Social Good

Mark Lamster|Essays

Tbilisi's Hotel Iveria: A Defense

There's a piece on Oobject today that lists what that site claims are the fifteen worst “housing projects from hell.”

Jessica Helfand|Projects

Land in Crisis: The Antelope Valley Story

Llano Del Rio Commune, Antelope Valley, California. Photography by Matt Jalbert."If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."Loran Eisely, The Immense Journey, 1957Under California law, property owners have …

Mark Lamster|Essays

Look Both Ways: On the Streets of Philadelphia

Last week I found myself with a couple of hours to kill in Philadelphia and decided to spend them at the art museum.

Mimi Lipson|Essays

A Place For Ribs

Broad Street Diner, January 16, 2009, photo by Mimi LipsonI love/hate the Broad Street Diner. It may be the worst diner in Philadelphia, but I live practically across the street. When I first moved here, I was excited about having a …

Alexandra Lange|Essays

Standard Operating Procedure

From the earliest days of the High Line hoopla, the park’s future was literally entwined with that of Andre Balazs’s first ground-up hotel, the Standard New York. The reason the Standard is so good is that it is a 21st Century …

Mark Lamster|Essays

Save the Library

These are tough times for those of us who care about books. The publishing industry is in a tailspin; electronic readers and the Internet are challenging the primacy of the printed page.

John Thackara|Essays

The Innovator Next Door

Whether it's narrowly defining innovation as technology, or imposing solutions on communities, John Thackara discusses the mistakes made by large companies.

Mark Lamster|Essays

Pastrami on Rye

A new project: documenting some favorite New York dining establishments.

Lawrence Barth|Dialogues

A Response to "A Babylon of Signs"

This is a response to John Kaliski and Lorraine Wild's essay, A Babylon of Signs, published by Design Observer on January 21, 2009.When the Hollywood sign was erected in 1923 (actually, it was then the “Hollywoodland” sign), it was …

Alexandra Lange|Essays

Rebooting the Festival Marketplace

Time, Illustration by Wilson McLean, August 24, 1981  Once upon a time in the 1970s, the festival marketplace was a treat. Its co-inventor, architect Benjamin Thompson, wrote: “The natural pageantry of crowds and goods, of meat, …

Lorraine Wild|Dialogues

A Babylon of Signs

Installation of a digital billboard in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood catalyzed environmental design protests that led to a proposed new sign ordinance in this city.“There is no reason…why the methods of commercial persuasion …

Lorraine Wild|Dialogues

A Babylon of Signs

Installation of a digital billboard in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood catalyzed environmental design protests that led to a proposed new sign ordinance in this city.“There is no reason…why the methods of commercial persuasion …