Borrowing and Ranting

From John Massengale's blog:

Frank Gehry experiments on your brain.



This is a sick joke. I don't even blame Frank Gehry at this point because a two-year old can predict (and model) what kind of design he might regurgitate.

I blame the Cleveland Clinic. First of all, you are one of the premier health care providers in the world. Is it really responsible to be paying the millions of dollars in fees that Frank Gehry commands, then passing these along to your customers, in this case those suffering from brain-related maladies?

Relatedly, as we discovered through work with Johns Hopkins, who desired to become the best medical school on the planet, what would take them to that level they found was really what is OUTSIDE the walls: the place, the safety, the activity, the livelihood of a true, authentic place. Where staff can go to a nearby bookstore, or a coffee shop, or visitors can hit a flower shop, or Docs and students can live nearby in suitably priced places for each.

Lastly, this is the center for BRAIN HEALTH. As Libeskind's expansion to the Denver Art Museum shows, "playful" expressions of planes (or blobs) become disorienting. This article further examines the unintended consequences of "Can we build it" architecture vs. Should we do it.

It opens with a quote from Georges Braque:

Art is made to disturb.

But, architects as much as they may wish to be are not artists. Certainly, it is appropriate in some cases, such as the Berlin Holocaust Memorial, the epicenter of such horrifying commands. In that case it can and should disturb. But, a memorial is an artwork. Certain buildings should be celebrated, such as bridges crossing physical barriers, houses of democracy or justice besting our inner barbarism, etc.

There is an argument to be made for an art museum being a work of "art" itself, but a center for health and rehabilitation? There money would have been better spent on cognitive and spatial awareness specialists, no?

I'm guessing vertigo and nausea weren't goals for the Cleveland Clinic at the outset of the design process. Hardly appropriate for a Brain Health Center, unless of course, you are trying to make new customers, which when you think about it is typically the end goal of a profit-driven health care industry: more customers, i.e. more sick people.

In fact, I think seeing the construction of another Eisenmann, Libeskind, Hadid, or Gehry, et al building will make me crazy as well.

Transit = Healthy

UBC Researchers learn that transit riders are 3 times more likely to meet fitness guidelines.

"The idea of needing to go to the gym to get your daily dose of exercise is a misperception," says Frank, the J. Armand Bombardier Chairholder in Sustainable Transportation and a researcher at the UBC Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. "These short walks throughout our day are historically how we have gotten our activity. Unfortunately, we've engineered this activity out of our daily lives."

The researchers conclude that making transit incentives more broadly available may produce indirect health benefits by getting people walking, even if it's just in short bouts.

"This should be appealing to policy makers because it's easier to promote transit incentives - such as employer-sponsored passes or discount fares - than to restructure existing neighbourhoods," says Frank.

The research could have major implications for urban planning and public transit development, Lachapelle says.

Thirsty Links

"No more taking off your shoes..."

The President's address on high speed rail today (link to video)

There are those that say this is too small. This is just the first step to a long-term effort.

Good to hear. He also mentions that the first allocation is strictly towards upgrading existing lines.

TreeHugger on Carbon Emissions Do Not Equal Happiness. Apparently, their collapsed economy doesn't have Ireland and Iceland feeling the blues. Perhaps also they don't derive their happiness from a daily stock report as if it were their daily horoscope...ewww 1-star day. Also, I love the contrasting pictures:

Copenhagen:


Dallas. Yay, we're famous!


And lastly, a fascinating map on job losses per county monthly over the last two years, at Slate. Texas is getting off easy thus far. 230,000 jobs lost in LA county alone. How much longer til the full-on backlash against Hollywood extravagance I wonder?

Lastly, on a happier note, WorldChanging on the 20-minute city, using Seattle as a template describing the City where every need is met within a 20-minute walk. Step 1 to a high-quality neighborhood:

When it comes to getting around Ballard, alternative transportation seems to be king. Driving a car to this neighborhood will cost you time and money. Luckily, you don't have to. From downtown Ballard, almost everything you need is a quick hop, skip and jump away.