Don't Trust the Figures

We don't have to believe what the cold hearted rationalists tell us will happen, and has to happen, when it comes to traffic modelling. They like to massage the figures too it seems:

Legal threat to consultant as toll road traffic fails to materialise

Engineering by Numbers

I have been impressed by several blog posts lately, but particularly the work of Joe Dunckley at War on the Motorist. I like the post about the DfT because it seems to justify all those secret thoughts that there is just something wrong with the way things are done, but no obvious way of proving it. Now we know that the DfT is simply using stupid maths to justify its own preconceptions of how things ought to be. This seems to me to underline the notion that engineering is at its worst when solutions are arrived at by calculation alone. The rational mathemetician, unencumbered by the petty annoyances of the real world, can arrive at a clean and beautiful solution, which all adds up. However, a bit like painting by numbers, the result will be dull, lifeless and completely miss the point. The problem with seeing things through the prism of statistics is that it removes the opportunity for the beautiful mistake, or the unexpected incident. It misses the chance to grasp the brilliant dirtyness and unmissable messiness of (real) life.

Engineering ought to have design at its core. When it does, it can be fantastic, lyrical and stunning. As an example, the renowned structural engineer Peter Rice was a great exponent of this mix of the poetic and the practical. Renzo Piano, the Italian architect with whom Rice collaborated on some of the most imaginative buildings of the past 25 years, said Rice designed structures 'like a pianist who can play with his eyes shut; he understands the basic nature of structures so well that he can afford to think in the darkness about what might be possible beyond the obvious.'

Engineering should not be purely about reason, but should also be about art.

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There, I Fixed It...

see more There I Fixed It

If only dealing with contractors was as simple...

Ffresh Visual Poems: Metamorphosis | Ffresh

Ffresh Visual Poems: Metamorphosis | Ffresh

Humble Apologies...

Apologies to anyone stopping by, posting has been somewhat irregular recently due to pressures of work. I am working up construction drawings for a new house by night, and looking after a major planning application by day. Plus trying to grow a new lawn from seed, and having anxiety issues due to the patchiness of the grass - is that normal (the patchiness, not getting anxious about lawns)? Either way, things will be back to normal soon. Thanks.

Getting Better by Design

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health-news/2011/05/16/getting-better-by-design-91466-28698077/?sms_ss=blogger&at_xt=4dd0e8bf3e957fa7%2C0




Interesting article written by a colleague from the Design Commission for Wales Review Panel, which appeared in today's Western Mail - health section.

The Bicing on the Cake. Viva Espana, Part 3

We were in the Catalan capital this week whilst Marga was invited to teach at the Barcelona School of Architecture. I continued to be impressed and amazed by the transformation of Barcelona into a cycling city, led by the immensely popular bike hire scheme – Bicing. There are over 6000 bikes and more than 400 stations spread across the more central part of Barcelona – the Barrio Gotica, Eixample and Gracia. I was even more delighted to hear that my family members who live in Barcelona use the system, even though they are normally car users, as it is as fast as driving from A to B in the centre, but without the parking problems. The classic Copenhagenize theory of a-to-bism in fluid motion.

Sadly, due to our working schedule and location I was not able to try out the system – although that is easier said than done, as tourists are perhaps discouraged from using the bikes by way of the registration process and need for a Catalan address. I am luckier than many, having access to a membership card, so next time I am determined to give it a spin. The family currently live just off the Avenida Diagonal at the Zona Universidad end. I would love to give it a go down the arrow straight cycle path that runs for several kilometers along the Avenida Diagonal at the upper end, and also along the lower end to the sea. Two bicycle carriageways, completely separated from traffic and also with dedicated traffic signals. And very, very popular.

So popular in fact that we've had to air-brush out all the cyclists just so you can see the view