A six passenger, zero-emissions, battery powered, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle for 150 mile or shorter trips seems like an interesting idea. Read more.
Camp Graham / Weinstein Friedlein Architects (North Carolina)
Fun A-Frames with raised deck makes for exciting tree house experience. Read more.
Olympic Architecture
Here are two examples of buildings designed for specific Olympic events. It appears for sustainability sake, reuse is gaining popularity over iconic structures. Read more.
Yoyogi National Stadium by Kenzo Tange (1964)
Handball, badminton and wheelchair rugby
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium by Fumihiko Maki (1991)
Table tennis
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (the novel) Tarantino
Just read this new release by the same guy that made the movie a few years ago. It’s meta, pulpy, filled with excellent dialogue and follows the film but doesn’t bother to retell it. I look forward to not remembering which scenes are in which format (book or movie). So…if you enjoyed the love letter to Hollywood that was the theatre or screen experience, I highly recommend the paperback. Read more.
Travels
We just returned from a trip visiting family in the North East (US) as well as the Mid-Atlantic. We departed Boston’s South Station by train on a cool drizzly Monday to go down to a hot and humid Penn Station in Baltimore. Great seeing parents, grand parents, cousins, siblings and friends.
We stayed at this expansive row home in Mt Vernon (5 Blocks form Penn Station) where brother Jeffrey has house-sat many summers over the past 30yrs.
Juvet Landscape Hotel by Jensen & Skodvin Arkitektkontor (NORWAY)
Subtle and thoughtful hotel that is low impact and blends in nicely. Read more.
Bamboo Bridge
Lovely. Read more about how Low-Tech Lab (France) and an 84yr old local artisan designed, engineered and (in 25 days) built this elegant pedestrian bridge in China
Sanborn Western Camps
Picked up Piper (15) yesterday. Sounds like she had the fantastic month we all hoped for her - endless stories, adventures and many deep connections with lovely people.
Yabuli Entrepreneurs' Congress Center MAD Architects (China)
I hope this center ends up in a future Bond movie. Read more here.
Cousins River Residence - OPAL Architecture/Research/Design (Maine)
Here’s a good example of simple, smart and small-ish (1,600sf): one story passive house with shed roofs and covered porch/connection to garage. This was not OPAL’s first rodeo. Read more.
Freeholders (Seaside home in the UK) Mole Architects
Very nice how well this modern cluster blends in with the existing buildings. Read more.
Iwakura House / ALTS Design Office (JAPAN)
Steel Window Frame/Trim Install on Rear Addition at 3415
Hayden & I installed this today. It reached 100º in Denver, luckily we wrapped-up by about 1pm. Very happy with how it came out and all-in-all not too difficult. Hayden should be able to weld the other smaller window (around the corner) in the next 2 week or so - will provide pictures and updates on that as well.
Note: The paint store was able to mix our preferred color and put it into a spray can for about $25.
Garðabær Kindergarten by sastudio (Iceland)
This was the winning entry by a young studio in Iceland. It brings me even more hope for the future when I see projects like this - places for our children to spend their formative years where surroundings are alive, sunny and demonstrate the importance of sustainability. Read more.
Ephoria Bridal Shop by Ngoac Space (Vietnam)
It’s not so much that it’s a bridal shop - what I appreciate is how much the architecture elegantly reflects the style and minimalism of the products being made (dresses).
Observations: a. this project is in Vietnam, yet all the text/signage inside and out is in English b. the thick front door is made of the same material (stucco?) as the rest of the facade and swings inward c. it appears there are fewer than 15 dresses on display throughout the shop. Read more.
Neom - Pioneering Desalination Technology in Saudi Arabia
Through a solar means of heating salt water and collecting the evaporated fresh water, this company is trying to make this historically high energy and massively destructive industry, sustainable. It takes 2 gallons of salt water to get 1 gallon of fresh water. So what happens to all the salty brine that’s left over? At great cost it typically is dumped back in the oceans and ends up destroying ecosystems. Some potential solutions with this approach include using the salt byproducts in the production of lithium batteries, grit for roads, fertiliser or detergents. See short video here showing the basic idea of how the desalination plant works.
Fun with Fencing on Weather House by Not Architects Studio (Tokyo)
I imagine this project will look extremely different in a few years, once the vines have overtaken the fencing material. Interesting way of thinking about a residence in a mostly hardscaped area of the city. The soft sketchy drawings also are lovely. Read more here.
Happy Independence Day Everyone!
After skipping last year, we were back on the balloon arch for the 14th year of the Highlands Parade. Felt good to see many of the neighbors again.
The Wave by Atelier Scale (China)
I like when this happens.
This temporary display was created for the 2020 Shenzhen Flower Show, it was so popular it was voted to become a permanent part of the park where the show is held. Read more.
Cinema Paradiso 1988
I’d put this in my top 10 films of all time with perhaps the most beautiful ending. If you haven’t seen it yet, add it to your summer queue, eat some Italian food, have a glass of wine and enjoy.
