Not to insult Robert A. Stern (Yale School of Architectural Dean and proposed designer of President Bush's library) but the Chronicle of Higher Education is currently hosting a contest for Bush Library Design Proposals that are to be sketched on the back of a size-10 envelope as if you were just conversing with the President and quickly jotting down some ideas.
Design proposals cans be 'serious, humorous, adventurous, or all of the above' and the grand prize is a iPod Touch.
Rules.pdf
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Apartments: What's in a name?
This may not only be a Cleveland occurrence, the construct of attached housing units eschewing the name 'apartment' for 'loft' or 'condo' in order to appeal to those of more financial mobility but tossed in the face of the new development around the city I start to question the legitimacy of our labeling.
Granted many of the most fearsome atrocities are committed by those in marketing and real estate, where a ranch can be a Victorian ranch if you squint hard enough in just the right light, where Tudor and Two-door are interchangeable without a second thought. It seems a shame however, when a noble idea such as the apartment is tossed aside for seeming, well, normative.
Some brief research (not from Wikipedia!) led to the suggested facts that apartment buildings are actually a rather new invention (as far as building typology goes) first being seen in the United States in Boston's Hotel Pelham (by Arthur Stone) in 1857 (and demolished in 1916). Previously those that could not afford their own townhome or detached structure would typically rent out a room (tenement) or section of a divided house (a flat) or live above their retail shops (merchant quarters) but would still share meals and restroom facilities with those in adjacent 'units' similar to a boarding house. Also in fashion was the renting of hotel suites as a permanent address. These suites typically were lavish and even had quarters for servants. It wasn't until urban centralization (based upon the industrialization of manufacturing) was it questioned to create better living arrangements for the middle class to fulfill the current shortage in housing.
In the early 1880's, after decades of cautious experimentation the apartment building finally reached its goal as a functional yet familiar domicile typology and started to grow taller thanks to the advent of steel building skeletons and the elevator. In the 1920's the apartment building reached the point where speculative development based upon client niches were created. Here specialty suites were begun to be introduced to the humble apartment building. Penthouses, servant's quarters and extended, multifamily subunits within a larger unit were combined with an increase in ornamentation to not only appeal to the upper class whom were looking for a convenient way to move back into the city but also to mark the structure as a higher class establishment to passersby.
It was during the social engineering period of urban gentrification from the late 1800's to the 1960's that began to give the apartment the negative connotation with the development of 'projects' or centralized urban structures for low class citizens that had been displaced from their ethnic communities by cities attempting to revitalize their cores with new business districts or to appease manufacturing tycoons. These apartment buildings were cheaply constructed and poorly thought out as the main purpose of the design was to re-engineer the social structure of the community. These hyper concentrated areas of poverty typically were not offered the infrastructure that would connect these new communities to places of work, worship or schooling and instead alienated entire city blocks of people.
However the failure of the 'projects' cannot be entirely placed upon the apartment building living style and many rather successful apartment structures are still being constructed. I suppose the whole purpose of this conversation is to question why rentable spaces are being marketed as 'lofts' or 'condos' when they are in actuality, apartments? Why is the term apartment such a dirty word? Is apartment living truly antithetical to the American dream?
Granted many of the most fearsome atrocities are committed by those in marketing and real estate, where a ranch can be a Victorian ranch if you squint hard enough in just the right light, where Tudor and Two-door are interchangeable without a second thought. It seems a shame however, when a noble idea such as the apartment is tossed aside for seeming, well, normative.
Some brief research (not from Wikipedia!) led to the suggested facts that apartment buildings are actually a rather new invention (as far as building typology goes) first being seen in the United States in Boston's Hotel Pelham (by Arthur Stone) in 1857 (and demolished in 1916). Previously those that could not afford their own townhome or detached structure would typically rent out a room (tenement) or section of a divided house (a flat) or live above their retail shops (merchant quarters) but would still share meals and restroom facilities with those in adjacent 'units' similar to a boarding house. Also in fashion was the renting of hotel suites as a permanent address. These suites typically were lavish and even had quarters for servants. It wasn't until urban centralization (based upon the industrialization of manufacturing) was it questioned to create better living arrangements for the middle class to fulfill the current shortage in housing.
In the early 1880's, after decades of cautious experimentation the apartment building finally reached its goal as a functional yet familiar domicile typology and started to grow taller thanks to the advent of steel building skeletons and the elevator. In the 1920's the apartment building reached the point where speculative development based upon client niches were created. Here specialty suites were begun to be introduced to the humble apartment building. Penthouses, servant's quarters and extended, multifamily subunits within a larger unit were combined with an increase in ornamentation to not only appeal to the upper class whom were looking for a convenient way to move back into the city but also to mark the structure as a higher class establishment to passersby.
It was during the social engineering period of urban gentrification from the late 1800's to the 1960's that began to give the apartment the negative connotation with the development of 'projects' or centralized urban structures for low class citizens that had been displaced from their ethnic communities by cities attempting to revitalize their cores with new business districts or to appease manufacturing tycoons. These apartment buildings were cheaply constructed and poorly thought out as the main purpose of the design was to re-engineer the social structure of the community. These hyper concentrated areas of poverty typically were not offered the infrastructure that would connect these new communities to places of work, worship or schooling and instead alienated entire city blocks of people.
However the failure of the 'projects' cannot be entirely placed upon the apartment building living style and many rather successful apartment structures are still being constructed. I suppose the whole purpose of this conversation is to question why rentable spaces are being marketed as 'lofts' or 'condos' when they are in actuality, apartments? Why is the term apartment such a dirty word? Is apartment living truly antithetical to the American dream?
Monday, December 31, 2007
2007 Cleveland Architecture Milestones (as witnessed by TOIstudio)
TOIstudio 2007 Year in review - noticeable milestones:
-I don't want to call them 'awards' persay, as I have nothing to really give anyone. Regardless, the overarching plan was for BOTC, Design Rag and TOIstudio to collaborate on some notifications and appreciations for a job well done. If only we would have planned to actually get this done more then a week ago. Anyway, here are the results for the city as Dru from TOIstudio sees it.
Best Building completed in NEO in 2007:
Cleveland Institute of Music Expansion - Mixon Hall:
Architect: Charles Young
Cost: $32 million
Particulars: Total of 34,000 sf of new space including a 250 seat venue with 43' high glass backdrop, new entry from Wade Oval and practice rooms.
A particularly fine example of meshing programmatic restraints with the reimagining of what the concert experience can be. By creating a glass backdrop to the performers overlooking a small park (and the soft sculptural form of the east addition) the experience of listening to fine music can only be punctuated by the spectacle that nature can present. Whether winter concerts with a snowy background, soft diffuse light and the chance to shiver at both the weather and the captivating melody of a fine quartet to a hot summer night filled with dramatic lighting, the excitement of University Circle and the blood boiling crescendo of a full orchestra. Even without the amazing program the form and materiality of the structure is finely detailed, clean and exact and only improves with the many layers of acoustic and environmental control added to make the structure function. There is little addition of superfluous form as there is little room for it. A fine example of solving the given problem first and solving it well.
Worst Building Proposed in 2007 (I think this category was changed to something less insulting):
Cleveland State University's new student center by Gwathmey Seigle and Associates
Cuyahoga Community College/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Rock Archive by Robert P. Madison International
Best Urban Design Strategy Proposed in 2007:
Wolfstein's Flats development:
Whether you can state that this proposal was made in 2007 (it wasn't, it has been on the books for a while) is true, however the ball is moving and I find this one of the best hopes for the city to be close to achieving reality. A massive influx of people and entertainment mixed with the types of 'regular day' infrastructure (grocery markets, drugstores, etc) could jump start a 24 hour culture downtown recalibrating the city to accept a rank as a convention city. If only there could be a way to improve the school system to move families back downtown...
Medical Mart:
When was this one first mentioned? Mid 90's? Regardless, another project that is 'on the horizon' that could work in conjunction to some other proposals to activate the city.
Worst Urban Design Strategy Proposed in 2007:
E120th RTA station being relocated off from Euclid to Mayfield Road which manages to complete a number of dubious tasks. The current plan relocates a major public transportation nexus away from the Euclid Corridor instead of creating a multi use transit node that could service pedestrian, rail, bus and bike traffic in a centralized and safe location. It moves the station away from a major corridor and away from the front of what would be the Cleveland Institute of Art, MOCA and the 'front' of the northern complex of University Circle including CASE, CIM and CMA which could be used to consolidate the station traffic as a grand entrance and enforce the pedestrian urban model along a main artery instead of shunting it to the rear. Overall the location decision smacks of more public transit systems being designed by people who don't use it for people who wouldn't use it anyway (see practicing what you preach comments for a theme this year).
Best Lecture that Pissed People Off:
Robert Breugmann:
Granted the topic of sprawl is hotly contested, hard to define and difficult to argue without falling back to discussions of semantic purity, however when there appears to be a promise of a well thought out and lively discussion on how to deal with sprawl one expects, well, a well thought out lively discussion dealing with sprawl.
I think I made most of my points regarding this already right here: Earlier post on TOIstudio
Best Lecture that Inspired:
Bruce Mau:
It could be my kinship towards other "men of gravity" that are bearded, or my belief that architects have an inherent responsibility to increase the well being of the world that I found his lecture inspiring, captivating and informative. There is something about informing the public and going out and actually accomplishing things (research or practical application) that I find extremely more enjoyable than all the eye candy computer renderings in the world. Something about practicing what you preach.
Steve Badanes:
Same reasoning as above minus the beard and "men of gravity" comment.
Best Advocates for Design (Large Institution):
University Circle Inc.:
Just for being receptive and positive to the many groups and institutions wanting/willing to experiment with architecture and form within the enclave. It is University Circle that will set the benchmark for design for the rest of the city. Again.
Best Advocates for Design (Small Institution):
Cleveland Artist's Foundation - Jim and Nina Gibans for Cleveland Goes Modern
Green City Blue Lake - Susan Miller and Marc Lefkowitz for Greening the Modern Preservationist Movement - Ameritrust Tower Preservation Movement
Both groups did a bang up job of getting the general public interested and involved in Cleveland's architectural past and for that I personally thank them.
Best Net-roots Activity for Design:
Ingenuity Fest - What Would YOU Do with the Breuer Tower :garnering international attention to our historic tower.
Cleveland Design Competition -2007 Annual Competition :more international attention for Cleveland as a place wanting to harvest ideas (even though they never did get around to posting all the entries that were received *cough cough*)
Emerging Architecture and Urban Design to eagerly anticipate in 2008:
FOA - new MOCA building
MVRDV - new CIA addition
Euclid Corridor Project Completion
Cleveland State University Urban Affairs Lecture series (typically pretty dang good)
Kent State University Spring and Fall Design Lecture series (always a good excuse to go down to Kent)
Case Wester Reserve University Baker Nord Lecture series (even if they did bring Breugmann...)
-I don't want to call them 'awards' persay, as I have nothing to really give anyone. Regardless, the overarching plan was for BOTC, Design Rag and TOIstudio to collaborate on some notifications and appreciations for a job well done. If only we would have planned to actually get this done more then a week ago. Anyway, here are the results for the city as Dru from TOIstudio sees it.
Best Building completed in NEO in 2007:
Cleveland Institute of Music Expansion - Mixon Hall:
Architect: Charles Young
Cost: $32 million
Particulars: Total of 34,000 sf of new space including a 250 seat venue with 43' high glass backdrop, new entry from Wade Oval and practice rooms.
A particularly fine example of meshing programmatic restraints with the reimagining of what the concert experience can be. By creating a glass backdrop to the performers overlooking a small park (and the soft sculptural form of the east addition) the experience of listening to fine music can only be punctuated by the spectacle that nature can present. Whether winter concerts with a snowy background, soft diffuse light and the chance to shiver at both the weather and the captivating melody of a fine quartet to a hot summer night filled with dramatic lighting, the excitement of University Circle and the blood boiling crescendo of a full orchestra. Even without the amazing program the form and materiality of the structure is finely detailed, clean and exact and only improves with the many layers of acoustic and environmental control added to make the structure function. There is little addition of superfluous form as there is little room for it. A fine example of solving the given problem first and solving it well.
Worst Building Proposed in 2007 (I think this category was changed to something less insulting):
Cleveland State University's new student center by Gwathmey Seigle and Associates
Cuyahoga Community College/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Rock Archive by Robert P. Madison International
Best Urban Design Strategy Proposed in 2007:
Wolfstein's Flats development:
Whether you can state that this proposal was made in 2007 (it wasn't, it has been on the books for a while) is true, however the ball is moving and I find this one of the best hopes for the city to be close to achieving reality. A massive influx of people and entertainment mixed with the types of 'regular day' infrastructure (grocery markets, drugstores, etc) could jump start a 24 hour culture downtown recalibrating the city to accept a rank as a convention city. If only there could be a way to improve the school system to move families back downtown...
Medical Mart:
When was this one first mentioned? Mid 90's? Regardless, another project that is 'on the horizon' that could work in conjunction to some other proposals to activate the city.
Worst Urban Design Strategy Proposed in 2007:
E120th RTA station being relocated off from Euclid to Mayfield Road which manages to complete a number of dubious tasks. The current plan relocates a major public transportation nexus away from the Euclid Corridor instead of creating a multi use transit node that could service pedestrian, rail, bus and bike traffic in a centralized and safe location. It moves the station away from a major corridor and away from the front of what would be the Cleveland Institute of Art, MOCA and the 'front' of the northern complex of University Circle including CASE, CIM and CMA which could be used to consolidate the station traffic as a grand entrance and enforce the pedestrian urban model along a main artery instead of shunting it to the rear. Overall the location decision smacks of more public transit systems being designed by people who don't use it for people who wouldn't use it anyway (see practicing what you preach comments for a theme this year).
Best Lecture that Pissed People Off:
Robert Breugmann:
Granted the topic of sprawl is hotly contested, hard to define and difficult to argue without falling back to discussions of semantic purity, however when there appears to be a promise of a well thought out and lively discussion on how to deal with sprawl one expects, well, a well thought out lively discussion dealing with sprawl.
I think I made most of my points regarding this already right here: Earlier post on TOIstudio
Best Lecture that Inspired:
Bruce Mau:
It could be my kinship towards other "men of gravity" that are bearded, or my belief that architects have an inherent responsibility to increase the well being of the world that I found his lecture inspiring, captivating and informative. There is something about informing the public and going out and actually accomplishing things (research or practical application) that I find extremely more enjoyable than all the eye candy computer renderings in the world. Something about practicing what you preach.
Steve Badanes:
Same reasoning as above minus the beard and "men of gravity" comment.
Best Advocates for Design (Large Institution):
University Circle Inc.:
Just for being receptive and positive to the many groups and institutions wanting/willing to experiment with architecture and form within the enclave. It is University Circle that will set the benchmark for design for the rest of the city. Again.
Best Advocates for Design (Small Institution):
Cleveland Artist's Foundation - Jim and Nina Gibans for Cleveland Goes Modern
Green City Blue Lake - Susan Miller and Marc Lefkowitz for Greening the Modern Preservationist Movement - Ameritrust Tower Preservation Movement
Both groups did a bang up job of getting the general public interested and involved in Cleveland's architectural past and for that I personally thank them.
Best Net-roots Activity for Design:
Ingenuity Fest - What Would YOU Do with the Breuer Tower :garnering international attention to our historic tower.
Cleveland Design Competition -2007 Annual Competition :more international attention for Cleveland as a place wanting to harvest ideas (even though they never did get around to posting all the entries that were received *cough cough*)
Emerging Architecture and Urban Design to eagerly anticipate in 2008:
FOA - new MOCA building
MVRDV - new CIA addition
Euclid Corridor Project Completion
Cleveland State University Urban Affairs Lecture series (typically pretty dang good)
Kent State University Spring and Fall Design Lecture series (always a good excuse to go down to Kent)
Case Wester Reserve University Baker Nord Lecture series (even if they did bring Breugmann...)
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Science and Art come together to brand a city
Once in a while I come across a story or idea that surprises me with its simplicity and potential that I not only grin, but become a little ashamed when I realize what an impact a simple idea could have.
A gentleman in Seattle (I hope I don't embarrass him by calling him a gentleman) is instituting The First International Solar Sculpture Challenge 2008. There are rules stipulated in the challenge:
1 There shall be no batteries in the structure. All the solar should be direct use.
2. I think the sculpture should be bigger than a breadbox
3. The art installation should remain in one place. (I can envision it moving around but I think it should not be a vehicle or that moves more than 10 feet from a basic spot)
4. The sculpture must include either photovoltaic cells, solar flat panels, solar thermal evacuated tubes, or wind mechanics or all of the the above mentioned to qualify for entry.
5. The structure sculpture must be placed in the city of Seattle by the Summer Solstice 2008 (June 20th 23:59pm 2008)= June 21 2008
I suppose the reasons why this is a great idea are actually rather evident. First it creates the opportunity for educational and research institutions to create programs that would showcase their student and faculties talents. It would allow for more public installations that would raise awareness as well as create areas that could be activated or reactive as destinations. It could also put the city hosting it on the map as a concentrated nexus of art and technology. I suppose my favorite part of the whole challenge is that it is incredibly attainable and should be relatively easy to gather all the support needed (from local government, schools, businesses, artists and professional organizations) to pull this off.
So, who in Cleveland is going to put one together for here?
A gentleman in Seattle (I hope I don't embarrass him by calling him a gentleman) is instituting The First International Solar Sculpture Challenge 2008. There are rules stipulated in the challenge:
1 There shall be no batteries in the structure. All the solar should be direct use.
2. I think the sculpture should be bigger than a breadbox
3. The art installation should remain in one place. (I can envision it moving around but I think it should not be a vehicle or that moves more than 10 feet from a basic spot)
4. The sculpture must include either photovoltaic cells, solar flat panels, solar thermal evacuated tubes, or wind mechanics or all of the the above mentioned to qualify for entry.
5. The structure sculpture must be placed in the city of Seattle by the Summer Solstice 2008 (June 20th 23:59pm 2008)= June 21 2008
I suppose the reasons why this is a great idea are actually rather evident. First it creates the opportunity for educational and research institutions to create programs that would showcase their student and faculties talents. It would allow for more public installations that would raise awareness as well as create areas that could be activated or reactive as destinations. It could also put the city hosting it on the map as a concentrated nexus of art and technology. I suppose my favorite part of the whole challenge is that it is incredibly attainable and should be relatively easy to gather all the support needed (from local government, schools, businesses, artists and professional organizations) to pull this off.
So, who in Cleveland is going to put one together for here?
Monday, December 24, 2007
Finally, an acceptable use for beets...
As you travel the roads this holiday season, perhaps you may be so lucky as to wander upon the remains of one of childhood's most distasteful threats, the beet. During the extraction process of removing sugar from sugar beets it was noticed that the left over material had a very low freezing point.Someone thought that this would make a handy de-icing material for roadways and so viola, beet juice road de-icing mixture which has already been tested in Akron may find its way onto more Ohio roads.
Supporters say that the beet mixture is less harmful on cars than straight Calcium Chloride (road salt) which is corrosive to metals (ie. bridges and cars)and deadly to vegetation (ie. roadside lawns and farm fields). All sugar has been removed from the solution before it can be used for roads, otherwise it may attract animals (or small children).
Questions remain. Will the roads appear purplish? Will liver and onions find an acceptable use as housing insulation? Will Dwight Schrute's beet farm reap the rewards it has deserved lo these many years?
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Selfish altruism - buying things locally is really just spending money on yourself...
..if one figures that supporting local businesses means supporting local infrastructure (through taxes), and, um, supporting local government's descision making processes (which are at times questionable).
Anyway, there are only a couple of days left until the big Tuesday morning gift exchange. I wonder if one could hear the simultaneous sounds of millions of packages being unwrapped from space? I took a strange route this year. I didn't do the internet thing so much, instead I tried to wander around some smaller neighborhoods and window shopped. I have so far successfully avoided all 'Big Box' stores as well and instead concentrated on the many community downtowns that surround places that I enjoy visiting anyway such as Waterloo, Tremont, Cleveland Heights/Coventry and of course Lakewood. I could probably list off what I purchased from where since I doubt anyone in my family gives my internet voice any attention but I won't, just in case.
Anyway, for those of you in the time crunch, looking for ideas or places to window shop I would like to remind everyone of the many local gift guides available on the Internet.
Cool Cleveland's Local Gift Guide
COSE ibuyneo Website
Green City Blue Lake Gift Guide
Cleveland.com (Plain Dealer's) Local Guide.
Cleveland Free Times Local Guide
Of course a real treat to those receiving and those doing the shopping is to take a walk along the many commercial downtown streets of the neighborhoods you enjoy and window shop. Make sure to check out for any specials in the chocolate shops (or free samples), stop for some coffee or hot chocolate in a local cafe, grab a decadent bite and enjoy having the freedom to spend the time really picking out something special instead of madly dashing about in a frenzy. I know there is a rush, but you should take the time to enjoy all of the holiday and what it really means.
Happy holidays everyone.
PS. In case anyone is wondering, for the holidays I would really enjoy it if more people got involved in their local communities, whether it be mentoring a child, cleaning up a street or even just taking part in a community planning discussion. That would be a really nice gift for me. Oh, and chocolate.
Anyway, there are only a couple of days left until the big Tuesday morning gift exchange. I wonder if one could hear the simultaneous sounds of millions of packages being unwrapped from space? I took a strange route this year. I didn't do the internet thing so much, instead I tried to wander around some smaller neighborhoods and window shopped. I have so far successfully avoided all 'Big Box' stores as well and instead concentrated on the many community downtowns that surround places that I enjoy visiting anyway such as Waterloo, Tremont, Cleveland Heights/Coventry and of course Lakewood. I could probably list off what I purchased from where since I doubt anyone in my family gives my internet voice any attention but I won't, just in case.
Anyway, for those of you in the time crunch, looking for ideas or places to window shop I would like to remind everyone of the many local gift guides available on the Internet.
Cool Cleveland's Local Gift Guide
COSE ibuyneo Website
Green City Blue Lake Gift Guide
Cleveland.com (Plain Dealer's) Local Guide.
Cleveland Free Times Local Guide
Of course a real treat to those receiving and those doing the shopping is to take a walk along the many commercial downtown streets of the neighborhoods you enjoy and window shop. Make sure to check out for any specials in the chocolate shops (or free samples), stop for some coffee or hot chocolate in a local cafe, grab a decadent bite and enjoy having the freedom to spend the time really picking out something special instead of madly dashing about in a frenzy. I know there is a rush, but you should take the time to enjoy all of the holiday and what it really means.
Happy holidays everyone.
PS. In case anyone is wondering, for the holidays I would really enjoy it if more people got involved in their local communities, whether it be mentoring a child, cleaning up a street or even just taking part in a community planning discussion. That would be a really nice gift for me. Oh, and chocolate.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Newgrange Winter Solstice shared online for all to enjoy
Newgrange Tomb
Ireland
Friday, December 21, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
8.30am local time
Heritage Ireland will share an online broadcast of the illumination of the Newgrange passage occuring on the winter solstice. The Newgrange burial site was designed and built with a special opening that would allow sunlight to penetrate the main chamber on the shortest days of the year, around December 21st. As the sun rises higher the beam widens to illuminate the whole room. The entire event lasts for only 17 minutes.
Newgrange is documented as having been constructed over 5000 years ago, before Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids.
Weather predications for tomorrow say that the skies will be clear.
Resources:
Newgrange.com
Ireland
Friday, December 21, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
8.30am local time
Heritage Ireland will share an online broadcast of the illumination of the Newgrange passage occuring on the winter solstice. The Newgrange burial site was designed and built with a special opening that would allow sunlight to penetrate the main chamber on the shortest days of the year, around December 21st. As the sun rises higher the beam widens to illuminate the whole room. The entire event lasts for only 17 minutes.
Newgrange is documented as having been constructed over 5000 years ago, before Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids.
Weather predications for tomorrow say that the skies will be clear.
Resources:
Newgrange.com
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Does Kent State have the stomach to compete as an architecture school?
Yesterday the New York Times reported that Robert Stern has been appointed to his third term at Yale. Named as Dean of Yale School of Architecture in 1998 Mr. Stern has since overcome the reputation of a traditional "comfort" architect to a Dean with a acceptance to varied, multiple styles and as an educator that "encourages risk and experimentation at Yale..."
While still a practicing architect Robert Stern is best known for his traditional style buildings where the concentration is on client needs, expectations and fine detail instead of the current (starchitecture) emphasis for iconic avant garde form. Stern comes from an educational background which was rooted in the importance of understanding history and architectural precedence of multiple cultures, not just the traditional Eurocentric views concentrated on by many current educational institutions.
Currently Kent State University shall begin another search for the Dean of Kent's College of Architecture and Environmental Design as Steven Fong, the most recent dean, has left the school. This leaves the college in quite the predicament. For the second time in as many years the college falls back under the control of an interim dean while precious resources are allocated to finding a new figurehead to shape and mold the curriculum of Kent's architecture department while still attempting to create a pathos for the current flock of students to follow. The question haunts the city closest to the institution. Will Kent be able to discover a strong willed and bold figure willing to guide Kent's program to face the challenges of the new millennia, or will the school flounder in indecision and what may be described as complacency?
As a Kent graduate and someone with close ties to the city my concern is that the program may not be up to the task of cultivating the intent and thought necessary to capitulate a design culture in this shrinking city, where creative and bold ideas are more than necessary to turn Cleveland's path around, where it is all too easy to give up and leave for the greener pastures of other cities saturated with design talent and the will to brandish it.
I would hope Kent takes this opportunity to re-examine the CAED's intent and whether they have the tools and the will to achieve their goals. If they find the tools lacking, I suggest they do all they can to rebuild their educational foundations (design theory and history), if they lack the will, I ask that they (the school) concentrate on what they have a passion for instead of over saturating the profession with contemporaries who have never been exposed to a desire to explore design. There are plenty of fine technical schools out there where one can learn to draft a window detail, a Master's degree seems a touch overkill.
While still a practicing architect Robert Stern is best known for his traditional style buildings where the concentration is on client needs, expectations and fine detail instead of the current (starchitecture) emphasis for iconic avant garde form. Stern comes from an educational background which was rooted in the importance of understanding history and architectural precedence of multiple cultures, not just the traditional Eurocentric views concentrated on by many current educational institutions.
Currently Kent State University shall begin another search for the Dean of Kent's College of Architecture and Environmental Design as Steven Fong, the most recent dean, has left the school. This leaves the college in quite the predicament. For the second time in as many years the college falls back under the control of an interim dean while precious resources are allocated to finding a new figurehead to shape and mold the curriculum of Kent's architecture department while still attempting to create a pathos for the current flock of students to follow. The question haunts the city closest to the institution. Will Kent be able to discover a strong willed and bold figure willing to guide Kent's program to face the challenges of the new millennia, or will the school flounder in indecision and what may be described as complacency?
As a Kent graduate and someone with close ties to the city my concern is that the program may not be up to the task of cultivating the intent and thought necessary to capitulate a design culture in this shrinking city, where creative and bold ideas are more than necessary to turn Cleveland's path around, where it is all too easy to give up and leave for the greener pastures of other cities saturated with design talent and the will to brandish it.
I would hope Kent takes this opportunity to re-examine the CAED's intent and whether they have the tools and the will to achieve their goals. If they find the tools lacking, I suggest they do all they can to rebuild their educational foundations (design theory and history), if they lack the will, I ask that they (the school) concentrate on what they have a passion for instead of over saturating the profession with contemporaries who have never been exposed to a desire to explore design. There are plenty of fine technical schools out there where one can learn to draft a window detail, a Master's degree seems a touch overkill.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Green Architecture is apparent, sometimes obvious, this time wonderful thanks to Mass Studies
Despite all the 'green washing' that one gets to experience this holiday season and the resultant 'funk' I find myself in regarding environmental architecture I was extremely happy to stumble across the Ann Demeulemeester Shop by Mass Studies on the Designboom website. While one could easily argue that the application of "green" building technology is pure applique, I would like to counter with a "Yes, it could only be an applique, but it is a rather sensational one."Unlike the addition of a wind turbine or solar array the wrapping of the entire skin of the structure seems so integrated, so intentional and so rigorous that I find myself grinning at how the soft skin substance (in this case plantings) so perfectly compliments the soft forms of the building. While I don't know Ann Demeulmeester's work that well, I will probably give her styles a second look if there is a depth of thought akin to her shop in her clothing.
Regardless, I would like to complement the design of the store. Not only is the skin extremely interesting I am so highly intrigued into how the interior spaces are laid out, how movement through is shaped and accomplished by the street to stair to bridge level and then the simple street entrance which I assume wraps you up to the bridge or down from the bridge or someway to get through this building via a series of level changes and thresholds and wonderful interior to exterior or interior(?)/exterior(?) spaces.
If you found that as confusing as I did writing it you should probably just check out the pictures and save yourself some trouble. It will all become crystal clear when you do.
Resources:
Mass Studies Website*
*seems to be down currently.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Senate energy bill plans to raise CAFE standards
Yesterday the US Senate voted to pass an energy bill which will raise CAFE standards for vehicles sold in the United States from 27.5 mpg to 35 mpg for light cars and 22.2 mpg for minivans, SUVS and other light trucks.
The energy bill also plans a massive increase in 'greener fuel sources' such as ethanol (up to 36 billion gallons by 2022).
The passing of the energy bill happened with the caveat that planned taxes against the oil industry to support renewable electricity projects such as solar and wind. Meanwhile the price of oil continues to rise resulting in price increases in all manners of transportation related industry and infrastructure.
I grow curious of what the magic cost would be to break America from our dependence on the automobile. Will $6 a gallon create enough of an incentive for people to move closer where they work? Will a larger and more captive ridership allow GCRTA to grow into a full time and more intuitive service (I love the GCRTA, I just wish I could figure out on the fly how to get places)? Could an easier and quicker public transportation system allow more downtown development and a reduction of parking structure/lots for actual speculative structures?
I hope so.
resources:
BBC
The energy bill also plans a massive increase in 'greener fuel sources' such as ethanol (up to 36 billion gallons by 2022).
The passing of the energy bill happened with the caveat that planned taxes against the oil industry to support renewable electricity projects such as solar and wind. Meanwhile the price of oil continues to rise resulting in price increases in all manners of transportation related industry and infrastructure.
I grow curious of what the magic cost would be to break America from our dependence on the automobile. Will $6 a gallon create enough of an incentive for people to move closer where they work? Will a larger and more captive ridership allow GCRTA to grow into a full time and more intuitive service (I love the GCRTA, I just wish I could figure out on the fly how to get places)? Could an easier and quicker public transportation system allow more downtown development and a reduction of parking structure/lots for actual speculative structures?
I hope so.
resources:
BBC
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Music Saves/Musica Gift Exchange
Friday, December 14th
Music Saves, Cleveland
Sooper Awesome Gift Xchange
Saturday, December 15th
Musica, Akron
Sooper Awesome Gift Xchange part DO!
What else can I say. If you like music, if you like fun, if you like awesome people like me (and more awesome people like Mel and Kev) then you should probably get your butt up to Music Saves for the Gift Exchange (you can go right after the Tremont Art Walk (Friday) if you are all clever about it).
Music Saves
Musica
Music Saves, Cleveland
Sooper Awesome Gift Xchange
Saturday, December 15th
Musica, Akron
Sooper Awesome Gift Xchange part DO!
What else can I say. If you like music, if you like fun, if you like awesome people like me (and more awesome people like Mel and Kev) then you should probably get your butt up to Music Saves for the Gift Exchange (you can go right after the Tremont Art Walk (Friday) if you are all clever about it).
Music Saves
Musica
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Ohio makes alternative energy headlines
Timken partners with Chinese company to build wind turbine components expected to generate over $100 million in US exports.
EBO of Medina County to reap plug-in hybrid windfall by concentrating on creating viable power pack systems necessary for creating successful vehicles.
Two separate tracks for two (semi)local companies hoping to capitalize on emerging energy based technology markets. One almost hopes that the region finds a way to cultivate a local culture for these types of businesses.
EBO of Medina County to reap plug-in hybrid windfall by concentrating on creating viable power pack systems necessary for creating successful vehicles.
Two separate tracks for two (semi)local companies hoping to capitalize on emerging energy based technology markets. One almost hopes that the region finds a way to cultivate a local culture for these types of businesses.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
December Tremont Art Hop
Tremont Art Walk/Hop
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Tremont Neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio
Just in time for the gift exchange season, the last Tremont Art Walk of 2007 is this weekend. The perfect chance to browse for some local and handmade quality gifts for friends and loved ones. The winter may be a touch chilly but that should just give the perfect excuse for ducking into a local restaurant or pub for a warmer.
I had a card for this Art Walk that I picked up at Lucky's but have misplaced it. It caught my eye because the artwork done for the current hotcard looked like it was done by Derek Hess, so after a quick check on the webbernet, lo and behold, check out what I found on his website:
Friday December 14th - Kelly Randall Gallery, Cleveland
"Every Day's A Holiday - Derek Hess Holiday Show"
*ONE NIGHT ONLY*
Hess prints, posters, calendars, and originals
more info at - 216-771-7724
Marvelous!
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Tremont Neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio
Just in time for the gift exchange season, the last Tremont Art Walk of 2007 is this weekend. The perfect chance to browse for some local and handmade quality gifts for friends and loved ones. The winter may be a touch chilly but that should just give the perfect excuse for ducking into a local restaurant or pub for a warmer.
I had a card for this Art Walk that I picked up at Lucky's but have misplaced it. It caught my eye because the artwork done for the current hotcard looked like it was done by Derek Hess, so after a quick check on the webbernet, lo and behold, check out what I found on his website:
Friday December 14th - Kelly Randall Gallery, Cleveland
"Every Day's A Holiday - Derek Hess Holiday Show"
*ONE NIGHT ONLY*
Hess prints, posters, calendars, and originals
more info at - 216-771-7724
Marvelous!
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Rapid deployment - our search for efficiency may make us lose our focus
For the past half year or so I have been involved with heading the Revit portion of a BIM pilot program. For those of you not quite in with the whole BIM (Building Information Modeling) movement let me create a quick synapses.
BIM software (from the architectural side at least) allows the designer or whomever is piloting the computer to attach parametric values such as identification notes, weights, colors, etc, to building components. What the BIM software excels at is allowing one to track and schedule what components are being used in the project. This also allows one to track construction phases and cost estimates since the building model can be used to create the project with quantifiable amounts of materials.
What BIM software does not do is automatically illustrate how a building actually goes together.
I am not trying to romanticize the era when drawings were done by hand on vellum or mylar. I don't think the ammonia reproducer (or blueprint machine) was a particularly pleasant thing to be around. I do believe that when things were being drawn by hand there was a certain amount of care and attention paid to particular details which resulted in those responsible for details having to learn how a particular portion of the building (see window sill, or door head, etc) should be put together to function properly. There is also the necessity of learning what the components of a building (flashing, moisture barrier, vapor barrier, etc) are there to do, what order they are to be combined to work effectively, what there characteristics are and how, when combined, they are supposed to appear.
At some point during the mass transition to CAD (computer aided drafting) I think the intimacy of knowledge garnered from hand drawing started to fall by the wayside. CAD software allowed for the quick repetition of symbols and the shortsighted creation of details as existing simply as a series of connected (sometimes) lines.
Now parametric modeling rears on the horizon as becoming mainstream and again the question of proper building techniques becomes compounded. Without going into the reams of proper architectural BIM usage (I am not by any means an expert) there are certain assumptions that one has to make similar to utilizing CAD software, which is fine. My main concern is how the BIM software is perceived.
Already I have heard rumors of architectural schools training their students at an early time during their undergraduate years in BIM software to be used as a design and presentation platform and honestly this scares me. First because the software is rather advanced for early undergraduate usage by students who are still creating a foundation of presentation design. Secondly, the software itself is rather orthogonal (The most common platform Revit, is extremely orthogonal, almost annoyingly so. It takes a bit of practice to create intentional 3d shapes) so as to lending itself to being used for quick design one would argue that software such as Sketchup or even Rhino (again with a large learning curve) would be more apt. However I would like to argue that more basic design study, through physical modeling and drawing (and eventually photoshop), would be better used at the early years to teach fundamentals.
I suppose that by most regards I could be way off base, seen as a proponent of "the old guard" who still carries at least one sketchbook around at all times and finds the pencil still the most useful tool of my "arsenal". Well, maybe I am. However, I can sketch quickly on the train or bus, at the bar or a restaurant during lunch or even during a conversation with a colleague or client and that makes me the most versatile of all.
Sure CAD is a basic skill, no doubt necessary, that all students should grasp in order to make the pragmatic diagrams asked for during the design reviews, but is parametric modeling something to be instilled during the years of learning intellectual design and rigor or would that be best left for the classes in which construction techniques are taught and moved as far from the design studio as possible, to keep the minds agile, sharp and free?
Are we soon to be at the point where we can view a building and recognize the software platform it was designed in? Is architecture still about design or is it to become a commodity, to be quantified and calculated and added to a parametric spreadsheet?
BIM software (from the architectural side at least) allows the designer or whomever is piloting the computer to attach parametric values such as identification notes, weights, colors, etc, to building components. What the BIM software excels at is allowing one to track and schedule what components are being used in the project. This also allows one to track construction phases and cost estimates since the building model can be used to create the project with quantifiable amounts of materials.
What BIM software does not do is automatically illustrate how a building actually goes together.
I am not trying to romanticize the era when drawings were done by hand on vellum or mylar. I don't think the ammonia reproducer (or blueprint machine) was a particularly pleasant thing to be around. I do believe that when things were being drawn by hand there was a certain amount of care and attention paid to particular details which resulted in those responsible for details having to learn how a particular portion of the building (see window sill, or door head, etc) should be put together to function properly. There is also the necessity of learning what the components of a building (flashing, moisture barrier, vapor barrier, etc) are there to do, what order they are to be combined to work effectively, what there characteristics are and how, when combined, they are supposed to appear.
At some point during the mass transition to CAD (computer aided drafting) I think the intimacy of knowledge garnered from hand drawing started to fall by the wayside. CAD software allowed for the quick repetition of symbols and the shortsighted creation of details as existing simply as a series of connected (sometimes) lines.
Now parametric modeling rears on the horizon as becoming mainstream and again the question of proper building techniques becomes compounded. Without going into the reams of proper architectural BIM usage (I am not by any means an expert) there are certain assumptions that one has to make similar to utilizing CAD software, which is fine. My main concern is how the BIM software is perceived.
Already I have heard rumors of architectural schools training their students at an early time during their undergraduate years in BIM software to be used as a design and presentation platform and honestly this scares me. First because the software is rather advanced for early undergraduate usage by students who are still creating a foundation of presentation design. Secondly, the software itself is rather orthogonal (The most common platform Revit, is extremely orthogonal, almost annoyingly so. It takes a bit of practice to create intentional 3d shapes) so as to lending itself to being used for quick design one would argue that software such as Sketchup or even Rhino (again with a large learning curve) would be more apt. However I would like to argue that more basic design study, through physical modeling and drawing (and eventually photoshop), would be better used at the early years to teach fundamentals.
I suppose that by most regards I could be way off base, seen as a proponent of "the old guard" who still carries at least one sketchbook around at all times and finds the pencil still the most useful tool of my "arsenal". Well, maybe I am. However, I can sketch quickly on the train or bus, at the bar or a restaurant during lunch or even during a conversation with a colleague or client and that makes me the most versatile of all.
Sure CAD is a basic skill, no doubt necessary, that all students should grasp in order to make the pragmatic diagrams asked for during the design reviews, but is parametric modeling something to be instilled during the years of learning intellectual design and rigor or would that be best left for the classes in which construction techniques are taught and moved as far from the design studio as possible, to keep the minds agile, sharp and free?
Are we soon to be at the point where we can view a building and recognize the software platform it was designed in? Is architecture still about design or is it to become a commodity, to be quantified and calculated and added to a parametric spreadsheet?
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