In defense of the public realm, how bio-climate, culture and invention are intertwined, the social responsibility of design, and much more…Michael Sorkin, from his studio in New York City, talks about his latest book, All Over The Map.  Also, hear about Spontaneous Interventions: design acts for the common good, the submission organized by the Institute for Urban Design for the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale this fall. And finally, congratulations to the winners of the Strip Appeal competition to re-design the strip mall. Image courtesy of Verso Books.

Design research isn’t limited to white lab coats. Sometimes it involves tasting fresh seal, as in the Luxury of the North project, or it requires walking 500 miles by foot as three brothers did for the project: We Make The Road by Walking. Both research projects use tools of observation within place to inform design.

Droog Lab’s Agata Jaworska describes the thinking behind Here, There, Everywhere…a series of projects observing the everyday in specific local cultures with the aim of defining the next generation of global design. Luxury of the North is one of the projects. Tim Antoniuk from the University of Alberta, also behind the ‘Luxury’ excursion, adds a Canadian perspective of the visit to Pond Inlet on Baffin Island.

In September, brothers Travis Sousa, Adam Sousa and Everett Nate Yockey walked from Los Angeles to San Francisco along the proposed high speed rail line. Identifying  their research as qualitative and entitling it We Make the Road by Walking, they captured a multiplicity of views both for and against the line. Travis and Everett share details of the 30-day journey.

images courtesy of Droog Lab for Luxury of the North and We Make the Road by Walking

Space + Place seeks advice on some of the best architecture and design books out there. In the process, we learn about independent bookstores, why we frequent them, and why we fight to keep them in the neighbourhood. Featuring interviews with A co-owner of St. Mark’s Books in New York, Peter Miller of Peter miller books in Seattle, John Frosst of Frosst books in Calgary, Will Lawrence of Shelf Life Books in Calgary and a representative of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. 

Today’s show is about independent bookstores specializing in architecture and design. We discuss the value of the independent bookstore, why we frequent them and what they add to a neighbourhood. We hear about the challenges and why communities fight to save them. And most importantly, what particular titles these independent bookstores excited about right now.

In order of appearance, a special thanks to:

Bob Contant of St Mark’s Bookshop

Peter Miller of Peter Miller Books and Peter Miller at the Henry

Will Lawrence of Shelf Life Books

John Frosst of Frosst Books

Janet Abrams of the Canadian Centre for Architecture

Joanne Saul of Type Books

reading material: Crosscut News A clean, well-lighted bookshop

image courtesy of Frosst Books

The Migrating Landscapes Alberta Regional Exhibition opens at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery at ACAD on Wednesday December 7th from 6-9pm. Migrating Landscapes was selected as Canada’s official entry to the 2012 Venice Biennale of Architecture.  Communicating through videos, architectural models, and a landscape represented by a wooden structure, young Canadian architects will express residential design as a response to cultural memories and experiences of im/migration.

From the seven regional juried competitions across the country, approximately a dozen winning entries will be selected to represent Canada in the Biennale. The curators, 5468796 Architecture and Jae-Sung Chon of the University of Manitoba will discuss the competition at the opening. Alberta’s regional jurors include: Marc Boutin, Catherin Hamel, Shafraaz Kaba, Matthew North, and Katherine Wagner. See the Alberta regional architectural submissions until December 17th.

You can hear our interview with Johanna Hurme of 5468796 about Migrating Landscapes here.