Art

ReBurbia: Make the Suburbs Livable Contest

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Inhabitat and Dwell are holding a contest to redesign the suburbs into a sustainable and livable place. The contest is called ReBurbia and they are encouraging wild and crazy ideas to be submitted. If you have an idea to make the suburbs a place for humans to live then you should enter the contest – you better hurry though because the deadline is July 31st.

Calling all future-forward architects, urban designers, renegade planners and imaginative engineers:
Show us how you would re-invent the suburbs! What would a McMansion become if it weren’t a single-family dwelling? How could a vacant big box store be retrofitted for agriculture? What sort of design solutions can you come up with to facilitate car-free mobility, ‘burb-grown food, and local, renewable energy generation? We want to see how you’d design future-proof spaces and systems using the suburban structures of the present, from small-scale retrofits to large-scale restoration—the wilder the better!

Via Spacing.

Respect

- Adam Clare

Respect: A photo odyssey celebrating Canada’s boreal forest is currently on exhibit at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto and it looks amazing. I encourage anyone in or near Toronto to check it out.

Respect

Images tell stories that might otherwise not be heard. Nowadays, we like snapping pictures to capture our very own. We use our cameras to record life’s moments, both momentous and mundane. We cherish these photos because they allow us to recreate our personal experiences. We also seek out other types of photos, ones that evoke emotions, questions and answers. For photography to elicit this collective human experience we need professionals.

Thus, I asked nine Canadian photojournalists to take part in RESPECT, not only because they are among the best, but because of their dedication and skill in telling poignant stories through imagery. I had the privilege of working with some of Canada’s finest: Allen McInnis, Kazuyoshi Ehara, Jim Ross, John Woods, Todd Korol, Dan Riedlhuber, Jeff Bassett and Andy Clark. In 2009, a newcomer joined this select club: Chris Young, a British-born photojournalist who has worked in Canada for the past two years. Their photographs convey the essence of the Boreal Forest and the meaning of our journey.

This journey began in Quebec and took us westward through Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Colombia and the Yukon between October 2006 and July 2007. We were guided by Phillip Wilmer, affectionately nicknamed Douglas the aviator, whose knowledge of the land is truly unique. Phillip is more than just the project’s pilot: he shapes the project vision, he lifts our spirits when things aren’t going so well, he embodies the passion of a forest explorer. The going was tough; we encountered many challenges before, during and after the assignment – from turbulent weather to adverse flying conditions to unexpected interruption to delays for equipment repair. While the photographers captured the forest from above, I ran interviews on the ground – discovering rich details that could later be used in photo captions. Throughout the crossing, we were constantly awed by the majestic landscapes of the Boreal Forest and its fragility; we took in breath-taking views few have had the privilege to see. We worked hard to get results and the outcome is truly outstanding.

Steal Ideas

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

The 21st century has yet to come to terms with a good way to ensure that ideas spread, shared, and plentiful. In the developed world good ideas can get pushed aside because of copyright, DRM, and intellectual property laws. Let’s change this. One group of people (who I think are a marketing company) are just giving away all their ideas for free.

In the future

It’s one thing to come up with a good idea, but remember, it’s even better if you try out your idea in the real world.

Hot Doc: Fierce Light

- Adam Clare

Here’s a trailer for a documentary that is playing in Toronto as part of the Hot Docs festival and it looks like it’s all about goodness. If you’re in the city you should try to check this out.

Need a little inspiration these days? This stirring experiential journey connects us to the core of how spiritual activists, such as Desmond Tutu and Alice Walker, find motivation to keep fighting for good despite impossible odds.

Good Room Design Ideas

- Adam Clare

Some good design news and how you can improve your decor to change how you think for the better.

Architects have long intuited that the places we inhabit can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But now, half a century after Salk’s inspiring excursion, behavioral scien -tists are giving these hunches an empirical basis. They are unearthing tantalizing clues about how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep students focused and alert, and lead to relaxation and social intimacy. Institutions such as the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture in San Diego are encouraging interdisciplinary research into how a planned environment influences the mind, and some architecture schools are now offering classes in introductory neuroscience.

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