The Skyway and its Impact on Urban Life

Architecture Minnesota magazine has just finished up a video competition that highlighted the skyway as a Minnesota urban typology.  There were 24 fantastic submissions by a wide variety of interested folks.  For those of you looking for something to do this week at the Walker Art Center (besides enjoy the Herzog & de Meuron designed addition) there will be a public screening on Thursday night. 

This is the link to the Architecture Minnesota Vimeo channel where all of the videos have been on display.  Below is the entry from one avid observer of the built environment:

Adam Ferrari from Architecture Minnesota on Vimeo.

HOT or NOT: Eye-Q Intelligent Eyewear

Amid the cacophony of mediocre boutiques in Rochester's subway system lies hope and peace. 

Hope for a bolder, brighter future of retail and design.  Peace from the dissonance of eclectic storefronts.  Hope for business owners who understand that design offers a competitive advantage and increases the vitality of public spaces.  Peace from the maze of banal corridors that confuse and distract.  Hope for Rochester to embrace progressive, contemporary design for the segment of population that respects it and seeks it.  This addition of HOT or NOT has stepped indoors, and in doing so, discovered the optimum way to handle boutique retail design:

The verdict is...HOT

In the interest of full disclosure, the shop owners of Eye-Q Intelligent Eyewear are friends of mine.  However, their shop existed and expanded before I became friends with them and while I offered to give design assistance, they were well on their way toward a clear vision.  That being said, I wish I could take credit for the design that they produced as it bucks the trend of every other subterranean commercial tenant and explodes out of its clear glass doors with vibrancy, color and sharp attention to modern design.



From the consistent use of glass and steel for displays and furniture to the warmth and class of the wood floors, this space demonstrates that looking different--and in this case putting others to shame--can be as affective an advertising methodology as radio or print media.  The Rochester subway system suffers from an utter lack of identifiable landmarks, signage and clarity, due in large part to the various businesses that occupy its frontages.  Without distinct destinations, the system would be impossible to navigate or determine the most straight forward path to travel. 

Eye-Q provides such a landmark.  It possesses the characteristics of design that make it memorable and unique: rich color, clarity of purpose, and iconicism.  The first time you come across the space it may be by accident, but as you revel in your discovery, you become more conscious of your surroundings so as to be sure to remember how to stumble upon it again.

As you enter, exiting the the hypnotic technicolor carpet and stepping foot onto the rich amber colored hardwood, you are in a small space containing only a few display cases and a cast concrete high-top table and chairs where one of two lovely shopkeepers are available to tempt you with optical delights.  This smaller space gives way to a much larger showroom that feels vast yet comfortable allowing ease of wheelchair access and freedom to mill about without bumping into fellow patrons.  The furniture of glass and steel displays numerous frames by designers from around the world, but as you watch numerous passers by who can't help but look (and stare) at the world that exists within this small store, you realize that it is the store itself that draws people in, not the fabulous frames by elite designers.  I found it quite difficult to capture in my camera's lens so I had to resort to panoramic collages to better illustrate the look and feel.  Because for this case, seeing is believing.

These shop owners made a commitment to a vision for the store (not to be confused with a commitment to vision as the store).  That vision wasn't watered down by budgetary or logistic constraints.  While that path is not easy or often travelled, it takes this kind of rigor and discipline to be a pioneer.  And that is exactly what this store does; it breaks new ground on expectations from retail design and at the same time elevates the status quo.  I would not be surprised if others to follow in their path now that they have so bravely blazed a trail. 

You may never visit the basement of the Kahler Hotel, or need to stop by the friendly, whistling shoe shine man around the corner, but if you do, do not miss out on the best example of boutique retail design that Rochester has to offer.  We will never be New York, or Chicago, or San Francisco, but people from each of those places as well as Abu Dhabi, Milan, and Tokyo come here.  And now they have a place to visit that may remind them a bit of home, with a touch of Minnesota "nice."

where is WUPHF when you need it?

In case you have been hiding under a rock for the past decade, there has been a precipitous growth of a peculiar computer network called "the Internet."  The Internet has been providing an outlet for all sorts of people to reach out and (digitally) touch someone (or themselves in the majority of cases).  From this new found access portal--to people and into their minds--arose social media: the next generation of connecting people to information.  Subsequent innovations have brought advances in the accessibility, viability, and marketability of social media to the point we are at today which I consider, "information overload." 

I am personally quickly overwhelmed by the means with which to connect, and I feel that there are vast pieces of information that I am missing out on by not being connected (in one way or another).  This is a byproduct of the speed and efficiency that all of this information is received and disseminated.  By reading a friend's Facebook profile where they heard about something on Twitter which was linked to them by a blog that they subscribed to...well I feel as though I am completely out of touch with the most current of event (even though said current event may be a monkey peeing on a tiger caught on some one's cell phone at the zoo). 

To illustrate this point, I have done a little collage compilation of all of the bookmarking and sharing sites that are available when you land on that news story or interesting article.  It begins with a very innocuous icon hovering next to the most popular networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc.).  It simply states:

(it's caring)

Oh how naive I was to think that this simple button could more easily help me to share this juicy piece of information that I know my friends and family would equally enjoy.  So upon clicking the + sign to expand my options, I am confronted with this list:

o.m.g.

This list is beyond excessive.  Each of these websites and icons was intentionally designed to catch your attention and identify themselves as different from their competitors.  Which one stands out most to you? 

So maybe Ryan Howard's idea of WUPHF need not be so tongue-in-cheek after all.  If he can truly aggregate all of the above myriad information into a sole source; filter the extraneous from the exemplary; champion to important as opposed to the impotent; well then he may have an idea worth investing everyone's money.

visualizing information

Sometimes the visual representation of data can make all of the difference for understanding and comprehension.

Dwell meets The Onion

If you like design, and LOVE glossy design magazines and web pages, you will immediately fall head over heels for Unhappy Hipsters.  The site is devoted to images captured from various media sources that depict contemporary modern design and the witty comments that come to mind.  The image below and caption is plucked from their site.  This one is definitely bookmark worthy (http://www.unhappyhipsters.com/)

Unbelievable: She’d been living in a windowless cell for six years without even an inkling about the movable panel.  

preservationism

Whether it is nature or nurture that predominates, we are assured to be products of our environment.  The stimuli, context and interactions that exist during our formative years and even through adulthood shape our prejudices, taste, and often our understanding.  A boy who grows up on a farm in Nebraska may not understand how frustrating missing a rush hour train in downtown Chicago can be, while certainly a boy in Chicago cannot understand how to get motivated to spend days doing manual labor on a farm in Nebraska.  Yes these are simplified analogies, but they illustrate the influence of environment on our day to day reality.  If you cannot truly understand another person's reality, how can you determine their value structure? 

Preservationism--the act of advocating preservation--relies on the ability to place value on the things that we encounter in our lives (e.g. buildings, historical sites, endangered species, etc.).  Therefore, preservationists must posses the characteristic of deciphering that which has value from that which has none.  Sound like any preservationist that you know?  Unfortunately, most preservationists advocate preservation of almost everything and anything.  Not to say that one or two bad apples spoil the bunch, but from my experience this is a black and white issue for most of them.  Too many error on the side of, "there is value in everything."

I have perceived two schools of thought on architectural historical preservation.  One feels strongly that preservation should be keeping, restoring, and maintaining something of value in its exact original state (as determined by historical records).  The other feels strongly that the spirit in which it was created or made must be preserved and kept in strict alignment with the intention of its creator.  One of these is black and white, and one has shades of gray. 

If you are like me, then you subscribe to the theory that it can be both, and still be preservationism.  I feel strongly that there are pieces of architecture and urban design that would stand little chance of being recreated due to logistical, financial, and regulatory constraints.  Those things contribute to the fabric (social and physical) of our environment and need to be preserved.  However, I believe that in the preservation, they may be reinvented, or adaptively reused to bring about a second life that builds upon is first life imbuing it with a rich heritage that becomes even more valuable. 

The difficulty will always be tempering our sentimental feelings and cognitive associations of an object or thing.  We must truly evaluate the source and meaning of something and be critical of value.  Our culture can stand to eliminate some physical components to make room for improvements whether they are functional or social in nature.  At the same time, when we find something of value, we must not compromise and preserve it for ourselves and for our future generations.  Think about it, preservation is at the heart of sustainability. 

As we embark on the great revitalization of downtown, we in Rochester are not without some buildings and civic spaces that are worth preserving.  Below are examples of such pieces of our architectural heritage captured in a few historic archival photos that I grabbed from our local library (that is a complete lie as I used my handy iphone and 'hipstamatic' application to achieve the effect, how's that for preservationism). 

Chia City

CH-CH-CHIA! Chia City is all the rage!  And as with all fads; hurry now or you will miss out!

The simple pleasures of urban living are easy to recognize but are often difficult to plan for.  The corner coffee shop with a pleasant barista who knows your order by heart each morning.  The shady spot around the corner from your office where you enjoy reading a book in the summer.  The quiet street lined with boutique retail stores and places to eat where you spend a Saturday strolling your son.  Each of these pleasures relies on circumstances well beyond our control...and therein lies the great disappointment of urban designers.

While I subscribe to the philosophy and thinking behind smart growth and new urbanism as much as the next turtleneck wearing architect, I have noticed an increasing trend to plan cities as instant built environments complete with mature trees, fully occupied housing units, and businesses thriving from their consistent local patrons.  The problem with this Utopian fantasy, is that cities do not "appear" like Brigadoon and there is no special peat moss mix to add to a piece of farmland and turn it into a livable neighborhood.  Cities evolve.  That is not to imply that you cannot plan for growth or even use master planning principles to shape a city environment, but ultimately the design of a place will be a product of its evolution.

Dubai Master Plan - Singular in Concept, Rigid in Execution

Chicago Master Plan - Singular in Concept, Organic in Execution

The best that you can hope for in a master plan or design is the include the infrastructure necessary for growth in and around the skeletal pieces.  Especially with the volatility of economies and the rapid shift in how people "do business," the City dynamic as we once new it may be entering a new epoch, one without a clairvoyant image of how it may look.

In the end what is required of designers is critical thought as to the patterns of urban living that are tried and true and that provide an appropriate framework for diversity of uses, options, opportunities, and amenities.  With each design, proper criticism should include: what happens if it does not all get built? what happens if it is widely successful and outgrows its constraints?  How will it appear differently in 50 years?

I once heard a statistic that 98% of the urban built environment remains the same from year to year.  That means that only 2% of a given city is brand new.  So instead of envisioning broad brush solutions that anticipate instant rewards and instant success, how about designing an urban master plan to occur 2% at a time?

when does a logo become a brand?

Stop me if you have heard these terms in the last 10 years: brand identity, branding, or brand strategy.

What is all the discussion about?  For starters it has nothing to do with cattle or ranching (thankfully).  It is about connecting -- connecting people to products, people to people, products to organizations, habits to businesses -- virtually every cognitive association you can imagine.  Most often it is in terms of capturing the elusive "market share" and how to captivate the audience that you seek for your business or organization.  Nonetheless, what makes a brand and why does the logo matter?

In many ways a logo is a brand, or the line between the two is evanescent.  The logos below illustrate three different companies with three different focuses (utility service, consumer electronics, food/beverage consumption) each with very strong brand connections.

What these examples further demonstrate is that each brand is more subjective than its logo.  What are the kinds of things that you think about Apple when you see its logo?  Expensive products?  High design?  Mock turtlenecks?  What are the kinds of things you think about AT&T?  Terrible cellular coverage?  Out of date phone company?

In the last 10 years, with the acceleration of communication media and the globalization of information (also called "flattening") there are exponentially more bits, bytes, and blogs (shameless plug) vying for your attention.  Therefore organizations are attempting to more easily differentiate themselves from the white noise and be identifiable.  Branding is about identity; how do I become recognizable?  All of the logos below are circles, yet many are immediately distinguishable as to their company and brand.

"Enough already," you say, "so when does a logo become a brand?" 

Well that is not quite the point.  A logo needs to reinforce a brand and be a part of a comprehensive brand strategy that makes it as clear as possible what the brand is.  This is extremely difficult because of how many variables exist in the equation.  For instance, if you are CBS, you have an interest in creating a brand identity to both senior citizens and 30-something adults (think "Murder She Wrote" and "How I Met Your Mother").  How can you appeal to one demographic without alienating the other?  The answer would be to create a brand that is identifiable because of its interesting programming that appeals to many different demographics.  Even so, there is no assurance that your message will be received correctly.  If Charter Communications is having issues transmitting TV signals, and the elderly woman in Pennsylvania cannot watch her show that she has been waiting all week for, will she be upset at Charter or CBS?   

While you cannot control everything, there are several key aspects to branding and ensuring that your message is coming across as intended:

1. Design Matters: our world today is highly visual and attention paid to design will matter for the uniqueness of a brand.
2. Consistency is Key: consistency in logo, trademark, message, slogan, etc.  All work together to reinforce the brand.
3. Simplicity: this may be difficult to achieve, but many of the most successful brands are simple and understated while their business may be diverse and global (e.g. Nike, Target)

Of course this only applies if you want to stand out from the crowd.  However, judging from the narcissism of our Millenial Generation this should be nothing out of the ordinary.  Happy branding!

(re)Designing Education

In the most recent campaign cycle, many politicians remarked about the need to reform education.  Beyond the rhetoric, this is a large and complex task; probably not appropriate for politicians to meddle in.  This video explains some of the issues that have developed with our education system and the education paradigm.  The need for redesign is clear, but how...and by whom?