- more on one of my favorite topics: simplicity! here is another clip of glenn murcutt! the 2002 pritzker winning architect is a solo practitioner, without a secretary and without a phone. he keeps things simple by prioritizing the projects main functions: controlling air movement, studying the suns movement and optimizing the connection between the person and place in the environment. he uses simplicity as a guise for complexity within the structure.
for more on simplicity see:
john maeda’s laws of simplicity
beautiful colored sand street art, columbus circle
my boyfriend, @reecepacheco, posted a blog entry about our one year anniversary, but my architecture/design blog is not quite the right place for me to show my thanks. but, now that i reflect upon this past year, i have realized that no collegiate course, job, or person has impacted the way i feel about architecture quite like reece has. he is vivacious, excited and serious about his own future, and constantly thinks critically about how to make his own startup company, homefield, work. that kind of energy has transcended into the passion i have for architecture and has been a motivator for me and my career, as well. while he has little to do with the “art world” that engrosses me in on a daily basis, he has brought me a fresh perspective, challenged my innate tendency to be (i admit) close-minded, encouraged me to experience new things, and inspired within me an idea about my future in architecture that is devoid of doubt.
the existence of this blog is the product of reece. “why not start now?” he asked. he encouraged me to start writing and posting my thoughts about design, and find the words to express them - an invaluable learning experience in itself… let alone, i didn’t even know what an “online presence” was!
in short, opening up to reece allowed me to open up to the world in a new way, and seek out architectural concerns of those who have not grown up with a distinct (singular) approach like i have. (see my post about his friend, architect, harry gesner) opening up to anyone, talking with anyone can further your understanding and create opportunities in your chosen career. i am happy to have the opportunity that i call, reece.
link to wall street journal article: richard meier model museum reopens today…
i used to spend my fridays giving tours at the richard meier model museum in long island city… if you haven’t been yet, then go! it’s a must see for all architects :)
-image above by scott frances, the getty center model
- massimo vignelli addressing design, typology and architecture! i love what they are doing over at bigthink.com - other great interviews there as well…
dean of architecture, planning and design at kansas state, tim de noble, introduced me to this clip of an autistic man who can draw a city from memory, down to every last window… this time: roma!
the guggenheim exhibition, “interventions in the guggenheim museum” provided many interpretations of how artists and architects would redesign, add to, or take from the central atrium space. in addition to these interpretations, is the work of tino sehgal - which is more of an experiment in experience than a continuation of the tradition of visual exhibitions. instead, the spiral walls of the guggenheim are currently bare, minimizing distractions and increasing the capacity for contemplating the structure itself. however, at the base of the central rotunda, two dancers/performers express a “quasi-sculptural choreographed movement.” this tangled duo do a bit of slow sensual caressing and long smooches. (see image below)
as the viewer progresses up the ramp from the central atrium space, they also transition from studying two subjects to being the studied - from viewing the choreographed experience of the two performers, to literally becoming the subject of the artwork itself.
my experience: a chipper little blond girl came straight up to me and reecepacheco, shook my hand and asked, “what is progress?” guided up the first full rotation of the rotunda with her, i defined it as “the initiatives one takes while working towards a goal.” then she handed me off to another young boy. “does everything have to have a goal?” he asked. “yes,” i said in my defense. “so, is crashing a car during a drivers ed lesson progress?” he asked. “yes, as long as he learns from it.” two more rotations and two more series of questions and conversations later, i reached the pinnacle of the spiral promenade.
it was not until i was at the top that i realized i had missed contemplating the void! ironically, the only time the guggenheim was left empty in effort to encourage visitors to rethink the space, i had abandoned it. i let the questions distract me from what seemed to be the purpose. then i realized that this was the first time i had completely ignored the void. in all my previous visits to the guggenhiem, i always established a dialogue between what was hanging on the walls and the progress i was making up the ramp. having the rare opportunity to experience the museum entirely devoid of all artwork or visual interruptions, it’s hard to believe that i neglected to contemplate the walls or the void.
the little girl’s question now seems appropriate, and so does the boy’s question. the goal was to think critically about the space of the guggemheim, but i was too absorbed defining progress. i became a classic example of progress as it relates to one’s failure to focus when presented with diversions. i clearly was “progressing” through the structure physically, but abandoning my purpose mentally. that is the antithesis of progress. the most prominent advice in architecture and art today is to be in the present.
Harvard GSD students work to redesign hospitals in Rwanda to reduce poverty through architecture. Vote for MASS here. Check out MASS Group official website here.
MASS is an architectural design firm working in resource-limited settings to build social value through design. We work in these contexts to incubate locally-grown design communities, and to train architects to be culturally sensitive and committed to applying their skills to improve the quality of life of underserved populations. MASS asks architects the hard questions: if design is a service, who does it serve? If offered only to a few, what is the value of good design? We believe good design is the synthesis of complex problems into solutions that support well-balanced communities.
In 2007 there were fewer than 10 architects in the entire country of Rwanda, as many had fled or been killed during the genocide, and the status of most buildings were, as a result, poorly designed and creating health hazards for their inhabitants. We address this two-fold problem holistically, creating training programs to cultivate a next generation of Rwandan design leaders, while providing solutions to real projects in the training process. Our design of medical facilities in Rwanda with Partners in Health will not only serve the patients of the facilities and their families, but will benefit a global community by seeking solutions to diverse problems – from the airborne transmission of Tuberculosis to job creation and economic development in a community. Between the local and global scales, we recognize that a sustainable commitment to social change is made not only through the holistic design of buildings, but also through the design process’s capacity to generate reverberant impacts. (via social innovation)
