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Built Environment

Built environment

The phrase built environment refers to the manmade surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, from the largest-scale civic surroundings to the smallest personal place. In architecture and environmental psychology, the phrase is a useful acknowledgement that a small fraction of buildings constructed annually, even in the industrialized world, are designed by architects, and that users of the built environment encounter issues that cross the traditional professional boundaries between urban planners, traffic engineers, zoning authorities, architects, interior designers, industrial designers, etc. Historically, much of the built environment has taken the form of vernacular architecture, and this is still the case in large parts of the world. In the industrialized world, many buildings are produced by large scale development remote from its eventual users. In landscape architecture, the built environment is identified as opposed to the natural environment, with the recognition that places like Central Park may have the look, feel, and nourishing quality of natural surroundings while being completely artificial and "built", thus blurring the line between the two. In urban planning, the phrase connotes the idea that a large percentage of the human environment is manmade, and these artificial surroundings are so extensive and cohesive that they function as organisms in the consumption of resources, disposal of wastes, and facilitation of productive enterprise within its bounds.

Architecture

Architecture (in Greek αρχή = start and τέχνη = craftsmanship) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. A wider definition would include within its scope the design of the total built environment, from the macrolevel of town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture to the microlevel of furniture. furniture, Athens, Greece]] However, the widest definition in modern use refers to the organization, articulation, and interfaces of any built (or To Be Built— TBB) entity, whether a building or a communications' network. That is, an architecture, in its broadest sense, shows how the components of a built or TBB entity fit together. An architecture may be considered a translation between a user's needs and a builder's building instructions, or requirements. The components of an architecture may be already built items, or specified items (items whose building requirements have been completed), or To Be Specified items (items whose building requirements have not yet been been completed, and for which only user or builder needs may be assigned).

Introduction

The skills of the architect are used in complex building types such as the skyscraper, hospital, stadium, airport, etc. to less complicated projects such as commercial and residential buildings and development. Many pieces of architecture can be seen as cultural and political symbols. The role of the architect, though changing, has been central to the successful (and sometimes unsuccessful) design and implementation of the built environment in which we live.

Scope and intentions

According to the very earliest surviving work on the subject, Vitruvius' De architectura, good buildings satisfy three core principles: Firmness, Commodity, and Delight; architecture can be said to be a balance and coordination among these three elements, with none overpowering the others. A modern day definition sees architecture as addressing aesthetic, structural and functional considerations. However, looked at another way, function itself is seen as encompassing all criteria, including aesthetic and psychological ones. Architecture is a multi-disciplinary field, including within its fold mathematics, science, art, technology, social sciences, politics, history, philosophy, and so on. In Vitruvius' words: "Architecture is a science, arising out of many other sciences, and adorned with much and varied learning: by the help of which a judgement is formed of those works which are the result of other arts". He adds that an architect should be well versed in fields such as music, astronomy, etc. Philosophy is a particular favourite; in fact the approach of an architect to their subject is often called their philosophy. Rationalism, empiricism, structuralism, poststructuralism, and phenomenology are some topics from philosophy that have influenced architecture. phenomenology, Italy]] # Translation of firmitatis utilitatis venustatis [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/home.html] due to Henry Wotton, 1624 [http://www.gardenvisit.com/landscape/LIH/history/vitruvius.htm#ch1-3].

Theory and practice

Architecture and buildings

The difference between architecture and building is a subject matter that has engaged the attention of many. According to Nikolaus Pevsner, European historian of the early 20th century, "A bicycle shed is a building, Lincoln Cathedral is a piece of architecture". In current thinking, the division is not too clear. Bernard Rudofsky's famous Architecture Without Architects consolidated a whole range of structures designed by ordinary people into the realm of architecture. Architecture is also the art of designing the human built environment. Buildings, landscaping, and street designs may be used to impart both functional as well as aesthetic character to a project. Siding and roofing materials and colors may be used to enhance or blend buildings with the environment. Building features such as cornices, gables, entrances, window treatments and borders may be used to soften or enhance portions of a building. Landscaping may be used to create privacy and block direct views from or to a site and enhance buildings with colorful plants and trees. Street side features such as decorative lighting, benches, meandering walkways, and bicycle lanes may enhance a site for passersby, pedestrians, and cyclists.

Architectural history

Architecture first evolved out of the dynamics between needs (shelter, security, worship, etc.) and means (available building materials and attendant skills). Prehistoric and primitive architecture constitute this early stage. As humans progressed and knowledge began to be formalised through oral traditions and practices, architecture evolved into a craft. Here there is first a process of trial and error, and later improvisation or replication of a successful trial. What is termed Vernacular architecture continues to be produced in many parts of the world. Vernacular architecture, India]] Early human settlements were essentially rural. As surplus of production began to occur, rural societies transformed into urban ones and cities began to evolve. In many ancient civilisations such as the Egyptians' and Mesopotamians' architecture and urbanism reflected the constant engagement with the divine and the supernatural. However, the architecture and urbanism of the Classical civilisations such as the Greek and the Roman evolved from more civic ideas and new building types emerged. Architectural styles developed and texts on architecture began to be written. These became canons to be followed in important works, especially religious architecture. Some examples of canons are the works of Vitruvius, the Kaogongji of ancient China and Vaastu Shastra in ancient India. In Europe in the Classical and Medieval periods, buildings were not attributed to specific individual architects who remained anonymous. Guilds were formed by craftsmen to organise their trade. Over time the complexity of buildings and their types increased. General civil construction such as roads and bridges began to be built. Many new building types such as schools, hospitals, and recreational facilities emerged. Islamic architecture has a long and complex history beginning in the 7th century CE. Examples can be found throughout the countries that are, or were, Islamic - from Morocco and Spain to Iran, and Indonesia. Other examples can be found in areas where Muslims are a minority. Islamic architecture includes mosques, madrasas, caravansarais, palaces, and mausolea of this large region. With the Renaissance and its emphasis on the individual and humanity rather than religion, and with all its attendant progress and achievements, a new chapter began. Buildings were ascribed to specific architects - Michaelangelo, Brunelleschi, Leonardo da Vinci - and the cult of the individual had begun. But there was no dividing line between artist, architect and engineer, or any of the related vocations. At this stage, it was still possible for an artist to design a bridge as the level of structural calculations involved were within the scope of the generalist. With the consolidation of knowledge in scientific fields such as engineering and the rise of new materials and technology, the architect began to lose ground on the technical aspects of building. He therefore cornered for himself another playing field - that of aesthetics. There was the rise of the "gentleman architect" who usually dealt with wealthy clients and concentrated predominantly on visual qualities derived usually from historical prototypes. In the 19th century Ecole des Beaux Arts in France, the training was toward producing quick sketch schemes involving beautiful drawings without much emphasis on context. France, USA]] Meanwhile, the Industrial Revolution laid open the door for mass consumption and aesthetics started becoming a criterion even for the middle class as ornamented products, once within the province of expensive craftmanship, became cheaper under machine production. Industrial Revolution, India]] The dissatisfaction with such a general situation at the turn of the twentieth century gave rise to many new lines of thought that in architecture served as precursors to Modern Architecture. Notable among these is the Deutscher Werkbund, formed in 1907 to produce better quality machine made objects. The rise of the profession of industrial design is usually placed here. Following this lead, the Bauhaus school, founded in Germany in 1919, consciously rejected history and looked at architecture as a synthesis of art, craft, and technology. When Modern architecture first began to be practiced, it was an avant-garde movement with moral, philosophical, and aesthetic underpinnings. Truth was sought by rejecting history and turning to function as the generator of form. Architects became prominent figures and were termed masters. Later modern architecture moved into the realm of mass production due to its simplicity and economy. However, a reduction in quality of modern architecture was perceived by the general public from the 1960s. Some reasons cited for this are its lack of meaning, sterility, ugliness, uniformity, and psychological effects. The architectural profession responded to this partly by attempting a more populist architecture at the visual level, even if at the expense of sacrificing depth for shallowness, a direction called Postmodernism. Robert Venturi's contention that a "decorated shed" (an ordinary building which is functionally designed inside and embellished on the outside) was better than a "duck" (a building in which the whole form and its function are considered together) gives an idea of this approach. Another part of the profession, and also some non-architects, responded by going to what they considered the root of the problem. They felt that architecture was not a personal philosophical or aesthetic pursuit by individualists; rather it had to consider everyday needs of people and use technology to give a livable environment. The Design Methodology Movement involving people such as Chris Jones, Christopher Alexander started searching for more people-orientated designs. Extensive studies on areas such as behavioural, environmental, and social sciences were done and started informing the design process. As many other concerns began to be recognised and complexity of buildings began to increase in terms of aspects such as services, architecture started becoming more multi-disciplinary than ever. Architecture now required a team of professionals in its making, an architect being one among the many, sometimes the leader, sometimes not. This is the state of the profession today. However, individuality is still cherished and sought for in the design of buildings seen as cultural symbols - the museum or fine arts centre has become a showcase for new experiments in style: today Deconstructivism, tomorrow maybe something else.

External links

- [http://www.pygmies.info/camps.html African Pygmies Architecture]
- [http://www.aia.org/ American Institute of Architects]
- [http://www.architectsindex.com/ ArchitectsIndex - Directory of UK Architects along with work examples]
- [http://www.architypes.net/ Architypes - Wiki of architecture design principles and patterns]
- [http://www.architecture.com/ Architecture.com - Courtesy of the Royal Institute of British Architects]
- [http://www.archpedia.com/ Archpedia - architecture encyclopedia]
- [http://www.vernarch.com/ Center for vernacular Architecture-Bangalore-India]
- [http://st-takla.org/Gallery/Gallery-Coptic-Orthodox-Architecture-01.html Christian Coptic Orthodox Architecture] at http://St-Takla.org
- [http://www.cupola.com/bldgstr1.htm Cupola - Building and Structure Photo Galleries]
- [http://www.danda.be/ Danda - News and reviews on architecture]
- [http://www.iab.org.br/ Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil]
- [http://www.islamicarchitecture.org Islamic Architecture]
- [http://www.archinform.net/ Archinform - International Architecture Database]
- [http://architect.architecture.sk Famous architects]
- [http://www.galinsky.com/ Galinsky - People enjoying buildings worldwide]
- [http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/ Global Architecture Encyclopedia - Glass Steel and Stone]
- [http://www.thehopkinscompany.com/glossary/glossary.html Glossary of Architectural Terms]
- [http://www.greatbuildings.com/ Great Buildings Collection]
- [http://www.nyc-architecture.com/ New York architecture images]
- [http://www.riba.org Royal Institute of British Architects]
- [http://www.sah.org/ Society of Architectural Historians]
- [http://www.vitruvio.ch/ Vitruvio]
- [http://worldheritage-forum.net/de/ Worldheritage-Forum: Weblog and Information on UNESCO World Heritage topics] Category:Applied sciences Category:Arts ko:건축 ms:Seni bina ja:建築学 simple:Architecture th:สถาปัตยกรรมศาสตร์

Environmental psychology

Environmental psychology is an interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between humans and their surroundings.

Scope

"Environmental psychology" is arguably the best-known and more comprehensive description of the field. The field is known by the following names, advanced by different researchers, sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes with recognized gaps and overlaps between the terms: environmental social sciences, architectural psychology, socio-architecture, ecological psychology, environment-behavior studies, person-environment studies, environmental sociology, social ecology, and environmental design research. This field draws on work in a number of disciplines including anthropology, geography, sociology, psychology, history, political science, planning, architecture, and urban design. The varied names for the field accurately reflect an ongoing debate about its proper scope, for example, whether or not it includes study of human interaction with the natural environment. "Environmental design" is generally understood to describe design activities focused on sustainability, a different matter. Only a small portion of the built environment is attributable to architects, so a focus on "architectural psychology" is seen as too narrow.

Challenges

Since the late 1940s, the field has seen significant research findings and a fair surge of interest in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but has challenges of nomenclature, obtaining objective and repeatable results, scope, and the fact that some research rests on underlying assumptions about human perception, which is not fully understood. In the words of Guido Francescato, speaking in 2000, environmental psychology encompasses a "somewhat bewildering array of disparate methodologies, conceptual orientations, and interpretations... making it difficult to delineate, with any degree of precision, just what the field is all about and what might it contribute to the construction of society and the unfolding of history." Research has been hampered by methodological concerns about the validity of lab findings. As researcher Helen Ross said: "We know a great deal about the perception of a one-eyed man with his head in a clamp watching glowing lights in a dark room but surprisingly little about his perceptual ability in a real-life situation."

Behavior settings

The first significant findings in environmental psychology can be traced back to researcher Roger Barker, who founded his research station in the tiny Kansas town of Oskaloosa (renamed "Midwest" for publication) in 1947, and ran it for several decades. From detailed field observations he developed the theory that social settings influence behavior. In a store, people assume their roles as customers; in school and church, proper behavior somehow already resides coded in the place. Barker spent his career expanding on what he called ecological psychology, identifying these behavior settings, and publishing accounts like "One Boy's Day" (1951). Some of the minute-by-minute observations of Kansan children from morning to night, jotted down by young and maternal gradate students, may be the most intimate and poignant documents in social science. The "behavior setting" remains a valid principle which receives serious attention. Barker argued that the psychologist should use T-Methods (psychologist as 'transducer': i.e. methods which study Man in his 'natural environment') rather than O-Methods (psychologist as "operator" i.e. experimental methods). In other words, he preferred field work and direct observation.

Proxemics

In the mid 1950s anthropologist E. T. Hall wrote "The Hidden Dimension" which developed and popularized the concepts of personal space and his more general name for this field, proxemics. He defined proxemics as, ". . . the study of how man unconsciously structures microspace - the distance between men in the conduct of daily transactions, the organization of space in his houses and buildings, and ultimately the layout of his towns." Hall defined and measured four interpersonal "zones":
- intimate (0 to 18 inches)
- personal (18 inches to 4 feet)
- social (4 feet to 12 feet)
- public (12 feet and beyond) In "The Hidden Dimension" he famously observed that the precise distance we feel 'comfortable' with other being people being near us is culturally determined: Saudis, Norwegians, Milanese and Japanese will have differing notions of 'close'. In one of his best known empirical studies, Hall carried out an analysis of employee reactions to Eero Saarinen's last work, the John Deere World Headquarters Building.

University of Strathclyde

Another strain of environmental psychology developed out of ergonomics in the 1960s. The beginning of this movement can be traced back to David Canter's work and the founding of the "Performance Research Unit" at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1966, which expanded traditional ergonomics to study broader issues relating to the environment and the extent to which human beings were "situated" within it (cf situated cognition). Canter led the field for years and is still the editor of the Journal of Environmental Psychology, but has recently turned his attention to criminology.

Impact on the Built Environment

Ultimately, environmental psychology is oriented towards influencing the work of design professionals (architects, interior designers, urban planners, etc.) and thereby improving the human environment. On a civic scale, efforts towards improving pedestrian landscapes have paid off to some extent, involving figures like Jane Jacobs and Copenhagen's Jan Gehl. One prime figure here is the late writer and researcher William H. Whyte and his still-refreshing and perceptive "City", based on his accumulated observations of skilled Manhattan pedestrians, steps, and patterns of use in urban plazas. No equivalent organized knowledge of environmental psychology has developed out of architecture. Most prominent American architects, led until recently by Philip Johnson who was very strong on this point, view their job as an art form. They see little or no responsibility for the social or function impact of their designs. Environmental psychology has conquered one whole architectural genre, although it's a bitter victory: retail stores, and any other commercial venue where the power to manipulate the mood and behavior of customers, places like stadiums, casinos, malls, and now airports. From Philip Kotler's landmark paper on Atmospherics and Alan Hirsch's "Effects of Ambient Odors on Slot-Machine Usage in a Las Vegas Casino", through the creation and management of the Gruen transfer, retail relies heavily on psychology, original research, focus groups, and direct observation. One of William Whyte's students, Paco Underhill, makes a living as a "shopping anthropologist". Most of this most-advanced research remains a trade secret and proprietary.

Other contributors

Other significant researchers and writers in this field include:
- Irwin Altman
- Jay Appleton, British geographer who proposed 'habitat theory' and advanced the notion of 'prospect and refuge'
- David Chapin
- Karen Franck
- J.J. Gibson, best known for coining the word affordance, a description of how elements of the environment can physically restrict movement in an objectively measurable way
- Roger Hart
- Bill Hillier and space syntax
- Cindi Katz
- Setha Low
- Kevin Lynch and his research into the formation of mental maps
- Harold Proshansky
- Amos Rapoport
- Leanne Rivlin
- Susan Saegert, professor and director of the Center for Human Environments at the City University of New York
- Robert Sommer, who expanded on Humphry Osmond's formation of socio-architecture
- Gary Winkel

Urban planners

List of urban planners chronological by initial year of plan.
- c. 408 BC Hippodamus - Peiraeus, Thurrii, Italy, Rhodes
- 1666 Christopher Wren - London
- 1791 Peter Charles L'Enfant, Benjamin Banneker, Andrew Ellicott - Washington, DC
- 1853 Baron Haussmann - responsible for the broad avenues of Paris
- 1859 Ildefons Cerdà - planner of the Eixample district of Barcelona
- 1882 Arturo Soria y Mata - the Ciudad Lineal, Madrid
- 1898 Ebenezer Howard - Garden City
- 1901 Charles Follen McKim - Washington, DC revised plan
- 1909 Daniel Burnham - Chicago, Illinois
- 1912 Walter Burley Griffin - Canberra
- 1924 Andrew R. Cobb and Thomas Adams - Corner Brook, Newfoundland
- 1924 Clarence Stein - Sunnyside Gardens, New York, Chatham Village, Pittsburgh, Baldwin Hills Village, Los Angeles
- 1925 Ernst May - city plan and housing units in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, including Römerstadt
- 1927 Bruno Taut - Hufeisensiedlung (Horseshoe Projects), Berlin
- 1928 Henry Wright - Radburn, New Jersey
- c. 1930 Robert Moses, responsible for the urban renewal of New York City
- 1930 Ernst May - Magnitogorsk and some 20 other urban projects in the Soviet Union
- 1935 Frank Lloyd Wright - Broadacre City (concept)
- 1950 Le Corbusier - Chandigarh, India
- 1952 Macklin Hancock - Don Mills, Ontario
- 1957 Lucio Costa - Brasília, Brazil
- 1960 William Pereira - Irvine, California
- 1960 Konstantinos Doxiadis - Islamabad, Pakistan
- 1963 Mort Hoppenfeld, James Rouse - Columbia, Maryland
- 1964 Robert E. Simon - Reston, Virginia
- 1970 Paolo Soleri - Arcosanti, Arizona
- 1970 William Pereira, Ian McHarg - The Woodlands, Texas
- 1971 H.K.Mewada, P.M.Apte - Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
- 1973 Moshe Safdie - Coldspring New Town, Baltimore, Maryland
- 1984 Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk - Seaside, Florida
- 1990 Peter Calthorpe - Laguna West, California
- 1992 Vladimir Arana - Chorrillos, Lima, Peru

External links

- [http://www.planning.org/25anniversary/influentials.htm Individuals Who Influenced Planning Before 1978], from the American Planning Association
- Urban planners Category:Urban studies and planning
- List

Traffic engineering (transportation)

For another meaning of the term "traffic engineering", please see telecommunications traffic engineering. ---- Traffic engineering is a branch of civil engineering that uses engineering techniques to achieve the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. It focuses mainly on research and construction of the immobile infrastructure necessary for this movement, such as roads, railway tracks, bridges, traffic signs and traffic lights. Increasingly however, instead of building additional infrastructure, dynamic elements are also introduced into road traffic management (they have long been used in rail transport). These use sensors to measure traffic flows and automatic, interconnected guidance systems (for example traffic signs which open a lane in different directions depending on the time of day) to manage traffic especially in peak hours. The relationship between lane flow (Q) (vehicles per hour) maximum speed (V) (kilometers per hour) and density (K) (vehicles per kilometer) is Q=KV. Observation on limited access facilities suggests that up to a maximum flow, speed does not decline while density increases, but above a critical threshold, increased density reduces speed, and beyond a further threshold, increased density reduces flow as well. Therefore, managing traffic density by limiting the rate that vehicles enter the highway during peak periods can keep both speeds and lane flows at bottlenecks high. Ramp meters, signals on entrance ramps that control the rate at which vehicles are allowed to enter the mainline facility, provide this function (at the expense of increased delay for those waiting at the ramps). Traffic engineering is closely associated with other disciplines:
- Transportation engineering
- Traffic congestion
- Highway engineering
- Transportation planning
- Urban planning

References

- Homburger, Kell and Perkins, Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering, 13th Edition, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California (Berkeley[http://www.its.berkeley.edu/publications/]), 1992.
- Das, Shantanu and Levinson, D. (2004) A Queuing and Statistical Analysis of Freeway Bottleneck Formation. ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering Vol. 130, No. 6, November/December 2004, pp. 787-795 Category:Civil engineering

Interior designer

Interior design is the process of shaping the experience of interior space, through the manipulation of spatial volume as well as surface treatment. Interior Design draws on aspects of environmental psychology, architecture, product design and furniture design in addition to traditional decoration. An interior designer is a person whom may be considered an expert in the field of interior design or designs interiors for their job. In some jurisdictions, interior designers must be licensed to practice.

The Profession

The professional interior designer is qualified by education, experience, and examination to enhance the function and quality of interior spaces for the purpose of improving the quality of life, increasing productivity, and protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public. A professional interior designer may do the following things:
- Analyse their client's needs, goals, and life safety requirements.
- Integrate their findings with knowledge of interior design.
- formulate the preliminary design concepts that are aesthetic, appropriate, and functional, and in accordance with codes and standards.
- Develop and present their final design recommendations through appropriate presentation media.
- Prepare working drawings and specifications for non-load bearing interior construction, reflected ceiling plans, lighting, interior detailing, materials, finishes, space planning, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment in compliance with universal accessibility guidelines and all applicable codes.
- Collaborate with professional services of other licensed practitioners in the technical areas of mechanical, electrical and load-bearing design as required for regulatory approval.
- Prepare and administer bids and contract documents as the client's agent
- Review and evaluate the design solutions during implementation and upon completion. This definition is endorsed by the Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research ([http://www.fider.org FIDER]), the National Council for Interior Design Qualification ([http://www.NCIDQ.org NCIDQ]) and major interior design associations ([http://www.iida.org IIDA], [http://www.asid.org ASID]) of North America.

Styles

Essential parts of all design styles are concept, colour, proportion, balance, and function of design. Although all styles differentiate their usage of each of these, they are all an integral part of the overall look and feel of a room or space. Designers incorporate the seven elements of design to create and enhance style: form, mass, shape, line, color, texture and pattern.

Vernacular architecture

Vernacular architecture is a term from academic architecture to categorize structures built outside of academic tradition. The definition can include a wide variety of domestic and agricultural buildings, industrial buildings, commercial structures, etc. The distinguishing feature of traditional vernacular is that design and construction are often done simultaneously, onsite, by the same people. At least some of those who eventually use the building are often involved in its construction or at least have direct input in its form. Vernacular building shapes, floorplans, materials, construction techniques, and other characteristics are often generated from centuries-old local patterns. These patterns are continually changing, but do so slowly. The new houses built from old patterns physically manifest, and then perpetuate, cultural norms and accumulated building craft. Vernacular buildings have been praised by many writers for their sophisticated adaptation to their environment and users' needs. Vernacular buildings have made up a large portion of the built environment throughout human history because the profession of architect is a relatively new invention, because academic architecture has tended towards a narrow range of acceptable styles and forms, and because even today architects are involved in only a small percentage of built structures. Once seen as obsolete, vernacular architecture is now the subject of serious academic study, and is increasingly considered a potential component of sustainable development for its quality of adaptation to the local environment. An early work was Bernard Rudofsky's 1964 book Architecture Without Architects: a short introduction to non-pedigreed architecture, based on his MoMA exhibition. The book was a gentle reminder of the legitimacy and "hard-won knowledge" inherent in vernacular buildings, from Polish salt-caves to gigantic Syrian water wheels to Moroccan desert fortresses, although it was considered iconoclastic at the time. The most comprehensive work is the "Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World" published in 1997 by Paul Oliver of the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development. Oliver has argued that vernacular architecture will be necessary in the future to "ensure sustainability in both cultural and economic terms beyond the short term." Christopher Alexander attempted to identify adaptive features of traditional architecture that apply across cultures in his book A Pattern Language. Howard Davis's book The Culture of Building details the culture that enabled several vernacular traditions. Some extend the term to include any architecture outside the academic mainstream. The term "commercial vernacular", popularized in the late 1960s by the publication of Robert Venturi's "Learning from Las Vegas", refers to 20th century American suburban tract and commercial architecture. Unlike traditional vernacular, however, the design and construction of these types of buildings is remote from their eventual users, and they do not represent long cultural traditions; those who study traditional vernacular architecture hold that these characteristics define a more useful and fundamental partition of architecture into vernacular and non-vernacular than whether or not a kind of architecture is accepted within academia.

External link

- [http://www.vernarch.com/ Center for Vernacular Architecture-Bangalore-India]
- [http://www.vernaculararchitectureforum.org Vernacular Architecture Forum]
- [http://www.geographyinaction.co.uk/Vernacular%20housing/Vern_background.html Vernacular Architecture in Inishowen, Ireland] Category:Architecture Category:Folklore

Landscape architecture

Landscape architecture is the art, planning, design, management, preservation and rehabilitation of the land and the design of man-made constructs. The scope of the profession includes architectural design, site planning, estate development, environmental restoration, town or urban planning, urban design, parks and recreation planning, regional planning, and historic preservation. A practitioner in the field of landscape architecture is called a landscape architect. landscape architect

What is Landscape Architecture?

Activities of a landscape architect can range from the creation of parks and greenways to the site planning for corporate office buildings, from the design of residential estates to the design of civil infastructure and the management of large wilderness areas or reclamation of degraded landscapes such as mines or landfills. Landscape Architecture overlaps with garden design, but is a much broader profession. Landscape architects work on all types of external space - large or small, urban or rural, and with 'hard'/'soft' materials, hydrology and ecological issues. They work on:
- The form, scale and siting of new developments
- The residential garden and public infrastructure
- The site design for schools, universities, hospitals and hotels
- Public parks, greenways, golf courses, theme parks and sports facilities
- Housing areas, industrial parks and commercial developments
- Highways transportation structures, bridges and corridors
- Urban design, town and city squares and pedestrian schemes
- Large or small urban regeneration schemes
- Forest, tourist or historic landscapes and historic garden appraisal and conservation studies
- Reservoirs, dams, power stations, extractive industry applications or major industrial projects
- Environmental assessment, planning advice and land management proposals.
- Coastal and offshore developments The most valuable contribution is often made at the earliest stage of a project in generating ideas and bringing flair and creativity to the use of space. The landscape architect can contribute to the overall concept and prepare an initial master plan, from which detailed designs can subsequently be prepared. He or she can also let and supervise contracts for construction work, prepare design impact assessments, conduct environmental assessments or audits and act as an expert witness at enquiries on land use. He or she can also support or prepare applications for capital or revenue funding grants.

Specialisms Within Landscape Architecture

Landscape designers are involved with landscape design for the garden, and/or planting design and creation of all types of outdoor green spaces. Many work in public offices in central and local government. Others work in private practice and act as consultants to public authorities, industry and commerce, and to private individuals. Landscape managers use their knowledge of plants and the natural environment to advise on the long-term care and development of the landscape. They work in horticulture, estate management, forestry, nature conservation and agriculture. Landscape scientists have specialist skills such as soil science, hydrology, geomorphology or botany that they relate to the practical problems of landscape work. Their projects can range from site surveys to the ecological assessment of broad areas for planning or management purposes. They may also report on the impact of development or the importance of particular species in a given area. Landscape planners are concerned with landscape planning for the location, scenic, ecological and recreational aspects of urban, rural and coastal land use. Their work is embodied in written statements of policy and strategy, and their remit includes masterplanning for new developments, landscape evaluations and assessments, and preparing countryside management or policy plans. Some may also apply an additional specialism such as landscape archaeology or law to the process of landscape planning. Garden designers are concerned with the design of new private gardens and also with historic garden conservation

History

The history of landscape architecture overlaps with the history of gardening. Humans across the world have been building gardens for centuries. Japanese Gardens and Persian paradise gardens paradise gardens are examples of ancient garden traditions. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built by Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC. In Europe, the Renaissance brought in an age of grand designs, including pleasure gardens such as at the Villa d'Este at Tivoli. The renaissance garden developed through the 16th and 17th centuries, reaching an ultimate grandeur in the work of André le Nôtre at Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles. In the 18th Century, England became the focus of a new style of 'landscape gardening'. Figures such as William Kent, Humphrey Repton, and most famously Lancelot 'Capability' Brown remodelled the great estate parks of the English gentry to resemble a neat and tidy version of nature. Many of these parks remain today. The term 'landscape architecture' was first used by the Scotsman Gilbert Laing Meason in the title of his book on The Landscape Architecture of the Great Painters of Italy (London, 1828). It was about the type of architecture found in landscape paintings. The term 'landscape architecture' was then taken up by JC Loudon and AJ Downing. Through the 19th century, urban planning became more important, and it was the combination of modern planning with the tradition of landscape gardening that gave Landscape Architecture its unique focus. In the second half of the century, Frederick Law Olmsted completed a series of parks which continue to have a huge influence on the practices of Landscape Architecture today. Among these were Central Park in New York, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and Boston's so called Emerald Necklace park system. Landscape Architecture continues to develop as a design discipline, and has responded to many of the movements of design and architecture through the 20th century. Today, a healthy level of innovation continues to provide challenging design solutions for streetscapes, parks and gardens. The work of Martha Schwartz in the US, and in Europe designs such as the Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam are just two examples.

Profession

Landscape architects are considered professionals on par with architects, engineers, doctors and lawyers, because they are usually required to obtain similarly specialized education and professional licensure. In many countries, the practice of landscape architecture is regulated by a professional institute, in order to protect the standing of the profession and promote its interests. Membership of such an institute requires advanced education and/or continuing training and work experience. Full membership often depends on the outcome of examinations in professional practice matters, and/or an interview with senior members of the profession.

External links

- [http://www.laprofession.org/ Landscape Architecture Foundation] (USA)
- [http://www.gardenvisit.com/landscape/index.htm Landscape Architecture Guide]

Landscape architecture organizations

International landscape architecture organisations

- [http://www.iflaonline.org/ IFLA] International Federation of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.efla.org EFLA] European Federation of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.landscape-architecture.com/ ELAN] European Landscape Architecture Network
- [http://www.elasa.org/ ELASA] European Landscape Architecture Students Association
- [http://www.eclas.org/ ECLAS] European Conference of Landscape Architecture Schools

National landscape architecture professional bodies

Americas

- [http://www.centroaapaisajistas.org.ar/ CAAP] Argentine Centre for Landscape Architects
- [http://www.abap.org.br/ ABAP] Brazilian Association of Landscape Architects
- [http://csla.ca CSLA] Canadian Society of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.oala.on.ca/ OALA] Ontario Association of Landscape Architects
- [http://barrioperu.terra.com.pe/paiperu/ APAP] Peruvian Association of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.asla.org ASLA] American Society of Landscape Architects

Europe

- [http://www.oegla.at/ ÖGLA] Austrian Association of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.bvtl-abajp.org/ BVTL-ABAJP] Belgian Association of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.m-ark.fi/ MARK] Finnish Association of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.f-f-p.org/ FFP] Fédération Française du Paysage
- [http://www.bdla.de/ BDLA] German Federation of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.fila.is FILA] Association of Icelandic Landscape Architects
- [http://www.irishlandscapeinstitute.com/index.shtml ILI ] The Irish Landscape Institute
- [http://www.aiapp.net/ AIAPP] Associazione Italiana di Architettura del Paesaggio
- [http://www.nvtl.nl/index.html NVTL] Netherlands Association for Landscape Architecture
- [http://www.apap.pt/ APAP] Portuguese Association of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.upa.org.yu/ ALA] Association of Landscape Architects, Serbia and Montenegro
- [http://www.bsla.ch/output.php BSLA] Swiss Federation of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.l-i.org.uk The Landscape Institute] The Chartered Institute in the UK for Landscape Architects

Asia Pacific

- [http://aila.org.au/ AILA] Australian Institute of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.indianlandscape.net/ ISOLA] Indian Society of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.kila.or.kr/ KILA] Korea Institute of Landscape Architecture
- [http://www.nzila.co.nz/ NZILA] New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.sila.org.sg/ SILA] Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects
- [http://www.thailandscape.org/ TALA] Thai Association of Landscape Architects

Africa

- [http://www.ilasa.co.za/ ILASA] Institute of Landscape Architects in South Africa Category:Landscape architecture Category:Architecture th:ภูมิสถาปัตยกรรม

Central Park

Central Park () is a large public, urban park (843 acres or 3.41 km²; a rectangle 2.5 miles by one-half mile, or 4 km × 800 m) in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. An oasis for Manhattanites escaping from their skyscrapers, Central Park's appearance in many movies and television shows has made it one of the world's most famous city parks. Central Park is bordered on the north by Central Park North (Cathedral Parkway west of the park and 110th Street east), on the east by Fifth Avenue, on the south by Columbus Circle and Central Park South (59th Street east of Fifth Avenue), and on the west by Central Park West (Eighth Avenue south of Columbus Circle). The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who later created Brooklyn's Prospect Park. While much of the park looks natural, it is in fact highly landscaped and contains several artificial lakes, extensive walking tracks, two ice-skating rinks, a wildlife sanctuary, and grassy areas used for various sporting pursuits, as well as playgrounds for children. The park is a popular oasis for migrating birds, and thus is popular with bird watchers. The 6 mi (10 km) road circling the park is popular with joggers, bicyclists and inline skaters, especially on weekends and in the evenings after 7:00PM, when automobile traffic is banned.

History

Early History

Between 1820 and 1850, New York City nearly quadrupled in population. As the city expanded, people were drawn to the few open spaces, mainly cemeteries to get away from the noise and chaotic life in the city. Before long however, New York City's need for a great public park was voiced by the poet and editor of the Evening Post, William Cullen Bryant and by the first American landscape architect, Andrew Jackson Downing, who began to push the need for a public park in 1844. A stylish place for open-air driving, like the Bois de Boulogne in Paris or London's Hyde Park felt needed by many influential New Yorkers, and in 1853, the New York legislature designated a 700 acre (2.8 km²) area from 59th to 106th Streets for the creation of the park, to a cost of more than $5 million for the land alone.

Initial Development

The State appointed a Central Park Commission to oversee the development of the park, and in 1857 the commission held a landscape design contest. Writer Frederick Law Olmsted and English architect Calvert Vaux's "Greensward Plan" was selected as the winning design. According to Olmsted, the park was "of great importance as the first real Park made in this century – a democratic development of the highest significance …", a view probably inspired by his stay in Europe in 1850.[http://www.centralparknyc.org/centralparkhistory/cp-history-150yrs/cphistory1800-1858] During that trip he visited several parks, and was in particular impressed by Birkenhead Park near Liverpool, England, which opened in 1847 as the first publicly funded park in England. Several influences came together in the design. Landscaped cemeteries, such as Mount Auburn (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Green-Wood (Brooklyn, New York) had set an example of idyllic naturalistic landscapes. The most influential innovations in Central Park's design were the separate circulation systems for pedestrians, horseback riders and pleasure vehicles, with "crosstown" commercial traffic (almost non-existent at the time of the design) entirely concealed in sunken roadways screened with densely planted shrub belts, so as not to disturb the impression of a rustic scene. The Greensward plan called for some 36 bridges, all designed by Vaux, and ranging from rugged spans of Manhattan schist or granite, to lacy neo-gothic cast iron, no two alike. The ensemble of the formal line of the Mall's doubled allées of elms culminating at Bethesda Terrace, with a composed view beyond of lake and woodland, at the heart of the larger design. schist Before the construction of the park could start, the area had to be cleared of inhabitants, most of whom were either free African-Americans, or immigrants of German or Irish origin, most of whom were quite poor. Most of them lived in smaller villages, such as Seneca Village, Harsenville, the Piggery District or the Convent of the Sisters of Charity. The roughly 1,600 working-class residents occupying the area at the time were evicted under the rule of eminent domain during 1857, and Seneca Village, and parts of the other communities were demolished to make room for the park. Around 1860, it became apparent that Olmsted, although being a great designer, was a horrible manager. He had little or no oversight of the Park's expenditures, and due to his management there were lengthy delays in construction. He nevertheless refused to voluntarily step down as manager, something that forced the Park Commissioners to put Andrew H. Green in charge of the project instead. It didn't take long before Green had accelerated the construction and finalized negotiations for the purchase of an additional 65 acres at the north end of the park between 106th and 110th Streets, which would be used as the 'rugged' part of the park. Between 1860 and 1878, the construction of the park had come a long way, and most of the major hurdles had been overcome. During this period, more than 500.000 cu.feet of topsoil had been transported in from New Jersey, as the original soil wasn't good enough to sustain the various trees, shrubs and the plants the Greensward Plan called for. By 1873, more than 10 million cartloads of material, including soil and rocks which were to be removed from the area had been manually dug up, and transported out of the park. Also included were the more than 4 million trees, shrubs and plants representing the approx 1500 species which were to lay the foundation for today's park. New Jersey

20th. Century

After the construction of the park had finished, it didn't take many years before it started to decline. One of the major reasons for this, was mostly due to the bureaucracy surrounding Tammany Hall the then-largest political force in New York during 1854 to 1934. Around the turn of the century, the park faced several new challenges, such as the advent of cars and a change in attitudes amongst the general public. No longer was the park to be used only for walks and picnics in an idyllic environment, but now also for sports. Also, following the death of Vaux in 1895 the maintenance effort gradually declined, and there was few or no attempts to replace dead trees, bushes and plants or worn-out lawn. In the following years, the authorities did little or nothing to prevent vandalism and the littering of the park. All of this changed in 1934, when Fiorello LaGuardia was elected mayor of New York, unified the five park departments then in existence, and gave Robert Moses the job of cleaning up. Moses, then about to become one of the mightiest men in New York City, took over what was essentially a ruin. "Lawns, unseeded, were expanses of bare earth, decorated with scraggly patches of grass and weeds, that became dust holes in dry weather and mud holes in wet … The once beautiful Mall looked like a scene of a wild party the morning after. Benches lay on their backs, their legs jabbing at the sky (...)" according to historian Robert Caro in his book "The Power Broker," published in 1974. In a single year, Moses managed to clean up not only Central Park, but also other parks in New York City; grass and flowers was replanted, dead trees and bushes replaced, walls were sandblasted and bridges repaired. Major redesigning and construction was also carried out; the Croton Reservoir was filled-in so the Great Lawn could be created, and the Greensward plan's intention of creating an idyllic landscape was all but abandoned, and replaced with Moses' vision of a park mainly to be used for recreation purposes. 19 playgrounds were erected, 12 ballfields and handball courts was constructed, and he managed to secure funds from the New Deal programme, as well as donations from wealthy people. Central Park had been given a new lease of life, and would again prosper under the wings of a powerful defender.

1960-1980

When Robert Moses stepped down as Park Commissioner in 1960, nobody could replace him and the power and influence he had. During his 26 years as a commissioner, he had not only maintained the parks, but also started numerous other projects around New York. When he left, the park gradually began to deteriorate, not only because of vandalism, littering and graffiti, but also due to the number of arrangements taking place in the park. New Year's Eve celebrations, summer concerts, peace rallies and protest marches, as well as numerous other arrangements during the sixties resulted in a park similar to what it looked like before Moses took over. The number of crimes committed in the park increased, the funding decreased, and the park looked like it was out of control until the Central Park Conservancy was founded in 1980. Despite all the negative issues, not everything was bad during this twenty-year period. The Public Theatre debuted with it's annual Shakespeare in the Park in 1962, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera began with their annual summer concerts on the Great Lawn. By 1975 several advocacy groups joined forces to come up with new ideas for how to take care of the park. In order to gain influence over the direct care of the Park, they approached New York City mayor Edward Koch, and Gordon Davis, the then-park commissioner. Under their leadership, the Central Park Conservancy was founded in 1980, led by Bill Beinecke (chairman) and Betsy Barlow Rogers (Central Park Administrator).

Sculptures

Though Olmsted disapproved of the clutter of sculpture, a good deal has crept in. Much of the first statuary to appear in the park was of authors and poets, clustered along a section of the Mall that became known as Literary Walk. The better-known sculptors represented in Central Park include Augustus Saint-Gaudens and John Quincy Adams Ward.. The "Angel of the Waters" at Bethesda Terrace by Emma Stebbins, 1873, was the first large public sculpture commission for an American woman. The 1926 statue of the sled dog Balto who became famous during the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska is very popular among tourists (illustration, below left). The oldest sculpture is "Cleopatra's Needle," actually an Egyptian obelisk of Tutmose III much older than Cleopatra,which was donated to New York by the Khedive of Egypt. North of Conservatory Water, the sailboat pond, there is a larger-than-life statue of Alice, sitting on a huge mushroom, playing with her cat, while the Hatter and the March Hare look on. A large memorial to Duke Ellington created by sculptor Robert Graham was dedicated in 1997 near Fifth Avenue and 110th Street, Duke Ellington Circle. 1997

Crime

Although often regarded as a kind of oasis of tranquility inside a "city that never sleeps," Central Park has had a reputation over the years as a dangerous place, especially after dark. Although the park is quite safe as of today, there have been periods when the park was said to be unsafe, and over the years the park developed a reputation of crime, not unlike New York itself. Well-publicized incidents of violence and rape, such as the infamous "Central Park Jogger" case, have contributed to this perception. Central Park Jogger.]] However, as crime has declined in the Park and in the rest of New York City, many of these perceptions have become exaggerated or outdated, and the use of common sense is enough to protect visitors from harm. The New York Police Department designates Central Park as its own precinct, the 22nd, and it has been noted that a large percentage of the crimes in the park, particularly assaults, occur between people who know each other, as opposed to being random attacks. With more than 25 million visitors annually and fewer than a hundred crimes in all of 2004, Central Park is by far one of the safest urban parks in the world.

Activity in the park

Each summer, the Public Theatre presents free open-air theatre productions, often starring well-known stage and screen actors, in the Delacorte Theatre. Most, though not all, of the plays presented are by William Shakespeare, and the performances are generally regarded as being of high quality since the start in 1962. The New York Philharmonic gives an open-air concert every summer on the Great Lawn and the Metropolitan Opera presents two operas. Many concerts have been given in the park including the Simon and Garfunkel reunion; Diana Ross, 1983; Dave Matthews Band, 2003. Dave Matthews Band

Other Issues

In 2004, the organization United for Peace and Justice wanted to hold a rally on the Great Lawn in opposition to the continued occupation of Iraq. The City denied UFPJ's application for a permit, on the basis that a mass gathering on the Great Lawn would be harmful to the grass, and that such damage would make it harder to collect private donations to maintain the Park. UFPJ charged that Mayor Michael Bloomberg was willing to allow other large gatherings on the Great Lawn, but was discriminating against the demonstration so as to curry favor with the Republican Party, which was holding its quadrennial convention in New York City. Nevertheless, a court rejected UFPJ's challenge to the denial of the permit. Since the 1960s, there has been a grassroots campaign to restore the park's loop drives to their original car-free state. Over the years, the number of car-free hours has increased, though a full closure is currently resisted by the New York City Department of Transportation. The Central Park Medical Unit is an all-volunteer ambulance service that provides completely free emergency medical service to patrons of Central Park and the surrounding streets. CPMU also operates a rapid-response bike patrol, particularly during major events such as the New York City Marathon, the 1998 Goodwill Games, and concerts in the park. Central Park has one of the last stands of American Elms in the northeastern U.S., 1700 of them, protected by their very isolation from Dutch Elm Disease. Central Park was the site of the unfortunate unleashing of starlings in North America (cf. Invasive species). Central Park is a popular birding spot during spring and fall migration, when birds flying over Manhattan are attracted to the prominent oasis. Over a quarter of all the bird species found in the United States have been seen in Central Park. Manhattan.]] In 2002 a new genus and species of centipede was discovered in Central Park. The centipede is about four-tenths of an inch (10 mm) long, making it one of the smallest in the world. It is named Nannarrup hoffmani (after the man who discovered it) and lives in the park's leaf litter, the crumbling organic debris that accumulates under the trees. Since the late 1990s, the Central Park Conservancy, the United States Department of Agriculture, and several city and state agencies have been fighting an infestation of the Asian longhorned beetle, which has been reported in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, including some parts of Central Park. The beetle, which likely was accidentally shipped from its native China in an untreated shipping crate, has no natural predators in the United States and the fight to contain its infestation has been very expensive. The beetle infests trees by boring a hole in them to deposit its eggs, at which point the only way to end the infestation is to destroy the tree.

References

- Art of the Olmsted landscape, Bruce Kelly, Gail T. Guillet, and Mary E. W. Hern, NY, City Landmarks Preservation Commission: Arts Publisher, 1981. SB470 .O5 K44

External links

;Official websites :
- [http://www.centralparknyc.org/ Central Park Conservancy] :
- [http://www.centralparkzoo.com/ Central Park Zoo] ;Additional information :
- [http://www.centralpark.com/ CentralPark.com] - The complete Guide to Central Park :
- NYC Department of Park & Recreation: [http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/vt_central_park/vt_central_park.html Central Park] :
- [http://www.centralpark.org/ CentralPark.org] :
- Forgotten NY: [http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/arches/arches.html "The bridges of Central Park"], photographs and text :
- [http://www.cpzbook.com/index.html Images of America: The Central Park Zoo], photographs and text :
- [http://www.centralparkfishing.blogspot.com/ Central Park Fishing], Bass fishing in Central Park :
- [http://www.car-freecentralpark.org/ Car-Free Central Park Campaign] ;Photos, maps, and other images :
- [http://boldt.us/places/nyc/central_park/ Central Park Pictures] - A large gallery of hi-res Central Park images. :
- [http://www.graphicalic.dk/pages/photo/usa/park.html Graphicalic], pictures from Central Park :
- [http://perrin.olivier.free.fr/new_york_2005/Central%20Park/index.html Newyork-evasion gallery of photographs on Central Park] :
- [http://www.centralparkposters.com/ Central Park Posters], an aerial view :
- [http://nycfoto.com/showPage.php?albumID=39 NYCfoto.com - Central Park] :
- [http://perrin.olivier.free.fr/webcam/menu_webcam/ani_central.html A day in the life to Central Park] Category:Urban public parks Category:New York City landmarks Category:Manhattan parks Category:American architecture Category:Music venues in New York City ja:セントラル・パーク th:เซ็นทรัลปาร์ค

Organism

In biology and ecology, an organism (in Greek organon = instrument) is a complex adaptive system of organs that influence each other in such a way that they function as a more or less stable whole and have properties of life. The origin of life and the relationships between its major lineages are controversial. Two main grades may be distinguished, the prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The prokaryotes are generally considered to represent two separate domains, called the Bacteria and Archaea, which are not closer to one another than to the eukaryotes. The gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes is widely considered a major missing link in evolutionary history. Two eukaryotic organelles, namely mitochondria and chloroplasts, are generally considered to be derived from endosymbiotic bacteria. The phrase complex organism describes any organism with more than one cell.

Organizational terminology

Biological Organization

Viruses

Viruses are not typically considered to be organisms because they are not capable of independent reproduction or metabolism. However, according to the United States Code, they are considered to be microorganisms in the sense of biological weaponry and malicious use. This controversy is problematic, though, since some parasites and endosymbionts are incapable of independent life either. Although viruses do have enzymes and molecules characteristic of living organisms, they are incapable of surviving outside a host cell and most of their metabolic processes require a host and its 'genetic machinery'. The origin of such parasites is uncertain, but it appears most likely that they are derived from their host.

Life span

One of the basic parameters of organism is its life span. Some animals live as short as one day, while some plants can live thousands of years. Aging is important when determining life span of most organisms, bacterium, a virus or even a prion.

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/944790.stm BBCNews: 27 September, 2000, When slime is not so thick] Citat: "...It means that some of the lowliest creatures in the plant and animal kingdoms, such as slime and amoeba, may not be as primitive as once thought...."
- [http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=4742 SpaceRef.com, July 29, 1997: Scientists Discover Methane Ice Worms On Gulf Of Mexico Sea Floor]
- [http://www.science.psu.edu/iceworms/iceworms.html The Eberly College of Science: Methane Ice Worms discovered on Gulf of Mexico Sea Floor] download Publication quality photos
- [http://www.sb-roscoff.fr/Ecophy/PDF/00-Fisher-NatWis.pdf Artikel, 2000: Methane Ice Worms: Hesiocaeca methanicola. Colonizing Fossil Fuel Reserves]
- [http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=339 SpaceRef.com, May 04, 2001: Redefining "Life as We Know it"] Hesiocaeca methanicola In 1997, Charles Fisher, professor of biology at Penn State, discovered this remarkable creature living on mounds of methane ice under half a mile of ocean on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2585235.stm BBCNews, 18 December, 2002, 'Space bugs' grown in lab] Citat: "...Bacillus simplex and Staphylococcus pasteuri...Engyodontium album...The strains cultured by Dr Wainwright seemed to be resistant to the effects of UV - one quality required for survival in space...."
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3003946.stm BBCNews, 19 June, 2003, Ancient organism challenges cell evolution] Citat: "..."It appears that this organelle has been conserved in evolution from prokaryotes to eukaryotes, since it is present in both,"..."
- [http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/jpitocch/genbios/bi04syllabsu03.html Interactive Syllabus for General Biology - BI 04, Saint Anselm College, Summer 2003]
- [http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/s/jsf165/Bio110.html Jacob Feldman: Stramenopila]
- [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Root NCBI Taxonomy entry: root] (rich)
- [http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/jpitocch/genbios/surveybi04.html Saint Anselm College: Survey of representatives of the major Kingdoms] Citat: "...Number of kingdoms has not been resolved...Bacteria present a problem with their diversity...Protista present a problem with their diversity...",
- [http://www.species2000.org/ Species 2000 Indexing the world's known species]. Species 2000 has the objective of enumerating all known species of plants, animals, fungi and microbes on Earth as the baseline dataset for studies of global biodiversity. It will also provide a simple access point enabling users to link from here to other data systems for all groups of organisms, using direct species-links.
- [http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/enviro/EnviroRepublish_828525.htm The largest organism in the world may be a fungus carpeting nearly 10 square kilometers of an Oregon forest, and may be as old as 8500 years.]
- [http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html The Tree of Life]. zh-min-nan:Seng-bu̍t ko:생물 ja:生物 th:สิ่งมีชีวิต

Built environment

See also

Architecture

Introduction

Scope and intentions

Theory and practice

Architecture and buildings

Architectural history

See also

External links

Environmental psychology

Scope

Challenges

Behavior settings

Proxemics

University of Strathclyde

Impact on the Built Environment

Other contributors

Further reading

Urban planners

See also

External links

Traffic engineering (transportation)

See also

References

Interior designer

The Profession

Styles

See also

Vernacular architecture

See also

External link

Landscape architecture

What is Landscape Architecture?

Specialisms Within Landscape Architecture

History

Profession

See also

External links

Landscape architecture organizations

International landscape architecture organisations

National landscape architecture professional bodies

Americas

Europe

Asia Pacific

Africa

Central Park

History

Early History

Initial Development

20th. Century

1960-1980

Sculptures

Crime

Activity in the park

Other Issues

See also

References

External links

Organism

Organizational terminology

Viruses

Life span

See also

External links

Architecture

Introduction

Scope and intentions

Theory and practice

Architecture and buildings

Architectural history

See also