Life in the Suburbs and the Desert

What can you get for $1.8 million in suburban Connecticut? This house, which is in Weston and which Frank Lloyd Wright disciple Alan Gelbin designed for himself (two Gelbin-designed houses have been on recent New Canaan Modern House Day tours; although the Gelbin and Wright styles are not my cup of tea, one of the houses seemed to have retained its architectural integrity and was worth seeing, while the other did not and, in my opinion, was not).

What can you get for $1.3 million in the California desert? This mid-century modern, in Palm Springs, built for the fellow who both founded the Lear Jet Corporation and invented the 8-track tape (I think I once listened to the Byrds’ Lear Jet Song on a 8-track). No idea who the architect is. -- ta

Trading Rand for Bland

I was sad to see today that Yale University Press has tossed out their long-standing, distinctive logo in favor of simply using the university's name in their straightforward "Yale Design" typeface. The family of Yale typefaces was designed by School of Art faculty member Matthew Carter. The face is beautiful, but as the publisher's identity on the spine of a book, in my opinion, it just isn't enough.

A "mark" should be an at-a-glance identifier, and the Yale University Press logo, designed in 1985 by Paul Rand (I thought it was longer ago than that...) was certainly that. Compact and succinct like a brand burned into the hide of a book.

Apparently what's behind it all is the Yale's desire to bring the Press back into the fold, and not have it exist quite as independently as it had. So, I guess that's the way it goes. I'm happy to say we have a few examples of the old logo to look at fondly, as Yale University Press is the publisher of this wonderful book by my co-blogger and husband. – GF

Modern Martha

For those of you who watch TV, Martha Stewart's show today is about her trip to Palm Springs where she visits "many of the important houses by a representative group of noted Palm Springs architects, including William Cody, Albert Frey, John Lautner, and Richard Neutra. The majority of the houses have been well maintained, beautifully restored, and furnished primarily with appropriate furniture, lighting fixtures, and works of art."

I, sadly (but not too), will miss it as don't know how to navigate our TV's remote control or how to find out what programming appears on what station. . . I left off when there became more channels than 2 through 13! – GF

Caught my eye: Use of materials

The use of the same material for the roof as for the siding in each of the structures in this small collection was something I hadn't really thought about before, but now that I've seen a few examples, it has sunk in that I like the way the consistent texture and color behaves on the landscape – somehow understated and more integrated into the surroundings. Plus, it gives me the chance to post one of my all-time favorite houses by Wespi De Meuron . . . Maddeningly, I can't find the photo of the house that instigated this investigation, but  I'll add it when it shows up.

Top: prefab cedar home by Hudson Architects; the Manuel house by Alberto Gonzalez; The 1970 Perlbinder house by Norman Jaffe seen on RoLu; 
Bottom: Wespi De Meuron houses in Scaiano and Brione, Ticino, Switzerland

Living in a still life

I wonder if people living in this housing project in Helsinborg, Sweden, feel as if they're just posing . . .  Designed by Wilhelmson Arkitekter, and seen on Dezeen where I also learned that Anders Wilhelmson has profoundly practical and humanitarian side to complement humor of the gilt frames. He collaborated on the development of the PeePoo bag: a single-use, disposable toilet bag intended to improve sanitary conditions in developing nations. What a guy!

Possibly the best seat in the house

When we took possession of the house we live in 10 years ago one of the hardest things I had to part with in order to make the house comfortable for a family of 4 instead of 2 was the window seat in what had been my aunt and uncle's bedroom. It made an "L" shape with windows on both arms of the "L". The longer side of the seat faced the west, with a big view and sunsets. The window on the short side of the seat faced the long second story deck. There were 3-inch thick black and white open-check flat cushions to lie on, and when you lifted those up – I thought this was the greatest when I was a kid – the top of each side of the "L"-shaped seat lifted up revealing a large storage space for blankets and stuff.

I felt terrible when it had to go to make room for the absolutely necessary small addition we made to the house, but in the hope that I'll someday find a way to have one again in my life, I always have my eye open for nice solutions that allow you to feel like you're outside when the weather forces you in. I saw this one on Contemporist, and it's by London based Platform 5 Architects. – GF

Monumen Nasional

Monumen Nasional

Lapangan Monas yang terletak di jantung kota Jakarta merupakan ruang publik utama, nomor satu di Jakarta sekaligus nomor satu di Indonesia. Tugu monas sudah menjadi Ikon bagi identitas ibukota Republik Indonesia.

Monas menjadi tujuan kunjungan, bukan hanya bagi warga jakarta melainkan juga para wisatawan yang berasal dari berbagai kota di Indonesia. Kemudahan dalam pencapaian merupakan unsur yang memperkuat keberadaan kawasan sebagai daerah tujuan wisata unggulan.
Maka dari itu monas harus memiliki 3 aspek yang meliputi kegunaan (fungsi), keindahan (estetis), dan kekuatan (firmitasi).

Pertama dari segi kegunaan (fungsi), monas selain berfungsi sebagai tugu peringatan terhadap perjuangan kemerdekaan bangsa indonesia, juga memiliki fungsi untuk mewadahi beberapa aktivitas dalam mengenang heroisme perjuangan kemerdekaan. Dengan adanya penjelasan ini menurut saya, monas sudah memenuhi aspek yang pertama yaitu kegunaan (fungsi).

Kedua dari segi keindahan (estetis), karna berada di jantung kota jakarta tentu saja monas menjadi perhatian atau objek yang dapat di amati oleh setiap warga masyarakat. Menurut letaknya, monas juga dapat disebut berada di tempat yang strategis. Bangunannya yang unik dan menjulang tinggi juga menjadi nilai tambah bagi monas sebagai tempat wisata, apalagi karna efek cahaya monas jadi terlihat indah pada malam hari. Tapi menurut saya karna kurangnya tumbuhan yang berada di sekitarnya, monas jadi terkesan panas dan gersang pada siang hari.

Terakhir dari segi kekuatan (firmitas), monas didirikan pada tahun 1959 dan masih berdiri kokoh hingga kini walau mungkin sudah mengalami beberapakali renofasi. tapi itu sudah membuktikan bahwa monas merupakan bangunan yang kuat, karna dapat bertahan hingga kini dengan bentuk bangunan yang sangat tinggi.

Arsitektur rumah modern menjadi trend properti 2010

Arsitektur rumah modern menjadi trend properti 2010. Gaya moderen minimalist masih mendominasi sebagian besar property. Perlu cara menggabungkan sebuah karya arsitektur moderen dengan gaya dekorasi dalam ruangan. Berikut ini contoh photo rumah modern dengan arsitektur moderen minimalist. Rumah mewah dengan gaya minimalist ini berasal dari Agraz Arquitectos. Arsitekture mewah ini dirancang untuk keluarga di Guadalajara, Meksiko, bangunan memiliki tiga lantai, masing-masing di bagun dengan tujuan untuk menciptakan kenyamanan. Lantai pertama mencakup ruang bawah tanah, ruang permainan dan sebuah garasi. Lantai kedua dapat kita jumpai dapur, ruang keluarga dan ruang makan. Di lantai tiga kita dapat menjumpai tiga kamr anak. Ada sebuah tangga yang menghubungkan kamar di rumah dan beberapa teras yang indah yang dapat diakses di setiap lantai. Rumah dengan arsitektur ini juga memiliki dua halaman besar.

Spa and Beauty Salon interior design concept

Interior Spa and Beauty Salon is a service spa located in Shanghai, China. These are older buildings reconstruction projects by KUU Architects, interior Spa and Beauty Salon is occupying three and a half floors at the city hall that was built in the 1930s. Architecture tries to create the content of commercial spas in this old building, they are interested in creating a feeling of space as the old buildings, but now something new, something new. To create a different experience for visitors, the spa is characterized by small-scale space in every direction from the center half. New space will have a wall of material and different color. Super Sense Spa it looks familiar and rich with texture and colorizes unusual colors found in the spa, but reminded the world of old Shanghai and possible future one. Exterior Spa and Beauty Salon was so exciting, strategic reserves, building designers save the façade simple, rough and dull-colored instead of the colorful and rich.

Interior desain klinik gigi: Cara mendesain dental klinik

Saat ini interior desain yang bagus tidak hanya di terapkan pada bagunan hunian rumah tinggal, bahkan sekarang rumah sakit dan klinik memanfaatkan desain interior untuk menciptakan suasana yang nyaman pada pasiennya. Begitupula klinik gigi, klinik gigi atau yang biasa dikenal dengan dental clinic juga sangat membutuhkan sentuhan interior. Bagaimana cara mendesain interior klinik gigi? berikut ini ada contoh gambar interior klinik gigi dengan konsep moderen. Interior desain Klinik gigi moderen dirancang oleh Tiago Santos Andrade dari 38n9w Arquitectura disebut "Inside A Smile" itu terlihat begitu elegan dan nyaman. Klinik gigi ini memiliki suasana yang benar-benar unik, Anda merasa masuk ke dimensi lain ketika datang ke sini. It diwarnai dengan hijau dan jingga vinil lantai, tampak luar biasa. Di sini Anda dapat melihat floorplan untuk lebih detail tentang desain ini. saat anda menjadi pasien di klinik ini maka anda serasa dirumah sendiri.

Cara mendesain interior Spa and Beauty Salon

interior Spa and Beauty Salon adalah layanan spa yang terletak di Shanghai, Cina. Ini adalah proyek rekonstruksi bangunan tua oleh KUU Arsitek, interior Spa and Beauty Salon ini menempati pada tiga setengah lantai balai kota yang dibangun pada tahun 1930-an. Arsitektur mencoba menciptakan spa komersial konten di gedung tua ini, mereka tertarik untuk membuat ruang yang menimbulkan perasaan seperti gedung-gedung tua, namun sekarang sesuatu yang baru, sesuatu yang baru. Untuk menciptakan pengalaman yang berbeda bagi pengunjung, spa ini dicirikan oleh ruang skala kecil di setiap setengah arahan dari pusat. Ruang baru akan memiliki dinding dari bahan dan warna yang berbeda. Super Sense Spa dalamnya tampak akrab dan kaya, colorizes dengan tekstur dan warna yang tidak biasa ditemukan di spa, tapi mengingatkan kedua dunia Shanghai yang lama dan kemungkinan masa depan yang satu. Eksterior Spa and Beauty Salon begitu menggairahkan, strategi dicadangkan, desainer menyimpan façade bangunan sederhana, kasar dan berwarna kusam bukannya warna-warni dan kaya.

The things people build . . .

No, not necessarily Modern but fun anyway, I found 2 websites today that are worth a glance just to help us remember what a big, inventive, diversely creative, world we live in.

At Home-Designing I found reference to the Snail House by Mexican architect Javier Senosiain who has some pretty kookie houses to tour on his own website called Arquitectura Orgànica and the other is a collection of, as the site's name suggests, Unusual Architecture. – GF

A Brutal Exhibition

If I had to offer a quick opinion about the effect of so-called Brutalist architecture on society, I'd say, "Not so great," and then just as quickly admit that it's a gut reaction.

But maybe I'd change my mind, and certainly I'd have a more informed opinion, if I went to see an exhibit opening in Westport, Connecticut, tomorrow that will explore the question:

Aggregate: Art and Architecture -- a Brutalist Remix is an art exhibition inspired by the 20th-century architectural style of Brutalism, including concrete architecture in the shoreline region of CT. Aggregate explores the impact of Brutalist architecture on society, exhibiting artworks that reflect, evaluate, and expand upon its goals, materials, and mixed receptions.

There's also an interesting speaker series that goes with it, featuring John Johansen, the ancient architect himself and last surviving member of the Harvard Five (as you know, if you're in New Canaan you must bow your head when you say the words "Harvard Five").

The photo here was sent to me by Andreas Kornfeld and is part of the exhibition. It's a shot (I think) of the Yale Art Gallery, which doesn't strike me as brutalist at all -- the Architecture School across the road, yes, but not the gallery.

All the details are here. -- ta

Menghias dapur dengan wallpaper

Untuk semua hal dapur, kuliner dan masakan yang terkait, Coolors jika penuh dengan ide-ide dekorasi dapur yang mengagumkan, berdasarkan koleksi mereka harus-memiliki peralatan dapur berwarna bahwa tidak ada rumah modern dapat dilakukan tanpa. Berwarna yang mengkhususkan diri dalam lemari pendingin, peralatan rumah tangga, panel dan penyesuaian untuk interior, mengambil isyarat dari Coolors dan Anda akan segera menjadi iri semua teman-teman Anda. Tidak ada lagi adalah kulkas yang utilitarian, tidak menarik fixture. Dengan Coolors 'proses sablon, kulkas menjadi karya seni yang unik, yang menampilkan gambar dan warna yang sesuai dengan selera gaya pribadi. Mengkonversi foto favorit anda liburan ke sebuah karya seni oleh salah satu tuan mereka, Anda sekarang dapat ornamen peralatan Anda dan mengambil mereka dari menjemukan untuk hebat. Dan kau terikat hanya oleh imajinasi Anda - pilih warna untuk mengkoordinasikan berbagai kerudung, atau pola yang saling melengkapi untuk menyelesaikan panel Anda, sehingga menghasilkan suatu kesatuan dan terlihat asli. Untuk informasi lebih ide-ide dan mendekorasi dapur untuk memeriksa sejuk ini, peralatan dapur berwarna

Arsitektur rumah moderen minimalis

Arsitektur rumah moderen minimalis masih menjadi trend tempat tinggal. Berikut ini ada beberapa contoh foto rumah dengan desain arsitekture modern minimalis yang berlokasi di di Bel Air, California. Arsitektur rumah ini sangat indah dan simple dengan menggunakan konsep gaya modern minimalist rumah tinggal ini kelihatan elegan dan nyaman. Arsitektur dengan desain minimalist sangat cocok untuk sebuah rumah musim panas. Rumah ini adalah fitur dalam Arsitektur Digest pada tahun 2004, Rusia Interior Digest pada tahun 2004. Konsept sedehana dan moderen menjadi cirikahas dari rumah tinggal ini, dalam interior ruamah modern ini banyak mengunakan material kaca sehingga sinar matahari dapat masuk. desai arsitektur moderen minimalis ini di rancang oleh Arsitek SPFA Los Angeles.

Interior desain restauran arab

Bila kita ingin melihat Interior desain restauran arab dapat ita jumpai pada Switch Restaurant. Ini adalah adalah karya Rasyid Karim yang berlokasi di Dubai, UAE. Interior desain restauran arab sangat moderen dan memiliki sentuhan futuristik dengan bentuk yang simetris dan sangat elegan. retauran arab ini memiliki ke unikan yaitu warnanya dapat berubah terus menerus, kadang-kadang berwarna kuning, ungu, bahkan hijau biru. Interior restauran arab ini sangat mewah dan indah memiliki visi simetris kontinu, bergelombang dinding yang membungkus di sekitar ruang. Desain menciptakan tekstur yang menarik untuk cahaya dan bayangan, membangkitkan bukit pasir di padang pasir. Para tamu restauran akan merasa nyaman saat berada di dalam interior restauran arab. Setiap tamu akan mendapatkan pengalaman yang berkesan terdiri dari pandangan, bau, rasa dan suara; di sini, indra untuk menciptakan latar belakang individu yang benar-benar menakjubkan pengalaman bersantap global. Retauran arab ini di hiasi dengan Langit-langit backlit karya seni yang terdiri dari kalimat bergaya arab inspirasional. Dilengkapi dengan tempat duduk yang efisien dan dinamis sistem operasi. Ruangan yang bersih bersih yang menawarkan perspektif yang indah. Restauran ini diciptakan sebagai sebuah oase bebas dari kekacauan. selain itu menciptakan ruang yang benar-benar unik untuk Dubai Mall yang akan menjadi referensi ikonik, tidak hanya di Dubai, tetapi juga di seluruh dunia.

Modern In Town

Around here the lion's share of modern houses are on large lots -- two, three, four acres or more -- mainly because that's what the zoning is. Philip Johnson built the Glass House on a substantial amount of acreage and then added to it; my recollection is that his Boissonnas House, also in New Canaan, originally had 20 acres but that over the years the owners chopped off pieces to sell.

Modern houses tend to have a lot of glass, which tends to make privacy an issue if you live in a city or on a small lot in a village or town. A builder (David Prutting) and architect (I can't remember his name; maybe Gina can) [he's Joeb Moore – gf] in New Canaan solved that with this house by including a terrific outdoor living area, complete with kitchen, on the roof. It's about a five minute walk, at most, from the New Canaan train station and overlooks a park and the roof of the old Grand Union. We visited it in May, when it was still under construction, for the opening cocktail party of the New Canaan Modern House Day (the party reminded me in a weird way of a benefit dinner we went to in 2002 at the Jay House, in Rye, a spectacular 1830s Greek Revival that was under renovation). The asking price for this town house is $4.95 million.

Speaking of urban modern, New York Magazine has a feature on apartments designed by "starchitects" that seem to be price to sell in a recession: $14 million for a Gwathmey, $16.5 million for a Robert A.M. Stern, $11.5 million for a Richard Meier, etc. -- not exactly the efficient, forward-looking housing for the masses that the first modern and Bauhaus architects envisioned, are they? -- ta

Desain mewah rumah modern minimalis

Dirancang dan dibangun dengan Desain mewah rumah modern minimalis ini membawa sentuhan kemewahan dan kenyamanan dalam mode minimalis kontemporer. Terletak di Toronto, tepatnya Bridle Path Residence. Desain rumah mewah ini banyak menggunakan material dari kaca dan kayu bersama dengan interior dan dipoles menyapu permukaan sehingga menambah gaya trendi, bersih dan moderen. Rumah modern denagn desain interior moderen minimalis ini juga banyak memanfaatkan cahaya alami dalam setiap ruang sehingga berkesan luas dan nyaman. Rumah mewah ini juga dilengkapi dengan lapangan basket dalam ruangan yang modern.

Kiat menghias dan Mempercantik dekorasi rumah kontemporer

Interior rumah contemporer dapat di hias dan di percantik dengan unsur kesederhanaan. Unsur moderen dan minimalis adalah salah satu elemen kunci dalam menghias dan mempercantik rumah Anda dengan dekorasi rumah kontemporer. Menghias interior rumah pinggiran kota modern akan membawa damai, ketenangan dan keseimbangan dalam ruang dan akan terlihat rapi. Konsep kontemporer ini cocok diterakan [ada interior dapur, bar dan ruang makan formal di satu sisi, dan kasual makan dan ruang kantor di ujung lainnya. Perabotan sederhana dalam desain, menggabungkan fungsionalitas modern dengan kemewahan informal.

Furnitur sofa hitam putih di Kamar tamu modern

Furnitur sofa Hitam dan Putih dapat membuat Kamar tamu serasa Hidup, Sofa hitam putih adalah pilihan yang sempurna untuk interior rumah modern. Hitam dan putih merupakan warna yang klasik, fitur inovatif dan desain yang bersih. Interior Ruang kamar tamu Anda harus diatur dan di tata dengan furnitur kontemporer sehingga dapat menciptakan kenyamanan, keindahan dan kemudahan kepada Anda, keluarga dan tamu Anda. Semua ruang ini didominasi dengan menggunakan warna hitam dan putih dengan furnitur modern minimalis dengan keasn eksklusif, mewah dan elegan. Sofa mewah ini merupakan koleksi dari Italian produsen furnitur Natuzzi.

Pemasangan keramik kaca atau ubin kaca

Mencari cara untuk benar-benar mengubah seluruh tampilan kamar mandi, dapur, lorong atau kolam renang? Kita mungkin hanya bisa memberikan Anda sebuah petunjuk. Keramik kaca atau Ubin kaca menakjubkan ini berasal dari Sprinz, "salah satu prosesor kaca terkemuka di Jerman, didirikan pada tahun 1886". Menggabungkan "pengalaman dengan inovasi dan teknologi tinggi dengan keahlian", Sprinz adalah sebuah perusahaan yang selalu dalam mencari revolusioner "solusi kaca". Empat tema atau motif yang tersedia untuk ubin kaca ini: Manusia, Perempuan, Alam dan Pantai. Motif ubin kaca manuasia dan motif perempuan cocok dipasamg pada interior sauna atau spa, sementara motif Alam untuk kamar mandi Anda. Memilih salah satu yang terbaik dari keramok atau ubin kaca untuk di terapkan pada interior rumah Anda maka akan membawa perbaikan besar bagi keindahan ruah anda.

Desain arsitektur rumah tingggal mewah

Desain arsitektur rumah tingggal mewah telah dirancang untuk mengembangkan berbagai tekstur desain rumah. Tempat tinggal, yang sangat luas dengan 7 kamar tidur, 9 kamar mandi, kolam renang dalam ruangan yang indah, sebuah gedung bioskop, pusat kebugaran, 3 resepsi kamar, parkir bawah tanah dan staf perempat terletak pada jalan yang sangat pribadi.

Menata furnitur kamar tidur remaja

Furnitur untuk kamar tidur remaja dengan gaya kontemporer minimalis, nyaman dan terlihat modern. Koleksi perabotan terdiri dari beberapa unit rak dan sistem modular yang dirancang untuk memberikan kenyamanan, kualitas, dan fleksibilitas untuk meningkatkan keindahan setiap desain kamar tidur remaja . Dengan cirikhas Sederhana, garis bersih kamar tidur modern dapat menciptakan gaya dan suasana santai.

Now that All the Nice Old Farm Houses Have Been Torn Down, the McMansion Era Is Over in New Canaan

For people who like any kind of aesthetically-pleasing domestic architecture, not just modern, this excerpt about New Canaan from the real estate section of tomorrow's Times should be good news:

“McMansions? The market for $4 million to $6 million houses is very quiet,” said Jill K. Wippern, a broker at Brotherhood and Higley Real Estate. “We have a number of them sitting empty, and as far as I know, there are very few builders that are planning to build big spec homes.”

While expressing optimism going into the fall, Prudence Parris, a veteran agent in New Canaan, said selling prices at the high end had fallen 28 percent over the last year. As for the decade-old trend of shoe-horning giant mansions into small downtown lots, “we are on the verge of another change,” she said. “The nouveaux riches, the young people who are making enough to buy houses, may now want smaller houses” — which here means just four bedrooms and three baths.

The problem is that it's too late. Oenoke Ridge Road, South Avenue and Old White Oak Shade Road, to name just three, have been all but destroyed, in my opinion, by badly designed temples of wealth, all of which have circular drives in front, on which the man of the house can show off his big red sports car.

We learned though that the guy who owns the video store on Main Street is charging sixty bucks a pop to drive people around town and show them New Canaan's modern houses, from the road, of course.

"We could do that," I said to Gina, when she read me that excerpt.

"True, but it would mean you'd have to talk," she said. It would also mean people would have to crowd into my 1997 Subaru.

Speaking of architecture, I used to play football with my classmates from Blessed Sacrament School on the field behind this place, which was designed to resemble a Norman castle. And later on in life I lived a mile up the road from this place, in Keene, although I can't picture it unless it was the group of roadside cabins near the Elm Tree Inn (aka Purdy's or Monty's), which I learned the other day is out of business. -- ta

Run, walk, or take the bus

I love to run, and don't get out as much as I'd like, but a tool I love for calculating distances and planning my running or biking routes is Runningmap.com. I can plot routes pretty much all over the world and save them, and even make them public for anyone else with the same modest endurance ambitions. There are other, perhaps more sophisticated sites, but I've been using this one for at least 4 years and it's fine by me.

Via Good Magazine:
Coolest bus stops
and
Find walkable communities, and rate your own by determining your neighborhood's Walkability score.
– GF

Art at Alice Ball

If you'd like to get a good look at Philip Johnson's Alice Ball House, in New Canaan, a local shop and gallery is using it next Thursday for a show by a painter named Joe Concra.

It's from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, September 24, at the Alice Ball House, which is at 523 Oenoke Ridge Road, and it's being presented by The Summer House and Tyler Taylor Fine Art of New Canaan. There will be music, wine and hors d’oeuvres, provided by Cava Wine Bar and Restaurant. Apparently they'd like you to RSVP: (203) 594-9550.

I learned about it here and here. -- ta

Changes in Store for Pepsico World Headquarters, Which Were Designed by Edward Durell Stone, Senior and Junior

Aficionados of Edward Durrell Stone – Senior and Junior – will be interested to know that massive changes are being planned for Pepsico's world headquarters, in Purchase, New York.

Stone Senior designed the buildings on the site and Junior designed the sculpture garden, which is worth a visit if you're in the area.

Pepsico has hired a firm to update its master plan and to get approvals from the Town of Harrison. The company says it's not planning to build now, necessarily, but wants to have its ducks in a row for the future. Here's an excerpt from the scoping document for the draft environmental impact statement (both of which are required under state law, to try to make sure that all kinds of issues are examined and all kinds of people are included in the process):

The Master Plan has been designed to maintain the property's elegance, including the relationship between buildings and its abundant open space. The sculpture garden and pond will remain,.... The proposed buildings include a glass atrium building located in the central courtyard between the existing buildings.... The project will also include additional office space; a new multi-purpose destination building; and a new Welcome Center building ....

There are plenty of pictures of what it looks like now, here. -- ta

Modern Houses in the City of Brotherly Love

ModernHomesPhiladelphia.com looks like a terrific site -- comprehensive in both photos and information. The fellow who put it together, Craig Wakefield, is a real estate agent who lived in a modern house in the Philadelphia area and (judging from his site) has a pretty good feel for them. I borrowed this photo from his site. -- ta

The New Canaan Modern House Survey is Now for Sale

You can now buy the New Canaan Modern House Survey, from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Philip Johnson Glass House: $50 for a CD or DVD that contains a PDF of the study; $100 for a two-sided black and white copy shipped to you in a box; or $200 in a two-sided color copy, also in a box. The order form says, "Questions? Contact: Kate_Lichota@nthp.org or call 203.594.9884 ext. 0."

Or you can click here.

0751 RS House - site cleared

The building site has been cleared and foundation work will begin this week if the predicted rain holds off.

That is the view down the driveway. It extends through a wooded area that will screen the house from the road. An area along the drive must be cleared for the septic field, and finally the clearing for the house.

Remember plans for the two story version of this house design are available through the Open Source catalog page.

0751 RS House at Better House Plans

Before there was Modern

I saw this article in today's NY Times Weekend Arts section on the incredibly talented but practically unknown muralist, Hildreth Meière. Art Deco is probably my least favorite visual arts movement – too much scary stylization in its depiction of humans and animals, and the complicated visual 'buzz' of the surface designs that I always want to peel away to see the pure forms underneath – but I have a deep appreciation for how Art Deco artists interpreted the world and sort of 'coded' it for their times. The style is so perfect for visual story-telling – and that seems to be what Hildreth Meière did, and did so well and in so many media.

She designed and installed incredibly complex ceiling and floor mosaics, painted panels, wood inlay, terra cotta reliefs, and of course the 18' diameter enamel medallions on the façade of Radio City Music Hall. She designed theatrical costumes and executed lovely drawings and gouache paintings. Pretty wonderful accomplishments for a divorced mother living in New York City in the 1930s! The flat, decorative style of Meiere's Art Deco paintings for religious venues is so similar to late Medieval Christian painting. Check out the Asbestos Man from the 1939 Worlds Fair.

Her daughter, Louise Meière Dunn and HER daughter maintain the website of Meière work and life, and live right near us in Meière's summer house in Stamford, CT. What seems to be the first real exhibition of her body of work, “Walls Speak: The Narrative Art of Hildreth Meière,” opens next week at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University in St. Bonaventure, NY, near Buffalo. – GF

Compact with plenty of light and air

The Australian firm Kavellaris Urban Design seems to love letting the out of doors in as much as I do, but they are doing in in an urban context. The Perforated House has the added, conceptual *gimmick of fanciful panels that create a façade with graphic elements typical of a 'terrace house' which is by and large the style of the surrounding neighborhood. By day, the building is heavy and reflective but by night inverts to a soft, translucent, permeable light box. KUD's website has quite an in depth explanation of what they were working to achieve and why, but I just love how the living space opens up – front to back – like a present, or a flower in the sun.


KUD's Gold Street House, which I like better and could definitely see myself living in, (me, in a city?!), is so compact but has an airy lightness to it, and again, opens up from front to back. It's a little hard to tell from the website, but it seems the shotgun layout gets a breather from a curved wall which gently separates bedrooms from the rest of the living spaces – the inside of the volume is the bathroom, which get big points from me, too, for the design of the shower: no shower curtain or hard-to-keep-clean glass partition. Reminds me a little of Philip Johnson's shower in his glass house. There, the inside of the cylindrical volume is the bathroom, and scooped into the outside of it is the fireplace. – GF
*not meant in a mean way...