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What’s the Meaning of This?

January 28th, 2010

“Increasingly, I feel a new consensus emerging – a new kind of modernity, if you will. It implies that we can find effective ways of dealing with the big problems of our day, which do not oblige us to bury beneath our abstractions the very things that make life worth living. And it requires we build again the types of places we all know strike a chord in our hearts – however ‘modern’ we are, places that convey an everlasting human story of meaning and belonging.”

—His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “What’s the Meaning of This?”

  1. Milt says:
    January 31, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    Say what?

  2. Karla Schanze says:
    February 3, 2010 at 4:10 am

    Superb writing. You have brought in a new regular reader. Please keep up the fabulous writings and I look forward to more of your intriguing updates.

  3. Margie says:
    February 6, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    And what places would those be, Prince Charles? Pubs and boudoirs?

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Is the Language of Modern Architecture Ignorant and Threatening?

January 13th, 2010

pompidou“The modernist vernacular, which conceives buildings as curtains of tinted glass raised on invisible scaffolds of concrete and steel, represents both an unusual advance for ignorance and a giant ecological threat. And architects and their theorists devoted an immense amount of intellectual labor to achieving this result.”

—Roger Scruton, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Is the Language of Modern Architecture Ignorant and Threatening?”

  1. Conway says:
    January 15, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    Of course, modern buildings, skyscrapers, represent enormous accomplishments in structural engineering and product development, but I guess they just add up to “ignorance,” too.

  2. Aimbot Download says:
    January 17, 2010 at 5:57 pm

    Depends in what sense you perceive the ignorance I suppose, however, I must admit I agree with you here :\

  3. Sean says:
    January 20, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    The apocalyptic tone is incredible. These are buildings, for God’s sake, not nuclear missiles!

  4. Brent says:
    January 25, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    Much ado about little.

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Is Using Salvage an Architecturally Barbarian Act?

December 29th, 2009

archsalvage-vt“Design integrity has been assaulted and the salvage business is burgeoning. Rather than being restored or rehabilitated, many valuable historic buildings are being raided for salvage—and these parts often don’t impart value to the new structure. ‘What can you tell about a chicken from a nugget?’ asks Lauren Pinney Burge, AIA, a partner with Chambers, Murphy & Burge Restoration Architects…‘What can you tell about a building from its parts?’”

—Elizabeth Corbin Murphy, FAIA, partner, Chambers, Murphy & Burge Restoration Architects

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Is Using Salvage an Architecturally Barbarian Act?”

  1. jack says:
    January 1, 2010 at 6:30 am

    Hard to deal with them raping buildings. :(

  2. Robert says:
    January 3, 2010 at 12:12 pm

    Using “reputable” salvage can have a part in traditional design, especially restorations, but in general I agree with the comment. Too often, it’s obtained by pillaging old buildings, which adds up to little more than stripping the structure down for parts.

  3. Patrick says:
    January 8, 2010 at 3:24 pm

    The pillaging is unbelievable, and it’s not only by people in the business or trade. Ordinary people do it all the time, figuring it’s somehow a help that this old material gets “reused”.

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Are ‘Modern’ and ‘Dull’ Synonyms?

December 16th, 2009

“For many of us (maybe most of us), modern architecture often seems chilly and dull, and ever so repetitious. How droll that early Modernists would complain of dreary repetition within traditionalist architecture, when no era in architectural history has ever produced so many totally repetitious and unimaginative buildings as our modern times since 1945.”

—Alvin Holm, principal, Alvin Holm A.I.A. Architects

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Are ‘Modern’ and ‘Dull’ Synonyms?”

  1. Jean says:
    December 21, 2009 at 4:23 pm

    Yes. The answer couldn’t be more obvious, even without that hideous picture!

  2. Eileen says:
    December 25, 2009 at 7:58 pm

    Bravo, Alvin! You couldn’t be more right.

  3. Glenn says:
    December 26, 2009 at 4:10 pm

    I don’t think you can compare, with any clarity, the modern buildings of the last half of the 20th century with those that came before. It’s like comparing the atmosphere on Mars to that on Venus. They’re two very different worlds.

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Should Preservationists Start Hammering Environmentalists?

December 2nd, 2009

talktb“At most, perhaps 10 percent of what the environmental movement does advances the cause of historic preservation, but 100 percent of what the preservation movement does advances the cause of the environment. You cannot have sustainable development without a major role for historic preservation. Period. It is about time we preservationists start hammering at that until it’s broadly understood.”

—Donovan D. Rypkema, principal, PlaceEconomics

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Should Preservationists Start Hammering Environmentalists?”

  1. Clifford says:
    December 7, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    It’s never going to be “broadly understood.” How could it be?

  2. Jaimee says:
    December 13, 2009 at 10:43 pm

    Environmentalists aren’t likely to consider preservationists and restorationists compatible kin. In fact, if anything, they’re going to view us as antagonistic to their aims because we insist on keeping around leaky and drafty old buildings that, in their view, should give way to LEED-spawned designs and energy-efficient materials and construction.

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Is Preservation Really About Destruction?

November 19th, 2009

talk“The glass curtain wall. . .has drawn criticisms from a number of building researchers, including those who are pointing out the solar gain and the heat loss from all the glazing, plus the cost of the materials and the maintenance with the use of the building over time. Is it going to become dated precisely because it is ‘of its time,’ so strongly ‘of its time’ that in 40 or 60 years, it’s going to be torn down? Something like half the energy of a building is embodied in its construction. These are really disturbing questions that I think we have to answer.”

—Michael Mehaffy, president, Structura Naturalis, Inc.

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Is Preservation Really About Destruction?”

  1. web design edinburgh says:
    November 23, 2009 at 1:28 am

    I’ve recently started a blog, the information you provide on this site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.

  2. Stan says:
    November 23, 2009 at 7:02 pm

    Creative destruction is at the heart of American design and building. How could it not be? Destroying the old and building anew ensure the maximum number of jobs and dollars.

  3. Brett says:
    November 29, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    We need to stop building new buildings, at least as many as we have been, and start caretaking and making more energy wise the older ones we now have, including, in all fairness, those monstrosities from the ’50s and ’60s. Fortunately, in some ways, the sour economy is doing this for us–shutting down new construction, that is–and I hope will show us the wisdom of sound stewardship.

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Should Preservationists Embrace Adaptive Reuse?

November 5th, 2009

talk“Preservationists must learn to embrace adaptive reuse. Many fight change and, though they pay lip service to adaptive reuse, do not want to allow changes that make re-development attractive to the development community.”

—Mark Thaler, AIA, principal, Einhorn, Yaffee Prescott Architecture & Engineering, PC

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Should Preservationists Embrace Adaptive Reuse?”

  1. Sharon says:
    November 12, 2009 at 9:07 pm

    “Adaptive reuse” is often just a code term for blasting the past away, so preservationists have real reason to shun it.

  2. Gabrielle says:
    November 14, 2009 at 3:45 pm

    Attitudes like yours, Sharon, are the biggest reason why the field of historic preservation and restoration has never struck a chord with a wider group of people. No wonder it’s like a silly little club.

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God! Where Did the Details Go?

October 20th, 2009

206170“Of course with time, the Modernist has finally gotten it right. Now we architects have a full catalog of perfect, truly machine-made parts at our disposal, from the ready-made window to the ready-made door. The architect can shop the catalogs for everything needed to complete a project. Where once we made form, we are now encouraged to assemble it. How can God be found in the details when design of details is no longer a consequential part of the design process of the modern building?”

—Ethan Anthony, AIA, president and principal, HDB/Cram & Ferguson, Inc.

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “God! Where Did the Details Go?”

  1. Mark says:
    October 21, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    Here’s just another Jeffersonian architect, pining for some ancient age before a wider group of people were able to take advantage of manufacturing techniques that actually yielded products common people could rely on. Besides, these days you can execute one-of-a-kind details if you know where to look for the right service providers. The tradweb site, which you can click to at the bottom of this screen, is a good place to start.

  2. Terese says:
    October 28, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    I think that in this part of the market–very upper end, mostly–people and businesses can actually afford the kind of custom details Ethan is talking about, and I also think that more of that kind of work goes on than most people realize.

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Will School Soon Be Out for the Preservation Trades?

October 7th, 2009

talk-tb“Even now, there are fewer than ten programs offering hands-on trades education, and they are struggling to survive because the public education system has been redesigned as a feeder system for higher ‘academic’ education. . .The shortfall of people skilled in the traditional trades is a problem that will continue to worsen every year if more high-quality programs aren’t created at a much faster rate than they are being created today.”

—Rudy Christian, president, Christian & Son, Inc., Burbank, OH, and executive director of the Preservation Trades Network

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Will School Soon Be Out for the Preservation Trades?”

  1. Taylor says:
    October 9, 2009 at 6:50 pm

    If the traditional trades continue to fall by the wayside, that can mean only one thing: There’s not much demand for them. If there were, they might be flourishing.

  2. Anson says:
    October 14, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    I think the traditional trades are actually making a bit of a comeback, despite the typically gloomy comments from people in the field, people for whom “pessimism” is a middle name. The growing business of building restoration and renovation has enhanced the use of craftsmen and artisans not diminished it. Look around. You can see it every day in cities across the country.

  3. Donald says:
    November 1, 2009 at 1:54 am

    Taylor’s “if/then” statement is too simplistic to be useful.

    Go to your local public school and ask if they are teaching the rudiments of plaster, millwork, or ceramics. What you will find is that the arts are largely unfunded and left to meager resources and under supported faculty.

    It is not just a public school problem though…

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Will Sustainability Really Become Second Nature?

September 23rd, 2009

green“Five or ten years from now, architects and clients won’t look at sustainable issues in terms of how much they add to the cost of a project. They’ll just be an integral part. We don’t even discuss whether or not we’re going to use recycled and low-VOC materials or require contractors to recycle construction waste. They’re base assumptions now.”

—John H. Cluver, AIA, LEED AP, partner and director of preservation, Voith & Mactavish Architects, LLP

Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Will Sustainability Really Become Second Nature?”

  1. Sandy says:
    September 28, 2009 at 2:05 pm

    I don’t buy it. ANYTHING that affects costing is going to be looked at, good times or bad. Sustainable alternatives–products or systems–will need to prove themselves in the usual price comparisons that are part of any project, or they won’t be sustainable choices in the long run.

  2. William says:
    October 6, 2009 at 3:03 pm

    I agree. I’m not sure I want to engage the services of an architectural firm that doesn’t even discuss materials and their costs.

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