Current Events 9/20/10

It has been a while!  I have been busy with work and life lately, so posting has been mostly absent the last couple months.  A number of notable events have happened lately that I have not had time to blog about, so I will summarize them below along with a link to the original article.

Design architect chosen for new Hancher Auditorium
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects has been chosen as the design architect for the new Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City.  OPN Architects of Cedar Rapids was chosen as the architect-of-record a few months ago.  Pelli Clarke Pelli is known internationally for high-rise towers including the World Financial Center in New York and Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, while OPN Architects is working on a number of local projects including the Cedar Rapids Central Library and Cedar Rapids Events Center.
Pelli Clarke Pelli | OPN Architects

Cedar Rapids Fire Station / Amphitheater Win I-JOBS Funding
Governor Culver's I-JOBS initiative will provide $6.6 million for the new CRFD central fire station and west-side fire station, while $1.075 million will be earmarked toward a new riverfront amphitheater.  The new fire stations received the largest share of I-JOBS funding.

Discussion on the location of the new central fire station
Both the Taco Bell and History Center sites are game.  Personally, I would rather see a structure that maximizes available undeveloped land while avoiding removal of more property from the tax rolls.  Does the central fire station really need to sprawl over an entire city block so close to downtown?

Pomeranz Is On the Job as City Manager
Following the departure of city manager Jim Prosser earlier this year, Jeff Pomeranz has begun work as the replacement manager for the City of Cedar Rapids.  Jeff has a number of years of experience as the city manager for West Des Moines, one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S, and helped to land new campuses for AVIVA and Wells Fargo.  His first priority as city manager: to listen and learn.  Welcome, Jeff.

FEMA: the True North site is too costly for the new central library
After months of planning and careful selection of a new home for the Cedar Rapids central library, FEMA has declared that the current site is too expensive.  The agency is proposing to tear down the old library and construct the new one its place, elevated a foot higher.  One problem: the old library has already been sold to True North for use as its new company headquarters.

Council Again Votes to Close Second Avenue
The Cedar Rapids City Council has now voted twice to close Second Avenue for the new PCI medical mall. Many motorists and residents are in opposition of the closure, arguing it will create more congestion on First and Third Avenues.

And finally, a photo update on the status of the Federal Courthouse construction.

Construction Update, New Bo City Market Pepsi Grant, Augmented Windshields

It's been a while, but here is the most recent construction update for the US Courthouse in Cedar Rapids.

In other news, supporters for the New Bo City Market hope to receive a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh grant.  Pepsi's Refresh America project will give away millions to support original ideas that will help rebuild communities, improve education, revitalize arts & culture, and restore the environment.  Ideas with the most votes will receive grant money for as little as $5,000 and as much as $250,000.  Voting will take place for the next 29 days, and each user can vote once per day.  If you would like to support the New Bo City Market, voting takes only a few seconds and can be done at: Refresh Everything: New Bo City Market.  Remember, you can vote once per day, so check back on a regular basis!  See the below video for more information.





Lastly, I was reading an article the other day about the next big development in the automotive industry: augmented windshields. Supposedly in the Utopian future of 2030, our windshields will be able to display an array of visual information about the world around us as we are whisked along in our computer-controlled mobility device.

The actual technology sounds very interesting; say you are driving riding by an old brownstone and and you want to know the address, what year it was built, what appraised value it is, and if there are any vacancies? Just toggle it up on your windshield. Want to know where the nearest coffee shop is? Point, click, done. Sounds like yet another market for Google to enter.

Where is take issue is with this paragraph:

In 2030, says Mayer H., cars will be hybrid mobility devices which drive themselves. To maximize efficiency, we'll share these vehicles, which will pick up and drop off passengers as effortlessly as a taxi. And since drivers will not have to worry themselves with such silly things as safety and directions, the car itself can become an interactive, immersive experience.

Every automotive enthusiast's nightmare: the end of the driver's car. He even calls it a "device."

With all the electronic nannies being added to the modern automobile, one wonders what will happen to the emotional appeal of physically driving over the next couple decades. The signs are there: traction control, stability control, adaptive cruise control, park assist, drive-by-wire braking and steering - each one of these technologies has taken away from the pure driving experience bit by bit, compensating for poor driving or distracted driving. Our vehicles are safer than ever, but they are slowly being sapped of the "fun to drive" factor. Half of the fun is learning to maintain your own vehicle, yet now newer BMW's are now forcing customers to visit a dealership for an oil change since the stalwart oil dipstick has been eliminated in the name of convenience.

I love technology, but I also love the simplicity of a balanced, responsive driver's car. The "guts" of automobile are more important to me than the options. If I had a choice between a stripped down auto with world-class handling, or a loaded tech-packed vehicle with a disconnected driving experience, I would always choose the former. The best would be a balance of both worlds. Unfortunately, since the early part of the last decade, technology has begun to trump vehicle dynamics as consumer tastes have shifted.  In Japan, the youth culture has largely shunned automobile ownership and vehicle sales have been depressed since the 1990s.  In the United States, market studies among Generation Y show that options such as navigation, ability to sync with devices, and technology in the dash have become more important to than horsepower, 0-60 times, and technology under the hood--a reversal from the preferences of the Baby Boomers.

In the quest to improve vehicle fuel efficiency, the driving experienced is compromised in many cases.  The Honda CR-Z comes to mind; a hybrid coupe answering the question that nobody asked.  It was designed as a nod to the sporty CRX of the late 80's, but ultimately stuffed with an anemic engine that disappoints both speed freaks and hypermilers.  Not all is lost however; Ford Motor Company has done a great job improving fuel efficiency and rolling out new technology while attempting to preserve the fun that comes with driving.  While Ford has rolled out a number of hybrids that are posting impressive numbers, they have maintained the spirited driving characteristics of their gasoline siblings.  For the non-hybrids such as the EcoBoost 2011 Edge, a high-tech turbo four with direct injection offers BMW X5 performance without the thirst at the pump.  Ford has managed to marry efficiency with dynamics, something more manufacturers will hopefully seek to employ down the road.

For the last 100 years, the automobile has been a culture and an art form. In the world of Jurgen Mayer H., it becomes as disposable as your refrigerator, toaster, or TV; a pod for A to B transportation. Is it possible to balance efficiency, technology, and the fun to drive factor?