An Architect's Fear

I didn't have time to see Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu's exhibit 'Cronocaos' at the New Museum in New York, but the theme is something that resonates deeply with me. It explores the potentially damaging effect that preservation movements can have on older buildings, creating sterile environments in which their historical character is erased. They examine this by taking an old restaurant supply store and splitting it in half, leaving one half in its original state, raw and exposed, yet beautiful in its flaws, and the other half stark white and bland, modernized to conform to the standards of real estate developers and yuppies in cities across America. Genius, and a bit sad. Nicolai Ouroussoff writes about it here.

ICFF 2011

ICFF! I will miss you this year...there looks like there will be some amazing events and design happenings going on, including Mark Moskovitz's Facecord Cabinet @ Future Perfect..

road trip

SF to LA

29 Palms

To Vegas!

Going Home

obsession

These are the sexiest chandeliers I have ever seen. I want to hang them over my bed, over my dining room table, in my bathroom. oh my god. Thank you Hudson.

ando

Ok, so I wrote that post about my disillusionment with modern architecture and then I came across a photo of Tadao Ando's Church of the Light today and I remembered what I love about it. It almost takes more ingenuity to create something so beautiful in its simplicity. His pure representation of material, his relation to the environment, his interesting use of light is what makes architecture so awe-inspiring. And, he uses two of my favorite things: concrete and crosses!

art in philly

Last time I went home to Philly I had the pleasure of meeting Jonathan Slingluff, owner of the Slingluff Gallery on Girard Ave. I had heard about him doing a show with Neil Krug the month before and was curious to see the space and find out what kind of art scene (if any) was going on in the city these days. Fishtown is definitely a bit of a hipster 'hood with Johnny Brenda's a few doors down so it seems like the perfect place for a gallery. But as we know, hipsters usually only come out at night. And they typically don't have money to spend on art. Despite all this, it's a lovely little space with exposed brick and lots of warm light streaming in, run by the very friendly Jonathan who has an amazing eye for up and coming artists. Their next show opens tomorrow - Jai Tanju, a street artist/photographer from San Jose. Support the art scene in Philly! Slingluff is one of the few galleries that feels relaxed and unpretentious, so definitely stop by, for the stellar art and stimulating conversation.



Jai Tanju

old vs. new

Lately it seems that every architect is either a) throwing a cube on the ground with a few windows and calling it modern architecture or b) going the extreme opposite direction and creating these insane amorphic abstractions to be different. I came across some photos of Princeton circa 1969

and found myself getting a bit sentimental for the town I lived in for almost 2 years and longing to live somewhere with some history. There is something romantic about the architecture of the past, the buildings that took years to create, with such painstaking detail put into them. buildings that grow more beautiful with age, when a graceful patina settles over them, rather than looking outdated in a matter of years... I'm not sure if the architecture is what creates those feelings or the time period that it represents, a time when people wrote letters and there was actual human interaction! some are able to blend old and new in a thoughtful and original way (berlin), but most cities seem to be carelessly creating these bland cookie-cutter urban landscapes. regardless, I think i'd rather be here..

than here..


(middle photo via lost)