Veritas et Venustas"Renewing Tradition for the 21st Century." Keywords: architecture, urbanism, classical architecture, traditional urbanism, New Urbanism, Classical Liberalism, ProgressivismSt. Joseph, Michigan- April 23, 2007 ST. JOSEPH sits at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, where it empties into Lake Michigan. Thirty-miles away, the river flows through South Bend, also giving that city its name. Sunday was the warmest day in South Bend since I got here, so I got in the car and...http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/st_joseph_michi.html Architects — and why traditional architecture gets a bad rap.- April 23, 2007 ONE: Because faux-traditional buildings are often designed by people who have no training in traditional architecture, no "eye" and no common sense. Traditional buildings are not ugly. TWO: Modernist ideologues successfully campaign against traditional architecture and say "you can't do that anymore." They don't say the reason you sometimes can't...http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/architects.html Traffic Engineers- April 23, 2007 Click on the photos for larger images. The entrance to the Berrien County Silver Beach Park, looking from the beach towards the town center of St. Joseph, Michigan. TRAFFIC ENGINEERS design most of the United States, and this photo shows one of the many problems with that. When designing the...http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/traffic_enginee.html Lawyers- April 23, 2007 HERE's the "structure" they're referring to: I understand that there's no railing on the pier, but can't they say something as simple as that This is not Philip Howard's The Death of Common Sense, but we're getting there. I'd be willing to bet that the engineers who designed the pier...http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/lawyers.html As usual, Kunstler puts things in a colorful way.- April 22, 2007 At Alter Net, James Howard Kunstler presents Ten Ways to Prepare for a Post-Oil Society: The best way to feel hopeful about our looming energy crisis is to get active now and prepare for living arrangements in a post-oil society. Out in the public arena, people frequently twang on me...http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/as_usual_kunstl.html He'll turn Manhattan into an isle of joy ()- April 21, 2007 MAYOR BLOOMBERG may give the city good news tomorrow. The New York Times reports: With New Yorks population expected to grow by one million in two decades, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will call on Sunday for a raft of ambitious and sometimes contentious proposals that are intended to ease traffic...http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/hell_turn_manha.html Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in!- April 18, 2007 I keep telling myself I won't put any more silly "experimental" fantasies on my blog -- and then I see a one-note joke like this and just can't help myself. Three years ago, I wrote about a particularly silly work, "Towers that lean! What will they think of next" I...http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/just_when_you_t.html New Urbanism in New York- April 15, 2007 CNU New York, the newest chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, will hold its first public event at the Municipal Art Society on Wednesday, April 25th -- creating a lively exchange of ideas on urbanism in New York and the value of Robert Moses as a role model...http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/new_urbanism_in.html Theory v Experience (from the Urbanists list)- April 14, 2007 UPDATE II: David tells me I've mischaracterized his position: that certainly wasn't my intention and it's not clear to me exactly where I went went off the tracks, but my apologies. In the meantime, here are some more notable campuses I've visited: West Point, Naval Academy, St. John's, Air Force...http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/theory_v_experi.html Snow, snow, go away ... come back in about 7 months- April 13, 2007 We got another two inches of snow in South Bend, and I posted some photos of Coral Gables taken last fall. Captions coming soon.http://massengale.typepad.com/venustas/2007/04/snow_snow_go_aw.html |