A walk in the park

The big news in Chattanooga urban design this week was the grand opening of Main Terrain in the Southside. This is a great project and one that has been foreshadowed at for a least a decade. The park serves as public art installation, stormwater detention facility, and outdoor gym. The project also harkens back to the halcyon days when broad partnerships were common for us and public projects flourished because of it.

Main Terrain is a linear public space that connects 13th Street and Main Street, mid-block between Broad and Chestnut Streets. The dominant element of the park is an abstraction of our bridges and nod to our industrial heritage in the form of a kinetic sculpture. A series of workout stations are located along a network of paths that then define two large grassed areas. Those grassy areas hold stormwater during rain events and allow the water to be released more slowly into the ground, or released directly into the river (which is preferable to sending it through the CSO to Moccasin Bend for treatment).

In the mid-90’s during the numerous Southside planning efforts the Main Terrain site was identified as a part of a larger pedestrian connection through the district. At the turn of the century, a number of public projects were undertaken in the Southside (off the top of my head: The Chattanoogan, Development Resource Center, Trade Center expansion, Battle Academy, Fire Hall #1, and 17th Street), but for various reasons this project did not move forward with them.  Virtually all of the public realm improvements that were proposed incorporated some form of green infrastructure element. For example, the 17th Street improvement was about more than sidewalks and street trees. The project included a stormwater facility that collected rainwater from streets and rooftops, was to store it in the water tower and then reuse the water for the irrigation of street trees. The Main Terrain site was to be the location for another water tower that was to serve the same function for 13th Street. Alas, that project was not to be.

A concept for the 13th Street corridor and water tower (E. Myers drew this).

Conceptual plan for the north end of the site by Richard Rothman

Fast-forward a decade and the site is now ripe. While the project is perhaps not as robustly integrated or “sustainable” (that word has almost lost all meaning) as some previous concepts, it is a very solid piece of work that will be of tremendous value to the community. What is equally exciting is that this was done through cooperation and collaboration. Foundations, artists, consultants, vendors and local and federal government working together- sounds like the old days. I have the utmost respect for all of the designers involved (especially Mike Fowler, who is a gentleman of the highest order and a most conscientious designer).

Four of the untold number of Southside plans that called for a
mid-block "environmental Corridor"

All told, the park design is solid. To be fair though, I'm not a fan of the pedestrian light fixtures. When I saw them, I immediately thought of the immortal words of DeAndre Cole. I suspect that someone in public works got a deal on them and shoehorned them in there. A minor quibble though, for as bad as the fixtures are, the space and art are strong enough to overcome them.

oooooooowheeee, what up with that?

On a tangential note, I have a comment on a current national trend. I am saddened by the concept that art in public space has “do something” to justify its existence.  Virtually every new public space in our country is now driven by utility. People aren’t content to commission objects of beauty for their own sake; they force them to serve a purpose- to be a seating surface, an exercise apparatus, a water filter, a pencil sharpener, an energy generator, etc. It is a high-functioning and civil community that has a common understanding of the inherent value of art. The understanding being that art does not need to justify its own existence. This is not an indictment of Main Terrain as I think that there is indeed a place for interactive art. The rotating kinetic sculpture fits within the physical and narrative plan of the site and the larger district.

I, for one, am very thankful for the hard work and effort that were put into making Main Terrain. It’s a well-designed space that has the potential to be a jewel in a larger Southside network. The product and the process are the fulfillment of promises past, an expression of our current spirit, and a statement of our aspirations.

BTW: If you think "Cities are about linkages and gateways and transitions and transformations" you have an incomplete knowledge of cities...or you might be a transportation planner. Cities should be more about people and places and activities and experiences than about moving through them.

Bo Knows Urbanism?

Oh, the joys of being back in Chattanooga and sleeping in my own bed. I had a fantastic, productive week with our friends in Iowa, but the trip was taxing (I’m getting old). As a warm weather person I was not relishing the prospect of sub-freezing temperatures and snow all week. As fate would have it, the weather in corn country was sunny and (relatively) warm, whilst it was cold, wet and snowy here. As sometimes happens when I travel, I neglected to make time for blog post writing. So, once again, I will turn to what I have watched on TV this morning as a basis for the post.

If you have not seen You Don’t Know Bo, the ESPN 30 for 30 on Bo Jackson, you owe it to yourself to watch (part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). While he was at Awbun I couldn’t stand him (this was before my brief attendance at Auburn softened my hatred for ‘ol API ;). Over time, however, I was won over by his sheer overwhelming athletic spectacle. He also happens to hail from Bessemer, Alabama, which is my father’s hometown. His is a very rich story, and as the director notes, its not a sports story – it’s a superhero story, a legend. There were a couple of things that stood out for me that could tangentially be tied to topics addressed in this blog:

1) What a fantastic example of core talent. Bo was among one of the last generations of athletes that were allowed to play multiple sports at a competitive level. These days, the philosophy is that if a child shows an aptitude for athletics, you have to essentially pick a single sport and then have an immersive, year-round participation in that silo. I wonder how many Bo Jacksons, Deion Sanders, Jim Thorpes and Jim Browns the world has been deprived of because of our fixation on specialization.

This fixation is not limited to athletics. In much the same way that a core of athleticism can be expressed in many different sports, a core of design can be in expressed in many different professions. Back in the day, architects did more than design buildings – they planned cities, designed furniture, crafted landscapes, designed silverware, and otherwise applied their design philosophies to a range of products. In my opinion the ability to think across disciplines resulted in better performance in the core competency. These days, everything we do in society is in a silo – even within silos there are silos. I think we have done a disservice to our professions and to our cities by abandoning the concept of comprehensive practice and thinking.

2) While he was performing at the end of the multi-sport athlete era, he arrived at the dawn of the “branding” era. As noted in the film, Bo and Michael were two of the first athletes to be heavily marketed by a shoe company (Nike). Nike’s iconic work with those two is now famous and made Nike a global force. Let the record show, however, that I did not own any “Bo Knows” product (Air Jordan paraphernalia is another matter altogether). The integral reason that those Nike/Athlete partnerships were so successful was that the athletes were otherworldly in their actual exploits.

I would love to go to one meeting in this town without hearing the word “branding” or “brand”. What is worrying is that it seems that more effort is spent working on image than substance.  If we put half as much energy into the quality of the things that are being branded as we do the process of branding them, we would be in far better shape. Sure, getting the word out about the _____ is great- but it is more important to actually make the _____ great. Admittedly, I have been sucked into branding/media/PR vortex before, so I'm not throwing stones. But as it relates to the city, (which is a tangible, physical thing) what we do is more important than what we say. So, will we be the “Bo Knows” and deliver on our marketing promises, or will we be the “Dan vs. Dave” and fail to deliver on our rhetoric?

There you have it - Bo Jackson as an allegory for the city building . Yeah, it was a stretch, but thanks for indulging. See you next week.

I dunno.

I’m all smiles for the next year (and that makes three of the past four). When ‘Bama is on top of the football world, the rest of life just seems to work better. Alas, nothing lasts forever, so I shall enjoy this little run while I can. For the record, please note that my prediction of 49-12 was not so far off of the final score of 42-14. The Golden Domers should hold their heads high, however, they had a very exciting season and a great run- I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch next year.

I appreciate ya’ll indulging my tongue-in-cheek post last week. Clearly, I was joking- I am incorrect from time to time, and I don’t have all the answers. It follows then that I should write this week about questions instead of answers. Cities are odd things- on one hand, the “rules” that govern them are simple, straightforward and enduing; on the other hand they comprise roiling, complex systems where issues and challenges constantly emerge and morph. Whereas most weeks I use the blog to talk about my opinions, this week, I’ll write about things I haven’t quite figured out.

How will new technology influence our built environment?

The really big in thing in Chattanooga right now is the Gig. We now boast the fastest public internet service in the country and we’re way ahead of the curve on this one. But what does this mean for the form of the city? A brief survey of history shows that technological advances have had massive impacts on the shape and organization of cities. The provision of water and sewer conveyance, the widespread availability of electricity, the car, and in our little corner of the world air conditioning (which made the South a more habitable place) each had direct and dramatic impact on the form of the city. I have little doubt that our new information technologies (including our smart grid) will play a key role in the evolution of our city, but I’m having a difficult time wrapping my head around how that might manifest itself.  I suspect the impact will be most keenly felt in the energy realm, with intelligent buildings that produce their own energy and grid that provides hyper-efficient service. Beyond that, I think the public realm will be influenced heavily, I’m not yet sure how though. 

How will the community be convinced that design matters?

This is a tough one. 'Round here, the deck is stacked against design. For some (primarily my conservative brethren) design is a four-letter-word. Some equate design with governmental interference, or tampering with the free market. They don’t care to see that good design doesn’t have to cost more, and that by raising the value of the whole it benefits each individual. Is it possible to think that we believe in private property rights and in the free market, and still not build crap? The flip side of the freedom coin is personal responsibility- we owe it to ourselves to try to build a city that is beautiful, functional and sustainable. Of the things that I don’t understand, this is the one that most perplexing and the item that causes me the most agita.

How will we fill in the blanks?

Earlier this week, a Facebook friend made an observation about density and retail development vis a vis an article on walkability. The fact is that as a whole, our downtown is not particularly dense from a pedestrian standpoint. A number of factors influence walkability and just as important as a path to walk on, is what we walk by. An area is perceived to be more walkable if there are ‘events” and elements along the path that give the cue that there is reason to walk there. Jeff Speck noted that to attract pedestrians (and in my opinion be considered walkable) a place has to “provide a walk that is simultaneously useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting.” Downtown Chattanooga has a number of pockets of walkable places. A problem is distance between pedestrian districts and the lack of density of the interstices between them. Other problems include things we have constructed ourselves- chief among these are highways(US-27, I-24) and introverted institutional Buildings (like TVA).

We have a few very walkable little districts in town – Main Street, The Riverfront, Bluffview, Frazier Avenue. These pockets are, however, separated by deserts and canyons that aren’t particularly comfortable or interesting. Is it realistic to think we can fill in the voids?  The surface lots aren’t going anywhere, the TVA building isn’t going anyway, I-24 is going anywhere, US-27 is going to get worse. For now, this seems a bit hopeless, but as opposed to the other questions in the post, this solution is apparent if the will to implement it is somewhat less clear.

How will we raise the community baseline?

A sad fact facing American cities (and cities around the world for that matter) is the increasing disparity between the have and the have-nots. Over the past few decades Chattanooga has made a remarkable rebound, and our revitalized downtown has increased the quality of life and provided economic opportunities for a massive portion of our population. Unfortunately, this has not translated into a rising of the tide for the whole community. There are still large segments of the community (some in very close proximity to the dynamo that is downtown) that have benefited from our rebound. How can we comprehensively address the quality of life and provide opportunity for those who haven’t heretofore shared in our success? This is probably the toughest question of the post, and if I had the answer I would win a Nobel Prize.

How will anyone outside of the SEC dethrone Alabama?

It’s tough to see how this will happen. We have an excellent CEO, we have several years of top 5 recruiting classes, and we have a tried and tested process. I suspect we will continue to lose the odd SEC game here and there – the season and schedule are just too arduous. The crucible that is that schedule, however, creates teams that are simply stronger than our out of conference foes. As mentioned earlier, these things are cyclical so it won’t last forever- I will enjoy it while I can though.

I could not resist sharing the front page of the South Bend Tribune- this has not been photoshoped in any way, I guess they just wanted to give me a shout out.

 
"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. "
-Conan The Barbarian in response to the question "What is best in life?"

Parallel Universe

As some of you may know, I am never wrong. From time to time I process new information and adjust my position- but this is quite different than being wrong. It occurred to me this week that perhaps in some parallel universe somewhere I might always be wrong (oh, the horror). What a strange universe that must be- cats and dogs living together, UT with a good football team, a decent Chinese restaurant in this town…

But what If I was always wrong? (I know that this is far-fetched and strains credulity, but bear with me.) If I was wrong, then the blog might look like this….

(cue Wayne’s World doodly-doo, doodly-doo, doodly-doo, doodly-doo dream sequence)

US-27

I don’t consider the US-27 expansion project a ham-fisted return to Urban Renewal-style, big-government intervention. I think that buying a couple of seconds for the traffic passing through our city is more important than the quality of the built environment that Chattanoogans live with everyday. The original US-27 project served to segregate African-American neighborhoods from the urban center where other people worked. Why not- land uses should always be segregated. I can’t imagine that this project doesn’t have to reinforce that segregation, but could be used instead to knit the city back together. I love the few dozen (33 to be exact) stark concrete retaining walls that are replacing our vegetated slopes. I totally buy in to the comment from the TDOT representative that the walls will be “almost art”. I mean, it’s a concrete retaining wall designed by engineers and built by a massive government agency using federal funds – how can that be anything other than beautiful? (In this universe I probably also really like concrete formed to look like something else- stone, brick, etc.) Yes, I think that government traffic engineers in distant cities know what’s best for our city- and if they think that transient cars are more important than the businesses, people, and built environment of our city, then I believe them.

“Those” Chain Restaurants

Dude, in this universe, I am so stoked that we have BWW, Applebee’s and Chili’s in their current forms. That we have these kick-ass chain restaurants downtown means we’re like a real big city, brah. Of course, these bostin joints have their signature appearance, so it makes sense that they would do that downtown- how else would we be able to recognize them? One-story buildings Kick. Ass. It’s easy to see what’s happening in there and you don’t have to mess with stairs and stuff. Those building are, like cheap, so when they’re done and Dollar General wants to move in, it’s like totally on. Have you seen Buffalo Wild Wings – that’s fuckin’ architecture bro – like it’s an immaculate ochre cube with a black and white checkerboard on it, and patio with shrubbery, whaaaaaat!  And Applebee’s is my shit bro- fuck the Fourth and Broad intersection anyway, that’s for cars. Brah, I could so totally crush an Ultimate-Tablegating-Sizzlin’-N’awlins-Fiesta-Lime-Chicken-Skillet-Slammer right now, and wash it down with a cool MGD 64.

Design Guidelines

Design Guidelines are great! They take all the uncertainty and pesky creativity out of design, how neat and convenient is that? The authors of the guidelines all have plenty of experience in private practice actually designing things, so they know their stuff from experience rather than by theory (or copying other sets of guidelines from other cities). Also, the board charged with enforcement will always act in a principled manner to preserve the letter and spirit of the guidelines and will never bow to pressure from politicians or big businesses. Every big box and chain outfit that comes here will understand the rules and willingly change their corporate standards to meet the guidelines rather than try to find a work-around. Clearly, our community has had such an unwavering commitment to sticking to our guns on design guidelines that no entity would ever dare assail them. If we can just get guidelines adopted for downtown all of our problems will be over.

The Role of the Community

It is not possible for any gathering of citizens to provide any meaningful input on the form of the city they live in. The public realm is government property and as such should be the exclusive domain of traffic engineers, and various other bureaucrats who know what they’re doing. Trust me, the government always knows what’s best for us from the standpoint of city-building. Just look at the American landscape from 1960-2008- it is beautiful and sustainable, and this is all due to governmental mandates in the form of zoning codes and transportation design standards. I think everyone should go back to their Swanson dinner in front of the TV and leave the built environment to the professionals. (I’m sorry, joke or not, I actually threw-up in my mouth a few times typing that).

Alabama v. Notre Dame

(Note: By the time most of you read this, the actual game will have been decided, but for the record, this was written the day before the game.)
 In no universe can I foresee a scenario in which Notre Dame beats Alabama. However, I have a sense that in another universe I predicted that ‘Bama would win by 37 points. Sorry, I don’t think the Tide will cover the spread. If you consider that ‘Bama lost to Texas A&M by 5, A&M beat Oklahoma by 28, and the Irish only beat Oklahoma by 17, then you will find that Alabama is 6 points better than Notre Dame. My prediction: Alabama 6, Notre Dame 0.

So there you have it, a glimpse into world in which I am not always right. It isn’t very pretty is it?

Past, Present, Future

Past 

This is the time of year that everyone takes to Facebook and Twitter to say something to the effect of “Good-bye and good riddance 2012, you sucked. Bring on 2013”. I, for one, will not be among that crowd. 2012 has been one of the best years of my life. I’ll not bore you the details as I’ve done enough of that here during the course of the year. I will say that if 2013 is half as good as 2012 was, I’ll be the happiest sonofagun in the Tennessee Valley. Of course, ‘Bama winning next week would go a long way toward making that a reality. Unfortunately, according to the national media, our lowly boys have no such chance against the awesome might of Notre Dame.

Present 

Last week, the family and I packed up the family truckster and headed down to spend Christmas with my folks in Montgomery. I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line I have become a Scrooge (or Grinch if you prefer). I have nothing against Christmas, I’m all about celebrating the birth of Jesus. But I do think the whole thing is overblown and over-commercialized. Even then, the whole ordeal serves in a purpose since the week gives us a chance to reset, visit loved ones and it gives our society a common point of reference.  Despite the fact that I can acknowledge and appreciate the event, for some reason when it rolls around I get a bit crotchety. This year was no exception. On the bright side, the boys had a good time and they seemed to be genuinely appreciative of their several tons of Ninjago Legos and ‘Bama paraphernalia.

My Christmas mood notwithstanding, the trip was melancholy for another reason. After years spent teaching dance to the youth of Montgomery, my folks are hanging up their pointe shoes and retiring to the mountainous West. This, coupled with Baba’s passing earlier in the year, means that my life-long ties to my home state are essentially broken. Of course, those ties can never be truly broken, but they are from the standpoint that there is no longer a base there; I no longer have a “home” in Alabama. This makes me sad. To be clear, I’m not upset with my folks. After teaching ballet in Montgomery County Public Schools for more than twenty years, they have each earned the right to do what they want in retirement (not that they need my approval anyway). They both love the big mountains, snow, and lack of humidity out there, and I’m very happy that they’re going to a place that they love. For them, home means retiring to a place in the mountains, not remaining in central Alabama.

It is the thought of home that I will miss, not their house (ya’ll might guess my thoughts on a garden home in a homogenous development in a 10th ring sub-urb). My gloominess is a psychological issue. The state of Alabama is still there. Montgomery is still there. So, in a sense, nothing concrete has changed. The saying goes that home is where is the heart is. I’m not sure that I can totally agree. My home is in Chattanooga, and my heart is here. But when I think of the word “home”, my first thought is of Alabama. To be truthful, I’m not as in love with Montgomery as I once was and I can’t envisage a scenario that would lead to me moving back there. I have absolutely no desire to leave Chattanooga, but Alabama is never far from my thoughts.

Future

Kunstler’s Clusterfuck Nation was one of the inspirations for this blog. Kuntlser wrote Geography of Nowhere and Home from Nowhere – books that influenced me heavily as a planning graduate student. Every year he offers a post with predictions for the upcoming year. This year he offers a very well-reasoned, but depressing (shocker) outlook on the future. I will again bite his style by offering predictions for the New Year. My predictions, however, will (primarily) be limited to issues affecting urban design in Chattanooga. Looking into my crystal ball for 2013 I see that:

-Andy Berke will become our next Mayor. This is a very good thing.

-Marginal progress will be made in making the T-Dot design for US-27 suck less. It will, however, still suck and we may well have to drop the “Scenic City” moniker. The TDOT lack of understanding that cities consist of more than highways never ceases to amaze. They are PROUD of what they have done to us- witness their website celebrating the three dozen+ massive concrete retaining walls that are the new reality of our downtown.

-The local architectural community will (continue to) step up. I don’t think we’re quite ready to see a boom in downtown building just yet, but there will be some action. I think the Urban Design Challenge indeed challenged our designers to raise their game- it also reminded our development community of the breadth and depth of talent to be found here. There won’t be a ton of new work, but what is built should do us proud.

-The Downtown Design Guidelines will be adopted. Try as I might, I can’t bring myself to say that this will be a good thing. I will say, however,  that there is at least the possibility that it won't be a bad thing.

-I will continue my personal boycott of downtown establishments that show disregard for good urban design. I'm not going to share my list as it now includes some locals in addition to the chains. The bad news is that the list is growing...the good news is that from a culinary standpoint I'm not missing anything.

-Like it or not, I will continue to blog for at least one more year.

-As mentioned earlier, the press is doing everything they can to convince people that Notre Dame will beat Alabama. They have pulled all manner of statistics to make their case. I will make a prediction for the game using my own statistical analysis (that is about as solid as what the DB’s on TV are using). My analysis is based on the last opponent of each team – Georgia and USC. Alabama proved to be 4 points better than Georgia, Notre Dame was 9 points was better than USC. The link between these two teams is Georgia Tech. Georgia beat Tech by 28, and Tech just beat USC by 14 (Sun Bowl). We then know that ‘Bama is 4 better than UGA, who is 28 better than Tech, who is 14 better than the Trojans, who are 9 worse than the Irish. This means that Alabama is 37 points better than Notre Dame.

My prediction: ‘Bama 49  UND 12.

Happy New Year!!

Pond Hopping

After taking a couple of weeks off, it’s great to get back to my Saturday morning writing routine. As you may know, the Mrs. and I were abroad for the last couple of weeks. One of my fraternity brothers, an Englishman from Birmingham (Bur-min-GUM, UK  not Birm-ing-HAM, AL), finally decided to tie the knot. This was not an event I was going to miss. I considered a daily blogging of the trip, but I'm sure that would have worn y'all out, and I’m not sure I could have kept up (to say nothing of the shockingly poor state of wireless connectivity over there). I tried to jot down some thoughts and observations while I was there, but when I got home and read through everything it turns out that it was more a travel journal than it was an observation of urbanism. In any event, it was an entertaining trip and my brain hasn’t really reengaged, so this post is a series of excerpts and observations from the travel journal. Be warned: this is a long one, and has naught to do with urbanism or Chattanooga.

6.12.2012
I'm on a plane from Hell-on-Earth (ATL, Baby) to Amsterdam. It will be a miracle if I survive this flight. It appears that the flight attendants are on a mission to get everyone on board housed. I was greatly anticipating a cocktail, this being the first night of our vacation and having sat on the runway for an hour before our plane departed. I watched with great anticipation as the attendants rolled the cart up the aisle- it was like watching a slow motion wave- you could see the jubilation as each successive row was served. When our turn arrived, I ordered a glass of red. I was handed a 14-ounce Dixie cup filled with the finest boxed merlot that the Deltoids could muster. Kick ass. I love wine and generally prefer to partake in a manner that allows me to appreciate and savor it. This, however, was not one of those times. About a third of my way into the "glass", I looked up to see that another cart was wheeling down the isle, handing out more booze. The first three times this happened, I was fair game. It feels like we’re kindergarteners at nap time and the attendants are filling us "juice" so that we will all pass out. It turns to that Delta Flight 6012 is filled dozens of lushes- and I am not the worst one (that award goes to South African lads sat behind us). I'm not complaining, I've had box wine from a Dixie cup before, but this is quite an auspicious beginning to the trip....

Delta- keeping it real.

7.12.2013
After the booze cruise that was Delta flight 6012 we arrive in Amsterdam for a connecting flight to Birmingham…only there is no connecting fight to Birmingham. At this moment I realize what Amsterdam Schipol and Chattanooga have in common: 2" of snow brings the joint to a screeching halt. All flights to the UK for the day are cancelled. The best the KLM folks could do is get us a flight tomorrow morning (which means we're going to be cutting it close for making the wedding…like, putting my tuxedo on in the cab close. We'll see how that turns out.) The silver lining to this cloud is that we have an overnight in Amsterdam that we did not anticipate. We checked in to the hotel, and then went back to Schipol to catch a train to Amsterdam Centraal. We didn't get to spend much time, but I loved it there. Being unprepared for the trip, we didn't have an itinerary, so just we just walked around (in the bastard cold) until we got lost, then found a little place to have a few beers and a bite to eat. The architecture there was awesome- a great mix of old and new. The thing that impressed me most though, was the sheer number of people of the street. Everywhere we went, there were people (despite the bastard cold). There were also tons of bicycles. I'm hoping to get back there sometime soon and spend a little time (perhaps in the spring though). From the "you can't make this up" files, our hotel room number at the Steigenberger was 420 (but let me be quick to point out that despite the reputation of the city, we did not partake).

My first view of Amsterdam.

8.12.2012
Up bright and early, and back to Schipol. Our flight left (more or less) on time and we're on our way to England. At this point, the only question is whether or not Ms. Rushing’s checked luggage will be coming with us. This is not an issue for me since I packed 10-days worth of clothes into one carry-on bag (tuxedo included). All of D's clothes for the week (including formal wear for the wedding) are, for the time being in European airport baggage limbo. Oh, the anticipation...

Touchdown in Brum, and yes, it appears that D's luggage got here before we did. Not sure how that works but who's complaining. The father of the groom, the incomparable Alan Jones, met us at the airport. I could go on forever about the man, but the fact that he would spend his time two hours before his son's wedding picking up Americans from the airport gives you some insight into the measure of the man. Alan whisks us away from BHX and off to our destination- the lovely village of Henley-in-Arden. We checked-in to the hotel (a lovely number called the White Swan), had a quick shower and shave, then met the wedding party in the pub downstairs for a quick pint before heading off to the ceremony. Off we go, I’ll give you the details tomorrow.

An international, All-Star line-up...not quite Reservoir Dogs.
by DC Photographic

9.12.12
The wedding was held in St. Nicholas Beaudesert. A beautiful church that is only about a thousand years old. I bullshit you not...ten centuries...1 Millennium...a hundred decades. Interesting bit about the church- I noticed that the arch is not centered on the space and asked if anyone knew why. Apparently, in the early years of the building, the north wall started to sag and it was discovered that the wall was built atop an underground stream. So they simply moved the wall a couple of feet, redid the roof and called it a day. Brilliant. The ceremony was an awesome experience, a hundred people in black tie, gathered in a 1000-year old church in a quaint English village- it doesn't get much better than that.

St. Nicholas Beaudesert

Who needs symmetry?

After the ceremony, the town crier (yes, town crier, and yes, it was very cool), announced the newlywed couple and led us to our first reception at the Medieval Guildhall (a youthful building, having been constructed in 1448).  After a nice, warm Winter Pimms, the crier led us to the wedding reception at the Blue Bell- a proper English Pub (and restaurant with 2 Rosettes)  in a mere baby of a building, being only about 500 years old.

With the mother of the groom at the Guild Hall.

Chattanooga needs a Town Crier.
by DC Photographic

How to describe the wedding reception...hmmm...I don't think I can do it justice. Lets just say that I have some very good friends in England who enjoy life, and we celebrated the bride and groom well into the night.

Father of the groom, the incomparable Alan Jones.

Belting out some Sinatra with the groom and a some Villa fan.

Always looking for a chance to show off the Phi Delt pin.

 It is worth mentioning that during the evening some of the lads were having a go at my patent leather opera pumps. I tried to assure them that these shoes are quite traditional, and that in even more recent times they were favored by the likes of Sinatra. I sent them off to do their homework, but was left to defend my “girls shoes” for the rest of the evening. (A quick note on current language: literally everyone over here says literally...a lot…literally).

My new favorite shoes.

9.12.12
I don't recall exactly when we called it night, but I woke up the next day at 1 pm, just in time for Sunday lunch with the newlyweds and the groom’s family. This will be a day of rest: time to see my friends, have a pint while watching the Manchester Darby, then off for a curry and an early bed. The highlights of day however, were the texts and calls of formal apologies from the lads for slating my footwear. One of the men noted that he found a quote saying that the shoes were “preferred with formalwear by many leaders of style.”  Ah, the joy of getting one over on my English friends...in formalwear no less. US of A-1, England-nil.

If they're good enough for Ol' Blue Eyes,
they're good enough for C.

10.12.12
Today we hoped in the car with Bride and groom for a day in the Cotswolds- through Stratford-upon-Avon, then down to Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-water, Moreton-in-Marsh and Broadway. It doesn't get much more beautiful or English than the Cotswolds. Virtually every building is built of Cotswold stone, a honey-colored, oolitic Jurassic limestone. Each of the villages feel unique, permanent, and welcoming. The scale and atmosphere of each place is outstanding. We finished up the day with fish and chips back in Henley, thus completing my English culinary trifecta in one day- full English breakfast, steak and ale pie for lunch and the aforementioned fish and chips. Time for bed, travel day tomorrow.

Stow-on-the-Wold

Moreton-in-Marsh

Stow-on-the-Wold

11.12.12.
Off to Paris. I think I’ll leave that as a topic for another blog post, but I will mention one of the highlights of the trip.

Those who know me, know that I love food. On that Wednesday, I had the dining experience of a lifetime- a meal at Le Taillevent. The restaurant has been called the “high court of Haute Cuisine” and one of the “best restaurants in the world”. They recently lost their third Michelin star after holding it for 34 years, but this is still a serious restaurant. This is the big leagues- high french cuisine in Paris. This is what my mother was training me for all those years ago when teaching me what all the silverware and glasses were for.  Despite lofty expectations, the food and the experience delivered. It was everything I thought it would be – stereotypical French waiters, more service staff than guests, and sights and flavors that I can’t begin to describe. I’ll stop short of saying it was the best meal ever, because the place was pretty stuffy and I was a nervous wreck throughout. I definitely out-kicked my coverage on this one. But in the end, I managed not to spit in the soup, and we had a fantastic meal -  definitely the dining experience of a lifetime (sorry Charlie Trotter).

Also, the view from our hotel room did not suck.

15.12.12

Friday was a relatively uneventful return trip to England. That evening we had a night on the town with the Jones’ for a few pints, a curry, and a few pints.

16.12.12
Saturday is of course game day in England. We returned to St. Andrew’s – home of my beloved Birmingham City Football Club. I have a sterling record as a blues fans when watching the boys on English soil- they have never lost when I've been in attendance. This time we had an in-form crystal palace to contend with. After going down 2-nil, it appeared that my record was in jeopardy. However, a header by Zigic, and thundering a header by (my man of the match) Papa Bouba Diop evened the game, won Blues a point and preserved my record.

Now that we're playing a league down and our owner is in jail,
attendance has suffered. On this day 17,000 of 30,000 capacity.

17.12.12

The return trip was fairly uneventful, minus the obligatory delayed flight out of Hell-on-Earth (ATL, baby). It was a fantastic trip and one that I will never forget. It was, however, great to get home to Chattanooga!!

Ya'll have a very Merry Christmas! See you next week.

People who live in glass houses (shouldn't throw stones)

Yesterday was one of the busiest days on the Rushing Calendar. The first Saturday of December means MainX24, Stern’s birthday, and the SEC Championship game. I didn’t get to spend as much time on Main as I would have liked, but from what I saw, it was rockin'. We had a house full of friends and Alabamians to celebrate Stern’s fourth birthday party. If you don’t know already about the epic SEC Championship game, an explanation from me won’t help. In any event, this may be my last post for a couple of weeks for reasons that I will reveal later. Y’all be good and I’ll be back soon.

It has been brought to my attention that in the past couple of years I’ve been a tough critic on some downtown buildings. I’m not ready to concede this point – the fact is that I’ve been pretty good about holding my tongue. Unfortunately, there are a number of projects that warrant a good dressing down. Our city, however, is a small one- everyone knows everyone. For that reason, I will note that my critiques have been limited to the crappy, faceless, out-of-town corporations that have besmirched downtown with their generic bullshit. In my defense, I will also point out that I’ve dedicated many more pixels to praise of virtuous urban design elements in our city than I have to panning the bad ones.

In my youth, in athletic endeavors, I was known to get a bit lippy from time to time. I was almost never mean-spirited, and it was always a joy to find an adversary who enjoyed a bit of banter as well. That little trait taught me that if you’re willing to dish something out, you better be willing to take it. I also firmly believe in the philosophy that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Although I don’t currently live in a glass house (but desperately want to), I figure turnabout is fair play. So today, I offer some recent work of my own for your appraisal and critique.

I am not an architect and don’t portray myself as such. I don’t solicit building design work, but from time to time I have occasion to either partner with an architect or take on a small residential commission for a client. This week I offer a glance at a couple of projects I’m currently working on. One is near completion and one is under construction.  The first is a home in another county designed for a retired couple. The second is a home in an urban neighborhood for a young couple. I must admit I didn’t consult either client before writing this, so details are omitted. I originally wrote brief project synopses for each, but have decided not to include them. I didn't give the BWW folks a chance to explain their work, so it would unfair for me to do so ;)

So, there you have it. I’m not afraid to put myself out there for critique. Please feel free to rip me a new one. But remember, Chattanoogans live in these so if you’re not respectful in your critique, I won’t post your comment (if you want to be mean, lets go do it over a beer ;)


T******* House

S***** House