RIP + NEA (a lil bad news and a lil good news)

in my inbox today, a message about the passing of a pioneering community design professional in seattle that i had the pleasure of working for, Jan Gleason, executive director emeritus of the non-profit design firm environmental works.

environmental works ,will be honoring Jan's memory by contributing to the Homeless Remembrance Project. This is a homeless memorial project that values people and community - values that guided Jan's career. check it out.

in other news, someone from the u.s. green building council nominated me for the NEA Foundation’s inaugural Green Prize in Public Education! not sure where that came from but grateful non the less. The NEA Foundation created the inaugural Green Prize in Public Education to recognize and showcase an outstanding public school educator or program that best advances social and environmental responsibility.
This annual prize recognizes those public school educators or programs that empower and inspire students to be more socially and environmentally responsible and to become better environmental stewards, creating a sustainable environment for our communities, country and world.

my wish for design education for america's youth.

I popped into the Architecture and Design Education Network (A+DEN) Conference last week at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. for Maurice Cox' brainstorm on a national design initiative funded by the NEA...he kicked it off with us all making a wish for america's youth for design education.

i wish...that through design, America's youth had the opportunity to influence real-world situations and spaces for the better...and that design gives them the power to voice their opinions, demonstrate leadership and express their identity.

"summer school"

i'm busy busy busy...too busy to blog it seems =)

but i was excited to see one of my schools has their summer architecture program for elementary students up on their website with great images!

check it out here.

this summer

i've got plans.

i live here:

next to this:

okay...it doesnt quite look THAT bad...i'll take another pic...that's from the cook county assessor's website. even, my bldg on the right doesnt look like that any more (pre-shotty-rehab).

but the point is, the vacant lot next to me needs some special attention. its privately owned but not cared for, AT ALL. the 3rd floor residents of the 4 flat to the south of it throw full bags of trash off the back porch into it instead of walking down to the alley for the trash cans. the neighbors down the street bring their dog to crap in it and don't pick up the poop. kids in the summer set up a lemonade stand in front of it and leave all their trash afterward. last summer we even had some spontaneous 'parties' on the lot with a conglomeration of neighborhood hoopties at all hours of the morning. sigh.

so this summer, project #1 is to treat this as a design problem. i have to live next to this space. one question is, what can i do to make it more aesthetically pleasing...but also i'm thinking of doing some programming in the space. perhaps some impromptu art making with the kids in the neighborhood...it'll give my kids something to do too. of course its not "mine" to do anything with (actually 14" of it is mine...since my fence was mis-installed)...but the owners don't live nearby and never monitor it. i'm thinking guerilla style. saturday morning set up/tear down...flexible, retractable something or other to get some positive activity going here. hmmm. stay tuned.

project 2:

my sad sad state of a yard. the south side of the lot has an extra 10feet. with no bldg there is is over exposed by the sun and the grass just sizzles. so, i tore half of it out a couple weeks ago...

i'm going to plant it with native plants, some seating etc. along the long side area...in the back, a "tree house", raised vegetable beds and some kind of enclosure for the back carport which is totally exposed to the alley. also on the front parkway, i think i'll plant some sedges or something.

anyhoo for this weekend, step one:

3 cubic yards of mulch

, install "prairie smoke":

,

and some "mountain mint"

all of it will get phased in over the the course of the summer.

along the perimiter i'm putting some tall grasses called "little blue-stem":

my colleague Jaime Zaplotosch from openlands will be advising me, b/c i do NOT have a green thumb at all. keep your fingers crossed people!

intersections

bear with me, any exclusively design oriented friends. here's another tangential post about how i process things in my world-view and filter through my identity as a designer, educator, reformer in relation to other issues that i am passionate about.

last night in my role as vice chair of the board of directors for IL Caucus for Adolescent Health i made a presentation to a group of prosepective funders of the Chicago Foundation for Women's/Tide's Catalyst Grant fund which is focused on reproductive justice. they are trying to raise 100k in the next six months. the incoming CFW board chair asked, how to get people to donate to this issue??? to which i responded...its about discussion, dialogue, exposure, and truth telling. it never fails to inspire people. in a sense, blogging is that (though no replacement for in person social networking as my friend peter exley so eloquently pointed out later last night at pecha-kucha vol.9--whoo hoo---but i digress.) we are obsessed with stories...and hopefully those stories spur action.

so, in my presentation, i started with a story. my story was about how after doing youth development with young women for about 7 years i got really burnt out emotionally and decided to go to architecture school (ha! architecture school as a vacation...yes, i can hear you laughing HYSTERICALLY). after architecture school i profoundly missed working with and on behalf of young people and ran a summer environmental arts program to quench that thirst. in the course of that program one day during lunch break, a 15 y/o mother was huddled over with a bunch of other girls...i came over to check in and see what was up. well, turns out they were orchestrating an attack...in lay terms, they were planning for her to get "jumped". more specifically, they were making sure that each girl got $10 to kick her in the stomach enough times to make sure that she lost the second baby she was carrying. besides the fact that this was a jarring situation, that i no doubt intervened in...i really had an epiphany about intersections. people and progress are complex and nothing is in a vacuum. NOTHING. there's no such thing as a singular issue...and i am reminded of this daily.

i have always considered my youth development work to be community development...and in that i have always used collaborative art-making and a participatory design process (mostly public art) as a tool to addressing and un-packing real-life social issues, i consider my arts and design education work to be community development as well. now in education i feel the same thing. we must understand the intersections of education and the complex lives of students...people...in order to reach them with both rigor AND relevance. reproductive justice is saying that also. people bring their WHOLE selves everywhere they go. you can't talk to a child about physics if they are hungry. you can't teach a child about environmental stewardship and sustainability when they don't have access to sexual health services and are plotting their own violent demise. its gonna come up in the process...and its just ALL connected...and the more we realize this the richer our social change efforts will become. Here is a chart from the organization asian communities for reproductive justice that attempts to note the intersections of social justice issues (environmental justice, immigrant rights, worker rights, education, anti-violence etc.)

i'm not posting this to preach about RJ. i'm posting it as a model of analytically understanding intersections (yes that is the word of the day), b/c to me, we should see all issues in this way. understanding the other factors and movements influence the issues we care about...we need to forge collaborations and coalitions and work across disciplines at all time in order to make change. (stepping off soap box now).

_________________________________________

however if in fact anyone IS interested in more more info about RJ, adolescent sexual health, teen parenting, or general philanthropy for women and girls around human rights: economic security (employment and expanded access to

economic opportunity); freedom from violence (including domestic violence,

sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking and prostitution), and health (access

to services and information related to mental, physical and reproductive health).

see:

the catalyst fund brochure.

visit the chicago foundation for women website

the donation page for the catalyst fund

the ICAH website and their donation page here.

Diversity in Design: The Diversity Pipeline

to readers of architectural record this article is redundant...but i feel it only natural to post this spotlight on design education. we soooo wanted one of these in chicago. i think the thunder of our efforts was stolen by:

A) the stigma of career and technical education (formerly vocational education)...and disbelief that we could actually do something innovative and cutting edge and forecast industry needs in this profession and the professing the PROFOUND value of design based education in developing analytical skills and critical thinking. SIGH. (i'm not bitter!)

and

B) the centrifugal force of the development of the new chicago ARTS school: "chi-arts". the arts community of chicago has mobilized and put an ENORMOUS amount of support behind this school (rightfully so...my mom got herself into crazy debt sending me to a private art high-school of the same nature after public school proved its limitations in arts education) . at this point i'm not sure if its redundant to have a design school in addition to an arts school...but it really is a missed opportunity to not build on this energy and gross need for design education. if only there were some SIMPLE way to let educational leaders understand the power and value of design. every object, space, text etc. has been designed and people don't realize that this education can lead to that.

Civic Leadership and Hybridization of the Design Profession

i meant to post, that by invitation, April 28th i headed down to Austin, TX to participate as a panelist in this symposium "Rethinking the City, Rethinking our Role" orchestrated by designer/educator rockstar Alex Gilliam and two of his equally talented colleagues Stephanie Perrone-Freeborg (who lives in the uber-cool UT solar decathalon house) and Doug Cambell at the UT School of Architecture. it was just the inspiration i needed to keep my morale high and not get discouraged by the mundane aspects of my gig and keep striving for innovation and transgression beyond the status quo.

the purpose of the symposium was to show the multitude of ways that people with architectural education are impacting society within and outside the traditional path of architecture. i of course always like to talk about the work i am doing to facilitate real life design, build and landscape opportunities through hands-on education...but it was a treat to learn about the work of others and get inspired. i shared the panel with Michael Gatto ACDDC (Austin Community Design & Development Center), Brent Brown of Building Community Workshop based in Dallas...of particular interest was their Congo Street Initiative , Chris Krager of KRDB, and Damon Rich founder of CUP(Center for Urban Pedagogy)

austin is pretty awesome. i need to go back there.

38 block walk of alliance

Today students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the historic South Side Community Arts Center (SSCAC) engaged in a series of happenings geared toward building a stronger network between the two institutions.

The event began on the steps of the Art Institute (which is now a whopping 18 bux to enter...hot damn) at 4PM, with a 30-second public Flash-Mob...10 performers with cameras posed as pedestrians to create a large 'Flash' kicking off the event. A symbolic '38-Block Walk' commenced down Michigan Avenue to SSCAC @ 3831 South Michigan Avenue, highlighting places and events along the way.see their class blog here.

Beginning around 6 pm, the walkers joined in the bustling activities at the Center which included a tea ceremony of local herbal teas (plants found in the hood!), a participatory video installation portraying the history of SSCAC's vital artistic community, exuberant conversation, massages, the production of a large origami sculpture, tap dancing, a photo booth creating documenting living history, a Home Cooking' performance and recipe sharing, a dumpling workshop, and tours of the Center.

At 7:00, participants enjoyed a buffet of Southern Soul Food from Pearl's Place, a bonfire and light projections. At 8 pm, there was a live DJ, breakdancing, and various musical and dance venues. This event is supported by the Southside Community Art Center, the SAIC Sculpture and Art Education Departments, and the Office of Multi-cultural Affairs and numerous individuals. i had a blast...my 3y/o got the party going like no one else could. good times for a good purpose.

eco-launch HS sustainability program

looks like a cool program for HS students to learn about sustainability from a VERY cool organization foresight design inititiative...described as: "...seeking to improve and sustain the quality of life in the urban environment through smart design, without sacrificing the needs of future generations. Embracing strategies that engage design practitioners, government agencies, the business and non-profit communities, and the public, Foresight collaborates to develop and empower initiatives, build community support and engender a positive human evolution."

HOWEVER (comma)...why on EARTH does it come with a 1200.00 price tag?!? (for 3 weeks!)

alternative land uses...

I'm always excited to see productive uses of land in my struggling neighborhood of Lawndale. One such use is the Chicago Botanic Garden's "green youth farm" which is literally 2 blocks from my house. this reclaimed site engages young people in food production and provides a source of fresh produce in a neighborhood which is very close to being a food desert.

another exciting thing just up the street from me is a cool bee-keeping operation resulting in "beeline products" a little video coverage called "sweet beginnings"here.

I'm all about social entrepreneurship. so you should know that the purchase of each beeline® product helps people facing significant barriers to employment, particularly those with histories of criminal conviction. With your purchase you provide viable opportunities for individuals to establish a work history, learn productive work habits, and gain marketable skills. Your investment builds stepping stones toward employment, career advancement, and productive membership in society

Open Architecture Competition

There are a couple of design firms partnering with some of my schools to work with students on Architecture For Humanity's Open Architecture Challenge to design a sustainable classroom. Gensler is working with Clemente HS (where i taught for 3 months! yay) and IDEO is keeping a blog to track the progress of their work on this competition with Juarez High School. i'm excited to see what they come up with for the June 1 deadline...will post pics as i see them!

Students Build Model Green Home

I'm like the little engine that could, trying to make the same thing happen in chicago (fingers crossed breaking ground in June----with all the delays---sigh).

but check out these students in virginia did here

Eventually, the scale-model house will go on display at parks, fairs and other public sites to serve as a lesson on environmentally friendly building. For now, as it sits in a school garage growing more complete by the day, it's an example of what can happen when students combine strengths.

Ours, will not just be a model...but be a functioning building for purchase =).

semi-automatic babble

*not* related to my blog topic at ALL.
but pure genius i think.
something i rather immensely enjoy and think others should/would too.

afrigadget:::solving everyday problems with african ingenuity.

um, how cool is THIS. defnitely check the 3yrs of archives.

this reminds me that for some time now, i have wanted to start documenting the ingenious inventions i have seen domestically in urban communities where i've lived and where people had no other choice but to 'DIY'. i'm gonna start doing that here (at some point..lol)

converge/exchange. what communities, activists, and practitioners can teach eachother: a chicago dialogue

not. sure. HOW i didn't know about this. arrgh. what email distribution am i NOT on? i'm on CAF, i'm on LISC's new communities, i'm ON ACD (association of community design)...what the hell. it appears it was EVERYWHERE but on my radar. anyway...last night i would have needed a sitter for sure, and today what was i mired in? total mandatory bureacratic nonsense that has been spiraling out of control for at LEAST a year...trying to plead my case for constituent/community based planning for transforming our program delivery to people who think i'm a radical idealist or something. someone...PLEASE come save me. no, seriously. the writing is on the wall. stick a fork in me. i'm DONE.

Design Advocacy...

LOVE IT.

The Green Energy Education Act would provide grants for university programs that develop curricula on designing and constructing high performance buildings. Special priority would be given to design, architecture, landscape architecture, and planning programs.

I gotta get more hooked into these legislative things that are happening that impact my work...or what I WANT to be my work =).

Here's another one I saw designed to improve the ability of some small communities to coordinate with universities and design professionals in developing a vision to address their local needs.

Who knew ASLA was so on top of Advocacy...KUDOS! I gotta probe the AIA site and see what they are on in this regard.

PECHA KUCHA TONIGHT!

so...my online personality is SOOOOO much better than my in person one, but if you're in chicago...you should TOTALLY check out Pecha Kucha Vol.8!!! i'm cohosting with Peter Exley of architecture is fun (who's wit and outfits are NOT to be missed). I can hardly believe its Volume 8 already. I presented at Volume 1, the inaugural chicago incarnation of this international event...it rocks my world...and i think it will rock yours too. Come see me do my thizzle...oh and the rest of the folks too = )

Beat the economy doldrums by networking with a few hundred of Chicago's most interesting creative individuals. You might meet the person who will give you your big break, or perhaps you and a friend will be inspired to germinate the idea that makes you your first (or second) million. Who knows what will happen at PechaKucha Night (if you were at Volume 7, you know what we mean!). Just to round it off, Marytrs' always has a $2.50 beer special too. Chicago’s Volume 8 on March 3rd features 6 minutes and 40 seconds seconds each of architect Dan Wheeler, School of the Art Institute President and architect Duke Reiter, 3rd generation musician Miles Nielsen of Rockford, recent Harrington College of Design graduate Beth DeBonis, artists Jesse Seay of Chicago and Dan Rybicky of Gary, IN, cartographer Dennis McClendon, game programmer and Columbia College faculty member Theresa Devine, designer and educator Anne Wells, landscape architect Peter Osler, and Rujanee Mahakanjana whose film on architecture, “Man and His Erections”, recently premiered at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Architects and educators Peter Exley and Yamani Hernandez will emcee the evening.

PechaKucha Night Chicago presents Volume 8 March 3rd, 2009 at 8:00pm at Martyrs’, 3855 N Lincoln Avenue, Chicago Advance ticket purchase recommended. Tickets $10 (21 and over only). Charge by phone at (800) 594-8499 or via the internet here.

Senate Cuts Arts from Stimulus Bill

ACTION ALERT

"This afternoon the U.S. Senate, during their consideration of the economic recovery bill, approved an egregious amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that stated "None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project." Unfortunately, the amendment passed by a wide vote margin of 73-24, and surprisingly included support from many high profile Senators including Chuck Schumer of New York, Dianne Feinstein of California, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, and several other Democratic and Republican Senators.

If the Coburn amendment language is included in the final conference version of this legislation, many arts groups will be prevented from receiving economic recovery funds from any portion of this specific stimulus bill. It is clear that there is still much work to be done in the Senate and in the media about the role that nonprofit arts organizations and artists play in the nation's economy and workforce."

to take action visit americans for the arts

Congrats to CAF

The Chicago Architecture Foundation continues to be rewarded for its amazing collaborative reform of our school system's antiquated architectural drafting education to a holistic design-based education.

From the AIA press release:

"The Architecture Handbook, a joint effort between the Chicago Architecture Foundation and Chicago Public Schools produced The Architecture Handbook: A Student Guide to Understanding Buildings, by Jennifer Masengarb with Krisann Rehbein. The guide, along with its accompanying CD and a teachers’ edition, came together via a collaborative process including educators, practitioners, and students and reaches well beyond the mechanics of CAD and BIM skills. “The book refocuses emphasis away from strictly acquiring technical drawing skills and towards the application of those skills in the service of studying the design process, architectural history, preservation, geography, urban studies, and sociology to explore the built environment,” writes Peter G. Ellis, FAIA, RIBA, in support of the nomination."

Green Revolution

It WILL be televised ya'll :)

I'm looking forward to checking out this year's "Black Creativity" exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry.

This year's theme, "Green Revolution", explores green technology and innovation and features African American architects, designers, engineers and business leaders in the 'green movement'. There are some awesome workshops on the roster. I'm glad to to see MSI taking this approach and look forward to some more interesting work.