a criticism of some recent buildings as architecture at the University of Colorado at Boulder including the new Center for Community and Wolf Law Building and Bear Creek Apartments
architecture and truth and miscommunication
Of the many things that stand between architects and clients, none is so fraught as the architect's quest for architectural integrity which often masquerades as Truth. Please don't get me wrong, I am not asserting that all architects are questing for Truth while our clients really were only looking for a building. I have rarely experienced that. But my more recent experience as a member of the local Landmarks Board has highlighted this difference between how architects and normal people view buildings. Most all architects educated in the last 50 years have been instilled with this idea of Truth in architecture.
for the love of bridges
I have written a number of times about bridges, their simple beauty and the increasingly rare appearance of steel arched types. This bridge, in central Kansas, crosses a small river not far from the original path of the Oregon Trail. On this day it was dripping from a recent rain and the sky was an eerily-threatening monotone of gray
house construction and being local
In many ways, building or remodeling is about the most local, job-creating activity within the economy. Unless your construction is from very unconventional materials, they are most likely sourced relatively closely to the place of construction. "Local" may mean the US, not the preferred 500 mile definition, but very few of the things consumers typically purchase can even say that. Most of the wood in residential construction comes from the US or Canada (the importing of subsidized Canadian softwoods is a touchy subject for US manufacturers).
a haptic practice
I spend about one third of my working time in front of a computer. Another third is spend on various jobsites. The final third or so is still spent with paper and pens, glue and blades, pencils and scales. I am a great believer in the use of computer technology in the service of architecture, especially 3D modeling and the access to design tools that were previously so infrequently used. However, I do miss the haptic aspects of the practice of architecture
heating and cooling for your house
The types and costs of heating your house
The available array of options for heating and cooling your house is significantly larger than it was just a few years ago. Heightened awareness of energy efficiency and new, related techologies, have given us options that not only provide a much greater degree of thermal comfort, but do so at less cost and most importantly provide the homeowner with monitoring tools to increase awareness of how these systems can be optimized.