Primary Landscapes: An Interview with Edward Burtynsky - Venue "Oil Spill #2," Discoverer Enterprise, Gulf of Mexico, May 11, 2010. Photograph by Edward Burtynsky. Venue's debut last week at the Nevada Museum of Art coincided with the premiere of a new exhibition there: Edward Burtynsky: Oil. This thematic show, on display through September 23, features nearly fifty large-format images that, taken together, tell the story of oil, from its origins, extraction, and processing in the tar sands of Alberta or the first offshore platforms in Azerbaijan, through the spaghetti junctions and motorcycle rallies that represent oil's spatial, infrastructural, and cultural footprint, all the way to oil's afterlife in mountains of compacted barrels and broken tankers in the Bay of Bengal. "Breezewood," Pennsylvania, USA, 2008. "Talladega Speedway #1," Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 2009. I’m curious, though, if you would ever be tempted to pursue your subject to the next step—that is, to a kind of tertiary landscape. Burtynsky: Yes, exactly. Burtynsky: I think so, yes.
Pop-Up Forests and Experimental Christmas Trees The New York Times this morning profiles a plant pathologist at Washington State University named Gary Chastagner, who "heads one of the nation’s half-dozen Christmas tree research labs." These labs include institutions such as WSU-Puyallup (producing "research-based information that creates a high-quality Christmas tree product for consumers"), New Mexico State University ("screening provenances of many native and non-native commercial Christmas tree species"), NC State (whose research includes "support on agritourism aspects of Christmas tree farms," as well as a related Christmas Tree Genetics Program), and many more. [Images: Photos by Randy Harris for the New York Times, courtesy of the New York Times]. The goal is to develop new and improved tree species for both indoor and outdoor display during the holiday season, and, along the way, to create a tree that can last weeks—even months—in a post-mortem state without shedding its needles.
Study Finds Renewable Energy is Cheaper than Coal in the US Photo via Shutterstock A new study reveals that wind farms are less costly than new coal-fired plants, and cost about the same, if not less, than new natural gas plants. It sounds pretty extraordinary, but if one looks at the cost of warming and health issues caused by carbon emissions, as well as the hazards caused by sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants, the numbers begin to fall sharply in favor of renewable energy. Photo via Shutterstock The report, authored by Laurie T. All quite sensible; worldwide, natural disasters are estimated to have cost around $2.5 trillion since 2000, and extreme weather events, worsening as a result of warming, cost the US $140 million last year alone. Even at the most conservative SCC calculations—with SO2 costs included—Johnson and her colleagues show that it is cheaper to build a new wind farm than a new coal-fired plant, including coal with carbon capture and storage, wherever possible. Via Treehugger
Graft Lab’s Vertical Village in Dubai Has Spider Web of Solar Panels At first glance, Graft Lab‘s dazzling complex in Dubai may appear to have a cluster of sparkling geometric pools at its base. But upon further inspection, the web-like structures are actually something even more desirable than a place to take a dip in the hot desert – a means of collecting the scorching rays of the sun and transforming them into energy. Dubbed the Vertical Village, this multi-use building and accompanying massive array of solar collectors was designed to work smarter, not harder, which is expected to earn it a LEED Gold certification when it is completed. The architects at Graft Lab (also responsible for the unique and ethereal Bird Island) must have been taking good notes in their LEED classes because the Vertical Village incorporates the most basic mantras of energy-efficiency in hot climates: reducing solar gain and maximizing solar production. Aside from its energy-harvesting features, the Vertical Village is also quite breathtaking to behold. + Graft Lab
Urban Placemaking in Columbia In recent years they have popped up around the world, from Mexico to Tokyo, Scotland to Costa Rica, South Africa to Germany, and all over the United States. They have been used for everything imaginable: homes, computer labs, studios, cafes, farms, parks and hotels. Even Starbucks and Tommy Hilfiger have joined the band wagon and opened stores in them. What are they? Shipping containers. Colombia is also in on the trend. Container City opened to the public in February of 2013 in one of the finest business neighborhoods of Bogota. These shipping containers are not shy; sporting colors like fuchsia, lime green, baby blue, stoplight red and lollipop orange, they shout out irreverence. Yes, it is a food court. I sat down with the architect, Alejandro Barreneche, to talk about the project, some of the challenges faced, and the construction process. The Container City concept combines materials that are recycled or can be, with some interesting design twists along the way. Connect: Authored by:
Cities and Climate Change Adaptation The inaugural City Climate Leadership Awards by the C40 City Climate Leadership Group (C40) and Siemens kicked off on 4 September, with 29 cities and 37 projects shortlisted. The awards recognize city innovation that accelerates city action to combat the sources and impacts of climate change. The winning cities were selected by an independent, seven member judging panel consisting of former city Mayors, architects and representatives of the World Bank, C40 and Siemens. Bogota (Urban Transportation)Copenhagen (Carbon Measurement & Planning)Melbourne (Energy Efficient Built Environment)Mexico City (Air Quality)Munich (Green Energy)New York City (Adaptation & Resilience)Rio de Janeiro (Sustainable Communities)San Francisco (Waste Management)Singapore (Intelligent City Infrastructure)Tokyo (Finance & Economic Development) Urban Transportation award recipient: Bogota for its efforts to green its Bus and Taxi fleets. Green Energy recipient: Munich for its 100% Green Power by 2025 Plan.