The campaign to acknowledge Denise Scott Brown, along with her husband Robert Venturi for the 1991 Pritzker Prize, is ongoing as a signature campaign edges over 12,000 supporters. This call to action serves to shed light on the ongoing issue of the lack of women in architecture & the advocacy or support needed to remedy this disparity. An article on ArchDaily this morning calls for comments from those in the field & perhaps those effected by the industry's discrimination.
http://www.archdaily.com/371487/the-scott-brown-petition-and-women-s-role-in-architecture/
PLASTOLUX is keeping it modern
I have recently stumbled upon the design site PLASTOLUX and see it as a resource not to be missed. Created by a multidisciplinary designer with obviously many daily hours logged in culling through blogs, magazines and other inspirational material, the site focuses on mid-century and contemporary design. Or a blend of both, the best type of design in my opinion! The site has selections in many categories, there are great finds under headings like modern homes, interiors, landscaping, lighting, art - but the site is distinct in it's focus on Modern DIY and is documenting the modernization of a common track house by customizing the finishes as it's being built and items selected. Also, postings termed "The Method Behind" lend insight into the daily lives and work of artists, fabricators and designers allowing them to discuss their craft and process. I love pretty pictures as much as the next guy, but I definitely appreciate the attempt to showcase design as something that surrounds us and is part of our everyday life and society. Breaking down the process of an artist or a fabricator, or showing a series of DIY efforts lifts the veil on design being intimidating and allows us to incorporate these approaches ourselves.
Loving mother nature....
The Felt Hat
I recently had the opportunity to hear Don Rood, the head of local design group The Felt Hat, speak about the driving principles of their work and his firm as a whole. The discussion really resonated with me for several reasons and I wanted to memorialize it as a post here for future reference.
Felt Hat collaborates on a broad range of design thinking from branding, marketing strategy and all scales of communication. In an architecture project, for the most part, this typically manifests itself as wayfinding and signage. The ideal, though, of both the designer and the architect is to combine all this as one holistic element, signage and wayfinding that is married not applied. An example being Allied Works Weiden & Kennedy Building where the sign system was seen as an extension of the core concept of materiality and light.
This brings me to my next point of interest, the idea of the core concept. A core concept, a clear direct goal is the holy grail of an architectural project, where more times than not that initial directive is soon watered down by budget constraints, misunderstandings and distractions. My thought is that perhaps the stronger the driving principle of the firm, the more rigorous the point of view is of the method and not the stylistic output, that perhaps the guiding concept can remain intact by nature of the process. A clear point of view of who you are and who you strive to be to your clients is incredibly hard to render, but very important. Like an online dating profile, the more genuine and direct, the greater the appeal - you get what you get. These guiding principles for Felt Hat were summarized for our benefit:
- design is intrinsically optimistic, therefore an ideal agent for positive change.
- never work for someone with whom you wouldn’t want to share a meal.
- empathy and visitor’s mind are essential to meaningful work.
- design thinking is conflict management. (and that’s okay)
The lesson I derived from this discussion was the ability to take the time to listen and discern the problem, understand the opportunities. Things that I think as architects we're taught to do but perhaps do not get the chance nor the luxury of time to actually do it consistently. In a world of drafting deliverables, document deadlines - it's so refreshing to see a healthy dose of collaboration and process manifested into incredible environments.
One of the key skills of the designer
is not just to articulate purpose,
but to sustain its presence on the task.Most people lose sight of purpose
in the detail: design thinking regularly and intuitively returns to it for
guidance and inspiration.Richard Buchanan
Paper cut art
I've been a long time fan of Nikki McClure, a Pacific Northwest artist adept at creating images with an x-acto. Just the way that she is able to convey a scene and a feeling with the paper medium, it's really akin to carving a scene from stone. As if the scene was in there and as the artist you liberate it from it's inert form. That's why I was so excited to see this review of 25 fantastic paper artists on Design Sponge, taking Nikki's work to a larger more complicated scale. It was interesting how this art form can be wildly different in varying artist's hands. Using paper to unfurl something hidden beyond or using the paper to create shadows and recesses filled with jewel like colors. All in all it's the craft of creatign these pieces that amaze me, the cutting of teeny cursive writing passages or yards of lace-like panels - I should stop grouching about how challenging drafting is to the body compared to this intense process.....