The Hyperloop space has a number of competing companies that are all trying to figure out how to move people (between cities) in low-pressure tubes at nearly the speed of sound (1,234.8 km/h). For what it’s worth, Virgin Hyperloop One, which was founded in 2014,… Read More
Monthly archives of “April 2019”
The work of centuries
Witold Rybczynski’s recent post about the tragic fire at Notre-Dame de Paris provides an interesting summary of cathedral construction techniques over the years: The Paris fire is also a reminder of what a weird hybrid structure Gothic cathedrals really are. The ancient Romans roofed their… Read More
Architect Jeanne Gang named to the TIME 100 list
Architect Jeanne Gang (of Studio Gang) has just been named to the TIME 100, which is Time magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential people. Jeanne is the only architect to be included in the 2019 list. Jeanne was named to the “Titans” category,… Read More
Scooter trips surpassed bike share last year
According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), scooter trips in the US surpassed station-based bike share trips for the first time in 2018. Here is a chart taken from Streetsblog: Dockless electric scooters have created a public nuisance in many of our… Read More
Bertram’s Motor Service
One of the best things about writing a public blog is that I get to connect with new people on a regular basis. I just received the following picture from a lovely lady named Sandra who lives in Elora, Ontario: It is a picture of… Read More
And that’s a wrap
What a weekend. Almost 4,000 people came through the Junction House sales office for our neon popup gallery. At one point throughout the day on Saturday, there was an over 1 hour wait to get in. The team had to implement a viewing time limit… Read More
Liquidity network effect
Uber filed its S-1 last week in anticipation of going public in May. The WSJ reported on it, here. These are always interesting documents because you get access to previously private information. Here we can see that Uber’s ride-hailing market share in the US is… Read More
How are condos in Canada used?
Jens von Bergmann (data analyst and mathematician); Nathanael Lauster (sociologist); and Douglas Harris (law professor) have been working since 2018 on a study of how condominiums are used and occupied across Canada. The goal is to use the results to better inform public and academic… Read More
Experimenting at the right scale
Jeff Bezos published his annual letter to shareowners this week. You can find it here. And as is his usual practice, he has attached his 1997 letter to shareholders at the bottom of it. This is his “Day 1” and he clearly likes the reminder.… Read More
The post-combustion era
Over the winter I visited BMW World, and its neighboring museum, in Munich, Germany. I loved seeing how the company got its start and how far it has come since it helped to invent the automobile at the beginning of the 20th century. I think… Read More