{"id":8801,"date":"2019-03-06T01:02:08","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T05:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/?p=8801"},"modified":"2019-03-06T01:02:08","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T05:02:08","slug":"book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review &#8211; Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/spacingmedia.com\/spacingvancouver\/wp-content\/uploads\/features\/book-reviews_feature-VAN.gif\" width=\"600\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Author: Weiss\/Manfredi\u2013 Princeton Architectural Press (2018)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>In considering the evolution of ecological, urban, and social infrastructures, we have been interested in the ambitions and unfulfilled promise of the architectural \u201cmega-project.\u201d We believe this legacy of modernism is a project with new potential to act at a scale commensurate with the magnitude and complexity of today\u2019s challenges. In analyzing the components, processes, and motivations behind such large-scale works, points of reciprocity between disciplines and scales of operation have illuminated the potential for even the smallest project to serve as a catalyst for urban transformation. <\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Marion Weiss and Michael M. Manfredi<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The present day architecture project operates on several scales, whether physical or social, and seldom is it the case that a building has the opportunity to tap into the epochal scale of a site. Similarly, as many urban sites in Europe and North America are presently undergoing remediation from their industrial past, the many new social spaces appearing upon them\u2014where once were factories, canneries, and refineries\u2014have been compounded by our current environmental conversations around rising sea levels, contaminated soil, and islands of floating plastic.<\/p>\n<p>The scale of certain architectural projects, as is evident from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.papress.com\/html\/product.details.dna?isbn=9781616893774&amp;ipA5\"><em>Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u2014this new astonishing monograph from the New York-based architecture and landscape firm of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.weissmanfredi.com\/\">Weiss\/Manfredi<\/a> \u2014clearly demonstrates that architecture and landscape architecture have more than just the ability to heal a landscape scarred by industry: it can provide new, exciting spaces for social interaction, simultaneous with providing a buffer to the fallout of immanent environmental change.<\/p>\n<p>For if there is a new buzzword for our age, it is resilience. How we think about how we are impacting our planet now can change the outcomes in the not too distant future. The four foot storm surge of Hurricane Sandy that hit parts of New York City only a few years ago prompted many local design firms to re-examine the ecology of the Manhattan shoreline, and several projects featured in <em>Public Natures<\/em> are the outcome of this firm\u2019s concern for the growing need for building in resilience in the city\u2019s public infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>As highlighted within the book, the founders of Weiss\/Manfredi have realized the importance of our present moment, and how large infrastructure projects, like the ones their office have been working on, have the capacity to affect meaningful environmental change, while enriching the public realm with spaces for social interaction. The modern architecture project has been intrigued with the cross pollination of architecture, landscape, and infrastructure for some time, and many of the book\u2019s contributors\u2014including <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kenneth_Frampton\">Kenneth Frampton<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsd.harvard.edu\/person\/preston-scott-cohen\/\">Preston Scott Cohen<\/a>\u2014often cite the influence of those like Le Corbusier and Paul Rudolph, whose master plans the modern movement continues to draw upon still.<\/p>\n<p>Several projects are featured, but two in particular are standouts\u2014the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Olympic_Sculpture_Park\">Olympic Sculpture Park<\/a> in Seattle, also the first to be featured in the book, as well as the study for the <a href=\"http:\/\/weissmanfredi.com\/project\/wandering-ecologies-toronto-lower-don-lands\">Don Lands<\/a> in Toronto. With the former, a stunning full page aerial shot of the sculpture park is featured beside an old black and white \u201cbefore\u201d shot of the site, taken from a similar bird\u2019s eye view. It as an opening salvo to the book, as is it clearly depicts how important these projects are for the modern city recovering from its Industrial Age hangover.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to these two uber-projects, the firm\u2019s work in Brooklyn and New York are nothing short of revolutionary, especially in regards to their ecological program. In both cases, the Brooklyn Botanical Park and Hunter\u2019s Point South waterfront park are giving to the greater New York area a buffer for the next storm surge, as many would say it is not a question of if there will be one, but when. And in the case of the latter project, five thousand additional residences are anticipated in the area, with the park providing for the resilience such intensification requires.<\/p>\n<p>There are currently several examples of how thoughtful architecture and landscape design have created meaningful benefit to a given city\u2019s citizens\u2014such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/cities\/2016\/may\/13\/story-cities-pablo-escobar-inclusive-urbanism-medellin-colombia\">gondola line<\/a> above the <em>comunas <\/em>in Medellin, or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehighline.org\/visit\/\">High Line<\/a> going through the old meat packing district of Chelsea\u2014the examples are numerous, and several of Weiss\/Manfredi\u2019s project fall into this category.<\/p>\n<p>Out of the ten projects selected for the book, there is a little bit for everyone from everywhere\u2014from Seattle to New York and Toronto. In addition to the descriptive texts, full page colour images and renderings, the book features a compelling exposition between the firm\u2019s founders and several prominent voices, debating the merits of the mega-project and its place in the modern city. This is book-ended by a foreword from former MoMA director of architecture <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Barry_Bergdoll\">Barry Bergdoll<\/a>, along with an interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kenneth_Frampton\">Kevin Frampton<\/a> that Weiss and Manfredi conduct to talk about his 1999 essay \u201cMegaform as Urban Landscape,\u201d and the text from which they derive the title of their book.<\/p>\n<p>As they note, \u201cover a decade since that initial shot across the bow, Frampton continues revising and expanding his arsenal of exemplary forms as an anxious fortification of an argument that appears, perhaps by design, to be perpetually incomplete.\u201d The interview than provides an optimistic note to end on, one in which we can say the modern architecture project will likewise never be complete, ever changing even before it is done, and always providing us with the hope that the negative impact the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edwardburtynsky.com\/projects\/the-anthropocene-project\">Anthropocene era<\/a> will wreak can always be undone.<\/p>\n<p>Such then is the reason for the necessity of thoughtful design, with <em>Public Natures<\/em> providing us with a window into one of our present age\u2019s more thoughtful architectural and landscape firms: one willing to ask some tough questions, especially about where the rubber hits the road between architecture, infrastructure, landscape and art.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><em>For more information on <strong>Public Natures: Evolutionary Architecture<\/strong>, visit the Princeton Architectural Press <a href=\"http:\/\/www.papress.com\/html\/product.details.dna?isbn=9781616893774\">website<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>**<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/?s=sean+ruthen&amp;submit=Search\"><strong><em>Sean Ruthen <\/em><\/strong><\/a><em>is a Metro Vancouver-based architect and writer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Author: Weiss\/Manfredi\u2013 Princeton Architectural Press (2018) In considering the evolution of ecological, urban, and social infrastructures, we have been interested in the ambitions and unfulfilled promise of the architectural \u201cmega-project.\u201d We believe this legacy of modernism is a project with new potential to act at a scale commensurate with the magnitude and complexity of today\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;Book Review &#8211; Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6014,"featured_media":8812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,476,415,419,29,23,430],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-cities-for-people","category-green-space","category-infrastructure","category-parks","category-urban-design","category-waterfront"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Book Review - Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures - Spacing National<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Book Review - Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures - Spacing National\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Author: Weiss\/Manfredi\u2013 Princeton Architectural Press (2018) In considering the evolution of ecological, urban, and social infrastructures, we have been interested in the ambitions and unfulfilled promise of the architectural \u201cmega-project.\u201d We believe this legacy of modernism is a project with new potential to act at a scale commensurate with the magnitude and complexity of today\u2019sContinue reading &quot;Book Review &#8211; Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spacing National\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-06T05:02:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/publicnatures_600.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sean Ruthen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sean Ruthen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/\",\"name\":\"Book Review - Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures - Spacing National\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/publicnatures_600.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-06T05:02:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#\/schema\/person\/91466578802921557e836991752862fc\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/publicnatures_600.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/publicnatures_600.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Book Review &#8211; Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/\",\"name\":\"Spacing National\",\"description\":\"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered  |  Architecture, Urban Deisgn, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#\/schema\/person\/91466578802921557e836991752862fc\",\"name\":\"Sean Ruthen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d670374430941d73b340e638d45cdb53?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d670374430941d73b340e638d45cdb53?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sean Ruthen\"},\"description\":\"Sean Ruthen is a Metro Vancouver-based architect and writer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/vancouver\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/author\/seanruthen\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Book Review - Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures - Spacing National","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Book Review - Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures - Spacing National","og_description":"Author: Weiss\/Manfredi\u2013 Princeton Architectural Press (2018) In considering the evolution of ecological, urban, and social infrastructures, we have been interested in the ambitions and unfulfilled promise of the architectural \u201cmega-project.\u201d We believe this legacy of modernism is a project with new potential to act at a scale commensurate with the magnitude and complexity of today\u2019sContinue reading \"Book Review &#8211; Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures\"","og_url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/","og_site_name":"Spacing National","article_published_time":"2019-03-06T05:02:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/publicnatures_600.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sean Ruthen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Spacing","twitter_site":"@Spacing","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sean Ruthen","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/","name":"Book Review - Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures - Spacing National","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/publicnatures_600.jpg","datePublished":"2019-03-06T05:02:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#\/schema\/person\/91466578802921557e836991752862fc"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/publicnatures_600.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/publicnatures_600.jpg","width":600,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2019\/03\/06\/book-review-public-natures-evolutionary-infrastructures\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Book Review &#8211; Public Natures: Evolutionary Infrastructures"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#website","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/","name":"Spacing National","description":"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered  |  Architecture, Urban Deisgn, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#\/schema\/person\/91466578802921557e836991752862fc","name":"Sean Ruthen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d670374430941d73b340e638d45cdb53?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d670374430941d73b340e638d45cdb53?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Sean Ruthen"},"description":"Sean Ruthen is a Metro Vancouver-based architect and writer.","sameAs":["https:\/\/spacing.ca\/vancouver"],"url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/author\/seanruthen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6014"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8801"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8815,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8801\/revisions\/8815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}