Contents – February 2024
CONTENTS – February 2024 Character towns, small and large, build social cohesion, community connections, civic pride, hometown spirit and institutional trust with a mobility system that strives to enable anyone in the city to travel to any other location at any time of day. People’s ability to travel safely, conveniently and cheaply to jobs, […]
“Project Management for the Design Professional: A Handbook for Architects, Engineers, and Interior Designers” by David Burstein and Frank Stasiowski
Project Management for the Design Professional continues to be the go-to book for professional designers to learn how to manage projects. From marketing and selling the job to contracting, staffing, producing and budgeting, this book sets out a useful program. The book is supported by the Project Services Management Journal [PSMJ] which is an industry […]
The Multiple Benefits of Co-Located Public Venues
CONCEPT. “Multiple Benefits” is a great concept in normal times; in times of economic stress, it is an exceptional concept. The basic idea is that a single action can produce more than one benefit. One dollar of expense, if thoughtfully expended, can produce more than one dollar’s worth of value, or benefit. Consider: Much like […]
Critical Thinking, Attributes of Creative Thought
CRITICAL THINKING is a valued skill taught and learned by the professions, such as law, planning, medicine, engineering and architecture. The purpose of thinking critically is to examine a fact, a proposition or an idea from all perspectives to determine its veracity, its weak spots, its strengths, and ultimately, its usefulness. The antithesis of critical […]
Contents – January 2024
CONTENTS – January 2024 Character towns, small and large, are planned, designed, built, managed and maintained by a variety of professionals using the many tools of their trade based on a systems analysis approach. Cities are systems of systems; treat them as such. A few systems-oriented tools that may be helpful with planning and […]
“City Hall: Masterpieces of American Civic Architecture” by Arthur Drooker
FROM AMAZON…City Hall is the first book to feature striking contemporary images of the most architecturally significant city halls in the United States. This diverse collection includes New York, the oldest; Philadelphia, once the tallest building in the world; and Boston, the first major brutalist building in the United States. Organized chronologically, the book traces […]
City Hall, The Essential Main Street Asset
A Prominent Main Street City Hall. City Hall is the downtown icon. Downtown doesn’t seem like downtown without a visible city hall, especially in a small town. City hall represents stability to citizens as they attend hearings, pay utility bills and meet with elected or appointed officials to discuss civic matters. City halls draw people […]
The Post Office
A “Relic” that Keeps on Giving Main Street Post Offices are Alive and Well. United States Post Offices draw people to their downtown locations. They provide an incredible service; for a small amount of money they carry a letter across the country. Post Offices have traditionally been the place where people collected their mail, but not so much today. With email, UPS and […]
“Why the Museum Matters” by Daniel H. Weiss
CT.org…While the focus of this work is the art museum, the lessons are universal for museums of every ilk and size. A powerful reflection on the universal art museum, considering the values critical to its history and anticipating its evolving place in our cultural future. Art museums have played a vital role in our culture, […]
Community Aesthetics
Beauty as a Design Standard. THE IDEA OF BEAUTY. Beauty is of paramount value in many cultures. Everything is designed with both function and beauty in mind. In some cultures, function is the primary and sometime only guide to the design of everything from bridges to door hinges. Some cultures believe that design costs more, […]