Urban Spaces: Unorganised sports

Source: Helen & Hard archdaily.com

Geopark, Stavanger, Norway, 2008 designed by Helen & Hard

The park is a playful urban space on Stavanger’s waterfront, utilizing a vacant forecourt adjacent to the Oil Museum. We drew from three different local resources in the design process: first, the geological and seismic expertise of the oil industry; second, technology, materials and waste related to oil production; and third, the ideas of and collaboration with local youth groups for the programming and making of the new park. -- ArchDaily

Source: Antoine Espinasseau archdaily.com

Evolution Ground Alfortville, Alfortville, France, 2011 designed by NP2F 

Embedded within the boundaries of the ZAC (coordinated developed zone) Chantereine, the “evolution” grounds of Alfortville represent a qualitative approach to which we lay claim in this district’s public spaces, and more generally in today’s city. Thus, the playground becomes a truly architectural space, integrated in the urban structure and open to the city’s other practices. -- ArchDaily

Source: Doublespace archrecord.construction.com

Underpass Park, Toronto, Canada, 2012 designed by Paul Raff Studio

Below two elevated overpasses and a stone's throw from the Don River, Underpass Park encompasses 2.5 acres—enough room for swings and climbing structures for children on one side of a narrow road and basketball courts and a skateboarding terrain for teenagers on the other side. Designed by the Vancouver-based landscape architecture firm Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg (PFS) in collaboration with The Planning Partnership, a Toronto-based planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm, the $9 million Underpass Park is part of an ongoing effort by the publicly funded agency Waterfront Toronto to reimagine public space below and around major transportation links. -- Archiectural Record

Source: Mikkel Frost / CEBRA archdaily.com

StreetDome, 6100 Haderslev, Denmark, 2014 designed by CEBRA + Glifberg + Lykke 

StreetDome is a vast and unique urban landscape for activity and recreation including a 4.500 square metre skate park, facilities street basket, parkour, boulder climbing, canoe polo etc. StreetDome’s overall ambition is to set new standards for urban arenas for unorganised sports. -- ArchDaily

Source: Adrià Goula archdaily.com

Skate Park Jardines de Aureà Cuadrado, Barcelona Spain, 2014 designed by Scob + Sergi Arenas

The project works with the limits of the area, taking advantage of the gradients and the containment of the slopes in order to place all the elements for skate. -- ArchDaily

Source: Played in Britain archdaily.com

‘The Rom’ Becomes Europe’s First Listed Skatepark

English Heritage has awarded a Grade-II listing to “The Rom,” a skatepark in Hornchurch on the outskirts of London. Built in 1978, the Rom was one of the UK’s first wave of purpose-built skateparks, and probably the most complete example found in the UK today.   -- ArchDaily

Skin of Architecture: Pattern 13

Source: Daici Ano archdaily.com

Louis Vuitton Matsuya Ginza Facade Renewal, Ginza, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan, 2013 designed by Jun Aoki & Associates

Gentle bulges and dents elaborate the façade of opal beige reliefs. With these pattern, the façade reveals various appearances in sunlight, and also during the night, the LED lights behind the reliefs lit the façade to render another expression reminiscent of Louis Vuitton’s monogram. -- ArchDaily

O6

Source: Edgard Cesar archdaily.com

Taquari House, Brasilia – Distrito Federal, Brasil, 2013 designed by Ney Lima

The transparent and circular elements are featured for the walls and bring a perspective of communication between the environments having as passing the tree and leisure area. -- ArchDaily

Source: Derek Swalwell archdaily.com

Westgarth House, Northcote VIC, Australia, 2013 designed by Kennedy Nolan Architects

The original house primarily accommodates the family’s own space; call it private. The new building is where day to day life is played out between kitchen and living. This public zone establishes a direct connection to the north lawn. The roughcast rendered garden wall sits somewhere between landscape, sculpture and building. It is both garden edge and entry wall. -- ArchDaily

Source: Marc Rifà-Rovira archdaily.com

NH House, 08569 Cantonigròs, Barcelona, Spain, 2013 designed by Marc Rifà-Rovira

This is a project with an extremely low budget, for a family with three young children. With a very definite program: house in a single level of about 170m2, which is complemented with a large porch, a 100m2 study, and a garage. -- ArchDaily

T3

Source: Su Shengliang archdaily.com

Long Museum West Bund, Longteng Avenue, Xuhui, Shanghai, China, 2014 designed by Atelier Deshaus

Before the commencement of the design, a Coal-Hopper-Unloading-Bridge of about 110m in length, 10m in width and 8m in height, which was constructed in the 1950s, is remained with a two-storey underground parking completed as early as two years ago. The new design adopts the cantilever structure featuring “vault-umbrella” with independent walls while the shear walls with free layout are embedded into the original basement so as to be concreted with the original framework structure. -- ArchDaily

Energy Mapping

Source: fastcodesign.com

A Mind-Blowing Map Of Energy Consumption In Every Single NYC Building

How much power does any piece of a city block use? There’s no way to tell. A building’s facade, unless it’s covered with lights, isn’t exactly screaming its annual energy expenditures.

A new map by the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University gives us a picture of energy consumption in the five boroughs of New York, on a block-by-block basis. -- Fast Co

Renewable Energy Map

Every state in America can produce its own energy from clean, renewable sources, keeping millions of energy dollars in-state, reducing pollution, and creating new jobs and new sources of income. Find out which renewable energy sources your state can tap into. -- NRDC(Natural Resources Defense Council)

Where US energy is produces

An interactive map showing where the US energy is produced. You can select an energy sector from the drop-down menu for a state-by-state view of production figures from 2010; map of states with "fracking" as of May 2011. -- NBC News

US Energy Expenditure Map

Energy Expenditure Map shows energy expenditure per person of each state from 1970 to 2012. It also shows number breakdown of transportation and residential.-- US Department of Energy

USDA Energy Investment Map

The Energy Investments Map is an interactive map to help users understand where USDA is providing investment support for renewable and sustainable energy initiatives across the United States. New investment data have been posted along with a few new features. -- USDA Energy Investment Map

U.S. Energy Mapping System

A new tool from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows how fossil fuels infrastructure crosses every part of the country. It also shows existing and potential for renewable energy. With all the debate around the proposed new natural gas pipeline in Massachusetts, this tool can help us better understand our energy infrastructure and its implications . You can start with the entire country, and then zoom into Massachusetts to see how we compare against other states. -- Greenovate Boston

Go to the map at U.S. Energy Information Administration

Zoning

Source: citylab.com

The Birth of Zoning Codes, a History

The story of American zoning is really the story of how Americans learned to legislate their NIMBY impulses. Before zoning, cities mostly regulated what could be built through nuisance laws. If someone didn't like how their neighbor was using their property, they could haul them to trial and let a judge decide what to do about it.

There were early efforts to temper New York's building streak. A landmark 1885 law restricted tenement buildings to one-and-a-half times the street width (the Supreme Court ruled that height restrictions were legal in 1909, when builders challenged Boston's decision to restrict buildings around Copley Square to 90 feet). -- The Atlantic CITYLAB

Zoning Best Pratices Report for Washington DC Office of Planning

Washington D.C. has initiated an update of the City’s zoning regulations – there is a need to review and revise the existing zoning regulations after almost 50 years of text and map amendments. The office of Planning has increased staffing, as much of the update will be completed in-house, and has convened an appointed Zoning Review Taskforce to help guide and inform the zoning update.

At the request of the office of Planning, HNTB has conducted best practice research and ANALYSIS in support of the update process. This final report summarizes the research findings on zoning innovations and procedural approaches of select cities that have updated their zoning regulations. Click to see the report Zoning Best Pratices, June 2008

Source: aia.org

Miami 21: A new Zoning Code for the City

Miami 21: A New Zoning Code for the City, Miami, Florida, USA by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. won a 2014 AIA Honor Award - Regional & Urban Design

Miami21 is a new form-based zoning code for a growing coastal city at the heart of a metropolitan region. The purpose of the effort was to direct the city toward transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly growth, and away from disjointed, car-centered development. -- AIA

Zoning Viewers

ZoLa provides a simple way to research zoning regulations in New York City. -- ZoLa New York City

Boston Redevelopment Authority Zoning Viewer -- City of Boston

Seattle's zoning viewer. -- Seattle Department of Planning and Development

Austin's Zoning Profile Report. -- City of Austin, Texas

Scottsdale's zoning viewer. -- City of Scattsdale, Arizona

Building Height Maps

Source: Google Maps Mania

San Francisco Building Height Map

At first glance this map of San Francisco building height might look like it couldn't teach you anything new. After all it isn't as if those tall buildings in the Financial District are trying to hide. However it is a pretty looking map, with each building footprint colored to show the height of the building. If you do want to learn something new you can mouse-over individual building plots on the SF Building Height map to discover the height of a building. -- Google Maps Mania

Source: radicalcartography.net

BUILDING HEIGHTS by Bill Rankin at Radical Cartography, 2006

Click here for original file.