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99% Invisible
The Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant Persons [EPISODE] Hailing from central African cities of Brazzaville and Kinshasa, sapeurs have become increasingly...
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Hailing from central African cities of Brazzaville and Kinshasa, sapeurs have become increasingly recognizable around the world. Since the 1970s, sapeurs (from: le sape, short for “Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes”) have been known for donning technicolored...
Construction Physics
What Progress Has Icon Made on 3D-Printed Homes? We last looked at 3D-printed buildings about three years ago. At the time, the technology was still...
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We last looked at 3D-printed buildings about three years ago. At the time, the technology was still nascent. Although there was a lot of enthusiasm, many efforts were academic, with little commercial deployment, and practitioners were experimenting with a wide range of...
Old Structures...
The Personal Connection A 1958 or 59 view of 200 East 42nd Street under construction: It’s a fairly boring steel-frame,...
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A 1958 or 59 view of 200 East 42nd Street under construction: It’s a fairly boring steel-frame, glass-facade office building, remarkable to me for the simple reason that I had my first more-or-less real engineering job there. Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton, later known as TAMS...
CONTEMPORIST
A House Built Into The Ground And Covered In Flowers Photography by Architectuurfotograaf – Rob van Esch Architecture firm WillemsenU has shared photos...
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Photography by Architectuurfotograaf – Rob van Esch Architecture firm WillemsenU has shared photos of a home they completed in a meadow in The Netherlands, that has been built into the ground. The home is tucked away in the landscape, surrounded by flowers and trees, and hidden...
Coffee with an...
Design explained using venn diagrams Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple venn diagrams. Unfortunately,...
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Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple venn diagrams. Unfortunately, this isn’t that: More Design in charts – HERE, and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE
Common Edge
Mass Timber Construction Is Evolving Rapidly With owners and developers warming up to plyscrapers, wood-based projects are on an upward...
a year ago
Old Structures...
More Over-Thinking This photograph, taken in May 1959 by Angelo Rizzuto, is titled “View of building construction” on...
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This photograph, taken in May 1959 by Angelo Rizzuto, is titled “View of building construction” on the Library of Congress website. I’m not entirely convinced, although I have to admit that my doubts are based on squinting at the photo and nothing stronger. First, even for a...
CONTEMPORIST
A Home That Delivers A Rustic Symphony Of Exposed Wood Beams FINNE Architects has shared photos of a Pacific Northwest house they designed on Bainbridge Island,...
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FINNE Architects has shared photos of a Pacific Northwest house they designed on Bainbridge Island, Washington. A 500-ft driveway winds through the woods up to the house, located in a clearing at the top of a gentle hill. The house was designed to be sustainable from the start,...
Old Structures...
Very Local Requirements Below, a construction fence of typical New York design. Such fences here have had windows of some...
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Below, a construction fence of typical New York design. Such fences here have had windows of some kind going back at least to the mid-1900s. Per the current NYC building code, section 3307.7.3, “Viewing panels shall be provided in solid fences erected on or after July 1, 2013, at...
Old Structures...
Boarding Sometimes the degree to which the past was simultaneously similar to the present and different...
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Sometimes the degree to which the past was simultaneously similar to the present and different catches me by suprise. I was in the far west Village a few days ago and this building caught my eye. It’s a nice 1890s semi-industrial building turned into apartments There’s a sign...
THE ARCHITECTURAL...
New academic dissertation questions architects’ taste Many architects look down upon residential areas built with the small town as a model, with new...
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Many architects look down upon residential areas built with the small town as a model, with new houses made in a traditional style. But this is exactly what the average person appreciates. “Why do many architects dislike the very thing that residents often enjoy?” asks architect...
THE ARCHITECTURAL...
Architect Releases Academic Dissertation That Questions Architects’ Taste Many architects look down upon residential areas built with the small town as a model, with new...
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Many architects look down upon residential areas built with the small town as a model, with new houses made in a traditional style. But this is exactly what the average person appreciates. “Why do many architects dislike the very thing that residents often enjoy?” asks architect...
Old Structures...
Adelaide House, Part 4 – The Context Part 1, General: here. Part 2, Structure: here. Part 3, Facades: here. Skyscrapers only make sense...
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Part 1, General: here. Part 2, Structure: here. Part 3, Facades: here. Skyscrapers only make sense as an urban phenomenon. (Keep in mind that a lot of inner-ring US suburbs are at urban density.) Putting aside the obvious economic argument that land is cheap in rural areas so...
The Wandering...
Constructing the Pattern on the Sala de la Barca Ceiling I was flipping through Owen Jones’s Grammar of Ornament a couple months ago, and my eye was caught...
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I was flipping through Owen Jones’s Grammar of Ornament a couple months ago, and my eye was caught by this handsome pattern I had not noticed before. This is Jones’s Plate XLII, in the chapter on designs from the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. He calls it, “Part of the ceiling of...
The Wandering...
The Mathematics of the Pattern on the Sala de la Barca Ceiling (This is the math geek part about the Sala de la Barca ceiling. For instructions on constructing the...
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(This is the math geek part about the Sala de la Barca ceiling. For instructions on constructing the pattern with compass and straightedge, go over to Part 1.) In the process of figuring out how to draw this pattern, I ran into a lot of questions, and had to do more than a little...
CONTEMPORIST
Before & After – An Old Warehouse Was Turned Into A Contemporary Home Brengues Le Pavec architects have shared photos of a modern warehouse conversion they completed in...
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Brengues Le Pavec architects have shared photos of a modern warehouse conversion they completed in the south of France, between Montpellier and the sea. The ‘Before’…the run-down warehouse, which was still being used to store products, was dark and filled with shelves. The...
Common Edge
What Happened to New York City Public Housing, and How Can We Fix It? The former chief architect for NYCHA on what ails the the system.
a year ago
Old Structures...
Adelaide House, Part 3 – Facades Part 1, General: here. Part 2, Structure: here. So on Tuesday I effectively said that Adelaide House...
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Part 1, General: here. Part 2, Structure: here. So on Tuesday I effectively said that Adelaide House was either small for a skyscraper or forty years behind the times, and yesterday I said that the steel was pretty familiar for an old skyscraper but maybe a little old-fashioned....
CONTEMPORIST
This Lakehouse Hovers Above The Natural Sloped Terrain Building Arts Architects has shared photos of a contemporary home they recently completed in Dorset,...
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Building Arts Architects has shared photos of a contemporary home they recently completed in Dorset, Ontario, that hovers above the natural sloped terrain close to the water’s edge of Kawagama Lake. The building, which sits lightly on the rugged site, invites expansive sky and...
Old Structures...
Adelaide House, Part 2 – Structure Continuing my discussion (part 1 is here) of London’s maybe-first skyscraper, the Adelaide House,...
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Continuing my discussion (part 1 is here) of London’s maybe-first skyscraper, the Adelaide House, let’s talk about structure. There’s a big difference between trying to build the first skyscraper in your city in the 1870s or 80s or 90s (depending on how you want to define...
99% Invisible
Chambre de Bonne [EPISODE] For many young people in Paris, it’s a right of passage to live in a very small, very French type of...
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For many young people in Paris, it’s a right of passage to live in a very small, very French type of apartment, called a “chambre de bonne.” Literally, a maid’s room. A chambre de bonne is usually one small room, on the top floor of a five- or six-story apartment building, and...
devonzuegel.com
IVF egg retrieval notes I’ve now done two egg retrieval cycles. Given that I had a zillion questions before I started, I...
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I’ve now done two egg retrieval cycles. Given that I had a zillion questions before I started, I thought I’d share my notes for others who might have similar questions. Things I would’ve loved to know beforehand Overall the process was way easier and less intense than I...
CONTEMPORIST
Brass-Lined Arches Connect The Kitchen With The Dining Room Inside This Home Architecture and art studio Svima has shared photos of a kitchen and living room they updated, with...
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Architecture and art studio Svima has shared photos of a kitchen and living room they updated, with the kitchen featuring brass design accents. Their clients, a Toronto couple, has opposite tastes: he is an enthusiast of tenebrous minimalism, and she is a lover of bright French...
McMansion Hell
ode to a faux grecian urn Howdy everyone, Today’s house, built in 2001, comes to you from, you guessed it, the Chicago...
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Howdy everyone, Today’s house, built in 2001, comes to you from, you guessed it, the Chicago suburbs. The house is a testimony to traditional craftsmanship and traditional values (having lots of money.) The cost of painting this house greige is approximately the GDP of Slovenia...
Construction Physics
What makes housing so expensive? Buying a home is by far the largest purchase most of us will make, and paying the rent or mortgage...
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Buying a home is by far the largest purchase most of us will make, and paying the rent or mortgage will be our largest monthly expense. In the post-pandemic home-buying boom, the median sale price of a new home peaked at almost $500,000 dollars, just under
Old Structures...
Adelaide House, Part 1 – Overall When I was in London a few weeks ago, David Kelly and Chris Tucker of Fortis Facades were kind...
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When I was in London a few weeks ago, David Kelly and Chris Tucker of Fortis Facades were kind enough to give me a thorough tour of Adelaide House, a 1925 landmark building currently in renovation. They’re working on the facade, but the tour included both the facade and the...
Coffee with an...
Design explained using pie charts again Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple pie charts again. Unfortunately,...
a year ago
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Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple pie charts again. Unfortunately, this still isn’t that: More Design in charts – HERE, and HERE and HERE and HERE
Old Structures...
In The Background The photo from the Bain News Service is titled “Post Office, New York” and the Library of Congress...
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The photo from the Bain News Service is titled “Post Office, New York” and the Library of Congress dates it as “between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915.” I think we can do better: that’s the Municpal Building in the background under construction. The building took longer than usual to...
SOCKS
90-Degree Axonometric’s by Auguste Merle (Late 19th – Early 20th C.) Auguste Merle was an Art Brut artist living in France at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries....
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Auguste Merle was an Art Brut artist living in France at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. His works depict imaginary buildings with meticulous detailing, using graphite on notebook paper. The rigorous yet inventive forms are depicted in 90-degree axonometric projections,...
Old Structures...
Onec You See It The current round of repair work on the Manhattan Bridge has reached the stage of painting the...
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The current round of repair work on the Manhattan Bridge has reached the stage of painting the towers. It has, to my eye, the unfortunate effect of making the bridge look like it’s wearing shorts.
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Popular The City Hall Station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line – a station that’s been abandoned since 1945...
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The City Hall Station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line – a station that’s been abandoned since 1945 – is probably more popular to use as a backdrop in movies (and comic books) than any other. It’s really not a typical station: it’s much more ornate than most, it only has one...
99% Invisible
Roman Mars Describes Athens GA As It Is [EPISODE] This is the third and final episode in a three-part series of Roman Mars recording on-location...
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This is the third and final episode in a three-part series of Roman Mars recording on-location guides to the design features and interesting spots in cities he loves. Roman moved to Athens, Georgia, to pursue a PhD in plant genetics, but dropped out and got into the local music...
devonzuegel.com
Traveling neighborhoods: a different kind of group trip I've discovered a group trip format that I really love, and I wanted to share it with others because...
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I've discovered a group trip format that I really love, and I wanted to share it with others because (a) you might find it fun to host or join something like this in the future and (b) selfishly, I would like more people to organize trips like this so that I can join them! The...
Old Structures...
Skyscraperiness As I’ve said many times, in many venues, there really isn’t an objective description of...
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As I’ve said many times, in many venues, there really isn’t an objective description of “skyscraper.” That said, nearly everyone’s subjective definition contains a version of the idea that a skyscraper is tall for its context. Here’s an Irving Underhill photo centered on the...
CONTEMPORIST
Steel Symphony: A Madrid Home’s Unique Design With Weathered Elegance Borja Lomas of Voluar Arquitectura has designed a new home in Madrid, Spain, that’s covered in...
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Borja Lomas of Voluar Arquitectura has designed a new home in Madrid, Spain, that’s covered in weathering steel and has a uniquely shaped design. The shape of the home showcases various areas that branch out in different directions, some of which are cantilevered away from the...
Old Structures...
Slow Death Of An Unneeded Building A lot of rail was built in and around New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,...
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A lot of rail was built in and around New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, much of it overlapping. Railroad as such had been around for a long time, but the idea of tailoring stations and schedules to fit huge masses of commuters was relatively new;...
CONTEMPORIST
The Neutral Palette Of This Home’s Interior Evokes The Tranquility Of A Spa Developer Comma Projects, together with interior designer Kate Richards and building designer Jayson...
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Developer Comma Projects, together with interior designer Kate Richards and building designer Jayson Pate Design, has completed a duplex in Queensland, Australia, with a distinctly neutral interior. Let’s take a look inside one of the villas where the design objective was to...
Common Edge
Is This Ugly or Heroic? An Eyesore or Gem? What Is ‘Ugly’? Truth is, aesthetic inclinations are an expanding multiverse.
a year ago
Old Structures...
The Right Angle I’m not working on any of the buildings in this photo, but if I were… Raking sunlight is a fantastic...
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I’m not working on any of the buildings in this photo, but if I were… Raking sunlight is a fantastic way to get information about a facade. Any out-of-plane geometry is immediately visible as a shadow. You can see the natural irregularity of a brick wall: and a bulge that might...
99% Invisible
Autism Pleasantville [EPISODE] A few years back, journalist Lauren Ober was diagnosed with autism. She then made a podcast about...
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A few years back, journalist Lauren Ober was diagnosed with autism. She then made a podcast about her experience called The Loudest Girl in the World. And she found herself imagining a fantasy world where everything is tailored to Lauren’s very specific autistic needs. And she...
Blog - Guerrilla...
How AI is changing cartography: A chatbot’s perspective Artificial intelligence is dramatically changing the practice of cartography, not just as a...
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Artificial intelligence is dramatically changing the practice of cartography, not just as a mechanism for extracting and manipulating data, but as a tool for creating, curating, and interacting with geospatial images. A simple web search for “AI in cartography” points to a vast...
Archinect - Features
A Guide to Salary Transparency Laws Across the United States At present, there is no federal pay transparency law in the United States. However, as Archinect...
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At present, there is no federal pay transparency law in the United States. However, as Archinect frequently reports on, several states and cities across the United States have enacted their own requirements for employers seeking to hire or promote within their...
CONTEMPORIST
A Living Room That Floats Above The Forest Floor Is A Remarkable Feature Of This Home DeForest Architects has shared photos of a home they designed that follows the topography of the...
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DeForest Architects has shared photos of a home they designed that follows the topography of the site, with some rooms tucked into the land and others floating above it. Located in a waterfront neighborhood just south of Seattle, the one-acre wooded site sits atop a bluff...
Construction Physics
Why Did Supersonic Airliners Fail? Progress in aviation has traditionally been associated with speed. Following the Wright Brothers’...
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Progress in aviation has traditionally been associated with speed. Following the Wright Brothers’ flight in 1903, aircraft speeds steadily increased each decade, and increasing aircraft speeds was one of the primary goals of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA’s...
Old Structures...
The Power of Drawing Another Cass Gilbert sketch, “Looking west from corner 5th ave + 42nd St”, from June 1917. Based on...
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Another Cass Gilbert sketch, “Looking west from corner 5th ave + 42nd St”, from June 1917. Based on the angle, he was standing on the northwestern corner of the intersection. The generally most interesting building nearby is the New York Public Library; the dark scribbles on the...
Construction Physics
Supersonic air travel recommended reading Aviation has a huge number of enthusiasts, which is why essentially every aircraft model ever...
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Aviation has a huge number of enthusiasts, which is why essentially every aircraft model ever produced has a book written about it. Supersonic aircraft are no exception. There’s a large number of books written about the Concorde, the Tu-144, and the American SST project. Many of...
Coffee with an...
Design explained with pie charts Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple pie charts. Unfortunately, this...
a year ago
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Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple pie charts. Unfortunately, this isn’t that: More Design in charts – HERE, and HERE and HERE
CONTEMPORIST
Clerestory Windows Add Natural Light Inside This New Addition To An Australian Home Architecture firm Bryant Alsop has shared photos of a contemporary renovation and extension of a...
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Architecture firm Bryant Alsop has shared photos of a contemporary renovation and extension of a typical free-standing timber period home in Australia. The view from the front door shows off the hallway that connects the original home with the new extension. The hallway...
Old Structures...
Doodling In A Hotel A remarkable sketch by Cass Gilbert from July 1933: From left to right, the Dom Tower in Utrecht...
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A remarkable sketch by Cass Gilbert from July 1933: From left to right, the Dom Tower in Utrecht (fourteenth-century, 368 feet high): St Mark’s Campanile in Venice (ninth century, rebuilt in the early twentieth century after it collapsed, 323 feet high): and Gilbert’s own...
SOCKS
“One Can No Longer Distinguish the Sun’s Outline”: Atlas of Clouds and of States of the Sky (1930) A cloud atlas is a visual depiction of various types of clouds accompanied by their classification...
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A cloud atlas is a visual depiction of various types of clouds accompanied by their classification and nomenclature. Cloud atlases were primarily developed starting in the 19th century and utilised for training weather forecasters and meteorologists. The 1930’s International...