Concrete Plants

When was the last time you visited a plant where they create concrete products?  First of all, concrete production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas / CO2 emissions.  It is estimated that the manufacturing of concrete is responsible for up to 7-10% of all CO2 emissions worldwide.  So, when you visit a concrete plant and discover that not only is the process polluting the atmosphere, but that there is a tremendous amount of waste inherent to this process...well, this is upsetting.  The pictures below show some of the manufacturing processes involved, such as the molds which are used in this case to make culverts and other roadwork accoutrements.  Each mold is designed so that when the piece is finished there is a large leftover portion that is carefully broken away.  Some of these pieces are actually quite pretty, such as the doughnut shaped pieces in the last picture.  I asked the plant foreman if they had found a use for all these leftover pieces, and he responded that they were simply dumped in the rear of the plant.  I saw the pile of discarded pieces, and it was huge.  They are apparently too heavy to be moved, the plant doesn't see the use in spending money to truck them off somewhere for re-use.  I would love to see these pieces used as stepping stones (with planted centers), or perhaps they could be stacked to form retaining walls. The less visually appealing pieces could be used for construction fill material.   Or, better yet, perhaps an engineer could devise a method of creating these concrete forms with molds that did not waste any leftover concrete. 

Preservation of Old Signs

There are many old signs to be found in our modern world, and in many places people are now actively trying to preserve these through historic sign ordinances.  The National Park Service, in fact, has a publication available to guide sign preservation: 

http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief25.htm

 What is really unfortunate, however, is that much of the time preservation interest is limited to certain styles or time periods that are considered tasteful or are old enough to be "legitimate".  Many signs from the twentieth century do not fall into this category and are left to decay and disappear.  I have taken an interest lately in trying to record some of these old signs.  Most are along decaying corridors in southern towns, that I see while driving.  Unfortunately, the rural south has not yet caught on to the idea that these signs are important reminders of an era, and that they add tremendous character and value to the historic landscape.  I don't know why this is, but many southerners feel that the only historic layer that has any value is that period between when the colonists arrived and somewhere around 1925.  The Bungalow is the last architectural style to achieve any real appreciation in this part of the world.  Mid-century modernism and later styles are still regarded as ugly and brash here.  But I digress, here are the pictures...

Al-Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt

LAM had an article this month about Al-Azhar Park,  the beautiful new greenspace in the middle of the old city of Cairo Egypt.  The article was written by none other than Hala Nassar, my former professor and the person who took me, along with a group of students, to Cairo to work on a project three years ago.  We toured the park during that trip and it really is well designed and actively used.  What I really love about this park is the textural contrast between the lush, verdant interior and the surrounding urban fabric, which is the color of desert sands and is rich with layers of history and culture.
I took a lot of pictures of my own that day, which I am posting here because they not only show the nice public spaces of the park, but also the lovely Egyptian people. 

The article in LAM can be found at this link:

http://www.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issue=416163142&o=ext&RF=LAM_April2011