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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 Portico of the … Continue reading Constructing 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 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 math … Continue reading The Mathematics of the Pattern on the Sala de la Barca Ceiling →
Nord de Guerre Here’s a survey plat made in 1919 by a US Army unit in France. In the aftermath of WW1, teams of American military surveyors produced these as they went around France mapping the grave sites of fallen soldiers. On this plat we can see a number of bearings and distances from the … Continue reading Transforming French WW1 Lambert Coordinates to WGS84 →
This story begins one day when I was assembling a map of the city of Edmonton, Alberta from OpenStreetMap data. It was going to be a big map, a 42″ (106 cm) wide poster for a wall. The data was good, but the standard OSM colours were not. They would work fine for a street … Continue reading Cartographic palettes and colour harmonies →
More in architecture
In an episode from Tiny House Giant Journey, a YouTube channel dedicated to unique home tours, host Jenna visits the Black Crane Treehouse, a striking, mid century-inspired retreat perched in the treetops above Mission Lake in Washington State. Designed as an artist residency, this small but highly intentional space blends architecture, craftsmanship, and nature into one unforgettable experience.
A microscopic electric motor, California’s CEQA rollback, a US shipbuilding startup, Chinese map obfuscation, and more.
In Calgary’s quiet residential landscape, a dated 1970s bungalow has been thoughtfully transformed into a warm, family-first home by Mera Studio Architects. With just 1,700 square feet, the design embraces curves, storage solutions, and playful moments, proving that even modest footprints can feel elevated, functional, and full of life. The clients, a young family, were already design-aligned with the studio through previous collaborations, and this shared language led to a renovation that balances minimalism with charm.
Planning policies reflect a deep disdain for the poor, prioritizing elite aesthetics over social equity.
A border is an idea so powerful that we never even have to see it to believe it. Or believe in it. Global borders can be sites of peace and conflict, violence and celebration, opportunity and confinement. And borders as they exist today – which is to say, increasingly militarized and clearly defined – are
