Bucky Would Be Proud: Emergency Shelter Design at SIU

This week, the walkway along Faner Hall at Southern Illinois University has been graced with the work of--what I assume are--student designs for emergency shelter. It appears that the requirement for the project was to create an easy-to-assemble shelter out of plywood and a blue tarp that collects rain water. Other than the mock-up display boards that accompany most of these designs, there is little evidence of who created these gems or why (other then the assumed super-cool, socially-relevant class project). Regardless, I am glad to see that the tradition of design from simple materials, a concept that our own Bucky Fuller practiced here at SIU, continues. Here are a few highlights of our favorite designs.

Art (and discoveries) Around the Square

designs by 1187 creative

It's been a busy weekend already. We mounted the hanging orange bar (pics to come), visited the farmers market, bought paint for the MIO wall tiles (tomorrow's project), and wrapped up a few yard projects. Tonight we ventured out for a quick dinner at Longbranch, a great local vegetarian cafe, before we stopped in several other downtown businesses for the Art Around the Square event. The easy favorite was photography by a graphic designer at 1187 Creative, the coolest little design studio in the area. I had noticed several well-designed posters around town with their brand and finally checked out their website. A good example of their branding concept/design is my favorite bike shop in town (we have three), the Bike Surgeon.

We were also thrilled to peak into a few more spots we cannot wait to visit again. Fusion is a great bar with a light menu. It will make a perfect stop before a nice dinner at Global Gourmet. Unfortunately, both places have a pitiful web presence, so the links just take you to Google Maps with a few food reviews. Oh well.

Spring Sprang '09

Ah, Saturday. A break from the usual grid is always good, but this weekend was really great. The weather's finally beginning to act like spring (although they're predicting snow for Monday). Early Saturday morning, I prepared the new garden beds before we ventured to the farmers' market to pick up some herbs. It was the market's opening weekend, so there were only a handful of sellers compared to the peak summer months. While there, we were also able to pick up a few pounds of 100% grass-fed and finished beef from Lick Creek, our favorite local provider. They're just down the road, so we hope to visit the farm soon. Later, we planted the herbs in the livestock tank. I had to drill holes in its bottom to provide proper drainage. It was awful; I felt like Emmet Otter ruining the washtub. (Did anyone else see Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas when they were a kid?) Josey had a great time digging in the dirt, playing with worms, and helping to plant the herbs. Finally, we capped off the afternoon with free food at the Schlafly tasting at Kindling in Carterville, which will be our new stop for all things wet and spirited. Kindling (website under construction) has been getting quite a bit of positive buzz around here. Their recent Belgium Beer pairings dinner seemed to be well received on several blogs, including the Beer Philosopher. (Here's the menu.) A lot of folks around here were excited to see that they're carrying Dogfish Head beer (a favorite of ours, too, when we lived in Boston). We bought a pack of Breckenridge Brewery's agave wheat, which is quite good. As they say out in MA, "We've got ourselves a great packy, now."

Yes, we have a castle, too.

We were a little surprised (and later quite impressed) to see that our community has an amazing castle for kids to enjoy--free of charge. Rochman Memorial Park was built in the 1990s in memory of Jeremy "Boo" Rochman, a teenager killed in a car accident. I can only imagine the hours I would have spent here as a child. There is a lot of space to let your imagination run wild. The giant dragon is a crowd favorite.
—Grant