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August 10th, 2006
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August 10th, 2006
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
August 11th, 2006
To begin this blog with words that have inspired me for years: excerpts from Luis Barragán’s Acceptance Speech for the Pritzker Prize:
“It is alarming that publications devoted to architecture have banished from their pages the words Beauty, Inspiration, Magic, Spellbound, Enchantment, as well as the concepts of Serenity, Silence, Intimacy and Amazement All these have nestled in my soul, and though 1 am fully aware that I have not done them complete justice in my work, they have never ceased to be my guiding lights.
Religion and Myth.
It is impossible to understand Art and the glory of its history without avowing religious spirituality and the mythical roots that lead us to the very reason of being of the artistic phenomenon. Without the one or the other there would be no Egyptian pyramids nor those of ancient Mexico. Would the Greek temples and Gothic cathedrals have existed? Would the amazing marvels of the Renaissance and the Baroque have come about?
And in anothler field, would the ritual dances of the socalled primitive cultures have developed? Would we now be the heirs of the inexhaustible artistic treasure of worldwide popular sensitivity? Without the desire for God, our planet would be a sorry wasteland of ugliness. “The irrational logic harboured in the myths and in all true religious experience has been the fountainhead of the artistic process at all times and in all places ” These are words of my good friend, Edmundo O’Gorman, and, with or without his permission, I have made them mine.
Beauty.
The invincible difficulty that the philosophers have in defining the meaning of this word is unequivocal proof of its ineffable mystery. Beauty speaks like an oracle, and ever since man has heeded its message in an infinite number of ways: it may be in the use of tatoos, in the choice of a seashell necklace by which the bride enhances the promise of her surrender, or, again, in the apparently superfluous ornamentation of everyday tools and domestic utensils, not to speak of temples and palaces and even, in our day, in the industrialized products of modern technology. Human life deprived of beauty is not worthy of being called so.
Silence.
In the gardens and homes designed by me, I have always endeavored to allow for the interior placid murmur of silence, and in my fountains, silence sings.
Solitude.
Only in intimate communion with solitude may man find himself. Solitude is good company and my architecture is not for those who fear or shun it.
Serenity.
Serenity is the great and true antidote against anguish and fear, and today, more than ever, it is the architect’s duty to make of it a permanent guest in the home, no matter how sumptuous or how humble. Throughout my work I have always strived to achieve serenity, but one must be on guard not to destroy it by the use of an indiscriminate palette.
Joy.
How can one forget joy? I believe that a work of art reaches perfection when it conveys silent joy and serenity.
Death.
The certainty of death is the spring of action and therefore of life, and in the implicit religious element in the work of art, life triumphs over death.
Gardens.
In the creation of a garden, the architect invites the partnership of the Kingdom of Nature. In a beautiful garden, the majesty of Nature is ever present, but Nature reduced to human proportions and thus transformed into the most efficient haven against the aggressiveness of contemporary life.
Fountains. A fountain brings us peace, joy and restful sensuality and reaches the epitomy of its very essence when by its power to bewitch it will stir dreams of distant worlds.
While awake or when sleeping, the sweet memories of marvelous fountains have accompanied me throughout my life. I recall the fountains of my childhood; the drains for excess water of the dam; the dark ponds in the recess of abandoned orchards; the curbstone of shallow wells in the convent patios; the small country springs, quivering mirrors of ancient giant waterloving trees, and then, of course, the old aqueducts perennial reminders of Imperial Rome which from lost horizons hurry their liquid treasure to deliver it with the rainbow ribbons of a waterfall.
Architecture. My architecture is autobiographical, as Emilio Ambasz pointed out in his book on my work published by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Underlying all that I have achieved such as it is are the memories of my father’s ranch where I spent my childhood and adolescence. In my work I have always strived to adapt to the needs of modern living the magic of those remote nostalgic years.
The lessons to be learned from the unassuming architecture of the village and provincial towns of my country have been a permanent source of inspiration. Such, for instance, the whitewashed walls; the peace to be found in patios and orchards; the colorful streets; the humble majesty of the village squares surrounded by shady open corridors. And as there is a deep historical link between these teachings and those of the North African and Moroccan Villages, they too have enriched my perception of beauty in architectural simplicity.
Being a Catholic, I have frequently visited with reverence the now empty monumental monastic buildings that we inherited from the powerful religious faith and architectural genius of our colonial ancestors, and I have always been deeply moved by the peace and wellbeing to be experienced in those uninhabited cloisters and solitary courts. How I have wished that these feelings may leave their mark on my work.
The Art of Seeing. It is essential to an architect to know how to see: I mean, to see in such a way that the vision is not overpowered by rational analysis.”
September 4th, 2006
CNN this summer has had a series on housing styles. Several of the articles have investigated the traditional homes, as well as looking at the new construction trends. The latest in this series focuses on the stable of housing though America in the early 1900s: the four square home. The name, Foursquare, comes from a floor plan that typically locates bedrooms at each corner of the second floor. The style, which was both practical and economical, was popularized by pattern books and made readily available through Sears Roebuck & Company mail order kits. The foursquare was the predominant house style in most American cites from 1895-1930, particularly the streetcar suburbs.
American foursquare does have its distinctive characteristics. These start with the equal-sides and the massed, cubical shape. Foursquares look substantial, solid. There are often four bedrooms on the second floor flanking the central hall and three rooms downstairs.
Nearly all American foursquares sport a deep - sometimes wraparound - front porch where proud owners could relax while they watched out over their neighborhoods and greeted passer-bys.
A large, central dormer often peered out from the front of the attic floor and the roof was hipped or pyramid shaped. CNN Money
Foursquares began as a plain box, with the detailing being borrowed from other styles. Most influential was the Craftsman style, but prairie school, mission or Greek revival were also used. Massive overhangs echoed Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie style as well as providing weather protection in cold climates and shade in warmer ones.
The exteriors were typically wood, though brick, stucco, stone or concrete block could be used, depending upon local availability. (Sears sold both patterns and a machine that could manufacture cement blocks on site.) The simplicity of the plan lent itself to individualization, such as window seat alcoves or leaded glass windows.
Photo examples:
CNN Money
The Old House Web
Preservation Directory
Old House St Louis
OldHouses.com
Foursquare house plan
reprinted from Radford’s Mechanical Drawing; 1912; Radford Architectural Co; Chicago, IL
October 24th, 2006
Every 8 Seconds Research Executive Summary, the synopsis of a report by Hanley Wood American Housing reveals the following trends in housing as the baby boomers age:
Trends to Watch When asked to compare their current home with their ideal home in retirement, leading-edge boomers point to some housing market changes:
- Although the vast majority of older boomers want to remain in a singlefamily detached home in the future (72 percent), that proportion is far smaller than the number that currently live in one (89 percent). The market for single-family detached homes will remain strong as boomers age, but less robust than at present.
- More Boomfluentials would like to live in a multi-unit building that they own than those who currently live in one today (11 percent vs. 4 percent). The market for multi-unit buildings such as co-ops and condos will increase as boomers age, suggesting not only growth in new buildings, but a rise in the rehab, renovation and remodeling of older condos, co-ops, and apartment buildings.
- More leading-edge boomers would ideally like to live in a semi-detached home like a townhouse, duplex, or row house than those who currently live in one today (15 percent vs. 6 percent). The market for semi-detached homes will take off, creating opportunities for new building and renovation and rehab projects.