LANscapes

With a leap in scales both personally and professionally, and a momentous and celebratory opening to one of our firm's most celebrated and satisfying achievements  - Miami Beach Soundscape - Madfish 004: 10X was unleashed.  Almost immediately, the yearning for something equally as satisfying lingered. "A dormant entity lurks throughout our thoughts and emotions quietly unnoticed - however, there are those of us who perceive this Passenger and learn to accept it as a part of ourselves." With a hunger that drives me to the near brink it is only through an exploratory and carefully crafted appreciation for the poetic composition of mood through melody that this hunger can be sated. Life's moments of inspiration come most unexpectedly and when they do it is necessary they be seized; celebrating them in a carnal way that leaves a heightened senses, an agile step, and a determination to succeed.  When in harmonious synchronicity, the Passenger is both controlled...

From firsthand experience overseeing the construction of one of the more elaborate and unique park spaces I have personally encountered - personally or professionally -  it is with much anticipation that I continue to drive toward the completion of the recently endorsed "Miami Beach Soundscape" (formerly referred to as Lincoln Park). This will be West 8's first built work in the United States and has been, in 'concert' with the New World Symphony's ambitious vision for it's newly completed facility, a work of art and architecture that I think seeks to aid the evolution of music . As David Byrne reflects on his own musical ruminations and hypothesizes a model of creativity; do artists write stuff for specific rooms? Do we have a place, a venue, a context in mind when we make things? From the sparse outdoor 'friendship circles' of the African desert to the hymns of gothical cathedrals, Mozart's parlors to  the symphonic chambers of Carnegie Hal...

Cover 003.BLOG | In an attempt to further identify and discern the tonal colour of our auditory world, DJ Madfish is set to release his third musical composition. Anticipation of his wife’s impending delivery of new life has renewed his vocational journey through the tonotopic landscape of our receiving world. His first release since leaving Canadian soil, accompanied by a shift in sonic colour, is the direct result of both a perceived and real experience of his auditory landscape.  DJ Madfish cross-pollinates his occupational pursuits with his extracurricular aspirations and vocational talents. As left brain and right brain work to create visual smells and tangible sites, it is the potential born of the auditory landscape that inspires madfish to bring you tasty sounds. “These phenomena get to the heart of what it means to have memories. Most of us have a set of memories that we treat something like a photo album or scrapbook. Certain stories we are accustomed to telling to...

Snow fencing - $200. Chain link - $750. Saving another mature tree - priceless.  Mischievousness? Sociopathic lack of conscience? Ignorance? Unbelievable? Perhaps all the above reflect a recurring abuse of direction and care associated with tree protection measures on our building sites. Arguably analogous to storing ones kitchen-ware in a baby's crib, or setting up extending a "slip n' slide" across the neighbours tulip bed, battling the abuses of contractor 'oversight' is a never-ending few of us will ever have to endure.   It is comical in its predictability; at the same time shocking in the apparent and conditioned lack of regard. But, I believe it fair to say that as landscape architects it is all too common for us to reprimand contractors for their flagrant abuse of tree protection measures. Met with raised eyebrows, head scratches, and "who me?" looks, it is never surprising how egregious their mistakes are. Arguably, they are not mistakes...

With slightly more than a year under my belt living in New York City, I remain simultaneously curious of and resilient to the anesthetizing effects of such a vibrant, mentally wearing (often hostile) yet threateningly exciting cityscape. While my discoveries and adventures extend beyond the confines of this urban jungle, my observations remain disturbingly consistent - "bigger is better" here, and one's perceived requirement of protection from an increasingly hostile and dystopic environment resists the increasing pressures and realities of resource scarcity and a decaying urban infrastructure. We continue to elude ourselves of these worldly realities and select biophobic armatures that perpetuate our dissociation from that which we hold in cautious reverence. (Original publication here). "Instead of struggling to keep the public domain in good repair, we find it more effective to take action at the personal level, to defend ourselves from the urban environment wi...

A volcanic island emerges from the still and placid waters of lake Titicaca? Perhaps a virtual eden off the shores of Second Life? Sorry - neither. This virutal landscape, better known as the island of "twitter land New York" is a graphic representation of collected geospatial data, compiled from its inhabitants better known as the "tweeters of twitter". Sweden may have been first, but social media tools have arguably brought the potential for expanding awareness of the design and construction industry. Social media is no longer a novelty and has, in fact, given way to a new form of social exchange economy - socialnomics . Like a word cloud that takes on scaleable proportions not dissimilar to our chaotic urban environments, perhaps there is some method in the madness. As opportunities to create space for the voracious appetites of a continued and expansive growth of our fellow man worldwide, it strikes me as entirely possible that a new form of understanding mu...

As I work toward notching another " built accomplishment " on the proverbial belt, I find myself pondering the likelihood of emerging from the experience buried in change order ink, frustrated client with "busted budgets", and an overwhelming sense of helplessness about my ability to affect change within a crippled industry - an industry where the design professional's role as "masterbuilder" continues to fade as quickly as an owner's costs continue to rise. According to construction lawyer Barry LePatner , however, we (designers) are simply one cog that helps spin the wheel in "an industry that consumes $1.23 trillion and wastes at least $120 billion each year." Why is the construction industry fraught with such lackluster performers and skyrocketing costs that outpace inflation? With such lofty ambitions accompanied by unprecedented developments in materials and technology, why is it that productivity within the building industry fal...