Waller Creek Show 2016

Back in November, I checked out the freak show called Creek Show 2016 sponsored by the Waller Creek Conservancy with some co-workers. The Conservancy is focused on creating a chain of urban parks along the creek, especially after the diversion tunnel is complete. 

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Modern in; Modern out

I get a newsletter from realitor.com every week or so, and the last issue was interesting because of its take on Modernism. Apparently, the millennials like Modern architecture. They like open floor plans, seamless bridging between indoor and outdoor space, and the Modern design aesthetic, which includes the features above as well as natural light and the integration of indoor and outdoor aesthetics. Because of their desirability, Modern homes appreciate at a rate of 7.7 percent annually compared to 5.6 percent for more traditional homes (3.7 percent for Craftsman homes and 2.2 percent for Victorian homes).

"Modern architecture is to real estate as Apple products are to personal technology" so says George Hale of H. Hudson Homes of Portland. He is right, of course. Makes you wonder why builders aren't building more Modern homes being around the country. The article notes that the South is more conservative about architecture and therefore gravitates towards more familiar styles. Nonetheless, I talk to folks around here all the time who would love Modern but don't have the option because there aren't enough Modern homes on the market, and this is in progressive Austin.

In other realtor.com news, the all-white bathroom is apparently out as is minimalism in the loo. And nickel fixtures. Hmmmm.... My advice? Stay classic. Modern doesn't go out of style!

dancing with architecture: downtown San Francisco

Way back in September I was able to steal a few hours in San Francisco to gawk about downtown. I was able to see the John Portman development (and his classic open-atrium hotel [see above]) and the new San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (it was only open for 50 more minutes when I got there; with a $25 admission, that was a 50-cents-a-minute whirlwind tour!).

The infamous sinking Millenium Tower. Just as the new millennium is sinking, so is the new Millennium Tower!

Liked how they used darker wood to mark the last step (and hovered the steps out from the wall on the sides).

Judd!

The stairwells here are rather awesome.

1001 buildings you (maybe) must see before you die!

On a whim, I picked up this tome at Half Price Books on Thursday. This thick guide lists (ahem) 1001 buildings to see before you leave this mortal coil. I didn't count to verify, so I'll take the editor's word that there are, indeed, 1001 buildings listed in here. The structures date from the Newgrange Burial Chamber in Ireland from 3200 BC up to Herzog and de Meuron's Beijing National Stadium (known to the locals as 'The Bird's Nest') in 2008.

After flipping through its ample pages, I determined that we've seen 54 of the 1001 buildings. So we've got some work to do (although it will not be our life's goal to see all of these since some choices are questionable and others are in locations that are risky to life and limb).

Page markers for buildings we've seen...

I was happy that an R.M. Schindler made the cut (the Schindler-Chace House), but horrified that the authors included a photo of the Lovell Beach House instead. At first I thought perhaps it was a printing error that mixed up the photos from a later listing of the beach house; however, this is the sole Schindler listing. As the bride helpfully pointed out: Can you really trust an architectural book that doesn't know the difference between the two houses? Good point.

Great photo of the Beach House, though.

At the very least, the book will be helpful in putting together viewlists for various trips we may or may not take.

haiku for the book "How House: RM Schindler" by James Steele

you ask yourself "How?"

nestled amongst rolling hills.

interlocking joy...

Built in 1925, this remarkable piece of early Modernism is comfortably perched on a Silverlake hilltop, a beacon of radical architectural thought. The author, James Steele, notes in the first sentence of the book that the How House is "..arguably the best house that Rudolf Schindler ever designed...". It is, unquestionably, a beauty. It's also shockingly ahead of its time. Now almost a hundred years old, it could have been designed yesterday.

James Eads How inherited a fortune from his father, James Buchanon Eads, who invented a diving bell that supported a successful salvage company. James Buchanon also designed the ironclad gunboats the North used to defeat the South's navy during the Civil War. After he retired, his restlessness led him to designing and building a steel-superstructure arch bridge in St. Louis, an engineering feat.

After he graduated from Havard Medical School, James Eads How attempted to donate his inheritance to the National Socialist Party, but his family stopped him through the courts. In response, he dedicated his fortune to assisting the homeless.

Given that How's socialist politics brought him through the Schindlers' gatherings at Schindler's own house, Schindler designed a practical house with radical aesthetics, greatly advancing Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural vision.

This 80-page book, published in 1996, is for Schindler diehards, and includes many diagrams and photos as well as a detailed architectural critique. We were fortunate enough to not only tour the house but attend a reception there to hear Judith Sheine speak about the house and Schindler. The place is gorgeous and well-thought out and detailed.