As part of Archinect In-Depth: Visualization, Niall Patrick Walsh explored the impact of two influential schools of architecture, the École des Beaux-Arts and the Bauhaus "both of which dramatically impacted architectural visualization in ways that continue to resonate today." In response Eamez argued
"Bauhaus and early modernism still carried much of the same ethos from Beaux-Arts -- human proportions, rationalism, monumentality. If anything, it was carrying humanism into dialogue with new machine and industrial processes, including glass, steel, elevators and automobiles. Which is why classic modernism is always so much better than what follows."
Plus, there were 11 takeaways from the 2024 Mental Health Survey Results. One that jumped out at me was that "48% of survey respondents told us that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting impact on their mental health, mirroring the findings of our 2023 survey."
Forbes identified their Top 200 Residential Architects a list which includes firms from 42 states and the District of Columbia. gwharton thought it "A very...odd...list." What did you think?
The overall reaction to the My Two Cars Garage/Porsche pavilion by French designer Marc Fornes and his Brooklyn studio THEVERYMANY was not favorable, though Will Galloway tried to be more charitable. To wit
"Its art paid for by a patron…Do you really want to declare that entire field of activity as wasteful bullshit?...If I was being critical the worse I could say is that this feels like the receding edge of an eddy and is not the main stream anymore…Its very hard to move digital fabrication out of the pavilion market."
archanonymous added "Marc did an ampitheater covering that I believe at least keeps the rain off. The Timber Labs at the AA, Stuttgart, and IACC have built some pavilions that get closer…I just don't think this kind of digital fab / scripting design is compatible with habitable spaces given our current level of materials technology and the current paradigm construction occurs in."
Studio Gang has completed their campus expansion for the California College of the Arts. Folks really seemed to like the brace frame and hybrid mass timber details with taz writing "the use of timber braces in a lateral seismic system in the US is pretty innovative. I can't think of another example. The detailing is a give away that the braces are indeed timber with a flitch plate and physical pin connection visible at each end of the braces."
After seeing the six finalists to design an expansion of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art monosierra opined "Rather safe options in Selldorf and RPBW. Kuma, Gang, and Weiss/Manfredi have distinctive house styles. WHY is the wildcard". Folks also seemed to agree "that Holl building is a stinker." More substantively archanonymous complained "I think it is a real shame that the standard for work of this type is a totally international invited list of starchitects. Not a single KC firm included? Or at least someone from across the state is St. Louis?...It completely stunts regionalism, small practices, and consolidates work in offices that are already recognized".
A group of students at the Harvard GSD surveyed U.S. architecture graduate visa holders for a research project into relationship between career choices, precarity and visa status. The results should be posted in late December. graphemic and diegobecerra1 were both excited "This is going to be MESSY I'm so glad they're doing this."
ICYMI Archinect launched on WeChat and RED (Xiaohongshu) with the "aim to establish closer connections with Chinese-speaking architects and design enthusiasts." b3tadine[sutures] commented "Whoa! This is a big deal! Congrats."
The months of October and November, saw the passing of: British architectural historian Joseph Rykwert, famed modernist and Sarasota School figure Victor Lundy, and UC Berkeley professor Sim Van der Ryn. R.I.P.
Haute Architecture announced they’d "received an award for their West Village townhouse project" and shared another design for a "micro home…private schoolhouse…Located as a freestanding structure adjacent to the client’s primary residence". Regarding the first, godindetails was impressed "You guys do amazing work" and their second project is "beautiful".
Erin Sharp Newton reminded us that the deadline for Volume 9 of the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health was "EXTENDED TO JANUARY 15, 2025!!!"
Florida Atlantic University was the first entry in the Get Lectured series for Spring 2025. Theirs kicks off with a lecture from TU Delft’s Mariana Popescu on January 14.
You can join Donald Albrecht and Thomas Mellins, historians and curators of NYSID's current exhibition, The Persistence of Hand Drawing: Interior Rendering Today, on an exclusive tour of Paul Rudolph's Modulightor Building, on January 25. Reserve your spot now.
Looking for a new gig in higher education?
The Department of Architectural Science (DAS) at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) will begin considering applications for a NSERC Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Building Science, as of January 20, 2025. Meanwhile Tulane’s School of Architecture has 4, either Professor of Practice or Tenure Track, positions in Architecture and Real Estate Development.
Back in October, axonapoplectic necro’d an "ancient" thread from 2004 about the Society of American Registered Architects aka SARA "With all the garbage going on with AIA leadership, is anyone a member and if so what are your experiences?" reallynotmyname "did SARA for a few years pre-Covid…taking a hard look at permanently joining SARA or ARA (American Registered Architects) or maybe both. The total spend for both will still be less than AIA was". Noah Walker was intrigued "Seems like an interesting alternative…I'm not renewing with the AIA this year. The AIA dues don't make sense to me: for the money I get a modest discount on poorly written contracts I never use and a phone book listing of other Architects (why do I need that?). Now, the politics in Washington are the last straw."
small.time.architect was looking for advice with a hypothetical about being a long-time employee but the "second last person to be informed of the firms take over by a national firm, two years after negotiations with the partners started and only 2 months before the deal is to be done." graphemic dropped some harsh truth "Sounds like you are are hired for your labor” yet was also sympathetic "can't imagine how the purchase will benefit the projects, the users, the community, or the workers." Further details and discussion led OddArchitect to conclude "It does sound the like firms owner didn't want the OP to learn about this and have him / her leave before the buyout occurred…There is a lot the OP isn't telling us or doesn't know about…Regardless - the OP's firm doesn't seem like a very nice place to work if this how they treat team members."
Finally, the Monday of Thanksgiving monosierra wanted to talk Staffing structure. Specifically meaning "the demographic pyramid of the firm - by experience level. A healthy firm, IMO, has a bulge in the middle and a base that is just as fat or a bit slimmer." As you might expect gwharton jumped in with some good details "We have five job role/compensation band tiers for a current staff of 18…is intended to scale up to a team of 50+ in the future". Josh Mings was one of a couple of folks who had personal experience as "the skinny middle" while CarmenSandiego is currently working at a firm that "is very top heavy."
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