Mitch McEwen kicked off 2021 with a powerful editorial against Philip Johnson and MoMA.
"Institutions that support architecture and design in this country are so overwhelmingly complicit with antiblack racism and antidemocratic politics that the legacy of Johnson continues to circulate as an exemplar of architectural leadership".
Will Galloway was moved "Very nicely done...I admire Johnson's glass house quite a lot and find myself saddened to need to place it with the Cosby show in the pile of cultural products that need to be erased from our life because the artist responsible for it was so heinous. But yeah, it must be done."
Plus, a new entry in the Working out of the Box series featured Jeffrey Montes, once a terrestrial architect but now a Senior Space Architect.
Katerra received a major bailout from SoftBank. As you might expect there was some schadenfreude had, though randomised chimed in with a vote of confidence? "I've worked on modular wooden buildings in city-like conditions...much easier to have a crane come in, put some things on their place and leave than have a messy and open construction site for weeks and months at a time, it's the future and it's already here!"
Gehry Partners, LLP has proposed capping parts of the LA River with elevated platform parks as part of their masterplanning effort. Folks weren’t impressed. As Mark Gangi wrote "This is such a terrible idea...proposes a solution that is an expensive way to pretend the river doesn't exist...Look at the work that Mia Lehrer has done studying the river for the last 30 years that takes into account the safety issues and allows the LA River to be a river again. As an architect, a native of Los Angeles, and a fly fisherman who has spent alot of time on the LA River I cant understand why".
Brooklyn-based architectural firm Almost Studio designed a 1,500-square-foot flagship boutique for the popular emerging fashion designer Sandy Liang. square. really digs "THE DRAWINGS"!
Reviewing the December 2020 ABI, AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA struck a somber note "Since the national economic recovery appears to have stalled, architecture firms are entering 2021 facing a continued sluggish design market".
‘Museum of London’ by Xiaonan Yang and ‘light instrument’ by Xinzhi Chang are just two of the latest top images (in no particular order) from the board Student Work.
Back in January, Shruti Deore was working on Streetery, as part of an RFP. While walid saidane was busy with "construction et decoration d un restaurant, piano bar et deux lofts".
Log 50: ‘Model Behavior’ consists of a "record-setting 256 pages, 39 authors, ranging from established architectural thinkers to up-and-coming practitioners".
All the way back in December, Jess L started a thread to discuss What brought you to architecture?
A few shared stories of "lost’ years...no worse for the wear" or of undergrad years unrelated to their eventual graduate education in architecture. Others referenced a childhood love of LEGO, K'nex or Construx sets. Then of course, there are those with memories of fathers, grandfathers or uncles at a drafting table. Of a family tradition around carpentry, engineering or otherwise "making" or "fixing" stuff.
Threane asked for "examples of or insights into the usage of gabions as foundations for buildings." For what sounds like a personal retreat located "in the CA desert near Joshua Tree"? rcz1001 has personally "explored the idea but it is something that is going to require a bit more thinking out the design". Drystack walls were mentioned as another potential source of inspiration. Peter Normand called out a key risk "the cage wire rusting out and the stones coming loose". The conversation also, briefly turned towards the concept of a "concrete-free slab".
Returning to the OP, mightyaa kept it simple "Gabions would be a terrible foundation". Then went on to list a number of other alternative systems (from historic dry stack, adobe cabin, to haybale et al.) they’ve worked with. None of which are advisable for a "permanent residence".
Finally, Almosthip had a question as for the "First time in the last twelve years" their submissions were rejected "Do you wet seal or digitally seal your construction drawings?" Many confirmed a long-since switch to at least a "png image" if not some "secure digital nonsense" aka "verified digital signatures". However depending on the AHJ "typically smaller jurisdictions" do require keeping-it-old-school.
Everyday Architect took the opportunity to reminisce of when they were starting out. Which involved complicated travel logistics sometimes with 2-4 extra flights and hours of driving, just so the architect/firm owner "could spend 30 minutes signing a couple of copies of a 20 page set of drawings" which all had to then get to a FedEx/Kinkos "before the deadline for their outgoing shipment that day." Very antediluvian, no? Don't miss the good seal imagery/internetting/puns from archanonymous and atelier nobody.
The Harvard Graduate School of Design marked the passing of Donald L. Stull, FAIA (MArch ’62) "a groundbreaking architect who led noteworthy, award-winning, transformative design projects and who supported and amplified the unique contributions of Black architects and designers. In a remarkable career, Stull founded two firms that were owned and led by Black architects, through which he would shape cityscapes, harmonize architecture and social change, and inspire countless colleagues and mentees."
On a related note, Greg Minott and Troy Depeiza of DREAM Collaborative shared their own memories of being inspired by and eventually working with "Don...a pioneer...a trailblazer".
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