Serendipity happens all the time. It’s a question of how we react to it that matters.
Author: Prof Tim Stonor
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Chance encounter – not so random
Stub…
An algorithm in Facebook organises the frequency of seeing different friends’ news feeds – based on the frequency of your Facebook contact with your friends. Some friends are only contacted by certain people on Facebook because they don’t necessarily want contact with them outside of Facebook. The downside is that Facebook prioritises these people, whose news is not necessarily as valued as the news of the friends that some people would prefer to engage with outside of Facebook. (more…)
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J-term course proposal
Instructor Name
Tim StonorProgram/Affiliation
Loeb FellowEmail
tstonor@gsd.harvard.eduPrevious teaching experience
1996-1998 Course Director, Master of Science in Architecture, the Bartlett, University College London.
Current Honorary Senior Lecturer, the Bartlett, University College London.Course title
Introduction to Space Syntax theory, technology and practiceCourse description
Space Syntax is an architectural theory that investigates relationships between spatial layout and a range of social and economic phenomena including patterns of movement, public space use, land use and crime distribution. Built on quantitative analysis and computer technology, Space Syntax provides a set of evidence-based techniques for the analysis of spatial configurations of all kinds, especially where spatial configuration seems to be a significant aspect of human affairs, as it is in buildings and urban areas. Applied in both academic research and practice, Space Syntax treats cities and buildings ‘space first’, that is as the network of spaces that people use and move through. (more…) -
Bill Doebele’s wise words
Bill Doebele talk to the 40th Reunion of the Loeb Fellowship
Piper Auditorium, Harvard Graduate School of Design
8th October 2010
This is the script used by Bill to guide his talk. His actual delivery may differ in some minor respects.
Greetings!
Thank you all for making this the most memorable weekend of my life.
Also my thanks to Jim and Sally for making this one of the richest and best organized reunions ever.
I promise that I will be as brief as it is possible for a former professor to be.
I will begin with a note of appreciation, then mention one concern that I have about the future of the Fellowship.
I must begin by sincerely thanking each of you here who have astonished me by contributing to the William A. Doebele Fellowship. I salute both your generosity and your good judgment.
When I was a callow youth in the high school of a small town in the hills of central Pennsylvania, I dreamed the romantic dreams of the young. Wouldn’t it be wonderful, I said to myself, if I could do something in my life that would improve the world in a way that would endure beyond my own brief existence on this troubled planet. A modest but lasting memorial to my having been here.
Today it is hard for me to express the degree of my gratification in finding that the consummation of that youthful dream is being achieved, not by my own efforts, but through the incredible generosity of your gift. (more…)
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Don’t fight fire…
World Bank data suggest an urban population in 2050 of approximately 7 billion, of which close to half will be living in unplanned settlements: favelas, barrios, slums. Delegates at this weekend’s Loeb Fellowship 40th Anniversary Reunion are necessarily concerned.
When the Fellowship was established in 1970, America was in turmoil with civic unrest across the country, major urban centres on fire, tanks on the streets of Detroit, the National Guard deployed against the population.
Faced with this extreme reality, John and Frances Loeb didn’t say “Let’s train a new generation of firefighters”; they decided instead to invest in a strategy of prevention.
There’s a lesson to be learned here. (more…)
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Designing for transaction
Today I gave a presentation to architecture students at the Graduate School of Design titled: “Designing for transaction: the importance of spatial layout, emergence & multi-scale movement”. Here’s the introduction…
“Sites – such as the one you have been asked to look at in Queens – raise important questions about connections: how many, where, for what purpose? At what scale? For what kinds of movement? Land use? Questions that require analysis, foresight and forecasting.
Who is best skilled to judge? Transport planners, planners, architects, sociologists?
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How Faversham fights – machine guns and pints
The last military conflict to take place on British soil occurred near Faversham, Kent on 27th September 1940. On one side: the crew of a downed Junkers 88. On the other: members of the London Irish Rifles. Following a brief but intense exchange of fire, in which no one was killed, all the participants retired to the local pub, the Sportsman, for a few pints.
Is this model of conflict resolution appropriate for situations beyond mere global conflict?
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Augmented reality with Nicco Mele
I had an interesting discussion this morning with Nicco Mele, Visiting Edward R Murrow Lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government, comparing thoughts about the network of the city and the network of cyberspace – each a network of things. I introduced him to Space Syntax and shared a few thoughts I have had since reading “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”, one of the readings on his course: DPI-659 Media, Politics & Power in the Digital Age.
Nicco had earlier sent me a link to a post on Dan Hill’s blog: “The City of Sound“, which added further food for thought about relationships between different kinds networks: digital and spatial. (more…)
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Email update to colleagues at Space Syntax
Dear All
Warm and friendly wishes from Harvard!
We are one month into term now and I thought you would be interested to hear what I have been up to. To be honest, it feels as if I have been here for 6 months – so much has been happening. (more…)
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Harvard Urban Planning Organisation
Today I gave a short presentation to urban planning students at the Graduate School of Design titled: “Urban sustainability: the social, economic & environmental influence of spatial layout”. Here’s the introduction…
“In this presentation I will focus on one particular aspect of sustainability: the patterns of human activity – movement, co-presence and interaction – that occur in buildings and cities.
These patterns emerge as the result of design decisions.
I want to show how spatial layout is a critical aspect of design; how spatial layout influences human behaviour and how this has a fundamental bearing on the sustainability of urban places.”
You can find my full presentation here on slideboom.
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Daniel Schrag: Climate Science & Climate Change
Notes from a lecture given as part of:
IGA-310 Energy Policy: Technologies, Systems & Markets22nd September 2010
Prof Daniel Schrag
Atmospheric C02 hasn’t been above 300 parts per million in last 600,000 years, with large fluctuations, until recently. Likely to rise to over 600. Currently c390.
Just because there are natural cycles doesn’t mean that human actions aren’t significant.
Equator is place of stability, so melting there is v significant.
Key question is whether rate of change can be accommodated. Previous historic change
We know C02 is a greenhouse gas, we see it going up and we know it’s happening faster than ever before in history.
Can we prove that C02 is causing the warming? We can’t but you’d be a fool to bet against it.
C34 million years ago, ice formed at poles, leading to greater seasonal variation, with ice reflecting heat.
Likely to be worse than scientists forecasts since scientists work to 95% confidence intervals cf military <50%.
People don't experience global avg temp, they experience local effects.
Guarantee there will be surprises.
Gulf Stream is NOT caused by ocean currents but by winds created by circulation of the earth, which is not going to stop spinning.l
Boston has cold winters because of westerly winds not because of Gulf Stream.
London benefits from ocean, which absorbs heat in summer and release in winter.
So, Cape Cod 10 degrees warmer in winter than Boston but cooler in summer.Pacific Ocean thermocline, warmer in west and cooler in east, w cold water closer to surface. El Nino brings warmer water to east, with global effects.
North West Passage opened from ice in 2007 cf Panama Canal. Plus thick ice at 50% of 2007 levels.
North east passage has opened too.
Key about sea ice is reflection of sun and insulation of sea from atmosphere.
Rain on ice sheets is problematic.
250 cubic kilometres of ice being lost from Greenland per year = 5mm per year.
But unclear if rate of melt is steady.Ross Ice Shelf – high consequence, low probability event? We don't actually know. Its a known unknown. Lots of sea level bound up in ice sheets.
Building a sea wall is not a long-term strategy.
500 billion tonnes of C02 in permafrost which, if released (from microbe action) into atmosphere is greater than all fossil fuel burned to date.
Problem is going to be with us for a long time.
Eg if all fossil fuel burned, atmospheric carbon likely to peak below 2,000 parts per million, then settle c 400 for tens of thousands of years.
What can be done?
European negotiators obsess on timescales
But what matters are cumulative emissions over a time period of c100 years
Most likely way forward is to grow emissions to build up capacity then reduce rapidly.Prob of cap and trade on linear path is that best path may not follow.
Impact = population x affluence x technology
An identityEmissions = pop x GDP/person x emissions/GDP
Isn't problem about population growth
Not entirely true. Growth from 6 to 9 billion growth is only 50%.
Economists predict global GDP will grow from 20 trillion 2008 to 250-500 trillion by 2100.Problem is therefore because people are richer and therefore more carbon emitting.
US and China accountable for 50% of emissions.
Africa doesn't figure in emissions reductions.One of problems of Kyoto is involvement of everyone.
Better for smaller group eg bilateral US/China.
What Obama did was v imp because he got China, Brazil, South Frica into room to set new direction.
British and German cuts were achievable because Britain had ended coal industry and Germany anticipating reunification and removal of inefficient East German practice.Ways to reduce emissions of C02
1. Use less energy – efficiency/conservation
2. Non- fossil fuel energy: renewables and nuclear
3. Carbon capture and storageNees to be thought of as a threat similar to terrorism.
Some detractive interference between factors eg oust on 1. Will drive price of energy down.
Price matters (linear correlation of efficiency of use versus price of energy)Ccalifornia uses 40% less energy per capital than rest of US, effect of Gov Brown in 1970s
Electricity generation by state
Conclusion
This an experiment on planet not performed for millions of years
Poss more than predicted
Adaptation necessary
Mitigation necessary
Stabilizing greenhouse levels is possible but looks unlikely now
So massive suffering by human societies and natural ecosystems is likelyChurchill – democracy is the worst form of government apart from the alternative
[Longer applause than the polite norm]
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“If we can get to flexible wood, I am totally going to cut my own leg off.”
Ashley Vance’s article in last week’s New York Times paints an enticing picture of a future in which 3d printing can conjure objects before us at the press of a button. A 3d Hewlett Packard in every home will spray up a new pair of Nike shoes in a few seconds. Science nonsense? Some might think so:
“Everyone thought I was a lunatic when we started,” says one entrepreneur.
That was then. Today, commercial 3d business is growing at a pace. (more…)
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Be careful what you ask for
Do you have an irrational fear that you are being watched by a duck? Or perhaps a goose or even a swan? If so, then don’t read on. You are suffering from anatidaephobia. It’s a real medical condition with its own webspace – but you won’t want to go there… (more…)
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Where are we going? Not a new question
Tomorrow’s Loeb Fellowship presentation will begin with this painting by Paul Gauguin: “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?” painted on Tahiti in 1897.The title provides a helpful triplet to structure a fundamental career review, which is essentially what tomorrow’s presentation is about. (more…)
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Put the client into the brief
Perhaps the greatest difference between architecture school and design practice is the reality in practice of the client, the client’s other advisors, the opponents to the project, the commentators in the press – in other words the human factor. (more…)
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Expect conflict
We are told to avoid conflict. Mostly good advice but conflict is ever near and not always avoidable. (more…)
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Architecture: beyond art & science
Is architecture and art or a science? As Bill Hillier has argued, this is the wrong question. In fact it’s a silly question. Architecture is both art and science. He argues that architecture is total art and total science. In fact it’s more, because architecture engages with the everyday and the everyday is social, environmental and economic too. (more…)
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The several pleasures of building a bed
Spending the afternoon building a bed is an opportunity not only for construction but also for reflection. Or even rebuilding a bed – because what was there at the end was mostly already there to begin with. However, as with a recipe, the same ingredients can create a variety of outcomes. Flour, water and a few extras can make a Victoria Sponge or a thick glue – each has its usefulness; it’s a question of what is intended. (more…)
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Space Syntax Limited’s 20th Birthday Party
On 2nd July 2009, Space Syntax Limited held a party to celebrate its 20th birthday. The party took place around the Main Quad at University College London.The evening began in the Slade School of Art with a special viewing of the Bartlett Summer Show before continuing on the Portico with a welcome from guest of honour, Sir Stuart Lipton.
For Tim Stonor’s words of welcome, click here.
For Sir Stuart Lipton’s speech, click here.
Guest list
Alexander, James
Event CommunicationsAltunisi, Ziad
Al Faisaliah Medical SystemsAsaf, Iris
UCLAnderson, Nick
Faber MaunsellAntonakaki, Dora
Azhar, Azhar
AZHAR ArchitectsBahaj, AbuBakr
University of SouthamptonBakker, Ron
Kohn Pedersen Fox AssociatesBakr, Al-Mashhadani
Al Faisaliah Medical SystemsBaillieu, Amanda
Building Design MagazineBeck, Helen
CABEBell, Chris
The FD CentreBenedetti, Renato
Bennett, Neil
FARRELLSBerhamovic, Aida
BAABidgood, Mark
ARUPBlackwell, Richard
Blackwell ArchitectsBlake, Nick
YRM ArchitectsBobisse, Riccardo
JMPBogle, Ian
HamiltonsBriggs, Guy
EDAWBrown, Patricia
Central London PartnershipBrown, Robin
Hayes Community DevelopmentBuchanan, Peter
Peter BuchananBudgen, Andrew
SpacelabCaldwell, Ian
Kings College LondonCanadine, Steve
GiffordCaust, Margaret
London Development AgencyChan, Melisa
PORTLANDChapman, Tim
ARUPCharlton, Giles
CAPITA LOVEJOYChen Helen
Planning Office HackneyChiu, Lai Fong
Leeds UniversityCobb, David
UCLCole, Allison
The American International University in LondonConner, Richard
Piercy Conner ArchitectsCook, Charlotte
City of LondonCowan, Rob
Urban Design GroupCrappsley, Richard
Colin BuchananCromme, Susanne
Croxford, Ben
University College LondonDamati, Ali
AL Systems Medical FaisaliahDaridsan, Alan
Mayes DaridsanDavis, Michael
The Company Promenade Thamesde Jongh, Phil
ARUPDeda, Luan
‘Scott BrownriggDeffenbaugh, John
Diamond, Ros
Diamond ArchitectsDuffy, Jim
HKR ArchitectsDye, Anne
CABEDyke, John
SavillsEast, John
SavillsEdwards, Michael
UCLFatah gen. Schieck, Ava
UCLFenne, Richard
Magyar Marsoni ArchitectsForeman, Lucy
SmootheFreeman, Edward
CAPITA LOVEJOYFursdon, Andrew
Scott Tallon Walker ArchitectsGaskin, Alastair
Reagh Consulting CompanyGilbert, Daniel
UCLGlaessl, Daniel
Gumuchdjian ArchitectsGledstone, Linda
Academy of UrbanismGrant, Ian
NewzeyeGreene, Margarita
University ChileGunn, Ken
FSP Retail Business ConsultantsHagiladi, Na’amah
ARUPHaklay, Muki
UCLHardy, Matthew
INTBAUHarris, Richard
Living PlanITHart, Julian
HCAHawkes, Victoria
Steer Davies GleaveHayward, Richard
Greenwich UniversityHeath Peter
AtkinsHerzenshtein, Irit
Longboat Tax AdvisorsHoneysett, Nathalie
AONHoneysett, Sophie
Hastings CouncilInglis, Peter
Edward Cullinan ArchitectsIvattt, Martin
JMPJefferies, William
Square & PartnersJenkins, Andrew
ARUPJohn, Philip
JMPKalkhowen, Paul
Foster + PartnersKarski, Andy
TibbaldsKeltie, Leanne
David Lock AssociatesKendall, Jonathan
Fletcher Priest ArchitectsKhazaka, Lita
The Prince’s FoundationKochan Ben
Krikler, Felicie
Assael ArchitectureLee, William
Lesser, Benjamin
StanhopeLewis, Michael
Child Graddon LewisLi, Annie
Design for LondonLoew, Sebastian
Urban Design GroupLopez de Vallejo, Irene
UCLLorch, Richard
Building Research & InformationLow, Fergus
More LondonLowe, Robert
Lucas, Joanna
Inspace Homes LimitedMarmot, Alexi
UCLMattes, Holger
David Chipperfield ArchitectsMattin, Alberta
CatalystMaughan, Ally
BluefinMaynard, Julian
Duo ConsultantsMcAdam, Steve
FLUIDMcCart, Mike
South Bank CentreMcGeough, Kevin
Homes & Communities AgencyMcGowan, John
Turner & TownsendMcGrogan, Pat
Department of EnvironmentMcKeogh, Nick
PipersMcNally, Joy
Great Ormond Street HospitalMcNally, Andrew
Daimler BenzMeeda, Bally
Urban GraphicsMellon, Alastair
‘Providence DevelopmentsMichael, Edwards
UCLMiranda, Pablo
Aedas ArchitectsMonaghan, Niall
HamiltonsMorgan, Dominic
FDMorrison, Robert
Morrison Brink StonorMorrison, Franceska
Thames Promenade CompanyMowle, Lee
Steer Davies GleaveMoynihan, Dennis
Institute for SustainabilityMurrain, Paul
Musgrave, Lucy
General Public AgencyNanda, Vivek
Alan Baxter & AssociatesNewman, Kate
This Is Not A GatewayNicholson, Robin
Edward Cullinan ArchitectsNorton, Christina
SoundingsOades, Mike
AedasOreszczyn, Tadj
UCLOsborne, James
PPSParham, Susan
Council for European UrbanismPatel, Nilesh
LDA DesignPaul, Ben
NeuPegg, John
craft:peggPhillips, Katy
City of LondonPorter, Niel
Gustafson PorterPolychronakis, Ioannis
Halcrow GroupPrevc, John
makePriest, Keith
Fletcher Priest ArchitectsProtheroe, Guy
Whitelaw TurkingtonPsarra, Sophia
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban PlanningRalph, Ian
Urban InitiativesReed, Martin
ARUPRedway Kathryn
Kathryn Redway AssociatesReitman, Alexandra
Greater London AuthorityRenak, Leigh
YBP ConsultantsReynolds, Paul
AtkinsRice, Colin
Edward Cullinan ArchitectsRoberts, Hugh
Colin BuchananRobinson, Stuart
CB Richard Ellis LtdRose, Alasdair
EPSRCRosenberg, David
VeloroseRowland, Jon
JON ROWLAND URBAN DESIGNRubinson, Mark
ABG GroupRuud, Chris
University of NottinghamRushton, John
Small Back RoomSailer, Kerstin
SpacelabSandler, Sebastian
Xul ArchitectureSchaefer, Markus
Hosoya Schaefer ArchitectsScott, Ian
UCLShort, Ian
London Thames Gateway Development CorporationSheldon, Andrew
Urban InitiativesShrimpton, Hannah
Steer Davies GleaveSmales, Jonathan
Beyond GreenSmiles, Chris
Marks Barfield ArchitectsSmith, Steven
DEGWSmyth, Austin
University of WestminsterStallard, Kinna
Atomik ArchitectureStarrs, Mel
InbuiltSteward, Peter
Peter Steward ConsultancyStonor, Anna
Swale Borough CouncilStonor, Michael
Stonor EuropeStonor, Nicholas
Trinity ChambersStowell, George
George StowellSutton, Vaughan
ARUPThornton, Bron
Walk 21Tollast, Julian
Quintain Estates and DevelopmentToogood, Elaine
Elaine ToogoodTricker, Jonathan
Urban InitiativesTschawow, Kati
AsseaelTurner, Alasdair
UCLTwelftree, Peter
Steer Davies Gleavevan Bruggen, Ben
SavillsVause, Christopher
Maclay, Murray & SpensWalker, Jim
Walk EnglandWarwick, Elanor
CABEWatson, Patrik
Buro FourWedderburn, Martin
BuchananWeen, Camilla
Transport for LondonWernick, Jane
Jane Wernick AssociatesWheeler, Paul
Land Securities TrilliumWhitfied, Debbie
PipersWojciech, Dziubek
Quixotic ArchitectrueWood, Robert
Duo ConsultantsWood, Matthew
Conran and PartnersWorthington, John
DEGWYao, Jerry
Charles Ming & AssociatesZad, Rogers
KOF media
Tim Stonor 