Archive for August, 2011

August 24, 2011

Brenda Sperduti on Discovering and Celebrating the Heart and Soul of District 5

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Brenda Sperduti, who is running for the District 5 council seat. We talked about some of the critical issues facing that district, which includes much of Maryvale, such as engaging the area’s large Hispanic population, what to do about the foreclosure crisis and changing the negative rap the west side gets. (A big thanks to Sean Sweat for making this interview possible.) Also, don’t forget to vote this coming Saturday, Monday and Tuesday!!! Blooming Rock: Can you tell us about your vision for West Phoenix? Brenda Sperduti: When it comes…

August 22, 2011

Why We Need to Pay Attention to Pollinators

by: Lane Butler

Tweet Today’s post is by Lane Butler. I heard Lane speak about the importance of pollinators about two weeks ago at the community meeting about a demonstration garden at the Audobon Center. I was blown away by what she said and how little the general public knows about these very important creatures. I asked Lane to summarize her presentation in this guest post so more people can find out what pollinators are and why they are so critical to our future sustainability. Lane is a masters student in Plant Biology at Arizona State University. She is studying how riparian nectar…

August 17, 2011

Venue Projects Hits it Out of the Ballpark with the Windsor/Churn Redevelopment

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet On a hot summer day I drove up to this purple building on 9th Avenue and Pierce looking for my beautician. Photo courtesy of Venue Projects. She had gotten her own place and was starting her own gig. She wasn’t in the purple building but she was in the cute little casita right next to it. When I got out of my car, I noticed all the really cool details that had been added to the original buildings, like corrugated metal planters and awnings and the rusted metal fencing. Plus, the color purple was, of course, hard to miss….

August 15, 2011

Phoenix: America’s Desert Metropolis

by: Will Novak

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Will Novak. One of the most exciting things about being a Phoenician is being from a place that looks unlike any other major City in the United States. Very few large American cities are in deserts and only two, Phoenix and Tucson, reside in the world’s most beautiful desert, the Sonoran. Phoenix needs to do a better job embracing the desert and leveraging our unique climate to become America’s and the World’s foremost desert metropolis. Embracing Xeriscaping In Phoenix’s early days its Anglo residents were strangely embarrassed by the Desert and the Arizona…

August 10, 2011

Sensitive Siting vs. a Turd on a Lot

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet On my way between Red Mountain and 3 Palms, I drive on Indian School between 16th Street and 11th Avenue a lot. I’ve been watching as the gay bar Padlock (which admittedly was a horrendous building) was torn down and in it’s place a Panda Express is being erected. What strikes me about this Panda Express building, which I’m tempted to refer to as the Turd, is that it’s tiny compared to the huge site it’s on. This is similar to my complaint about the Circle K down the street that was constructed last year. A veritable alter to…

August 08, 2011

Phoenix Landmarks…?

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: This past 12 months I’ve been blessed with a reason to travel overseas and tour some fantastic cities. Having seen a number of castles, cathedrals, bridges, parks and rail stations, I am most grateful for an expanded sense of how public spaces can both succeed and fail. That said, the first question friends & colleagues ask when I return is always “how was your trip? what was (city) like?”. Inevitably, most people want to hear about the landmark places they expect you to go; “Oh, you were in London? Did you…

August 03, 2011

5 Examples of Cantilever Coolness

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet I have to admit, the structural engineering classes at architecture school weren’t my favorite. But when I see cool cantilevers, I go gaga. What is a cantilever in the first place? Wikipedia puts it simply: “A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end.” The longer the span, the cooler it looks! Below are 5 cool cantilevers to give you an idea of what I’m talking about: 1. Parking Canopies are awesome cantilevers: This is a double-cantilever, where the beams are supported by just one column in the center and then they overhang in two opposite directions. Parking…

August 02, 2011

The Red Mountain Report

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet This is the 2nd installment of The Red Mountain Report: This past two weeks we’ve spent largely figuring out what to do with the flooring in the east unit of Red Mountain. The original floor was vinyl tile: We definitely wanted to remove it, but were concerned it might be asbestos tile or might have asbestos adhesive. So we got it tested at this place called Fiberquant. They will test a sample you bring in for only $25.00. We tested the flooring in the west unit too, which has ceramic tile, just in case. It was a happy day…