Architecture
All Congnac is Brandy, but all Brandy is not Cognac. When learning to drink with an old friend this was the first lesson that I learned. The term architect is regulated, you have to pass a series of tests to earn a piece of paper which certifies that you are indeed an architect. Simply being an architect does not make one capable of producing architecture. There is a difference between creating a building and architecture, unfortunately buildings are far more prevalent in the United States. Architecture is a fine Cognac and only the most sensitive of palettes can taste the difference.
Invasive and Exotic Architectural Species: The Legacy of Addison Mizner
The nearly nineteen million residents of Florida are currently in a battle to protect their neighborhoods from a number of exotic predators. Burmese Pythons, Gambian Pouch Rats and other exotic species have been released into the wild by their irresponsible owners, and are wreaking havoc on the natural equilibrium of Florida’s ecosystem. While the population of the Burmese Python in the Florida wild is estimated to be in the thousands, there is an even more damaging and invasive species lurking in Florida. It was first introduced more than 100 years ago, and currently maintains a population estimated to be in the millions. It has infiltrated our culture, and deceptively convinced the millions of Florida immigrants that it is a style that is both responsive to the unique climate of Florida and of the local vernacular. Clients love it, and laymen praise it for its architectural character.
… continue reading Invasive and Exotic Architectural Species: The Legacy of Addison Mizner
The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper
Having designed a handful of skyscrapers in my career, I was excited to review this book in hopes that it would meet the need within the skyscraper design community for an authoritative reference on the typology similar to The Architect’s Studio Companion: Rules of Thumb for Preliminary Design or Heino Engel’s Structure Systems, both of which are books that sit at my desk as invaluable aides that I use throughout the design process. In The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper, Kate Ascher attempts to create “the ultimate guide to the way skyscrapers work”, however instead of creating an essential reference text Ascher’s book serves as an introductory primer to the design problem of the skyscraper.
… continue reading The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper
Mr. Gwathmey and his deference to the Serious Architecture of Walt Disney: A Critique of Bay Lake Tower
In the autumn of Charles Gwathmey’s life controversy beleaguered the architect and his design for the addition to Paul Rudolph’s New Haven masterpiece, the Art & Architecture Building at Yale. Negative reviews of the addition by architectural critics overshadowed the concurrent design and completion of several projects by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects. One project lost in the shadows of this polemic was Disney’s Bay Lake Tower in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The project would further freefall into obscurity due to the premature death of Charles Gwathmey on August 3rd, 2009, one day before the resort would officially open to the public. The Art & Architecture Building and its “sadly conventional”[1] design will be remembered by many as the disappointing final work of an architect made famous for designing buildings that successfully compete with, seamlessly blend and sometimes gracefully defer to the existing architectural monuments and masterpieces that they adjoin. … continue reading Mr. Gwathmey and his deference to the Serious Architecture of Walt Disney: A Critique of Bay Lake Tower
