STAR Tour Sizzle Reel!

STAR_Tour_3m.m4v Watch on Posterous

This is the first pass at the promotional video for the tour. This first video introduces the inspiration for the tour which is to shine a light on great examples of American Architecutre and Urbanism. The next video will be about what we hope to accomplish on this tour. Last, but not least, we'll introduce the EM-50 and why we chose that vehicle. Please let me know what you think. We're hoping to publish this on Kickstarter soon!

 

 

Posted via email from STAR Tour

STAR Tour Sizzle Reel!

STAR_Tour_3m.m4v Watch on Posterous

This is the first pass at the promotional video for the tour. This first video introduces the inspiration for the tour which is to shine a light on great examples of American Architecutre and Urbanism. The next video will be about what we hope to accomplish on this tour. Last, but not least, we'll introduce the EM-50 and why we chose that vehicle. Please let me know what you think. We're hoping to publish this on Kickstarter soon!

 

 

Posted via email from STAR Tour

Clean Tech Revolution?

America's small towns could benefit the most from new Clean Tech solutions. For some reason that doesn't appear to be on the RADAR of these companies. Instead of taking a back seat and hoping they take notice, we're going to be in the driver's seat and show them what they're missing. Read more at the COECO Ventures blog.

Posted via email from STAR Tour

Agile Development : Welcome to Hackerton

There is an open source initiative called Form Follows Finance over at the Incremental Sprawl Repair blog. They came up with a mixed-use building prototype that would be ideal for creating a Startup Village. There is commercial space, live-work space, and apartments. The total mix of units would be guided by the market and determined by the developer. There is flexibility in the form so the size and scale of the building can be adjusted to suit infill applications. When you take a look at the financials, available at ISR, it's possible to get the first building out of the ground quite reasonably.

I took the initial prototype and imagined a SoBe variant designed for a Venture Capital firm. The firm will use the village to provide office space and apartments for the startups they're incubating instead of just providing more cash. This can hopefully further reduce the amount of cash required to get a new company off the ground.

Not only will this help control costs, as rents in startup hubs seem to be recession proof, but should also provide a healthy return on investment if developed properly. Building incrementally also allows the project to be sold-off incrementally, building by building, so the investment firm has a viable exit that avoids the all-or-nothing mistake of the ghost tower developers.

Perhaps the most important benefit, however, is the building of a community of entrepreneurs. Coffee shops, corner stores, and other uses can be accommodated in this unit type which allows for the creation of a true place that serves the needs of the residents. By creating a walkable environment that allows and encourages small businesses to hang out their shingle the opportunity for serendipitous meetings increases exponentially. There can be a free exchange of ideas, a place where founders can meet, and places to relax and decompress.

Many tech companies have adopted a campus model to allow for this type of interaction to take place. In their experience the University was the only place where they found this dynamic to exist and replicated it for their use. Yet another model, one that also has less of an impact on the environment, can be found in places like the Left Bank of Paris, SoHo in London, and the Village in New York. There are countless other examples, but one that most people are aware of is South Beach in lovely Miami, Florida. There is a tremendous amount of amazing funky businesses in close proximity to world class shopping, housing that ranges from small efficiencies to waterfront mansions, and some of the best restaurants in the world. Oh yeah, there are also bountiful nightlife options.

Of course, I remember South Beach as a derelict no-mans-land from back when I was an undergrad. If not for the artists who made their home on Lincoln Road it might very well still be like that today. However, they found cheap space to start their studio in close proximity to housing options they could afford. That's right, South Beach was very affordable back in the early '90's. Many of the residents got around town on their bikes thanks to the compact urbanism in which they lived. This obviated the expense of a car for many. From these not quite humble beginnings South Beach became, well, South Beach. 

Those cities looking to jumpstart such a Creative Class rebirth within their borders would do well to replicate those conditions. The Form Follows Finance unit type developed by the ISR is a great place to start.

Posted via email from Kenneth Hitchens

Agile Development : Welcome to Hackerton

There is an open source initiative called Form Follows Finance over at the Incremental Sprawl Repair blog. They came up with a mixed-use building prototype that would be ideal for creating a Startup Village. There is commercial space, live-work space, and apartments. The total mix of units would be guided by the market and determined by the developer. There is flexibility in the form so the size and scale of the building can be adjusted to suit infill applications. When you take a look at the financials, available at ISR, it's possible to get the first building out of the ground quite reasonably.

I took the initial prototype and imagined a SoBe variant designed for a Venture Capital firm. The firm will use the village to provide office space and apartments for the startups they're incubating instead of just providing more cash. This can hopefully further reduce the amount of cash required to get a new company off the ground.

Not only will this help control costs, as rents in startup hubs seem to be recession proof, but should also provide a healthy return on investment if developed properly. Building incrementally also allows the project to be sold-off incrementally, building by building, so the investment firm has a viable exit that avoids the all-or-nothing mistake of the ghost tower developers.

Perhaps the most important benefit, however, is the building of a community of entrepreneurs. Coffee shops, corner stores, and other uses can be accommodated in this unit type which allows for the creation of a true place that serves the needs of the residents. By creating a walkable environment that allows and encourages small businesses to hang out their shingle the opportunity for serendipitous meetings increases exponentially. There can be a free exchange of ideas, a place where founders can meet, and places to relax and decompress.

Many tech companies have adopted a campus model to allow for this type of interaction to take place. In their experience the University was the only place where they found this dynamic to exist and replicated it for their use. Yet another model, one that also has less of an impact on the environment, can be found in places like the Left Bank of Paris, SoHo in London, and the Village in New York. There are countless other examples, but one that most people are aware of is South Beach in lovely Miami, Florida. There is a tremendous amount of amazing funky businesses in close proximity to world class shopping, housing that ranges from small efficiencies to waterfront mansions, and some of the best restaurants in the world. Oh yeah, there are also bountiful nightlife options.

Of course, I remember South Beach as a derelict no-mans-land from back when I was an undergrad. If not for the artists who made their home on Lincoln Road it might very well still be like that today. However, they found cheap space to start their studio in close proximity to housing options they could afford. That's right, South Beach was very affordable back in the early '90's. Many of the residents got around town on their bikes thanks to the compact urbanism in which they lived. This obviated the expense of a car for many. From these not quite humble beginnings South Beach became, well, South Beach. 

Those cities looking to jumpstart such a Creative Class rebirth within their borders would do well to replicate those conditions. The Form Follows Finance unit type developed by the ISR is a great place to start.

Posted via email from Kenneth Hitchens

Tiny House Variations

See the full gallery on Posterous

This is a cross post from my blog, but I've added a couple 3D images to help illustrate the concept.

I drew up this house inspired by the shotgun houses of New Orleans. What I was hoping to do was provide the livability expected in an up market home in a smaller, more affordable package. We have grown accustomed to each kid having their own bedroom, their own bathroom, the master bedroom having a private bath, and having a powder room so everybody's own room remains private. It's practically an apartment building with everybody having their own space. Since the bathrooms and kitchens are the most expensive rooms in the house this tacking on of extra bathrooms is quite expensive.

My solution is a 3 bedroom 2 bath house that lives large. The master bathroom can be used as a powder room by providing another door to the master bedroom so it can remain private during the day. I also provided a split bath upstairs with toilet and vanity on one side and shower room on the other. This allows one kid to be taking a shower while the other is brushing their teeth without increasing fixture count. At the top of the stairs between the bedrooms is a desk to expand the space available. For those families that want their kids to share a computer this is the perfect spot. This would have saved my parents a lot of grief.

The service core including the kitchen has 8' ceilings while the living room and master bedroom have 12' ceilings. This keeps the number of stairs down, reduces the amount of construction materials, and provides gracious ceilings where they are most appreciated. If a larger living room is desired, or a proper dining room required, the plan can be easily expanded by elongating the front room. This house can also be expanded by adding a bay window to the eat-in kitchen creating a larger dining space and replacing the closets in the hall with a bay window creating a small home office.

The central core can be standardized, even premanufactured off site, and contains all the plumbing. The master bedroom and living room, shown in the lovely translucent green in the 3D model, can be adjusted to the needs of the homeowner. Add the porch on the front and you have the completed house. I also have a variant where the core is rotated to face the street which can grow to the front and back, as well. I'll save that for another post.

I hope you like it.

 

Posted via email from I S R Incremental Sprawl Repair Working Group