Innovation in Seismic Bracing Design

Over the last decade, one new seismic design technology has been rapidly adopted in the US.  The Buckling Restrained Braced Frame (BRBF) system is one of those rare innovations that radically improves the ability of structures to resist earthquakes, while at the same time is completely backwards compatible with previous technology.  (See MSC articles from Sabelli & Lopez and Robinson for more information)

The ability of this system to resist earthquakes comes from a dramatically simple idea:  decouple bending and compression.  To show how easy this concept is, let us review how the inventor came up with it.  An engineer, Benne Narasimhamurthy Sridhara from Bangalore, wanted to get more strength out of his braces (see my earlier post on braces for more info).  He created a simple physical model using a small rod and a plastic pipe.  He put the rod inside of the pipe and applied force on each end of the rod.  Instead of the rod buckling out of shape and failing, the pipe held it in place.  Brilliant!

A typical column buckling under applied load

Because the pipe (or sleeve) is not participating in resisting compression, it is "decoupled" from the rod.  This means that the rod is continuously braced and will develop full material capacity.  The implications of this small change are huge.  It allows engineers to specify braces that:

1. Will fit easily into existing designs, allowing retrofits and new construction
2. Will act similarly in tension and compression, eliminating the need for paired braces at every location
3. Help dissipate destructive seismic energy by steel yielding (like a car's crumple zone)
4. Remain stiff and strong even after the initial event
5. Cost much less than comparable technologies

It's a really awesome invention (patent info).  The rapid uptake of this technology shows how important it is to the future of seismic resistant buildings.  A recent article from India uncovered a little more of the interesting story behind its creation.  It makes me wonder what structural engineering inventions will be discovered in the coming years. It goes to show that the simplest solutions are sometimes the best, and they are hiding in plain sight.

This technology can be applied in even more interesting applications as engineers grow familiar with its use.  I am anxiously awaiting the first use of this in a bridge application.  Congratulations to Mr. Sridhara for figuring out how to do more with less.

Energy Modeling Software

Energy modeling software has become quite important in the last decade, mostly because of the LEED credits involved with energy usage (and the need to reduce long-term energy use because of costs). Energy use estimations in these cases have tended to be inaccurate, for as of yet unknown reasons. The USGBC is now mandating energy use reporting periods in order to track down the problems, and I have no doubt that eventually the problems will be found.


In the meantime, what are building designers to do? A good idea is to use any results from energy modeling as a guide rather than a gospel.

Energy modeling is still a very useful process. If for nothing else it makes you think long and hard about decisions that were once hidden behind a veil of complexity. Lighting issues matter, HVAC issues matter, renewable energy sources matter. With a little bit of attention and ingenuity, our buildings can start saving money and emissions from the first day of operation.

Software that allows one to calculate the true effects of every project decision is somewhere in the region of non-existent or too expensive. But we have great reason to celebrate, because energy modeling is about to become widely available and much more accurate.


The US Dept. of Energy has been steadily working on their EnergyPlus program for several years. This program is the calculating engine behind most of the software packages today. It incorporates everything that people know about heat transfer and energy usage. The one thing missing is a Graphical User Interface. Previously there was only one option if you needed a GUI - you can purchase a commercial package such as offered by Bentley, Autodesk, or IES.

If you can can't afford this, or are just looking to play around with some fun freeware programs then I strongly suggest everyone investigate the new SketchUp plugin IES-VE Ware. With this setup, you can draw a design in SketchUp and do limited energy analyses with the plugin. It won't be enough to estimate your monthly bill, and certainly nowhere near the sophistication needed to qualify for LEED points, but it's a good start. (see the plugins at SketchUp's own site)


It's only a rumor, but I have heard that ASHRAE believes a new user interface for the EnergyPlus engine will become available within the next year or two. This would usher in a new era of energy modeling of the people, by the people, and for the people! Keep your fingers crossed, we may get lucky.

Andrew Carnegie's Great Legacy

Steel construction maintains a huge market share in the US. Structural engineers design steel buildings every day, and most never think twice about the man whose name was once synonymous with the material: Andrew Carnegie.

Carnegie, the Scottish immigrant as industrial magnate

Carnegie did not invent steel. However, he was the first one that both realized how it would transform the world and with enough capital to do something about it. Steel, even the old-fashioned alloys that most engineers thumb their noses at today, was still such an amazing material that Carnegie became the 2nd wealthiest human ever based on his investment in steel.

Indianapolis' Union Station structure bears his name throughout the building

Andrew Carnegie had a great business sense and knew a good deal when he saw one. But Carnegie realized that money was not all that important. He already knew that giving money to people not prepared to receive it was a bad idea. Instead of leaving a large inheritance or giving it away in a lottery, he wanted to do "real and permanent good" for people.

In fact, responsible management of charitable giving is hard work. For Carnegie, giving money away was more difficult than making it. It took a long time to give away so much money. In the end he set up many institutions to continue the process after his death. He laid out his philanthropic principles in his "Gospel of Wealth" publication.

His institutions sponsor all sorts of work even today, and his educational initiatives are legendary. The thousands of Carnegie libraries and the Carnegie Mellon University (my alma mater) are testament to the enduring power of educational efforts sponsored by his fortune.

Let's imagine that Andrew Carnegie was alive today, with the same intense philanthropic desire to help people. What changes would a modern day Carnegie seek to effect in today's society? What progressive programs could a person with $300 Billion kick-start, how could they usher in a new period of social growth in American Society?

I think Carnegie's most successful charities were ones that engaged the efforts of others and resulted in secondary effects. His libraries brought great literature and books to cities throughout the US. The people who took advantage of these opportunities created the conditions that helped the US prosper in the 20th century.

But his libraries also helped create communities. The physical presence of the library cemented the status of city on many towns. The simple, institutional architecture was a visible reminder that people could build the US into a great nation.

However, the most important effect of his libraries was unseen. It was the fact that cities had to set up a permanent taxing structure to ensure support for the libraries. Without the ability to regulate taxes and set budgets, no library would be awarded. Thus, the populace willingly taxed themselves to help the common good.

So we revisit the question: What would Andrew Carnegie do today?

If we view his legacy in light of civic reform, I have some good ideas. Sponsor or subsidize the creation of some public amenity, institution, or capital improvement project and put some strict requirements on it. Maybe ask cities to bid for different projects, and instead of bidding money they bid in terms of civic reform.

Want a new university or voc-tech school? Then put in place a new zoning code that allows high-density development and mixed use space.


Want to rebuild a blighted urban streetscape? Enact an iron-clad complete streets policy and an urban growth boundary.


Want a regional High-Speed-Rail or local subway system? Maybe the cities could enact TOD requirements on top of other minor reforms.


Want a new dock or freight rail intermodal facility? I think it's time for exclusive wildlife corridors or wildlife overpasses throughout the state.


Of course, when the cities are very thirsty for capital projects, the bidding could get even more intense. How about a health insurance exchange program for the state, or a Robin Hood educational system, or even reform of the inane and discriminatory US drug policies? I digress, but my point should be clear by now.

Carnegie's charitable givings were great for their intended purposes, but the unintended consequence of responsible civic government were probably even greater. A few cities here in the US could use a carrot to lead them to better governance. Maybe the Carnegie Library phase of this nation is over, but it's still a fun fantasy for any urban planner.

Facade Issues in Steel Buildings

Of special note to anyone who been working with facade connections in steel buildings is two documents from AISC. The first is their "Design Guide 22: Facade Attachments to Steel-Framed Buildings" and the other is a recent article in MSC: "Steel Framing & Building Envelopes".

The Design Guide 22 is free to AISC members (~$60 otherwise) and is probably one of their best. It has a great amount of information about spandrel beams, connections, facade issues, and even backs it up with some FEA work.

The MSC article "Steel Framing & Building Envelopes" by James A. D'Aloisio, PE, SECB, LEED AP should be considered as an addendum to the design guide, specifically dealing with the issues of thermal bridging and building envelope thermal performance. Basically, if an engineer applies the suggestions from DG22 without considering thermal bridging effects, then the R-value of the wall assembly could be halved (!).

D'Aloisio's has published some interesting details he is experimenting with. His recommendation is to always use a thermal break, and he shows a Fiberglass-Reinforced Plastic shim plate to isolate steel lintels and hangers from the exterior environment. As he points out, many LEED NC buildings are not meeting their expected performance levels. The reason may be because of conventional details used by the construction industry.

Green Starts at Home... Or Does It?

This past month I saw a lot of New Year's articles that addressed going green as a resolution for the upcoming year. Obviously their heart and mind were in the right place. But I wanted to be a bit cynical in this post.

Any home was once an empty piece of land. That piece of land was a special niche in the local ecology. A foot deep of priceless topsoil. Earthworms tilled the soil, butterflies hatching from cocoons on a nearby shrub. All sorts of life forming an interwoven, dynamic web. When you really think about it, that home wasn't built on an empty piece of land, it was built to replace a grassland or a stand of old hardwood trees.

To build this house, people decided to "improve" the land. They built a shell from the carcasses of trees as a shelter, the inhabitants themselves part of the extinction of half of biodiversity and the spoiling of every watershed on the planet. Mankind's capacity to upset nature is only matched by their capacity to delude themselves into thinking they benefit the planet by their presence.


It might sound like I am saying all human development is bad. In fact, that's exactly what I'm saying. But the environment can tolerate a little bad. Just not bad on the scale we've been doing. Going green is all about less bad.

So let's return to the issue of housing. Can going green at home really make a difference? It depends. Housing is a big piece of the puzzle, but the actual houses and what's inside of them aren't the problem. The problem is the way we organize our neighborhoods and cities. The built environment in the US forces a huge energy investment to accomplish anything.

The "go green at home" idea implies that we can save the world from climate change by buying products that are better for the environment. This makes the assumption that buying different things will give us different results. The truth is that we can't buy our way out of this.

Here is a chart showing the best ways to help the environment versus perception:



I'm no environmental saint. My own efforts in this realm pale in comparison to some of my neighbors and family. In reality we all need to go green at home, but it is not the most productive place to start changing. 

The problem is that as a democratic society we are all connected. The choices that people make affect all of us, sometimes in weird ways. When some people stop driving then others are likely to take their place. If people buy a car with a better gas mileage rating then they usually end up driving more miles. On average, its not easy to change social trends in the US through voluntary action.

So without major structural reforms of the built environment I fear that the sacrifices that people make net zero benefits. I applaud all of the efforts that people make, but I believe that going green doesn't begin at home, it begins with good policies. Now, more than ever before, we need to let science guide our policy making decisions rather than whatever it is that people talk about in media. Get active politically if you want to get active in the environment. Do your research, find and support groups and politicians that build their platform on the issues that matter to the environment. It doesn't even cost anything.

A Tragedy in Haiti

On January 12, a 7.0 seismic event centered close to Haiti's capital, Port Au Prince, caused massive devastation. The collapsed structures and untreated injuries may cause up to 200,000 deaths.

The past few days have been a nightmare for people on the ground. The EQ knocked out much of the country's fragile infrastructure. Haiti was a nation that was already in need of major assistance, having experienced 4 full-scale hurricanes last year and decades of political instability. A 7.0 EQ is absolutely a major event, and coming so close on the heels of last years problems is just horrible.

To put it in perspective, California's Northridge EQ in 1994 was one of the USA's worst disasters causing $20B worth of damage and it only registered a 6.7 magnitude. Haiti's EQ caused strong lateral movements, and judging from the USGS map the accelerations were almost as strong as gravity. This is the structural equivalent of taking a building and turning it on its side, again and again.

Very few buildings can survive this type of movement undamaged. Haiti was even worse off because of their building materials. Many of the buildings were built from unreinforced, hand-mixed concrete blends. The images on TV show the results well enough, the TV crews probably don't even need to look very hard to find examples.

As a structural engineer, it is always difficult to see the problems caused by improper construction and to know that many of the problems could have been avoided. Of course once an earthquake hits, engineers are powerless.

Using a list of simple rules engineers can easily design buildings that, for the most part, will preserve life safety. Designers of critical structures such as police buildings, hospitals, and bridges know in advance that they must make sure the structure will be operational in even the worst of events. The hospitals, bridges, and government buildings in Haiti appear to be worse off than other buildings, even.

So why do events like this happen? Engineers understand earthquakes, but that is only one step in the chain of safe construction. Simply stated, it is a political failure. Building codes are rolled back by politicians, with the excuse that they are too expensive. Contractors pay bribes to inspectors to pass suspect materials and shoddy workmanship. Engineers are asked to turn a blind eye in the name of patriotism. The problem with this "build quickly" theory is that the buildings remain and the legacy of poor construction becomes a ticking time bomb.

I am not trying to lay this problem at the feet of Haitians. I doubt many of them knew they were sitting on a fault line. They probably didn't understand that reinforcing is required in columns for earthquake resistance. The engineering community needs to make a greater effort to encourage seismic resistant buildings in developing nations.

The engineer's sole weapon against natural disasters is good design. If engineers aren't proactive in the political realm or if engineers cede their responsibilities, then they will fail in their duty to protect the public welfare.

Anyone interesting in helping the efforts in Haiti should donate to the American Red Cross disaster relief foundation. Engineers wanting to donate specific skills should go to the ASCE Disaster Assistance page.

Happy (belated) New Year!

I hope everyone had a good holiday season. I spent the past few weeks with family and friends, relaxing and recharging my batteries. It was also great to be back in a warmer climate watching a blizzard move through the US.


My mom and stepfather have successfully set up a vineyard winery, with products now available locally in central Texas. So congratulations to them for their hard work! We celebrated the holidays with their organically farmed, sustainably managed, zero-mile wine.


New Year's Day is also a chance to reflect on the past and contemplate the future. 2009 was a redeeming year for APOS, over 100 posts published and I was very proud of a few. Here's a list of my favorites from 2009:

1. Placemaking in Irvington
2. Greenwashing the Construction Industry
3. Iconic Structures (series)
4. Role of Structural Engineers in Sustainable Design
5. Gender Issues in Engineering
6. Icehouse Featured in Magazine
7. Successful Renovation of Local Schoolhouse
8. How Large is Downtown Indy?
9. All Infrastructure Users are Created Equal
10. Metastable Equilibrium

If I missed anyone else's favorite, they are all listed in the Archives!

Looking to the future, I anticipate another year full of personal and professional growth. I have found the website to be a great hobby. I love bringing together my interests in the community with my interests in engineering. Blogging = awesomeness defined. I'm even going to kick it up a notch, as my wife bought me a new camera. 10MP of photographic power in a pocket-friendly plastic form.

Closed for the Holidays

If anyone wants to know why I have been writing less the past month, it is because the economy has begun recovery in my area and work is coming in strong and steady. I also participated in the Greening of the IMU project (writeup to come soon) and I have been involved with the latest efforts from the ASCE/EWRI Rain Garden project (writeup also to come soon).

IMU is pursuing LEED EB (image courtesy of Indiana Univ.)

Green Infrastructure for everyone!

I will be away from the computer most of the holidays, so wanted to wish everyone a good break and I will be writing again in about two weeks.

In the meantime, I will leave everyone with some fun websites to visit:
(Gen)erative scapes
Prepare to have your mind blown

Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air
Absolutely the best white paper/book/opinion ever produced on cutting through to the essential quandaries of providing sustainable energy for an entire country. If you do anything related to sustainability this winter, please start by reading this in its entirety. (Download full PDF here)

Building Green, Being Green
A structural engineer describing sustainable design from her own experiences

Bad British Architecture
Name says it all

Design Intelligence
Blog from the DI publishers

Reclaimagination
An inactive blog, but one from a civil engineer with great photos of a senior design project at CMU (created about 5 years after my own class' project at CMU, a writeup on this topic also coming soon)

Green Building Law Blog
"Pre-Consumer, Non-Recycled Content Regarding Green Building and the Law" - I've said it before and I'll say it again: The LEED certification process has torn down the walls that separate professionals and it has already changed the world. This blog about green building from a lawyer's perspective is evidence of the LEED legacy that will be remembered for many years to come.

Engineering Humour: Movies for Architects

Movies for Architects, by Blair Fink

Dirty Rotten Spandrels

Stucco on You

Girder, My Sweet

The Bad News Barriers

Take the LEED

Battman

The Gable Guy

Flashingdance

Requiem for a Beam

Gone With the Windows

You Got Surveyed

Fear of Litigation No Excuse for Poor Policy

A recent Supreme Court decision has important implications for civic management. In the case regarding the promotion of fire fighters in New Haven CT (Ricci v. DeStefano) the city's council refused to promote fire fighters to management positions after testing results revealed that certain minority groups tested poorly and were not eligible for advancement.

This case is strongly associated with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII in particular), which has always been a contentious issue. Much of what I am discussing here is the court's opinion, not necessarily my own, so please don't bash this post if you don't agree with the Supreme Court's ruling. This post is only concerned with the beneficial aspects of the Supreme Court clarifying an incredibly complex issue, one that will allow it to come to decisions quicker and with more authority.

In the case of the New Haven firefighters, the Supreme Court found in favor of the firefighters, ruling that the city had imposed disparate-treatment based on prohibited actions. Basically, even though the city extensively studied the test and the test-takers it could find no reason to throw out the results. Because it still threw out the results, its decision was based solely on racial considerations.

This case is important because no good option existed for the city. Any decision they made would have been greeted with anger, lawsuits, and unhappiness. It is not unlike most decisions facing civic governance throughout the US. Cities must make decisions to operate, and this court ruling helps cities decide how to decide.

Based on the arguments made in court by the city, it became clear that the city's main motivation was to avoid liability under Title VII. There was no other basis for their decision. The court found this argument unacceptable. Decisions must be based on evidence, not fear of litigation.

Complicated issues must be decided by cities all the time. If no actions are taken, then the city becomes paralyzed. This has occurred in many cities already. The city officials and employees are so afraid of running afoul of legislation that they cease making decisions at all. This ruling has clarified the issue at hand - how to come to a decision when either path presents a prima facie liability. It is an easy solution: gather evidence and base the decison on that evidence.

Cities still have to make hard decisions. They still have to deal with the consequences of their decisions. But they can no longer hide behind their fear of litigation, because that in itself is a horrible option.

Metastable Equilibrium

One of the key concepts in engineering theory is metastable equilibrium. Systems are designed to resist forces, but a large shock can cause catastrophe.

The classic example of this is a marble resting on the dish. The marble can move in any direction but will come back to rest in the middle of the dish - unless it is pushed hard. Then it is given enough energy to seek a new equilibrium position. Maybe the new equilibrium position is inside a larger dish. Maybe it's on the floor, rolling straight towards a heating vent.


The principle at work here is minimization of potential energy. Every object at every scale seeks to minimize its energy level. It explains the throwing off of photons from excited electrons in a neon light, it explains the shape of water condensate, it governs the flow of hot gas up a chimney, and, unfortunately, it means that our buildings fall down in high winds.

You can never prevent minimization of potential energy because you can't stop entropy. However, you can slow it down. You can trick systems into finding a local minima, just like the marble was tricked into the middle of the saucer. This is called metastability. The system is not at its preferred state, but a further investment of energy is needed to push it over the edge. Until that energy is provided the system will remain in its metastable state.

This concept is not only useful in structural engineering, it is broadly applicable. For instance, we can use the principles to discuss why sustainability is important. If we look at the ecological system here in the Midwest, we see that everywhere people are constantly altering small aspects of our environment. None of these actions by itself cause much damage. But if we consider the sum total of all of the actions, we realize that a destabilizing force is being applied.

An ecological system is merely metastable. Most people believe that humans can act as responsible stewards of the environment (e.g. recent tuna conservation debate). The current theories of resource management assume that we can study natural systems and determine where the tipping points are. As long as we don't push nature over the edge then we can optimize our utility of it.

The problem is that balancing nature on the edge means only a small shock will lead to disaster. History is full of civilizations who have learned too late that nature should not be pushed too far. A recent study pointed out that the Nazca civilization may have been decimated by a combination of over-harvesting Huarango trees before a severe El-Nino event. The old forests are now deserts, having suffered a complete ecological collapse in CE500. The people kept pushing that marble towards the edge, never expecting the strong shock that forced it over.

We are now playing the same game on a global scale. We don't have to think too hard to find the next shock to the system. Climate change is expected to be capped at a 2degC change, but could go higher if politicians don't find a way forward in Copenhagen (current rate is 6degC - BBC). This rapid climate change could force our ecological systems over the edge and hurtling out of control.

Not only will these changes devastate our natural resources, especially for those areas fenced in by human development, it will cause our carefully cultivated croplands major problems. Imagine trying to curb world hunger and disease when global crop capacity decreases by 30%.


As an engineer, I am familiar with the effects of upsetting metastability. Our industry is always studying disasters and trying to learn from them. Of course, the disasters leave human tragedy in their wake. Society buries its dead. Survivors return to the scene of the tragedy and face a pile of debris that was once the source of their community. Amid all the calls to rebuild, everyone begins to doubt if what was lost could ever be replaced. We must remember that certain things can never be replaced.

Placemaking in Irvington

During the Spirit and Place Festival this year, Health by Design sponsored a presentation by the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) at the Indiana State Museum. UrbanIndy wrote an entry about the event, pointing out how the event fostered participation and collaboration.

Placemaking (@wikipedia) is about building plazas, city squares, and all kinds of pedestrian infrastructure that supports active streetlife. Placemaking is a great way for people to get involved in their community, because placemaking requires no special skills. Everyone knows what kind of spaces they enjoy, and there are no technical challenges such as fire safety or structural safety concerns that require specialized knowledge.

I don't want to minimize the difficulty of good design, because landscape architects, civil engineers, traffic engineers, and architects must be involved for a successful project. But in general, the public can and should be active in setting goals and design objectives.

I decided to apply what I learned from PPS to my own experiences with my neighborhood. PPS strongly advocates for public involvement in placemaking, encouraging residents to communicate what they know about their places. It is up to the public to speak up about what works, what doesn't work, and what they want their places to be like.

During the presentation, Ethan Kent (working for the Great Cities Initiative) asked all the participants to think about their local places. In particular, they ask people to use the power of ten to organize their ideas. So for my evaluation of Irvington (see earlier posts), I have come up with 10 ideas each category: 10 places that work, 10 places that fail, and the 10 best opportunities for change.


10 Irvington Places that Work:
These places are the reasons that people enjoy living in the neighborhood. They succeed on a basic level and inspire the residents to use the public space as a shared resource, building a community.

Pennsy Trail
This rail-to-trail linear park is brand new, but is a great addition to the area. (See earlier posts for more information)


South Audubon Circle
This park in the middle of a traffic circle is one of the neighborhood's most loved places. (See earlier traffic circle post for more information)


Washington St. Commercial Corridor
This stretch of East Washington Street is a functional and exciting commercial area, with a theater, local coffeeshop and Starbucks, library, old lodge building, several restaurants, and locally owned shops.


Michigan/New York Bike Lanes
The bike lanes make commuting on two wheels to downtown possible. (See earlier post) The intersection with Pleasant Run Trail and Ellenberger park makes for an interesting crossroads.


Historic Houses
Some of the best historic homes in Indianapolis can be found in the neighborhood. They are scattered throughout, rewarding exploration of the area. (See earlier post) Many of the homes create a sense of history and community, turning the narrow streets and sidewalks into comfortable neighborhood places.


Street Festivals
Twice a year, Irvington closes down a few blocks of E Wash St and has a party in the street. Thousands of people, local merchants, funnel cakes, kids, dogs, and a fish fry replace the internal combustion engines. (See Halloween post for more photos)


Ellenberger Park
This place is at the nexus of pleasant run creek park and the bike lanes heading downtown.


It has a great blend of functions and greenery, making it a cherished place within the community. Ellenberger park is a great example of something unexpected that fits in. Just like Central Park in NYC, a good stretch of green can make a great place when supported by the community.


Audubon Court Apartments
Recently renovated and opened to residents, this old apartment building has a unique style and wonderful street presence along Washington Street. The front porches and interesting features make this a place rather than just an address.


Bona Thompson Library
This structure from the old Butler University campus hosts many events and serves as a communal place nestled in the quiet residential streets. It is where the residents learn about local history, hold forums for discussion, vote, and keep treasures.


Irvington Branch Library
This building represents the city's commitment to the area. The library is one of the best and most useful buildings in the area, and it creates a place on its grounds that is used for all sorts of local gatherings and outdoor meetings. It's also a good location to sit and watch people walking through the neighborhood.


10 Irvington Places that Fail:
This section features a list of places that fail to provide for the interconnected needs of humanity. Some of them were designed for specific clients and serve their owners well, but a key element is missing. Public spaces must responsibly accommodate many different users. These spaces have been designed, but the designers failed to put the buildings in the context of the neighborhood.

Old Pennsylvania Railroad Commercial Area
The loss of railroad commuters made businesses move to E Wash St during the early 20th century. Some of the old buildings are still here, but there was no effort to preserve the original storefront area and newer buildings make it look like a suburban development. (See earlier post)


Indy East Motel
In its final years of operation, this motel became a state-sponsored halfway home of sexual offenders, instigating a powerful reaction from local residents. The neighborhood fought a long battle to close this motel, knowing that a closed business would be more welcome than a haven for crime. The empty property is the legacy of a property owner who cared more for money than the welfare of his community. (see story on Indy.com)


Commercial Corridor east of Arlington
Just another photo showing the banal, repressive, and dangerous streetscape found in most communities in the US. Complete Streets anyone?


Dilapidated Apartment Buildings
When rents are low, the apartment buildings suffer from disinvestment and the residents are forced to live in substandard housing. There are several apartment buildings along E Wash St that have neglected the opportunity to create spaces, in contrast to the Audubon Court mentioned above.


Parking Lot for Plasma Center
This one place inspires more hostile feelings amongst residents than anywhere else in the area besides the old Indy East Motel. The original buildings were demolished (aside from one blighted corner building). The new building does not address the street, but the parking lot instead. Combined with the suburb-style pharmacy across the street, it feels out of place. I have no problem with the business, but the space it created is just plain weird.


Washington Street as Urban Highway
Too many lanes, no accommodation of bicyclists, and no reason for being oversize. This road is way overdesigned for traffic. Seriously, how would any area ever accommodate street life with a high speed highway splitting it in two? The accelerating cars speeding down Wash St prevent any street conversations or even talking on the phone while enjoying a snack at Starbucks.


How many East-West highways are necessary on the East-side of Indy? We have I-70, Michigan/NY (1-way streets), E Wash St (US-40), and Brookville/English. WTF? Further east of Irvington they even added lanes to US40, now with 7 lanes of traffic and no median, crosswalks, or consistent signal spacings. The photo below was taken at 5PM, I don't see why we needed this expansion in any case. If you ever needed evidence of no intelligent life on the planet, this would be it.


Excess Greenscaping, Parking Lots, and Low-Profile Buildings
The low price of real-estate during the second half of the 20th century invited sprawling architecture and parking lots in place of the historic and more energy efficient multiple story buildings located on the street front. It also meant that the local roads stopped feeling like contained places that comfort and support pedestrian life.


Asphalt Road Conditions
Another problem with the streets-as-places model in the neighborhood is the patchwork asphalt roads. On one hand it does slow traffic, but on the other hand it makes it appear that the neighborhood does not care for its own infrastructure. The city-dictated maintenance schedule is to blame, so locals have to live with a public eyesore on their doorstep for many years.


Sidewalks with Utility Poles
Why does this happen in the US?


Bell Telephone Building
The destruction of this beautiful building's facade went beyond a mere loss of historic character. The loss of windows meant that the street lost its status as a watched and cared for place.



10 Best Opportunities for Change in Irvington:
This section is a compilation of my ideas for the neighborhood. They are not official, and I have never submitted them for consideration in any capacity. But the whole point of the exercise is brainstorming, so I hope they get people thinking about ways to improve Irvington, or even inspire people to think about their own local places.

The United States deserves better places, and starting locally is the best way to make that happen. Look around you and start thinking about placemaking and the opportunity we have to recreate our public spaces.

Washington Street Corridor Streetscape
This is a project that will be completed within 2 years. Placemaking is the main purpose, so it should be a great project for the neighborhood.


Extension of Pennsy Trail in Each Direction
Another planned project, but with unknown completion time. This one is important because it will add another reason to be in Irvington and also link many of the favorite places together.


Convert Bonna Street into Linear Market
Currently, Bonna Street is a narrow, non-continuous street paved with a combination of bricks, asphalt, and concrete. The adjoining green space is the future location of the Pennsy Trail extending to Ritter, but is being used as nothing more than a parking area right now.


I propose restoring the brick pavers, extending the Pennsy Trail, and using the street for temporary markets and festivals. This would encourage commercial activity to return to this area, adding additional storefronts to the Historic Irvington area.

New Plaza outside Irvington Branch Library
While the Irvington Branch Library is great as it currently stands, the front sidewalk area is not wide enough to support the impromptu community meetings. In fact, there is no outdoor plaza anywhere on E Wash St corridor that would help groups meet and greet. I have seen lots of activities like bike-rides, rain-barrel workshops, political rallies, and similar events in Irvington. Providing an open location, freely available to anyone that would accommodate 20-50 people would add a key place for the community.


Connecting all Schools Together with Bike/Walk Lanes
The many public, private, and charter schools within the neighborhood can be converted into special places by reducing the need for parking lots and drop-off areas.


Harvested Rainwater Sprinkler Park
Community swimming pools are expensive. They also require a lot of built infrastructure. And then there is the concern that pools may be a waste of potable water. In response to these concerns, I propose adding a Sprinkler Park at Brown's Corner Park.


The concept is to make it an educational center that explains where recreational water comes from and how the pumps receive power. If no sun is shining and no rain has been falling, then the sprinkler park would not run. This would teach users that water and power are renewable resources, and it's not just a matter of flipping a switch or turning a faucet.

Because the sprinkler park would have no standing water, it would not require lifeguards or attendants of any kind. The sprinklers would only operate during certain hours, and be freely available. No chain-link fences required.

Greenscaping and Bio-retention area for Irvington Square Mall
This parking lot has *way* too much paving and parking spaces. I have never seen the lots filled, which creates the impression of failed businesses. In reality, it's just too much parking capacity. I propose adding some green elements that tie into the trail. Adding some storefronts along E Wash St would be a great idea too, but I don't know if the property owners want to add even more square footage to this sprawling commercial area.


Brick Paving along Historic Streets
Brick street paving is a great way to restore historic authenticity to neighborhoods. It also slows down traffic significantly and forces through-traffic to other areas. Pavers also turn impermeable surfaces into permeable ones, reducing stormwater quantity and recharging aquifers. Irvington has more brick streets than any other neighborhood in Indianapolis, but we can always improve the situation by adding more.


My favorite neighborhood with brick streets (aside from Irvington) is German Village in Columbus, Ohio. (see photo) Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh, PA is another great example. (see photo)

Transit Center and Landbanking
Indianapolis is moving towards a regional transit system. It may be 20 years off, but Irvington should start planning for a neighborhood transit center now. It is likely that the B&O lines will be used to run a rail system or a streetcar along E Wash St will be used. (See MPO RTS Study Map here) Either way, the neighborhood should begin thinking about how to accommodate mass transit and for a regional transit system.


In the meantime, a local transit center can be established near the main commercial corridor. Some people think they are just expensive bus stops, but they are much more than that. They are not a waste of money, they are a visible commitment to public transit in the city. Such buildings would be the best possible marketing tool for IndyGo - a stable and sure place for passengers to gather with clearly posted schedules. One great recent example is the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit (see Arch Tracker page).


The neighborhood must be ready to propose a viable solution that will fit into the larger transit system plan. That will guarantee the neighborhood an important position on the transit line and allow Irvington to help develop the solution.


24hr Communal Television Plaza for Public Viewing
This is probably my most radical proposal. Instead of prohibiting gatherings and preventing loiterers, I would try to encourage it. Set up a plaza for free public use, one with a large television (or several televisions). Instead of people watching 5 hours of television at home every day (Nielsen average for US viewers), people could watch their shows or sports events in a communal setting. This has been very successful for large events like the Olympics or World Cup Soccer, so why not apply the lesson to public spaces year-round?

Public safety is often a concern in these places, but statistics prove that these places are safer than less traveled ones. People are generally civil and obey regulations when other people are around. The spaces that need additional regulations and monitoring are the places that nobody visits. We must not be afraid to let people come together freely, because that is the essence of community.

A Disaster: TAMU Bonfire Collapse

This past November 12 was the tenth anniversary of the collapse of Texas A&M University's annual bonfire. A few weeks before their rivalry game with University of Texas, the large stack of logs fell apart while student workers were constructing it. The tragedy claimed the lives of 12 students and injured 27 others.


I grew up in College Station, TX, home of TAMU. I once lived very close to the site, and as a kid I would climb on top of my roof to watch the bonfire. That was a long time ago, of course.

At the time of the collapse, November 1999, I was a sophomore attending university in Pennsylvania. I first heard of the collapse when my advisor pulled me into his office and began asking questions about what happened. I assumed it was nothing more than a shifting of the foundation, as had happened before, requiring a rebuild. In fact, it was a true disaster that would test the very foundations of tradition in my hometown.

The event was a surreal experience for me, as I'm sure it was for many in my hometown. I remember seeing friends from high school being interviewed on television, and wondering how the town I viewed as the safest place in the world could ever be the site of such tragedy.

I was never involved in the bonfire, and I never knew much about its construction. As I learned more about it over the next few years, I was amazed at the recklessness of the university administration. The public, especially those in my hometown, assumed that the bonfire was a safe event because it was blessed by the public officials in charge of it. We had no idea that the students would be allowed to be placed in such danger on a routine basis.


This disaster, as is typically the case, was not a failure of engineering knowledge but a failure of organizational ineptitude. The administration had consistently turned a blind-eye to the bonfire construction process. It was a significant structure that should have been designed, verified, built according to law, and inspected on a regular schedule.

Instead, it was merely sketched out in advance, put up and pounded together with little respect for engineering principles, and tied together with ineffective materials by students who spent a whole semester skipping classes, drinking alcohol, and engaging in institutionalized hazing. TAMU's administration (and many local politicians) allowed this to go on because they were once part of this tradition, and felt the bonfire tradition was something too important to interfere with.


The tragedy was not that the bonfire fell (that was inevitable - it was going to happen at some point), it was that the TAMU administration did so little to protect their student body from an engineering disaster. I'm no fan of in loco parentis in modern colleges, but this was absolute negligence.

The University erected a permanent memorial at the site of the collapse. TAMU did undertake a full investigation and thus far have refused to continue the practice. I'm sure it is not easy for them to consistently deny the requests of alumni who want to start the tradition back up, but I do know that the memorial is clearly visible from the administration building and they need only look out their window to remember why it was cancelled.

I don't think any activity that has proven to be so dangerous should be reinstated. There is nothing that will ever convince me that student's lives should be put at risk. In the end, this disaster probably showed a lot of colleges and universities around the world that they need to take a closer look at their sanctioned events.

There are many ways in which students can show honor to past traditions, engage in creative challenges, and help foster a sense of community. But any activities resembling the Aggie Bonfire, a large structure capable of causing great harm, must be carefully managed by those in responsible charge.

2009 Irvington Halloween Festival

Halloween in Irvington is celebrated with a flourish. The old town's namesake, Washington Irving, is honored in several ways along with other traditional authors of the American Romantic period that Irvington embodies. Poems by Poe, stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and ghost stories from the neighborhood's past all play a big role in the Halloween Festival.

My favorite part is the Saturday Festival, during which time they close E Wash St and let the crowds overtake it. It's a wonderful reminder that streets can be a great communal place.


This year was one of the best because of the great weather and the calendar - the Saturday of the festival was the 31st this year! I enjoyed the event and definitely found some interesting things. We bought some art, had some of the fish fry, and ended up with a giant paella cookset.


In general, it was great fun and the costumes we saw were amazing. We didn't stay for the whole event, but I would have loved to have seen the kids and the pets parading down main street.

Several live bands were playing

Death ponders a new form of transit

St. George and the Dragon

Witch, of the canine variety

My favorite costumes (pregnant cheerleader, Bender, and mad scientist)