Construction
Architecture is impossible to produce without a strong knowledge and understanding of the construction process. Many designers believe that architecture is about the big image and nothing else matters. A design has to be successful at the scale of its formal composition and in its details. This is where you insert your favorite cliche quote from a famous architect about why details are important. The fact is that construction is the physical process of translating a design on paper into a built work of architecture. If you want to be an architect you should be primarily concerned with making beautiful buildings and not sleek renderings and shapes in the latest and greatest software.
de Young Museum by Herzog & de Meuron: The Copper Killer
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
Terracotta Rainscreen Cladding by NBK Ceramic
I am currently working on the design for an assisted living development, which is a great program, and the type of project I have been waiting for. The site is beautiful, located on a large lake surrounded by old oak trees with a stream running through it. I told you it was a great site. While working on the conceptual design, I began to think about the materials that I would use in my design, and since the project is located in Orlando that means that wood is out due to the risk of wood destroying organisms, and metal is generally not great due to the corrosive nature of metals in tropical climates. … continue reading Terracotta Rainscreen Cladding by NBK Ceramic
1111 Lincoln Road by Herzog & de Meuron: Context, What Context?
During a recent trip to Miami, I made a quick visit to 1111 Lincoln Road, a development in South Beach’s Lincoln Mall, which I have been following for some time now. At first glance the renderings display a project that is at the very least, an exciting structural display that mimics the symbols of wealth displayed by the celebutantes of South Beach. Upon visiting South Beach and the 1111 Lincoln Road development, it became clear that the design and development are clearly foreign to the surrounding collection of 800 Art Deco structures located in South Beach’s Art Deco Historic District. … continue reading 1111 Lincoln Road by Herzog & de Meuron: Context, What Context?



