August 2009
39 posts
James Watt, Cyberneticist →
The big problem with steam as a source of energy is that the output of a boiler is erratic. The amount of steam that comes out (the energy available to you) depends on the weather, the temperature,…
Would We Make Them? – Buildings That Protest 4 →
Part of a series: Buildings That Protest
Over the course of the last 3 posts, we proceeded from eco-feedback mechanisms to a paranoid vision of automated prisons and crowd control. It’s worth taking…
Glimpses of a City →
4.
Turning left onto a side street and left again, you find yourself in a quaint residential neighbourhood. The houses are all more or less identical – brick single family dwellings with pointed…
On a Grand Scale – Buildings That Protest 3 →
Part of a series: Buildings That Protest
Recap: We’re talking about Alain de Botton’s comment that buildings are forced to sit in silent protest as the people under their care take actions and…
An Introduction →
In the heart of Puisaye, in Yonne, Burgundy, a team of fifty people have taken on an extraordinary feat : to build a castle using the very same techniques and materials used in the Middle Ages.
“If an autonomous machine kills someone, who is responsible?”
– If an autonomous machine kills someone, who is responsible? | Science | guardian.co.uk
Haunted by Design – Buildings That Protest 2 →
Part of a series: Buildings That Protest
I can’t get the idea of Buildings That Protest out of my mind.
Recap: This is the realization that with the growth of smart homes and internet of things…
Glimpses of a City →
3.
Nestled among the skyscrapers downtown is an attractive corner office decorated in the minimalist style. A sign announces that it is the offices of “SMED International” though what business SMED…
Buildings That Protest →
In Alain de Botton’s The Architecture of Happiness, there is a passage where he considers the apparent failure of architecture as a device for making us better people.
…
6 Involuntary Parks →
When he was still running the Viridian Movement, Bruce Sterling introduced the idea of involuntary parks. Spaces in the world that have become so polluted or otherwise unusable by humans, that…
I Want Architectural Counter-Contests →
On Monday, the Re-Burbia contest announced the 20 Finalists. The entries are a lot of fun. There are zeppelins and Metabolist housing and even a perpetual motion machine.
Typography for Lawyers →
Glimpses of a City →
2.
In the industrial area, there is an abandoned lot that once held an oil tank. It is surrounded on three sides by a concrete wall. The fourth is blocked by a crumbling chain-link fence. The three…
Floatopia →
Excerpts from “Floatopia: The Rise and Decine of a Libertarian Experiment” Published in NEWStream and syndicated to all ReutAssoc membersites (retrieved December 21 2012 @ 13:34).
“Incredibly, President George W. Bush told French President Jacques Chirac in...”
– Council for Secular Humanism
Why Is There A Killer Robot Debate? →
photo credit: NiWoTa Studios
The US air force published its “Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047″ in July, predicting the deployment of fully autonomous…
On Oak Beams and Contingency Plans →
This is a story about planning, foresight, myths, reality, and the oak beams of College Hall at New College, Oxford.
photo credit: santo rizzuto
A Fable of Foresight
…
Glimpses of a City →
1.
Walking down the main street, you eventually come across one of the two high schools. Turning the corner and shimmying under the fence that separates the children’s play area from the parking…
Hello A Softer World Fans →
If you came from emily’s link, you are probably looking for this series: Adaptation – Cyborgs and Architects 1 (also: 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) . If you are into terrorism and…
How Deep Do Cities Go? →
photo credit: Pro-Zak
Here’s a Pair of Questions
How deep do cities run on average?
What is the deepest city?
A few days ago, I asked these on Twitter and after a…
Glimpses of a City →
1.
Walking down the main street you eventually come across one of the two high schools. Turning the corner and shimmying under the fence that separates the children’s play area from the parking lot…
Hello A Softer World Fans →
If you came from emily’s link, you are probably looking for this series: Adaptation – Cyborgs and Architects 1 (also: 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) . If you are into terrorism and…
“No organism can afford to be conscious of matters with which it could deal at...”
– Gregory Bateson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
How Deep Do Cities Go? →
photo credit: Pro-Zak
Here’s a Pair of Questions
How deep do cities run on average?
What is the deepest city?
A few days ago, I asked these on Twitter and after a…
“Ten thousand years - the life span I hope for the clock - is about as long as...”
– WIRED SCENARIOS - The Millennium Clock Danny Hillis
