Disney World in Orlando, Florida is for many reasons worthy of architectural study. While walking through the parks one can study how the environment has been designed to handle large masses of people and apply these principles to plaza or park designs. One could also study how the signage has been designed to communicate to anyone regardless of the language they speak, and apply these principles to way-finding design in hospitals. Or one could simply appreciate the reality of fantasy that Disney has managed to create, which after all is very similar to the reality that we as architects attempt to create every single day.
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If you are an ARE candidate and have taken an ARE exam then you are somewhat familiar with the grading criteria or lack there of on the exams. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of studying and testing for these exams do not worry you will be trapped in The Matrix soon enough. The only difference is that there is no blue or red pill available for you to find the truth. To think of it, NCARB has a lot in common with the blockbuster movie The Matrix. This may make a fun spoof article, but that is for another time.
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.
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For those of you who have never heard of Paul Arden, he was an executive creative director for Saatchi & Satchi a powerhouse advertisement agency which handled many large accounts such as British Airways and Toyota. The image he developed for these companies is still a part of our popular culture today. Although he is not an architect, his insights into becoming successful within creative fields is invaluable. In It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be, Arden identifies many of the pitfalls that creative professionals fall into, and these shortcomings eventually lead to a career which prevents one from reaching their full potential.
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.
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I was studying for my final ARE this past weekend and the general procedure in our household is that I study in the living room, while watching television with my wife. I have been able to study while watching television for years, seriously, but I found myself unable to focus when I heard the title for a new A&E television series. Keyshawn Johnson: Tackling Design, I shit you not. Here is the press release from A&E to prove it. Let’s just ignore the fact that I was watching A&E for a minute and focus on the topic at hand. Keyshawn Johnson has a full on design team armed with a pair of Chuck Taylor’s and a stack of design books ready to tackle design.
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It appears that architecture as of late has become increasingly obsessed with the search for the new and different. Many architects that I encounter in the United States are unable to describe why they think a certain building is ‘good’ or why they like it. Even worse many architects ‘play’ architecture searching through magazines like Architectural Record cutting out photographs, mixing and matching to create an image board that is a representation of their design. Style governs architecture these days not critical thought, but that is all going to change.