Frank Lloyd Wright interviews with Mike Wallace - Audio

I downloaded the audio of 2 interviews conducted by Mike Wallace when Wright was 89 years old. It was very interesting because it talked with him about his views on religion, contemporary culture, politics, and architecture. Wright was a outspoken, pacifist, and opinionated man that was not afraid to offend others by his views. I enjoyed listening to these interviews despite several opposing views. I found his views on "the mob" or common man laughable. I would recommend this audio.

Frank Lloyd Wright and the Meaning of Materials - Reading

Highlights

• "the beauty of wood lies in its qualities as wood" - Frank Lloyd Wright
• Wright tended to hide structural wood. Was this because he didn't like the aesthetic of the structural wood itself, or was it because it would change his overall goal for the appearance of the building?
• Wrights views on carving wood, good and bad machinery was interesting. I found humor in his contradictions. It does make me think about how "nature" is manipulated and how it is viewed based on our culture and expectations.
• The author, Terry L. Patterson, did a good job of providing visual support to his ideas with pictures of Wright's work.

Design Center Field Trip

ArcCom

• Contractor
• Designs own fabric
• High double rub fabric - the lowest they sell is 50,000 DR
• Offer Leed products
• Lead time is 6-8 weeks for fabric that is not in stock. Customized orders have increased lead times.
• Minimum order is 1 yard but 1/8 yard after the minimum
• Custom fabrics require 350 yard minimum and must be a modification of an existing design. Also, requires 50% deposit
• Sold to the designer at net pricing. Designer determines the markup.
• fabric: 54" wide bolt
• wall paper: 54" wide untrimmed
• Most mills are domestic

Edelman Leather

• all natural
• imported from Europe because the animals are healthier, free range, and have not been given growth hormones.
• The offer vegetable and chromium (chemical) tanned leather.
• cows: 50-55 square feet
• bulls: 60-65 square feet
• "top grain" - low quality; "full grain" - high quality
• Clients are interior designers and architects. They will not sell to the public.
• Suede is the inner layer of the hide. 15-17 square feet
• Volume pricing ($8-24 square feet)
• Edelmanleather.com

Holly Hunt

• Showroom is 2 floors
• based in Chicago
• Holly Hunt lines and other designers and artists
• all made to order furniture
• 12-14 weeks lead time (more if a custom order)
• only sell to interior designers and architects
• offer 14 textile lines
• must specify COM or COL

The Design Center was a great experience. I can not wait to go back and explore the other showrooms.

New Glass Architecture - Reading

• Key words: phenomenon, immeasurable
• Innovation in glass has evolved through the development of office space and skyscrapers
• Quote from the reading: "As a result its proliferation was defined by its role as the corporate image - builder of modern architecture."
• literal transparency vs. phenomenal transparency (how space effects our senses)
• Reading doesn't provide detail on how glass is made today.

Georgetown - Precedent

Kreeger - Precedent

Cady's Alley post

Today I spent time exploring Cady's Alley. This was my first time visiting this site. I will be continuing my research on this site for the next few weeks. More updates and pictures to follow.

National Portrait Gallery - Precedent

I took these photos on Friday, October 8 while visiting the museum. I was amazed by the glass ceiling in the courtyard. I also, enjoyed the mixture of stone work throughout the upper floors of the building.

Dumbarton Oaks - Precedent

On September 23, I went to Dumbarton Oaks with some of my classmates to see the Patrick Dougherty installation. I am not including the pictures of the installation in this blog. I am including these pictures because of the beautiful stone and brick work throughout the property.

My Case Study Project will be focused on stone and brick at Cadys Alley. I am preparing a 15 minute presentation to present to my class the first week of November.

Beatley Library, Alexandria, VA - Precedent

I visited the library on September 8, 2010. This is a good example of stone and brick.

Plastic Essays

Highlights:

• And of Plastics?, Ezio Manzini - "Plastics won a place in the catalogue of accepted materials when their economic qualities combined with their cultural qualities."

• Plastic, Roland Barthes - "...more than a substance, plastic is the very idea of infinite transformation: as its everyday name indicates, it is ubiquity made visible."

• Natural Wood, Cultural Wood, Jean Baudrillard - "Objectively speaking, materials are what they are: there are no true or false ones, natural or artificial ones"

• Objects and Their Skin, Ezio Manzini - "How much deterioration is acceptable with that arc of time?" Manzini talks about the cultural and technical aspects of this question. My personal believe is that the cultural acceptability overrides the technical qualities.

Dimensional Color

Week 2 reading was by Louis Swirnoff. Here are the key points:

• Perspective helps us to situate ourselves in a space but doesn't address outside factors.
• Color is a reference point
• Color is another dimension
• Color is qualitative
• We apply color in a decorative way but should be more integrated into the process and the product.
• Color becomes the form; traditionally we have used form and color separately in the design process