Water wrongs

Me and my wife were watching the news the other night when a story came on that made me think. Before I had talked about the car dealership here in Salt Lake that was capturing rain water from the roof and using it to wash their cars. Well the City has declared such actions illegal. Yes you read me right it is against the law to harvest rainwater in Utah. The reason is that by capturing the rainwater you are denying the people downstream. So by keeping the nasty roof water in Salt Lake they can't use it to water the cotton downstream. I understand the logic but it just seems so stupid. It also makes me mad t0 think that people who are trying to be environmentally conscious and do good things get slapped in the face in the name of bureaucracy. That is just my opinion. In the end the car dealership was able to work out a deal with the city but the city official on the news basically said that people who harvest rainwater on their home to water their grass and garden are breaking the law. When the reporter asked if they would be enforcing this law the official said that they have bigger fish to fry. So, if they are not going to enforce the law why don't they change it so that home owners can collect rainwater legally. Anyways think what you will, I still plan on keeping the rain that falls on my roof for my plants. Geurilla gardening all the way!

You too can speak French

I had to share this with anyone. I have decided that my boys should speak French. I mean I speak French so it would be a great waste if I did not teach my children, so I have been speaking more and more in the beautiful tongue of angels. Last night I was putting my oldest to bed and I said, "je t'aime, that means I love you" and he said, "bleh bleh doesn't mean I love you." Bleh, bleh is all that he hears when I try and speak to him in French. The other day he was trying to copy me and he walked around the house saying, bleah blah blah. I don't know for sure if he is mocking me. Anyways... Oh and the cat is one of my favorite graffiti artists in paris. This cat is all over the city, you just have to find him.

The above picture has nothign to do with this post, but it is wicked sweet.

We had another Lunch and Learn today, my last one of the summer, where we talked about noise control in high end condos. The best thign that I got out of the presentation was that designers need to think about where noise is coming from during the conceptual stages of design and not wait unti people have moved in and start complaining and calling their lawyers. So if you are interestd in noise control building products go to www.kineticnoise.com for more information.

Wasatch Community Garden

On Tuesday we went over to the local Community Garden to attend a workshop on winter gardening. Yes, you can and should grow things in you garden during the winter time. At this point I want to go off on a tangent so if you are really interested in the winter gardening part then skip the small print.

Why can't we all just be normal? I like gardening there is something wonderfully visceral about digging i the dirt and a feeling of wonder and fulfillment when you first see little sprouts popping out of the ground. I like gardening because it connects me in some way to that prehistorical, and medieval, and modern person that ate the food they grew. I believe it is in our basic makeup to grow food. Adam was a farmer. So why is that I feel so out of place when I go to workshops like this? Why is it that me and my wife and this other lass who recently moved from Cali are the only ones who were young and had kids. why is anytime I want to enjoy and learn I am verbally attacked on behalf of PETA or the Vegan Liberation Front? Anyways.

The Garden was interesting, as a landscape architect I am extremely critical when it comes to design. As a human the garden was pure delight, there were sunflowers everywhere. The Wasatch Garden really is a great program. We learned about planting garlic in the fall and covering it with 6 inches of mulch and then in the spring, pop! You have more garlic growing. We also learned how to make hoop houses out of pvc pipe and some cloth. All in all very interesting and when we get back to Kansas we are going to put all of that knowledge to work. First I think we are going to plant peas and lettuce for the chilly months of September and October. Visit Wasatch Community Garden on the web at: http://www.wasatchgardens.org/

or the community, CSA, or farmer's market near you.

New Post Monday,

How far will you go to get a proposal out to client by six o' clock? That was the question facing us on Friday as we frantically printed, hole-punched, and sorted six proposals for a project. We were just to the part where we needed to laminate the covers when we discovered that the room that houses the laminater was locked. Oh, no! So, quickly we ran to the front of the office and asked the administrative assistant were the key was. She didn't have it. Then we called the building manager and he came to the office. He didn't have it either. Then the security guy came, the one with pepper spray and a tazer, I think it might just be a squirt gun but I didn't want to find out. He did not have a key to the room either. Holy botched locking job Batman! My colleague, Mark then took matters into his own hands. There was a vent on the front of the door and Mark grabbed a pair of pliers and wrenched the vent open. We got to the laminater finished our proposals and go out the door happy as clams. So, remember when things have to get to done they have to get done in the name of quality and professionalism. Also, change your desktop background, it will boost your creativity.

Paper toys

I have recentyl become enchanted with paper toys. It this great combination of origami, model building, and fun. If you are bored at the office and you don't think you will get caught. http://toypaper.co.uk/ Here is a good place to start. I am making the eyecannon right after I finish a report.

LunchandLearn landscape forms

Time for another Lunch and Learn update that I think will be beneficial to all. Have you ever opened the ASLA magazine to find a sepia toned fashion model sitting on a bench in a cocktail dress and thought, Well that looks cool. I wonder if this ad was supposed to be in Martha Stewart”. Well, I am willing to bet that the ad was for Landscape Forms. They are a pretty neat company and their rep came and gave us a great presentation. First and foremost was her explanation that Landscape Forms makes a quality product and that means it is more expensive. They also make a sustainable product using recycled aluminum and sustainably harvested woods and that means a more expensive product. Therefore they cost a lot of mullah. The upside is that they are beautiful, beautiful products, which last a long time. Also, get this… They have a SketchUp library full of their products, which means you can plop them down into your models. I wish I would have known this last year. They also have CAD files and specs right on their website. Take a few minutes and check it out. http://www.landscapeforms.com/en-us/pages/default.aspx Also, they have a custom shop that will walk with you from concept to finished product if there is any custom work you want done. http://www.landscapeforms.com/en-US/products/pages/custom431.aspx The rep here was more than helpful and I would definitely talk to them the next time I need to specify some seats.

Soda Springs

This last weekend I was able to go with my little family to Soda Springs, Idaho where my grandparents live. It was a load of fun spending time with my family. When my family gets together we eat, a lot so I was happy. Besides just hanging out with my family I also go to go golfing, at a course that has a center pivot irrigation line actively watering it as you golf. I am trying to find an image of it so that you can appreciate what I had to golf through, there I loaded an image at the top. The golf course is the lower half and the pipe is attached in the center of the circle and it moves around and around and it waters everything, including early morning hackers and duffers. First of all the golf course is in the middle of a wheat field. There is no rough grass it goes from mowed fairway to waist high wheat. Also there are no sand traps just smatterings of lava rocks jutting out of the ground and if you hit your ball anywhere but where it is supposed to be it's lost. I lost 3 balls on one hole, cursed golf course. Anyways it was fun and we didn't keep score. Later on we went to the Soda Springs gravel pit and shot 22's. It was a wonderful redneck meets high class weekend.

An exercise in futility

That is what my boss called the project that I have been working on for the past couple of weeks.

So, at the moment I don't really want to do any work at all right now. I am debating wither I should go and start a new research project, go downstairs and just goof off for the next 3 hours or maybe I should finish my project anyways and then prove to them all how useful it can be. Dunno. I am going to get a coke. Peace out.

Lagoon

I really should be working but we had sucha fun weekekend that I can't help but write about it. We took our two boys to a theme park in Utah called Lagoon. http://www.lagoonpark.com/ Now there were a number of fun things. The rollercoasters were very fun and there was this one that was propelled by magnets. No hill to climb no ratcheting chains just, from sitting still to a vertical climb and then a vertical drop. Whoo! My youngest did not go on any rides but he had a fun time and my oldest boy was so cute. He was especially eager to ride the attractions that Mom and Dad couldn't. He is so idependent it's scary. He also wanted to go down the really big roller coasters, but he was equally happy to ride puff the little dragon. The one ride that we went on twice was the Odysea. It was really fun but accompanied by a really dumb song. Anyways it was interesting because the kids get to control if the cart goes up or down. So, my oldest son was so excited. It was a lot of fun. Well, tonight I am going to go hang out with a good friend from high school. My 10 year class reunion is this weekend but I am not going. I am instead goign to go visit my grandma, she makes good bread, my highschool pals don't.

A Green Car Dealership

The other day I was able to tour a car dealership in the final phases of construction. While I was talking with the guy giving us the tour he mentioned that there will be huge cisterns under the parking lot that will collect and store rainwater. This rainwater would then be used for irrigation and for the on site car wash. I was impressed and jokingly asked if the building was going for LEED certification. My guide then told me that they were shooting for Gold. I was surprised, I mean I had never thought of a car dealership as an environmentally friendly building. Inside we saw that a good deal of the wood detailing is bamboo, they have skylights that have lenses that track the sun. These were really cool, the skylights will always ensure that a whole bunch of sunlight gets into the building, but whenever there is not enough light due to storms, eclipses, etc... then a computer adjusts the lights so there will always be ambient illumination. Anyways, the bathrooms also use Airblade technology from Dyson, http://www.dysonairblade.com//?sinavtype=menu. Yes, I know that Dyson makes vacuums but they can make other things, why shouldn't they. And in the mechanics shop they have hoses that you stick on the end of the tail pipe and while people are working on the car the hose sucks the exhaust out and releases it outside. No more carbon monoxide deaths here! I you are looking to buy a Toyota or are just curious to learn more about a LEED Dealership go here. http://www.markmillertoyota.com/index.htm What I want to know is this a vision of things to come? Is this a gimmick to lure in customers with the promise of easing their conscious as they purchase a gas guzzler from a green building? I don't know. I can't afford a car so I might never know.

Holy Ice Cream Batman!

If I have not mentioned it, I live above a chocolate store that also serves hand dipped ice cream. It is a local favorite and my oldest son really likes the chocolate dipped gummy worms. So needless to say I was alarmed when we returned from the park to find a number of candles and other trinkets on the sidewalk outside of the store. I thought that someone had died. The next morning my wife is outside and she sees the owner taking photos of the candles. Upon enquiring about the reason for the candles the owner told my wife that someone had seen a face in the spumoni, and there had been a midnight candle vigil. Go here to read more. http://www.kutv.com/content/news/topnews/story.aspx?content_id=7827b0d3-aa09-4eba-940f-5dae259243eb

Soccer and French Food

Ok, I went to the Real game this last Saturday and woohoo! It was a great game. Real is now number one in the Western Standings. The first goal was scored in minute 3. Anyways it was a blast. The other thing I wanted to talk about first thing on Monday morning is how to make a yummy and easy french dessert. Here is what you will need. 4 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 1/2 cup milk, and a pound of cherries or other fruit like berries.

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350. Crack open the eggs and mix them up with 1/2 cup of the sugar. Then whisk in the flour making a nice thick batter. Next pour in the vanilla, and the milk, but pour the milk in 1/2 of a cup at a time stirring the batter until all of the milk is incorporated. If you have ever made crepes you will have a thin crepe like batter. Now take your fruit and toss it with the remaining sugar to coat it and make it all delicious. Put the sugar coated fruit into a pan. Any sugar that didn't end up stuck to the fruit can be discarded, I like to sprinkle it on cereal. I can't tell you exactly what pan to use, I used a tinfoil one that had store bought cinnamon rolls in it. I think that if you use a brownie pan you should be just fine, or a 9x13 but this will be a little too big. Anyways, after you have the fruit int he pan pour the batter into the pan, and place the whole thign in the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the cake looks sponge like. Take it out and let it set for about 5 minutes and then spoon it up and eat it. It will not look like a cake it will look like a custard but it will be delicious. Good luck.

Soccer Game

Last Thursday we had an office party, so IBI paid for me and my family to go to a soccer game! Hooray it was fantastic fun. The game itself was a dirty ugly game with little ball control and only a few shinning moments, but the crowd was so into it. They fed us to, Famous Dave's, it was good. The game ended in a tie but I just might be a Real fan and I think that when I get back to Manhattan I would like to take myself and any others interested to a KC Wizards game. I was honestly worried that the game may go to long and my sons would be ready to leave but since soccer only lasts two 45 minute halves they were not balling at the end. get the pun? Anyways after the show they had a fireworks display in honour of Independence Day. God Bless America. My baby boys both loved the fire works, whenever I ask my oldest what he thought of the game he just mentions the fireworks. The next day we drove down to Provo to attend a big wonderful parade. It had big balloons, and WWII Veterans, a whole bunch of guys dressed up in Star Wars outfits, Tongans doing the Hakka, marching bands, politicians, and a tank. Yup, that's right a real functioning WWII Hellcat tank. That was my oldest son's favourite, I am glad he didn't say the cheerleaders because he is turning into a 3 year old flirt. Oh, well. I guess I am going to have to have "the talk" soon. I mean the talk about tying his own shoes, right now he has Velcro ones but someday he will be wearing laces. The last thing I wanted to mention in this entry was we also visited a pioneer village over the weekend. Everyone dresses up in pioneer clothes and they have old buildings and a train to ride on, and horse rides. A step back in time. Anyways, the 2 coolest things were, ringing the anvil and the candy cannon. The ringing of the anvil means they take one anvil and put it on the ground. Then they put a pound of black powder on the anvil. Then they put a second anvil on top of the powder. Then they light it, and THEN the second anvil shoots 30 ft into the air! Super cool. The Candy cannon was a little cannon that they filled with salt water taffy, add a little black powder, mix in a crowd of sugar crazed kids and you have a recipe for success. Anyways, I hope to go out and visit a New Urbanist development called Daybreak this weekend. http://www.daybreakutah.com/ http://www.calthorpe.com/ I am also going to the Real game tomorrow, I'll tell you how it was.

Parking Day, Sept 19, 2008

Check out this Website. http://www.parkingday.org/ In essence what you do is you take a parking stall and convert it into a landscape for the day. It is supposed to be a statement about replacing cars with greenery and getting people to stop and think about what a automobilecentric life we lead. I think we should do this as an ASLA activity or just as a promotion for Landscape Architecture. I think that a parking stall that is in high demand would get a lot of attention either on or off of campus. I propose that we feed the meter so it is all nice and legal but if anyone is interested let me know.

Brown Bag Concert

This whole week the Salt Lake City Brown Bag Concert Series has been playing in our buildings plaza. Everyone from the adjoining area was invited to this free concert series which moves to a different public space each week, bringing music to the masses. The music ranged from Illinois Swamp Music to 80's wannabe Pop. Most of the time the bands were too loud for background music and but not today. This lunchtime we were treated to a trio playing Parisian esque accordion, bass, and jazz guitar riffs. It was nice , the melodies set a romantic mood for downtown SLC. I really think that the french have the right idea about lunches; sit around for two hours listening to light music and eating your lunch in peace while enjoying the parade of passer byes. All in all I think that the Concert series is a great example of programing, so kudos to the Salt Lake City Arts Council. Go Accordion Players! Makes me want to learn how to play.

Mid-Internship Review

The middle of my internship is rapidly approaching. So today I did something that I have not done for a long time. I did something that only Dwight would do. I asked to have a performance review, and my boss said that I am doing fine. That was it. Then I asked if I could attend one of the boring meetings that he is always going to. He said that they are all boring. Still persistent to be all that I can be I asked if I could go to one of the city commission meetings so I could see how Landscape Architects deal with City Councils not located in Manhattan. Finally he conceded to some misery and I get to go to a meeting on the 17th of July. Whoo hoo!

The other part of my performance review was given by my immediate supervisor man and he actually had some good things to say. Things like, you are filling our gap well. We needed someone with CAD and Photoshoping skills. Then he told me that the workplace is a great place to see how the real world works. School can only prepare you so much and then bam! your working for real and you have to deal with people's egos. And in the real world you need to know how to deal with projects being put on hold and any number of frustrating things.

But I have learned a little, the first is that the sandwich shop, The Robins Nest is wicked sweet. Second of all I have learned where the nice bathroom is in the building, it does not have gold toilets but the stall dividers are marble. I also learned that Landscape Architects don't like pushy Architects, Architects don't like Landscape Architects telling them how to use CAD. Although seriously this one architect was making a building that was larger than the building lot because he didn't put it in CAD correctly. And nobody likes Engineers. The Landscape Architects in the office do not like the ASLA Magazine, they do like Urban Land and Topos, and that PPS does not like Landscape Architects. Who is the PPS you ask. Well, it stands for People for Public Spaces, and it is a organization of designers and other professionals who are out to make good public spaces. You can visit their website here: http://www.pps.org/

I have been looking into the design of Plazas and Squares and I stumbled upon the PPS from a book called "How to Turn a Place Around." It is an interesting publication that talks about successful public spaces and even gives a rubric for assessing public spaces. A much better book in my opinion is "City Comforts: how to build an urban village", but that is besides the point. I then Googled "PPS and Landscape Architects" and found a number of articles that talked about the feud that LAs have with PPS. I will not delve into it much but if your office has a copy of Landscape Architecture Magazine, March 2007, Volume 97, number 3 you should turn to page 36 and read the article. As for me I like everybody! Well, almost everybody there was this one lady in France.... Anyways, I think that the PPS has a lot of good suggestions for Public Spaces and I think that LAs have a lot of good ideas for public spaces so take the good and block the bad. Sorry, this post has been a ramble. Happy Belated Canada Day!

Everyone should see this movie.

I did not want to steal an image of Pixar's Walle movie but you all need to see it. Not just because it is visually stunning and humorous but because it describes a certain aspect of the human condition in a very haunting way. The movie abides by the classic "What if?" question that, in my opinion, defines science fiction. Anyways go see it and never, ever buy a cupcake in a cup.

OK it is time for a little guerilla blogging. I have two projects that I am supposed to be working on but its Friday and I still have not found that magical bathroom in the building. I should post a picture of my building. Ok here it is.

http://www.hamiltonpartners.com/location_overview.php?region=UT&type=office&id=68

Now that you have seen where I work, I can talk about what I really want to talk about and that is our site visit last Wednesday. We were able to visit the LDS Conference Center’s Rooftop Garden. We were also graced by the presence of Eldon the Head Gardener and Steve the Head Maintenance guy who both offered wonderful onsite insight to the really cool gardens. I tell you, the garden was so cool that I was giddy during the whole 2 hour tour.
To start off Eldon told us that National Geographic recently photographed the garden for an rooftop garden article that will published sometime next year. National Geographic will visit many of the world’s best rooftop gardens so keep your eyes peeled. Then Eldon explained that while the rooftop garden was the focus of the tour he wanted to stress that the entire site is technically a rooftop garden. The ground floor plaza is actually built on top of a parking complex, therefore all the street level planters and trees had to be built on a roof. Eldon then told us that the planters are filled with expanded shale which is light weight but structural strong enough to support trees. This expanded shale has organic matter mixed in but due to the deadline of the project many trees were planted without any organic material. These trees are easily noticed because they are all yellowy, chlorotic? Steve then pointed out a couple of trees that were also suffering because the architect had selected trees not suitable to Utah’s basic soils. After that we went up to the top of the Conference Center and got to visit the gardens.
Wow, I have to admit that when I think of greenroofs I often think of a tundra landscape. Mosses and low growing grasses dotted with red and brown lichen. This roof top garden has 30+ foot trees growing on it. The overall design of the garden is a representation of when the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. The northeast corner is planted with pine trees, broadleaf evergreens, aspens, elderberries, and an impressive range of forest flowers, representing the Rocky Mountains. The southwest is planted with a mixture of grasses, flowers, bristlecone pines, and shrubs to make it look like the valley did when the pioneers came down from the mountains. Also to the east is a fountain which symbolizes the mountain streams. This waters source turns into a series of rivulets that lead to the very edge of the building and pour down a multitier waterfall to the street level below.
At this time I need to thank KSU for teaching me to appreciate a prairie ecosystem, because the meadow part of the roof was beautiful. Utah has ahad a wet cold spring and so the normally mustard yellow summer meadow was alive with purples, and blues, pinks and yellow and all sorts of urban birds flying around and eating stuff. It looked really cool. Yet, iot took a lot of hard work to maintain. Steve said that the meadow was especially difficult to maintain because it needed frequent weeding. Invasive and noxious weeds are regularly deposited due to birds, and wind. The birds pose another problem too. Around the perimeter of the rooftop there is a planter known as the eyebrow. Think of the hanging gardens. The planter hangs out from the wall and forms a ledge where the cascading plants grow. During the springtime this planter is full of juniper berries and other avian delicacies, so what happens when birds eat? They poop, all over the sidewalks below. I guess every design has some flaws and offers us something to think about.
The last treat of the tour was that we got to go inside and see some paintings that were done by one of our LA’s father. They were three beautiful portraits of the Apostles. All in all, the site visit was wonderful and today I learned that there is a rooftop garden of note on top of the new city Library. I guess I have to go visit that too. Now, I did not take a working camera and so I do not have a lot of images.

Great Pizza

It was on a calm Saturday afternoon here in Salt Lake City. I had just gotten a call from my good friend James, both of our wives were out of town so we decided to live it up. We went to the movies to see Prince Caspian, good flick, but that is beside the point. In the movie theater there was a pizza place so we grabbed a slice and scarfed it down before the show. After the film James helped me move some stuff into my new apartment and before we knew it dinnertime was upon us. I suggested that we get pizza, real pizza. I had seen a pizza joint on the side of the road and it looked, authentic. Now we had eaten pizza once, so of course we had some reservations about eating pizza again, but like I said our wives were not with us.

Once inside I knew that this place was going to be different. I think I smelled the real wood burning pizza oven before I saw it. It was more than glorious. We both ordered a pizza margarita which is said to be one of the first pizzas ever made in Napoli. The taste was delicious. Everything a flavorful authentic pizza should be without a mountain of cheese to mask the tomatoes, the olive oil, the basil, and the crust. I asked the waitress about how they made their dough, I am a baker at heart, and she explained that the restaurant is certified by the Vera Pizza Napoletana, an organization that dictates the pizzas be made a certain size, with authentic ingredients, and baked in an 800 degree wood fire oven. I watched the pizza being made and it took 2 minutes to bake, and this left the pizza chewy, but charred all along the edges and the bottom. So, if you are ever in Salt Lake City, or Las Vegas visit Settebello. http://www.settebello.net/SLC/main.html Or you can just visit me this winter when I try to recreate that heavenly flavor on the grill outside of Seaton Court. You will need to call for a reservation.