“Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable.” —R. Buckminster Fuller

The guy that sits next to me at work is a chain podcaster, is that a thing, really? Probably not, but you get the gist - the guy is very up on his podcasts. His and a majority of architects' favorite podcast has to be 99% Invisible, hosted by Roman Mars and #1 iTunes podcast in the Arts and Design categories, consistently serves up food for thought & can be heard on most public radio stations.

Described by the site Design Envy, "Named after a quote from Buckminster Fuller (above), 99% Invisible exposes the invisible and untouchable stories of design, architecture and the built world. The radio show is a fantastic example of how research and storytelling can enhance subject matter. What often begins as a simple observation unfolds into a tale of delight. It does not accept the world in front of it “as-is.” The show looks closer (like we all should) at the world, dissecting its bits and pieces and drawing listeners in. It proves James Joyce’s famous line, “In the particular lies the universal.” Gearing up for season #4, the show has launched a Kickstarter campaign to ramp up the staff, the collaborators and the frequency of the shows. I would strongly urge you to check it out and listen to some of their stories yourself!

One recent example that I can't get out of my brain, is the podcast titled All the buildings. This is the story of James Gulliver Hancock, an Australian illustrator living in New York and attempting to draw every building in the city. He recently published a book titled All the Buildings in New York (That I've Drawn So Far) showcasing his obsession with recording all the buildings in his adopted city. The charming drawings done in pen or marker and later finished with acrylic or ink, are slightly cartoony but still are able to convey an intense amount of detail. Studying the vast amount of the New York skyline Hancock has drawn is an education in the art of saying more with less, what parts of this building make it unique and should be detailed and what is just extraneous? I can tell you, this idea of simplification was something taught in architecture school, but it's not as easy as these images make it look! Subscribe to the All the Buildings in New York web site and recieve (almost) daily renderings, I don't think you'll have to worry about him running out of subject matter...

Image via James Gulliver Hancock