Cavedigger

What Ra Paulette does with caves in the New Mexico desert blows my mind.  It's engineering and architecture and artistry all rolled into one.

Here's a bit about his work:
http://www.thisblewmymind.com/they-walk-into-an-opening-in-the-hillside-what-they-see-breathtaking/#_

Earthquakes and ungreen housing trends in Japan

Why do the Japanese bulldoze houses after only 30 years?  Contrast this approach to the built environment to the European mindset of maintaining and renovating buildings for hundreds of years.  What gives?

In this Freakonomics podcast, the economist Steves dissect this phenomenon, citing local experts and (of course) statistics.  For example...

Japan has 3.8 times more architects per capita than the USA, and 2.1 times as many construction jobs.

Half of houses are demolished within 38 years, compared to 100 years in the USA.

Why?

Theories range from spirituality to post-WWII history to earthquake building code revisions.

As a structural engineer, that last part caught my attention.  Did you know that 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude greater than or equal to 6 have occurred in Japan?  In the years since WWII, this has resulted in Japanese building codes' earthquake provisions being updated at a greater frequency than in most countries.  Homebuilders there use this as a marketing device to encourage consumers to rebuild rather than renovate... and this has contributed to a culture of Do-It-For-Me more than DIY.

In addition to being environmentally unfriendly, more than one economist has suggested that this custom may be contributing to the economic slump in Japan.

Listen to the full podcast here:
http://www.wnyc.org/story/why-are-japanese-homes-disposable/http://www.wnyc.org/story/why-are-japanese-homes-disposable/

Image credit:  http://www.busyboo.com/2008/08/25/japanese-house-design-mineral/

Book: How to Read Bridges

Looking for a holiday gift for that special engineer in your life?  Check out this book.

How to Read Bridges: A Crash Course In Engineering and Architecture was recently reviewed in Structure magazine, and sounds like a worthy addition to bookshelves of engineers, educators, and bridge aficionados alike.  It covers bridge materials, types, uses, and the famous engineers (Roebling, Maillart, Calatrava, Eiffel...) who have designed them.  Also included are case studies of various bridge types such as beam, arch, truss, opening & moving, cantilever, suspension, and cable-stayed.  A combination of historic photographs and sketches, as well as an engineering terminology glossary and recommended book/website list add to the mix.

While looking for this book on Amazon, my search also turned up How to Read Buildings: A Crash Course in Architectural Styles.  In case you have a special architect in your life too...

Building a castle, old school

This may not count as "green building" exactly, but it is cool:  a bunch of French expats are building a castle in Arkansas using medieval construction techniques.  It's scheduled for completion in 2030, but will be opening for public tours as early as May 2010.  They are accepting applications for interns, volunteers, and artisans to help with the project.

Despite the project's dedication to medieval techniques, their communications team is decidedly modern:  check out their website to read the blog, get to know the team, follow them on Twitter, etc... 

Beware snowy roof collapse!

 

Here's my engineering public service announcement for this week:  mind your roof!

There's over three feet of snow on the ground here in Baltimore, and at least that much on any flat-roof structures in the area.  Remember that the B+O Railroad museum roof collapsed several years ago under even less snow.  Check the guidelines below for advice about avoiding roof collapse from snow and ice loads.

Snow loading roof collapse

Snow ice accumulation on roofs

Disclaimer:  this post should not be used as a substitute for professional engineering advice. This blogger assumes no liability for any damages or loss of any kind that might arise from the use of, misuse of, or the inability to use this information.

Tree houses

This is really cool: Roald Gundersen, forester-architect, builds houses from trees. I don't mean lumber, but actual TREES.

Read the NYTimes article
and his website www.wholetreesarchitecture.com/

PS one of the blogs I follow (digginginthedriftless.wordpress.com/) is written by a journalist whose daughter works for this architecture firm.

.