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poop-freeze
via vz
Paul Overy's excellent new book examines the roots of the movement and comes to some interesting conclusions as to why Modernism remains so very sure of itself. It is often taken as axiomatic, for instance, that somehow the brutal shock of the Great War with its industrial-scale killing capability stimulated the rise of what was still a fledgling movement in Europe. This is true to the extent that wars always accelerate the advance of technology - particularly the planes and ships beloved of such architects as Le Corbusier. It is also true that the example of new factory buildings, with their need for large, uninterrupted spaces, had much to do with influencing change in architecture. But Overy suggests that it has as much to do with late 19th century notions of healthcare. In particular, he believes, the cult of the sanatorium led directly to the new architecture.
In a Europe ravaged by industrial pollution and tuberculosis, with antibiotics yet to be discovered, the Victorian obsession with fresh air was taken to new heights. Sanatoria with large windows and open balconies were built in mountain resorts and forest retreats. Old ways of building did not lend themselves to this kind of healthcare. Doctors insisted on light and air, the dissolving of the barrier between indoor and outdoor. These new super-clinics could not be allowed to harbour germs and dust: they had to be efficient wipe-clean places. As early as 1907, the astonishingly modern-looking Queen Alexandra Sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland, contained all the key ingredients: flat roofed, big-windowed, concrete-framed, balconied, white-painted, minimalist. Architects were Otto Pfleghard and Max Haefeli. Structural engineer was Robert Maillart, deploying the Hennebique reinforced-concrete system. Nor was this the first of its kind - a prototype, also in Davos, had existed as early as 1902, developed by Dr. Karl Turban and architect Jacques Gros. The key was the openable all-glass, south-facing wall. It quickly became apparent that conventional bricklayers and carpenters could not produce such a building. New techniques were duly borrowed from industrial and transport buildings.
rt 66 revisited
endangered motels
From the Redwoods to the beaches, parts of California soon may be inaccessible to visitors.
Under the cloud of the Golden State's current fiscal crisis, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently asked each department and agency in the state to reduce its budget by up to 10 percent. The Department of Parks and Recreation came up with a proposal that sent a shock wave through the state: Close 48 state parks and reduce lifeguards at some beaches to cut $8.8 million from the 2008-2009 state budget.
checkpoint charlie at terminal 5
There will never be another surfer like Miki "Da Cat" Dora.via vz
All for a Few Perfect Waves is the story of Miki "Da Cat" Dora, the dashing and enigmatic rebel who, for twenty years, was the king of Malibu surfers. He dominated the waves, ruled his peers' imaginations, and—to this day—inspires the fantasies of decades of Dora wannabes who began to swarm his pristine paradise after the movie Gidget helped surfing explode into the mainstream and changed it forever—many say for the worse.
Disenchanted, Dora railed against the ruination; angry that the waves were no longer his own, he fought back—or found better things to do. Dora was also an avid sportsman, raconteur, philosopher, traveler—and scam artist of wide repute. When, in 1973, he finally ran afoul of the law, he soon abandoned America and led the FBI and Interpol on a seven-year chase around the globe. At the same time, he never gave up searching for (and occasionally finding) the empty waves and spirit of the Malibu he'd lost. From homes in New Zealand to South Africa to France, he continued to personify the rebel heart of surfing and has been widely acknowledged as "the most relentlessly committed surfer of all time."
The New York Times named him "the most renegade spirit the sport has yet to produce." Vanity Fair called him "a dark prince of the beach." The Times (London) wrote, "A hero to a generation of beach bums. He was tanned . . . good-looking . . . trouble."
On par with auteurs like Walt Disney, Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, and Art Spiegelman, Ralph Bakshi redefined animation and became a hero to countless generations of fans and filmmakers. If Disney’s life and work evoke images of chaste princesses in gleaming castles, Bakshi’s is a lady of ill repute camped out in a dim back alley. His name is synonymous with the great tradition of American cartooning. Bakshi is responsible for such memorable films and television shows such as: Fritz the Cat, the first x-rated animated feature film, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse, Spider-man, Heavy Traffic, Cool World, and The Lord of the Rings, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary in 2008.This is the only book chronicling the career of one of the pioneers of animation. Unfiltered highlights Bakshi’s early years, as well as each of his groundbreaking films, TV shows, and other projects. Unfiltered contains hundreds of pieces of pre-production art, animation cells, and never-before-seen rough sketches, line drawings, and doodles, all culled from Bakshi’s personal archives containing more than thirty years of his life’s work.With contributions from animators, producers, and directors who have been influenced by his work, this is a book like no other, about a man like no other.via vz
Braun
though not frequently updated rambling oaks blends container, farm and slab timber furniture with excellent results
and yep, im up to the r's on justins links page
So, Frank Lloyd Wright And Marcel Duchamp Walk Into A Meeting...
No, it isn't the beginning to a joke, this really happened! Much thanks to The New Modernist, Edward Lifson, who provided some photos and a link to a 7.5 hour recording of a meeting called "The Western Round Table on Modern Art" which took place in San Francisco in April, 1949. As Lifson points out on his blog:
The artists and critics opine on art in a changing culture, degeneracy, science, communication, the public, the critic, and other topics, including my favorite - the beautiful.
Check out the post on Edward's site and follow the link to download the entire recording to hear it for yourself. Beautiful!
adaptive reuse ditty at toh
faux cracked plaster
adaptivereuse does robin hood gardens
playmobile security checkpoint
via vz
lost roadside america
via zoller
lloyd kahn is previewing shelter publication's new book on independent builders of the pacific north west
life without buildings does death stars, bunkers and giant women
de madera y adobe - house in Arruda dos Vinhos Portugal
moving stairs at wtc