

Ultimately, it seems that free all-access wi-fi should be a service that any traveller should be able to expect without making special arrangements through a cell phone service or by having to pay excessive fees ($1-$2 would at least be more reasonable). My routing choices will reflect free wi-fi access as much as it makes logical sense to do so. If anyone has experience to share with other airports please put them in a comment and i'll add to the list.

CAR SHARING SERVICES more affordable and environmentally conscious than owning or leasing a car

CITY CAR SHARE
City Car Share is a service that lets clients reserve and use one of a range of vehicles online and pick them up at tons of locations around the SF Bay Area, providing an interesting concept and seemingly great alternative to having to maintain the expenses related to a car. I'd love to see this concept refined (although they are doing pretty well it seems) and implemented in all major cities. Do I really need a car all the time? Do I really want to throw a bunch of money out the window to maintain it and make payments? I'm personally sick of it and wish Austin had a similar program.

"When you join City Car Share, you'll get an electronic key that opens any car you reserve. Take a wagon to Trader Joe's for an hour. Head to Marin in a Mini for the day. Or pick up a truck and help a friend move across the Bay. Once you're done, just return the car to its original location."

Cost:
Membership dues are $10/month; then it's $4/hour and 44¢/mile for most cars in the fleet—gas and insurance included. And you get half-off the hourly rate from 10pm-10am. To join, there's an application fee of $30 and a security deposit of $300 that is refundable.


ZIPCAR.COM
Zipcar.com offers the same car sharing service but in multiple cities. It uses a card system where a member calls or electronically fills out a reservation and walks to the parking spot where the car is and the card unlocks it. They can then drive for the duration of their reservation and gas, insurance, and XM satellite radio are included.

Available areas: San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto, Ann Arbor, Chapel Hill, New York, New Jersey, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Massachussetts.

Cost: varies by city but generally $5-10 per hour with various monthly fees.


FLEXCAR.COM
Flexcar.com works most like Zipcar with the two companies offering different cities and overlapping on some. Also they are 100% carbon neutral due to a partnership with American Forests tree planting.

Available areas: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington DC.

Cost: varies by city but generally $8-10 per hour with various monthly fees and $40 yearly membership.