playing serious catch up from the 10 day excursion with mutated strep throat from hell. but...
design activism project has gotten way unwieldly. henry sanoff, community participation guru came and laid the smack down b/c we met w/ him a little prematurely b4 our ideas and designs really got more developed...a little discouraging. then we got re-energized after visiting tent city witnessing their enthusiasm and hearing that actually a communal structure or a portable shower would be most useful rather than individual tents. still excited...TIC TOC time is seriously winding down and the pressure is upon us...to do this design charette for the structure. the sleep out on red square :
has raised some questions about whether it could jepoardize tent-city's chances of coming to UW. sooo...we might need to reevaluate that if its counterproductive.
thesis forms due next week. need to filter through my 20,000 questions. basically i want to continue the magic of design activism class. what is activist architecture? what is the evidence of it, why does built subversive work in the public realm become "art" instead of architecture? where is the blurred line btw. art and arch.? what is the scope of activist architecture...what is the spectrum? is there a matrix like there is in other disciplines like youth leadership in orgs . or arts based community development? if not, can i create one based on my research? what kind of methodology?? should there be some peripheral design component? i am interested in testing these ideas of "activist architecture" as a research methodology...anyway, basically i need to get a ph.d. but what little piece can i look tackle now. this is a life long investigation.
salivating about furniture studio in the summer. i made this in a furniture studio las summer, can't wait to do another piece this summer...except not out of a tropical hardwood....thats a no no.
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Whats wrong with tropical hardwood asside from the cost and its toughness, and need for expensive sealants, etc. It looks so nice - what is it?
http://www.architechnophilia.blogspot.com
well from a sustainability standpoint...y'know rainforest deforestation and all that. but yes, you're right, the grain is beautiful and it cuts like butter. its called Paduk its African. i like your blog =). thanks for looking @ strange bungalow and being the one person that comments =)...i wish i could post more regularly...
You can get great FSC certified, sustainably harvested tropical hardwood. Gorgeous, and responsible at the same time.
We've used these guys... http://www.earthsourcewood.com/
yeah, i heard of them last summer when i was working and doing sustainable materials research at www.eworks.org last summer. this wood wasn't from there though =(. i meant more in general...its good to get a local species.
Hey Yamani, you make a great page - and your concerns are dear to my heart as well (design consciousness + social consciousness).
Tropical woods biggest problem is its wide spread use other than for say domestic furniture. As soon as someone says "hey let me side my house with this 150 year old green heart" it all goes to hell in a handbasket.
thanks=) true true!
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