2007.04.09 20:43
MDLER in Savannah, GA
talkback
art imitates [what a] life
2003.10.03 15:42
During the summer of 1979, I worked in Savannah, Georgia for H.A.B.S, the Historic American Building Survey. As part of a team of hired architecture students, I measured and drew the plans of many homes within Savannah's Victorian District, which was then a somewhat decrepit neighborhood of Victorian homes, rentals populated by mostly poor African-Americans. After our survey (which most times meant going through occupied residences), the homes were to be renovated (with Federal money; remember Carter was then President), but the population was not to be displaced, rather moved into another renovated home (that is until the Federal subsidies were no longer available).
One of the last houses on my 'to do' list was a twin with four living units [across the street from the old grade school, now a SCAD building]. Permission to get into all but one upstairs unit was easy; a wife was always home in this last unit, but the husband would only allow us (me and another student) in if he was there to. Finally, one day after he got home from work, we were let in. I didn't really like the looks the husband and wife were giving us, but you kind of got used to that after spending a summer walking through every inch of other's people's habitats. We started in the back of the unit and worked forward, and then we got a shock when we entered the living room, where he was sitting on the floor while she picked dirt out of his hair; the FLINTSTONES was on TV. On the floor around the entire perimeter of the room were pretty nasty porn magazines laid neatly side by side; around the perimeter of the room is exactly where we had to go to take measurments. Job accomplished, albeit on tip toe. The next room, in front of the stairhall (what used to be called the trunk room because that's where Victorians kept their trunks) was full of a rather extensive collection of rifles. I took one look and said to my partner, "The rest of this place has exactly the same measurments as the unit next door."
"Bye. We're done now. We'll let ourselves out."
Go to the Crystal [Vanish] Beer Parlor!
2007.04.09 20:29
evolutionary architecture?
The interior of the simple loft building can be just as easily changed.
I forget where, but I read how the Theater of Marcellus has been renovated into multi-story apartments like over a thousand years ago.
Obsolete-ness is gauged by time endurance. I'd say any building that lasts over several centuries has a low obsolete factor. And buildings that last less than a half century have a high obsolete factor. (Planned obsolescence is a whole other (artificial) story.)
Also, the obsolescence of a building's function does not necessarily make the building itself also obsolete (as a sheltering structure). That is, of course, unless the building is designed only for a highly specific function. Moreover, buildings with great space(s) and structure(s) to begin with usually last longer too.
I think Vanbrugh is my first favorite English architect (although I'm just now learning of Latrobe's English work).
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2007.04.09 18:54
evolutionary architecture?
No, extinction means extinction, as in evenually not there anymore.
And, one could well say that Stirling practiced architectural design as an ongoing development of architecture's very historical DNA code.
Perhaps the environment and users now-a-days evolve a lot quicker than building ever could.
It seems to me that the more specifically designed a building is (and even buildings specifically designed to change over time), the quicker those building become obsolete.
2007.04.09 18:44
3DH Gallery
The 3-dimensional grid has been an implicit architectural/structural design tool pretty much since architecture began.
Yes, Guggenheim Bilbao came in on budget, but that doesn't erase the fact that is was an extremely expensive building as well.
When it comes to optimal (economical) square foot usage, stricter adherence to the grid still wins out.
Architectural design is not structure alone.
2007.04.09 18:24
evolutionary architecture?
Stirling's evolutionary theory of architecture.
Perhaps what today's architects are really good at is designing buildings that evolve right into extinction.
2007.04.09 18:11
Sol Lewitt dies at 78
LeWitt, S., Splotch in a Virtual Museum
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2007.04.04 15:18
...and speaking of random tangents
4 April
397 death of St. Ambrose; Good Friday Eve
5 April
1730 birth of Seroux d'Agincourt
6 April
1483 birth of Raphael
1520 death of Raphael; Good Friday
2005 death of Prince Rainier II of Monaco
This Raphael used to hang here.
2007.04.03 18:59
AN ARCHITECTURE OF REMOVEMENT
an architecture of removement
who knew?
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2007.04.03 14:20
AN ARCHITECTURE OF REMOVEMENT
All I did was look to see what was 'winning' in the architecture magazines while Matta-Clark was in architecture schools.
As to holes is walls, note the PMP to Mikveh Israel connection.
This intrigues me though...
2007.03.30 20:14
Jeff Kipnis - My Thoughts on Architectural Education
Great advise, metamechanic.
conjecture
1. the formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof.
2. an opinion or theory so formed or expressed; guess; speculation.
conjecture
1.Inference or judgment based on inconclusive or incomplete evidence; guesswork.
2. A statement, opinion, or conclusion based on guesswork
conjecture
1. a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence); "speculations about the outcome of the election"; "he dismissed it as mere conjecture" [syn: speculation]
2. a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence [syn: guess]
3. reasoning that involves the formation of conclusions from incomplete evidence
"accept failure as part of the research process" indeed!
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