Revived

John Chilson

The podcast about cities, architecture, buildings, the built environment and everything in between.

  1. 29.06.2017

    Episode 12: Building communities through breweries: An interview with SUM Design

    The first time I visited Ex Novo, a brewery in Portland, Oregon, I was struck by its design. It felt…designed. It wasn’t a cold space with some chairs and stuff thrown together. There was some thought put into it. From where we sat, we could see the brew tanks, bar action, interesting lighting, the space flowed so…design. The next day I hopped online and did a search to see if it was the IPA talking or if there was a design firm behind it. Sure enough. That’s where I found the website for Sum Design Studio. I emailed them and started a conversation with principal Matthew Loosemore. His firm is not only behind the design of Ex Novo, but also Cascade Brewery and Commons Brewery (he’s also part owner). Over beers, naturally, we talked brewery design, how and why he got into designing breweries, how beer builds communities, and…Spokane, Washington’s downtown. I like to think this episode is a replicate of that conversation, a bit more sober, but hopefully still interesting. From there, Loosemore’s firm has designed everything from residential to commercial to mixed-use projects. And of course, breweries. Loosemore explains how they got started on that path and the niche he’s filling. Are certain kinds of buildings more suited for a brewery? The first time Loosemore stepped into what is now Ex Novo, he knew right away. If you’ve listened to Built Blocks for the last year, you’ll get my obsession with adaptive reuse. Older buildings with new lives. Nowhere is that more evident than with breweries and taprooms. Beer, community, and creating great neighborhoods. The two go hand in hand. Why is that? How is beer a community builder? Growing up in Spokane Switching gears – to downtown Spokane, Washington. Home of the 74 Expo. Burned to the ground in the late 1800s. I had the chance to visit a couple years back and was struck with a solid downtown core and interesting architecture stock. Lots of 2-4 story brick, turn of the century stuff. As a Spokane native, I wanted Loosemore’s take on its potential. Music courtesy of Sounds like an Earful from Creative Commons Vol. 1 (Check them out – they have a slew of great, free music.)

    22 мин.
  2. 25.02.2017

    Episode Nine: Agriculture meets architecture: It's called Agritecture

    You’ve heard of agriculture – and urban ag, or growing food in cities. And then there’s architecture. And then, there’s agritecture. Wait, agritecture? Yep. The brains behind the concept is Henry Gordon-Smithlaunched agritcture.com a few years back as a blog to help promote the fact, that yes, you can grow food in the cities, and look cool doing it. The blog then turned into something even bigger. Much bigger. It's expanded into news updates on actual projects, analysis about BIA trends, guest posts, and reporting on emerging technologies. And intense workshops. At these workshops, participants are assigned a real-world task and challenged to come up with real solutions. Agritecture’s workshops are intense and they bring in many different industries under one roof to learn how to integrate growing food into buildings. From these workshops, attendees go back to their own cities and then hopefully get the ball rolling. So, what technology is being used? The technology behind growing food in dense cities falls on hydroponics and not soil. Championed and used by decades by cannabis growers, many cities are turning to the technology to grow food in places where growing food was unheard of just a few years ago. And, how are they being designed? Adaptive reuse plays a role for sure, but new buildings are being driven by design – and by code. In the podcast, Henry explains how those amazing renderings of vertical farm on skyscrapers could actually get built. What cities are making inroads in vertical farming and growing food? Each city is different and each are doing various degrees of food growing. One city leading the charge? Atlanta. Henry has also seen changes in New York city – where he lives – with some challenges. At the end of the day, what can a city farm or vertical farm yield? High tech farms are very productive. They’re not going to feed a whole city but what Henry is seeing across the US – across the world – makes him optimistic. For more on what Agritecture go here.  There, you’ll find urban and vertical farming news, business, and design. You’ll also find where upcoming workshops including Los Angeles on March 31 & April 1 and Baltimore on April 21 & 22. Music courtesy of Sounds like an Earful. Tracks: Chill Synth and Videogame-ish Intro from Creative Commons Vol. 1 (Check them out – they have a slew of great, free music.)

    16 мин.
  3. 06.02.2017

    Episode Eight: Defining the suburbs

    For many, the suburbs are an easy target. For good reason. Many of the homes are ugly and out of scale. They promote sprawl and auto dependence thereby increasing obesity. They use tons of energy and are a huge drain on a city’s infrastructure. They wipe out farmland. And to many, they’re just boring. I love the back to the city movement. I love that cities are thriving, reemerging and have found new life – coming back from the abandonment following the decades after World War 2 when the burbs were created. However, with urbanists declaring the suburbs as dead, where are many young families living these days? That’s right. The suburbs. One report will say DOA, while other research will say thriving. So, did the suburbs ever really go away? Are they better? Can they be fixed? And what, really is considered a suburb? An article by writer Amanda Kolson Hurley caught my attention, revealing that a famous architect was building a new project in a Northern California suburb. The project? A shopping mall of all things. Amanda has written for Architect magazine, Architectural Record, The Atlantic, Washington City Paper among many others and has written numerous articles on the challenges of living in the suburbs and where the suburbs are headed. In this episode we talk defining the suburbs, how suburbs can reinvent themselves, and city dwellers vs the burb dweller. Enjoy the episode. Helpful links Strong Towns Suburbs Outstrip Cities in Population Growth, Study Finds The American suburbs are the next fertile ground for architectural and urban experimentation James Howard Kunstler: The old American dream is a nightmare (Also read his Geography of Nowhere if you have not yet read it.)

    27 мин.

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The podcast about cities, architecture, buildings, the built environment and everything in between.