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lowellintheworld.blogspot.com

In-the-world: Reconstruct

http://lowellintheworld.blogspot.com/2011/11/reconstruct.html

Thoughts on architecture in an ungrounded world. I've briefly touched upon effects of mid-twentieth century urban renewal in a previous post. And the form that urban reconstruction took at the time. The buildings may have looked different but the structure of urban centers remained largely the same despite massive social, political, and economic changes. I just came across this quote from Kevin Lynch's 1972 book What Time is This Place? I highly recommend it! He offered historical expressions of aspirati...

lowellintheworld.blogspot.com

In-the-world: October 2011

http://lowellintheworld.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html

Thoughts on architecture in an ungrounded world. Above is the video from a discussion between Jeff Kipnis and Reinhold Martin on agency, held at the GSD earlier this year. I know its long, but its definitely worth the watch. If you want a so-so canned version thats readable in 10 minutes, this is by a GSD student who was present, posted. Before I get into it though Ill throw something in for contrast, and that I think speaks to my last post. This is from Theo Adornos Functionalism Today, where he address...

lowellintheworld.blogspot.com

In-the-world: Nomadism

http://lowellintheworld.blogspot.com/2011/11/nomadism.html

Thoughts on architecture in an ungrounded world. Pao 2, Dwelling for a Tokyo Nomad Woman - Toyo Ito. The intensification of consumerism in the late 20th century led to descriptions of a society of individuals crafting their identities based on their patterns of consumption- based on the things they buy. This was a theme that Toyo Ito responded to when he designed his Pao. Or Dwellings for a Tokyo Nomad Woman. Pao 1, Dwelling for a Tokyo Nomad Woman - Toyo Ito. Seijo Townhouses, Tokyo - SANAA. A descripti...

lowellintheworld.blogspot.com

In-the-world: Determinism

http://lowellintheworld.blogspot.com/2011/10/determinism.html

Thoughts on architecture in an ungrounded world. Modern Architecture died in St. Louis, Missouri on July 15, 1972 at 3:32 pm (or thereabouts) when the infamous Pruitt-Igoe scheme, or rather several of its slab blocks, were given the final coup de grâce by dynamite. Charles Jencks, The new paradigm in architecture: the language of post-modernism. One of the implications of Jencks famous pronouncement on the death of modern architecture is that of what might be termed architectural determinism. 2 Ibid, 18.

lowellintheworld.blogspot.com

In-the-world: Pruitt-Igoe Myth

http://lowellintheworld.blogspot.com/2011/10/pruitt-igoe-myth.html

Thoughts on architecture in an ungrounded world. In a previous post. I cited an article by Katherine Bristol titled "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth" detailing the tortured history of the Pruitt-Igoe public housing project and how it fits into larger narratives. There is also a new documentary film by the same name that is wrapping up screenings across the country this month that tackles the same themes. The residents of Pruitt-Igoe were among the hardest-hit. Their gripping stories of survival, adaptation and ...

lowellintheworld.blogspot.com

In-the-world: November 2011

http://lowellintheworld.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html

Thoughts on architecture in an ungrounded world. Ive been told that my posts are shop-talk heavy. This post probably wont differ in that regard, but itll have way more explanations and illustrations- starting with the results of an experiment in parametric design I conducted in my third year in school. Now when I say Parametric design can be variously interpreted, it is due to the notion that all design is parametric in the sense that it is developed using sets of parameters. The model. It's a work in pr...

lowellintheworld.blogspot.com

In-the-world: Parameter Update

http://lowellintheworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/parameter-update.html

Thoughts on architecture in an ungrounded world. Here's what has become of a couple of my experiments with Grasshopper. Curve Bender' is a test drive in manipulating curves and surfaces. There were no goals per se, other than exploring Grasshopper's capabilities in a somewhat prosaic way (i.e. making a blob). Self-organized Flats - Revisited' is much more interesting to me. This video is the culmination of the project I laid out in the original Parameter. Post For more details, read here.

lowellintheworld.blogspot.com

In-the-world: December 2011

http://lowellintheworld.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html

Thoughts on architecture in an ungrounded world. Here's what has become of a couple of my experiments with Grasshopper. Curve Bender' is a test drive in manipulating curves and surfaces. There were no goals per se, other than exploring Grasshopper's capabilities in a somewhat prosaic way (i.e. making a blob). Self-organized Flats - Revisited' is much more interesting to me. This video is the culmination of the project I laid out in the original Parameter. Post For more details, read here.

lowellintheworld.blogspot.com

In-the-world: Expertise

http://lowellintheworld.blogspot.com/2011/11/expertise.html

Thoughts on architecture in an ungrounded world. By now you may be familiar with the axiom that to gain expertise in something requires 10,000 hours of practice. What does 10,000 hours of practice look like and how does it lead to expert status? Bryan Lawson, an architect and psychologist who specializes in researching the cognitive aspects of design thinking. The science of design. Has developed an outline of these steps in his book What Designers Know. Step one: Rules of thumb, or schemata. This is the...