Jonathan Fink, a geographer affiliated with Portland State University and the University of British Columbia has posted an article entitled "Cascadia Showcases How a Coordinated Corridor Strategy Can Reinforce Urban Innovation", at the Meeting of the Minds blog. The article describes efforts to share innovation in managing urban growth, transportation and climate change amongst across three metropolitan areas of Cascadia--two n the northwest of the USA (Portland, OR and Seattle, WA) and one in the southwest corner of Canada (Vancouver, BC). It will be interesting to see if anything significant results from this effort to share innovation.
Envisioning Seattle's skyline /
Here are renderings created by architect David Boynton to visualize the future of the Seattle skyline. The top image is from 2015 and the bottom image is everything built, under construction or proposed since then.
Out in front landscape leading /
On January 22, 2018, I came across an exhibit on display in Gould Court, the ground floor of Gould Hall, which is the building that houses the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. The exhibit offers a reprise of recent work by landscape architects who work out of offices based in Seattle and nearby cities of the Pacific Northwest.
The following are selected images from the exhibit emphasizing recent landscape design work in the Seattle area.
Innovative construction in Seattle /
Articles in Architects Newspaper call attention to two stuctures in Seattle. One is a recently completed mid-rise science building on the University of Washington campus. The other is a tall (58-story) mixed-use structure soon to be built in downtown Seattle on land owned by the university.
The structure on campus is the 90,000 square foot Nano Engineering and Sciences Building designed by Seattle office of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects (ZGF.) The innovative aspect of this building is custom-engineered products from Wausau Window and Wall Systems as described in this article.
The downtown structure designed by NBBJ is a complicated mixed-use building that will rise to a height of 850 feet. It will feature a steel plate system in lieu of a traditional concrete-and-rebar core as described in this article. The structural engineer is Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA) and the developer is Wright Runstad & Company.
Demand for quality income properties remains strong in Seattle /
The demand for newly developed real estate assets in good Seattle locations remains strong. The sale of an apartment building on Seattle’s First Hill Illustrates the strength of the market. The recently completed property called Zig is located near hospitals and Seattle University offers an example of the premium that investors are willing to pay for a new high-quality income property.
The 117,000 sure foot structure houses 170 residential units and some retail space. As reported by Marc Stiles in the Puget Sound Business Journal, the price was 60% greater than the development cost. The building sold for $68.5 million—or $585 per square foot. A Loopnet listing of the commercial space contains additional property details.
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation two years later /
An armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Reserve in the southeastern portion of the State of Oregon in the USA took place between January 2, 2016, and February 11, 2016. I became fascinated with this test of governmental authority over public lands and followed the occupation and the aftermath as reflected in prior postings on this blog, which include:
MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE OCCUPATION /FEBRUARY 12, 2016
A LINGERING EFFECT OF THE MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE OCCUPATION /OCTOBER 18, 2016
PERSPECTIVE ON THE MALHEUR WILDLIFE PRESERVE OCCUPATION COURT "VICTORY" /NOVEMBER 9, 2016
ARMED MALHEUR WILDLIFE PRESERVE OCCUPIERS MADE FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT HISTORY /NOVEMBER 13, 2016
MALHEUR OCCUPIER RECEIVES A PRISON SENTENCE /NOVEMBER 17, 2017
MALHEUR OCCUPATION REFLECTED AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF GOVERNMENT LAND MANAGEMENT /NOVEMBER 23, 2017
ANOTHER MALHEUR OCCUPIER GOES TO PRISON /NOVEMBER 23, 2017
On January 18, 2017, an article by Jennifer Percy appeared in the online version of the New York Times Magazine, entitled "Fear of the Federal Government in the Ranchlands of Oregon" This article offers extensive background and perspective on the mindset of folks in this part of the American West. Ms. Percy concludes that two years after the standoff at the Malheur Refuge, many people in the region remain convinced that their way of life is being trampled.
Searching the Urbanexus blog /
Enter a search string below to search all topics entered upon this blog since its inception:
The slag of Anaconda /
My interest in the small town of Anaconda, Montana is somewhat personal. In 1911, two years before my father was born, my mining engineer grandfather moved his family to Anaconda. He went to work at the copper smelter, which was the economic engine of the community. My grandfather relocated to San Francisco in the mid 1930s when the demand for copper declined during the Great Depression.
Copper smelting revived during the 1940s to meet the demands of war production. And the dominance of US industry during postwar decades kept the big copper smelter going through the 1970s. In 1977, the Anaconda Copper Company, sold the smelter and other assets to the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). And just three years later, ARCO abruptly shut the smelter that had been in operation since 1905. The closure immediately put 25% of the town's population out of work. And since then, the community has struggled with a massive economic decline as well as a copper smelting legacy--a huge environmentally contaminated slag pile (see photo below.)
More recently, Zachariah Bryan wrote about Anaconda in an article posed at the High Country News website on January 18, 2018, Mr. Brayan reviews in some detail how Anaconda has tried to restore its economy and mitigate the slag pile during the nearly four decades that have passed since the copper smelter closed. It is not a pretty story.
Jonathan Rose Companies sells "environmental" buildings in Seattle /
As reported by Marc Stiles in the Puget Sound Business Journal on January 18, 2018, the Jonathan Rose Companies sold the adjacent Joseph Vance and Stirling buildings in downtown Seattle on Third Avenue between Pike Street and Union Street. The Following acquisition in 2006, the Rose firm, which advocates environmental sustainability and social responsibility, restored the Vance building. The $3.5 million of retrofits included enhancements to operable windows--a rare feature in a downtown high-rise building. Numerous environmental oriented organizations were attracted to the building, including the Washington Environmental Council, Climate Solutions and Progress Alliance of Washington. It looks like the Rose firm also did reasonably well by doing well as the buildings sold for 87 percent more than the purchase price.
Downtown Seattle land /
Downtown and near downtown Seattle land values have moved past the $1,000 per sq. ft. mark for smaller sites. A transaction reported by Marc Stiles in the Puget Sound Business Journal highlights the trend.
In a follow-up article on January 17, 2018, Marc Stiles of the Puget Sound Business Journal reported that the new owners of the property plan to develop a mid-rise hotel.
Housing cost and poverty in Southern California /
In a posting at newgeorgraphy.com, Alex Thomas, a political science student at Chapman University, documents how rising housing costs and a failure to create higher-wage jobs contributes to increased poverty in Southern California.
The data source for the poverty statistics is a study conducted by the United Way of California.
State Farm leaving Tacoma, WA /
Marc Stiles of the Puget Sound Business Journal reports that at the end of 2018, State Farm is shutting is call center in downtown Tacoma, 33 miles south of downtown Seattle.
It was only a little more than four years ago that State Farm came to Tacoma in the fourth quarter of 2013 to occupy two buildings that Russell Investments had vacated when that firm relocated to downtown Seattle.
The bad news is that Tacoma will lose about 1,400 jobs. The possible good news is that the office space is high quality and could attract firms that offer higher wage jobs than the relatively low-paid positions at the call center.
Neglected “middle neighborhoods” /
Aaron Renn writes about neighborhoods where a lack of investment and dearth of next-generation homeowners are far bigger concerns than gentrification.
Geometria del espacio /
In the exhibit Geometria del Espacio (Geometey of Space) at the San Diego Museum of Photographic Arts, Alejandro Laviado (b. 1980 in Mexico City), uses montage and multiple exposure techniques to create spatial compositions without digital manipulation.
Magenta (2014) - inkjet on cotton paper
Blue, Yellow Intersection (2014) - inkjet on cotton paper
Purple, Orange, Yellow Circles (2014) - inkjet on cotton paper
Triangle Variations (2014) - inkjet on cotton papery
Spatial Triangles (2014) - inkjet on cotton paper
Red, Yellow Composition (2014) - inkjet on cotton paper
Success in WW II led to over reliance on government /
E. M. Oblomov writes in City Journal about how the USA drew inappropriate lessons from its success in World War II. This contributed to notable failures in domestic programs such the “War on Poverty” in the 1960s and “War on Drugs in later decades.
Metropolis II at LACMA /
Chris Burden (1946 - 2015) created Metropolis II in 2010. This intense kinetic sculpture is on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art complex on the first floor of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum. A video of this fascinating installation is available here and you may learn more about it here.
Christian images from LACMA /
Here are several images of 20th century Christian religious art seen on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art during a visit on December 26, 2017.
More from LACMA /
Here are some more images from a visit to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on December 26, 2017.
Circles in a circle /
This image is a 1923 watercolor study for a painting called Circles in a Circle by Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866 - 1944). It was on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in December 2017.
Apocalyptic landscape /
This 1913 painting by German painter Ludwieig Meyer (1884 - 1966) entitled Apocalyptic Landscape foreshadowed the horrors of the 20th century. It was on display at the Los Angeles County Musumnof Art in December 2017.