Brandon Donnelly
Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
Brandon Donnelly
Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
The UK has something called the National Model Design Code. The purpose of this national code is to provide guidance to local authorities and communities on the production of policies that promote successful design. More specifically, it is intended to help people determine what "good quality design looks like in their area."
So as part of this, the code wades into subjective things like beauty, attractiveness, and distinctiveness (see above chart). This is an interesting discussion -- and a topic in this recent Monocle radio episode -- because, at the end of the day, is there really such a thing as universal beauty? Can we all agree on what the most beautifully designed places in the world are?
At the same time, and architect Félicie Krikler points this out in the Monocle episode, there are countless examples of ugly places that are still wildly successful by all other urban measures. Is that okay or should they also be beautiful? And if budgets are tight (they always are), is it better to be a beautiful building or to be a more affordable one? Uh oh.
There is also a temporal consideration. Sometimes the things that were once thought to be ugly are now actually thought to be quite beautiful. Beauty can take time, and places sometimes take time to settle in and find their best uses. This is something that I have written about a few times before on the blog.
All of this being said, I believe wholeheartedly in the importance of beautiful places. And I don't think we talk enough about it. Too often we get hung up on esoteric planning stuff, even though so many of the places that we love would never meet these same tests. However subjective as it may be, more beauty is rarely a bad thing.
Image: National Model Design Code
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXb-yDcJUeY/
This week it was announced that Nike has acquired RTFKT Studios (pronounced "artifact") for an undisclosed amount. When I read the news (official Nike announcement here), I immediately thought to myself, "Yeah, of course!"
Some of you may remember that I wrote about RTFKT back in April. They are perhaps best known for their digital sneaker NFTs (on the Ethereum blockchain). And so this is an exceedingly obvious and strategic buy for Nike.
But more importantly, I think this is great validation for the crypto/NFT space and further evidence that our digital and physical worlds are continuing to collide in some new and very interesting ways.
What this ultimately means for life in 10 or 20 years is anybody's guess, but sneakers are the tip of the iceberg. And this doesn't necessarily mean that we're all destined to live in some sort of metaverse video game.
Another way to look at this whole metaverse thing is to consider it not as an actual place or space, but instead as a moment in time (Shaan Puri makes this argument here). Put differently, the metaverse is simply a point in time where we begin to bestow tremendous value on our digital life and our digital assets.
Instagram is one example of this. Profiles have become integral to people's identifies. We use them to vet restaurants. We use them to vet travel destinations. And we use them to vet potential dating partners, among many other things.
So while sneaker NFTs might be a new thing, there's already lots of evidence that digital goods can have just as much value -- and potentially even more value -- than physical goods. I am sure that Nike recognizes this and it's part of why they bought RTFKT.
The UK has something called the National Model Design Code. The purpose of this national code is to provide guidance to local authorities and communities on the production of policies that promote successful design. More specifically, it is intended to help people determine what "good quality design looks like in their area."
So as part of this, the code wades into subjective things like beauty, attractiveness, and distinctiveness (see above chart). This is an interesting discussion -- and a topic in this recent Monocle radio episode -- because, at the end of the day, is there really such a thing as universal beauty? Can we all agree on what the most beautifully designed places in the world are?
At the same time, and architect Félicie Krikler points this out in the Monocle episode, there are countless examples of ugly places that are still wildly successful by all other urban measures. Is that okay or should they also be beautiful? And if budgets are tight (they always are), is it better to be a beautiful building or to be a more affordable one? Uh oh.
There is also a temporal consideration. Sometimes the things that were once thought to be ugly are now actually thought to be quite beautiful. Beauty can take time, and places sometimes take time to settle in and find their best uses. This is something that I have written about a few times before on the blog.
All of this being said, I believe wholeheartedly in the importance of beautiful places. And I don't think we talk enough about it. Too often we get hung up on esoteric planning stuff, even though so many of the places that we love would never meet these same tests. However subjective as it may be, more beauty is rarely a bad thing.
Image: National Model Design Code
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXb-yDcJUeY/
This week it was announced that Nike has acquired RTFKT Studios (pronounced "artifact") for an undisclosed amount. When I read the news (official Nike announcement here), I immediately thought to myself, "Yeah, of course!"
Some of you may remember that I wrote about RTFKT back in April. They are perhaps best known for their digital sneaker NFTs (on the Ethereum blockchain). And so this is an exceedingly obvious and strategic buy for Nike.
But more importantly, I think this is great validation for the crypto/NFT space and further evidence that our digital and physical worlds are continuing to collide in some new and very interesting ways.
What this ultimately means for life in 10 or 20 years is anybody's guess, but sneakers are the tip of the iceberg. And this doesn't necessarily mean that we're all destined to live in some sort of metaverse video game.
Another way to look at this whole metaverse thing is to consider it not as an actual place or space, but instead as a moment in time (Shaan Puri makes this argument here). Put differently, the metaverse is simply a point in time where we begin to bestow tremendous value on our digital life and our digital assets.
Instagram is one example of this. Profiles have become integral to people's identifies. We use them to vet restaurants. We use them to vet travel destinations. And we use them to vet potential dating partners, among many other things.
So while sneaker NFTs might be a new thing, there's already lots of evidence that digital goods can have just as much value -- and potentially even more value -- than physical goods. I am sure that Nike recognizes this and it's part of why they bought RTFKT.
This week Globizen announced a collection of new city tees.
Each t-shirt comes with a custom hand-drawn logo and playful colors that are intended to reflect the spirit of each place. The first three cities are Toronto, Paris, and Park City (Utah). And the goal is that once this first release is sold out, there will be a subsequent drop with three new places.
This is a project we've been thinking about for a while now, so it feels great to get it out the door. To pre-order a city collection tee, click here. All prices in Canadian. Global shipping available. Please note that these are pre-orders. All tees will ship in early 2022.
If you have any feedback on the tees, I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below.
This week Globizen announced a collection of new city tees.
Each t-shirt comes with a custom hand-drawn logo and playful colors that are intended to reflect the spirit of each place. The first three cities are Toronto, Paris, and Park City (Utah). And the goal is that once this first release is sold out, there will be a subsequent drop with three new places.
This is a project we've been thinking about for a while now, so it feels great to get it out the door. To pre-order a city collection tee, click here. All prices in Canadian. Global shipping available. Please note that these are pre-orders. All tees will ship in early 2022.
If you have any feedback on the tees, I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below.
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