A few months ago I began to contemplate the effect of the Great Recession on our profession and to define for myself the current, past and future status of architecture in the United States. There have been many movements and styles to evolve in architecture since the implosion of Pruitt-Igoe. It seems that since the death of Modernism that stylistic periods in architecture have increasingly become shorter and shorter, approaching a period of brevity in which we have to question whether or not we should even call these movements architectural styles. … continue reading no Ya-Ya, people want architecture at a Great Value

The de Young Museum designed by Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron is both underwhelming and overwhelming. The structure’s interiors are underwhelming at best, and there are few spaces on the interior that capture the same spirit that is embodied by the structure’s unique exterior appearance. The exterior form and treatment of the structure’s skin is overwhelming. The materiality, texture and the building’s seductive physique are used to create a building that one cannot help but to stare at. The de Young Museum is simply beautiful, its copper skin is unmatched in scale and execution, but the local and regional ecosystem must pay a great cost for its unique beauty. … continue reading de Young Museum by Herzog & de Meuron: The Copper Killer

The Miami School of Architecture Building (also known as the Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture Building) was designed by Bernard Tschumi. It is a visually exciting building, and was one of the many highlights on a recent architectural pilgrimage that I made to Miami. This project is one of three must see buildings on the Florida International University campus, the other two structures are designed by Robert Stern and KPF, and if you can believe it the Robert Stern designed structure is the best of the three architectural gems hidden on the campus. … continue reading Miami School of Architecture by Bernard Tschumi

When going to Miami this weekend I was excited at the prospect of seeing my first Richard Meier building. Meier was one of the first architects that I was introduced to in my architectural education, and have always had an appreciation for his ability to take a consistent formal language and evolve it with the completion of each new project. The project pictured to the left is a rendering of the Beach House in South Beach Miami, Florida. The developers of the project, which there are many, never miss an opportunity to tell you that the project is designed by Richard Meier. … continue reading Beach House Designed by Richard Meier R.I.P.

Europa Concorsi is an Italian site dedicated to the profession of architecture.  Using a free translator on the internet Europaconcorsi roughly translates from Italian to English: Europe Competitons.  Although the entire site is in Italian, it is by far one of  the premiere resources on the internet for discovering new architects and projects from around the world.  Although the site is in Italian and it can be difficult to navigate, the quality of content outweighs the difficulty of breaking through the language barrier.  The positive of the site being in Italian is that I have found myself learning the Italian language little by little each day, and discovering projects that most sites or magazine simply do not cover.  … continue reading LOTW: Europaconcorsi

Images of contemporary architecture do not necessarily come to mind when thinking about the architecture of Orlando.  While Orlando is not the architectural capital of the United States, there are actually a great number of buildings in the Orlando area that have been designed by architects of varying styles,  different eras, and degrees of fame. Although great examples of contemporary architecture do exist in Orlando, I did not think that I would find a high design contemporary structure at the mall, but that is exactly what I found shortly after moving to this city.  … continue reading Bloomingdale’s Meet Kevin Kennon Architects

The link of the week this week is suckerPUNCH.  suckerPUNCH like most blogs relies heavily on their ability to publish sexy and provocative images. Unlike other blogs with similar content, the editors at suckerPUNCH do exactly that, they edit their content, and publish quality not quantity. I have been following this blog since its inception.  The site’s content features a diverse collection work from architects, artists, and designers from just about every field imaginable.  The featured projects and their creators are both inspiring and at the forefront of their respective professions.  The site’s message is clearly stated:
… continue reading LOTW: suckerPUNCH

These images are the result of a walking tour at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin resort hotel designed by Michael Graves.  Construction of this massive complex was completed in 1990 and is sited between two of Walt Disney World’s parks: Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Disney’s Hollywood Studios is inspired by the heydey of Hollywood from the 1930’s-1940’s.  The resorts are also adjacent to Disney’s BoardWalk Resort which is reminiscent of Coney Island circa 1890’s-1930’s.    Although Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened its doors on May 1st of 1989, almost a year before the Swan & Dolphin.  … continue reading Swan & Dolphin Gallery

If you are an architect, it is not often that you think of architects and money.  No I am not talking about the lack of money that you can expect to make as an architect, but architects on money.  In the United States the canvas of money is often reserved for politicians by politicians.  The closest thing to an architect featured on an American dollar would be Thomas Jefferson who is featured on the useless two dollar bill, but why not Frank Lloyd Wright?  I borrowed a book from a friend of mine, and when I began to read the book an envelope of money fell out of the book.  I was amazed to see that the money was not only beautiful, but featured the work and faces of influential modern architects.  … continue reading The Color of Money (part 1)