Dwell on Design  

23 May 2008





Most everyone probably already knows that the Dwell on Design Conference and Expo is taking place in Los Angeles, June 5-8.
If you haven't already checked out the conference, consider going... it should be well worth it. And if you're already in the area, then you have no excuse!
Here is a link to the conference registration... Dwell has been nice enough to send us a code for a free ticket to the exhibit - BDODEC , and a discounted conference ticket code - GRP22SP .
They are also offering Atelier A+D readers a free month to Dwell's online magazine. If you don't already subscribe, check it out!
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I hope some of these links will be helpful! I sure wish that I could attend the DOD... maybe next year!
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Is LEED Green Enough?  

13 January 2008

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I'm not yet LEED certified... I keep meaning to take the test, but after finishing the AREs, I'm frankly not all that interested in studying. Besides my lack of motivation for studying in general, I'm just not very motivated to take the exam because I'm not completely convinced of its merits. I consider myself a fairly green person, and try to design green whenever my job allows it (which I must admit is not as often as I'd like), so I've never really understood how LEED would or could help me in my work. I could obviously be even more green in my life and work and perhaps studying for the exam would introduce me to technologies and practices with which I'm not currently familiar. But mostly, I feel like its a lot of added paperwork for a job that's already heavy on the paperwork just to prove that I'm getting the result that we should all be aiming for anyway!
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Last month, there was an article in slate about these very ideas (and even more about the value of the points system) that more clearly expresses my hesitation for bothering with LEED. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the points, effort, and results tied to the LEED process.
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Rendering of the Antilia
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A Return To Techne  

24 October 2007

I'm very excited because my first contribution to a magazine was just published. The nearly brand new magazine, Art Signal is mainly online (their print edition isn't quite out yet) and is published in both Spanish and English. The article I wrote is about Cecil Balmond and can be read here, or here in pdf form (with photos).

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Is Architecture Becoming Mainstream?  

05 September 2007

Lately, it seems like there has been definite increase in architectural awareness of the general public. Magazines like Dwell have been becoming more and more popular with every year. Brad Pitt espouses the virtues of architecture in between making movies and collecting children. Companies such as Banana Republic and Special K (see their current commercial on tv) have been using architects in some of their more recent ads...

Americans have always been impressed by architects; impressed, but completely disinterested in Architecture. Is is possible that this is changing? It sure seems like I've been seeing an increase in exposure of architects and architecture in mainstream media, both ads and magazines.

Home fix-it and 'design' shows have been extremely popular over the last few years (or decade). Unfortunately these shows like Trading Spaces seem to have devalued architecture for the average American. Everyone seems to think that they can do it just as well as the next guy, so why would we need architects? I think the real problem is a lack of education... As a culture, we don't tend to value good design and architecture as much as we can and should and we certainly don't make any effort to educate the public about the importance of good design. We take ceramics, drawing, and music classes in school. Why not study architecture/urban planning/design, too? After all, its the art form that we most often experience and arguably the one that effects our lives most often and most significantly.




Seeing architectural references in mainstream magazines (and other media) excites me. The reference can be serious (the fashion editorial in Men's Vogue featuring prominent architects in the Glass House), tongue in cheek (see Gehry on the Simpsons), or casual (a short reference to the Herzog and deMeuron Olympic Stadium in Vanity Fair), but at least we are seeing some sort of attention paid to architecture. I've also seen recent articles on Frank Gehry in Martha Stewart and various architectural features in GQ's design section... I'd like to think that this increase in exposure is linked to an increase in awareness. Maybe that's a little hopeful, but the more knowledgeable the public is on the importance of good design, the easier our jobs will be (and the more productive).

Here's hoping that we continue to see an interest in architecture!

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Tom Kundig on MSN  

13 August 2007

I stumbled on this interview with Tom Kundig on msn of all places... Something of a local architectural hero, Tom gives an interesting albeit brief interview that is worth a read, especially if you are into pacific northwest architecture.

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Dear Architects  

24 July 2007

Apparently, this letter has been traveling through the internet for over a year, but I just received it as an email from a friend (thanks BK!) today and it cracked me up! According to this thread in Part IV, it was written over a year ago and published in Pidgin... Anyone who knows an architect or architecture student should get a kick out of this letter... its sadly and hilariously accurate!


Once, a long time ago in the days of yore, I had a friend who was studying architecture to become, presumably an architect. This friend introduced me to other friends, who were also studying architecture. Then these friends had other friends who were architects - real architects doing real architecture like designing luxury condos that look a lot like glass dildos that I will never work or live in and serve only to obstruct my view of New Jersey.


Do not get me wrong, architects. I like you as a person. I think you are nice, smell good most of the time, and I like your glasses. You have crazy hair, and if you are lucky, most of it is on your head. Bud I do not care about architecture. It is true. This is what I do care about:
  • burritos
  • hedgehogs
  • coffee
As you can see, architecture is not on the list. I believe that architecture falls somewhere between toenail fungus and invasive colonoscopy in the list of things that interest me.

Perhaps if you didn't talk about it so much, I would be more interest. When you point to a glass cylinder and say proudly, hey my office designed that, I giggle and say it looks like a bong. You turn your head in disgust and shame. You think, obviously she does not understand. What does she know? She is just a writer. She is no architect. She respects vowels, not glass cocks. And then you say now I am designing a lifestyle center, and I ask what is that, and you say its a place that offers goods and services and retail opportunities and I say you mean like a mall and you say no. Its a lifestyle center. I say it sounds like a mall. I am from the Valley, bitch. I know malls.

Architects, I will not like, you confuse me. You work sixty, eighty hours a week and yet you are always poor. Why aren't you buying me a drink? Where is your bounty of riches? Maybe you spent it on merlot. Maybe you spent it on hookers and blow. I cannot be sure. It is a mystery. I will leave that to the scientists to figure out.

Architects love to discuss how much sleep they have gotten. One will say how he was at the studio until five in the morning, only to return again two hours later. Then another will say, oh that is nothing, I haven't slept in a week. And then another will say, guess what, I have never slept ever. My dear architects, the measure of how hard you've worked and how much you've accomplished is not related to the number of hours you have not slept. Have you heard of Rem Koolhaas? He is a famous architect. I know this because you tell me he is a famous architect. I hear that Rem Koolhaas is always sleeping. He is, I presume sleeping right now. And I hear he gets shit done. And I also hear that in a stunning move, he is making a building that looks not like a glass cock, but like a concrete vagina. When you sleep more, you get vagina. You can all take a lesson from Rem Koolhaas.

Life is hard for me, please understand. Architects are an important part of my existence. They call me at eleven at night and say they just got off work, am I hungry? I ate hours ago. So long ago that, in fact, I am hungry again. So yes, I will go. Then I will go and there will be other architects talking about AutoCAD shortcuts and something about electric panels and can you believe that is all I did today, what a drag. I look around the table at the poor, tired, and hungry, and think to myself, I have but only one bullet left in the gun. Who will I choose?

I have a friend who is a doctor. He gives me drugs. I enjoy them. I have a friend who is a lawyer. He helped me sue mu landlord. My architect friends have given me nothing. No drugs, no medical advice, and they don't know how to spell subpoena. One architect friend figured out that my apartment was one hundred and eighty seven square feet. That was nice. Thanks for that.

I suppose one could ask what someone like me brings to architects like yourselves. I bring cheer. I yell at architects when they start talking about architecture. I force them to discuss far more interesting topics, like turkey and eggs. Why do we eat chicken eggs, but not turkey eggs? They are bigger. And people really like turkey. See? I am not afraid to ask the tough questions.

So, dear architect, I will stick around, for only a little while. I hope that one day some of you will become doctors and lawyers or will figure out my taxes. And we will laugh at the days when you spent the entire eventing talking about some European you've never met who designed a building you will never see because you are too busy working on something that will never get built. But even if that day doesn't arrive, give me a call anyway. I am free.

Your truly, Annie.

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Looking for Something Good to Read  

04 July 2007

Now that we are settled into our new house and I'm done with my exams, I've finally got time to catch up with my reading. I recently stumbled on The Sequipedalist, which is a fantastic blog offering insightful reviews on a wide variety of architectural publications. Its a great site that not only provides intriguing commentary, but also gives basic information regarding cost and length of the books. I've already added several to my reading list based on these reviews!

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