Week #17
time for a quaranđ¸
Not cool to have a Toilet Paper Crisis mid quarantine. But it happened. So here I am thinking Iâm fully flush (no pun intended) with 12 extra TP rolls. Turns out I got catfished and theyâre all paper towels.
But. See here. A kiwi is always prepared. (Definitely not). And camping toilet paper pulled through. Victory! đđ
~
You can fast forward to shenanigans at the bottom. Ash xx
Not quite an old school tune in the classical sense.
A truly ingenious cover of Pure Imagination on the piano by Bill Charlap. So magestical. Heâs currently penciled in to perform with his trio (The Bill Charlap Trio) at the Village Vanguard in September. Any takers?
This weekâs party mix:
1.0 any press is good press
yimby ârevealsâ [insert project here]
This past week, YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard), instead of NIMBY (No/Not In My Back Yard) has been releasing confidential projects from some unknown sources in the architecture world of NYC. The somewhat salacious spin on being âthe firstâ to reveal these projects prematurely to the public is, (in my opinion) boring reporting and does no favours for all the people involved, from the client/designers/consultants/public authorities who are working hard to appease multiple stakeholders, financiers and the local communities. YIMBY is in fact doing the city a dis-service by releasing unfleshed out projects. It creates unwanted press and public attention, quite the opposite to its âYIMBYâ name. Development is important for the city, if we do not build where will future populations liveâŚ
250 Water Street, Seaport
2.0 wanna be in my _____ club?
Vornadoâs penn15 tower
Iâm assuming I donât need to say much but I canât tell if this is a joke or not. Big time NYC developer Vornado apparently have a new tower that has been redesigned by Rafael Vinoly called, wait for itâŚ. Penn15. I will leave it there. See for render and article below. The original tower design was by New York architects Pelli Clarke Pelli that have since been replaced by Vinolyâs team. (Also responsible for the âmatchstickâ aka 432 Park Ave).
Oh thatâs right YIMBY additionally scabbed a lot of these images from a âpamphletâ. Note the gradient page creases in many of the renders. Unsure if theyâre from a scanned pamphlet or someones online portfolioâŚ
3.0 doomed houses
yes yours kanye.
How about some word of advice Kanye, stick to your lane. And woops did I say doomed houses? I meant domed. The music star in the past few years has decided to transition his talents into the realm of 3D space. He also visited the Harvard GSD and gave their class free tickets to his concertâŚ
But to deliver some harsh architectural critque, Kanyeâs Star Warâs like archetype of domed houses is an utter geometric fail. The prototype prefabricated houses were being built on Kanyeâs Calabasasâs Hills property in California. Construction had to be stopped due to noise complaints from neighbours due to construction work being conducted during after hours, and he also did not file for a building permit. (Architecting 101, câmon Yeezy).
West, rebutted stating that the houses were temporary prototypes, however neighbours contested saying they were built atop, concrete foundations. Hardly âtemporaryâ. Good work Mr West, lets build fancy windowless tents for homeless people that do not improve the current situation what-so-ever. A dome is not a conducive typology to be translated into the current urban fabric and density.
3.0 Comment trolls
So er, who here reads comment threads? I sometimes do, and it's such an amusing black hole/time suck. Coming from the "design" world I relish in the comments left on design articles. Most of the time these trolls are unfairly harsh, but I am often left asking myself the rhetoric to these brutish vultures; "so this particular designer was chosen because of their design prowess. A. Why were you not picked? B. And if you are so savvy and assured with your critique, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Please enlighten me if so. Furthermore, how do you have so much time to write such an elaborate comment!
See below for the hefty critique on the rolling bridge from last weekâŚ
Too đ much đ time @Mr Wigle. In-coming banter from some pre-historic curmudgeon (aka Tyrannosaurus_rek) angrily typing away at his fossilised keyboard.
4.0 haha bugger
money buys clicks
The Architect New Yorkers out there will appreciate this. But wedding company Zola, has pushed out the New York City ZoLa (Zoning and Land Use) website out of the way as the top search option on google. I suppose little did Zola (wedding) know that ZoLa was in fact a real and official local government website.
5.0 very cool
infinity wall by dâstrict
Stumbled upon this online. Their âaboutâ section on their website insufficiently describes their service and product (also not assisted by the poor layout). However I think the work speaks for it itself. Dâstrict (from what I can see), delivers its customers unique user-experiences that are about changing space and perception through immersive digital media content.
Or you could just watch the video below.
6.0 the real meaning of
blockbustering
AND NO ITâS NOT OUR BELOVED VIDEO STORE.
I recently finished Richard Rothsteinâs NYT Bestseller âThe Color of Lawâ. Rothstein walks the reader through a methodical and comprehensive breakdown of the de jure segregation of the Black population in American history. He uses multiple pieces of evidence and contextual elements to argue that there has been a severe misrepresentation of de facto segregation and that many disadvantages Black populace faced was written into the law from the feds to the family unit.
Little did you know that your friendly neighbourhood BB actually had another meaning. The term âBlockbusteringâ also refers to the practice of moving African American homeowners into white neighbourhoods to spark âwhite flightâ (drive whites out), in order to lower housing prices.
Furthermore, Rothstein moves into the analysis of financial products that were far less superior to what was provided to white communities and offers some advice for the future in a final chapter. So if youâre ready for some jaw-dropping, heart-wrenching facts, please read The Color of Law.
7.0 lost in translation
soldering (pronounced sol-der-ing everywhere, pronounced sod-der-ing usa)
For the longest time this had me completely perplexed. The last time I checked solder had an âLâ in it. Oh wait it still does!
Soldering by the way is; when two or more items are joined by using a filler metal between the joints. This filler metal has a lower melting point than the metals being joined, which is completely different to welding whereby the materials are melted together.
According to a trusty source [Reddit]. The word âSolderâ is the modern spelling of the Middle English word âSouderâ. This is derived from the Old French word âSoudeurâ which takes it roots from the Latin for âSolidaireâ. During the 15th Century there was a movement to re-Latinise words and they put the âLâ back in place, however the pronunciation remained the same. (The comments that follow is a gigantic worm-hole so I donât recommend reading further).
8.0 nyc open streetsâŚ
jokes.
Part of the compounding frustration in the city has been the slow moving roll out of the âOpen Streets New York Cityâ scheme. Other cities/towns around the country have been rolling out Al Fresco dining, to help facilitate the opening of restaurants and eateries to bring back jobs and stimulate the economy. In early May the de Blasio administration announced that 100miles of NYC street will open to give residents more space to spread out. The first weekend saw a pittance of streets become pedestrainized; all were roads adjacent to and/or inside parks. The second weekend saw a sliver of streets open up, coupled with a stern notice that park population will be capacity monitored. Which leaves the question, where are we all supposed to go?! Quite frankly, with the current traffic on my street (my street has about 5 cars per hour (tops), why is it not closed? Closing more streets will deter people from taking weekend joy rides, will give residents more space to workout, eat, play, and get some much needed vitamin D.
Click here: to see the Open Streets website with a (unhelpful) table of open streets, and super un-userfriendly map.
If anyone can enlighten me on why this is taking so long. I would greatly appreciate this. Because my high level plan would be to:
close off all non main arterial streets that do not have essential or emergency services e.g fire dept/hospitals etc.
vehicle access is permitted only for deliveries/street residents/street cleaners/trash collection etc, with non main and arterial streets reduced to a 5 mile speed limit
start strategizing on alfresco dining/pedestrian movement/cyclists (normally slow traffic being closer to the footpaths with faster (car) traffic towards the center of the road)
Rockwell group has surfaced with a proposal for Al Fresco dining in the city. See here for more details. De Blasio has said âhis office is looking into the possibilities of opening the streets for diners, but no concrete plan has been released yet.â
*Sigh*
Plan by Rockwell Group
8.0 is this real life�
lode by fiction mine
Innovating in the Augmented Reality space is my long time friend Leetee. Together with her co-founder Marianne, they have been working on LODE, which aims to bring shopping AR directly to you. So excited to see this fully launch. Fiction Mine has been accepted into a 6 week accelerator in Montreal this Spring and I am sure will be successful in more to come.
Watch this space. đđđđđđ
9.0 ho ga chugga song
I canât believe that anyone would get sick of that Bill Charlap piano edition of Pure Imagination, but hereâs another goodie. (Clearly influenced by my recent watch of Guardians of the Galaxy).
10.0 architectural spotlight. this isâŚ
jeanne gang
Born: March 19, 1964 -
Founder of Studio Gang, has been carving up the architecture world in the past 15 years. Studio Gang, formed in 1997 is a multi-disciplinary firm that now has offices in Chicago (headquarters), New York and San Francisco. The practice, is known for its sustainable and unique environmental responses to the built world. Her buildings deploy sustainable design techniques such as incorporating recycled materials. Her firm looks as responsibly decreasing urban sprawl and increasing biodiversity.
Gang was thrust into the limelight with the âAqua towerâ design. The Aqua tower, completed in 2004, has a series of amorphous balconies that ripple across the buildingâs rectangular form. These balconies assist with diffusing strong winds across the facade. This 82 storey mixed-use tower is one of the tallest towers to have been designed by a woman.
Anything else?
In 2019 the MIRA Tower, in San Francisco opened. The tower is a 39 storey residential building located near downtown San Francisco. The rotating floor plan allows all of the apartments to have almost full 180 degree views. A significant focus on the building has been the environmental measures which includes a sophisticated grey-water system, green roof and high-efficiency fixtures. The building is targeting LEED Gold certification. I honestly think it looks like a giant twizzler.
MIRA Tower, San Francisco, USA
Shortly after the award of the MIRA tower, Gangâs practice was also selected to redesign the Chicago OâHare Airport.
The website states that the latest airport design will assist with wayfinding, efficiency and connectivity. The new global terminal combines the concourse and terminal into one building. The curved branches meet to form an Oculus that unites the form and welcomes airport visitors.
From above, visitors are greeted with the âYâ shaped aerial view of the airport, symbolic of the branching Chicago river. Inside, the terminal boasts a vibrant neighborhood. In parallel with the conventional airport functionality the program includes flexible space, which could be used for pop-up events such as performances, and casual gatherings. Greenery within the building is used to frame and divide functions and guide passengers through the terminal.
Aerial Render of OâHare Terminal, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Interior perspective, OâHare Terminal, Chicago, Illinois, USA
My favourite building by Studio Gang is the Solar Carve aka. 40th Tenth Ave, in New York. Having seen both the Aqua tower and MIRA (Twizzler), Solar Carve is both geometrically subtle and yet complex. The eroded crystalline diagrid of dark curtain wall panels has been well executed as it sits on the westside highway like a piece of cool obsidian.
Solar Carve viewed from the High Line
Interior of the office space
The overall form of the Solar Carve integrates function and environment by enabling visitors views to the water by sculpting the corners and offering building users sunlight on the outdoor green space.
Plan of Solar Carve, showing the neighbouring High Line
Section of Solar Carve and the High line
Shenanigans
1.0 a canine friend
Albie aka Albatross, owner Leetee (creator/founder of Fiction Mine - Lode) [from above].
2.0 babe
The inspiration we all need right now⌠Michelle Obama (repping a bright purple suit, amazing).
Canât say Iâve read Becoming yet, but itâs on the list! Fun fact: She has a Grammy Award, in the category of âBest Spoken Word Album (includes Poetry, Books & Storytelling)â for her audiobook of becoming.
3.0 boy
This week is a space guy! Wooo Elon MuskâŚ. Jokes (F8ck Elon Musk - As one California State Democrat said this week).
So this guy⌠Jeffrey Hoffman. aka Hubble-Space-Telescope-Fixer-Man came to work once and I definitely skipped a client meeting to listen to him speak. (Worth it). This guy, gives a short presentation about sub-orbital travel (coming very soon), then starts to talk about how he casually became an astronaut.
It went something along the lines of: âOh you know when I was 5 my father would take me to the Natural History Museum and I became fascinated by Space and decided I wanted to be an astronaut. I went to college for astrophysics, then went to Rice University for material science followed by a Harvard PhD in Astrophysics. So one day there was a mission opening with 5 spots, 2 reserved for astronauts and 3 for other fields, so I applied and I got in.â đ¤ˇââď¸
So Jeff continues, and we learn in awe about space toilets, space food etc. And someone asks, âoh so how do you fasten a 3mm screw into a telescope in space?â He responds, âwell ah yeah itâs possible because I did it.â
With a total of 5 trips out to space in his career as an astronaut, and having logged more than 1,200 hours in space; Jeffrey Hoffman ends his talk with a final slide. See below. Mic drop, I donât know what, but 100% to infinity and beyond the coolest selfie, EVER.
4.0 stair porn
CitizenMâs public stairs in the Bowery are tre cool.
5.0 art
Before you say anything, this is 100% art. Itâs incredible. I had a great time laughing at all of these. Click here for the link. I strongly recommend you look at them all.
6.0 object
Another two purchase validations from quarantine time. In fairness I was well and truly overdue for a new pair of shoes (my knees start to hurt when I need new ones). So this was totally valid.
Below are the 2019 season of the Nike Zoom Pegasus Turbo 2âs. My short review: Amazing ride, great, spongy, gel-ly, and all you could ever want to pretend youâre running on clouds. However, in comparison to the OG Pegasus 36, it provides far less ankle support and overall stability and I will be running shorter distances in the bad boys.
But the real winner of this week is⌠my Rishi Teapot!
Itâs glass, itâs cool, but above all I can now brew tea leaf tea AND have more than one cup at a time. I recommend their english breakfast tea leaves. For one person I would recommend the 600ml which yields approximately two decent hot perks.
7.0 when disaster strikesâŚ
hurricane katrina
An interesting and heartwarming tale of the Hancock bank and how they dealt with the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. Within 24 hours card-table locations were opened, creating make-shift branches that started putting paper money back in hurricane victimâs pockets. They made out loans on scratch paper for residents who were left swimming out of their devastated homes, and kept IOUs for dollars up to the tens of millions for other residents. An initiative was devised to take money out of ATM machines (almost all were underwater), and severely soiled from the saltwater. The employees literally laundered, (i.e washed and dried) the notes to distribute it back to the âbranchesâ. The bank had fortunately preempted the devastation and had put large amounts of cash in vaults outside of the general customer service area.
8.0 in my ears
A quick podcast recommended by Isaac from work. Cool Mules perfectly captures the tone of an ultimate Douche Bag. In short, ex Vice Media Canadian guy âSlava Pâ, the ultimate cool dude (LOL) is now in jail for drug trafficking and implicated 5 other people who spent some time in jail in Australia. His tell all to Canadaland is really quite perplexing and fascinating.
9.0 wanderlust
When you canât go home, just look at pictures on the internetâŚ
The Southern Lights from New Zealand.
10.0 meanwhileâŚ
As the pandemic started to close in on all of our beloved museums everywhere, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma gave Tim Send, their Head of Security, full reign on their Twitter account. Enjoy the laughs.
The part I love the most is his online learning Twitter experience. Thanks Ash.
11.0 spoiler alert!
do not watch if you havenât seen jojo rabbit
This scene at the end of Jojo Rabbit is spot on. It perfectly captures how I will feel the day we get let out of purgatory.
12.0 nice knowing ya!
zoom layoffs
Spotted this on my LinkedIn feed. This happened a few weeks ago. Scooter company Bird swiftly laid-off 406 people over a 120 second Zoom Call. Read the article link for more information, but in short, employees were emailed to sign into a Corona titled Zoom call, where a pre-written speech was delivered by someone who was NOT the CEO, nor someone from the C-Suite. Cold-blooded.
On the other hand, Airbnb had quite the opposite approach. About two weeks ago CEO and Co-Founder Brian Chesky writes it all out in a sincerely carefully crafted letter to his employees. He clearly outlines the reasons for the mass lay-offs, states the dire situation, succinctly delivers a plan-of-action and the community network for the Airbnb alumni.
See here for the âmessage from Brian Cheskyâ.
13.0 doodle
Not quite a doodle this week. But have been attempting to paint again. Yes gradients of colour, just because.
14.0 what to watch.
marvel mania
YOU WONâT REGRET IT.
Approximately 48 hours of 22 easy to watch movies with insane CGI and superheroes. Get that disney+ free trial asap. This is also how you should watch all of them in order.ďťż
15.0 nom nom nom.
homemade scones: aUNTY BETTâS NO FAIL RECIPE
In full ode to the quarantine revival of all things homemade⌠Itâs always time to âtreat yoâselfâ. See all instructions below. Keep in mind that this is quite a sticky batch and if youâre wanting to make pretty cookie cutter scones, you will need to be very generous with flouring your bench. Of course special credit goes to my Aunty Bett who shared this recipe. No idea where she got it from.
16.0 and thatâs a wrap! hereâs some ânewâ music
Released around October 2019, this song has finally reached my âdiscover weeklyâ on Spotify. Neon Valley has some synth, funk beats that are irresistibly groovy. Enjoy.
Please see here for a couple of playlists that Iâve been tuned in to.
Blues Old and New from Memphis and Beyond - Soulfulla Rona Blues by Anna Ishii
This playlist entitled: Butter by Spotify contains a mix of soul, hip-hop and some new grooves.
_
Till next time my friends.
I hope that I have credited everything. If not images are not mine unless stated, please click on the images and hyperlinks to their original sources :)