July 11, 2010
June 09, 2009
Dream Home
Hugh Newell Jacobsen is a dream weaver...
The eloquence in the language of architecture is measured by how a building is put together. The joining of materials in a manner that retains the integrity of each part, while assigning a function compatible and advantageous to its nature, has always been a measure of "seriousness" in architecture.
"God is in the details" is a phrase attributed to Mies Van Der Rohe and revered by architects as we endeavor again and again to do the right thing. Architecture is order, and this order carries throughout the building down to the smallest corner. There is no back side to architecture any more than there is a detail that is unimportant. Detailing expresses the "how" of buildings and when done with great care and skill reinforces the "why." It can express the honesty not only of the architecture but of all those involved in the making of it. It is a slow process whose results are seldom noticed. It has been said that good detailing should never show the agony it took to produce it, but should appear as if it had not been detailed at all, as if it went together the way it wanted to go together--or as Kahn has said, "the way it wants to be."
My detailing is deliberately sparse and linear in order to enhance the spaces within and without. People look good in my buildings.
I try very hard in my work to listen to my client since it is the client's program, budget and site which are the influences that will drive the design. I have found, however, that of these three the site is the dominant factor. The quality of the light upon that particular area of earth is always unique and determines the path the architecture will take. I endeavor to design buildings that belong, make the site look better and, hopefully, never shout. The order established by the program, the site and the budget produces architecture. Because of this, I have never designed two buildings alike.
(HNJ Bio www.hughjacobsen.com )
June 08, 2009
June 05, 2009
Flippin Timeless
Jeff Lewis, Flipping Out, has a great eye and the "commonwealth property" is the perfect balance of warm wood & cool minimalist. If only a Zoila was included with each of his house sales...
June 04, 2009
Lavender Top Choice
(Dwell 2004, Harlem)
Lavender needs to included in even the smallest gardens...
Robert Kourik's lovely book, The Lavender Garden, offers instructions on growing, maintaining, harvesting, drying and using lavender. Presented in an aesthetically artful way this books is as pleasing to the eye as it is informative.
The sections on craft projects and culinary uses are particularly good with many simple instructions accompanied by photos. This is a great book to foster your own or a friend's interest in the many ways to use the lavender grown in one's own garden.
For more great Lavender options visit the masters at www.pelindabalavender.com
May 29, 2009
May 27, 2009
Milan, Economy & Furniture
The use of craft techniques in design looks like a trend with staying power. "From being an unfashionable fringe activity just a couple of years ago, craft has now been embraced by cutting-edge designers and manufacturers as a viable alternative to industrially produced goods," says Marcus Fairs, editor-in-chief of online design magazine Dezeen.com. "Even though craft is in many ways a branch of the luxury industry -- as the pieces tend to be expensive -- the perceived humility and sustainability of crafted objects is appealing in these angst-ridden times."
![[Crinoline' chair]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/EW-AG882B_Utili_D_20090521102038.jpg)
Patricia Urquiola's 'Crinoline' chair.
B&B Italia -- a company usually in the technological forefront, with items usually made in factories -- uncharacteristically showed off such low-tech items as the Philippines-inspired "Crinoline" woven chairs by Patricia Urquiola in both natural and synthetic materials (from £1,338 in rope; from £1,194 in polyethylene fiber weaving). "I love working using 'old materials' in a new way or new materials using traditional techniques," Ms. Urquiola says.
by Helen Kirwan-Taylor (WSJ)
