Making Time to Read

By Timothy Shotts

            I never thought I would be reading this much while working on a Master’s degree in Architecture.  I have always written down the names of books and authors that architects and designers reference in lectures, but rarely have I had the time to do more than thumb through the book before getting back to more immediate concerns of school.  In Prof. Anz’s research methods class we’re required to read.  A LOT.  It’s great, really. 

            Archigram is currently my favorite out of the list you’ll find at the bottom.  Peter cook was pushing the frontier of efficiency in architecture – not in terms of energy, but in that of usefulness.  He stresses flexible, temporary pieces of architecture that can be replaced as our needs change. 

            Elon Musk is pushing the frontier in high speed transport.  Unhappy with the speed and cost of California’s High Speed Rail project, He proposed one similar to past tube transport systems.  I imagine the man behind Paypal, Tesla motors, and Space X has some engineers on hand to work out the details of this.

            Future Transport in Cities looks at how public transport has been dismissed ever since the popularity of the private car.  It looks at how the private car has ruined cities during the past 60 years.  It looks at strategies used around the world for transit in cities and how our future cities can be designed without cars.

            A final note:  Casey Neistat is an amazing film maker.  Go watch all his movies.  He lays out how he made a car commercial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPcxxeZPhvM&list=SPTHOlLMWEwVzBaZQu6jfATpqeQfN0LvHl .  Now go to 2:26.  Explanation, research, production, greatest car commercial ever.  Hey!  That’s not too different than creating the best piece of architecture ever… 

           

This is what I’m currently reading:

1.      Elon Musk, August 12, 2013, “Hyperloop”.  http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/hyperloop

2.      Salter, R. M. "The very high speed transit system." (1972).

3.      Et3.com. "Why ET3? | Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies." 2013. http://www.et3.com/ (accessed 15 Sep 2013).

4.      Gilbert, Richard, and Anthony Perl. 2008. Transport revolutions moving people and freight without oil. London: Earthscan.

5.      Richards, Brian. Future transport in cities. London: Spon Press, 2001.

6.      Daniel Kraffcyzk, April 22, 2013, “The Aeroscape:  an Approximation”. http://aeroscape.org/tag/architecture/

7.      Cook, Peter. Archigram. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999.

8.      Sadler, Simon. 2005. Archigram architecture without architecture. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press

9.      Latour, Bruno. 1996. Aramis, or, The love of technology. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

10. Easterling, Keller. 1999. Organization space: landscapes, highways, and houses in America. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

11. Wolsen, Marcus, October 1, 2013.  “When Sharing Doesn’t   Make Sense in the Sharing Economy”.  http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/relayrides-drops-hourly-rentals/

12. Sinson, Liz.  October 1, 2013.  “How Do You Design a Hospital That Can Foster Great Ideas?”.  http://www.wired.com/design/2013/10/this-hospital-was-designed-to-be-an-innovation-hub/

13. Midwest High Speed Rail Association. “The Economic Impacts of High Speed Rail:  Transforming the Midwest”.  http://www.cnu.org/sites/www.cnu.org/files/mhsra_

2011_economic_study_brochure.pdf