Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
.twenty five.
Here are some pictures from a casual talk between Peter Cook of Archigram and Thom Mayne of Morphosis, at USC last spring. I might have blogged about this in the past, but what the heck Picasa has enabled me to to publish a lot easier so I will post them again. Thom and Peter each got up during the talk and sketched on the chalk board, it was great.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
.twenty four.
Below are some pictures that I dredged up from my external hard drive of a quick driving tour of parts of Detroit. These pictures were taken on our way to the airport to fly back to Los Angeles. This trip was back in 2006, I was extremely surprised with the condition of the area.
This picture seems to show some signs of redevelopment, but these homes are still surrounded by what you see in the other pictures.
This sort of stuff just snaps me back to reality, where I spend most of my time, and reminds me to be thankful for all I do have. It also feeds my interest in pursuing architecture as a practice so that I can not let this happen, in any town.
Many of these buildings are abandoned, that or squatted in by drug dealers and users, leaving the neighborhood very trecherous at any time of day.
This picture seems to show some signs of redevelopment, but these homes are still surrounded by what you see in the other pictures.
This sort of stuff just snaps me back to reality, where I spend most of my time, and reminds me to be thankful for all I do have. It also feeds my interest in pursuing architecture as a practice so that I can not let this happen, in any town.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
.twenty two.
I thought I would test out my Picasa 3 tool that allows users to upload images directly into blogger. What will they think of next.
Below are some snaps that my friend Joe, a PHD candidate at CalTech took of the new Cahill Science building by Morphosis. Sweet.
Below are some snaps that my friend Joe, a PHD candidate at CalTech took of the new Cahill Science building by Morphosis. Sweet.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
.twenty one.
I think about the quote "live every day like it is your last", at this time of year especially. However, I believe I have a different
understanding of the meaning of the phrase. To my understanding it is not about going out everyday with reckless abandon and trying to check off all the things, adventurous or not, from my own "bucket list". For me it is about reminding myself everyday that I can make a difference to the world little or big on every new day I am here. As a Christian I do believe that my actions can speak for my faith without my voice having to speak the words.
understanding of the meaning of the phrase. To my understanding it is not about going out everyday with reckless abandon and trying to check off all the things, adventurous or not, from my own "bucket list". For me it is about reminding myself everyday that I can make a difference to the world little or big on every new day I am here. As a Christian I do believe that my actions can speak for my faith without my voice having to speak the words.
This post is partly in reaction to the recent occurences in Mumbai. It is difficult to see virtual youths act with such malice to their fellow human. The result does not further their agenda, it only separates those who are doing hateful acts from those who are true difference makers.
So in closing, I try every morning I try to remember that my actions can bring possitivity, but can also do damage. I thank you for reading.
Kurt Neiswender, LEED AP
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
.twenty.
The economic crisis has been giving me some things to think about lately. And I am sure that everyone has something to say about the matter. I have recently read a handful of articles and one NPR radio report about the middle eastern countries beginning to feel the pressure of the situation as well, in particular Dubai, the so called Disneyland of architecture. These stories have really got me thinking about architecture in Dubai, and as a profession in general.
The profession of architecture has become a commodity that has outgrown the very reason it exists. Architecture is as old as time itself, utilized to capture space for human comfort. Throughout time this trade, or ability to create space has been used to build simple shelters and magnificent cathedrals, but what has been going on in Dubai, for example, has far beyond exploited the thing that is architecture. In less than 10 years Sheik Zayed Road, has turned from ugly duckling with scattered non-descript towers to what is the now familiar main artery of that booming region including the beyond extreme Burj Dubai.
What I am getting at here is that while the Burj Dubai is bringing lots of notoriety to our profession of how architecture pushes limits of engineering, our human race has not figured out some basics. First, what people do not hear or see about with the construction progress of the tower is the severe slum like conditions that the workers live in. These workers come from Pakistan, India, Iran, Etc., their numbers are in the millions, come to work on the Burj to make many times more than they could in their home states. While they can earn more money no doubt, to send back to their families, they sacrifice basic human necessities to live with 6 to 12 other men in a single room apartment. Here is where architecture fails the human race. It should be a fundamental priority to provide well crafted functional architecture for everyone.
As I stated in the beginning of this post, architecture needs to be less of a commodity that the small minority of society can afford, and be more available to the vast majority of the whole earth.
The profession of architecture has become a commodity that has outgrown the very reason it exists. Architecture is as old as time itself, utilized to capture space for human comfort. Throughout time this trade, or ability to create space has been used to build simple shelters and magnificent cathedrals, but what has been going on in Dubai, for example, has far beyond exploited the thing that is architecture. In less than 10 years Sheik Zayed Road, has turned from ugly duckling with scattered non-descript towers to what is the now familiar main artery of that booming region including the beyond extreme Burj Dubai.
What I am getting at here is that while the Burj Dubai is bringing lots of notoriety to our profession of how architecture pushes limits of engineering, our human race has not figured out some basics. First, what people do not hear or see about with the construction progress of the tower is the severe slum like conditions that the workers live in. These workers come from Pakistan, India, Iran, Etc., their numbers are in the millions, come to work on the Burj to make many times more than they could in their home states. While they can earn more money no doubt, to send back to their families, they sacrifice basic human necessities to live with 6 to 12 other men in a single room apartment. Here is where architecture fails the human race. It should be a fundamental priority to provide well crafted functional architecture for everyone.
As I stated in the beginning of this post, architecture needs to be less of a commodity that the small minority of society can afford, and be more available to the vast majority of the whole earth.
Friday, August 22, 2008
.nineteen.
Time to blog again. It has been more than two months since the last post sorry readers. I have been pretty busy getting my architecture license tests taken and out of the way. I am happy to post that I am 6/9 of the way there! I have the 7th test coming up in about a week, wish me luck.
For this post I would like to briefly discuss a quandary that I am in, yes, a quandary. This particular dilemma stems from a short conversation Friday night. A good friend and fellow architect friend and I were discussing the latest issue of Architecture Review. This entire issue is devoted to the new, it thing, skyscrapers. This has been discussed before, even on my blog, however I bring it up again because I am in a quandary.
I am part of the camp that believes the skyscraper "thing" has gotten out if control. There are so many new designs out there it is just a flood of buildings that reach for the sky. There is a problem though these "new" designs are not that... New. I feel that there is only so many ways you can slice an egg, and there are only so many ways you can create a successful tall building design. What then ends up happening is so called innovative designs. which are more like Halloween costumes of buildings, that are terribly inefficient and overpriced.
Getting back to my quandary, it is that I am designing skyscrapers. Not as big as the ones that make magazines, but tall buildings where shorter more efficient buildings would make more sense and costs much less. Given the current economic times I am more than thankful that I am still working and designing skyscrapers. I hope that little by little I can take this experience and mold the next building projects we get as time also will heal the economic future.
For this post I would like to briefly discuss a quandary that I am in, yes, a quandary. This particular dilemma stems from a short conversation Friday night. A good friend and fellow architect friend and I were discussing the latest issue of Architecture Review. This entire issue is devoted to the new, it thing, skyscrapers. This has been discussed before, even on my blog, however I bring it up again because I am in a quandary.
I am part of the camp that believes the skyscraper "thing" has gotten out if control. There are so many new designs out there it is just a flood of buildings that reach for the sky. There is a problem though these "new" designs are not that... New. I feel that there is only so many ways you can slice an egg, and there are only so many ways you can create a successful tall building design. What then ends up happening is so called innovative designs. which are more like Halloween costumes of buildings, that are terribly inefficient and overpriced.
Getting back to my quandary, it is that I am designing skyscrapers. Not as big as the ones that make magazines, but tall buildings where shorter more efficient buildings would make more sense and costs much less. Given the current economic times I am more than thankful that I am still working and designing skyscrapers. I hope that little by little I can take this experience and mold the next building projects we get as time also will heal the economic future.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
.eighteen.
Who wants an architect, anyway?
This rant brought to you by the absentmindedarchitect.blogspot.com. I would like to talk about how architects are viewed by clients and developers. A lot of times developers are the clients so we can just consider that to be one and the same for the purpose of this discussion.
The way I see it, is that architects are seen as tools, or drafters of the client, not as the visionary or expert. We are professionally trained and educated to be expert at design and planning. But, very often architects' opinions take a backseat, or no seat at all, to the clients wallet and personal aesthetics. As my good friend Debbie puts it, we ARE seen as experts, experts in knowing how to construct a building and not for our creative and inventive abilities. To which, i replied, "yeah, and that is bullshit!". Honestly. It is. I don't go around telling lawyers that I think they should pursue this defense instead of that one, because "I know LAW better than you do".
Design and creative industries always seem to be affected by opinions of everyone. I would really like to go back in time to the exact point where architects lost their control of everything, or almost everything. possibly it could be when architects veered away from being design and master builder. For instance, when building the pyramids in Egypt, the Architect, also was the Chief Contractor. (I use capital letters for emphasis) :) What I mean, is that the architect also was extremely knowledgeable in the construction techniques. Fast forward to today and architects have lost much of that knowledge, and many times are thought of by today's contractor as idiots, or those who just draw pretty pictures, or even worse.
I wonder if I had my own office, would I be able to make the shift away from status quo, or will I succumb to the fiscal pressures and sacrifice myself for a quick buck. I also wonder how many other offices say the same thing, and how many end up choosing the road less traveled.
I thank you all for listening, this has been a very cathartic experience.
This rant brought to you by the absentmindedarchitect.blogspot.com. I would like to talk about how architects are viewed by clients and developers. A lot of times developers are the clients so we can just consider that to be one and the same for the purpose of this discussion.
The way I see it, is that architects are seen as tools, or drafters of the client, not as the visionary or expert. We are professionally trained and educated to be expert at design and planning. But, very often architects' opinions take a backseat, or no seat at all, to the clients wallet and personal aesthetics. As my good friend Debbie puts it, we ARE seen as experts, experts in knowing how to construct a building and not for our creative and inventive abilities. To which, i replied, "yeah, and that is bullshit!". Honestly. It is. I don't go around telling lawyers that I think they should pursue this defense instead of that one, because "I know LAW better than you do".
Design and creative industries always seem to be affected by opinions of everyone. I would really like to go back in time to the exact point where architects lost their control of everything, or almost everything. possibly it could be when architects veered away from being design and master builder. For instance, when building the pyramids in Egypt, the Architect, also was the Chief Contractor. (I use capital letters for emphasis) :) What I mean, is that the architect also was extremely knowledgeable in the construction techniques. Fast forward to today and architects have lost much of that knowledge, and many times are thought of by today's contractor as idiots, or those who just draw pretty pictures, or even worse.
I wonder if I had my own office, would I be able to make the shift away from status quo, or will I succumb to the fiscal pressures and sacrifice myself for a quick buck. I also wonder how many other offices say the same thing, and how many end up choosing the road less traveled.
I thank you all for listening, this has been a very cathartic experience.
Friday, June 20, 2008
.seventeen.
It is time for a recharge! My vacation is not getting her fast enough. I have a couple weeks left until I leave for Michigan. You all may be thinking, Michigan is not a major vacation destination. But for me i really do enjoy visiting my wife's family in their hometown of Davison, Michigan. I just cannot wait to get out here. Los Angeles is beginning to bun both of us out. Probably for different reasons, but none the less we both need, and deserve our upcoming break.
I am feeling lately that Los Angeles the city has given me all that it is going to offer. A lot has changed in the past five years, and definitely in the past 10 years. I am not going to sit here and bash LA, because that is not my style, but I feel like this kind of city is not my cup of tea anymore. Ten years ago when I arrived here for my university studies, my eyes were opened up to all kinds of new experiences that I had not been a part of growing up in southwest Connecticut. Through the college years Los Angeles was great, I mean, on any given day of the week my friends and I could think of any random idea and we could find a way to do it. Lets just say playing hockey with a broom and no skates, while wearing a hula skirt was not a problem. But as many of us know, after a while the bones don't heal as fast and the hangovers come from just a couple beers. And as I have come to this realization, part of it is that Los Angeles becomes, more and more, the city that cannot support my graduated view of life.
I am not trying to set you up to say I am moving to Alaska, I am not. I am not prepared to uproot and replant myself that easily. But, what I am trying to say is that I'm looking and thinking about where Relationship Kurt will go next, as Independent Kurt is retiring. That last part was a Seinfeld quote, for those who don't watch the show, or catch the reruns.
Who knows, maybe I will come back with a renewed sense of Los Angeles, when I return from my vacation. I know it will at least give me a chance to think. Honestly eight to 10 hours a day sometimes much more, and hardly anytime to actually think. That can be its own post at a later time. Vacations are fun, and this one is lining up to be a pretty good one, I can feel it!
Peace for now.
I am feeling lately that Los Angeles the city has given me all that it is going to offer. A lot has changed in the past five years, and definitely in the past 10 years. I am not going to sit here and bash LA, because that is not my style, but I feel like this kind of city is not my cup of tea anymore. Ten years ago when I arrived here for my university studies, my eyes were opened up to all kinds of new experiences that I had not been a part of growing up in southwest Connecticut. Through the college years Los Angeles was great, I mean, on any given day of the week my friends and I could think of any random idea and we could find a way to do it. Lets just say playing hockey with a broom and no skates, while wearing a hula skirt was not a problem. But as many of us know, after a while the bones don't heal as fast and the hangovers come from just a couple beers. And as I have come to this realization, part of it is that Los Angeles becomes, more and more, the city that cannot support my graduated view of life.
I am not trying to set you up to say I am moving to Alaska, I am not. I am not prepared to uproot and replant myself that easily. But, what I am trying to say is that I'm looking and thinking about where Relationship Kurt will go next, as Independent Kurt is retiring. That last part was a Seinfeld quote, for those who don't watch the show, or catch the reruns.
Who knows, maybe I will come back with a renewed sense of Los Angeles, when I return from my vacation. I know it will at least give me a chance to think. Honestly eight to 10 hours a day sometimes much more, and hardly anytime to actually think. That can be its own post at a later time. Vacations are fun, and this one is lining up to be a pretty good one, I can feel it!
Peace for now.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
.sixteen.
This blog post is dedicated to my awesome wife! She told me not to blog about her, so I won't but i am going to dedicate this post to her.
Down below you will find a link to a website I came across some months ago while searching for conceptual imagery online! This website introduced me to the digital practice of processing. Processing is the practice of creating computer code to develop graphic imagery that is always different every time the script is restarted. I am not an expert at processing, and at present, I do not believe i have to time or patience to be. I am content with sharing this idea of processing with you all, and discussing the architectural and spatial concepts within the windows of processing.
What first intrigued me about processing was the additive nature of how they are created. (Once you see the link below you will understand this blog post better). This additive method of creating excites me because I feel that it reminds of of how I like to approach a new drawing or project. The processing modules in the link below all start out with a simple line or shape and build to what I believe is an infinite amount of layers and complexity. They really only reset when you mouse over and click the screen. I am a big fan of creating complexity from simplicity. Architecturally, it is not hard to create a complex building, but most often these buildings end up being a confusing mess of spatial and material components, not making much of a statement at all. To me the best architecture can be seen as complex and at the same time simple. Absolutely diabolical! For example, see Daniel Libeskind's design for the extension to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Sadly, this building never will be realized. The founding concept of this building is a simple spiral but then it is layered with more and more detail, and a second concept of mathematic fractals. The end result is, in my opinion, his best work. Many of the examples you will find on the processing link below have a fractal quality to them.
Another concept that I enjoy with these graphic processes is the way that when the linework builds up the overall image is constantly evolving. This reminds of the way I read a Jackson Pollack painting, or Chuck Close. The image represented has very different experiences from 6 inches and 6 feet. Chuck Close's work may be the better example. If you have never seen a Close painting, go find one. From six inches they can read like brightly colored squares, that seem anything but organized. As you step away from the painting you then realized that these painted squares make up a collage that in fact is a portrait, and anything but chaotic.
So, without making you wait any longer here is the link to the processing website. I may write more about this subject, so if you are interested check back!
http://complexification.net/gallery/
Down below you will find a link to a website I came across some months ago while searching for conceptual imagery online! This website introduced me to the digital practice of processing. Processing is the practice of creating computer code to develop graphic imagery that is always different every time the script is restarted. I am not an expert at processing, and at present, I do not believe i have to time or patience to be. I am content with sharing this idea of processing with you all, and discussing the architectural and spatial concepts within the windows of processing.
What first intrigued me about processing was the additive nature of how they are created. (Once you see the link below you will understand this blog post better). This additive method of creating excites me because I feel that it reminds of of how I like to approach a new drawing or project. The processing modules in the link below all start out with a simple line or shape and build to what I believe is an infinite amount of layers and complexity. They really only reset when you mouse over and click the screen. I am a big fan of creating complexity from simplicity. Architecturally, it is not hard to create a complex building, but most often these buildings end up being a confusing mess of spatial and material components, not making much of a statement at all. To me the best architecture can be seen as complex and at the same time simple. Absolutely diabolical! For example, see Daniel Libeskind's design for the extension to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Sadly, this building never will be realized. The founding concept of this building is a simple spiral but then it is layered with more and more detail, and a second concept of mathematic fractals. The end result is, in my opinion, his best work. Many of the examples you will find on the processing link below have a fractal quality to them.
Another concept that I enjoy with these graphic processes is the way that when the linework builds up the overall image is constantly evolving. This reminds of the way I read a Jackson Pollack painting, or Chuck Close. The image represented has very different experiences from 6 inches and 6 feet. Chuck Close's work may be the better example. If you have never seen a Close painting, go find one. From six inches they can read like brightly colored squares, that seem anything but organized. As you step away from the painting you then realized that these painted squares make up a collage that in fact is a portrait, and anything but chaotic.
So, without making you wait any longer here is the link to the processing website. I may write more about this subject, so if you are interested check back!
http://complexification.net/gallery/
Monday, June 16, 2008
.fifteen.
Hello all,
I have been away a while, I know, but for very good reason. I have been studying like a madman for my architecture licensing tests as well as my LEED accreditation. Also, in my time away I have received some constructive criticism of my blog. All of which, I am thankful for, and appreciate, so keep it coming. I don't feel the need to be specific about the criticism, but I definitely will be incorporating 100 percent of the critiques.
That being said I would like to announce that I have passed two of my licensing tests, and passed the LEED for New Construction exam. I will explain shortly, the LEED process for those who are not familiar with it. as for my architecture license, i still have seven more tests to go and an oral exam after passing all the written tests. So, I definitely will post my progress on those, as they occur.
LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. New Construction is the specific exam track that I pursued. LEED is a certification process for design professionals and for the buildings that are being designed. For professionals it is a test to accredit those who have a firm understanding how to use the LEED credit formats, in order to get buildings certified. LEED for buildings is a way of achieving graduating levels of "greenness". For buildings that maximize and utilize various techniques to attain credits in the LEED template. As in life, the more credits your building achieves the higher the certification level it achieves. For more information in the process, check out www.usgbc.org and www.gbci.org .
That is all for this post, as well as the promise for more posts to come. I do encourage you all to read more about green building, it is important to me and I believe we all should know to do our part.
I have been away a while, I know, but for very good reason. I have been studying like a madman for my architecture licensing tests as well as my LEED accreditation. Also, in my time away I have received some constructive criticism of my blog. All of which, I am thankful for, and appreciate, so keep it coming. I don't feel the need to be specific about the criticism, but I definitely will be incorporating 100 percent of the critiques.
That being said I would like to announce that I have passed two of my licensing tests, and passed the LEED for New Construction exam. I will explain shortly, the LEED process for those who are not familiar with it. as for my architecture license, i still have seven more tests to go and an oral exam after passing all the written tests. So, I definitely will post my progress on those, as they occur.
LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. New Construction is the specific exam track that I pursued. LEED is a certification process for design professionals and for the buildings that are being designed. For professionals it is a test to accredit those who have a firm understanding how to use the LEED credit formats, in order to get buildings certified. LEED for buildings is a way of achieving graduating levels of "greenness". For buildings that maximize and utilize various techniques to attain credits in the LEED template. As in life, the more credits your building achieves the higher the certification level it achieves. For more information in the process, check out www.usgbc.org and www.gbci.org .
That is all for this post, as well as the promise for more posts to come. I do encourage you all to read more about green building, it is important to me and I believe we all should know to do our part.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
.fourteen.
i would like to introduce a new series for contemplation. i have been keeping this in the back of my head for some weeks now, and i have only begun to scratch the surface. i recently catching up with some friends discussing new work, old work, life's basic concerns. in this gathering a friend who is in the hedge fund and stock watching business blurted out something that caught my attention. being an architect it was totally foreign to me, but new things facinate me the most, as i love to tear them into little digestible pieces and absorb what i can. my friend described the concept of a type of graph that he uses as one method to track stocks. these are called stochastic oscillations.
Stochastic oscillations are graphs that monitor trends in stocks based on historical and up to the second current data. the simplest description which is where i am at so far, is to describe it as two parallel graphs that cross each other every so often, and when these two paths cross it is a sign or trigger for the viewer to buy or sell depending on if the lines are crossing on the upside or downside of the datum line. i will link a wikipedia page that shows a typical view of one of these graphs. there are a few things that are utterly fascinating about these graphs and the conversation i had with my friend about them. the first is that they track diverging/converging data or trends, which has interesting architectural parallels as far as space and time are concerned. another is the visual output of these graphs, they are constantly moving and changing shape totally based on function not aesthetics. and the most interesting part about them is that almost as soon as they are graphed the information is obsolete and virtually useless. the user who relies on them to buy or sell stock better be quick on the draw, or else the opportunity will pass them by.
for now i will introduce the subject and next time i will elaborate on the three points i made. below will be the link to some images of these graphs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_oscillator
Stochastic oscillations are graphs that monitor trends in stocks based on historical and up to the second current data. the simplest description which is where i am at so far, is to describe it as two parallel graphs that cross each other every so often, and when these two paths cross it is a sign or trigger for the viewer to buy or sell depending on if the lines are crossing on the upside or downside of the datum line. i will link a wikipedia page that shows a typical view of one of these graphs. there are a few things that are utterly fascinating about these graphs and the conversation i had with my friend about them. the first is that they track diverging/converging data or trends, which has interesting architectural parallels as far as space and time are concerned. another is the visual output of these graphs, they are constantly moving and changing shape totally based on function not aesthetics. and the most interesting part about them is that almost as soon as they are graphed the information is obsolete and virtually useless. the user who relies on them to buy or sell stock better be quick on the draw, or else the opportunity will pass them by.
for now i will introduce the subject and next time i will elaborate on the three points i made. below will be the link to some images of these graphs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_oscillator
Saturday, April 12, 2008
.thirteen.
for the time being i am going to make the last post in my series of sustainability. it is a topic that is very important to me so i am sure i will come back to it many times in the future. for now i just wanted to pose this post as a question, somewhat theoretical in nature.
i was browsing through my offices sever looking at pictures that my project manager took during his last trip to dubai for a client meeting. i started to think of something while doing this. keep in mind this is a theory at the moment, but what do we know about the impact physically tha tall these mega developments are having on the world. imagine the weight of all the concrete and stone and steel that is being installed in a very small footprint. the hundreds of tons of concrete and steel that go into erecting buildings like the burj dubai. let me pose a couple questions for now they will remain open ended for discussion and futher research.
1. could the immense amount of building materials, in one location, alter the rotational speed of our planet earth?
2. what is the impact of displacing all these raw materials from where they came from, to where they are used for the mega cites and structures?
3. is this displacement a net zero of removal to finished construction? or are we creating more waste than we can handle, and removing far more than can be regenerated?
i think i may be asking some questions that are already answered, but my goal is to think about the problem, expecially for me, being a very visual person it really is interesting when you see the construction of these things and know where the materials come from. i will post some pictures below for visual aids.
this is the burj dubai, it is the tallest building in the world right now and it is yet to be finished.
imaging what the weight if all this is doing to the globe, and this is just one geographic area. india and china among others are building similarly.
i was browsing through my offices sever looking at pictures that my project manager took during his last trip to dubai for a client meeting. i started to think of something while doing this. keep in mind this is a theory at the moment, but what do we know about the impact physically tha tall these mega developments are having on the world. imagine the weight of all the concrete and stone and steel that is being installed in a very small footprint. the hundreds of tons of concrete and steel that go into erecting buildings like the burj dubai. let me pose a couple questions for now they will remain open ended for discussion and futher research.
1. could the immense amount of building materials, in one location, alter the rotational speed of our planet earth?
2. what is the impact of displacing all these raw materials from where they came from, to where they are used for the mega cites and structures?
3. is this displacement a net zero of removal to finished construction? or are we creating more waste than we can handle, and removing far more than can be regenerated?
i think i may be asking some questions that are already answered, but my goal is to think about the problem, expecially for me, being a very visual person it really is interesting when you see the construction of these things and know where the materials come from. i will post some pictures below for visual aids.
this is the burj dubai, it is the tallest building in the world right now and it is yet to be finished.
imaging what the weight if all this is doing to the globe, and this is just one geographic area. india and china among others are building similarly.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
.twelve.
let me continue on sustainability. just for a little longer. it is hard not to think about it, considering that not only it seems that it is the buzzword of the week, or month. recently i read about brad pitt's project, "make it right". his actions appeal to me in many ways. first, is that he invited many big name and not so big name architects, to develop new concepts of home, which to someone who is not trained as an architect, some may look undesirable aesthetically, but i bet to a family that lost everything in hurricane katrina, as well as got shunned by FEMA and the government, the gift of one of these houses would be more than welcome. aesthetics aside, another great feature of these houses is that the architects incorporated technology that increases sustainability, and decreases their chances of any future flood damage.
let me back up here for a second. brad pitt's organization has coordinated, designed, and built dozens of new homes for katrina victims, by architects from around the world. which leads me to the second thing that caught my attention about this project, and that is the generosity and initiative that mr. pitt has taken to reconcile the people of new orleans. brad pitt kicked everything into gear with his initial donation of 5 million of his own money. excuse me, mr. president, how come it takes one individual less money and less time to build new homes for the people of new orleans? these are not just factory built, ungreen, tralers that FEMA has people wait months to get. these homes are not only good for the environment, but they are good for the homeowner too. alot of these homes imcorporate passive sustainable features, so that the users can spend their hard earned money on better things, and not the electricity to power the air conditioner.
i will continue to follow the progress of this great project, an i suggest you, my few readers, check it out for yourselves. even a former instructor of mine was a contributing architect, his firm name is called constructsLLC. his project and all the others on on the link below.
www.makeitrightnola.org
let me back up here for a second. brad pitt's organization has coordinated, designed, and built dozens of new homes for katrina victims, by architects from around the world. which leads me to the second thing that caught my attention about this project, and that is the generosity and initiative that mr. pitt has taken to reconcile the people of new orleans. brad pitt kicked everything into gear with his initial donation of 5 million of his own money. excuse me, mr. president, how come it takes one individual less money and less time to build new homes for the people of new orleans? these are not just factory built, ungreen, tralers that FEMA has people wait months to get. these homes are not only good for the environment, but they are good for the homeowner too. alot of these homes imcorporate passive sustainable features, so that the users can spend their hard earned money on better things, and not the electricity to power the air conditioner.
i will continue to follow the progress of this great project, an i suggest you, my few readers, check it out for yourselves. even a former instructor of mine was a contributing architect, his firm name is called constructsLLC. his project and all the others on on the link below.
www.makeitrightnola.org
Saturday, March 22, 2008
.eleven.
sustainability is on my mind. i have been mulling this over for a little while now. as you can see from the lack of my posting for about a month now. i have also been very busy with my paying job, and there just aren't enough hours in the day. i mention my workload because, the project that i am working on (somewhat confidential) has a lot to do with my thoughts thus far on sustainability. my project is an overseas development of residential condominium towers, built on man made landfill on the coast of, well, on the coast of some country that is not too US friendly right now. that narrows it down doesn't it, not really i suppose. but the location is only part of the story, the client is the key here. i cant say the clients name, but i can say that my project is only one of their many developments in this rapidly developing portion of the world. while some of the clients other projects are more technologically advanced, we are struggling to get some basic amenities that Americans take for granted, such as hmm, electricity.
for my project i have given up all hope for installing any sort of material or mechanism for renewable energy. heck we don't even have a recycling project in the entire development, which by the way, is basically building an small city out of what wa previously sand and water, i just cannot fathom building a brand new development without learning from the mistakes of the western world, or any other major metropolis. i am not just saying that infrastructure is the key. how can it be the key when the client is not even considering the impacts 10, 50, 100 years from now, that this project will create. infrastructure such as roads, sewer, utilities, etc. are basically there, and i mean basically, if you are OK with living in a place where the power goes out four to 8 hours each day!
if we are going to be developing portions of the world that should probably not be developed in the first place, please, at least make it impact itself negatively. don't drag the rest of the world into your black hole of carbon emissions. i, unfortunately am not totally in control of my destiny as far as this project is concerned. my boss needs the manpower to get the work done, but trust me the next time, if there is even a next time, i will surely refuse to be a part of a project that is so blatantly disregarding of making this world a better place.
for my project i have given up all hope for installing any sort of material or mechanism for renewable energy. heck we don't even have a recycling project in the entire development, which by the way, is basically building an small city out of what wa previously sand and water, i just cannot fathom building a brand new development without learning from the mistakes of the western world, or any other major metropolis. i am not just saying that infrastructure is the key. how can it be the key when the client is not even considering the impacts 10, 50, 100 years from now, that this project will create. infrastructure such as roads, sewer, utilities, etc. are basically there, and i mean basically, if you are OK with living in a place where the power goes out four to 8 hours each day!
if we are going to be developing portions of the world that should probably not be developed in the first place, please, at least make it impact itself negatively. don't drag the rest of the world into your black hole of carbon emissions. i, unfortunately am not totally in control of my destiny as far as this project is concerned. my boss needs the manpower to get the work done, but trust me the next time, if there is even a next time, i will surely refuse to be a part of a project that is so blatantly disregarding of making this world a better place.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
.ten.
this post will contain some pitures from a recent lecture i attended, at my alma mater. who says that nowadays? i guess i do! oh well, on to the real business. this recent lecture was actually more of a casual conversation among peers, i am speaking highly of myself, when i call myself a peer or Thom Mayne and Peter Cook! honestly, they developed their dialog that was very inviting and casual. not like a stuffy discussion that could have easily happened had this been USC of 10 years ago.
peter cook sketching on the chalkboard.
thom was off sketching somewhere.
casual discourse my favorite kind.
i am very glad the new dean is working hard at deveolping the lecture series which was severely lacking at my times at USC. the great parts of this discussion, to me, were the anecdotes. both peter cook and thom mayne have achieved great successes and they now seemed to talk as the teacher not the student. while they reminisced of the late 60's, the period of time which they attest to as the defining period of their careers. during the 60's they were the students, mayne more than cook. for both however they were exploring things that were not considered general architectural discourse at the time. i believe in the saying that one is always a student, and never done learning. i was describing this concept to my friend after the lecture. my friend, jennifer, who is in the begining stages of her research for thesis at SCI-ARC, was confiding in me that she felt like she was not as smart as some of her fellow students. (forgive me jen! for using you as an example). but i assured her as she has a few years in the architecture community, that she is not alone. i too, often feel behind in my knowledge of this profession, but as i told jen, there is much to learn and you cant learn it all in school. i feel like i was saying it more to myself than to my thesis crazy friend!
but as long as the effort and want to learn is there, then who is to say when the role of student is over.
peter cook sketching on the chalkboard.
thom was off sketching somewhere.
casual discourse my favorite kind.
i am very glad the new dean is working hard at deveolping the lecture series which was severely lacking at my times at USC. the great parts of this discussion, to me, were the anecdotes. both peter cook and thom mayne have achieved great successes and they now seemed to talk as the teacher not the student. while they reminisced of the late 60's, the period of time which they attest to as the defining period of their careers. during the 60's they were the students, mayne more than cook. for both however they were exploring things that were not considered general architectural discourse at the time. i believe in the saying that one is always a student, and never done learning. i was describing this concept to my friend after the lecture. my friend, jennifer, who is in the begining stages of her research for thesis at SCI-ARC, was confiding in me that she felt like she was not as smart as some of her fellow students. (forgive me jen! for using you as an example). but i assured her as she has a few years in the architecture community, that she is not alone. i too, often feel behind in my knowledge of this profession, but as i told jen, there is much to learn and you cant learn it all in school. i feel like i was saying it more to myself than to my thesis crazy friend!
but as long as the effort and want to learn is there, then who is to say when the role of student is over.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
.nine.
i would like to sneak in a small post here about myself. i also want to send a message out to my future mom-in-law. tee-hee! her blog post was titled ticking clock for nana. this blog post of mine should be called ticking clock for the absent minded architect! the ticking clock for me, would be the proposal clock! one thing is for sure, i am definitely about to embark on a new exciting chapter in my life.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
.eight.
It is heating up in the presidential race right about now. and i have a interesting concept to share with anyone who is out there listening. every news source is concerned with the bipartisan story lines, well i have a one that we can call a bipartisan joint venture. in a conversation with my friend and now fellow blogspot neighbor, we discuees the impacts of what it would be like if the presidential ticket was to have a democrat and a republican.
on the surface we were thinking that at the very least it would be the best way to galvanize the two parties and the American public who support them. maybe that sounds a bit more than a simple task, but then again i like to be optimistic about society. even though i think they don't deserve it a lot of the time. but before i fly off into a tangent, lets just keep it to the one topic for the day. so, back to the story here.
but imagine in modern day America with all our talk of non – segregation, we still are definitely divided politically. and as a nation i hypothesize that we would be more united if we were led by a team that is more representative of the people. if we are to be split in two party wise, it would reflect the society and our relationships. take for example the governor of California, a well known republican, who is married to maria shriver, a descendant of the most recognizable democratic family of our recent times. these two on super Tuesday were on their way into the polls, and were caught by a TV reporter, and asked who they will vote for. maria shriver's response, an emphatic “Obama”! our governator, however,, declined to comment, but we all know now he is pulling for senator McCain. to me this is a perfect example of a family unit that is distinctly different in political affiliation, but are a functional married couple. i don't live in that household so i don't know about their private life. but as a couple im sure they argue and debate on a lot of private and public issues, and the same is true for any couple in America. which is why having a bipartisan ticket would bring together the hatfeild's and mccoy's of the nation. besides, why do we still need to pick sides if we are one nation under god?
ok, now that i have put that precious seed of thought out into the blogosphere, and you the readers, i want to inform you that i am in now way a political pundit. no one is going to base their poll, or vote on what i say, but i am always for taking a moment to look at things from new angles anytime!
on the surface we were thinking that at the very least it would be the best way to galvanize the two parties and the American public who support them. maybe that sounds a bit more than a simple task, but then again i like to be optimistic about society. even though i think they don't deserve it a lot of the time. but before i fly off into a tangent, lets just keep it to the one topic for the day. so, back to the story here.
but imagine in modern day America with all our talk of non – segregation, we still are definitely divided politically. and as a nation i hypothesize that we would be more united if we were led by a team that is more representative of the people. if we are to be split in two party wise, it would reflect the society and our relationships. take for example the governor of California, a well known republican, who is married to maria shriver, a descendant of the most recognizable democratic family of our recent times. these two on super Tuesday were on their way into the polls, and were caught by a TV reporter, and asked who they will vote for. maria shriver's response, an emphatic “Obama”! our governator, however,, declined to comment, but we all know now he is pulling for senator McCain. to me this is a perfect example of a family unit that is distinctly different in political affiliation, but are a functional married couple. i don't live in that household so i don't know about their private life. but as a couple im sure they argue and debate on a lot of private and public issues, and the same is true for any couple in America. which is why having a bipartisan ticket would bring together the hatfeild's and mccoy's of the nation. besides, why do we still need to pick sides if we are one nation under god?
ok, now that i have put that precious seed of thought out into the blogosphere, and you the readers, i want to inform you that i am in now way a political pundit. no one is going to base their poll, or vote on what i say, but i am always for taking a moment to look at things from new angles anytime!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
.seven.
does anybody ever wonder who writes instruction guides. this thought came to me as i was constructing the new desk for my apartment. and when i was fitting bottom rail [C] to bottom shelf [B] with screws [Q], of my new bookcase also for my new apartment. at first opening the box for the new bookshelf and coming across the sea of parts, and then seeing the thick 8.5x11 packet of instructions can be how do you say; daunting! sigh! but as i sift through the Styrofoam and sort out all the parts, and flip through the steps of construction, i muster the courage to commence the project. the next thing i attend to is inventory the parts, because i am not a naive first time do-it-yourselfer, i have been though 99% of construction of a fine piece of furniture, just to discover the most necessary pieces are either damaged or missing. so i check and re-check, it seems that all parts are present and accounted for. next is of course the obligatory glass of red wine, a trade secret of mine, keeps the hands relaxed and surprisingly more steady. within an hour i have created my new three shelf bookshelf, and it looks pretty good, it even stands without wobbling at all. there was, however one small hitch. the bottom rail [C] that i mentioned above was about a half an inch to long on each end. so what do i do? being the ever resourceful problem solver i am, i quickly decide i could either cut the piece down with a saw, screw it in in a way that the length doesn't matter or leave the piece off altogether. well i took option 2, and i figured out a way to utilize the bottom rail[C] in its intended location just about an inch away, but alas, great success the bookshelf is finished.
now that my new piece of furniture is finished, i will take this opportunity to thanks the person who wrote the instruction guide, without which i would not have been able to put the bookshelf together. well, actually i probably could have figured it out still, but it would have taken longer that is for sure.
still wondering who takes that job, or gets promoted to the job of instruction guide writer? i am too so there are no answers here, but i think i know someone who would be perfect for that job. my amazing girlfriend has an equally amazing family and her younger brother would be the best instruction guide writer this side of Leiden. that is for those who don't know, the headquarters of IKEA. Todd is his name, and he is a unique youngster. unique but not abnormal by far. Todd is a very inquisitive person and reminds the absent minded architect if himself at times, especially with his interest in how things are put together. so to end my session today i dedicate my anecdote of bookshelf, from parts to whole, to Todd.
now that my new piece of furniture is finished, i will take this opportunity to thanks the person who wrote the instruction guide, without which i would not have been able to put the bookshelf together. well, actually i probably could have figured it out still, but it would have taken longer that is for sure.
still wondering who takes that job, or gets promoted to the job of instruction guide writer? i am too so there are no answers here, but i think i know someone who would be perfect for that job. my amazing girlfriend has an equally amazing family and her younger brother would be the best instruction guide writer this side of Leiden. that is for those who don't know, the headquarters of IKEA. Todd is his name, and he is a unique youngster. unique but not abnormal by far. Todd is a very inquisitive person and reminds the absent minded architect if himself at times, especially with his interest in how things are put together. so to end my session today i dedicate my anecdote of bookshelf, from parts to whole, to Todd.
Monday, January 7, 2008
.six.
i just thought of an experiment that i have subliminally begun a few weeks ago. for now lets call it a synthesis of the left and right brain through studying fiction and non-fiction tests. i have been studying for the LEED NC accreditation for the past month or so, and a few weeks ago i started reading this non-fiction book about Leonardo da Vinci. Fritjof Capra's book about the great renaissance master focuses on the theories and studies that Leonardo explored rather than the obvious artistic masterpieces that we all know very much about.. more about that later. after i got halfway through the non-fiction piece and my LEED study book i made the decision in conjunction with a Christmas present, that it was finally about time to pick up the harry potter series. i received a box set of the first six harry potter books for Christmas, so i decided to see what all the hype was about.
now for some insane reason i have begun down a trail of multiple story lines, fiction and non-fiction and while i was driving home for my lunch break / let the dog out for potty today, i thought of this blog post. i was thinking about how reading these various topics would influence my brainwaves. i was wondering what would happened as i mixed the two genres. would reading a book about the science of Leonardo and arguably the most famous books of fiction in modern time, exercise both the right and left sides of my brain simultaneously? Or, would the result be, SCIENCE FICTION?
thus, the experiment begins, currently i have finished reading the LEED study guide, and i am halfway through the Leonardo text and the first adventure of harry potter, each. i will be back with an analysis, in the next post or posts.
LINKS OF THE BOOKS
http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0439887453/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199765093&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Leonardo-Inside-Genius-Renaissance/dp/0385513909/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199765001&sr=8-1
now for some insane reason i have begun down a trail of multiple story lines, fiction and non-fiction and while i was driving home for my lunch break / let the dog out for potty today, i thought of this blog post. i was thinking about how reading these various topics would influence my brainwaves. i was wondering what would happened as i mixed the two genres. would reading a book about the science of Leonardo and arguably the most famous books of fiction in modern time, exercise both the right and left sides of my brain simultaneously? Or, would the result be, SCIENCE FICTION?
thus, the experiment begins, currently i have finished reading the LEED study guide, and i am halfway through the Leonardo text and the first adventure of harry potter, each. i will be back with an analysis, in the next post or posts.
LINKS OF THE BOOKS
http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0439887453/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199765093&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Leonardo-Inside-Genius-Renaissance/dp/0385513909/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199765001&sr=8-1
Saturday, January 5, 2008
.five.
happy new year! i hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!
i wanted to add to my last post about the Olympic games that will take place this year. It dawned on me, while watching the Rose Parade that the Games are to start on the 8th of august, the 8th month, in 2008 at exactly 8:08:08 pm. which got me thinking about numbers, an some research i have recently completed. so i put 2 + 2 together, the first 2 comes from the research, and the other value of 2 being the date and time of the next Olympic Games.
getting started the number 8 is a very lucky number in Chinese culture. therefore the games being on the date and time they are is no coincidence at all, i'm sure when they heard they won the 2008 bid, the easiest part about it was decided the time the torch was to be lit. but i wonder what the Chinese think about the symbol of the Olympic Games, that's right those rings, which there are five of them. and i say this because five is not a lucky number in Chinese lore. 5 can represent “me”, the individual, but more commonly it translates to “not” or “nothing”, which is a negative, and thus resulting in nothing good. however if you put two negatives together then you can come out with a positive, such as saying 5-4, which then means “not” and “die”. which brings me back to the number 2, which is good, its luck comes from a saying that translates to “good things come in pairs”. so then, 2+2 is really good because 2 pairs of 2 are even better than one. which can argue the case that 2 wrongs can make a right! WAIT? anyway the total of that equation is 4, also a lucky number when you are in certain regions of the country. BUT 4 in Cantonese regions of China is synonymous with death and i don't think have to remind you, but that is kinda bad!
a couple more things about numbers that i found that are pretty interesting. while in our western culture the number 13 is considered bad luck in pretty much everything. to the Chinese, the number 14 is actually a very unlucky number. for instance in a super high rise tower in China it is common that any floor with the number 4 or 14 in it is removed from the elevator keys. so in fact a building that travels to the 50th floor in actuality has only 36 occupied floors. that is a pretty big difference in terms of measuring building height.
why might you ask, would be talking about numbers and what they mean especially in Chinese culture? well the answer is that i recently put together a presentation for a project that is in northern china. so as a team we immersed ourselves in all that is china. and i feel i have just scratched the surface, but at the surface was this amazing topic of numbers which is has been ingrained over centuries.
now that i have filled you in on the why, i think I'll ramble off a bunch of quick number meanings. ok so 666 to those of us in western culture means the mark of the beast, well to the Chinese language saying 666 sounds a lot like saying things going smoothly, not so bad, eh. 888 simply is prosperity times 3. 6 on its own pronounces like the word to drop or decline, and we all know declines especially financial ones are never a good thing. 7 is related to spiritual things, and ghosts. the 7th month of the calender is called the ghost month.
1 represents unity, which is pretty universal across the board. 6 is described as smooth flow and easy going. 8 is by far the most popular number in the Chinese culture. 8 means prosper and fortune, anything with an 8 on it will bring all things good by the way of money, happiness and wealth. 88 is double joy, and like i mentioned with the number 2 good things come in pairs. the Chinese telephone number 8888-8888 was sold to the high bidder for 270,000 U.S. dollars. that attests to the high value placed on the number 8, people are willing to shell out quite a bit of their fortune. again, the Beijing Olympic games being played on the date they are, is the premier usage of the weight the number 8 has.
now i can lay this topic to rest, for i have come full circle from the number 8 to the number 8. in case you fell asleep during the lecture 8 is good!. for those of you who want to read more on the subject, all the content from my blog post has come from wikipedia. i wanted to make sure nobody hits me for some plagiarism. alright that is all for now!
i wanted to add to my last post about the Olympic games that will take place this year. It dawned on me, while watching the Rose Parade that the Games are to start on the 8th of august, the 8th month, in 2008 at exactly 8:08:08 pm. which got me thinking about numbers, an some research i have recently completed. so i put 2 + 2 together, the first 2 comes from the research, and the other value of 2 being the date and time of the next Olympic Games.
getting started the number 8 is a very lucky number in Chinese culture. therefore the games being on the date and time they are is no coincidence at all, i'm sure when they heard they won the 2008 bid, the easiest part about it was decided the time the torch was to be lit. but i wonder what the Chinese think about the symbol of the Olympic Games, that's right those rings, which there are five of them. and i say this because five is not a lucky number in Chinese lore. 5 can represent “me”, the individual, but more commonly it translates to “not” or “nothing”, which is a negative, and thus resulting in nothing good. however if you put two negatives together then you can come out with a positive, such as saying 5-4, which then means “not” and “die”. which brings me back to the number 2, which is good, its luck comes from a saying that translates to “good things come in pairs”. so then, 2+2 is really good because 2 pairs of 2 are even better than one. which can argue the case that 2 wrongs can make a right! WAIT? anyway the total of that equation is 4, also a lucky number when you are in certain regions of the country. BUT 4 in Cantonese regions of China is synonymous with death and i don't think have to remind you, but that is kinda bad!
a couple more things about numbers that i found that are pretty interesting. while in our western culture the number 13 is considered bad luck in pretty much everything. to the Chinese, the number 14 is actually a very unlucky number. for instance in a super high rise tower in China it is common that any floor with the number 4 or 14 in it is removed from the elevator keys. so in fact a building that travels to the 50th floor in actuality has only 36 occupied floors. that is a pretty big difference in terms of measuring building height.
why might you ask, would be talking about numbers and what they mean especially in Chinese culture? well the answer is that i recently put together a presentation for a project that is in northern china. so as a team we immersed ourselves in all that is china. and i feel i have just scratched the surface, but at the surface was this amazing topic of numbers which is has been ingrained over centuries.
now that i have filled you in on the why, i think I'll ramble off a bunch of quick number meanings. ok so 666 to those of us in western culture means the mark of the beast, well to the Chinese language saying 666 sounds a lot like saying things going smoothly, not so bad, eh. 888 simply is prosperity times 3. 6 on its own pronounces like the word to drop or decline, and we all know declines especially financial ones are never a good thing. 7 is related to spiritual things, and ghosts. the 7th month of the calender is called the ghost month.
1 represents unity, which is pretty universal across the board. 6 is described as smooth flow and easy going. 8 is by far the most popular number in the Chinese culture. 8 means prosper and fortune, anything with an 8 on it will bring all things good by the way of money, happiness and wealth. 88 is double joy, and like i mentioned with the number 2 good things come in pairs. the Chinese telephone number 8888-8888 was sold to the high bidder for 270,000 U.S. dollars. that attests to the high value placed on the number 8, people are willing to shell out quite a bit of their fortune. again, the Beijing Olympic games being played on the date they are, is the premier usage of the weight the number 8 has.
now i can lay this topic to rest, for i have come full circle from the number 8 to the number 8. in case you fell asleep during the lecture 8 is good!. for those of you who want to read more on the subject, all the content from my blog post has come from wikipedia. i wanted to make sure nobody hits me for some plagiarism. alright that is all for now!
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