Lira Luis presented “Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology” at the 2019 Chicago Build Conference.

by Lira Luis, FRIBA, AIA, NCARB, CeM, LEED AP BD+C

As the US House of Representatives announced today (March 7th) that they are “preparing to allow staff to telework as concerns grow over the global coronavirus outbreak” I have been amplifying the benefits of teleworking for the architecture industry beyond a “Virtual Practice” into a “Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology“.

Last year at the 2019 Chicago Build conference, I underscored the importance of making your practice relevant to accommodate a Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology. In light of the coronavirus pandemic (within the physical workplace), the virtual workspace — in other words the ability for remote work, is now inevitable. And as public entities such as the US House of Representatives and private entities such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, etc. have asked their staff to work remotely, I have been sharing the benefits of a Virtual Practice to the architecture industry since 2017 at the Chicago Architecture Biennial, in preparation for extraordinary economic events — in our current global situation, a coronavirus-impacted one.

When most public and private sectors switch to remote work, then privacy and trust will become all the more important in a Virtual Practice. In a coronavirus-impacted economy, you’ll be dealing with both biological (coronavirus, for example) and virtual (computer) viruses. This is where the value and difference of a Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology come into play — from simply that of a Virtual Practice.

Last year in June, at my presentation in the 2019 American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture, I gave this prediction:

Global business analysts and executives alike predict that by 2020 — that’s as soon as next year, more than half of employees will work remotely… Just one more thing: Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology is applicable and replicable regardless of building type or focus… Are you ready when they become mainstream soon?

So today, in the first quarter of 2020, when the US House of Representatives, including major private companies have adopted remote work to stay on top… that prediction I shared last year? It came true.

Here’s how to get your practice started or advanced to a Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology: (Download Cheat Sheet)

My presentation (from 2019 Chicago Build) looked at how blockchain technology can help avoid loss of privacy, data, and accountability including where they add value, in architecture and cities. I bet you’re a bit like me — when I first heard the word “blockchain”, I didn’t know where it could add value to architecture or cities. Most people think the only application of blockchain is through Bitcoin, a kind of cryptocurrency that is difficult to understand. Bitcoin is just a fraction of the by-product of blockchain technology. This presentation discussed how blockchains work and their core limitations — and the systems that now exist on blockchain technology… because most will be integrated into our online interactions sooner than you think. Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym of the person or persons who developed Bitcoin, published a white paper in 2008 that proposed a system for electronic transactions without relying on “trust”. And thus the first blockchain-run database was born for Bitcoin. You can read the white paper in detail at bitcoin.org/

Vladimir Goncharoff, PhD

Vladimir Goncharoff, PhD, a five-time recipient of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Silver Circle Award for Excellence in Teaching at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said this about my presentation on Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology:

“I’m a lecturer of electrical computer engineering at University of Illinois in Chicago and what I found very interesting at the conference was Lira’s presentation on blockchain and its use in managing an architectural and building project. From a technical point of view I’m very interested in the algorithms and implementation of blockchain, but here I found a practical use I didn’t know yet, existed. So I’m really excited by that — I’m gonna try out all the three apps that she mentioned in her talk.”

Lira Luis is a 2020 Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). She is principal architect at ALLL/Leapfrog Project, delivers presentations at national conferences named in the “Gold 100 Listing of the world’s largest and most successful trade shows” for the past 20 years. She organized and led AIA Practice Management’s (PMKC) A’19 session “Virtual Architectural Practice: Alternate Realities for the Emerging Gig Economy” and “Virtual Practices: The Impact of Technology and Transience on New Histories in Practice” partner program at the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial, subsequently co-authored a resulting white paper with AIA Trust “An Architect’s Guide to Virtual Practice” that reached more than 30,000 AIA members, and moderated the webinar “Virtual Architectural Practice – An Alternate Reality”. At A’16 Conference on Architecture she shared solutions about the gig economy and potential for Virtual Practices in “Rethinking the Workplace: Co-Working Spaces for Architects”. She brings more than 25 years of architecture experience and is emeritus chair of AIA PMKC. After graduating from the Frank Lloyd Wright School of architecture, working in firms in the USA and abroad, earning NCARB certification, she runs a Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology.

“Welcome to the moment many of us dread twice a year when the government unintentionally causes mass chaos by fiddling with our clocks.” -David Grasso
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Now I know Adam Duritz is singing “Daylight fading…,” but every year around this time it reminds those of us trudging through the four seasons, bitching about daylight savings, that the time is upon us. We need to turn those clocks ahead.

“Daylight fading, Come and waste another year/All the anger and the eloquence are bleeding into fear
Moonlight creeping around the corners of our lawn/When we see the early signs that daylight’s fading
We leave just before it’s gone…” -Adam Duritz

Your body is fragile, it needs that extra 40 minutes of sleep. Otherwise, you know, you might die. Honestly, when we lose sleep, we die, or so statistics say. Many of them say that a little bit of sleep loss can kill you. Who would’ve thought?

Drowsy driving causes extra traffic accidents, while drowsiness and groginess causes heart attacks, strokes, and a loss of productivity at work. I mean, I’m sure, the next day no one is feeling good. This year it falls on a Sunday. I can’t figure out if that is good or bad?

Daylight Saving Time was originally concocted as a way to save energy and implemented during World War I in Germany. It’s no longer saving anyone power, but crime numbers decrease with more light, supposedly. Also, daylight hours see more people exercising, so, that’s a GREAT thing.

“Springing Forward” seems imminent, but falling behind feels more logical.

Good luck tomorrow, it’s Sunday, so take the time to recharge, because the world needs a fresh you.
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As a lawyer and journalist, I was troubled and disturbed when I read about the Hachette book publisher cancelling the publication of Woody Allen’s memoir. Hachette had been on the receiving end of a hailstorm of criticism from Mia Farrow’s son, reporter Ronan Farrow, and some of its own staff, who reportedly staged a walkout in protest. The backlash centered on allegations going back several decades that Allen sexually abused his step-daughter, Dylan Farrow.

I don’t hold an opinion one way or the other on whether there is truth to the allegations, so I take no position on the matter. It’s important to note that Allen has never been charged with a crime. I probably wouldn’t have read the memoir, although I enjoy many of Woody Allen’s films. I just rewatched Blue Jasmine starring Cate Blanchett, and I consistently marvel at his ability to showcase the talents of such disparate groups of actors.

But it bothers me that now no one else will be allowed to read it. Maybe there were some fans, and non-fans, who would have liked to hear what Allen had to say. He certainly would not have been the first controversial, or even infamous, person who published a memoir. Director Roman Polanski published an autobiography back in the 1980s, and he had actually been convicted of a similar crime. It’s unlikely it would ever see the light of day now.

Charles Manson published a memoir. Think about that for a minute.

Other convicted criminals have written books, and as long as they’re not allowed to profit from their crimes, no one seems to object.

Bill Clinton and Donald Trump have both put out books and both been accused of sexual misbehavior. Does that mean they can’t put out any more books? Does it mean their existing books should be pulled from circulation?

This smacks of censorship. A powerful and vocal few deciding what the masses get to read, as well as see and hear. This is not the first recent incidence of a company’s employees forcing executive action through various histrionics, and it makes one wonder if the tail is wagging the dog.

It also makes you wonder, where were all these objections when the book was in the planning and negotiating stage? I feel that a publisher should stand behind its authors, no matter how personally unpopular. Let the employees quit if they don’t like it. I’m thinking that Hachette is still probably on the hook for paying Allen a sizable author’s fee.

Has the #MeToo movement gone too far? There is no question it has forced a lot of changes that are for the better, but when it begins to chill speech and free expression and decide for the rest of us what we can and can’t read, I’ve got a problem.

And here’s another thing to mull over: If the litmus test becomes that only wholesome, noncontroversial, squeaky-clean figures will be allowed to publish books, think about how profoundly dull that’s going to be for the reading public.

Amare Symoné has had herself a busy 2020 thus far. She is fresh off the release of her empowering new single “Sooofly,” and she is gearing up for the release of her upcoming Agape Acoustics EP, which is due out on March 25. However she has managed to squeeze in yet another single, “Pictures,” which sees her reaching depths of vulnerability she hasn’t tapped into before.

The instrumentation is absolutely gorgeous. The guitar lines are smooth and warm, and the chord progressions paint a serene vibe. The production is a new sound for Symoné, but it really works.

An artist known for her brooding introspection, Symoné reaches a whole new level on this new cut. The “Pictures” she is referring to are the ones of a former flame she still has a connection to even though they’re through. She expresses no interest in pursuing a relationship with this person, but an intense infatuation persists. She is left involuntarily alone and the heartbreak is immense.

“Pictures” sees Amare Symoné exuding all of the traits that make her a compelling artist to begin with. Her pensive songwriting taps into the most universal of human emotions, bringing them to life in a way that anyone can empathize with. However, with the more stripped-down production, Symoné is also treading new waters in terms of sound, which only makes her artistic trajectory that much more intriguing.

“Pictures” is now available on all platforms.

Stream “Pictures” here: https://fanlink.to/amaresymonepictures

Follow Amare Symoné on Instagram @amaresymone

In 1965 a wonderful playwright and director, Douglas Turner Ward, wrote the amazing satiric play Day of Absence. It helped launch the iconic Negro Ensemble Company in New York City. The mission of the Company was to present live theatre written by and about black people to a culturally diverse audience that was and is often underserved by the theatrical community.

Day of Absence was then and is now a timely production that should open the eyes to all of America…and beyond.

The play takes place in a quiet southern town that falls into chaos when one day the white people wake up to notice that all the Black people have disappeared. Day of Absence is traditionally performed as a ‘reverse minstrel show,’ with black actors in white-face.

Congo Square Theatre celebrates its 20^th Anniversary season by bringing this iconic play into to the twenty-first century. The funny thing is that not much has changed.

Director Anthony Irons has included the disappearance of black and brown citizens to this production.  He has successfully made this play so relevant while maintaining the humor of the situation. The way he integrated films, TV shows, and songs that we all know added flavor to what could have been a dated script.  In fact, the audience was laughing so loud some of the dialogue was lost, however, the meaning was not.

The cast is amazing with perfect timing and energy. I was a little worried because Day of Absence was the first play I performed in as a theatre major.  It is my all-time favorite play because of the in depth meaning behind all the humor.  My fears were set aside when Jordan Arredondo and Ronald L. Connor  opened the show as two friends, Luke and John who first notice that there aren’t any black or brown people at the mall.  I was laughing till tears ran.  Founding Congo Square Ensemble member, Ann Joseph as the Mayor and Ronald L. Connor as her assistant Jackson are hilarious. 

While the play is funny and an enjoyable evening at the theater, it is scary that nothing has changed. That the significance and importance of black and brown people to society is so taken for granted that we would have to be missing before our worth and accomplishments are seen. OR we can all go to the polls and really let them know the power of Black and Brown Americans.

Congo Square Theatre Company’s Day of Absence is playing at the Victory Gardens’ Richard Christiansen Theatre through March 22, 2020.  You do not want to miss this powerful production.

I give it 5 out of 5 Winks of the EYE.

Until next time, keep your EYE to the sky!