Jay Raskin Architect

Author: Raskin

  • Mid-century dilemma

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      New York City is looking to figure out what to do with their tens of millions square feet of commercial office buildings that were built mid-century.  This is the generation of buildings which that entailed the wholesale destruction of historic buildings which in turned  became a major impetus for the historic preservation movement.  These…

  • Paying for Catastrophes

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    James Lee Witt  (former head of FEMA under Clinton) and James Loy (Deputy Secretary of DHS under Bush), are calling for a privately funded national catastrophe fund “that is part of a comprehensive, integrated program will help address insurance affordability and expand coverage options for all home­own­ers while protecting taxpayers from the seemingly endless need…

  • Resilience and Sustainability

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      I have mentioned before that I believe you cannot be sustainable without being resilient.   Ted Wolf passed this article on to me, Building Resilience: 6 Lessons from Superstorm Sandy, from the US Green Building Council that makes this connection very clear.  Worth a read and very heartening from my point of view.  I…

  • Washington Resilience Plan

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      The State of Washington has released its final report for the Washington Resilience Plan.  This plan also drew its inspiration from SPUR’s Resilient City report for San Francisco.  Since they started their effort before Oregon did, we also drew on the work Washington was doing.  These two state reports are complementary and provide a…

  • David Wright House saved

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      Back in December I mentioned that the David Wright House, designed by his father Frank Lloyd Wright, was in danger of being demolished.  Turns out there is a happy ending and the house was purchased by someone who is willing to create a non-profit group to restore and preserve the house.  They  buyer had…

  • Oregon Telecom’s and Cascadia

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    The Portland Mercury has a good article, Quaking Communications, talking about the vulnerabilities that telecommunication companies in Oregon have in the face of a Cascadia earthquake and tsunami.  While the Oregon Resilience Plan lays out the impacts on telecommunications and makes recommendations for strengthening the systems, the article does point out the difficulty of bringing…

  • Movable Studio

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      This is a callout for Elizabeth Serreau, an artist, who has created a website called Movable Studio which shows her work of oils, acrylic, and pen & ink. Her work adorned my office in Cannon Beach.  While she does have a few pieces at the White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach, she now shows her…

  • Oregon Resilience Plan presented to Oregon Legislature

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    The Oregon Resilience Plan was presented to the Joint Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee today.  It is a significant achievement and the start of a new era in Oregon’s efforts to prepare for the Cascadia Earthquake/Tsunami.  Sen. Boquist, the chair of the committee, told OSSPAC, that this the initial overview meeting and the first of…

  • Oregon Resilience Plan press conference

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                          The release of the Oregon Resilience Plan was officially announced yesterday.  For those who were unable to attend here are a good set of photosthat give a flavor of the event.  The importance of this plan (and a similar one for the State of…

  • Classes at Barbey Maritime Center

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            The classes will begain at the Barbey Maritime Center this may.  They include boat building, knots, and native american carving.  They are weekend classes so if you live outside of Astoria, make a nice weekend of it.   You can actually do it by staying or eating at other historic renovation…