Green roof tops Daum Communications / Ilshin Building, Seoul, Korea Seoul is not known for it eco-friendly building designs, but a couple of buildings I encountered recently, which have significant green roofs, have made me thinks that there may be hope yet for this city. A Green roof according the Wikipedia: A green roof is…
Category: urbanism
Seoul, 15 years ago
Click image to view slideshow of Mapo redevelopment, 1994 Digging through some old photos, I found this set I took in 1994, of Mapo area, in Seoul. This area had been home to many informal settlers (so called “moon village” or 달동네) but had been “condemned” to be redeveloped and replaced by more of Seoul’s…
Cities: the future of humanity
Here’s a presentation file for a lecture that I gave at my alma mater Yonsei University. Keep in mind this was an invited lecture to undergrad student in the architecture program as part of a class that fulfills their urban design requirement (read: not very academic). Cities and the future of humanity View more Microsoft…
International Symposium: Hanoi 2030
Hanoi 2030: International Symposium As if working on the 1st Report for the Hanoi master plan was not enough, between our reports to the Vietnam government steering committee and the Prime Minister, we held a 2-day international symposium April 21-22. The main goal of the symposium was to gain a better understanding of Hanoi within…
Hanoi: the first sustainable capital by 2030
Hanoi master plan 2030: first report to the Vietnamese government I’ve spent the most part of the March and April preparing the first formal report to the Vietnamese government for the project I am working on for JINA Architects: The Hanoi Capital Construction Master Plan to 2030 and Vision to 2050. This is a project…
Hanoi and its love of motorcycles
Motorcycles in Hanoi This is a complex issue. The first thing that overwhelms you when you arrive in Hanoi for the first time is the motorcycles. The noise. The chaos. They are everywhere. And remember to look both ways before crossing the street. Sitting in a car in stuck in morning rush hour traffic I…
Postcards from Central Vietnam
Old Town, Hoi An, Vietnam I took a weekend trip to central Vietnam a few weeks ago. We arrived in Da Nang and took a taxi south to Hoi An. Hoi An seems to be known for 2 things: beach resorts and its Old Town designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. Maybe I…
Counter-Histories of Sustainability
In issue #18 of Volume, Panayiota Pyla writes in an article, Counter-Histories of Sustainability: As the meanings and goals of sustainability are debated by architects and academics because the planets problems are real and architecture has its share of responsibility we must also remember a lesson from the history of architecture: a great…
Hanoi: Think Different
Panorama view from 25th floor of Hanoi Towers * Hanoi Panorama The view from the penthouse suite balcony of the Somerset Grand Hanoi, a.k.a Hanoi Towers is pretty amazing. We’ve been looking for more economic alternatives for accommodations in Hanoi since we’ll visiting and working in Hanoi on a regular basis for the next year…
Great Hanoi Business Cards
Great Hanoi business cards printed by MOO.com As part of the Master Urban Plan of the Expanded Hanoi Capital (a.k.a. “Great Hanoi”), we printed some business cards from MOO.com. I chose photos from our last trip to Hanoi (no need to worry about copyright there). I purposefully chose images about the current urban condition, monuments,…