http://observersroom.designobserver.com/johnthackara/post/design-in-the-light-of-dark-energy/32668/

How LA and Phoenix get their water, and at what cost.

http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-very-hungry-city/32058/#.Tygk8z

George Steiner

http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1320071-george-steiner-certain-idea-knowledge

Mark Twain on the Kachelofen: http://www.kachelofen-usa.com/twain.htm

Jessica's web site: http://www.stonehousepottery.com/kachelofen.html

"...the action of form in landscape upon the precision of experience"

You can read the essay, one in an excellent series of three by David Heymann, here:http://places.designobserver.com/feature/a-mound-in-the-wood-on-sculpture-and-architecture/31248/

As architects, we operate by engaging with the precision of experience (if we operate at all). The lobby at the Thornburg Campus illustrates the possibilities, with its many forms and surfaces controlled to the highest degree. An interesting note on this building is that Legorreta insisted there be no potted plants allowed inside the building (cut flowers are ok), so as not to blur the boundary. Landscape and natural light are everywhere, captured by the  building's form, modulated by the very specific locations and shapes of windows, but they are never allowed to muddy the precision of the interior.

One other feature is visible in this photo: the sloped eave and front gable of the roof. It gives an informal, expressive quality to the roof, in keeping with the scale and setting. But once the gutters are on, it also gets the water moving quickly to the back and away from of the house, where it will be collected in rain barrels for irrigating.

http://archinect.com/features/article/14049321/a-spoonful-of-sugar-helps-the-medicine-go-down

This carport was designed as the simplest of additions. First, a cantilevered steel and wood structure was used; it did not use the existing house for support, but allowed the joint between the wall and new roof to be closed in. The barkboard fence provides enclosure and wind protection at the ground, without paying for walls or foundations. The  roof is designed to fit under the existing windows and eaves, but also to meet the 2 in 12 minimum pitch for the roof system. Simple, economical, discrete.

In fact, I think the current strain on resources actually spurs innovation. Public agencies can no longer afford projects that respond to only a discrete set of goals. Projects must now do multiple things; they've got to meet many goals simultaneously. In this sense it's actually easier for us to hybridize agendas — to mix infrastructure, landscape, urbanism, ecology — because in this way we can create efficiencies and cost savings in both the short and long term. Landscapes that perform utilitarian or ecological functions — that process stormwater, produce energy, grow food, and so on — and that also create new types of civic space and generate revenues, or at least set up robust frameworks for economic development, are likely to gain both popular and political support.

I am convinced that Landscape Urbanism is the antidote for that sinking, theme park cum ghost town feeling you get when you visit a New Urbanist development. Read the complete interview here:

http://places.designobserver.com/feature/landscape-optimism-chris-reed-on-landscape-urbanism/29558/