[incli]nation
Art + Architecture + Design
Tom Kundig’s Delta Shelter…Again
Aug 26th
Tom Kundig has always been one of my favorite local architects. What’s not to love; a melange of rural sensibilities, modern aspirations and postmodern mash-ups. And while I’ve never really understood the argument placing his practice within the Modern movement, C. Mudede makes an interesting case for it in this brief article from The Stranger. Hopefully we will get a fully fleshed-out argument in the future…
From The Stranger:
"The other modernism, the sort Kundig represents, retains the minimalism of zero-degree architecture, but it does not banish the processes of aging and physical change. In Kundig’s work, materials are not only exposed to time but time itself becomes a material. It is for this reason that his homes already have in them the majesty of their movement through time. "Buildings outlive people, you have to design with this in mind," Kundig points out. Buildings, like people, are not permanent; they have life spans, they are born, grow old, decline, and crumble."
To my thinking, Mudede doesn’t make a convincing case, but I’m up for more. [Kundig's aesthetic is far from 'zero-degree' IMO] Regardless, it’s always great to see Kundig’s work getting the attention it deserves. He’s a Northwest treasure.
Read the rest after the jump…
South Lake Union Discovery Center wins COTE award, 2008
Aug 25th
More good news for Seattlites; our South Lake Union Discovery Center earned an AIA/COTE Green Design award! One of ten awards given out this year, the Center is a model of green and modular thinking.
I love the design, and how amazing is it to be able to reuse these modules! Just unbolt and go, like an upscale shipping container, to any site you like. I read somewhere that an UW arch studio workshopped different ways to use them next and one group suggested upending them, transforming the horizontal into vertical! Just like playing with Legos back in the day! Congratulations to all…
From GreenSource:
“For moving purposes, Miller Hull’s team carefully determined the maximum dimensions allowed on the roadways to the most likely new locations, arriving at a 40-by-73-foot optimum bay size. Working with engineer Jay Taylor of Magnusson Klemencic Associates, the team chose a simple structural system of quadrilateral steel bents that could be fabricated offsite. With gluelam purlins supporting the roof, the bents create a clear-span structure in which a service corridor of restrooms, a catering kitchen, and a sales office sit “a bit like a mobile home” inside. The glass front slopes inward beneath deep overhangs, giving the building the feel of an oversized screened porch. The resulting quartet of modules easily bolts together at three joints to create an 11,000-square-foot building. Splice plates “zipper” the floor seams while the gaps in the standing-seam metal roof panels are bridged by a simple cap flashing. Mechanical units bolt to the top with minimal ducting routed under the bents.”
read the rest after the jump…
Top 10 Architects who are not Architects
Aug 18th
Got this email this morning; ‘Arthur Erickson…Canada’s most famous architect and the first to put Canadian architecture on the world map.’ is no longer allowed to call himself an architect because he will not take the 18 required hours of continuing ed. every year to certify him as such. Hilarious, if it wasn’t so absurd and it made me think of all the influential ‘architects’ in modern history who had no formal architectural training. Here is my first-pass at a top ten list. I’m sure I missed many more so shout-out your favorite non-architects and we’ll get a top 100 list going…
1. Tadao Ando, Japan
2. Charles Eames, United States
3. Buckminster Fuller, United States
4. Carlo Scarpa, Italy
5. Luis Barragan, Mexico
6. Bruce Goff, United States
7. Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Great Brittan
8. William Morris, Great Brittan
9. Gerrit Th. Rietveld, The Netherlands
10. Mary Jane Colter, United States
Of course, this list could go the other way too, as in the ‘Top 10 Architects who became Something Else…’ Beginning with Sergei M. Eisenstein and moving on from there…
The Bill Nye Interview at TreeHugger
Aug 11th
When we lived in Hollywood, I used to see the willowy Science Guy walking the Topanga Canyon trail with friends and dog in tow, so I feel a particular affinity, however unfounded, for Bill (we’re that close) one of my childhood heroes.
If you feel the same, be sure to hit the interview over at TH.
From the interview:
TH: And maybe you can give us one great eco-experiment or
investigation that you can suggest our readers try at home to better
understand environmental issues?BN: You know, I did some research into what were the most heavily
traded commodities in the world. The first, of course, is oil… But the
second is coffee, which surprised me. It’s not something you need, like
wheat or rice, but something you can choose to buy… So I’d ask you to
keep a running record of how much you spend on coffee and bottled water
for a week or even a month, and compare them. It’s amazing what you’ll
find… And if you can convince people to change some really basic habits
you can really change the world… Just think of the enormous impact
coffee consumption has on the planet.
read the rest after the jump…
“Love of bustle is not industry”
Aug 7th
—Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca, or Seneca the Younger) (c. 4 BC – 65 AD)
Tom Kundig’s ‘Delta Shelter’
Aug 6th
Tom Kundig has always been one of my favorite local architects. I mean, what’s not to love; a melange of rural sensibilities, Modern aspirations and Postmodern mash-ups. And while I’ve never really understood the argument placing his practice within the Modern movement, C. Mudede makes an interesting case for it in this brief article from The Stranger. Hopefully we will get a fully fleshed-out argument in the future…
From The Stranger:
"The other modernism, the sort Kundig represents, retains the
minimalism of zero-degree architecture, but it does not banish the
processes of aging and physical change. In Kundig’s work, materials are
not only exposed to time but time itself becomes a material. It is for
this reason that his homes already have in them the majesty of their
movement through time. "Buildings outlive people, you have to design
with this in mind," Kundig points out. Buildings, like people, are
not permanent; they have life spans, they are born, grow old, decline,
and crumble."
To my thinking, Mudede doesn’t make a convincing case, but I’m up for more. Regardless, it’s always great to see Kundig’s work getting the attention it deserves. He’s a Northwest treasure.
Read the rest after the jump…
Philippe Stark’s Rooftop Windmill is Beautiful, of course
Aug 5th
Yes, he’s a pain in the a**, but at least he’s starting to walk the ‘green’ talk. Have a look at this rooftop wind turbine for residential use. If he can pull it off, even half of it, it will be his best work to-date:
From IHT:
"Take Starck’s claim to have "invented a concept called Democratic
Design," which, he says, gives everyone high quality products at
affordable prices. Sounds great, but didn’t the modern movement try to
do that for most of the 20th century? And how can he claim to have "won
the battle" by designing "a chair that sells for less than €100," or
$157, when that’s still too expensive for most people? Let alone the 90
percent of the world’s population who are too poor to afford the
basics? What has Democratic Design done for them? "Oh please, I’m not
God," pleads Starck. "I’m just a designer, and I’m doing my best.""
read the rest after the jump…
“A goal without a plan is just a wish”
Jul 18th
–Antoine de Saint-Exupery French writer (1900 – 1944)
Glow, All Night Art-mania on Santa Monica Pier
Jul 17th
So you couldn’t make Coachella because you got the flu. You couldn’t use your comped tickets to WMC because of a business trip to Birmingham. And you completely flaked on SXSW. Well now is your chance to make up for it: Glow, this weekend on Santa Monica Pier…
Here are some highlights via Thrillist:
Primal Source: Surreal
images projected on this beach-based 40-foot wall of mist’ll move based
on the sounds of voices around the installation, allowing you to see
what "Dude, that’s totally a 40-foot wall of mist!" looks like.
The Amazing Mental Scope: Get hooked up with an EEG, then climb on the ferris wheel, and your brainwaves will be displayed
via flashing lights on a cylindrical LED display. Onlookers will enjoy
the soft glow of your Pleasure Center as you enjoy top-of-the-wheel
"special alone time".
Poetry Boat: Use
the provided phone to call the three poets on this off-shore boat, and
they’ll compose and read back to you on-the-spot custom poetry. Why are
they out on a boat? Because that’s where they put people with leprosy.
All
the while, there’ll be a kickin’ soundtrack from Djs like KCRW’s Garth
Trinidad and Postal Service member Jimmy Tamborello, aka Dntel –
himself so accustomed to late-night shenanigans he once took his own E.
Check out all the craziness at GLOW
Billy May’s Torn Lighting Concept
Jul 16th
Some great work here by Billy May. Taking LEDs he installs them underneath sculptural assets fixed to the wall board and designed to look as though the wall board is peeling, waving or similarly unexpected feats. I particularly like it when he uses the corners as ‘seams’. It gives the effect that the walls are made of fabric, making the space feel much lighter and open even though not a single inch has been added to the space.
Nice work
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