Mike's Test Blog

I work part time at a hotel downtown. It is right across the street from a building that provides things like welfare checks and food stamps. The building is called Century Plaza, not at all a generic name. The building often creates a somber, depressing atmosphere. People regularly have to wait outside for rides or just hang out outside to chat with others. The building itself fails to address the needs of the citizens who use this building the most. There is no relief from the elements and often times these people are disabled.

There are many solutions to these problems. One solution I found particularly creative was this bus stop.

The bus stop is protective lively and wheelchair accessible. Additions like this would improve the moods of the city goers as well as those driving by.

Posted by Mike Koenig at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

inspired by Andy Goldsworthy (and our discussions today), document and investigate, through text and image - this idea of energy, flow and transformation through the city.

I think I can relate two different kinds of energies that exist in both the city and in Goldsworthy's work. The first is static energy. There was an aspect to his work that spoke loudly without having any movement. It stood out in his piece with the ice with the sunrise in the back and the rock domes which sat still. These static structures where surrounded by moving energy whether it be the sun moving across the sky or rising tides or vegetation. I compare these elements to the buildings and environments of the city which are surrounded by movement as well. Human activity and weather cycles represent the moving energy in city locales. The combination of the static man made structures and energy moving around and interacting is essential in Andy's work and city life.

Posted by Mike Koenig at 5:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)