August 22nd, 2021
There’s an excitement about newness. Moving into a new space, with fresh paint, unmarred counters, crisp door frames. The shininess of a countertop says “new,” not just as in “unblemished,” but “made just for you.” It says “this will not have to be repaired or replaced for a long time.” There is an excitement about […]
Posted in Aesthetics, Essay, History, Nature, Theory | No Comments »
October 25th, 2020
My new video on bringing natural light into a house form without side windows.
Posted in Aesthetics, Building Science, Nature, Uncategorized | No Comments »
December 12th, 2019
Often, architecture’s beauty comes from its deference to nature. Often nature’s beauty comes from walking by at the right moment.
Posted in Nature | No Comments »
November 19th, 2016
It is as perilous to design a prominent building in the giddiness of a tech-fueled economy as it is to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry. You may find yourself with buyers remorse the morning after. This could easily be the case with the New Mission Theater condos – a carnival’s fun house aesthetic on both […]
Posted in 94110, Aesthetics | No Comments »
March 13th, 2016
Norwegian high-pitched roofs, Dutch gables, Russian Orthodox domes, Spanish colonial facades — scores of newcomers have visited upon San Francisco’s skyline the architecture of their homelands. These were built by immigrants, for immigrants, and evinced authentic culture. In contrast, it is downright disingenuous when an institution dons an ethnic pastiche of whatever culture happens to […]
Posted in 94110, Aesthetics, History, Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 16th, 2016
Most architects just throw out something in hacienda style when they want to reflect the local culture here in the Mission…
Posted in 94110, Aesthetics, History | No Comments »
December 6th, 2015
I like deconstructivist architecture. I like it the same way, I think, that I’d like a night out on the town with Lady Gaga. But at the end of the evening, I’d rather return to a home like an Audrey Hepburn in that simple black dress. Home is, more than anything else, our place of […]
Posted in Aesthetics, Theory | No Comments »
November 22nd, 2015
All the gold on this façade was done with one and a half packages of leaf, or about $22. Amazingly thin stuff at around 7-millionths of an inch—the same as gold plate—it’s thin enough sunlight can pass through.
Posted in 94110, Aesthetics, Building Science | No Comments »
November 14th, 2015
“All discord [is] harmony not understood,” noted Alexander Pope. Discovering harmony in architecture, in what at first looks like discord, lends a wonderful richness and intrigue. Take this house on Vallejo Street. Study the ostensible jumble of unaligned windows and they’ll slowly reveal the internal layout of rooms and stair behind the façade. A similar work without the underlying […]
Posted in Aesthetics, Theory, Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 25th, 2015
There’s a difficulty in designing one thing for multiple locations, such as a bus shelter or a public toilet. You can’t design for context since the surrounding of each installation is unique. Whatever the design, it can only display the unity of its own system. Too often, this frees a designer to promulgate his particular style at the expense of […]
Posted in Aesthetics, History, Theory | No Comments »