The Burnham Plan laid the groundwork for our city’s green space and set aside the lake shore path. Thank Daniel Burnham every time you see green in Chicago.
Urban Planning
That’s Garbage: Talking Trash About Waste Generation
The USA generates 251 million tons of trash a year – that is 42 times more than the Great Pyramid at Giza. Where does it come from … and go?
Today, Let's Drink to Clean Water … and Then Do More to Protect Our Water Supply
Monday’s Chicagoist headline, “It’s Okay to Drink the Water, Chicago,” is accurate but perhaps a little dismissive of the larger issues about drinking water which should be raised in all our minds by the recent drinking water scares topping news across the country. This weekend’s public drinking water ban in Todedo, Ohio follows the ongoing […]
If They Build it We Will Park – So Why Require More Parking With Every New Construction Project?
Bring on the predictable outrage, folks, but we’re about to do it … we’re about to say … There is WAY too much free parking available in Chicago. We should stop building more of it! For all the hoopla over the (admittedly) terrible parking meter deal made by Mayor Daley and regardless of the sticker […]
The Melee that is Montrose Beach Parking Lots
Our proposal for an updated Montrose Beach Park – which both maintains the already extensive multi-user quality of the park and enhances it with less parking!
Combined Sewer Overflow: How a Using Rain Barrel can help Keep Sewage Out of the Chicago River
Did you know that when it rains in Chicago we dump raw sewage into the Chicago river? No one is happy about it … but its no accident.
The City As Art: Mosaics, Murals, Graphics, and Graffiti
Be they commissioned by the city, permitted by an owner or illicitly undertaken, wall art can be one the the brightest spots in a city (and this coming from an architecture blog)! Lets face it, the modern world offers a lot of start blank walls to the pedestrian eye and when the buildings themselves can’t […]
Dishing the Dirt on Composting Toilets
If you’d like go one step farther in your quest for water conservation … what about composting toilets? Before you gasp, shudder and click away, give us a minute to explain why.
Put some GREEN in your green space this Weekend
The lawn – that great American pastime – isn’t all that great, or even that American. Maybe its time to start rethinking all that green carpet. Here’s why!
Arbor Day and the Importance of Chicago's Urban Forest
sketch from City of Chicago press photo We’ve been talking a lot about trees lately – which is only appropriate as last friday was Arbor Day. While protecting the rainforest and preserving our National Parks is vitally important to the health of our planet, we can’t forget the trees right around us. Urban trees are important. Dan […]
Think Spring: Four Reasons for Gardening in Raised Beds
Spring is finally here. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and people everywhere are getting out into their yards. Whether you have access to acres of rolling green lawn or just a little extra landing area on the wooden fire stair off the back of your apartment, you have the ability to garden. […]
Is it Good for Humans? Lessons and Questions from Structures for Inclusion, New York
While moss isn’t explicitly a public interest design firm, we all definitely try to keep a finger on the pulse of that community. We helped spearhead the People Spot project here in Chicago, designing the first parklet which is re-installed every spring here in Andersonville. Team member, Lety Murray, has served on the board of […]
Five Reasons To Live in a Walkable Neighborhood
Where you live affects how you live. Choosing to live in a walkable neighborhood is linked to happiness, health, efficiency, and finances.
The moss proposal for the former Hudson's site in Detroit: SaultBox
[moss proposed a bold, sustainable convention/retail/residential center for Downtown Detroit to fill the void where J.L. Hudson’s once stood. Read our research and process below] A History of Hudson’s From 1881 to 1993, the behemoth retailer in downtown Detroit grew from humble beginnings to an enduring symbol of glamour and prosperity, to a mere pile […]
moss' LAMP Coming Alive: LowLine Market on Southport, June 6th!
UPDATE August 06: scroll down for pictures from the LowLine Market in full swing! A brand new prepared foods and farmer’s market is coming to Southport Corridor on June 6th. The market is an initiative of the Lakeview Area Master Plan: LAMP, our community-informed vision for the neighborhood of Lakeview, which we completed in 2011. The Low […]