Take a look at the latest, greatest entry in the ecological friendly building materials category -- you might be tempted to ditch carbon-heavy lumber once and for all. Plastic for the people!
Tourists have been traveling to see architecture since the discovery of the Great Pyramids, but recent years have seen a big increase in the number of lovers of structures who travel. Looking to get in on the action, many national and international cities have been commissioning bridges, concert halls, and anything else that can capture both the eye and imagination.
Construction crews moved dirt to shore up a group of houses precariously perched on a crumbling hill in San Antonio on Monday as engineers tried to determine why the land below was shifting, causing dozens of homes to evacuate.
Gaping crevices, some 15 feet deep, cut across several yards as dirt cascaded into a towering stone retaining wall that nearly split in half. Fences crumpled like accordions as crews packed dirt under one home and around its exterior after part of its foundation was exposed.
One soil expert said the cause of the landslide appeared to be the result of poor retaining wall design, and a city official said the nearly 1,000-foot-long wall in the upper-middle class neighborhood of sprawling two-story homes was built without a permit.
No one has been injured, but about 80 homes were evacuated on Sunday after a resident in the northwest side subdivision reported that his backyard was sliding down hill. By Monday afternoon, residents in about 55 of those homes were allowed to return after inspections and soil monitoring found them to be safe, said Valerie Dolenga, a spokeswoman for Pulte Homes Inc., the parent company of the neighborhood's builder, Centex Homes.
One neighbor who was among the first homebuyers in the subdivision set among rolling hills on the outskirts of San Antonio said he was initially told no homes would be built on the crumbling ridge because it was too steep.
Romeo Peart, 32, said one retaining wall failed several years ago before the current one was built and homes were constructed above it.
"They can keep the view now," Peart said, shaking his head as heavy equipment stuffed dirt beneath an exposed foundation. "And they paid an extra $10,000 for those lots."
The development, which was started in 2004, has nearly 750 homes with others under construction. The neighborhood, with houses selling for $250,000, is one dozens that have sprung up on hilly former ranch land as San Antonio grew to be the nation's seventh largest city.
had to get this up, this is occurring close to where I live!Construction crews moved dirt to shore up a group of houses precariously perched on a... more
California last week became the first state to integrate green building practices, largely based on the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Efficiency and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, into its statewide building codes.
It was a big, Governator-style move, but while the USGBC officially supports CalGreen, and most in the green building world see it as a net-positive step, not everyone is thrilled about it. In fact many architects, engineers and city planners that fully support the integration of green building practices in the building code are concerned about the challenges involved in implementing and enforcing that code — and those are the building professionals who are advocates of green building in the first place.
“I think we’re living through an example of the law of unintended consequences here,” says Bill Worthen, a member of the American Institute of Architects. ...
Even in a Recovery, Some Jobs Won't Return
The Wall Street Journal-
Even when the U.S. labor market finally starts adding more workers than it loses, many of the unemployed will find that the types of jobs they once had simply don't exist anymore.
The downturn that started in December 2007 delivered a body blow to U.S. workers. In two years, the economy shed 7.2 million jobs, pushing the jobless rate from 5% to 10%, according to the Labor Department. The severity of the recession is reshaping the labor market. Some lost jobs will come back. But some are gone forever, going the way of typewriter repairmen and streetcar operators.
Many of the jobs created by the booms in the housing and credit markets, for example, have likely been permanently erased by the subsequent bust.
"The tremendous amount of economic activity associated with housing, I can't see that coming back," says Harvard University economist Lawrence Katz. "That was a very unhealthy part of the economy."
Unhealthy but a boon for men without a college education. One in three jobs, or six million total, have been lost in the manufacturing sector since 1997, the last year the sector posted job gains. The upsurge in construction jobs accompanying the housing boom provided these workers in manufacturing with an opportunity to earn decent wages.
Now that door, too, has shut. With 1.6 million jobs lost over the last two years, the construction sector has accounted for more than a fifth of the jobs lost since the recession began.
A day after I noticed countless polystyrene beads floating everywhere and covering the ground, I went back with a camera. Wind had blown most of it away, but this is what was left...A day after I noticed countless polystyrene beads floating everywhere and covering the... more
Early last year Parisian pedestrians strolling down Avenue George V to the Champs-Elysees found quite a shock. The classic architecture of this Parisian building at 39 Avenue George V had been transformed into a surrealist’s dreamscape. The building and its balconies appeared to slouch and buckle and there wasn’t one right angle in sight. The building was actually undergoing renovations and the group Athem was hired to create a tarp to hide the unsightly scaffolding and construction from view.
Perhaps when Tasmanian officials asked for a tree house they should have been a little more specific. This literal tree house is part log cabin and part mobile home. Forty-two feet long with 450 square feet of living space, this log-shaped home has a wooden exterior and is perched on wheels for the homeowner on the go. Originally created by the forestry service of Tasmania to promote tourism, this bizarre mobile home comes complete with a well-insulated interior with working electrical fixtures.
An exhibition dedicated to performance art opens the new GAM in Turin. Exhibits include works by Shiraga, Nitsch, Pistoletto, Gilbert & George, Abramovic, McCarthy and BockAn exhibition dedicated to performance art opens the new GAM in Turin. Exhibits... more
Robert takes you to fabulous downtown Portland. See more of Robert's travel videos at www.travelbugrobert.comRobert takes you to fabulous downtown Portland. See more of Robert's travel... more
Eco friendly or green homes have come a long way in just a short time frame. From wind-powered electric turbines to solar panels and geothermal heating systems, these homes are not surprisingly becoming a favored universal trend.
Resist 2010: 8 Reasons to Oppose the 2010 Winter Olympics, is a short, fast-paced documentary focusing on the negative impacts of the 2010 Games to be held in Vancouver, Canada, and the ongoing resistance by Indigenous & other social movements.Resist 2010: 8 Reasons to Oppose the 2010 Winter Olympics, is a short, fast-paced... more
"Hemp and straw are great sources of materials as they have an incredibly low carbon footprint. Craig White, director of ModCell (another company involved) had this to say about the project: “It is unacceptable that 27 per cent of CO2 emissions currently come from the energy we use in our homes, it is just as unacceptable to continue to emit CO2 through the energy we use to make them. If we are completely serious about being “carbon free” we need to rethink the design of our buildings on a large scale."
"KABUL - The Afghan minister of mines accepted a roughly $30 million bribe to award the country's largest development project to a Chinese mining firm, according to a U.S. official who is familiar with military intelligence reports.
The allegation, if proved true, would mark one of the most brazen examples of corruption yet disclosed in a country where the problem has become so pervasive that it is now at the heart of Obama administration doubts over Afghan President Hamid Karzai's reliability as a partner. The question of whether Karzai can address his government's graft and cronyism looms large as he prepares for his inauguration Thursday for a new term, and as President Obama completes a months-long strategy review that will define the future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan after eight years of war."
The PBS Documentary: Black Money does of good job of exposing international bribery. Bribery isn't really illegal in other countries; the US is the only one that actually prosecutes it and they say that puts US firms at a business disadvantage. But, since most are corporations with international addresses, it doesn't matter. They're all crooks. Bring the troops home, now!
NOTHING dESIGN GROUP and its team of designers have successfully married form and function with their home décor pieces. One of their standout designs is that of Brick Lights. Brick Lights are just what they sound like – bricks with star-shaped lights in them that allow a wall to be built that can light itself from the inside out.
Maybe one of the strangest stories I've ever posted about. Essentially building an artificial mountain just outside of Berlin. The picture gives you an idea of the sheer size of the project:
"A German architect has already laid out plans to build the largest artificial mountain ever (3,280-feet tall) in Berlin, which "could sit on the spot currently occupied by Tempelhof airport, and provide a natural getaway for Berliners and tourists alike.
Berliners may soon get more to see on the horizon than just construction cranes, if a German architect realizes his massive vision."
To make their point, equipment dealers, manufacturing representatives, labor leaders and others will stage a rally of the Start Us Up USA! campaign on the National Mall against a backdrop of idle construction equipment and surrounded by a sea of 5,500 orange flags - each one representing 100 jobs already lost in this industry.To make their point, equipment dealers, manufacturing representatives, labor leaders... more
