TESTING, TESTING, ONE TWO THREE...

POSTCARD ARCHITECTURE: RECLOTHED I started this blog way back in 2009: "The blank canvas; where to start? Where will it go? When will it end? Will it succeed? What is the objective?" I still don't have answers, but I've had some good feedback on this little venture and don't wish it to end. And since I am moving inexorably towards starting my Masters in Architecture, perhaps it's a good moment to start testing ideas out on you lot... You may have noticed that a lot of the previous images don't view correctly any more thanks to a Blogger revamp. So I have devised a simpler layout with no clicking required. I will endeavour to convert all previous posts to the new layout so they are at least readable. (PS. Photo is of Shwop Lab Installation @ Truman Brewery for M&S/Oxfam)

LEARNING TO DWELL

Here's my contribution to the current exhibition at the RIBA about Adolf Loos. This is just one of many Modern houses in the suburban hills around Brno. I have no lead on the architect but that sunlight pouring right through building is total genius. Also: Guardian review.

House in Brno, Czech Republic Architect Unknown

URBAN RESILIENCE

URBAN RESILIENCE During acqua alta (high water) Venice’s topology is transformed. Due to the alignment of lunar and weather conditions, a new city unfolds itself over the template of the original. The quickest route to work, the usual morning coffee stop and the favourite Prada footwear are all displaced, by what outsiders would consider a natural disaster. But Venice and Venetians bounce back nonchalently. Days or even hours later the usual routine is back on track as if nothing happened. This ghost city comes in and out of focus, revealing as much of itself as it likes. While tourists look on in bemusement, the city’s continuing functionality quietly suggests itself as a precedent for urban resilience in a world of unpredictable climate change.

2D WINDOW

Idle musing is best reserved for the dead of winter.

2D WINDOW [Perhaps this would work better as a cinematic sweep but use your imagination...] You can read whatever you like into this pair of images: - The falseness of architectural photography in describing 3D space. - The importance of outside space in relation to inside space. - The grey blandness of British winters.

RETURN OF THE MAPS

I know this contradicts the concept of the blog, but what's life if you can't break rules. This map is a Kentish spin-off of this previous post. Click to go large!

DIAGRAMS: POST-RATIONALISING VS. DESIGN TOOL

DIAGRAMS: POST-RATIONALISING VS. DESIGN TOOL      The pessimist in me wonders whether architects produce diagrams for clients and books in an attempt to shoe-horn ill-conceived schemes into coherent ideas. The optimist in me believes in the power of diagrams to express simply (not to make simplistic) an idea which would otherwise take 400 words to explain. The skill in drawing diagrams is in achieving clarity without losing the complexity or depth of the original idea... Requiring practice and constant revisions throughout the project. In some ways diagrams need to be more accurate than plans, sections and elevations. An idea has more scope for reinterpretation than techincal drawings, after all.

DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY 2

BRADFORD-ON-AVON HOUSING SCHEME More digital archaeology from four years ago

CLOWN CORRIDOR

CLOWN CORRIDOR With little money making to do during this festive season, I’m learning Autodesk Revit as part of the hangover(s) cures... Other people have more bizarre cures, trust me. This is a very early render of a housing project I did a few years ago... with an evil clown. Make of this what you will - just don’t judge me.

UNEXPECTED SALZBURG

UNEXPECTED SALZBURG

KLEINSTADTSTRASSENECKE: GRAZ

Kleinstadtstrassenecke: Graz Small town street corners: Graz