By Philip Proefrock •
December 29, 2007
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the Portland Cement Association (PCA) have announced their “Concrete Thinking for a Sustainable World” student design competition.
This is the third year for the competition. The concrete industry is looking for opportunities to boost the perception of concrete as a green material, since the mining, processing and transportation of concrete is responsible for 8% of all carbon dioxide produced by human activity.
By Kristin Dispenza •
December 25, 2007
Communities full of “McMansions” seem to be everywhere these days, and they have plenty of buyers standing at the ready. Many of these oversized suburban homes are considered starter homes, making it easy to forget that the majority of middle income Americans will never be able to afford such a house in their lifetime.
This fall, the City of Portland sponsored the Portland Courtyard Housing Design Competition, which solicited ideas for urban infill housing that would appeal to families with children. In the face of rising housing costs, Portland has identified shared courtyards as offering similar lifestyle benefits to detached housing, while remaining affordable and increasing urban density.
The competition brief requested that entrants pay particular attention to the potentially conflicting roles of the courtyard space itself. Could a recreational space share turf with automobiles? Could the courtyard offer homeowners some privacy while still being connected to the larger streetscape? And could it fulfill all of these criteria while still functioning sustainably?
