Conjured Context

The Palm Jumeirah, the artificial island development in Dubai, claims it has three times the innovation, three times the ingenuity, and three times the ambition.

An ambitious engineering feat yes, but the Palm Jumeirah shows me nothing more the deep wallets and the pursuit of an illogical legacy for its developers. I can’t even fathom the financial backing available in this area. The potential for groundbreaking innovation in sustainable development is endless. The desert/ocean ecosystem it was placed on appears ideal for potential capture of solar, hydro, and wind power, possibly capable of meeting all power needs using alternative energy sources, becoming a datum for further sustainable desert development.

Read More

All Downhill

In the University town of Trondheim, which is also Norway’s third largest city, has more cycling traffic than all the other Norwegian cities. A majority of students and residents use bicycles as their main mode of transportion, despite topography that would deter even the most prolific bike enthusiasts.  This is all due to the city's effort to create a vast system of bicycle infrastructure.

Read More

Natural Pollution

In discussion with a fellow landscape architecturally like-minded friend, the topic of defining “natural”, a common thread here at D.U.S., within our landscape and in reference to urbanism and sustainability came up as a topic of conversation.

What is natural? If you consider human existence a natural occurrence then “unnatural” does not exist. Could it be that all human actions and environmental impacts considered to have detrimental earthly effects might actually be a higher level of an Earthly sustainable system, the purpose, removal of the cause?

Read More

Rubbish Refined

The ongoing series, TRASH: anycoloryoulike, began transforming trash in Harlem on June 13.  Through the participation of local residents, artist Adrian Kondratowicz is continually replacing standard piles of trash throughout New York with a vivid new design that beautifies the city and calls attention to waste consumption.

Read More

Nature Becomes Eclectic

I came across an interesting project that maps audio soundscapes across the globe.  Wild Sanctuary as its called, is the largest privately held archive of natural soundscapes.  Forty-percent of the archive comes from habitants now seriously altered, comprised or even extinct, sound-wise.

The project, recorded by pop musician turned "Bioacoustician" Bernie Krause, is his attempt to preserve endangered soundscapes before they're drowned out by human noise.