Just got off the phone with Towson High School classmate, friend, extraordinary human Chris Beutler. He was diagnosed in 2019 with ALS and is spearheading this fantastic way of gathering the people that he’s worked with in the creative world to help raise money and awareness for people and their families coping with ALS. There will also be a live streaming component for those that cannot attend in person. Here’s more information. I’ll post links and updates as we get closer to date of show.
Horizon House (Nevada) by Lake Flato Architects
A larger house than I typically am drawn to but the rammed earth walls of this structure against the backdrop of the desert are very very nice. Read more.
LARRY LARS
Over the weekend, Piper and I attended the memorial for Lars in Almont, CO (near Crested Butte). We saw and spent time with many familiar (and new) lovely people (maybe 150 or so). The memorial (which was under a large outdoor shelter) was beautiful and simple, mostly it was friends and family getting up and sharing stories, reading poems, recalling memories, etc. with some common threads - Lars had a thirst for adventure, his creativity and problem solving were deeply admired and he had been so generous and thoughtful to so many with his time and energies over the decades. Lots of laughing, lots of tears and some more tears.
I read the poem below that I had written.
Giza aerial footage by photographer Alexander Ladanivskyy
Miniature Life by Tatsuya Tanaka
Ghost Wash by Colwell Shelor Landscape Architecture (Arizona)
Thoughtful xeric plantings (especially up against this house) with smart material choices for the desert. Read more.
Flying Taxi - Lilium
A six passenger, zero-emissions, battery powered, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle for 150 mile or shorter trips seems like an interesting idea. Read more.
Camp Graham / Weinstein Friedlein Architects (North Carolina)
Fun A-Frames with raised deck makes for exciting tree house experience. Read more.
Olympic Architecture
Here are two examples of buildings designed for specific Olympic events. It appears for sustainability sake, reuse is gaining popularity over iconic structures. Read more.
Yoyogi National Stadium by Kenzo Tange (1964)
Handball, badminton and wheelchair rugby
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium by Fumihiko Maki (1991)
Table tennis
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (the novel) Tarantino
Just read this new release by the same guy that made the movie a few years ago. It’s meta, pulpy, filled with excellent dialogue and follows the film but doesn’t bother to retell it. I look forward to not remembering which scenes are in which format (book or movie). So…if you enjoyed the love letter to Hollywood that was the theatre or screen experience, I highly recommend the paperback. Read more.
Travels
We just returned from a trip visiting family in the North East (US) as well as the Mid-Atlantic. We departed Boston’s South Station by train on a cool drizzly Monday to go down to a hot and humid Penn Station in Baltimore. Great seeing parents, grand parents, cousins, siblings and friends.
We stayed at this expansive row home in Mt Vernon (5 Blocks form Penn Station) where brother Jeffrey has house-sat many summers over the past 30yrs.
Juvet Landscape Hotel by Jensen & Skodvin Arkitektkontor (NORWAY)
Subtle and thoughtful hotel that is low impact and blends in nicely. Read more.
Bamboo Bridge
Lovely. Read more about how Low-Tech Lab (France) and an 84yr old local artisan designed, engineered and (in 25 days) built this elegant pedestrian bridge in China
Sanborn Western Camps
Picked up Piper (15) yesterday. Sounds like she had the fantastic month we all hoped for her - endless stories, adventures and many deep connections with lovely people.
Yabuli Entrepreneurs' Congress Center MAD Architects (China)
I hope this center ends up in a future Bond movie. Read more here.
Cousins River Residence - OPAL Architecture/Research/Design (Maine)
Here’s a good example of simple, smart and small-ish (1,600sf): one story passive house with shed roofs and covered porch/connection to garage. This was not OPAL’s first rodeo. Read more.
Freeholders (Seaside home in the UK) Mole Architects
Very nice how well this modern cluster blends in with the existing buildings. Read more.
Iwakura House / ALTS Design Office (JAPAN)
Steel Window Frame/Trim Install on Rear Addition at 3415
Hayden & I installed this today. It reached 100º in Denver, luckily we wrapped-up by about 1pm. Very happy with how it came out and all-in-all not too difficult. Hayden should be able to weld the other smaller window (around the corner) in the next 2 week or so - will provide pictures and updates on that as well.
Note: The paint store was able to mix our preferred color and put it into a spray can for about $25.
Garðabær Kindergarten by sastudio (Iceland)
This was the winning entry by a young studio in Iceland. It brings me even more hope for the future when I see projects like this - places for our children to spend their formative years where surroundings are alive, sunny and demonstrate the importance of sustainability. Read more.