Comments on: CNU Video Winner: Built to Last

By: Fashionable Earth

Fashionable Earth — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:22:32 +0000

We just discovered "Built to Last" and love it as well! Reviewed it on our site: http://fashionableearth.org/blog/2009/11/02/built-to-last/

Very cool. AND VERY IMPORTANT!

By: BS

BS — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:05:15 +0000

I just walked around writers square also. The funniest part, instead of having the name of an architect on all the construction, they just have the name of a demolition company.
Originally opposed to the development, I have to admit, I don't miss anything that was pulled out so far. The benches are still there and are nicer to sit at now, hopefully they will stay. The little planters I thought I would miss, but the beautiful trees behind the planters they were hiding are much nicer. The square feels airy and framed by the trees now. Better without the art. The concrete is currently depressing so I am glad they will be replacing all of it, hopefully with something more interesting. I actually kind of wish they tore out the big clock tower too, it blends in with everything around it and seems like a giant obstruction. They are updating the 16th street side soon, which I am still not optimistic about.
It was such a small space to begin with that was made smaller by the design. I don't think they will be able to shake the quaint feel by opening it up. It was a cloudy day, my opinion could change with the sun.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:25:39 +0000

great video!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:56:18 +0000

Off topic a bit, but certainly relates to the discussion of ugliness: Just walked around the "renovated" Writers Square. It's as bad as anticipated, if not worse. Even though it was only 9 a.m., walking across the immense blank slate of concrete fronting the stores on Larimer cemented the notion of how much hotter and less enjoyable Writers Square will be. I just can't believe the "architect" who came up with this design can actually refer to himself/herself as an architect.

Sad. Sad. Sad.

By: pizzuti

pizzuti — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:10:22 +0000

I think there is a lot of potential for previously-built suburbs, partially because the thing that ruins old suburbs is the endless making of new suburbs. Everyone shifts farther out, and lets the old neighborhood decay.

Take a walk around the outskirts of Denver proper and you find what was essentially the suburbs of 70 years ago. But the trees are big and full, some of the decayed homes have been scraped off and replaced by million-dollar mansions, but others are left intact, producing a nice, mixed-income neighborhood. Rather than moving to a richer neighborhood when you move up in society, you add a kitchen to what used to be your back porch. You turn that boring lawn into a gazebo and a garden.

I think when we let the light rail system creep into existing suburbs, they will improve and become more walkable, and there are plenty of pockets within them that can be built up with small corner stores. Cities can add medians with trees to the wider suburban streets, or at least rip up strips of street and plant trees on the opposite side of the sidewalk. But most importantly, the strip malls and shopping malls can be replaced with dense mixed developmens - a lot of cities are already doing that as the malls decay. I wonder if we'll ever get a new indoor suburban mall in Denver; the era of building them seems to be over. And I think that when you simply redo the shopping centers, a lot of the ugliness and problems with suburbs starts to vanish.

Because of the way that suburban subdivisions waste space, there are a lot of undeveloped pockets in suburban areas. Fill it in with proper urban development or parks, and you'll gradually replace the things we hate about suburbs with things we love about the best low-density residential neighborhoods.

By: Chris Frampton

Chris Frampton — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:57:33 +0000

Actually, I just wish that the CNU and others made it about the positives. Insulting the decisions people have made in the past is the worst way to get them to make a better decision.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:21:40 +0000

That was a very very good video.

But it's also very depressing.

Like the comment above said, what do we do with the suburbs already built? It feels too late...

New urbanism for Mars?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:59:53 +0000

SPRAWL=DEATH!

But…what do we do with the heinous suburbs that are already built…

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:46:32 +0000

Amen!