Jane Jacobs: The Life and Death of Great American Cities

5th Avenue New York City

In Jane Jacobs’ book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she discusses the particular nature of cities. The introduction focuses on how City Beautiful and the Radiant City differs from how cities truly work and cities have suffered as a result of these ideals.

William H. Whyte - Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

Design Guide: Closet Dimensions

Woman's Reach-in Closet - source

Standard Depth Measurements

For reach-in closets, the standard depth is 24 inches and is used for suits, shirts, dresses, and pants. The 2 foot depth is required to handle your hanger. For coats and jackets, use a depth of 28 inches.

• Minimum depth 24 inches
• Use a depth of 28 inches for coats 

Standard Width Measurements

A closet doesn't have a standard width. A rule of thumb is to have a minimum of 48 inches or 4 feet of rod length per person who uses the closet. Coats and jackets need between 3 to 4 1/2 inches of width. Men's clothing needs about 2 1/2 inches for every garment while women's cloths need less since they are generally smaller and wear thinner and tighter clothing. Each garment needs about the thickness of your hand so you can reach in and take out an item easily. This will also keep your cloths apart enough so they won't smush together and wrinkle.

• 48 inches of Road length per person

Man's Closet Wall - source

Rod Height

Rod height may vary. The height for skirts, blouses, suits, shirts and pants has to be at least 45 inches. Floor length dresses needs a height of 72 inches while a street dress needs 63 inches. Children's cloths need a rod height of 30 inches.

• 45 inches - general adult clothing
• 63 inches - street dresses
• 72 inches - floor length dresses
• 30 inches - children (ages 3-5)

Shelving

Closet shelves should be at least 11 inches deep to accommodate clothing, up to 15 inches max. Deeper shelves provide more storage but increase the possibility of loosing items in the back. A good way is for the first shelf to be 15 inches with 11 inch shelves above will suffice. There should be at least 3 inches between the rod and the first shelf to be able to remove your hanging items. Space shelves between 8 and 9 inches apart.

• 3 inches between rod and first shelf
• 11 to 15 inch depth for first shelf
• 11 inch depth for second shelf
• 8 to 9 inches between shelves

Walk-in Closets

Walk in closets come in all sizes. Small ones have a bit of space to walk around, chose cloths, and possibly change in. Medium sized walk-ins are generally big enough for you to sit in with some having a full length mirror. Seating is good for putting on shoes with a bit of space to move around and change in. The largest walk-ins can be as a big as a bedroom with all the space you would need to move around, change your cloths, sit down and put on your shoes as well as fixing your makeup and hair. Which ever size you are designing for, be sure that the space is suitable for your existing and future wardrobe.

Large Walk-in - source

Selldorf Architects: 200 Eleventh Avenue

Photograph © David Sundberg

Size: 61,000 square feet
Cost: $41 million
Completion date: October 2010

Tree House House Restaurant: Naha Harbor Diner

Naha Harbor Diner

In Gaiumaru, Japan, the Naha Harbor Diner sits perched on massive branches about 20 ft above the ground, looking out over the ocean. Accessible by a spiral stairway and an elevator built within the tree trunk. The restaurant has a reputation of being quiet and elegant, while serving some of the best Japanese, Thai, Korean, Chinese and Indian food in all of Okinawa.

Huf Haus: Energy Efficient Prefab Homes

HUF House ART 8, source

For many years, HUF HAUS has been internationally recognized for their innovative timber-frame architecture that epitomizes the synergy between wood and glass. The name unites the careful evolution of the classic timber framed structure with the revolution in energy efficiency. Relevant details on the energy efficiency of new HUF Houses can be found on their homepage. A HUF house creates a comfortable design creating an ideal place from which to observe nature. Every HUF House is unique, designed for each individual client by a HUF architect.

Rural Studio: Bryant (Hay Bale) House

The Bryant House, finished in 1994 was the Rural Studio's first completed building. The Bryant household, Shepard and Alberta with their grandchildren lived in a rickety shack without heat or plumbing and enough holes to let in rain, insects and reptile visitors. When the structure was about to collapse, the Hale County's Department of Human Services told Samuel Mockbee about his situation and Mockbee asked Shepard if they could help.

Rural Studio: The Yancey Chapel

In 1994, while fifth year student Ruard Veltman and Mockbee were admiring the light filtering through the bottles embedded in Shepard Bryant's smoke house, Veltman said his thesis group wanted to "do something like this" for their thesis project, Mockbee replied: "Why don't y'all build a chapel?" Soon afterwards, Mockbee was talking to an Auburn University supporter and cow farmer, Lemuel Morrison where she offered to let the students build the chapel on her Sawyerville farm to help lower building costs.

Solution to Your Home's "Phantom Current Load"

The likely culprit resulting in 'phantom current loads' in the home are electronics. When a TV or monitor are plugged in they are in standby mode requiring some electricity. These devices, as well as any chargers you might have are always on, even if the device is off or not charging resulting in the phantom current load or current load leakage. Electronics are dc not ac and thus requite a transformer to lower the voltage from 120 to around 9V and they all have one. Stereos, DVD players, printers, etc. all contain transformers and as a result are on even while they're off.  Standby mode on devices implies that a small current passes through a device to allow it to be turned on by a remote, so if it gets turned on by a remote, it is costing you money even when it is 'off.

Urban Sprawl: London after WWII

Screenshot from the following video from the BBC

Story: Birth of the New Town

Duration: 3:48

After World War II, London was threatened by endless urban sprawl, the government's solution was the introduction of greenbelts surrounding the city. New towns such as Harlow in East Anglia were created outside the greenbelt, complete with its own housing, commercial and manufacturing.