Activity

I’ve not designed rest areas (bath house for a nudist colony, but never a rest area), and have never seriously considered the factors that would go into choosing the right seating for a particular rest stop. You just made me think about seating walls and benches a lot more than I normally do which made me want to point out some differences that…[Read more]

Andrew, the bums using benches question was not part of the decision making process for our rest areas, you are correct..that came up only though this web site..but you are also correct in that some ‘rest stops’ are notorious for some aberrant ‘activities’ as you so politely put it.. don’t know if a seat wall or a bench is better for…[Read more]

I had no idea that homeless sleeping on seating is a problem in highway rest stops – definitely other problems, but this is the first I have heard of the homeless frequenting these areas. Which leads to the obvious question …. are there other activities that may be the inspiration for not using benches and substituting seating walls? I can’t…[Read more]

Also, keep in mind for other applications that seatwalls are the PERFECT height for vandalism via skateboard. If you make the walls higher, it is much more difficult to ‘grind’ on, saving thousands on replacing caps or having to install skate stops

Ah yes. The old “it’s too expensive” objection. I wonder how much extra money some of Gehry’s more outlandish designs have cost his clients. How much does it cost to make a building look like an ameoba? When exactly does that start to pay for itself?
How expensive a green building or landscape is depends entirely on what methods you use to make it…[Read more]

look at you getting real world experiences! 🙂

tried laying down on a seatwall at lunch..Bums came around and told me I wouldn’t make it through the night, and I better join them on the benches..
🙂

Nice picture of a lovely seatwall, Ben!

Sure, go ahead. The 18″ I refer to is the standard seating height, width is always variable based on materials and aesthetics. Depending on the application, As far as the comment of the ‘bums’…it really doesn’t matter if there are benches or not, bums sleep anywhere. I once had to walk around one sleeping in the MIDDLE of the MAIN SIDEWALK of…[Read more]

I would definitely prefer a bench, primarily because it has a back, but there are ways to make seatwalls more appealing and functional-

Sounds like he doesn’t believe in global warming.

And the bike rack is a red herring. If architecture and landscape architecture doesn’t respond to human behavior or anticipated behavior then whom are we designing for.

have you ever tried to lay down on a seatwall? One of the reasons I was told to use seat walls is that “bums” cannot sleep on a seatwall, the fall off, a bench with a back allows a bed for people to sleep on in public spaces, this is also the reason for backless benches and curved top seat benches in public spaces.

Thank you Jason, can I forward your reply to my fellow LA’s here at work..!! I think you are exactly right..

the 18″ referred to width, not height. But I like the idea of making seat-walls generally a bit higher than seat-height – I like that..!.

I always use both, often I even place benches in front of the walls. Seatwalls are fine for short periods of time, but they certainly are not the most comfortable things. Unless you contour the cap, they can be downright painful for more than 5 minutes. Many benches are not much better. However, the proper bench cannot be replaced with a seatwall.…[Read more]

http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/12/frank-gehry-slams-sustainability-criticizes-leed/

Well, Skillwise i think that is where the mentorship comes in which takes another year. I am not to sure of any books that would covers admin, fee proposal etc. but there are many people practicing here who aren’t registered so it isn’t a huge deal anyway. though recommended.

Spmetimes temp is better than nothing. NPS is a great opportunity for LA’s to get a foot in the door.

THANKS!

Interesting…they now need to do away with the points system as well (which I hope this does). Hiring for something as subjective and visually based as the LA profession is disserved by the current system. You can’t upload portfolios for most of these positions.

FYI – read the fine print for many of these jobs. Many are temp positions lasting a…[Read more]

There ya go Bob – that’s the link! sorry about that..!