The Sunday Diigo Links Post (weekly)

• British Architect Norman Foster to Design Public Library’s Renovation – NYTimes.com

  I don’t know enough about the affordances and constraints of the New York Public Library building on 5th Ave to be able to have an informed opinion as to the necessity of this proposed renovation, but I’m tempted to file it under the “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” category.

  The proposal sounds a bit scary, like a proposal to press a starchitect’s ego on what is a beloved icon. In particular, the quote by one board member (end of article) suggests a determination to proceed even if warning flags go up. Yes, libraries are very important, but they don’t necessarily need *spectacular* intervention proposed.

  Too bad the article doesn’t link to images of the proposal.

  On some levels the intervention sounds innocuous enough, as it won’t visible from the outside and will affect only the interior. It could be as restorative as a heart transplant for someone who’s terminally ill with heart disease. On the other hand, it could be as dangerous as a heart transplant…

  tags: nyt, libraries, norman_foster, starchitecture, new_york_public_library

• Keynote: Stewart Butterfield – X|Media|Lab – Tech – adikted.tv (beta)

  Stewart Butterfield’s keynote address in Australia (from a couple of months ago), ~16min. well worth watching.

  tags: keynote, stewart_butterfield, xmedialab

• Sun + Water = Fuel (MIT Technology Review)

  Fascinating article about Daniel Nocera’s work on biomimical process similar to photosynthesis, except in this case it’s sunlight turning water into hydrogen. If the process can scale, it has revolutionary implications for energy supplies.

  tags: biomimicry, daniel_nocera, photosynthesis, energy, hydrogen, fuel

• “Canada needs to focus its gaze on urban reality,” by Christopher Hume

  Excellent article by Christopher Hume, commenting on the post-Federal election blues reality in Canada. Key quote: “In an age when an ‘economic tsunami’ can sweep across the planet in days and hours, however, only the quick survive. But nimble we’re not.” Canadian cities are hobbled by the British North America Act and the subsequent cast of the Canadian Constitution (difficult to fathom how it could be written in the later 20th century), and instead of nimble, they’re paralyzed.

  tags: christopher_hume, thestar, canada, cities, politics

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.