20 Minutes in Manhattan A Book by Michael Sorkin www.goodreads.com It begins with a trip down the stairsThoughts on stairsThey are something that has been buried(an architectural stem cell that might transform itself into any organ for living)The grid and its difficulties+41 More The MezzaninePsychogeographyTilted Arc architectureurbanismcitieshomewalking
Two Hundred Fifty Things an Architect Should Know An Essay by Michael Sorkin www.readingdesign.org The distance of a whisper.CornersWant, need, affordWhat the brick really wants.Borders+3 More 136 things every web developer should know before they burn out and turn to landscape painting or nude modelling architecturedesigncollections
Local Code: The Constitution of a City at 42º N Latitude A Book by Michael Sorkin www.goodreads.com The source code for SimCityLocal Code: 3,659 Proposals About Data, Design & The Nature of Cities regulationslawcities
Five basic rules Five basic rules: (1) Record your work as notes to your future self and colleagues. Write notes so that someone fifty years from now (or more) will understand and be able to use the factual information you collected, perhaps for purposes quite different from the original reasons. Clearly separate facts from interpretations so these are not confusing to a future reader. (2) Establish a clear and consistent notebook format and process. I always include the data, place, main activities or events, weather conditions, and other people involves. The day, month, and year is the most important link between that particular point in time and other people’s records, separate data sheets that I filled out myself, photos, and most important, collected specimens. Documenting collecting strategies and protocols receives special attention. In the moment, these may seem like common knowledge for the field team, so sometimes no one bothers to write them out. (3) Don’t lose your field records! (4) Pack a camera, create a visual record. No matter how many words you write to describe a fossil locality, you can’t beat an actual photo, taken on the spot, annotated in pen, and pasted into your notebook. There is no substitute for a photograph you actually mark in “real time” in the field as the best way to preserve a lasting, accurate record for yourself, or for someone who has never seen the site or object in question. (5) Learning through sketches and diagrams. Photographs are great, but drawn what you see is a more powerful way to learn about spatial patterns and relationships. Even if you are not an expert at drawing, you can make sketches that are much more informative than words would be. Always include a scale, an orientation, and labels in your diagrams. Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Linking Researchers Across Generations Best practices