The Studio 60: Balloons and Tinkers

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Cooool MOW makes a debut on the show this week. We discuss flash mobs, Italy, falling ceilings, and more. The show this week may be a little shorter but we’ve packed in lots of architecture goodness for your listening pleasure!

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Show Notes

Site News

• New Facebook Fans
  • Jason Silva
  • Gray Dougherty
• All the album art for past shows has been added to our FaceBook page
  • #/sloarch

Cal Poly News

• Professor Monica Rossi to join the Architecture Department
  • http://arch.calpoly.edu/people/rossi.html
  • Prof. Monica Rossi will be joining the Architecture Department for the Spring 2011 quarter. Monica currently teaches at the Eduoardo Vittoria School of Architecture and Design, University of Camerino, Ascoli Piceno, Italy, and will be assisting the Department in the second year design sequence, ARCH 253.
• Flash Mob @ Farmers Market in SLO
  • Thursday, March 10 · 7:00pm
  • #/event.php?eid=201804866499601&index=1
  • Two rehearsals, Feb 26th, March 5th
  • Dance to Michael Franti’s “Say Hey” ending with marriage proposal

Discussion Point – from Nick Williams

• to architects/builders/designers…your opinion on this one: why do arch/design competitions expect you to pay a hefty registration fee to submit a proposal?? they want us to 1) take a substantial amount of unpaid time to conceptually design a project to have a chance of winning the comp & 2) want us to pay a fee to do so? so they want our IDEAS and they want US to pay THEM?? dont make no cents…

COOOOL MOW (material of the week)

• Pneumocell
• neumocell is an assembly kit of inflatable building elements inspired by biological cell structures. The pieces can be connected, by nylon zippers, in myriad configurations to create a full self-supporting structure. Each cell is made out of flame-retardant thermoplastic polyurethane foil. Cells are airtight, protect against solar radiation, and do not require constant inflation.
• This reminds me of Bucky’s geo. dome
• http://pneumocell.com: Worlds worst website!
• http://www.architectmagazine.com/building-materials/pneumocell-assembly-kit.aspx

General News

• Autodesk Introduces New iPad App to Make Engineering Fun for Teens Autodesk
  • TinkerBox Now Available on the App Store
  • http://bimboom.blogspot.com/2011/02/autodesk-introduces-new-ipad-app-to.html
• UC Santa Barbara: Bren’s Collapse Points to Construction Faults
  • http://www.dailynexus.com/2011-02-15/brens-collapse-points-construction-faults/
  • “On Oct. 30 of last year, a 4,000-pound concrete segment of the building’s ceiling — measuring 20 by 25 feet across — collapsed in the exterior lobby area. An analysis of the accident ultimately revealed that several of the building’s structural wires were not taut and that suspension anchors were installed incorrectly in the ceiling prior to the building’s opening in 2002”
  • Full report can be found here:
  • http://facilities.ucsb.edu/_client/pdf/dcs/bren/ESH-2-7-11-Bren-Report.pdf
  • http://facilities.ucsb.edu/departments/dcs/default.asp
• Elizabeth Wilbraham, the first lady of architecture
  • http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/elizabeth-wilbraham-the-first-lady-of-architecture-2215936.html
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbraham_Baronets
• Why Duany is wrong
  • http://www.newgeography.com/content/002046-why-duany-wrong-about-importance-public-participation
  • New Urbanist Andrés Duany’s remarks in January’s ARCHITECT magazine about how public participation prevents great work are stirring debate. Della Rucker writes that mall architect Victor Gruen was “the Andres Duany of his day”—and his ideas for malling downtowns ruined a good many of them across the country. His “ideal solutions” were implemented without attention to local input. “If the people who live around a proposed development oppose a development, chances are those people know something that is important to the health of their neighborhood and the larger community,” Rucker writes. “If we think that we know more than to have to listen to them, then we are no better than little Napoleons in big capes, creating monuments to our hubris that our children and grandchildren will have to clean up.”
• Feb. 22 – Free CDT Certificate Information Webinar!
  • https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/716371929
  • Still debating taking the Construction Documents Technologist (CDT) certificate exam?
  • Participate in a FREE webinar on the CDT Certificate
  • Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 3pm ET.
  • The CDT 101 webinar is an opportunity to learn about the benefits of CSI’s Construction Documents Technologist certificate. The webinar will cover the requirements and resources needed for successful exam preparation and study.
  • http://www.csinet.org/cdt