Green
Canopy Stairs
Canopy Stairs are a cool idea I ran across in a tweet from the Hager Group. Designed by a pair of graduates of the Royal College of Art, the stairs create a spiral stair case around the trunk of a living tree without harming the tree.
While the whole system was worked out with consultation with arboriculturists to assure there would be no detrimental effects on the trees, there sure is a lot of backlash from the tree huggers in the comment section at the bottom of the article. What they seem to be missing is that this is designed to be a temporary, reusable system. The system is designed to distribute the loading around the trunk and would appear to minimize any damage to the tree. As a Landscape Architect, I would suggest this is good stewardship. It enhances the highest, best use of a natural resource with minimal or no damage.
Find more pictures and the complete article here.
Extended Territorial Boundary
Culver’s Current Zoning Boundary in pink with the approximate 2-mile limit shown in the outer ring.
When I was driving down Hwy 117 the other day I noticed that Mystic Hills has added a couple of new buildings that I’m guessing are rental cabins. I’m glad they are doing well, but I was a bit surprised to see them as I hadn’t remembered any discussion regarding a site plan revision at the Culver Plan Commission. I wasn’t sure how the mixed use had been approved. Then I remembered… Mystic Hills is outside Culver’s Zoning Boundary.
It’s unfortunate, but the Plan Commission members (and me!) were fairly disheartened by the Town Council’s decision to overrule them on the wind turbine ordinance. Rightly so, they believe that this probably killed any chances of extending our territorial authority.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
William Kerr Murphy
My Grandpa Murphy would tell me that I need to be celebrating in the family tradition. Unfortunately at 100 (He’ll be 101 May 6th) he’s not celebrating like he used to, but he has a prescription for a shot of whiskey to kill the taste of one of the medicines he takes every night. The nurses at Miller’s keep it for him. I hope he continues to enjoy it for a long time.
Australia’s first carbon-positive prefab house produces more energy than it consumes
Check out the article and an extended photo gallery here.
Image Source: Inhabit.com
