Our friend Nathan went on a bike trip 20+ yrs ago (when he was 29) across the U.S. and just completed his epic (and beautiful) graphic novel chronicling that journey he and his buddy, Matt, made. Visit his site here to experience it and word on the street is to check it out before the publishers chop-out-all-the-good-parts ;)
Paris from the Air
Jeffrey Milstein (architect/photographer/publisher) highlights the beauty of the city’s geometry, in a new book of photographs. Find it at (or request it from) your local bookstore.
Milstein took his first aerial photographs from a Cessna 150 in 1961 when he was 17, shortly after he got his pilot's license by sweeping a Southern California aircraft hangar in exchange for flight time.
I.M. Pei's 1989 Pyramide du Louvre
CANGGU GARDEN by Stilt Studios
I like how the geometry of this dwelling nicely mimics that of the surrounding plants and trees.
Happy Sunday
Lovely Spring day in Denver. This image is from a modern home in France I believe.
The Woolworth Building
Officially opening April 24th, 1913 (108yrs ago, today), this is an early American skyscraper designed by architect Cass Gilbert and located in lower Manhattan, New York. Amazingly, it was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1930, with a height of 792 feet (241 m) and still remains one of the 100 tallest buildings in the US.
Bonus points go to the one that can name (in comments below) which famous skyscraper stripped the Woolworth Bldg of title in 1930…no cheating.
Eco Wave Power
Eco Wave Power is one of many new-ish wave energy harnessers. The idea is simple…capture less than 1% of the ocean’s energy and it will provide more than enough energy for everyone on the planet.
Carpenter Center for Visual Arts (Cambridge, MA)
Completed in 1963, Corbusier’s only US project. He would never visit this project due to ailing health and would die in 1965 at 77. I can only imagine he had his most trusted people overseeing its execution, as It is beautifully three dimensional and complex and holds up to the test of time.
Also, worth checking out are Transparent Drawings by Kurt Ofer - a way of thinking about drawing/painting that embraces space.
Proposed Lego Build Kits
These may just be proposed, but are so specific.
Note: I received my 2nd Moderna shot today.
High Park House (Toronto)
Clearly a modern infill house by Batay-Csorba Architects, however, the scale, overhang and boxed story connect surprisingly well with the older homes next door.
Filmmakers Miranda July and Mike Mills
Known for their very different styles, this couple can each make a thought provoking film.
July: Kajillionaire, The Future, You and Me and Everyone We Know
Mills: Thumbsucker, Beginners, 20th Century Women (one of my favorites)
Side note: Greta (16) got her 2nd Pfizer shot today.
3D Printed Clay House (TECLA) - near Bologna, Italy
Somewhat mimicing a mud dauber wasp home, TECLA (technology and clay) is a nearly zero-waste project using recyclable & reusable materials (clay). The hope is to provide a new means of efficient and elegant affordable housing in response to the increasingly serious climate emergency and the need for sustainable dwellings. More here.
'Lost Golden City' (Egypt) - Unearthed 2021
Built 3,400+ yrs ago, the mud brick rooms and artifacts reveal much about daily life of the time through discovered tools, scarabs and colored pottery (containing hieroglyphic inscriptions). More information here.
Salk Institute - Louis Kahn (La Jolla, CA) 1960
This is one of those places that is bigger conceptually than I had ever imagined (having only looked at photos and having read about it for years). First of all, it’s important to note that Jonas Salk is the person that developed the vaccine for polio in 1954. It’s believed Polio had killed over 500,000+ people worldwide (over a 50 year period) and left tens of millions with debilitating paralysis or physical deformities.
The institute is situated on the edge of the Pacific Ocean and in a grand gesture both frames the wide optimistic sky above and opens it’s arms to the teaming-with-life sea below. Kahn somehow captured the weight of Salk’s accomplishment and gracefully honored it with these mirrored stacks that house tiny wooden monk-like cells for devoted academics, encouraging them to reach high. A channel of water runs along the center uniting a public space for researchers to congregate and share ideas (there are even slate boards at the base of each stack for chalked ideas to freely be displayed, discussed and debated) with clear pools (of metaphorical knowledge) that tier at the West end and return the water back to the start of the fountain.
It’s a sacred place that remarkably blends the spiritual and scientific. It felt more like a cathedral than any cathedral I’ve visited. If you ever get the chance…go experience it.
Garden Studio (London)
Strong and appropriate material palette on this tiny backyard studio, especially like the terrazzo clad exterior and polished concrete floor and patio. Looks like it could exist in the American West nicely. More by Sonn Studio here.
Called The Tiny Hamster
Leave it to the Russians, “…it cute like rodent”.
Tea Room - by Natura Futura Arquitectura (Ecuador)
Erik Weihenmayer (b: September 23, 1968)
First person without sight to summit Everest (2001). He is an athlete, adventurer, author, activist and motivational speaker.
Maggie's Centre - Heatherwick Studio (Leeds)
This building and landscaping was designed for people and loved ones coping with cancer. The optimism from the abundance of life in and around this space seems like a win win. More here.
Nice Stair Detail
Quarantine Cabin (Barcelona)
Rough around the edges with a nice window or two peppered-in can make all the difference. See more here. This also has a nice horror flick title.
