heres a few images while i'm paris.

Social housing. the first one is sort of forgotten, but the next set well we all know whow this one belongs too. :D

I also have a sneak peak of the docks de paris projects from jakob and macfarlane, but those will have to wait. :D

midway furniture project

as i alluded to in a previous post. russell mahoney is a recent graduate of the frank lloyd wright school of architecture. it's has been a long standing tradition for the apprentices to design and build structures to live in down in the desert. taking that mentality into midway's failing silo structure, he has designed a series of platform based on the principles of tinker toys. over-designed components allow platforms to be interchanged and elaborated as the need arises.





russell has been sympathetic to the historical fabric/enclosure that is the silo. light filters in through the clerestory windows near the top of the structure and filters down through layers of platforms creating a soft, pleasant and comfortable atmosphere for studying, reading and sleeping.



to elaborate on the education post by jessie [see below]. i feel like this is an excellent exercise for students to really engage in designing and building; something lacking, at least, in the education at uwm.

[ Photos copyright 2009 Russell Mahoney + Eric Oxendorf ]

On Education

Nick's post on his first visit to Taliesin has given me a reminder about the thoughts I've been developing on Architectural education and my misgivings. While it was Nick's first visit, I've been a staple guest over the past few years. I've attended lectures, know the students and fellows as friends and have participated in the community there many times more than I can discern from memory. One thing that strikes me as positive in their cirriculum is the immense intamacy they have with their environment. In any architectural school, there is a tendency to over-stay your welcome in regards to your health, social life and sleep schedule, and a connection with the people and place you all share is close and taken for granted. But the very roof under which the students at FLLW School is a lesson-- and I mean that not as it was constructed by FLLW, but because they acutally have to help rebuild it. The buildings on the estate are part of the laboratory of the school. It is not necessarily my place to go into the details of politics and problems this may bring up amongst the broader community of people and the preservation-minded and musuem-minded who want things fixed quickly and definitvely, but it is my opinion that the experimentation and lessons the students learn by working on their own place of life has been something missing from an education like my own, for instance.

On a broader level, the idea of learning should very rarley be associated with a museum-like quality. One cannot simply look at ideas under a glass case, nor should one be asked to understand things 'later' or without tactile input. Most career-oriented programs in higher education require some sort of internship, apprenticeship or mentorship program. Architectural school tend to pretend they have this covered with studio work, IDP, and the insistance of learning from work. But non of these have any weight in the physical realm. Architecture needs to actively insist on buidling. Turning out idea-makers does not mean we can not turn out craftsmen. Some have this ability, but it needs to be common. Structure classes cannot be simply statics and codes and politics and the age-old "look it up in your construction companion text." It needs to be classes in wood, in steel, in concrete, in alternative and non-traditional materials. And objects, shelters and stand-up construction should happen. I feel robbed of this, and I only now see that I will have to take it into my own hands to learn the tools of these crafts. No wonder the post-modern world is full of office buildings of post and beam and manufacturer-standed components. Money is the easy answer, but I contest it is the quality of thought and practice of our recent past. We don't know how to build anymore, and builders who are craftsmen or engineers who are passionate are rarely asked to use their whole skill or knowledge, and no one seems to ask them (or are educated in how to ask them) what alternatives and solutions there are to join two things together or make things stand up. We simply don't know. That is a problem.

shining brow [east]

after brief stops for lake louie's 'kiss my lips' ipas and pbrs, and procuring fresh wisconsin cheese curds, we take the scenic route to the hillside school compound. over the waterfall, around the 'house', through the corn fields [which i heard was a golden sea of wheat during the first growing season], past midway's silo steeple [surrounding apprentice russell mahoney's jewel of an installation], we received the shade of an ancient oak.

over the weekend, i was realized a long awaited visit to the fabled taliesin [east]. a local legend and personal hero's compound of living, learning and laughing. the school's 2009 summer box celebration - a festive event marking the final presentations of the idealistic, optimistic, exuberant students as well as a gathering of some fellows, well-doers and characters from all the old stories i've heard of this pastoral paradise. originally, this event marked 'Mr. Wright's' birthday, today its meaning has been reincarnated. if you want to hear some great stories from the day's of 'Mr. Wright' minerva montooth is your lady. this sweet matriarch has been involved with the taliesin fellowship since 1947 and personally assisted 'Mr. Wright' for nearly 23 years.

during the afternoon we caught ourselves up with the student's projects, made introductions, and heard stories from past visits. a few apprentices have succeeded in a major undertaking - red squared art gallery. this place is has some innovative use of materials - peg boards clad the walls, making hanging exhibitions quickly and neatly. additionally there are some accordion walls that break the space up with great connections: zip ties. the evening included trips between the gallery turned dance hall and the shed for pizza, beers and conversations added depth to the evening.

our tent pitched, a bright orange folly on the landscape, we awake to the birds calling and the sun filtering through the screens. earning our keep; sweeping, dusting, picking tomatoes for the dinner salads, preparing tables, and tableware we passed the afternoon exploring midway and swinging in the hammock.

as the sun set we continued showing our appreciation for the invitation by serving drinks, cooking food, and serving - we all helped out to make the event. after a dinner that had those who knew remembering the 'old country' we retired to an incredible dance party - in the assembly hall. learning to salsa, box step and bachata we spent the night shuffling our feet, cutting and mixing.

the migration to the winter complex happens this weekend... we await spring.

zumthor and the val baths

...video

what a Man. and what an Architect: cigar in one hand, stylish lead holder in the other.

a phenomenologist, speaking of a particular place, with particular materials, but with insight into what could be discerned as contemporary viewpoints, such as "all parts as a whole" and always experiencing the "imprint of the architect", "never escaping the presense of the architect." and those ideas which belong to both, perhaps: architecture of the 5 senses, architecture as instrument, materiality and comprehensive design.

oh, pete.

cr land guanganmen green technology showroom

a small firm of 10 designers is doing some interesting work in beijing. according to their philosophy vector architects is established by partners with combined experiences in architecture design practice and real estate development [this shows their chinese sensibilities]. the firm pursues the fundamental simplicity and logical clarity through the everyday thinking and working process.



i've always wanted to do a project like this. the idea is to develop the concept of “temporary” from a meaningful perspective, to design a piece of floating “installation” in the garden, which could be built, demolished, and recycled through an easy and straightforward way with the least impact to the planned site.

1. the structural member can be recycled when the building is eventually taken down.
2. overlap the structural member factory fabrication process with site excavation; minimizing the construction schedule.
3. the building is elevated, greatly reducing the excavation and foundation work, allowing easy demolition and site recovery



i love the building envelope: an envelope of grass. a vertical grass wall paneling system and green roof provide support. it's not only aesthetically pleasing, but practical by;
1. reducing the heat gain and loss and enhancing the thermal efficiency.
2. the grass panels will reduce storm water runoff.
3. although the central lawn is taken away to make room for this building, vector effectively triples the original planting area by using the grass panels.
4. grass wall panel is planned to be relocated onto the partial fence of the residential compound after demolition.
5. it visually harmonizes the temporary structure with the existing garden and the so called “classic spanish” style

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