Architecture | Dan O’Leary

Cabin porn

Posted on November 21st, 2012 by Dan O'Leary

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I’m not sure if it’s too odd to promote another blog on a blog, but I won’t make a habit of it. And anyway, this is a Tumblr, so I’m making an exception. Cabin Porn is possibly one of my favourite discoveries from this year. Granted, it’s another Tumblr full of pictures, but for someone like me who harbours a far-off dream of building (or buying?) a cabin in the woods, this is inspiration and fuel for keeping that dream alive. Along with old books from the 1950s and 60s on self-building your very own cabin retreat, I could look at this for hours.

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Vertical farming in Vancouver

Posted on November 21st, 2012 by Dan O'Leary

Architecture, Society

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I was very interested to see the launch this week of an innovative use of neglected urban space; Local Garden is based on the top two levels of an under-used parkade in the middle of downtown Vancouver.

From their website—

Imagine if you could take an empty warehouse, a vacant lot, or an underused parking garage and in a 6,000 square foot area, sustainably produce as much food as a 5 acre farm. In any climate, using 92% less water than conventional field agriculture and no chemical pesticides. Now imagine it was better tasting and healthier than produce trucked from thousands of miles away because it was grown in a bustling urban area where it would be consumed.

I look forward to trying some of their crop soon. With so many spaces like this in every city, I can’t see how this isn’t a genuinely viable source of food for urban centres and not just another passing novelty.

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