Helping you renovate and revive old lonely places into vibrant community spaces.
Nathan Marion
BlueTree Consulting
Seattle, WA, USA
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
…’put everything aside. There’s nothing to be afraid of, except a little cold water. Just focus on the next step you are taking. I feel so happy running down the river, sun reflecting off the water, my body naturally going where it’s supposed to. I almost don’t think at all. I just respond to what’s in front of me’.
“…He stops talking and heads downstream again. We slowly pick our way across the rocks, catching rainbows and brook trout. The day passes quickly, and my confidence rises. Soon I’m playing and racing down the rapids with eyes wide and senses alert, not knowing I’ve just received my first lesson in Zen. — The air drifts over my body. I grasp the immediate. I reach for the next hold.”
- Dean Potter
Full story: “A Lesson in Zen”
Mountain climber, Dean Potter, shares this touching story of his first lesson in Zen taught to him by his father during a childhood fly fishing trip. This excerpt is from the amazing book, “Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Business Man” by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia.
Infographics help you dream
… and are great using past numbers or even ‘future data’. [www.coolinfographics.com] I recommend creating various images even when you are in the dreaming and planning process. Even a simple Word Cloud can help in a meeting. Infographics based on made up numbers are of course much easier to come up with, so just be careful you don’t get yourself stuck in a off-mission project because of a nice visual that really took off in a meeting.
The Problem of Venue
by Bond Huberman for ARCADE JOURNAL
HIGHLIGHTS: 1. Three separate performance spaces: a black box, a proscenium and a thrust 2. A street-side retail shop 3. A street-side café, 4. A street-side or basement pub 5. Private artist studios available at an affordable rent. 6. Three multi-purpose classrooms / meeting rooms 7. Individual sized practice labs
12. A communal kitchen
Inspired by stoops
So I’ve been thinking about doing a coffee table book with lots of nice photos of front porches in Seattle.
decks.
verandas.
stoops.
Did you know having a good front stoop, and using it, will actually reduce the crime in your neighborhood and also make your house that much less likely to be robbed? Indeed!
I’m just really not happy with many of our stoops. I think they need some design help. But there are some wonderful ones out there. Just saw 2 tonight on a walk around Tangletown in fact.
Open, welcoming, low, friendly, comfortable, room for a few chairs, bit of a railing, not too intimidating or high, etc. etc. I mean, come on folks… is it really that hard to make a good stoop these days? I know we all want our backyards to be fenced in with high security walls covered in barbed wire and broken glass… but the front stoop should still be the place to sit and watch the sunset and chat with passerbys (do folks still pass by?) and what… nod or wave to a neighbor?! How bout that!
Beautiful Photos
A great blog with gorgeous photos of abandoned buildings around the world.
One Percent from Architects
a great organization helping architects connect with nonprofits to help them with design projects all around the world
photos from a Fresh Foodies in Seattle at Fremont Abbey Arts Center. Food, wine, & community building - how much better can it get!
Photos and posters from great arts & community events of the past…
