Tag: atc

• The Tesla Easter egg

  I was rushing to get to a real estate forum dinner last night and so instead of walking — which is normally what I would have done — I decided to grab an UberX. As some of you might be aware, I like UberX. It’s convenient to use. And the fares are cheaper than regular taxis. So why wouldn’t I use it?

  But last night I got an extra treat. A guy named Mike picked me up in his Tesla Model S:

  I snagged the @TeslaMotors Easter egg on @Uber_TOR 🙂 #uberx pic.twitter.com/JFrN47hdB4

  — Brandon G. Donnelly (@donnelly_b)

  December 3, 2014

  //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  According to Mike there are two of these “Easter eggs“ in the UberX Toronto fleet, which I was also told is now up to hundreds of cars. So it’s not everyday that you’ll get picked up in a Tesla.

  If you’ve never been in a Tesla, the first thing you’ll likely notice is the absolutely epic screen that sits in the dash. Most people’s laptops don’t have a screen this big. It’s gorgeous.

  But there are a bunch of small details that also standout. For example, the door handles sit flush with the door until they’re needed. Here’s a video of how they work:

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxavZ2QxuLY]

  But the real question that is probably on your mind is: Why is some guy with a Tesla driving around Toronto offering rides via UberX? That was certainly one of the first questions I asked him after I got in the car.

  And the answer is that he does it for fun.

  He actually owns a medical clinic in Markham, but comes downtown on the evenings and weekends to drive around and meet new people. In fact, he called it the “best networking tool on the planet.” Because as soon as he picks people up in his Tesla, they immediately take him seriously and want to have a conversation. That has translated into business relationships and even invites to parties. As in, he drives a group to a party and they ask him to come in — which he said he often does.

  If he really took it seriously and did it full-time, he figures he could make around $40,000 – 50,000 a year driving for UberX. And I believe that’s close to what a regular taxi driver would make. But again, that’s not why he’s doing it. Isn’t it interesting how things change?

  2014.12.04

• A video and conversation about laneways

  Two weeks ago I gave a brief presentation at The Laneway Project’s inaugural summit here in Toronto. I then wrote about it here on ATC.

  At the time, I wasn’t sure if the event was being filmed or not, but it turns out it was. So here is my presentation from the event. It’s just over 7 minutes. Click here if you can’t see it below.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdMNC1BtUz8]

  If you’d like to see the other 5 presentations and the Q&A session, click here. 

  Following the event, I was also interviewed by a radio show out of Calgary called Space + Place. If you are really into laneways and would like to listen to that as well, go here.

  I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: I continue to be amazed by how much interest there is — both here in Toronto and elsewhere — in laneways. They may be overlooked today, but that’s going to change. It’s inevitable.

  2014.12.03

• 47.55 square meters in Tokyo

  I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese culture.

  A lot of that has to do with how design and technology seem to permeate the culture. But it also has to do with how dichotomous the culture feels to me. On the one hand they’re at the forefront of design and technology, and on the other hand they are very much steeped in tradition. It has always felt like a unique and special place to me.

  So today on ATC I thought I would share a piece of Japanese architecture that I found on Dezeen. It’s a 47.55 square meter (512 square foot) apartment in Tokyo that was recently renovated by Yuichi Yoshida & Associates. 

  Here are three views of the main living area:

  

  

  

  Here’s the view from the main entrance:

  

  Here’s the walk-in-closet/storage area (notice how the exposed concrete walls have been dabbed with plaster):

  

  And here’s the floor plan (I’m guessing sub entrance means secondary entrance):

  

  The first thing that struck me was the lack of a traditional bedroom. It’s basically a nook with a bed and sliding doors. But that was obviously done to give more space to the remainder of the apartment and the main living area, which they label as the “reception area.” The idea was that this space could be used for both living and working, and so they wanted a large open space.

  The other thing that stood out for me was the amount of storage and shelving throughout the apartment. There’s a bookshelf as you walk in. There are drawers under the bed. There’s a walk-in-closet with floor to ceiling shelving. And if you look closely at the upper track for the sliding bedroom doors, you’ll see a small ledge that was purposefully created for storage and display.

  It all seems very Japanese to me.

  It’s a small space and yet there’s no absolutely zero clutter. I love how organized everything seems. For many of you, this space may be a bit too sparse (even with that hammock!). But there’s something really nice about the simplicity of it all. It’s peaceful.

  Images: Katsumi Hirabayashi via Dezeen

  2014.12.03

• Community building on the east side of downtown

  

  Yesterday evening I went to the Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery District. I had actually never been before, but it was something that I had been meaning to check out for a few years now. And it was wonderful. If you’ve never been, I would highly recommend you go. This past weekend was the opening weekend and it runs all throughout Advent until Sunday, December 21st.

  For those of who might not be aware, the Christmas Market festivity is a longstanding tradition that originated primarily in German-speaking Europe. Accounts of a “December market” were found as early as the end of the 13th century. The Toronto Christmas Market is a slightly more recent tradition (it’s only about 5 years old), but it was already selected as one of the world’s best.

  But Christmas carollers and hot toddies aside, the Market is also a fantastic opportunity to see the Distillery District in all its glory. Every time I visit the Distillery, I can’t help but feel how lucky we are to have a district like this in the city. The architecture and scale of the place is incredible and – alongside the Toronto Islands and Kensington Market, sometimes – it’s pretty much the only car free zone we have.

  However as someone who lived near the Distillery District in its early days, I remember how much of an “island” it was when it first opened. It felt disconnected from the rest of the city and the only way to get people there was to hold a special event. The retailers and galleries struggled and many didn’t last.

  With all the condos that have been built, literally on top of the neighborhood, that has changed dramatically. Today the area has become much more balanced as a mixed-use community. But the real tipping point, I think, will come next year when Toronto hosts the Pan Am Games and the West Don Lands neighborhood starts to come online just to the east of Cherry Street.

  

  Now all of a sudden the Distillery District won’t feel like the edge of downtown anymore, it will feel more like the middle of it. As my friend Alex Bozikovic of the Globe and Mail pointed out to me this weekend, the Pan Am Games are going to put the east side of downtown on people’s radars. And I would completely agree. Once that happens, the Distillery District will finally start to reach its maximum potential.

  2014.12.01

• The case for not being mean

  Startup guru Paul Graham writes really interesting essays. Judging by the date stamps on his website, he’s been easily doing it for more than a decade. And he’s gotten really good at it – everyone in the startup community reads them. Whenever he posts one, I know I read it. No question. 

  His most recent essay is called: Mean People Fail. And in it, he argues that the structural changes that have happened in our economy have also meant a reversal in the correlation between “meanness” and success. I know that might sound a bit funny, but hear him out:

  For most of history success meant control of scarce resources. One got that by fighting, whether literally in the case of pastoral nomads driving hunter-gatherers into marginal lands, or metaphorically in the case of Gilded Age financiers contending with one another to assemble railroad monopolies. For most of history, success meant success at zero-sum games. And in most of them meanness was not a handicap but probably an advantage.

  That is changing. Increasingly the games that matter are not zero-sum. Increasingly you win not by fighting to get control of a scarce resource, but by having new ideas and building new things.

  That has always been the case for thinkers, which is why this trend began with them. When you think of successful people from history who weren’t ruthless, you get mathematicians and writers and artists. The exciting thing is that their m.o. seems to be spreading. The games played by intellectuals are leaking into the real world, and this is reversing the historical polarity of the relationship between meanness and success.

  This makes sense to me. But the other reason I find this interesting is because I’ve wondered before if I should be more of an asshole in my professional life. Some people are really good at being assholes. I’m not. It’s not in my nature. When I manage and work with people, I’d rather try and create intrinsic motivation as opposed to using some form of brute force. In my view, the latter burns social capital.

  So if you happen to be of the same mindset, you might like to hear that you’re probably sitting on the right trend line. Don’t be mean.

  2014.11.30

• People in big cities walk faster

  

  One of the most interesting things about cities is that as they grow their “urban metabolism” also tends to increase. People become more productive. Economic output increases. It becomes easier to hail a cab (which is a test I like to use). And, according to this recent article by CityLab, people walk faster.

  Yes, research has shown that there’s a correlation between population size and the speed in which people walk. And some of the studies go as far back as the 1970s – like this one from psychologists Marc and Helen Bernstein:

  

  In many ways, this makes intuitive sense. Life in the big city is a fast paced one. But why exactly do people start literally walking faster? The most probable answer seems to be, quite simply, that time is money. Subsequent research from the 1980s and 1990s has revealed that the best predictor of fast walking is economic output.

  When a city grows larger, they wrote, wage rate and cost of living increase, and with that the value of a resident’s time. As a result, “economizing on time becomes more urgent and life becomes more hurried and harried,” Walmsley and Lewis suggest. (Source: CityLab)

  The first thing that crossed my mind when reading all of this is that there must be some sort of upper limit. Humans don’t just keep walking faster and faster as the city in which they live in grows bigger. If that were the case, the mega cities of the world – such as Tokyo – would have people sprinting around all the time. But that’s obviously not the case.

  So this is a topic that could probably use some more data. And I would imagine it would be a lot easier to collect today given that we all now walk around with mobile sensors in our pockets (our smartphones). And pretty soon we may have mobile sensors on our wrists (smart watches).

  I would certainly like to see more data on this. The idea of an “urban metabolism” has always interested me.

  Image: Dundas Square, Toronto via Flickr

  2014.11.30

• Fun Friday: Toronto Skyline Porn [Video]

  This video of Toronto has been making the rounds online over the past few days (click here if you can’t see it below):

  //player.vimeo.com/video/112944154

  It was created by 25-year-old filmmaker Ryan Emond and the aerial shots were filmed using a drone.

  He also made this one a few years ago called Toronto Tempo (click here if you can’t see it below):

  //player.vimeo.com/video/30788720

  I love his passion for this city. 10 years ago, it felt like it was almost fashionable to hate on Toronto. Young people would always talk about moving to some other more exciting city. But that has completely changed. Today there’s a real passion for this city. And I love that.

  2014.11.28

• 5 city builders who read Architect This City

  

  A few weeks ago I wrote about showcasing the Architect This City community. The idea was that there are lots of interesting and talented people who subscribe to this blog, but that there’s no scalable way for me to connect with everyone.

  So I wanted to provide an opportunity for you to share a bit about yourself on this blog. I could selfishly learn more about the kinds of people who read ATC; you and/or your company could benefit from a bit of exposure; and you all could get the opportunity to connect with one another.

  I didn’t get quite as many responses as I thought I would — which is partially why it has taken me so long to write this post — but I did get a lot of positive feedback on the idea. So I’m excited to share 5 of the people and companies that did respond.

  Darren Davis @ Auckland Transport (Auckland, New Zealand)

  Proudly car-free Principal Public Transport Planner, and arch transit nerd, at Auckland Transport. Auckland Transport is in the midst of the biggest redesign of the city’s public transport system since the introduction of electric trams in 1902. We are taking a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine public transport by going back to first principles, in an exercise inspired by Human Transit and strongly influenced by its author, Jarrett Walker. 

  Travis Goodhand @ Entuitive (Calgary, Canada)

  We are a consulting engineering practise — structural, building envelope, restoration, and special projects & renovations — bringing together engineering and intuition to enhance building performance. Entuitive is creative, collaborative, and advanced.

  Taya Cook, Development Director @ Urban Capital (Toronto, Canada)

  We develop forward thinking condominiums with a focus on urban location, fantastic design and superior customer experience. I work there. Really B, do you need more reasons for awesomeness?

  Sara Parratt-halbert @ South Yorkshire Forest Partnership (Sheffield, UK)

  Currently managing a Europe-wide €4m ERDF funded project, ‘Stimulating Enterprising Environments for Development and Sustainability’ (SEEDS).  SEEDS is working with 8 partners across 6 countries towards establishing acceptance of the temporary use of abandoned places and spaces as an integral part of longer term planning.

  Cynthia Mykytyshyn @ Urbanspace Gallery (Toronto, Canada)

  Urbanspace Gallery is a unique venue, dedicated to diverse exhibitions and events that explore how cities work and how we might improve them. Our purpose is to present issues related to community, public space, housing, transportation, planning, governance, and sustainability (among others) in order to further the discussion about our own city and others around the world, while fostering a space of learning and reflection.

  Most of the people who responded were from Toronto and Canada. And that’s not surprising given how local a lot of my content is. Half of the ATC reader base is currently from Canada.

  

  But I did also get emails from many other places all around the world. It always amazes me to see where people are reading from. My only wish is that I could learn more from them (you). So drop me a line. I hope to do another community profile sometime soon.

  Many thanks to everyone who responded!

  Image: How Does Your Neighbourhood Grow? (Urbanspace Gallery)

  2014.11.28

• How to apply for information

  This morning I was at Toronto City Hall looking for old drawings of a building that I’m now working on. While I was there, I also ran into John Tory, and so I was given the opportunity to congratulate him in person on his recent mayoral win. But that’s irrelevant to this discussion.

  What I instead want to talk about is access to information.

  We are living in a world that produces an unprecedented amount of data and information. Back in 2010, Eric Schmidt – the former CEO of Google – quite famously stated that we were creating as much information in the span of 2 days as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003. And that was 4 years ago. So I can only imagine what the numbers look like today. The internet is basically a giant data generating machine.

  But a lot of that information isn’t all that useful and much of the really useful information that’s out there isn’t yet digitally accessible in the ways that we have now become accustomed to. For example, for me to access old drawings and documents for a building in Toronto, I had to do the following…

  First, I had to file what’s called an Application for Routine Disclosure. It was a 2-page form that I was able to submit to the city over email. The fee for this application was $66.60. Once the city confirmed receipt of this application, they then went looking in their archives for any drawings and documents that might exist.

  After about a week, I called them up and they informed me that drawings had been found and I could now setup an appointment between the hours of 8:30am and 11:30am, Monday to Friday. I went in the next day and the lady – who was very helpful I must say – presented me with a stack of microfiche sheets (I think that’s what they’re called).

  I then took these sheets and walked over to a machine (shown below) where I could inspect the drawings. Everything about the machine had to be reversed. In order to get the drawings to show up properly, I had to put the microfiche sheets in upside down and mirrored left-to-right. 

  

  As I looked through the sheets, I was then instructed to demarcate – with a post-it note – which drawings I wanted a copy of. At the end of it all, the lady filled out another form that would be sent to a printing shop who would then convert these microfiche drawings into PDF files for me. I think that will end up costing a few hundred dollars when it’s all said and done.

  However, at this point, I also learned that this procedure applied only to drawings, and not to any of the other documents that I was able to find on the microfiche sheets. For non-drawing documents, I actually had to file what’s called a Freedom of Information application at a separate counter upstairs. So I did that. I applied to free the information. It was only $5, but the turnaround time for that is 30 days.

  Now, I realize that we’re talking about old drawings and documents. Some of them were from the 1940s. But I’m a big believer in the value of open information. And so today was a good reminder to me that, even though we now have a tremendous amount of useful information at our fingertips, there’s still lots of valuable information that’s really difficult to get.

  2014.11.26

• A revolution in personal mobility

  

  In the spirit of Startup Weekend, I thought it would be interesting to go back in time and pretend to pitch one of the most disruptive innovations of the 19th century: the automobile.

  Typically pitches start by first outlining the problem. The idea is to make your audience aware of the pain point, so that they feel excited when you ultimately pitch your solution.

  In the case of cars, the incumbent technology would have been horses. So I can imagine somebody standing up and talking about how horses are slow and how they drop stinky poo all over our city streets. And that the time has come for a revolution in personal mobility! Enough of this crap! 🙂

  But while many of us probably can’t imagine a world without cars, try and put yourself in the shoes of somebody at the end of the 19th century who can’t imagine a world without horses. And then think about all the things we have subsequently done to make cars thrive:

  • We paved roads and created networks of freeways.
  • We invented rules of the road to ensure that people were operating these new devices properly.
  • We created a licensing system to ensure that anybody who was operating a car was doing so relatively safely and following the rules that had been created.
  • We created schools that taught people how to be better drivers.
  • We started insuring cars for when accidents inevitably happened.
  • We started having to accept fatal car accident and pedestrian deaths.
  • We built networks of gas stations. As of 2004, there were 168,000 retail locations selling gas in the United States.
  • We had to give over large land masses to parking. In fact, we reorganized entire cities so that the car could be better accommodated.
  • And we setup government transportation divisions to make sure the needs of the car were always being met.

  This is a long list of things we had to do to make cars possible and I’m sure there are many others that I have missed. Today, we all know how disruptive cars have been and we’re certainly questioning many of the things we have done. But we also accept this list as being largely normative.

  However, before they were the norm, they were insurmountable challenges. How will we teach everyone how to drive these new cars? How will we minimize accidents? How will we make it easy for people to refuel their cars? Where will people store them when they’re not using them?

  There were a lot of moving parts to figure out. 

  Which is why people like Paul Graham have argued that the best ideas almost have to live in your unconscious mind. Because your conscious mind would simply reject them as viable options as soon as you started thinking about all the required moving parts. I guess that’s why they say there’s a very fine line between crazy and brilliant.

  Image: Benz Velo

  2014.11.25