Putting Hydraulic Jacks on the Farnsworth House

Farnsworth House

The continuing saga of the Farnsworth House brings us a new chapter. Preservationists are considering installing hydraulic jacks could protect Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House from flood danger:

Preservationists have proposed a system of hydraulic jacks that could safeguard Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House from flood damage by lifting it into the air.

The preferred choice, priced between £1.5 and £1.8 million, would involve temporarily moving the house from its site, then installing a system of hydraulic steel trusses and a pit from which floodwater could be pumped away.

“I think one of the risks is that this is a new application of an old technology,” said Meeks. “The risk is overcoming the question mark in people’s minds. People will want to be satisfied that it’s the simplest solution.”

Verbatim: What Is a Photocopier

In 2012, on my Facebook feed, I stumbled across a hilarious excerpt from a legal transcript. In a deposition in Ohio, a lawyer became embroiled in an absurd argument about the definition of a photocopier.

D: When you say “photocopying machine,” what do you mean?

PL: Let me be clear. The term “photocopying machine” is so ambiguous that you can’t picture in your mind what a photocopying machine is in an office setting?

Verbatim: What Is a Photocopier

Tuesday – It’s Finally Spring – Links

A (mostly) Fair Reading of Why it is so Expensive to Live in the Bay Area

If you’re wondering why people are protesting you, how we got to this housing crisis, why rent control exists or why tech is even shifting to San Francisco in the first place, this is meant to provide some common points of understanding.

This is a complex problem, and I’m not going to distill it into young, rich tech douchebags-versus-helpless old ladies facing eviction. There are many other places where you can read that story.

It does us all no justice.

How Burrowing Owls Lead To Vomiting Anarchists (Or SF’s Housing Crisis Explained). No: it isn’t just the fault of the tech world, but a combination of a highly-restricted housing supply, plus rising demand, plus a volatile local economy prone to booms and busts, plus strict rent control without vacancy control, and entrenched interests which is almost never aligned.

Amanda Burden: How public spaces make cities work

If you have 18 minutes, you should watch this Amanda Burden: How public spaces make cities work TED Talk:

Amanda Burden is the former director of the New York City Department of City Planning and chair of the City Planning Commission under Mayor Mike Bloomberg. If you ignore the semi-hagiographic retelling of the massive rezoning under Mayor Bloomberg, you can hear some really interesting quotes. Overall her presentation says exactly the right things:

  • “How might we create successful, meaningful public spaces”
  • “Details make a difference because we are bodies in space.”
  • “You can’t fake understanding of the neighborhood.”
  • “You have to have faith in plans.”
  • “Tap into your humanity, not your expertise.”

The last quote, I take would have to challenge: I agree that you have to tap into your inner humanity, and be person centered in your design. But to not listen to your expertise is to remove an important tool which can help your fellow humanity.