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Great fireplace!  Is the space behind the firebox used for anything?

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The picture?  Its boring and lacks a clearly defined subject.

 

Oh, did you mean the parking lot?  How about that it appears to mix angled parking with 90 deg parking on the same lanes.

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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.

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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.

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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 bunch of projects that I had only marginal involvement with for me to use in my portfolio.

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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.

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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 realizes how much time is being spent in commuting and how much is being spent on fuel.  I recall reading that urban development in Houston became more popular only after commutes became less than tolerable.  Personal experience suggests that those new to city living have a hard time adapting.  They expect suburban levels of quiet and convenience.  What may appear as “street life” to some looks like threatening behaviour to them.  They don’t want to have to deal with people that are percieved as not being of their class.  I live in one of the few parts of the country where there is a high demand for urban housing, and live in a neighborhood that could best be described as “mixed” and “evolving”.  Empty lots are being filled in and many of the older homes have been renovated.  There is easy access to public transporatation.  While I know it is more “correct” from a planning perspective, I don’t feel completely comfortable here.  I wish I had more space, more greenery around…private greenery, not a public park where I have to hear someone else’s favorite music or deal with dangerous dogs.  Perhaps these kinds of attitudes are what continue to drive the demand for single-family homes on large lots.

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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 been indicated, things are different now.  Now I have to slug it out with surly New Yorkers as I oversee tree planting projects.

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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. 

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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 more substantial out where it will be subject to wave action, unless you are going to make jetties of massive boulders or something.  Some of the beaches that are adjacent to boardwalks have controlled access pints where you have to present your badge or pay a fee for the day’s visit.  There are some private beaches where you need to be a member of a club to enter.  They have private security guards.  Families often prefer them because they have more lifeguards and often have swimming pools that are safer for small children.

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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 house, Yardley, PA” for some images.  I generally like the use of industrial materials in modern architecture, but most of these container houses just fall flat for me.  I think they can have a place as disaster housing in cities where you need density and there isn’t the space for FEMA trailers, like this: http://observer.com/2012/11/home-sweet-shipping-container-nycs-secret-plans-for-the-perfect-disaster-apartments/

The lack of suitable replacement housing in the New York region after Sandy has been an ongoing tragedy that you hear little about.

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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.

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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-orange is a good substitute for the low, mounding evergreens you see in a lot of Asian gardens.  Of course, you see that all over Vegas.  Myoporum makes a good fine-textured evergreen ground cover.  Xeriscaping really lends itself to Asian-influenced design, as you have a lot of rock and plants are used sculpturally.

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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 flow off of a site, so there are people interested in bioswales from that perspective.  With performance standards that state merely that rainfall hase to drain from a lot within x minutes, well, its harder to make the case for pollutant filtration.

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

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