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Mr_Wiggin

Is the jist of the dreamhouse thread a common occurrence in residential practice?

Jun 9, 15 2:27 pm  · 
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Oh yes, I mean not exactly "I want this same house built again" but definitely clients who already have "designed" their house and need someone to draw "blueprints" for them.

Isn't it gist?

Jun 9, 15 2:29 pm  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

Hey now...

Jun 9, 15 2:38 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur

That dreamhouse post reminds me of first year students who, when asked to design their first house/housing complex, replicate their parent's home.

Me: "Why is the a semi-circular window in that wall?"

Them: "The rich suburb where I grew up has them"

Me: eugh.

Jun 9, 15 2:50 pm  · 
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Dreamhouse doesn't need an architect, he needs a laser scanner and a 3D printer.

 

Among other things.

Jun 9, 15 3:35 pm  · 
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rationalist

Non-Seq, I think that's why for the first house-like project at my school, they wouldn't let us even say the word "door" or "window," it was all about "openings" and "spaces." It seemed stupid to us then, but looking back and in this context it helps me see that they were trying to break us out of our assumptions about what a window looked like. 

Jun 9, 15 3:42 pm  · 
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My sweet Chica passed away tonight. I miss her so much, already. Hug your babies, everyone.

Jun 9, 15 10:26 pm  · 
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curtkram

So sorry donna

Jun 9, 15 10:40 pm  · 
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Sorry, Donna.

I dream about Lucy all the time.

Jun 9, 15 10:40 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur
Oh no.
Jun 9, 15 11:12 pm  · 
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vado retro

i gave all the critters extra treats and hugs this morning. So sorry about Chica, Donna.

Jun 10, 15 10:51 am  · 
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Thank you vado, and everyone. Look how cute she was! She was my main cuddler, always wanted to be on my lap, and was so sweet and mellow. Thankfully she had a lovely walk yesterday evening and we were playing with her rawhide chewy when she just kinda glazed over, within a few minutes it was over and she was on my lap as it should be. This morning was rough - we had a morning routine of me giving her snacks while I pack the lunches. I kept expecting her to come trundling around the refrigerator making her little hopeful food-begging moaning noise. My sweet girl.

Jun 10, 15 11:08 am  · 
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archworm

I´m really interested in Instagram architecture accounts from all over the world.

Any ideas out here who to follow?

If you like Berlin and soon want to visit the follow this Instagram account: ninarchitect

She´s got some nice houses which you must see when you´re there.

Jun 10, 15 1:18 pm  · 
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Hmm, picture of Chica disappeared.

archworm, I just joined Instagram, donnasinkarch.  For my own sanity, I'm restricting my posts to images of non-human activities (animals, chemical processes, plants) intersecting with architecture.  I follow mimizeiger, jrcoggeshall, l2designllc, sevensixfive, synthesisdna, a few others.

Jun 10, 15 2:02 pm  · 
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Anyone care to wager whether PS reengages or not?

Jun 10, 15 2:41 pm  · 
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I think he will, Miles, not sure but optimistic. I enjoyed your long comment on that thread.  Very well-presented.

Jun 10, 15 3:53 pm  · 
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snooker-doodle-dandy

Sorry  about   Chica,   We have always had our morning routines with out dogs....and when there gone it is hard to move past them.   Harry  always shares  three slivers of strawberries every morning with me and when there isn't strawberries she is lost.  So I try to  keep on top of having them  on hand, for that breakfast moment.

Jun 10, 15 4:04 pm  · 
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rationalist

I'm so sorry, Donna. I know what you mean about those little routines, they're the times when it hits you out of nowhere because you instinctively start to do something for a critter that is no longer there. 

Jun 10, 15 4:26 pm  · 
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Donna, I'm not sure PS will return. I'd like to see him go toe-to-toe with Buchanan, especially since he's constantly whining about critics, but it's such an obvious mismatch that he wouldn't dare. It would be a bloodbath.

Competition between starchitects verges on deathmatch. I think Zaha uses PS strategically, playing him against the other headliners. She stays above the fray and can always cut him loose if it backfires.

Jun 10, 15 7:12 pm  · 
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I don't know, Miles. Seriously, I used to think PS was doing whatever Zaha needed, but when you listen to him speak (I've been catching up on older lectures etc. online in preparation for the podcast interview) he very much speaks about *his* goals and research as a distinct goal adjacent to ZHA. ZHA seems to be the perfect place for him to test these ideas but clearly the firm also has additional priorities and goals - perhaps the tension between ideal research and actual practice is what leads to the projects "falling short" as he mentioned in his Op Ed.

I mean, he's a really, really smart dude. Nobody is required to fight the battles that aren't interesting to them.

Jun 11, 15 8:55 am  · 
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Example: I can't believe sameolddoctor complained about Bjarke's rear end on the BIG thread. WTF? It's such a stupid, petty comment does it even deserve to be acknowledged with a rebuttal (no pun intended)?

Jun 11, 15 8:57 am  · 
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curtkram

i assume the rear end comment was because he was being compared to a kardashian.  there was some twitter picture or something with one of them and a big butt. 

Jun 11, 15 9:23 am  · 
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Ah, curt, thank you for that. I try not to let Kardashianism enter my brain in any meaningful way, so i missed that connection!

Jun 11, 15 9:27 am  · 
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It was only a matter of time, the OP made the comparison.

Jun 11, 15 9:30 am  · 
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Yeah, I'm dense sometimes. Sorry.

Jun 11, 15 9:32 am  · 
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Time will tell with PS. The problem seems to be that recognizing any of the real criticisms levied against parametricism essentially dynamites his position. So he has to talk above - at a higher level, so to speak - or try to subtly invalidate the criticism (by defining it as political, socially biased, etc.).

Theory is all fine and dandy but when it doesn't survive the test of reality it's time to move on. I remain convinced that starchitects are primarily playing against each other, as if they have to defend their turf. What's silly is that it's through the language of intellectualization rather than any sort of tangible metrics.

Jun 11, 15 10:15 am  · 
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curtkram

so he says he has a theory or manifesto, and he tries to achieve his theory through practice but falls short what with real life being not ideal or whatever.

but his projects are all fairly big budget, essentially iconic or monumental buildings intended to draw attention.  i'd like to hear more about how his parametric theory would apply to the buildings i might work on, the more mundane street level stuff where someone is just trying to run a business.  it's important to design a square building because materials are square.  unless he comes up with a new fabrication, new material, new way to transport said material to the site, etc.  which would be great if he could, but as it stands currently blobitechture is not an option regardless of how awesome the form is or how parametrically perfect it is, or even how well the building would function as a blob.

i would use amazon as an example, since there is a ton of stuff coming into and going out of their warehousing facilities, and i'm pretty sure their tracking software and logistics is something amazing to behold.  as far as i understand, amazon is among the leading edge of parametrics (if i understand parametrics right, though for them it's logistics rather than form), but their perfect building is a big concrete box.

i would post that in his blog but don't think it's worded right, and don't have time to think about it.  i would also use taco bell as an example, what with that being a pretty good example to explain that architecture generally isn't, and shouldn't be, all about the art.

Jun 11, 15 10:42 am  · 
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curtkram, this is an excellent post, you should post it over on the OpEd discussion!

 i'd like to hear more about how his parametric theory would apply to the buildings i might work on, the more mundane street level stuff where someone is just trying to run a business. I ask him this, more or less, in the podcast, when I ask about ZHA working on existing buildings.  The podcast should go live this afternoon!

Jun 11, 15 11:00 am  · 
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gruen

Curt, you very clearly summed up my (not very well formed) criticism of parametrics. Are you actually PS in disguise? Because I'm sure he's on here with another name...

Jun 11, 15 11:22 am  · 
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curtkram

no, i think PS has different goals than i do.  i'll copy/paste to cross post over there.  otherwise it will take more time than i can really set aside to think through what i was trying to say.

on a side note, i just made a parametric hollow frame window can that can be in a stud wall with a 2" head or a masonry wall with a 4" head.

Jun 11, 15 11:28 am  · 
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Nice job, curt! I mean on posting over on the OpEd.

Jun 11, 15 1:17 pm  · 
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Out of 45 comments and questions - many substantive - PS responded only to the post of the brown-noser (and most likely a ZHA staffer as her only other post here on A'nect was in exactly the same circumstance).

I am trying really hard not to comment on that thread right now. A fart in a windstorm has more meaning and power than that amateur bullshitter.

Jun 11, 15 6:49 pm  · 
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archanonymous

so he says he has a theory or manifesto, and he tries to achieve his theory through practice but falls short what with real life being not ideal or whatever.

but his projects are all fairly big budget, essentially iconic or monumental buildings intended to draw attention.  i'd like to hear more about how his parametric theory would apply to the buildings i might work on, the more mundane street level stuff where someone is just trying to run a business.  it's important to design a square building because materials are square.  unless he comes up with a new fabrication, new material, new way to transport said material to the site, etc.  which would be great if he could, but as it stands currently blobitechture is not an option regardless of how awesome the form is or how parametrically perfect it is, or even how well the building would function as a blob.

i would use amazon as an example, since there is a ton of stuff coming into and going out of their warehousing facilities, and i'm pretty sure their tracking software and logistics is something amazing to behold.  as far as i understand, amazon is among the leading edge of parametrics (if i understand parametrics right, though for them it's logistics rather than form), but their perfect building is a big concrete box.

i would post that in his blog but don't think it's worded right, and don't have time to think about it.  i would also use taco bell as an example, what with that being a pretty good example to explain that architecture generally isn't, and shouldn't be, all about the art.

 

----

 

I take issue with your assertion that you are presenting a comprehensive manifesto - The Autopoiesis of Architecture - in that the architecture of autopoiesis - parametricism - computational design - objectile design - et al... fails to reach its complete realization in the physical world due to a distinction between the virtual space these buildings are conceived of in and the imperfect physical world they are built in.

The vast majority of your projects are well-financed work of the best kind - civic, often monumental in scale and iconic in their siting and size in their respective metropoli. Even here, with immense budgets, you cannot collapse the membrane between Virtual and Real to instantiate your idealized building - you must negotiate the material, cultural, and human flows which define reality.

Given that this architecture is incomplete in the most monumental and well-funded settings, how might parametricism address the comparatively pedestrian needs of the vast majority of humanity? These rectangular houses on rectangular blocks built using rectalinear building materials are the habitat of most of the world's inhabitants. What does parametricism mean for them?

An alternate interpretation of parametricism would be in the material flows, logistics, and adaptive intelligence present in the global supply chain of entity such as Amazon.com. These practices were mere concepts twenty to thirty years ago - found in the same work as the seed of your architectural autopoeisis - yet they have found a more complete, and perhaps pure expression as logistics flows, the physical embodiement of which is rectangular trucks moving rectangular boxes in and out of big, rectangular buildings. I would like to understand more about why you think this expression of parametricism has found more acceptance than that of architecture.

 

curtkram/ archanonymous joint post.

Jun 11, 15 9:49 pm  · 
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snooker-doodle-dandy

Have you met a trades person who likes to work outside of the Box... a concrete sub contractor,....and all those which follow... to many to mention... and what is the end result. Some poorly  detailed blob crafted by a someone who works  within his habit. 

Jun 11, 15 10:49 pm  · 
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At this point I think there are only two ways to get Shoemuncher to engage.

Either be an ass-kissing sycophant or concoct some absolute bullshit (a la Free Architecture Thesis Ideas) that he will undoubtedly think is meat and potatoes. 

But I couldn't be bothered to do either. My extremely limited tolerance for bullshit has been utterly exhausted. 

Jun 11, 15 11:00 pm  · 
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Carrera

Sorry to interrupt….their slogan is “You Can See Forever”…..think they’re right………

Said I would report on the Transit Hub….seems crammed in from the street but once all the construction paraphernalia is gone you’ll be able to walk around it and through it to the Memorial, the transparency isn’t there yet….it will also provide some much needed street level shopping to the area….Fallingwater was a boondoggle during construction, was 5X over budget, but in the end Wright was right…..in the end I think Calatrava is going to be right on this one too.

Jun 12, 15 12:13 pm  · 
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Excellent to hear, thank you for posting Carrera! I love seeing Archinecters' travel slides.

Jun 12, 15 12:22 pm  · 
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I just want to point you guys to the awesome work of Richard + Bauer, in Phoenix. This library is one of the best buildings I've ever experienced, it's so good, and they have done several great libraries in Phoenix.

http://archinect.com/firms/project/62930951/south-mountain-community-library/129343847

Jun 12, 15 1:22 pm  · 
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curtkram

nice pictures carrera.  i agree, hopefully calatrava should come out in a pretty good position once it's all done

i think we just have to be patient with schumacher and give him whatever time he needs to respond.  he might actually be busy with work and stuff.  also, he may not have the time or interest to reply to every post or critique of his work.  i would think it would get terribly annoying having so many people vie for your attention (though i'm sure he loves that part); adding the expectation that a response is actually forthcoming would only make it worse.

Jun 12, 15 2:10 pm  · 
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toasteroven

 I remain convinced that starchitects are primarily playing against each other, as if they have to defend their turf.

 

They have to otherwise they won't get the best interns.  competition is pretty tight - the quality of student graduating from top schools has declined dramatically over the past decade. PS is gunning for the computer whizzes.

Jun 13, 15 12:36 am  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

Texas...  So Dallas had a shootout at the Police HQ, dude gets sniped after standoff.  I suppose NYC and LA better up their respective games, we're getting too much action around here, or are we?  Spokane of all places has become the epicenter of an international controversy, there too though, I met her and her son (I guess he was actually her adopted brother?) at a screening of Lincoln when I was going to school up there.  Exciting times we live in...

Jun 14, 15 7:57 pm  · 
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I gave up "news" completely and don't miss it at all. Not only that, I feel much better.

Jun 14, 15 9:08 pm  · 
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Sarah Hamilton
Wiggins, I'm so over all this crazy Texas stuff. And on top of it all, now that Open carry has officially passed, I feel I must read up on gun laws. There's a possibility that I could carry a firearm into the high school, but not tobacco products; can't even have those in your car. Of course, I don't smoke or play with guns, but i feel I should be informed.

And all the McKinney stuff is getting out of hand. I'm on the east side, with all the diversity and section 8 housing. We like it, mostly. I wouldn't live on the west side if you paid me, and that was before all the hoopla. It's just too Stepford over there. My side has chickens, and laundromats, craft beer, organic food, tattoos, and a few drug deals. Oh, and block parties with neighbors that come out of their houses to say hi, or offer to loan you their loppers. (That guy is from NZ).

Still unpacking, and figuring out this new house we're in. Spent last weekend adding an intake register upstairs for our A/C system. Never thought it would make SUCH a big difference! Just wish it wasn't so noisy.
Jun 15, 15 9:55 am  · 
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Huh, Sarah, I didn't realize that is where in Texas you are.  

offer to loan you their loppers. (That guy is from NZ).  This is delightful.

Jun 15, 15 11:14 am  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

Me neither, we may even shop at the same grocery store...

I'm not all that concerned with the open carry thing, coming from Idaho it was long on the books and never a problem.  I guess there's more people here though, so the probability that something happens stemming from the open carry law is greater, only time will tell.  

Jun 15, 15 11:41 am  · 
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Sarah Hamilton
Mr Wiggin, you should email me. It'd be nice to talk to an architect in person, again. I'd email you, but it doesn't work from the app. Dang.
Jun 15, 15 11:48 am  · 
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curtkram

if you have a guy with a gun because open carry looks cool and whatnot, then add in the paranoia that the national guard has to keep an eye on military drills because obama is going to take your guns away and institute martial law, it's a bad combination....

it's not really a problem with people carrying guns in idaho, it's a problem with crazy people carrying guns.  there is a mental health issue here that isn't getting enough attention.

Jun 15, 15 11:59 am  · 
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Do you guys think that really there are just too many people right now? I mean I don't *want* a pandemic or anything but this weekend it seems like everywhere I went was jam-packed. I imagine Idaho never feels that crowded.

Jun 15, 15 12:47 pm  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

There are places that do get crowded, but for the most part it's not an everyday experience.  That being said, my wife hated it there, she grew up in one of the most densely populated cities in the world, and hated the emptiness of Idaho.  On the flip side with that low density came low prospects for a job in architecture (unless you had a practice designing houses for the super rich)... On the subject of there being too many people on this planet, who knows what the limit is, but if you've studied biology there's always a natural limit at which an organisms numbers reach and things start to go south in a hurry.  We've been pretty good with pushing those limits, but we will eventually hit the wall with catastrophic results, unless we find ourselves in another world war, then all bets are off.

Jun 15, 15 1:06 pm  · 
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On another topic (Mr.Wiggin I am worried about the potential for planetary catastrophe, but at the moment I'm distracted by this:): As you all know I'm involved in a lot of different things (education, institutions, non-profits, writing, urban design, volunteer work, teaching, and regular practice). This brings me in contact with a lot of different kinds of people with various foci.

I'm currently dealing with someone who is the biggest sociopathic overcompensating little prick I've ever had to deal with, and it's testing the limits of my patience and goodwill.  I just can't understand a human who goes through life delighting in hurting other people and writing it off as "only business" or as worth pursuing because it benefits himself and therefore must be part of god's plan or somesuch nonsense.  It's truly anti-human, psychotic behavior and I don't have enough sufficiently derogatory things to say about this walking shitstain to relieve my angst. I'm seething.

Can you guys help me out? What's the worst name you could call someone, worse than "walkign shitstain"?

Jun 15, 15 1:47 pm  · 
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