Musagetes Library

Winter Workshops

2012-01-19T16:18:00.000-05:00

Discover what your Library has to offer (which is a lot more than just books!) at one of our workshops.

Don't see what you're looking for? Drop by for one-on-one research help with Michele, or email me to request additional workshops here in Cambridge. Check out the full list of Library workshops and get registered here.

Introduction to GIS for Architecture:
Maps are an eye-catching and dynamic way to support your research and design work. GIS software and data allow you to create easy-to-understand, thematic maps that highlight the importance of place in the field of Architecture. By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

access a variety of GIS resources available at the School of Architecture
find online data resources and mapping applications
create basic topographic and demographic maps using ArcMap 10
insert standard map elements and export your finished product

Held in the Seminar Room, Musagetes Architecture Library
Thursday January 26, 2012 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Introduction to RefWorks:

Learn how to manage your references, create bibliographies, and format your papers in a variety of citation styles using RefWorks, a web-based citation software freely available to all Waterloo students, faculty, and staff. By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

create a RefWorks account
import references from databases, the Library’s catalogue, and other sources
navigate RefWorks and edit your citations
create and format bibliographies in a variety of citation styles
identify options within RefWorks for reference sharing
access your account and citations from anywhere
and more!

Held in the Seminar Room, Musagetes Architecture Library

Thursday February 2, 2012 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Book our Seminar Room online!

2011-11-22T11:29:00.001-05:00

You can now reserve the Library's Seminar Room all by yourself!

Simply click on the Study Room Booking link found on the library's webpage and log in with your WatIAM account.

All bookings must adhere to the Booking Terms:

3 hours per booking
2 bookings per day
10 hours within the current 7 day period (including today)
Room must be left in good condition
No-show Rule: After 15 minutes the room will be available to others
Disputes and complaints should be referred to staff at the Service Desk.

Questions? Ask us!

Building Green

2011-10-28T16:10:00.000-04:00

The Library has set up a trial for the BuildingGreen suite, an online resource providing current, authoritative information on sustainable design and construction.

The suite is composed of 3 integrated databases:

- 200 case studies of high performance buildings, including energy data and project details

- all content from Environmental Building News, the premier journal on sustainable building practices and products, published since 1992

- a complete directory of environmentally preferable building products

The trial will run until mid-November. Please give it a try and send any questions or feedback to Michele Laing, the Architecture Librarian here at Musagetes.

Library Day 2011

2011-10-25T10:40:00.000-04:00

Wednesday October 26th is Library Day!

The staff at Musagetes Architecture Library want to show our appreciation for all the students, faculty, staff and community members that make our job worth doing.

Please drop by the library for some refreshments and other goodies... all day long!

Confirm your name release status with us (yes OR no) and you will be entered into a draw to win great prizes from the Melville and Grand Cafes!

Open Access Week

2011-10-24T10:46:00.001-04:00

"Open access" is the term used to describe scholarly literature available free of charge that can be copied, distributed, and used with proper attribution. There are a lot of benefits to Open Access. To find out more, check out our Open Access FAQ.

For more information about Open Access Week, drop by the Library. You can also check out the list of Open Access Architecture Journals.

You could win an iPad 2!

2011-10-19T12:48:00.000-04:00

The Library needs student, faculty and staff participants for a usability study of Primo Central.

Primo Central allows you to find articles, books and more with a single search. No previous experience with it is necessary.

The study team is coming to Musagetes on Thursday October 27. Participation will only take an hour, and you will be entered into a draw for an iPad 2!

If you would like to give your feedback, please email Marian Davies and tell her you want to register for the Musagetes study next Thursday. Choose from the following sessions: 10-11am, 11:30-12:30 or 1:30-2:30pm.

We encourage you to volunteer and make your voice heard. This is an opportunity to win a great prize and help the library decide if Primo Central is right for our users...YOU!

Welcome back!

2011-09-12T15:13:00.007-04:00

It's the first day of the fall term and the library is already bustling with students! This is the library staff's favourite time of year... we love to see the space full of new faces and students we haven't seen in a while.

A lot is new this year. Most importantly, we have new hours:

Monday to Thursday: 9am to 9pm
Friday: 9am to 6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 1pm to 5pm

Some of you might be surprised to see Linda Finn in the library. She was only on loan to ACM last year and we're happy to have her back.

We have received lots of new materials over the summer, including a large addition to our film collection. We also purchased some moveable white boards that you will notice around the library... use them! We have markers, erasers and cleaner... just ask at the desk.

What's really exciting for us is a brand new scanner, and it's great! No need to log in to any computer... just press one button and the images get saved directly to your USB memory. And thanks to the overhead camera, you can take scans of almost anything - not just books! I've already used it, and it's fun and easy to use.

There will be a lot happening this year at Musagetes, so keep and eye on the blog or follow us on Twitter.

For those of you who were not around this summer, the 2A class put on a spectacular play called Ilion, their take on the legend of Troy. You can watch the whole play on YouTube, starting with part one:

Between the covers

2011-07-08T10:56:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year when all the gardens are flourishing with new life. Don't have a garden? Perhaps try putting your old comics (or textbooks?) in the window and get growing!

"Manga Farming" is a project by Tokyo-based artist Koshi Kawachi, and is on display at the Matsuzakaya department store in Nagoya.

The process is simple... stand a book on its end, sprinkle with seeds (radish, broccoli, basil...) and water. Sprouts start to appear in days! A great way to upcycle materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill or recycling centre...

Be like Mies

2011-04-12T15:01:00.000-04:00

...and build your very own Farnsworth House!

LEGO is paying tribute to it's second iconic architect with a new addition to the LEGO Architecture collection. Own your very own piece of modernist history, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

This latest edition follows models of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum, as well as a number of other architectural landmarks.

ghost13 | ideas in things

2011-03-15T16:04:00.004-04:00

June 14, 2011 - June 17, 2011
Upper Kingsburg, Nova Scotia
*Participation is limited to 200 registrants

The Conference theme,‘Ideas in Things’, addresses the unity of the discipline of architecture, offering an optimistic critique of the current separation of the academy and practice, or the mind and the hand. A book and film will document the conference.

The conference will feature a number of renowned speakers, including: Kenneth Frampton, Juhani Pallasmaa, Brian MacKay-Lyons, Patricia & John Patkau, Brigitte Shim & Howard Sutcliffe, Francis Kèré and many more.

The meaning of community

2011-03-09T15:57:00.002-05:00

Pine Point is a beautiful and sad interactive film that explores the history and people of a planned mining community in Northern Canada.

The film visits the site where the town once stood, and many of the people who used to live there, asking many questions. What are the lasting effects of a town that was built from nothing and returned to nothing? What truth is there in our memories? Are we defined by the places we grew up? What are communities really made of?

And...

While you're on the NFB site, check out some other great interactive material, including Out My Window - a 360* documentary by the Highrise Project that explores social fabric in the urban environment.

Sweet Hearts

2011-02-08T12:37:00.000-05:00

Got deadlines on the brain? Crits haunting your dreams? Pulling too many all-nighters?

It's that time of year again, but the library has something that will keep you going... sugar!

Step away from your desk and come take a guess at how many candies are in our Valentine's jar. Not only will guessing the closest number win you a ridiculous amount of candy to share with the people you love, but we will also throw in a $10 Shoppers Drugmart Gift Card and... wait for it... A MONKEY! A monkey holding a heart!!!

We even have a prize for the runner-up because really, if you even come close you deserve something.

We will be picking the winners first thing on Valentine's Day... So put your spatial senses to the test today!

(*limit one entry per person please)

RACER Upgrades

2010-12-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

...are a good thing! Unfortunately it means that RACER will not be available between 6pm on Friday December 3rd and 9am on Tuesday December 7th.

So if you're looking for items outside of the TUG library system, order them now!

As always, we're extremely sorry for any inconvenience.

Get to know your library...

2010-10-27T14:01:00.004-04:00

...at our 3rd annual Open House!

This Thursday, October 28th from 5-7pm

Come meet your library staff, learn more about our services and browse some highlights from our Rare Book collection. You can also borrow a movie from our Film Collection for FREE! (*limit one per person)

There will be drinks, treats and prizes to be won! All you have to do is show up... see you there!

Tonight: Get some sleep

2010-10-14T11:20:00.006-04:00

The second of the 1/4 to 9 film series is playing tonight. Come check out Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep in the School of Architecture theatre.
You can support your friendly neighbourhood film club in a number of ways:
- attend film screenings
- borrow movies from the library
- suggest new DVD purchases
and most importantly...
- submit your short film for the 1/4 to 9 closing event! It's easy, just send a link to your video via Twitter or email!

It's a 1/4 to 9...

2010-09-29T10:25:00.004-04:00

The Waterloo Architecture Film Club is kicking off its fall film series tomorrow night with A Single Man - the first film by designer Tom Ford.

"1/4 to 9" will feature four other films to follow throughout the term, ending with a night of short films created by the school community. For more information about the films to come, keep an eye on our blog. If you want your film screened on closing night, send your entry to us via Twitter.Support the film club by checking out their collection of films available in the library!

Knit CamBRIDGE - the finished product

2010-09-22T16:28:00.006-04:00

Knitting was contributed by staff, students and faculty here at the School of Architecture, as well as some nervous-looking parents during admission week! Thanks to everyone who took some time to add a few stitches to the knitting in our basket.

Congratulations to Cambridge Artist-in-residence Sue Sturdy for bringing the community together to pull off such a large scale project. See our earlier post for more information about the project.

We have a great view of the bridge from our reading corner in the library... drop in and check it out!

Drawing the line

2010-07-08T12:48:00.000-04:00

Drawing the Line runs during the summer months here at the School of Architecture. The course's aim is to shine a light on "the importance of sketching in the study of architecture."

Under the direction of Hugh Thompson, students work to further their drawing skills with a focus on sites of historical significance.

While this year's students are busy putting pen to paper, the works produced by last year's class of 18 graduate students are now on display at Musagetes. Many sketches outline the architectural forms and details of buildings within walking distance of the school. Drop by the library and see if you can recognize any!
You can find more photos of the display over at our Flickr photostream.

Why Architecture Matters

2010-04-19T13:45:00.000-04:00

Because this guy says so.

Paul Goldberger, Architecture Critic for The New Yorker, will be part of the Critical Mass speakers series on May 3rd in Toronto (tickets at hotdocs.ca). The conversation will also include Sasha Frere-Jones, Robin Givhan, Eric Friesen, Michael Enright and Jeanne Beker.

If you can't make it to the lecture you can watch his interview on The Colbert Report, in which Paul and Stephen argue about whether or not American architecture still has "big tits".

You can also check out his latest book, Why Architecture Matters, and many others on display in the library.

...together at last!

2010-04-13T14:48:00.000-04:00

Two of my favourite blog topics - Bjarke Ingels and parkour - join forces in the new documentary My Playground.

MY PLAYGROUND - PREVIEW from KASPARWORKS on Vimeo.

The film explores the changing perceptions of urban space and interactive architecture by speaking with freerunners, architects, planners, politicians and philosophers across Europe and Asia. It also follows Denmark's Team JiYo through the process of creating the world's first and largest dedicated parkour park in Copenhagen.

A YouTube search for JiYo Park will bring up plenty o' videos showing the park in use.

Knit CamBRIDGE

2010-03-09T15:55:00.000-05:00

Sue Sturdy is this year's Artist in Residence at the Cambridge Centre for Arts.

Her goal is to cover the Main Street bridge in downtown Galt with knitting. We're sure to have the best view in town of the colourful finished project!

We have a basket of knitting in our reading corner. Drop by the library to take a break and help contribute to the project...it's good for your health! You can knit a full piece or just a row or two, and add your name to the knitting journal.

With the [re]growing popularity of knitting, there are similar projects popping up all over the place. Check. This. Out.

Worth watching...

2010-03-05T13:20:00.000-05:00

The Third and The Seventh is a "full CG-animated piece that tries to illustrate architecture art across a photographic point of view where main subjects are already-built spaces. Sometimes in an abstract way. Sometimes surreal." Always beautiful.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

More than meets the eye

2010-02-25T10:41:00.000-05:00

We live in a world where we Google the closest cafe, get directions from our phone, send tweets while standing in line and blog about the whole experience over coffee.

Reality is becoming so much more than just what we see in front of us. It is being created by companies and individuals at the global scale and in the palm of our hand. Want to change the world? There's an app for that...

Check out these two examples of the potential that exists to augment our perceived reality of buildings and space:

SARA brought to you by the Netherlands Architecture Institute is "the worlds first mobile architecture application featuring augmented reality with 3D models."

And Microsoft demonstrated the astonishing capabilities for augmenting reality in Bing Maps at this year's TED conference... and you thought Google Earth was cool.

Do you have a burning desire...

2010-02-10T13:56:00.000-05:00

...to express yourself in verse? Well get your imagination warmed up for the 2nd Annual

Musagetes Poetry Contest!
February 10th - 24th
This year's theme is: FIRE

Poems can be any length and any style, ranging from witty one liners to passionate epics spanning continents and generations.

Drop your entries into the bag in the library, or post them on our contest board for all to see! You can win Hot, Hotter and Hottest prizes!

Main Entry: FIRE

Pronunciation: \ˈfi(-ə)r\

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English fȳr; akin to Old High German fiur fire, Greek pyr

Date: before 12th century

Function: noun

1 a : the phenomenon of combustion manifested in light, flame, and heat b : burning passion : ardor : liveliness of imagination : inspiration
2 : fuel in a state of combustion
3 a : a destructive burning b : death or torture by fire
4 : brilliancy, luminosity
5 a : the firing of weapons b : intense verbal attack or criticism c : a rapidly delivered series

— on fire 1 : being consumed by fire : aflame 2 : eager, burning

Function: verb

1 a : to set on fire : kindle : ignite b : to give life or spirit to : inspire : to fill with passion or enthusiasm c : to light up as if by fire
2 a : to drive out or away by or as if by fire b : to dismiss from a position
3 a : to become irritated or angry —often used with up b : to become filled with excitement or enthusiasm
4 a : to emit or let fly an object
5 : to tend a fire
6 : to transmit a nerve impulse

Going bananas

2009-12-01T15:08:00.000-05:00

Waste not...

This month Maclean's magazine exposed the horrific amount of food wasted every day around the world. In many cases more food is wasted than consumed.

"...58 per cent of all the carrots grown currently went in the trash. That is, Stuart says, “for every carrot you eat, you have paid for at least one more to be thrown away.” Lettuce is even worse: for every serving of fresh salad eaten [...] another two have been thrown away"

More than institutionalized, the practice of throwing out perfectly healthy, fresh food is often legislated:

"...bureaucrats [...] have cooked up laws to ensure that all EU citizens are eating fruit and veggies of the same shape and size. In 2008, one British wholesaler was forced to chuck 5,000 kiwis for being four grams lighter than the 62 gram cut-off—the equivalent of being one millimeter too thin..."

But we can't put all the blame on the bureaucrats, everyone from farmers to consumers are getting their hands dirty in this mess.

"...Torontonians generated 70 kg more waste per person last year than just 10 years ago. Indeed, from 1990 to 2005, we increased our municipal waste by 24 per cent, compared to the OECD average increase of just ﬁve per cent."

This waste is not limited to the fields, but plagues our streams as well:

"The European Commission estimates that 40 to 60 per cent of all ﬁsh caught by European ﬂeets are thrown back to sea because they are too small, or the wrong species (Greenpeace puts the ﬁgure even higher, suggesting that 117 million of the 186 million ﬁsh caught in U.K. waters are tossed back to sea). [...] the amount of ﬁsh-based protein actually consumed amounts to just 10 per cent of the marine animals removed annually from the oceans..."

Not only are these practices painfully counter-intuitive to feeding the hundreds of millions of starving people (mostly women and children), the consequences are also looming for the rest of the world:

"Factory farms have become one of the biggest sources of pollution on the continent. So when we waste from the industrial food system, we are also wasting oil, releasing greenhouse gases, polluting waterways and hastening global warming. Even worse, many of the environmental costs of creating, then wasting, so much food—such as deforestation, water depletion and soil erosion—are being foisted on developing countries, where increasing amounts of cereals, grains and produce are being grown to sate the West’s growing appetite. When we pay Brazil to chop down the rainforest to grow soy, or have Kenya drain the Tana River delta to make sugar, we of course also hasten the never-ending extension of the agricultural frontier into the world’s last, remaining forests and wetlands."

The added linkage is my own. You can read the entire original article here, or in the reading corner of our library. Get angry, get active!

Want not...

The silver lining in this dark cloud came when I found this article today in the Hamilton Spectator. The Ontario Christian Gleaners are an inspired and motivated organization, just down the road from us. They take some of this perfectly good, but unwanted food, and divert it from the dump.
Their over 150 hardworking volunteers process 9,000kg of food each week into dried snacks and soup mixes which is then donated to relief organizations and distributed around the world. Find out how by watching this video.
The operation costs $150,000 and runs entirely on donations. If you're looking for a place to channel you energy after reading the Maclean's article, this is a great place to start. Your time, money and food can help them keep up the good work.

Want to learn more? The Gleaners are hosting open houses tomorrow (Dec 2) and Monday Dec 7th at 10:30am.

The Cat's Pyjamas

2009-11-19T14:26:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to our very own GALTstudio, winners of the Nuit Blanche People's Choice Award for their twofold project!

If you didn't get a chance to see it in person, you can virtually maneuver the intersections of time and space right here:

This win comes right on the heels of North House placing 4th in the U.S. DOE's Solar Decathlon, the City of Cambridge working with students to develop guidelines for core area revitalization, and the completion of the Grand House housing initiative.

One of our current students was just published in an anthology stacked with big-name Canadian writers, and a former student was chosen to design the medals for the 2010 Olympic Games.

UW Architecture is always making its mark on the world and we're so proud of our students for everything they've accomplished this year!

Not just another pretty face...

2009-11-18T15:13:00.000-05:00

Bjarke Ingels, from Denmark's hottest architecture firm, talks about some BIG ideas in this inspiring and humourous lecture from TED:

Like what you see? Check out BIG's book Yes is More: An archicomic on architectural evolution in our collection!

Fresh and crisp

2009-10-19T12:51:00.000-04:00

New books to get the season off to an invigorating start:

How to Build an Igloo and Other Snow Shelters

Norbert E. Yankielun

TH 4890 .Y36 2007

In this instructive, whimsical manual, U.S. Army engineer and seasoned cold-regions explorer Norbert Yankielun takes readers through the process of constructing and inhabiting a range of useful snow structures step-by-step. Whether you want the know-how to protect yourself from adverse weather conditions while back-country skiing or want to try your hand at building a backyard igloo just for fun, this book can show you how.

Extreme Architecture: Building for Challenging Environments

Ruth Slavid

NA 2543.35 .S624x 2009

Architects face some of their m

ost difficult challenges designing for extreme environments. Divided into sections titled Hot, Cold, High, Wet and Space, Extreme Architecture showcases 45 recent buildings designed for these challenging environments, giving valuable insights into the extremes of architectural thinking. Projects range from the fantastic – a lunar hotel – to those already built, including a school in Burkina Faso, a floating sauna in Sweden and an underground seed vault in Norway.

Smart Surfaces and Their Application in Architecture and Design

Thorsten Klooster

TA 418.7 .K56x 2009

Luminescent wallpaper, curtains which generate electricity, self-cleaning windows: new developments in the field of surface technologies will continue to influence the

ways in which materials can be used in architecture and design. Smart surfaces expand the range of design options available to architects, leading to new concepts which can meet the changing requirements of buildings and design. Smart Surfaces provides background and technical information for the categories of surfaces, nano, energy, light climate and information, with samples of amazing and often mind-boggling projects from around the world.

Albert Speer & Partner: A Manifesto for Sustainable Cities: Think Local, Act Global

Jeremy Gains & Stefan Jäger

HT 166. G24x 2009

For more than forty years, Albert Speer & Partner have been designing ecologically sensitive communities throughout the globe. As one of the world’s most forward-thinking architectural and urban planning practices, many of their trailblazing projects are discussed and analyzed for their success in satisfying the array of social, economic and environmental demands of the twenty-first century. Focusing on projects in cities such as Shanghai, Baku, Cairo, Changchun and Abuja, this book explores themes like the redeveloping of aging cities, resource conservation, urban density, zoning and new technology.

Out of the darkness and into the light

2009-07-15T12:29:00.000-04:00

From the same students who brought us cake, come more enlightened creations. You can't find these lamps at Ikea, but you can find them here! These lamps and more will be on display in the library for the rest of the year.

(Click on the images to see the incredible detail!)

The Dutch, Denmark and Deutschland, oh my!

2009-06-30T10:22:00.000-04:00

Check out these new books on architecture abroad...

Nordic Architects
David Sokol
NA 1208 .S65x 2008

Nordic Architects surveys some of the most dynamic architects in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, celebrating the recent works of established as well as up-and-coming talents. In their own voices, architects discuss the opportunities and challenges of working within a renowned design heritage – and rebelling against it.

FollyDOC EXPO
NA 846 .F65x 2008

In 2005, the Dutch artist Lowieke Duran announced an international contest to design an architectural folly - a visually provocative, poetic structure without a specific function - for a once flourishing, now down-and-out industrial dockland area of Rotterdam where there has recently been some promising new development. This catalog documents the second FollyDOC held at the same venue in 2007. The structures range from the silly [Hairy Monster] to the sublime [Free Standing Dome]. Check out the catalogue from the earlier exhibition too [NA8460 .I58x 2006]. It’s on Reserve for the term.

Updating Germany: 100 Projects for a Better Future
Friedrich von Borries + Mattias Bottger (eds.).
NA 1068.6 .U64x 2008

Solutions have to be found for the great global inequalities – social, economic, and ecological. Architecture can and does make a contribution to this process. The ninety-nine realized and experimental projects depicted here were originally presented at the 11th International Architecture Exhibition held in Venice in November 2008. This book aims to provoke action, encourage new ideas, and to help nurture the conviction that all of us can make contributions to a better future.

Back to the City: Strategies for Informal Urban Interventions
Steffen Lehmann (ed.).
N 72 .A75 B33x 2009

The quality and potential of disused sites, vacant buildings, and abandoned spaces is frequently hidden in the urban fabric, but once revitalized, these spaces can be an important urban resource. Back to the City documents a series of innovative site-specific installations and temporary interventions in public spaces, in Germany and Australia, by interdisciplinary teams of architects, artists, urban planners, and landscape architects. These informal interventions add to the meaningful discourse of contemporary urban culture, challenging our architectural stereotypes in a sustainable way.

Livin' la vida local

2009-06-16T13:08:00.000-04:00

This season, the library staff are challenging ourselves to eat only (or mostly) local foods. Largely inspired by the 100-Mile Diet, we each have our own goals, rules and reasons for doing this.

We will be promoting local eating throughout the summer in various ways. Drop in to the library now to check out our display of student theses, library books and DVDs, and Eat Fresh Eat Local maps you can take home. We are also compiling a binder full of maps, articles, farms, CSAs, stores, restaurants and recipes. We are perfectly situated here to make the most of what's grown and raised in Ontario...and don't forget the school's own Community Garden, where you can adopt your own plot to get growing!

Try challenging yourself to eat locally this summer. It doesn't have to be 100%, start with one meal, check out the farmer's markets, sign up with a CSA. There are countless reasons to eat locally: the health of our environment, our own health, the consequences of peak oil and just getting to know your food - who makes it and where it comes from.

Keep an eye on our Eat Local blog for tips, tricks, events, ideas, sources and more!

They let us eat cake...

2009-05-25T14:25:00.000-04:00

This month, 2B students in Vince Hui's Industrial and Graphic Design class certainly had their plate full. Their first task...get cooking.

The assignment? Build a structure at least 8 inches high. The clients? Musagetes Library. The building material? Cake. And this was one class that really rose to the challenge.

The five groups had less than a week to design, plan, bake and build their pastry projects. All were smart enough to interview library staff to determine our preferences, which served them well when the majority served us chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.

The hardest part was judging the decadent designs, which ranged from the literal to the symbolical in design, and from scrumptious to suspicious in flavour.

In the end, though, we all escaped with our good health and had a sweet spot for seeing what Musagetes Library means to the students...and they made it look like a piece of cake.

Take a hike!

2009-04-28T15:34:00.000-04:00

This weekend (May 2 & 3, 2009) is the annual Jane's Walk. In celebration of the legacy of urban theorist and activist Jane Jacobs, the event is designed to help people explore and learn about the community around them.

There are well over a hundred walks planned in over 20 cities, including Toronto, Hamilton, Waterloo, Kitchener, Vancouver, Guelph and more. One of the two walks happening here in Cambridge is even being led by one of our Architecture students!

If you have your own idea for leading a walk in your community it's not too late to register.

The weather should be perfect for walking this weekend, so what better way to get in touch with your neighbourhood and your neighbours! As Jane said it herself, "No one can find what will work for our cities by looking at suburban garden cities, manipulating scale models, or inventing dream cities. You've got to get out and walk."

Room to Grow

2009-04-23T14:28:00.000-04:00

Want to grow your own food, but don't have the space? Have space to grow food, but don't have the time or the energy? Sign up on Sharing Backyards! This site matches people who want to grow with people who have room to grow...it's like online dating for local food lovers.

Can't find a backyard to use? Don't discount those forgotten corners of your city...there's always room to grow!

Unfortunately, Waterloo Region has just voted against allowing chickens to be raised in residential backyards, so you'll have to stick to plants.

Don't have space, time, energy or know-how? Let someone else do the growing for you. Support one of your MANY local food growers by visiting the Farmer's Market, a local farm, or buying into a CSA co-op.

Good Eats

2009-04-22T16:03:00.000-04:00

Our Food for Fines drive has officially been declared a success!

The School of Architecture managed to gather a whopping 631 pounds of food! That translates into over $1,400 in cleared fines for you and hundreds of meals for local families and individuals in need.

All donations have been delivered to the Cambridge Food Bank right around the corner.

It was really great to see our little community so enthusiastic about the drive and the staff got a real kick out of watching our mountain of food grow day by day. Go team!

Got Fines?

2009-04-02T12:48:00.000-04:00

From April 6th to the 17th, Musagetes Library will be hosting our 1st annual Food for Fines event, in support of the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

For every non-perishable food item you donate, you will receive a coupon good for $2 off your fines!

Don't have any fines? Hold on to your coupon and redeem it any time in the future.

The Food Bank is in most need of the following items: Baby food/formula, canned fruit/vegetables, beans, lentils, rice, pasta/sauce, canned meat/fish, canned soup/stew, peanut butter, nuts, cereals, juice, and canned/powdered milk.

Last year the food bank served 25,000 people in the region, and almost half of those were children. Let's fill some bellies!

The fine print:
* We can not accept the following items: instant noodles, junk food, perishable foods, damaged, open, expired or homemade items.
** We can not forgive lost book charges, ILL book fines or film rental late fees.

Hot off the presses

2009-02-23T12:48:00.000-05:00

Portraits from Above, the latest tome from our very own Rufina Wu, is now available on the New Book shelf...check it out!

Our grass roots are far reaching

2009-02-20T17:07:00.000-05:00

The UW School of Architecture is making its mark internationally!

The Grand House Student Co-op, brain child of our very own Chantal Cornu, is featured in this month's Architectural Record. Check it out on the magazine rack and online!

Not just a pretty facade...

2009-02-20T15:14:00.000-05:00

Zerofootprint has just announced the Z-prize. The "Zerofootprint Skin Renewal Award" will be launched at the Discovery '09 Conference this May in Toronto.

More than just an anti-aging cosmetic approach, this award will challenge designers from across the wold to come up with new solutions to an old problem...old buildings. The largest greenhouse gas emissions in cities come from buildings. Rebuilding cities is not an option and retrofitting can be inadequate. Re-skinning, however, has many advantages:
· It can be used to hide a cheap retrofit
· It is potentially non-invasive
· It can make a ho-hum building into a handsome green role model
· It can be used to engineer an energy reduction of as much as 70%
· Re-skinning can be smart — solar, thermal, media, vegetation etc.

More information, and tonnes of inspiration, can be found at the new Zerofootprint resource area for a limited time in the library.

You can also find more books about designing like you give a damn now on display in the library.

Show them why we're the best...

2009-02-10T12:38:00.000-05:00

Details here.

Haiku poetry / challenge for Architecture / play to win sweet prize

2009-01-26T11:33:00.000-05:00

For Haiku Contest
writing will be rewarding
details next stanzas...

Submit your poem
before February 10th
Email or paper

Poems on display
in the library until
the contest closes

Then from all entries
5 winners drawn randomly
sweet and yummy prize!!!

-LF

Poetry (straw-bale-y) jam

2009-01-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

This month our friendly neighbourhood library is hosting their annual Poem-a-Day contest.

It's open to all ages, all styles, and holds the possibility of prizes and publishing!

To celebrate the event you'll find an inspiring, architecture-related poetry display on the counter in our library. Drop by and learn more about architects who are poets, poetry in architecture, architecture in literature and the construction of poetry.

You will also find poetic interventions throughout the library as you browse for books!

Good on paper

2009-01-21T11:23:00.000-05:00

Check out the latest edition of Spacing magazine. Their fifth anniversary issue focuses on the "Next generation of city builders" (psst....that's you guys) and features the winners of their thinkTORONTO urban design ideas competition (you guys again).

Some of them wanted to shine a light on the subway, and others wanted to get people reading on the rails...but all of them are about making the city a community.

Of the 20 winning ideas, many were from current and former UW Architecture students. Check out those entries on our bulletin board, or flip through the whole issue on our magazine rack!

New Books...on natural and fashionabe technology

2009-01-06T11:03:00.000-05:00

For more about these books, check out our New Book Spotlight!

Free floating

2008-12-08T13:32:00.000-05:00

Online mag FLYP features Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut's idea for a new kind of island getaway. It is expected that global warming, and the resulting rise in sea levels, will create hundreds of millions of refugees. Callebaut's solution to this devastating problem are self-sufficient, amphibious cities called "lilypad".

A little (fish) food for thought...

To learn more about this looming crisis, and how it is already affecting millions of people around the world, check out the documentary "The Refugees of the Blue Planet" available in our film collection.

Able to leap tall buildings...

2008-12-08T13:14:00.000-05:00

UW Urban Planning student, Michael Lee discusses the rising popularity of Parkour at UW and in the Waterloo Region in today's Hamilton Spectator.

Should you go to the AGO?

2008-11-13T17:05:00.001-05:00

The dawn of a 'new' gallery is upon us. Is it a good thing? or a bad thing?

You could find out by reading Toronto Star Architecture critic Christopher Hume's lauding review of the renovation. Or by reading the criticism it's drawing from local contemporary artists. Or, find out what Frank Gehry thinks of his own work here.

You can also view 360 degree virtual tours of the Galleria Italia, and Walker Court Stairs. And another sort of tour here.

Or, you could find out yourself! This weekend the AGO is open to all...with events and entertainment for free!

Want to learn more about the AGO, Frank Gehry, or some of the AGO's featured artists, like Frank Stella? Check out the display of books, DVDs and articles on the counter in the library!

Watch more Yahoo! Video videos on AOL Video

More on the new AGO here, here (with our own Anne Bordeleau!), and here .

I am a woman blogger...

2008-10-30T12:58:00.000-04:00

...who noticed this, posted the other day by one of my favourite women bloggers:

"Science Books and Films gave You Can Be A Woman Architect by Margot Siegel and Judith Love Cohen (ill. by David Katz) their Recommendation. Their review stated in part: Margot Siegel, the architect profiled describes in her own words what made her want to become an architect and how she proceeded toward her goal. After telling of her schooling and current work, she asks, "Do you like to draw? Do you like to make things? Can you visualize three-dimensionally? Do you like to work with people? Then you can do it too. You can be a woman architect!"

...hmmm. I knew I wanted (had to) to blog about this, but even after days of thinking about it my mind still can't find the words.

I could make a joke about it...it's not like the hundreds of women I work with every day are here to get their WMArch degree. It's not like they'll be applying for different positions. It's not like being a 'woman architect' is a career that is any different from being an 'architect'. Aside, of course, from the fact that it's likely they will earn less than their male counterparts.

But what I really want is to hear what YOU have to say about it. So lets hear it...

Around and about...

2008-10-21T13:35:00.000-04:00

Inspired by the extraordinary installations around the school made by ordinary objects?

Check out artist Tara Donovan, who is doing similar things...

Down the rabbitt hole...

2008-10-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

Urban adventurer and human geographer Michael Cook will be lecturing at the School of Architecture on Tuesday, October 28th at 7pm.

Cook chronicles his adventures through underground tunnels and waterways with striking pictures on his site The Vanishing Point. If you want to dig a little deeper, check out this interview he did with the BLDGBLOG.

For more about urban exploration in the Toronto area you can look here or here or check out the book display in the library.

Interested in a more gentle introduction to urban exploration? UW School of Architecture alum Emma Cubitt will be guiding a walking tour this Saturday of the alleyways in my Hamilton neighbourhood. And that's not all she's up to...

Learn from experience...

2008-10-16T15:19:00.001-04:00

With these NEW BOOKS!

Geo-abstract

2008-09-16T11:50:00.001-04:00

They say art imitates life. This exhibition by the University of Waterloo's Map Library proves that life IS art

Geo-Abstract

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

Exhibit runs Monday September 15th ro Friday Spetember 19th at the Modern Languages Gallery, University of Waterloo

Want to know more about how YOU can make maps like these? Ask me!

...wait for it...

2008-09-15T11:56:00.000-04:00

Wait for it...

2008-09-12T17:06:00.001-04:00

Books in the Spotlight

2008-09-09T14:10:00.000-04:00

Check out these books featured in this month's spotlight. And don't forget to visit the library for even more fresh titles!

By Divine Light

2008-08-28T12:09:00.000-04:00

Check out this video of the new St. Gabriel's Church in Toronto.

Not only is its harmony with the earth reflected in it's Gold LEED rating, but the harmony between light and glass creates a reflection of the heavenly as well.

Earth Art

2008-08-25T13:52:00.001-04:00

A new exhibit at the Royal Botanical Gardens explores the relationship of structure and design in art and nature. Installations can be found throughout the gardens, on land and in water. You can even catch a glimpse of some structures floating in Cootes Paradise as you barrel down the 403 in Hamilton!

The exhibi t runs until Thanksgiving Monday.

It's showtime!

2008-07-30T11:46:00.000-04:00

Snuggle up with some of these fine new films and get your snob on with the best of them:

Kill Bill - vols. 1 & 2
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Absolute Wilson
Waking Life
Vernon, Florida
Last Tango in Paris
Belle de Jour
Pi
Videodrome
Pink Floyd The Wall
Planet Earth & Blue Planet
The Vanishing
Spirit of the Beehive
M

The shape of things to come...

2008-06-23T12:24:00.000-04:00

Check out the latest in Dubai...a $350m, 68-storey tower designed by Italian architect David Fisher. Each floor rotates 360 degrees, constantly changing the shape of the building.

Interested in more skyscrapers? Check out the new Rare Book display in the hallway beside the library, and in the display cases just inside the library entrance.

Let's get on the same page!

2008-06-06T15:33:00.000-04:00

This year's choice for Waterloo Region's 'One Book, One Community' is...

The 100-mile Diet: A year of eating locally
by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon

The book chronicles their year of strictly eating only the foods that came from within a 100-mile radius of their home in Vancouver. You can now find this book in our collection (call# TX 360 .C22 B74x 2007a).

While you're at it, come and check out our multi-media display of related materials, from books to DVDs, local articles and the Waterloo and Hamilton Buy Local, Buy Fresh maps!

In a time of global warming, food riots and rising gas prices, growing your own food or buying locally is a great way to start building sustainable communities. It's summer and we live in Southern Ontario...fresh and local food abounds! While it may be hard to give up on things like rice, olive oil, coffee or chocolate, it's easy to make up the rest of your diet with food that is only a short walk away. Try eating locally for a weekend, go a month without buying processed foods, walk over the Farmer's Market every Saturday morning, grow some tomatoes in your window. Eating fresh and locally will benefit your health AND the planet's. I challenge you!

Wondering what 100 miles means to you here in Cambridge? Have a look...

...want to know how I made that map? Interested in finding out what kinds of maps YOU can make? Ask me!

New movies!

2008-05-26T14:31:00.000-04:00

Here are some hot and fresh DVDs that just went on the shelf:

Alphaville; Gladiator; American History X; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Children of Men; A Fish Called Wanda; Ferris Bueller's Day Off; House of Flying Daggers; The Refugees of the Blue Planet; A Zed and Two Noughts; Pulp Fiction; Fight Club; Se7en; Ghostbusters; Bowling for Columbine

...and keep an eye out for a whack of Flying Circus episodes soon to come!

Get your drink on in the library!*

2008-05-13T17:02:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to announce that beverages are now allowed in the library...so bring in that coffee and study even longer!

*Fine print: This does not mean you can now consume alcohol in the library. In an effort to reduce waste and keep the library clean, WE WILL ONLY ALLOW DRINKS IN RE-USABLE, RE-SEALABLE AND UNBREAKABLE CONTAINERS, such as screw-top bottles and travel mugs**. This privilege can be revoked anytime so don't ruin it for everyone else. Please drink responsibly.

**Side note: Travel mugs are available for sale from the Melville Cafe and most other coffee shops. If you drink coffee or tea you should be using a re-usable mug all the time anyway...aside from reducing waste they keep your coffee hot longer, and most places will give you a discount for using one.

New Books - on what's natural...

2008-05-12T11:46:00.000-04:00

Blubberland: The Dangers of Happiness

Elizabeth Farrelly

BF 575.H27F37 2008

Welcome to Blubberland – a world of quadrangle-garaged mansions, vast malls, gated communities, stretch limos, and posh resorts. Blubberland is a place, but it is also a state of mind: we expect to be happy [trophy house, SUV in the driveway, home entertainment system, pension fund, cosmetic surgery], but in fact we’ve grown increasingly bloated, bored, and miserable.

In Blubberland, award-winning critic Elizabeth Farrelly looks at our “superfluous superfluity,” our huge eco-footprint, and asks why we find it so hard to abandon habits we know to be destructive. Why can’t we build human-scale cities, design meaningful public spaces, eat reasonable meals, and stop assaulting nature.

Nature Design: From Inspiration to Innovation

N7650 .M386x 2007

Nature has always been a source of inspiration for the design of the human environment, but in recent years this relationship has grown even more intense, being revealed in a broad spectrum of forms and functions. This book presents complex and innovative projects and objects from design, architecture, landscape architecture, photography, and art that have been inspired by nature. Themes include: sea, topography, plants, human beings, animals, scent, and climate. Watch how 1^st Ave Machine has inserted artificial natural elements into real nature to create an eye-popping music video

Biophilic Design

Stephen R. Kellert, Judith H. Heerwagen, Martin L. Mador

NA2542.35.B56 2008

Biophilic design is about humanity’s place in nature and the natural world’s place in human society, where mutuality, respect, and enriching relationships can and should exist at all levels and should emerge as the norm rather than the exception. Incorporating the positive experience of nature into the design of the built environment is critical to human health, performance, and well-being. Learn more about the theory, science, and practice of biophilic design through this guide.

Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With Nature

Douglas Farr

HT241.S8736 2008

Written by the chair of the LEED-Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) initiative, this book is both an urgent call to action and a comprehensive introduction to "Sustainable Urbanism" - the emerging and growing design reform movement that combines the creation and enhancement of walkable and diverse places with the need to build high-performance infrastructure and buildings. Farr shows where we went wrong and how we need to implement Sustainable Urbanism through leadership and communication in cities, communities, and neighborhoods.

It's ama'zine! (sorry)

2008-04-23T14:42:00.000-04:00

Pick it up!
Take a look!
Put it back!
Tell your friends!!!

You love us! You REALLY love us!

2008-04-17T15:06:00.000-04:00

You may recall, once upon a time, the library invited you all to show us a little love...in video form.

Well, you did. Out of all 18 entries across the entire university, 2 were from our little School of Architecture...not bad at all. Even better, one of them took 1st PRIZE!

Congratulations Ray Wang and Eric Lajoie!
The Musagetes Library staff are all very impressed.

Knowledge For Free from Ray Wang on Vimeo.

...because I felt like it...

2008-04-15T23:17:00.000-04:00

Well, it's the end of term and the beginning of spring. It's actually the end and the beginning of many things. So I felt like blogging a little more casual than usual. I spent last night painstakingly typing out this poem. I really hope someone takes the time to read it...Please feel free to let me know if you did!

I've always liked this poem. And for many reasons it seems to be particularly appropriate in this moment of time.

The land has a very loud voice in Canadian literature. It's almost as if Purdy's poems are written from the land's point of view. I know the land Purdy is writing about in this poem very well; many parts of it have flooded this week. A friend of mine who grew up in a similar part of Ontario has chosen to return to a life of farming. He recommend I read Fields of Plenty by Michael Ableman, and I did. I recommend it to you too...we have it in our library system (call # S 605.5 .A249 2005).

I've noticed that many of our Masters students are studying agriculture and agricultural land. In a climate of environmental desperation, health crises and food prices causing riots around the world, it is reassuring to know a new generation sees the need for local and sustainable food sources and community building.

Enjoy.

The Country North of Belleville

by Al Purdy

Bush land scrub land -
Cashel Township and Wollaston
Elzevir McClure and Dungannon
green lands of Weslemkoon Lake
where a man might have some
opinion of what beauty
is and none deny him
for miles ---

Yet this is the country of defeat
where Sisyphus rolls a big stone
year after year up the ancient hills
picknicking glaciers have left strewn
with centuries' rubble
backbreaking days
in the sun and rain
when realization seeps slow in the mind
without grandeur or self deception in
noble struggle
of being a fool --

A country of quiescence and still distance
a lean land
not like the fat south
with inches of black soil on
earth's round belly --
And where the farms are
it's as if a man stuck
both thumbs in the in the stony earth and pulled
it apart
to make room
enough between the trees
for a wife
and maybe some cows and
room for some
of the more easily kept illusions --
And where the farms have gone back
to forest
are only soft outlines
shadowy differences --

Old fences drift vaguely among the trees
a pile of moss-covered stones
gathered for some ghost purpose
has lost meaning under the meaningless sky
--- they are like cities under water
and the undulating green waves of time
are laid on them --

This is the country of our defeat
and yet
during the fall plowing a man
might stop and stand in a brown valley of the furrows
and shade his eyes to watch for the same
red patch mixed with gold
that appears on the same
spot in the hills
year after year
and grow old
plowing and plowing a ten-acre field until
the convolutions run parallel with his own brain ---

And this is a country where the young
leave quickly
unwilling to know what their fathers know
or think the words their mothers do not say --
Herschel Monteagle and Faraday
lakeland rockland and hill country
a little adjacent to where the world is
a little north of where the cities are and
sometime
we may go back there
to the country of our defeat

Wollaston Elzevir and Dungannon
and Weslemkoon lake land
where the high townships of Cashel
McClure and Marmora once were ---
But it's been a long time since
and we must enquire the way
of strangers --

Synergy...

2008-04-14T16:05:00.000-04:00

...an urban intervention by Masters students at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture.

Come check out this project that explores the urban design and revitalization occurring in Cambridge and other great Canadian cities like it.

The installation runs from Friday April 18th to Sunday May 4th @ the corner of Main/Ainslie Sts.

Opening receptions to be held Friday April 18th, 4-6pm and Saturday April 19th, 10am-12pm

Grand House Week!

2008-04-14T15:54:00.000-04:00

Council Meeting:

Monday April 14 - 7pm
Come show support to help secure this donation. Meet at the school atrium at 6:45 and go over as a group, or just go directly there. It's on the main floor of the new city hall (great growing wall too). This is for $55,000 !

Tours:

Tuesday April 15 noon -2pm
Meet at the parking lot of Shoppers and come on up. Flexible time to allow you (esp. faculty) to fit it into your lunch leg-stretching break. Please wear appropriate footwear.

Thursday and Friday April 17th and 18th
Noon tour, 1pm pizza at the school
This is for everyone, meet in the atrium at noon and then walk over as a group. This will be followed by a lunch and info about living there, we can answer questions like...
- what is a co-op and what does it mean to live there ?
- how will a house of 12 function, what are the benefits and disadvantages ?
- how does food work ?
- what is the awesome group of North American student co-ops we're a part of ?
- what ?!? NO RENT !!! (well, as an owner, you pay a monthly housing charge, so it's not free..)

Big Brother Bush

2008-04-09T14:39:00.000-04:00

Do you ever worry about your intellectual freedom? Maybe you should start.

Take a look at what recently happened to a research database used by Waterloo and universities across Canada. The American government is meddling with free speech, and their influence doesn't stop at the border crossing.

Stay on top, with hot new books

2008-04-02T15:25:00.000-04:00

Do like to browse the New Book shelf, but can't make it in to the library every day to have a look?

Did you know that by doing an Advanced Search in TRELLIS, and selecting the New Items tab, you can view all the books we've added to our collection in the past week or the past month?

You can also view a PDF of all of last month's books right from our web page.

Check it out and see what you're missing!

New Movies!

2008-03-25T16:07:00.000-04:00

Check out some of the titles recently added to the film club collection:

Roger & Me
Pride and prejudice
Global gardener: Permaculture with Bill Mollison
A scanner darkly
Cache
The proposition
The fountain
Like water for chocolate
Volver
The draughtsman's contract
The great pretender: Works of art by Theo Jansen
Style wars
MicroCosmos
Fast food nation
Play time
The squid and the whale
28 days later
The power of community: How Cuba survived peak oil

...brought to you by your own rental fees/late fines, the WAC film club and the generous donations of some particularly fabulous individuals!

New books!

2008-03-20T12:34:00.001-04:00

...on innovators

& Fork

Tom Dixon

TS 171.4 .A49x 2007

What do an inflatable bridge, a TV for-and controlled by-pigs, a chaise lounge featuring a beating heart and breathing lungs, and a light that can bring brightness to the most inaccessible spaces have in common? They’re among the many innovative product design ideas featured in & Fork. Ten renowned industrial designers were asked to select the 100 most interesting and creative designers working in the world today. The resulting book provides a comprehensive survey of their work over the past five years.

Check out & Fork’s companion volume, Spoon TS 171 .S64x 2002.

Mosaics

West 8

NA 9207 .W48x 2008

What firm is about to revitalize the Toronto Waterfront? Rotterdam’s urban design and landscape architecture firm, West 8, led by Adriaan Geuze. Known for combining ecology, people, and weather conditions with building programme “West 8 aims to incorporate awareness of these various aspects in a playful, optimistic manner that stimulates the desire to conquer and take possession of a space.” Take a peek at what the firm has done in other parts of the world to prepare yourself for Toronto’s waterfront transformation.

Riess Wood³: Modulare Holzbausysteme

Otto Kapfinger & Ulrich Wieler (Eds.)

NA 4110 .R54x 2007

Get your wood on! Hubert Riess is an Austrian architect whose work has explored the characteristics of wood as a construction material, particularly as a modular component, throughout his 30 year career. This book documents the potential of prefabricated wood modules in projects ranging from individual residential units to larger commercial buildings through to a complete building programme covering entire city blocks.

GIS Seminar

2008-03-13T14:37:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder what GIS is? Or why you should care?

This session will cover what GIS is and what it can do. Live demonstrations will show you how easy it is to use, and what resources are available to you here at the library. Experts will be on-hand to answer all your questions.

Geospatial Information Systems can add some serious value to your coursework or thesis. Find out what it can do for you!

...in the Ward Room
Tuesday March 18th @ 11am.

Your modern architecture

2008-03-13T13:41:00.000-04:00

Check out MIMOA, an interactive modern European architecture database.

You can browse categorized buildings, view pictures and building details, see a Google map of the area, create your own profile and publish projects.

A monumental presidency?

2008-03-03T15:16:00.000-05:00

The Chronicle Review sent out a back-of-the-envelope challenge to their readers to send in their design ideas for George W. Bush's presidential library.

Some of the more amusing and impressive designs made it into their architecture issue where the public can vote on their favourites. Here are some of mine...

Climate change and healthy cities

2008-02-14T14:34:00.000-05:00

Upwind Downwind 2008: Climate change and healthy cities conference

The City of Hamilton and Clean Air Hamilton will be hosting the 5^th Biennial Conference, Upwind Downwind: Climate Change and Healthy Cities on February 25 and 26.

A free public lecture, WALK & BIKE FOR LIFE, will be held on February 25 at 7 pm at the Hamilton Convention Centre featuring Gil Penalosa.

Gil is a global thinker with various work experiences in Canada and Latin America in fields related to parks, recreation, urban planning, and active transportation. He is the Executive Director at Walk and Bike for Life, member of the Board of Directors of American Trails and the City Parks Alliance (USA), and the North American Chairman for International Sport and Culture.

In the late 1990s he was commissioner of parks, sports and recreation in Bogota Colombia where his accomplishments include shutting down 91 kilometres of city roads every Sunday to create the Ciclovia where over 1.5 million people now walk, bicycle, run and skate every week.

Visit http://www.cleanair.hamilton.ca/updown/udconf.asp for more information about the conference. Note that there is a reduced registration fee for students ($30)

Check out some videos of the transformation in transportation in Bogota under Penalosa's direction.

http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/28/streetfilm-brt-in-bogota/ and
http://bcgp.blogspot.com/2007/12/ciclovia.html

Show us some L-O-V-E!!!

2008-02-13T11:54:00.000-05:00

Create a short video telling us why YOU love the library and you'll be entered to win some great prizes!

Is it our resources? staff? the view? or maybe it's just the best place to take a nap in the school...

The rules are simple. Just email a short video or love letter to be entered in the draw...the best videos win the big prizes!

Do you need a good talking to?

2008-02-07T14:54:00.000-05:00

Here are some upcoming lectures happening at the school next week:

Inaki Abalos of Abalos Herreros Architects
Monday February 11th @ 12pm

This Spanish firm has worked on a wide range of buildings, with a focus on Verticalism and the relationship between the Natural and Artificial in architecture and landscape.

There are a number of books by, and about, Inaki Abalos in our library that deal with technological innovations in architecture.

Reinhold Martin of Martin Baxi Architects
Tuesday February 12th @ 7pm

Martin is a director at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture and co-founded the architecture journal Grey Room.

His books Organizational complex: Architecture, media and corporate space and Multi-national city: Architectural itineraries can be found in the library.

Logotopia

2008-01-31T15:20:00.000-05:00

Logotopia: The library in architecture, art and the imagination

Logotopia is from the ancient Greek logos, meaning "word" and topos, meaning "place."

Design at Riverside, Cambridge Galleries is launching a new exhibit: Logotopia, curated by Sascha Hastings, in celebration of the new book.

Architects, writers and artists explore the library as a concept and a built form through four distinct categories - the Universal Library, the National Library, the Public Library, the Private Library - and take a peek into the future of new technologies and the librarian as a cyber avatar.

Opening on Tuesday, February 19th @ 6:30pm, remarks @ 7pm.

What's cooler than bein' cool?

2008-01-30T15:22:00.001-05:00

Ice Cold!

Not relevant Blog content, but I couldn't resist:

A surfer catches a wave near Bluffer's Park in Toronto on Jan 30.

Downtown "re-growth" gets a new meaning

2008-01-24T14:50:00.000-05:00

Kathy Renwald, the Spectator's gardening columnist, has a bold new idea for the previously discussed Lister Block in downtown Hamilton and calls on you to make it happen:

"In the Lister Block, Hamilton's crumbling landmark, you can be sure plants are growing from seeds carried in the windows by birds, or maple keys on the roof that have germinated and rooted in the accumulated dirt of abandonment.

If the warring factions fail to agree on a rescue plan, the Lister Block should become the world's biggest garden folly. Take the roof off and let a garden grow. Now there's a tourist attraction of world-class proportion.

Follies, defined by Wikipedia as fanciful, extravagant examples of artistic expression, are found the world over. The Chanticleer Garden in Pennsylvania has a wondrous one in the foundation of an old estate. Hamilton has a mini one on Aberdeen Avenue.

Isn't it time for bold thinking? Imagine the Lister Block as a fantastic garden, the Harris Inlet preserved, and Hamilton becomes a city of rescued gardens instead of the city "it's good to get sick in," as a citizen recently declared in this paper.

It's possible the Lister will sit rotting for a few more years so there is time to issue a challenge to creative thinkers. Ask the students at Guelph School of Landscape Architecture and the architecture students at the University of Waterloo to turn the Lister into a wonderful garden.

Ask them to make room for a music garden where students from Mohawk College could play. Display their ideas and drawings in the art galleries on James Street North.

Two years ago, U.K. artist Mary Wardle had a show at the Print Studio on James Street North based on the gardens she found in abandoned textile mills in Manchester. Her work evoked Hamilton. Imagine a display like that in the new Lister Garden Gallery.

The fun police are reading this and saying "what a stupid idea." But ask an architect and they will say anything can be built."

He says again, "Good fences make good neighbours"

2008-01-23T18:30:00.000-05:00

When is a wall more than just a wall? When it gets torn down.

New and Improved!

2008-01-22T11:54:00.000-05:00

Thanks to your suggestions and a side of WEEF funding, the Library's Conference Room is better than ever!

All four walls are now covered with tack boards and white boards, which provide an ideal backdrop for our new AV equipment. The room is now furnished with a DVD/VHS player, a digital projector and speakers to fulfill all your group work-critiquing-powerpointing-movie watching needs.

Just come to the front desk to book some time in our newly multi-purposed room.

White House Redux

2008-01-21T12:43:00.000-05:00

White House Redux

"What if the White House, the ultimate architectural symbol of political power, were to be designed today? On occasion of the election of the 44th President of the United States of America, Storefront for Art and Architecture, in association with Control Group, challenge you to design a new residence for the world's most powerful individual. The best ideas, designs, descriptions, images, and videos will be selected by some of the world's most distinguished designers and critics and featured in a month-long exhibition at Storefront for Art and Architecture in July 2008. All three winners will be flown to New York to collect their prizes at the opening party. Register now and send us your ideas for the Presidential Palace of the future!"

You know where to look, but do you know how to find?

2008-01-21T12:20:00.000-05:00

18-30 year-olds use libraries more than any other demographic. It's probably also safe to say they are by far the most computer literate. But Computer Literacy doesn't mean Information Literacy.

Earth is getting hotter...

2008-01-19T12:59:00.000-05:00

...but this is really cool.

Our Library, your third place

2008-01-17T15:50:00.000-05:00

The internet age has officially failed to crush the brick and mortar library, which has evolved from being a repository of books to a public gathering place.

iSpy

2008-01-16T15:56:00.000-05:00

Their paper-thin laptop is pretty yummy...but also unveiled today is a new feature on Apple's iPhone than can pinpoint your location on web-based maps.

Check this out.

Cool? Definitely. Creepy? A bit. Does it make me want one even more? Yes, yes it does.

New books... on photography

2008-01-09T12:49:00.000-05:00

The Lost Vanguard: Russian Modernist Architecture, 1922-1932

NA 1188 .P37 2007

Renowned architectural photographer, Richard Pare, spent more than a decade documenting the work of modernist architects in the Soviet Union during the years following the 1917 revolution and subsequent civil war. In little more than ten years, some of the most radical buildings of the twentieth century were completed by a small group of architects who developed a new architectural language in support of new social goals of communal life. Rarely published and virtually inaccessible until the collapse of the Soviet regime, these important buildings have remained unknown and unappreciated until now.

The Nature of Photographs

TR 179 .S56 2007

At the age of 23, Stephen Shore became the first living photographer to have a one-man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In The Nature of Photographs, he explores ways of understanding and looking at all types of photographs – from iconic images to found pictures, negatives to digital files. Based on Shore’s many years of teaching photography at Bard College, this book serves as an indispensable tool for students, teachers, and everyone who wants to take better pictures or learn to look at them in a more informed way.

Shanghai: A Century of Change in Photographs, 1843-1949

DS 796 .S243P36x 2000

In 1843, the great city of Shanghai was opened up as a treaty port. Like Hong Kong, that other great port on the China coast, the Shanghai portrayed in these pages represented the first door opened into China by British mercantile interests and power. A door is a meeting point, a place of encounter--in this case all kinds of encounter, between peoples and cultures, between stages of civilization, between ways of thought and ways of life. During the hundred-odd years spanned by the photographs in this book, Shanghai was an arena for encounters more varied and vivid than those experienced by any other city in the Far East.

Are all architectural landmarks worth saving?

2008-01-08T12:53:00.000-05:00

Hamilton's Lister Block, Canada's first indoor shopping mall, is a mess. Occupying prime real estate downtown, the building - with its towering facade and marble floors - has been home only to pigeons for decades.

After countless deals to renovate it have fallen through, the historic building is now caught in a limbo between a provincial government that won't let it be demolished, a municipal government that can't afford to lease the property, and an owner who refuses to sell.

Everyone is watching: governments, communities and developers. What do you think should happen to the Lister Block?

Facebook

2008-01-07T16:24:00.000-05:00

Musagetes is now on Facebook! Become a fan! Do it! Now!

New DVDs

2008-01-07T16:15:00.000-05:00

Look for Blood Diamond and The Departed to be added to our film collection later this week!!!

See our Rare Books... on Pompeii

2008-01-07T16:08:00.000-05:00

Next time you're walking down the hall or in the library, take a look at our colourful new display high lighting some of our Rare Book materials that explore Pompeii.

While our rare books are kept under lock and key, they are for everyone to use, and can add depth and richness to your thesis or next project.

All rare books are catalogued in TRELLIS along with the rest of our collection... if you see something you want to take a look at, just ask at the desk!

Welcome Linda!

2008-01-07T16:04:00.000-05:00

We finally found a replacement for Jason!

Linda Finn started with us just before Christmas, and will now be fulfilling all your ILL, reserve and fines-clerking needs. She has years of experience working with Cambridge Public Library so I'm sure she call handle you all!

Welcome Linda!

Canadian architecture: The big picture

2007-12-20T14:43:00.000-05:00

The Canadian Architectural Archives, University of Calgary Libraries and
Cultural Resources, is pleased to announce the availability of Views of
20th Century Canada: The Canadian Architectural Photography Web
Project. This online resource provides an image repository containing
10,000 photographs of the Canadian built environment. It also contains
educational resources related to Canadian architecture and architectural
photography. Featured images come from collections of the Canadian
Architectural Archives and include: Calgary Modern, John Flanders,
Thomas Mawson, Panda Associates, and Donovan and Eunice Williams.

One small step for downtown Hamilton...

2007-12-20T14:36:00.001-05:00

Two Heritage buildings, abandoned for 30 years, get a little TLC...

New stuff! 'scape subscription and featured books

2007-10-25T12:43:00.001-04:00

We've just added a new title to our growing collection of journals! Even more to come in the near future.

Also, if these feature books don't quench your thirst for exciting new materials, check out our New Books Spotlight page or come in and browse the new book shelf here in the library...get it while it's hot and fresh!

'scape: The international magazine for landscape architecture and urbanism

Each issue of 'scape is oriented around a single principle subject, with four profiles of internationally significant projects and personalities, three critiques by knowledgeable authors, and important information from other areas of landscape architecture and town planning.

The first issue of 2007 is entitled 'Tempting Strategies.' Articles focus on the urban revival of Bogota, the growing consumption of space worldwide, a profile of Dutch architect and urban planner Sjoerd Soeters, and a review of villages and gardens for senior citizens.

The Architect, the cook and good taste

Cooking and building have forever been among humanity's most basic occupations. While both are rooted in necessity, they also possess a cultural and sensory, aesthetic dimension. Both arts give expression to periods of human cultural history and both accord a central role to the materials employed. They involve measuring and proportioning, shaping and designing, assembling and composing.

This book pursues the astonishing parallels and deeply rooted connections between the art of building and that of cooking. Essays take up questions of materiality and proportioning, and attention is given to food cultivation and architecture, to the places where meals are prepared as well as a range of different culinary spaces.

Hiroshi Naito: Innerscape

This book documents the work of one of Japan's most prolific and innovative young architects, known for his complex wooden structures and ornate roofing tiles.

Selected projects include the new Shimane Arts Center, and extensive museum and theater complex, the municipal library in Tokamachi and the botanical museum in Makino. These, and other projects from 1985-2005, are presented with numerous technical drawings showing all their details and material characteristics.

...more like eerie

2007-09-26T16:28:00.000-04:00

ERA Architects give a photographic tour of a pre-reno Don Jail...*shudder*

Goodbye Jason!

2007-09-26T13:14:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,

It’s with mixed feelings that we announce Jason Tran's departure from the Musagetes Architecture Library. His last day is this Friday. Jason has been our Library Clerk/Collections from the time the library was established three years ago. He has played a big part in fostering and maintaining a good working relationship between the library and faculty, students, and staff in the library and the School of Architecture. We’re sorry to see him go.

Jason graduated from UW with an undergraduate degree in Planning and was recently presented with not one but two job offers in his preferred field. Leaving family and friends behind, he has chosen to go explore the wilds of Alberta. His new position as a planner for a regional municipality close to Edmonton will offer Jason new experiences and challenges (and even colder winters). Please come in to say goodbye and wish him well before he leaves.

Michele and Staff

Upcoming Workshops: RefWorks, GIS

2007-09-21T13:28:00.000-04:00

Be sure to make the time for these upcoming information sessions here at the library!:

Introduction to RefWorks - Wednesday October 3rd @ 12:45pm

RefWorks is an online tool you can use to create and manage your own citation database which will help you organize sources, create instant bibliographies and even embed citations right into your paper! This session will show you why RefWorks is such a great resource, how to set up an account, and get you started on importing citations for all of your research materials. Bring your laptop and follow along!

Introduction to GIS - Thursday October 4th @ 12:45pm

Geospacial Information Systems (GIS) are collections of hardware, software and data that are used to capture, manage and display geographically referenced information for the purposes of analysis and map creation. This session will highlight what GIS can do, the data and programs that are available to Waterloo students, reliable web resources, and how to access GIS services through our library.
We will not get into actually using GIS software during this session. Instruction in ArcGIS, the program licensed for use in UW libraries, can be obtained on an individual, by appointment basis by contacting me (Sara) at sperkins@library.uwaterloo.ca

*Additional or follow-up sessions for both RefWorks and GIS will be held to serve popular demand. Leave a comment or send me an email if there are times that would better serve you or if you are interested in learning more about either of these resources.