someone told me yesterday that craft was "back in." i really didn't know how to take it so i laughed. this of course depends on where you live and what we have gladly overstated as ones culture, but where is it? if its "back in" on the internet, it doesn't count.
also, other than the obvious choices, what things have taken post-industrial craft out of our buildings?
there are a lot of hack construction workers out there...just sayin'
the skilled hand is hard to find and those that have it are worth the money, but clients won't pay for it... hence why certain jobs/etc get a little messy and not as clean as they should be....
The general public is apathetic. The value of craft, technique, & style have all given way to convenience and novelty. Why would a product manufacturer spend countless hours and money into R&D when they know that they'll just replace it with a new gizmo next year?--ie. cell phones, cars, etc.
This makes it increasingly difficult for artists (such as architects) to argue their worth--since that's where we dabble--the details.
Unfortunately that mentality has also come over into our profession as many things, such as sports stadiums are only expected to have a useful life of 20-30 years. There are of course exceptions to this (such as more civic buildings) but what happened to building to make it last? If the Romans can build the Pantheon to still be standing 2000+ years later, why can't we do the same?
I was in Vienna this past summer and went to Semper's Naturalhistoriches Museum and the first thing I noticed was the various changes it went though over the years while still respecting what Semper did (especially in the ground level Aquarium area).
Follow-up: I didn't mean for the prior post to come across as snarky. What I'm trying to convey is that a successful professional is going to adapt to the realities of his/her own era ... not get all wrapped up in the nostalgia of a bygone (and probably mythical) past. We can't build successful careers 'arguing with reality'. We must see our own era with crystal clarity and adapt ourselves, and our services, accordingly
File I know you didn't because thats a very accurate question. No one wants to pay for it upfront. Thats why stuff gets VE'd out and then replaced in a year with the original spec.
here in the Pacific North West, we still have many people making buildings with a high level of craft (BCJ, OlsonKundig, GrahamBaba, etc). I think that part of the reason is that the area has such a strong history rooted in craft (glass blowing, ship building, lumber/woodworking) and their is an ample amount of people who are still skilled in these crafts who can craft the buildings. Also, there is a large population of very affluent people who appreciate these elements of craft and commision these elements into their projects (residential, particullary)
dont get me wrong, there is still a bunch of crap in Seattle, but the combination of demand and people skilled enough to meet those demands allows for well crafted projects
if its "back in" on the internet, it doesn't count.
Why doesn't the internet count?!
The internet after all is a collective consciousness. Libraries, repositories, archives and crypts are essentially the same thing as the internet.
Except that back in the day it was generally more expensive to write on paper than it is to leave YouTube comments. The internet every successive year generates more data than all of humanity has since time itself.
There has to be a few gems out there!
what things have taken post-industrial craft out of our buildings?
Suburbanism. Not the fancv 1860s-1920s suburbanism-- that gave birth to garden cities, "American Craftsmen" and all that jazz from Empire to Georgian to Victorian.
Suburbanism, the 1940s-50s stuff, onwards is troubling. From the very start, it was designed to be cost-effective. And when cities went from 100 miles of paved road to 1,000 miles of paved road, there was significantly less money to focus on smaller areas.
A standard block pretty much has the same number of street lamps, curbs, drain pipes, sewer pipes, water mains, trashcans, trees et cetera whether 30 or 1,000 people live on it.
From a tax basis, taxes have remained pretty constant over the last century. The only difference is that what you get for taxes now and then. And because the majority of people no longer live within the tax basin of their anchor city but use city services, taxation is even more complicated.
The principle translates over to buildings in a similar manner.
Older apartment buildings could spend more on things like trim, facades and decoration when one unit was feasibly 3 interior walls and 1 exterior wall. That and they didn't have to pay for parking requirements, landscaping, lawn maintenance, club houses, fitness centers and even pools. Even in super luxury condominiums I've been in, I've found so very little people actual using any of these amenities that planning standards dictate they shouldn't even exist at all. These things are all budget killers.
With everything from more varied rooms to larger furniture to changes in use, buildings and their users have changed including building foot prints. Many homes have gone from tall-and-narrow to short-and-wide.
Things like roofs, foundations and exterior walls have always been expensive. Which is why in older homes you see a tendency to add basements, second-to-fourth floors or even separate structures. Modern construction techniques and materials have significantly lowered the cost of these things.So, people are sacrificing detail and quality for more square footage because they have both the lawn and the money to do so.
So, the question really isn't about going up or about population density. It's about money density.
Imagine the quality difference over spreading $200,000,000,000 ($200 billion) over 20 square miles or 200 square miles. In 20 square miles, that's $400 per square foot. In 200 square miles, that's $35 per square foot.
Naturally, anything with a budget of $400 per square foot is going to be generally be better than $35 per square foot (unless it is Dubai).
mdler indeed the pacific northwest does have some desire left in it. thank god.
uxbridge. nice breakdown. money money money.
it doesn't seem to be taught in schools anymore either which is odd/ironic. its funny also to see firm's websites whos projects include furniture as if its the only crafty thing they're allowed to do, especially when it has nothing to do with anything else they have done, regardless of its success as a piece.
"Suburbanism, the 1940s-50s stuff, onwards is troubling. From the very start, it was designed to be cost-effective"
The planning aspect aside whereby thousands of miles of roads were built, these early mass produced ranches and ramblers are often very well built. Solid mid-century craftsmenship. My guess is this first wave of carpenters after ww2 still had some old world craft mentality even if it was simple framing and ranch base. I often find these structuires to be small, compact and very efficient in their use of materials. Just look how many are still standing in original condition all over america after 50 + years.
where did craft go?
someone told me yesterday that craft was "back in." i really didn't know how to take it so i laughed. this of course depends on where you live and what we have gladly overstated as ones culture, but where is it? if its "back in" on the internet, it doesn't count.
also, other than the obvious choices, what things have taken post-industrial craft out of our buildings?
there are a lot of hack construction workers out there...just sayin'
the skilled hand is hard to find and those that have it are worth the money, but clients won't pay for it... hence why certain jobs/etc get a little messy and not as clean as they should be....
The general public is apathetic. The value of craft, technique, & style have all given way to convenience and novelty. Why would a product manufacturer spend countless hours and money into R&D when they know that they'll just replace it with a new gizmo next year?--ie. cell phones, cars, etc.
This makes it increasingly difficult for artists (such as architects) to argue their worth--since that's where we dabble--the details.
Unfortunately that mentality has also come over into our profession as many things, such as sports stadiums are only expected to have a useful life of 20-30 years. There are of course exceptions to this (such as more civic buildings) but what happened to building to make it last? If the Romans can build the Pantheon to still be standing 2000+ years later, why can't we do the same?
I was in Vienna this past summer and went to Semper's Naturalhistoriches Museum and the first thing I noticed was the various changes it went though over the years while still respecting what Semper did (especially in the ground level Aquarium area).
Well, I hate to answer a question with another question, but who's going to pay [who's able to pay] for that level of durability?
Follow-up: I didn't mean for the prior post to come across as snarky. What I'm trying to convey is that a successful professional is going to adapt to the realities of his/her own era ... not get all wrapped up in the nostalgia of a bygone (and probably mythical) past. We can't build successful careers 'arguing with reality'. We must see our own era with crystal clarity and adapt ourselves, and our services, accordingly
quantity>quality
File I know you didn't because thats a very accurate question. No one wants to pay for it upfront. Thats why stuff gets VE'd out and then replaced in a year with the original spec.
here in the Pacific North West, we still have many people making buildings with a high level of craft (BCJ, OlsonKundig, GrahamBaba, etc). I think that part of the reason is that the area has such a strong history rooted in craft (glass blowing, ship building, lumber/woodworking) and their is an ample amount of people who are still skilled in these crafts who can craft the buildings. Also, there is a large population of very affluent people who appreciate these elements of craft and commision these elements into their projects (residential, particullary)
dont get me wrong, there is still a bunch of crap in Seattle, but the combination of demand and people skilled enough to meet those demands allows for well crafted projects
Why doesn't the internet count?!
The internet after all is a collective consciousness. Libraries, repositories, archives and crypts are essentially the same thing as the internet.
Except that back in the day it was generally more expensive to write on paper than it is to leave YouTube comments. The internet every successive year generates more data than all of humanity has since time itself.
There has to be a few gems out there!
what things have taken post-industrial craft out of our buildings?
Suburbanism. Not the fancv 1860s-1920s suburbanism-- that gave birth to garden cities, "American Craftsmen" and all that jazz from Empire to Georgian to Victorian.
Suburbanism, the 1940s-50s stuff, onwards is troubling. From the very start, it was designed to be cost-effective. And when cities went from 100 miles of paved road to 1,000 miles of paved road, there was significantly less money to focus on smaller areas.
A standard block pretty much has the same number of street lamps, curbs, drain pipes, sewer pipes, water mains, trashcans, trees et cetera whether 30 or 1,000 people live on it.
From a tax basis, taxes have remained pretty constant over the last century. The only difference is that what you get for taxes now and then. And because the majority of people no longer live within the tax basin of their anchor city but use city services, taxation is even more complicated.
The principle translates over to buildings in a similar manner.
Older apartment buildings could spend more on things like trim, facades and decoration when one unit was feasibly 3 interior walls and 1 exterior wall. That and they didn't have to pay for parking requirements, landscaping, lawn maintenance, club houses, fitness centers and even pools. Even in super luxury condominiums I've been in, I've found so very little people actual using any of these amenities that planning standards dictate they shouldn't even exist at all. These things are all budget killers.
With everything from more varied rooms to larger furniture to changes in use, buildings and their users have changed including building foot prints. Many homes have gone from tall-and-narrow to short-and-wide.
Things like roofs, foundations and exterior walls have always been expensive. Which is why in older homes you see a tendency to add basements, second-to-fourth floors or even separate structures. Modern construction techniques and materials have significantly lowered the cost of these things.So, people are sacrificing detail and quality for more square footage because they have both the lawn and the money to do so.
So, the question really isn't about going up or about population density. It's about money density.
Imagine the quality difference over spreading $200,000,000,000 ($200 billion) over 20 square miles or 200 square miles. In 20 square miles, that's $400 per square foot. In 200 square miles, that's $35 per square foot.
Naturally, anything with a budget of $400 per square foot is going to be generally be better than $35 per square foot (unless it is Dubai).
mdler indeed the pacific northwest does have some desire left in it. thank god.
uxbridge. nice breakdown. money money money.
it doesn't seem to be taught in schools anymore either which is odd/ironic. its funny also to see firm's websites whos projects include furniture as if its the only crafty thing they're allowed to do, especially when it has nothing to do with anything else they have done, regardless of its success as a piece.
"Suburbanism, the 1940s-50s stuff, onwards is troubling. From the very start, it was designed to be cost-effective"
The planning aspect aside whereby thousands of miles of roads were built, these early mass produced ranches and ramblers are often very well built. Solid mid-century craftsmenship. My guess is this first wave of carpenters after ww2 still had some old world craft mentality even if it was simple framing and ranch base. I often find these structuires to be small, compact and very efficient in their use of materials. Just look how many are still standing in original condition all over america after 50 + years.
Middle class home. Levittown, Long Island. 1950s
Middle class home. Dykers Heights, Long Island. 1910s.
I never said "poorly built." I only said "cost-effective." Don't get immediately offended that I knocked suburbanism.
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