Olivianna and I talk Architecture (et. cetera)

[Olivianna]

Let it be sufficient, though, to say that I will probably not be able to afford the services of an architecture firm, except to consult a plan book.

It seems that way. You seem to know more about contemporary architecture than I do. Are you familiar with any kind of movement today toward using architecture in socially responsible manners, or something like that (a la Gropius and the Bauhaus)? For example, combining "advanced" theories and social welfare in architectural works.

 

[peachykeen]

dunno h_g, I tend to think it is almost always worth investing a bit of money in an architect. Depends on your project of course but generally...

 

[peachykeen]

It seems that way. You seem to know more about contemporary architecture than I do. Are you familiar with any kind of movement today toward using architecture in socially responsible manners, or something like that (a la Gropius and the Bauhaus)? For example, combining "advanced" theories and social welfare in architectural works.

Mr Keen says there was a fellow named Sam Mockabee (sp?) in Arkansas who advanced something called the 'rural studio' that fits this description. He is now deceased but his work is carried on. Mr Keen thinks he recalls he was associated with the University of Arkansas in some way. Sorry to be so vague but all the more specific info is at Mr Keen's office.

 

[horny_giraffe]

It seems that way. You seem to know more about contemporary architecture than I do. Are you familiar with any kind of movement today toward using architecture in socially responsible manners, or something like that (a la Gropius and the Bauhaus)? For example, combining "advanced" theories and social welfare in architectural works.

You flatter me. I've got a good friend who's a graduate architect student and I've picked up some of the lingo from him, but there are enormous gaps in my knowledge. I'd have to ask him about environmental architecture. He's told me a bit about it, but I don't remember anything offhand. He's also talked about his design for a social center where he was trying to encourage the interaction of the older people and children, and there's lots of talk about movement patterns within large structures.

Peachy-keen--I just had a good friend who spent maybe twenty or thirty grand trying to get what he wanted for a design and he eventually just abandoned the project. I'm not saying that you can't hire an architect, just that you have to expect that the process can take a few years and a cost a lot of money. Speaking for myself, I'd be inclined to hire my friend, who already has a pretty good idea of my sense of aesthetics. I think communication is almost always more important than ideas in private architecture, anyway--unless the architect is so well-known that the people who hire him already know that what they is what the architect already makes--like Wright or Geary (Geary designed a museum on the campus near where I live.) But I could never afford a big name like that except as charity.

 

[Olivianna]

Hey, Horny, when ya gonna get yourself an AV?

 

[horny_giraffe]

I don't know. I don't feel comfortable with having an avatar, yet.

 

[Olivianna]

Ok. Well, you don't have to feel obliged to use this one, but you can check it out. It may be too wuss-ish for your tastes.

 

[horny_giraffe]

Ok. Well, you don't have to feel obliged to use this one, but you can check it out. It may be too wuss-ish for your tastes.

I was just admiring your avatar. Very evocative.

 

[Olivianna]

Oops forgot to attach.
tongue out -

 

[Olivianna]

Tongue in -

 

[kotori]

But I could never afford a big name like that except as charity.

Frank Gerhy's musuem at the University of Minnesota is mostly cool because of its siting on the bluff overlooking the river.

I don't think you need a big name to get what you want. You just need someone who will listen, and doesn't have too big an ego. I know someone who might be willing to do a little work on the side (wink, wink; nod, nod; know-what-I-mean, know-what-I-mean). I'm not registered in Minnesota, but you probably don't need licensure for residences there. I do have access to the Minnesota codes; PM me.

Your mention of the Foucault prison made me think of Giovanni Batista Piranessi's drawings/etchings of the Carceri d'Invenzione (Imaginary Prisons, begun c.1745, reworked 1761). He sort of "created" the concept of "artistic" ruin, which was so influential in the creation of rivivalist styles later on, in the 19th Century.

http://www.architechgallery.com/arch_images/architech_images/piranesi.jpg

 

[horny_giraffe]

... I don't think you need a big name to get what you want. You just need someone who will listen, and doesn't have too big an ego. I know someone who might be willing to do a little work on the side (wink, wink; nod, nod; know-what-I-mean, know-what-I-mean). I'm not registered in Minnesota, but you probably don't need licensure for residences there. I do have access to the Minnesota codes; PM me.

Your mention of the Foucault prison made me think of Giovanni Batista Piranessi's drawings/etchings of the Carceri d'Invenzione (Imaginary Prisons, begun c.1745, reworked 1761). He sort of "created" the concept of "artistic" ruin, which was so influential in the creation of rivivalist styles later on, in the 19th Century.

Hey. The jokes on me. I was only speaking hypothetically about hiring an architect--as in, what is in the range of a normal middle-class income, under a 100K a year. Perhaps I was a little deceptive in my implications. At the moment, I personally only pull a very modest 30K. I just have a couple of buddies that are wealthy, and a few others that were pretty well off during the dot com years. I am considering a cheap house in the future, though. I grew up in a six-bedroom house built around 1890, so I'm thinking I'd like something from that vintage--although obviously not as large, unless I want to live out beyond the Styx. You never know, the internet is changing the way a lot of people live.

I'm pretty sure I've seen those imaginary prisons somewhere, but I can't remember where. I've been exploring the idea of urban decay in a similar romantic vein, trying to articulate my own feelings about growing up in town that was (and still is) transitioning from an industrial town to a tourist town. For me, there's a sense of loss as the old decaying remnants of industry are torn down and cute little manicured parks are put in their place.

 

[kotori]

Bump

I hafta go to work, but I was looking around the web for a little inspiration. Here's a kickass building. Too bad about the window a.c. units, but it's all part of the fabric. Buildings live, because people live in them.

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/nyclescaze/front.jpg
32 East 74th Street, New York City (1935)

This is by the same guy who did the PSFS building in Philly, one of my favorite skyscrapers, William Lescaze.

I wonder how Olivianna's doing--hope she brought a warm coat, I hear it's been unusally cold there too.
_______________________
This image is available for use for educational purposes. Y'all feel educated now, right?

 

[Olivianna]

That IS kickass. I wonder about the plan.
You SO wouldn't like 15th-century Delhi architecture. It's big and hulking, muscular and stately. I just now thought that perhaps before steel, everything was ultra chunky. But - duh - Amiens, Reims - and, Christ - wood, wood, wood, which often must succumb to environmental conditions. What bits of "us" will be left in 2,000 years?

 

[kotori]

Yeah, the World Trade Center didn't even last 25 years.

 

[Olivianna]

Then again, what's the need to last for eternity? Quest for immortality? Maybe we should let old buildings lie fallow and degrade into dust. Build something new.

p.S. I think Mondrian would've liked my monkey.
p.p.s Sorry, I'm drinking beer.

 

[kotori]

Then again, what's the need to last for eternity? Quest for immortality? Maybe we should let old buildings lie fallow and degrade into dust. Build something new.

There are good buildings and bad from all ages. I like new. I like new mixed in with old--I think it makes both look better.

p.S. I think Mondrian would've liked my monkey.
p.p.s Sorry, I'm drinking beer.

Yeah, you got that Broadway Boogie Woogie thing going. No need to apologise--I'm envious, I have to deal with this sober.

 

[Olivianna]

There are good buildings and bad from all ages. I like new. I like new mixed in with old--I think it makes both look better.

Personally, I like toilet paper with my toilet. And, heated interiors.

P.S. I think I just ruined this thread.

 

[kotori]

Indoor plumbing and central heat are good things. Building can be retrofitted.

(That must be some good beer. Or at least lots of it.)

 

[Rex1960]

Ok - here are my two pennies

1p - Bauhaus

2p - Mies van der Rohe

 

[Olivianna]

(That must be some good beer. Or at least lots of it.)

(Should I be insulted, charmed, or blissfully ignorant?)

Actually, I haven't even finished one beer. I'm a lightweight.

P.S. It is tasty. Sierra Nevada Stout.

 

[kotori]

Ok - here are my two pennies

1p - Bauhaus

2p - Mies van der Rohe

Go for one more, we'll have Drei groschen oper. You can be Mackie Messer.

(Should I be insulted, charmed, or blissfully ignorant?)

Certainly not insulted! I thought maybe the beer was making you think of plumbing issues.

 

[Olivianna]

Rex, what are Euro "pennies" called?

 

[kotori]

Mies, Barcelona Pavilion

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/spain/barcelona/mies/rthalf.jpg
1928-29; demolished 1930; rebuilt 1986.

Dig them crazy planes. Someone (Vincent Scully maybe?) once refered to Skidmore Owens and Merrill as "three blind Mies."

 

[Guest]