I told Isabel, "It's like a dagger to an Atlantan's heart if you..."

After her extraordinary talk I told Isabel Castilla, "It's like a dagger to an Atlantan's heart if you..."

"If you don't say the Atlanta BeltLine is the coolest thing EVER."

"I didn't say anything about the BeltLine," she replied.

"Yeah that hurts just as much."

"But no two (corridor reclamation projects) are the same."

"Certainly not, but it still hurts."



Kate Allen with Isabel Castilla for the poster signing. Isabel Castilla is Principal at James Corner Field Operations currently the lead designer and project manager the for Section 3 of New York’s High Line; Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road District; and The Underline in Miami, a 10-mile long corridor of parkland, trails and neighborhood connections. 

I'm embarrassed for Atlanta that you weren't there. It was the annual Doug Allen lecture, and we had a High Line designer.

“Landscape architecture concentrates on anything open to the sky.” - Isabel Castilla

Make plans right now, clear your calendar for the Fall of 2018 or have an excuse from the doctor.

Deprovincializing BeltLine-Like Projects

The is my first lecture about a BeltLine-Like project that wasn't given by Ryan Gravel.

More on that another time.



You should'a been there. Look who is building on the High Line.



Who knows when there will be a pop quiz on peel-up bench typologies?

See ya'

People, street trees, & buildings share a comparable life expectancy, about 80 years

Building life expectancy:  "There's a lot of spread in that. The average residential building lasts about  150 years, but the average Walmart or a (not so hot) apartment complex last 10 or 15 years but the average is 80 years." Paul Knight's Streets Lecture - Part 1 



Please Come see part 2: Streets: Designing a Master Street Plan (Part II) on Tuesday, December 13th at 6:30 pm at the Atlanta City Studio on the 2nd floor of Ponce City Market.

"Streets" is one the Architecture Tourists favorite subjects, streets as public spaces, making them more fun, less boring, more democratic.

It's free. I'll be there. Please say hey. Don't let the word "lecture" scare you off. This will be fun.

Paul L. Knight, architectural and urban designer at Historical Concepts and president of Douglas C. Allen Institute for the Study of Cities, will present his second lecture about Streets on Tuesday, December 13th at 6:30 pm at the Studio. Last month we learned why streets are the most critical and long-lasting components of our cities. If you missed it, you can view a recording of the lecture below. This month, Paul Knight returns to explain how to analyze the best examples of American town planning, garnering design lessons and principles that can be used for future development.The free second seminar focuses on master street planning and design. Come join us to learn how streets can improve our cities. Please come early--it was a packed house last time and we ran out of chairs.

Here's part 1, about 38 minutes. Part 3 to be announced soon.




What is the Douglas C. Allen Institute for the Study of Cities?

Thanks for "Atlanta according to Terry Kearns" but I have to explain something...

Some of my answers threw JoAnn off and maybe I confused you too. I'll clear everything up in a second.

Thanks to Creative Loafing for this little feature: "Atlanta according to Terry Kearns" in which I answered 10 questions. I'm grateful to Thomas Wheatley who wrote it and to Eric Cash who took a wonderful picture that made me look slim.

Explanations: 

1. My favorite nature spot in ATL is the Duck Pond in Peachtree Heights East.
JoAnn said, "I can't believe you said 'the duck pond.'"
I am not a nature boy, I don't "get" getting back to nature and I avoid camping at all times. But I do love the Duck Pond, even more because it's one block from Peachtree Street. It never fails to surprise and delight me.


The Duck Pond.

2. East Atlanta is my favorite neighborhood.
I'm a sucker for neighborhood centers. I've just spent a month visiting East Atlanta to curate my first art show at VintageATL. I declare East Atlanta Village to be the equal of any neighborhood in Atlanta. You should try it out.

But what really put East Atlanta over the top is...


the Big Terry mural of me by Joe Dreher aka JoeKingATL at VintageATL.  See what I mean? Now all the girls want to be in my pictures. Bravo East Atlanta. Thanks to Carl Lavin for the picture.

3. Clough Commons at Georgia Tech is my favorite building.
I could only pick one. So I went for multipurpose, public, and crazy and the Clough is it. It's huge, amazing, open 24/7, and full of people.


Atlanta's "Spanish Steps" are part of  the Clough's indoor piazza. One of Atlanta's great spaces I think.


And there's a garden walk on top.

I hope I've cleared everything up for now.

Thanks so much.

GTLork at the Goat Farm thanks to JT and the Varsity

A great event in a great space and I almost didn't go. As we approached, ambient music wafted from Goodson Yard. From the door we could see the long line of laptopers beneath giant screens.

It was free, it was odd, it was at the Goat Farm, a performance of student works by the Georgia Tech Laptop Orchestra (GTLork) & New Music Ensemble.

On Thursday I was eating at the Varsity next to a man and his teenage sons. Turns out it's music photographer Jim 'JT' Gilbert from upper New York state visiting Georgia Tech where his 18 year old has been accepted. They'd been told to eat the at the "V" while they were in Atlanta - good choice.


Y'all know me: We chatted it up and bonded over french fries. They'd spent a long day at Tech and were heading back to the hotel before driving home to New York on Friday.


So I asked if they wanted to go to the Goat Farm to hear the Georgia Tech Laptop Orchestra. They said yeah and we headed out.


My wife said, "They actually went with YOU? Didn't they know how strange you are?"

They didn't exactly go with me, they followed in their car. What were they thinking as we turned into the dark Goat Farm drive and parked in the grass?


It was odd and wonderful, thirty+ musicians and a few hundred fans in Goodson Yard.


It was dark, there were three giant screens, there were a few traditional instruments. I had no idea what would happen next.


A score.


Title: “Fusiform” Members: Chris Howe, Raja Raman, Ziwen Fan, Xinquan Zhou Description: A performance controlled by facial expressions, wherein laptop performers affect the acoustic musicians signal with various effects via web cam control.


This trio played over ambient music and it was wonderful.
Title: “Impossible Mission” Members: JUAN MARTINEZ-NIETO, Shuo Liu, IMANKALYAN MUKHERJEE, Cian O’Brien Description: A piece written for Trumpet, Tenor Saxophone, Euphonium, 3 laptop musicians and 3 puzzle solvers. The music tells a story of solving a jig-saw puzzle that eventually unfolds the score for the musicians to play.


Weird and wonderful and I almost didn't go. Thanks to JT and sons.

I don't know if the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology has a mailing list, so we'll need to check their event calendar.

2014 Finals: Margaret Guthman Musical Instrument Competition at the Klaus

This was my third Guthman. I plan to attend them all. On Friday the 8 finalists demonstrated their instruments.

" Twenty-two inventors, composers and designers representing 14 nations were selected to present their new instruments at this year’s competition . They were selected from a pool of over 80 applicants from 20 countries..."


Margaret Guthman awarded the 2014 first prize and $5,000 to the Adjustable Microtonal Guitar by Tolgahan Cogulu the only non-computerized instrument.


Tolgahan Cogulu played, moved the frets around and played some more.


I started smiling early.


Who knew that the Klaus (designed by Perkins +Will) had a glass-fronted 3-level trapezoidal room with grand stair and balconies?

Georgia Tech music technology students wore these T-shirts and worked the show.

I walked around before liftoff.


These little circuit boards had gyros, accelerometers, and light sensors I think. He danced them around and made wireless music.


I asked why the heat lamp. Uday said it was built in a tropical climate and heat lamps were legal. This is Uday Shankar's chitravenu.


Two wild and crazy Swedish guys played OP-1's by Teenage Engineering .


The AlphaSphere went through pre-flight checklists. Was he loading Bach, hip-hop, or Vangelis? All, I think..


The Happy Fun Ball was an "elektrisk oraksje" (electric orange). You could dance with it AND dance to it.


Things got started before I could meet all the inventors.


The balcony birds leaned in from the best seats in the house.


The three judges sat on the front row.


No Mozart from Yuto Hasebe's Tree Guitar but WHO CARES? We wanted to party with the Tree Guitar.


Feng Gao's TRI-O : Three little turntables put a triangle in motion whose area made midi controls modify Bach.

After the performance the judges judged while the fans swarmed the inventors.


Yuto Hasebe and his Tree Guitar.


Inside the Intonaspacio a.k.a. happy fun ball.



Uday Shankar demonstrated the chitravenu for his inteview.


Allie and company with the Happy Fun Ball.


Children welcome.


Insider tip: Free beverages and sweets after the performances.


The judges returned. Tree Guitar won a peoples choice award and a coveted Margaret hug.


The winners.


The winners.


The winners.

Cutting the Crum: Partial Demolition of the Crum and Forster Building (1928) is underway

I don't know how long this will take so you'd better get over there. See the map below.

UPDATE: They will begin demolition with the big machines Sunday at 10am, September 1, 2013.

There is plenty of  "story" behind all this. The short of is here: "Advocacy Was Successful But Recourse Has Sealed the Fate Crum & Forster" documentation from the Atlanta Preservation about efforts to save the building intact.


They've almost completed the cuts.


This the south side, the service side of the building, west to the left, east to the right. The left part stays.


The front door faces west, fronts Spring Street. They'll save this part.


They are salvaging the roof tile.


I presume this is Ludowici roof tile but probably not made in Ludowici, Georgia. Maybe they'll use it in a new building on this property.


While it was abandoned, they put up these fake widows. It helped keep squatters out, reduced the fire risk. From a distance it was a good look. Up close it seemed an odd optical illusion.


The interiors might have been impressive in 1928.


They are removing soffit and fascia. You don't realize how important it is to the design until it's gone. Flemish bond brick work faces the street.


How they built it. Looks like bird nest territory.


They've got some big saws. The right stays, the left goes.


They are protecting the right side, the part they are saving. They'll saw through everything inside and out.


They've completed this cut as of today.

Go see, you should always go the wake.


View Larger Map


 
Make sure to see the front door.