Boilerplater

It was meant more tongue-in-cheek than condescending.  I made a trip down the “Blues Highway” last fall, and I saw some really inspiring things and some really depressing sights.  Clarksdale was downright scary.

Good to see another Malcolm Wells fan on here.  A few years ago, I sought out an earth-covered house he did in Cherry Hill, NJ and actually found it.  Made me a believer.

Most state licensure laws that I’ve read…ok, only three…have language about using work you did while with your employer for a portfolio.  That is, it is a condition of maintaining licensure.  You have to allow employees to use work in that way.
 
On guy I worked for, apparently he felt bad about having to lay me off, and so he printed out a bu…[Read more]

Yes, because ALL the great progressive ideas that move us forward come out of those states.  Why, just look at how well they are doing with education!
 
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  So much of the news coming out of those states seems to be of this variety.

The demand for what might be considered traditional suburban housing still exists, and many think of it as the ultimate form of housing for which they should aspire.  Developers are responding to market demand.  A bigger determinant likely to evolve will be congestion and gas prices.  Higher density living becomes more attractive when one re…[Read more]

I did it in 2006 and I don’t remember there being all that much to it.  I got notices about job openings about 8 or 9 months later.  By that time I had found a job, which subsequently vanished into the ether of the real estate collapse, so I really wish I had pursued it.  That was before California’s fiscal crisis and hiring freeze, so as has be…[Read more]

Yeah, they really are!  I want one of these:
http://www.claytonihouse.com/
This is from an established, major mobile and modular home builder, so there are some forces out there incentivizing better design. 

In New Jersey, most of the beaches require a season pass.  You pay to get a plastic badge that you have to show to badge checkers who patrol the beach during the summer season.  There are different zones for surfers and those who do surf fishing, but they are only marked by temporary flags placed in the sand.  You really can’t have anything mo…[Read more]

Not a fan.  There is a recently built house across the river from where I have a house that was built with shipping containers.  They butted them up against each other to (presumably) create larger interior spaces, but from the outside, it doesn’t look all that great.  They even left them in the red oxide primer color.  Google “container hou…[Read more]

Are you asking about beaches that are restricted for use by women or families?  We don’t have those in the US.  Everybody is mixed together on our beaches, families, singles, couples, straight and gay.  There are some beach areas reserved for nudists.  Crazy, huh?  I imagine Islamic law presents some problems for beach attire and use in Dubai.

Mexican Feather Grass, Yucca and Agave come to mind right away.  There is a yucca that kind of resembles a tall, wide-bladed grass like Phormium. I think its Giant Yucca. I mention Agave because they have such interesting forms and can take the heat.  They look good in contemporary landscapes which are often Asian influenced.  Dwarf Mock…[Read more]

I would suggest getting a free subscription to this magazine: http://www.stormh2o.com/SW/SWhome.aspx
and try to at least get familiar with the terms and current topics.  Getting more overland flow and infiltration is a “hot” topic in some states that have legislation calling for storm water solutions that reduce pollutants and overall volume of…[Read more]

Link didn’t work.  You’re not trying to mimic the job of the ASLA are you?

What about all your stock picks with incredible returns?  Not a time to sell?

I was in Vegas also, for almost 5 years, and I have to agree, there is a lot of stupid there.  Not a lot of awareness of ecology or of culture in general.  I found that the reason they like to have those concrete-lined channels is to move the water along quickly without a lot of infiltration or evaporation loss to get it into Lake Mead.  The wa…[Read more]

The use of synthetic turf isn’t a bad one.  Its hard to get much of anything to grow around those planatable blocks in hot climates because the blocks retain the sun’s heat and the soil just gets baked. When I was in Las Vegas, we used synthetic turf between pavers.  Hotlanta gets almost as hot, but of course its a wetter climate.  In your case it…[Read more]

See? See? See?  The attititudes about wetlands are changing.  Its part of planning for resilience.
http://http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/opinion/forget-sustainability-its-about-resilience.html?pagewanted=2&goback=.gmp_4079228.gde_4079228_member_182719505

Honestly I think the pendulum may be swinging in the direction of wetlands and other “soft” strategies.  There is greater general understading of the role of natural systems and how they’ve been altered anthropogenically.  A lot of the people affected know their homes are in risky, vulnerable locations.  They know that barrier islands shift ov…[Read more]

Yeah, it has been discussed to death, among LAs and related professions!  I guess we just have to keep reminding the general public and the political establishment.  Here is a guy, though not an LA, who is still active in advocating for the same stuff called for in “Design with N…[Read more]

You know, I haven’t seen much discussion of rebuilding strategies yet on regional sites and message boards.  Maybe its too soon.  People are too shell-shocked as of yet.  I’ve seen some calls for a storm surge barrier across New York harbor, on the scale of Holland’s Delta Works, but that’s about it.  I seriously wonder if people will rebuild rig…[Read more]