My apologies to bird lovers, but it can’t be denied that our feathered friends are somewhat lacking in gray matter.  To put it bluntly: birds are dumb.  They’re good at certain things like flying and pecking and saying “ca-caw!” but they have tiny brains.  The reason this becomes important in an architectural context is that you can’t reason with a bird.  You can’t say, “hey, maybe you should think about the fact that a lot of the openings you’re trying to fly into are actually filled with glass, and when you …

You may have surmised that I spend a not inconsiderable amount of time scouring the Interwebs looking for the latest and greatest materials with which to regale all of you intrepid readers.  Many of the websites I visit tend to tag their posts about architecture projects by material.  The upshot of all of this tagging is that it becomes possible to sort or search these sites by material and as a consequence to encounter lovely, intriguing projects (and also heinous, unspeakable projects) that feature the material in which one may have an interest.  I’ve provided a few links to …

 
A long time ago before we were born, probably after he’d had a few and was waxing philosophical, Chicago architect Louis Sullivan wrote:
“It is the pervading law of all things organic, and inorganic,
of all things physical and metaphysical,
of all things human and all things super-human,
of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function. This is the law.”
Sullivan designed intricate ornamental elements inspired by natural forms, which were meant to look completely complex and awesome as well as to express …

 
Resin is intriguing stuff.  In my mind it’s like honey to the power of two; it’s sticky as all hell, often golden or amber (ha!) in color, and it is, chemically speaking, a lot many kinds of serious.  Technically resin is a “hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees valued for its chemical constituents and uses such as varnishes and adhesives, as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis, or for incense and perfume” (Wikipedia).  It can also be used to make translucent panels in a wide range of colors …

I’m not sure how New Video figured out that I’d be interested in watching an approximately 90 minute documentary film featuring the work of a famous Dutch architect mostly in subtitled German with numerous interviews conducted in English, but that’s what happened.  I will say for the record that if it means watching interesting movies, I don’t really mind that my demographic profile has been targeted and acquired by I-don’t-know-who (though I guess anyone in my demographic would say that).  Anyhow, to cut to the chase, I watched* and enjoyed the …

I’ve been looking at dresses on the Internet lately because my lovely friends keep getting married and, for some unknown reason, they keep inviting me to their weddings.  I’ve found some good deals online, and it’s nice not to have to deal with roaming tween hordes off-gassing pale clouds of angst or resist the insincere entreaties of pushy salespeople at the mall.  The drawback of Internet shopping, of course, is that you can’t try anything on and whatever you’ve purchased must be shipped. 
While waiting for my latest dress to arrive (it’s a snazzy sky-blue linen number with strategic pleats, …