sense of place LAB - laurie halsey brown

The End-user Perspective
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http://thearchitectstake.com/interviews/zackdevito-architecture-designers-master-builders-part-1/

“When you become the client, you realize how hard it is to be a client. Working on our own homes has given me a lot more empathy for the role of the client. When you live in your own projects… you get a heightened understanding of where things should go, and how to accommodate the human body. In my own designs, I emphasize views and vistas, both of other parts of the house and of the outside. Each view is constantly referring to something else, but it’s also telling you where you are.” – Lise de Vito

A Shift in ‘place’.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/weekinreview/17bell.html?ref=books

Today is a good day to remember that in Haiti, nobody ever really dies. The many thousands who’ve had the breath crushed out of their bodies in the earthquake, and the thousands more who will not physically survive the aftermath, will undergo instead a translation of state, according to the precepts of Haitian Vodou, some form of which is practiced by much of the population. Spirits of the Haitian dead — sa nou pa we yo, those we don’t see — do not depart as in other religions but remain extremely close to the living, invisible but tangible, inhabiting a parallel universe on the other side of any mirror, beneath the surface of all water, just behind the veil that divides us from our dreams. - Madison Smartt Bell

Sparks Fly at Midnight - Wildforest Sanctuary, Anapolis CA
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Photo credit: laurie halsey brown

trees leaning forward / to bathe in burning warmth. / twenty ten begins.

Urban RE:vision
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http://urbanrevision.org/

The mission of Urban Re:Vision is to help cities develop safe, sustainable and enriching urban blocks.  They do this through a series of activities designed to inspire collaboration and to bring out the best solutions.

…To learn more about this organization, click link above.

Bike Racks as Public Art
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Photo credit: laurie halsey brown

functional public art / bike racks for community / the x marks the spot.

The first results of senseofplace LAB’s community-specific functional public art contest for the San Francisco Bike Coalition. The panel chose the winners based on how well the rack reflected the unique character of Treasure Island, whether it was functional as a bike rack and whether or not it activated public space. The bike rack above is one of three chosen designs that have recently been fabricated.

Does the new architecture in New Orleans reflect a ’sense of place’?
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http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/travel/29cultured.html?emc=eta1

In 2007, frustrated by the slow pace of rebuilding in the Lower Ninth, Brad Pitt set up a foundation called Make It Right; the foundation then commissioned 13 architecture firms to design affordable, green houses. The organization plans to build 150 homes, all for returning Lower Ninth residents. So far, just 15 of them are occupied, but those 15 make a big impression.

…To read the rest of the article, click link above.