http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?fid4ct=35934 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:01:00 EDT Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss RapidFeeds v0.1 -- http://www.rapidfeeds.com From the University of Kansas’ Architecture Department, Chair and Associate Professor, Nils Gore, and Associate Professor, Shannon Criss, will share with us the community-based projects they’ve done with architecture students in Mississippi and Kansas. Under the auspices of the Small Town Center (STC) at Mississippi State, an outreach center of the School of Architecture, Nils and Shannone worked in small towns, helping them with design and planning. They were able to focus their efforts on revitalizing downtowns after large corporations sucked the business out and create a symbol of community unity by building a park in a racially-divided town. After moving to Kansas (KU), they’ve done several projects in New Orleans, following Hurricane Katrina, working with a community organization in the 7th Ward. These are all small projects, prefabricated in Kansas, then transported to and installed in NOLA: a tool shed, an outdoor classroom, a mobile stage, and notice boards. Most recently they’ve also done a couple of projects in Kansas for a scientific research field station to help them with public outreach and education - an overlook deck with a view across a river valley and a visitors pavilion to introduce people to the field station. They’ll also talk about the project that brought them to Chicago where they first met UHC’s Anna and Dave, which was a hypothetical, paper project they did with students regarding urban agriculture on the South Side. The projects all have the constant themes of localism, sustainable materials, cultural connection, and what they call “guerrilla” or insurgent architecture: small, independent projects done kind of on-the-sly, and definitely on-the-cheap. Their hope as educators is to introduce to students the idea that architecture can be found in small, meaningful grassroots initiatives, in contrast to corporate mega-projects. http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=5358221 http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=5358221 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:55:00 EDT “This discussion will take you through the grassroots redevelopment of the Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center, the trials and tribulations of working with the city and our plans for a 95,000 sq. ft. vertical farm and artisanal food business incubator. In partnership with Professor Blake Davis from the Illinois Institute of Technology, we are designing an efficient aquaponics system to raise organic produce and several varieties of fish. The plan hinges on re-use of a vacant industrial building and seeks to break new ground in job creation, fresh food production and sustainable renovation methods. With the addition of new lighting technologies, open-source systems and careful control of all energy use and production within the building, we hope to demonstrate that urban farming can be practical, profitable and commonplace.” http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=5228924 aarbetter@urbanhabitatchicago.org http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=5228924 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:57:00 EDT Julie is the Project Director for the AFOPADI reforesting project in Guatemala, she is also a local landscape designer, and is the past president of Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association. “FINE GARDENING magazine describes Julie as having combined her background in dance, animation, architecture and writing with her love of plants to create gardens that are full of energy and speak to the larger regional aesthetics. Being raised by a photographer and a painter guaranteed Julie’s creative sensibility. Her decades of teaching and public speaking developed strong communication skills and independent thought. Julie’s involvement with various community, environmental, and social projects links her professional activity with her humanitarian beliefs.” http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=5086278 aarbetter@urbanhabitatchicago.org http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=5086278 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:01:00 EDT