Toronto switches smart city plans to urbanist’s wishlist:
Toronto is abandoning a smart city proposal for a new development along its waterfront, and a holistic off-the-grid development now leads the way, writes Karrie Jacobs for MIT Technology Review.
The new proposal, said to be an urbanist’s dream, consists of: “800 affordable apartments, a two-acre forest, rooftop farm, new arts venue focused on indigenous culture, and a pledge to be zero-carbon” – a significant departure in ethos from the original winning proposal from just a few years ago.
Former winner Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google, had proposed a $900 million “vision for a data-rich city within a city” on the foreshores of Toronto, known as Quayside. In May 2020, Sidewalk abandoned the plan, citing the Covid-19 pandemic to blame, though this came after years of public controversy.
Jacobs writes, “The project’s tech-first approach antagonized many; its seeming lack of seriousness about the privacy concerns of Torontonians was likely the main cause of its demise.”
The importance of human connection and nature in a highly driven technological world is more recognised in the new proposal; Jacobs says, “The shift signalled by the new plan, with its emphasis on wind and rain and birds and bees rather than data, seems like a pragmatic response to the present moment.”
There has been a growing awareness that more of our population is neurodiverse, however, invisible disabilities or health conditions are often not considered in urban design, writes Jane Bringolf for the Centre for Universal Design Australia.
‘Neurodiverse’ refers to “people who appear to have different behaviours and/or have a specific diagnosis such as autism or ADHD.” People who are neurodiverse can experience sensory overloads, and be affected by factors like noise and crowds.
“In Australia, standards focus on mobility, vision and hearing. Consequently they don’t cover invisible disabilities or health conditions. That’s why it’s dangerous to think that meeting legislated standards is sufficient to create access and inclusion for everyone,” they write.
Bringolf highlights a Master of Architecture thesis by Natasha Mickovski, from Laurentian University in Canada, that proposes Enabling Design Guidelines, an adaptation of the well-known Seven Principles of Universal Design focused on creating more neuro-inclusive cities.
They include points around spatial organisation, character, lighting, acoustics and thermal quality, transitions, sensory group and escape or reset zones.
Successful products are often followed by copycats. Over the past year we have become aware of an increase in reproductions of the Linea range attempting to create a similar aesthetic at a lower price. This can compromise the overall durability and environmental credentials of projects being delivered, affect ongoing maintenance requirements, and in some instances pose a risk of injury to the public. The design of Linea is deceptively simple while delivering exceptional attention to detail. Details matter not only for beauty, but also for providing durability, and safety, that will last decades. Linea strictly uses the highest quality and sustainable materials, has passed rigorous strength tests, and is designed for longevity, with easily replaceable parts. The product range is the result of hundreds of hours of research and development …
Street Furniture Australia’s entire product range and manufacturing operation has received carbon neutral certification through Climate Active™. Achieving carbon neutral certification marks a significant milestone in our operation and the culmination of a four year long process of detailed measurement and analysis. Climate Active™ is the only Australian government-backed carbon neutral certification programme for businesses to measure, reduce, and offsets their carbon emissions. It is one of the most rigorous carbon-neutral programs in the world. An approved Emissions Reduction Strategy (ERS) is central to achieving certification through Climate Active. Street Furniture Australia has elected to use SBTi validated science-based targets to ensure their ERS is meaningful and aligns with the 2015 Paris Agreement – to limit global temperature rises to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. For those emissions that can’t be …
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What wandering can teach us about designing new spaces: Wenting Guo, Senior Design Lead with IDEO, describes the experience of wandering in Rome in early 2020, and learnings that can be applied to designing new spaces. Guo writes on the IDEO blog, “The joy of wandering comes from its unpredictability, which is always delicately balanced against the fear of being completely lost.” She shares how the physical environment can offer calming spaces in between places, where inspiration can be found through spontaneity and the unexpected. Wanderers of Rome will often notice the beautiful light as it plays against the dry Mediterranean climate and the architecture, Guo says, “It dictates and changes what we can and cannot see at different times, often revealing only a small fragment of the overall picture.” …
Animal crossing – world’s biggest wildlife bridge comes to California highway: Landscape architects from Living Habitats have designed the world’s largest wildlife bridge, to be constructed over a California highway. The overpass will allow fauna of the Santa Monica mountains to safely cross a dangerous 10-lane stretch, writes Katharine Gammon for The Guardian. Stretching 210ft (64m) long and 165ft (50m) wide across the 101 highway near Los Angeles, the overpass is designed to allow safe passage for lizards, snakes, toads and mountain lions. An acre of local plants on either side and vegetated sound walls hope to dampen light and noise for nocturnal animals as they slip across. The project is funded by around 60% private donations and has been championed by Beth Pratt, a conservation leader with the National …
Rise of the metaverse: ‘Metaverse,’ a term from the 1992 novel Snow Crash, in which people live as avatars in a three dimensional world, has recently hit the zeitgeist referring to virtual worlds in a burgeoning next phase of the internet. Architects, writes Chloe Sun for ArchDaily, could be facing crises in the physical world due to constraints of factors such as structure, and management, that limit the possibility of the discipline. The wake of COVID-19, she says, may further catalyse the rise of the digital alternatives to brick-and-mortar shops, houses and offices. The NFT industry also is rapidly growing, and unique digital creations, Sun says, are not limited to traditional visual art, but include digital architecture and landscape architecture. “Toronto-based artist Krista Kim has sold the first NFT-backed digital …
