Rising Tides results

The international design competition, Rising Tides, has wrapped up with an impressive slate of winning entries. The competition seeking design interventions for coping with sea level rise in San Francisco Bay ended in a 6-way tie that captured a breadth of different approaches to this complex problem. One proposal calls for the construction of a series of lasers showing where a huge dike will need to be built all the way around the bay. Another plan tries to imagine the different kinds of first aid that will be required for different stitches - comparing clean up, stitches and major surgery to protection, operation and adaptation. Two others looked at ways to regulate the tidal flows of the bay with hard or soft structures.

San Francisco Open Space

I really like apps that mix LA and geomatics. The San Francisco Chronicle has created an interactive map of a variety of semi-public open spaces in the heart of the city. It is attached to an article looking at long standing city development policies that have resulted in publicly-accessible , privately-owned open spaces throughout the city. But, many of these have remained less well known, like the 15th floor "sun garden" at 343 Sansome. Why do you need the geomatics to help out with the LA?

With better marketing and public attention, the visibility of the spaces could improve. A downtown map highlighting the hideaways could be available on the Web and through brochures - an idea touted by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, a local public policy think tank.

Job: Calthorpe in CA

Designer

Calthorpe Associates, an urban design and planning firm in Berkeley, has one positions open for a full-time Designer.

Responsibilities include creating plan drawings, urban design diagrams and maps (including hand and digital linework, coloring, scanning, digital output and archiving); area takeoffs and spreadsheets; and, depending on experience, site design, design of building prototypes and development of urban design guidelines. Designers work under the direct supervision of a Principal, Associate or Project Manager.
Minimum Requirements: Applicants should have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in architecture or landscape architecture (license not required) and some prior professional design experience. Urban planning experience or education is desirable, though not required. AutoCAD skills are required, as well as hand sketching or rendering skills. Knowledge of other basic computer programs, such as Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator and Sketchup is desirable. A portfolio of architectural or urban design drawings will be required; carefully selected sample drawings are encouraged.

Salary: depending on credentials, with benefits including paid vacation and holidays, medical and dental coverage, retirement plan, 401(k) and employer-paid transit vouchers.

Please send resume, along with cover letter, references and up to five pages of your best design work, either via email to jobs@calthorpe.com, to our mailing address below, or by fax to 510-548-6848, attention: Designer Opening

We regret that the volume of applications does not permit us to acknowledge individual applications. No phone calls, please. Thank you.

Mailing address: 2095 Rose Street, Suite 201, Berkeley, CA 94709

Thom Mayne

It seems like Thom Mayne is really starting to get famous. Although, in 2005, he became the first American to get the prestigious Pritzker Prize since 1991, he still hasn't become as well known outside architecture as names like Gehry, Meier, or even Calatrava.

One reason that his might be that his architecture, which really acheives some important qualities, isn't as eye-catching. Maybe that means it is less superficial, or maybe it means it is altogether less about visual aesthetics. This recent review of his Federal Building in San Francisco proves that good writing can overcome a less photogenic building. It sounds beautiful in a way that a camera might simply be unable to capture. And part of the challenge is does it all while acheiving LEED Silver and creating a better workspace.

His firm, Morphosis, teamed up with Hargreaves Associates to enter the Rutgers' College Avenue Campus Vision/Design competition. Their vision offered to change the spine of campus and the spaces spinning off of that.

You can get a nice overview of his work at Slate.com.