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24 Rooms Tucked Into One?!"This room — the “maximum kitchen,” he calls it — and the “video game room” he was sitting in minutes before are just 2 of at least 24 different layouts that Mr. Chang, an architect, can impose on his 344-square-foot apartment, which he renovated last year." Mr. Chang seems to either be extremely flexible, or an extreme commitment-phobe...
We've had enough of frivolityHow does design respond to a bleak economic landscape? Philippe Starck, Sir Terence Conran and Kirstie Allsopp debate the future of their industries in these lean times.
How the city hurts your brain...And what you can do about it"...Scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are chastening. Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs our basic mental processes." D'OH!
"Greenwashing" is common in real estate"Green is so pervasive that the Federal Trade Commission is revising its environmental-marketing guidelines a year ahead of schedule. The so-called green guides, which haven’t been updated since 1998, outline principles for all environmental marketing. The review was supposed to begin this month, but because of the jump in green advertising claims, the consumer watchdog agency decided to act earlier." - Hopefully "green fatigue" has not set in by the time they are done...
Mapping the InaugurationAs someone who will be in DC during the Inauguration (and not particularly glad about it) I found this to be pretty interesting. I have undertaken my own mapping excercises in preparation... though not quite on this scale (my wife would kill me if I took up the whole floor of the living room).
Ida HO!A house for a lonely woman in BFE designed by architect Tom Kundig. Pictures sure are purty. [slideshow]
Restoring an Eichler on a budget"Set designer Cindy Epping redecorated her 1960s Eichler House in Granada Hills on a tight budget. She says she spent only about $5,000 — mostly online shopping — and relied on her creativity to help re-create the period vibe of the house."
Grieving over your garden"If you've put years into a garden and watched plants grow from a tiny seed or a small plant into a three-story tree, your sense of grieving will be great," said Teays, chairwoman of the philosophy department at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles and an avid gardener. "It's a form of separation anxiety."
Stripped Malls"There's going to be a massive sea change in the retail landscape," which will in turn lead to a change in the urban/suburban landscape.
The New Yorker picks Architecture's Top 10 of 2008"Architectural history will probably treat 2008 more kindly than it deserves to be treated, only because there was architecture to talk about. Never mind that most of the buildings finished over the last twelve months are relics of a time when we actually thought we could afford to build things. The pickings for 2009 are going to be slim, and for 2010 slimmer still..."
Architectural Clothes?Jugde for yourself. Created by Mexican elementary school teacher Nahum Villasana.
What is a "Passive House?""A Passive House is a very well-insulated, virtually air-tight building that is primarily heated by passive solar gain and by internal gains from people, electrical equipment, etc." And the EU wants to adopt this as standard building practice. We have a lot of catching up to do...
Jorn Utzon dies at 90"Jorn Utzon, the Danish architect whose eye-catching, nautically inspired design for the Sydney Opera House overcame a series of controversies surrounding its budget and acoustics to become one of the most recognizable landmarks of the 20th century, helping to usher in the current era of buildings beloved for their daring and photogenic forms, has died. He was 90."
AIA confirms: "Economic Downturn Stalling Design Activity""The AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) recorded its ninth straight monthly decline in October. However, the October drop to 36.2 was the steepest decline in its history, surpassing the weakness reported last February and March as the broader economy was just beginning to decelerate." - Hey, I thought architecture was immune?! Gotta tell Santa all about this one...
Blue is the New GreenAllison Arieff discusses the underestimated and mostly overlooked importance of water in our world. “The issue is that development and population continue, while water rights are static,” says Josiah Cain. “All available water has been accounted for, so the only way to get new water supply involves conservation and reuse strategies.”
Directing Prefab from IraqA civil engineer directs the design process and erection of the family's prefab home in New York while on duty in Iraq. Overachiever...
EcoRock(s)!"EcoRock uses 80% less energy in the manufacturing of its core than conventional gypsum board. No heaters or dryers are used in production, nor calcining processes – resulting in 80% less CO2. EcoRock also uses 85% post-industrial recycled content and is fully recyclable." If all of the claims hold water, then this stuff ROCKS! (sorry, had to go there...)
Designing Green Buildings for the Real World"Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has joined with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to establish a collaborative practice known as the Center for Architecture Science and Ecology, or CASE." “S.O.M.’s motivation is that we want to be at the leading edge of technology,” Mr. Galioto said. “We don’t want to wait for products to come to market.”
Architects rank high in "Happiness"According to a University of Chicago study, architects rank #4 on the happiness scale when broken down based on profession. Now we just have to let the architects know that they are happy...
Frank's on the move...Everyone's been talking about Frank's yet-to-be abode in Venice for years and years, but instead the office has decided to move to El Segundo, CA. "Frank Gehry and the 160 professionals of the world-renowned architectural firm Gehry Partners, LLP will relocate to the coastal California community in early 2009." - Thanks, Paul
A Buddhist Temple Built from Beer Bottles"Fifty years ago the Heineken Beer company looked at reshaping its beer bottle to be useful as a building block. It never happened, so Buddhist monks from Thailand's Sisaket province took matters into their own hands and collected a million bottles to build the Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple." - We'll drink to that!
At Specialty Garage, Making Hybrids Even Greener"The only woman-run, hybrid specialty garage has opened in the Bay Area, which has more Priuses — 70,000 as of 2006 — than most states... Ms. Coquillette, 30, an Ohio native, hopes to become a prophet of the all-electric future that some Californians dream of... But being a prophet is different from making a profit." Thanks, Lincoln.
Since we are at death...What the heck. It's Halloween, and we might as well cover a few more architects in the fatality department. Enjoy!
Architectural HorrorSo what, if you were considered the "Father of Nordic Modernism," and if you are touted as one of the most influential architects of the 20th century? Ah, yes, and you were famous for using warm colors, undulating lines, natural materials... you end up dying like everyone else, and they get you THIS!_Thanks, Alex.