Week #19
~ matcha cha cha ~
winter is here…
However to be frank and honest, the summer was pretty swell. I am indeed waiting for the day when I wake up to fully naked trees on my street. A few afternoons ago I dropped my coats off at the drycleaners, hoping that they will remove 2019’s delicious beer remnants.
It still feels like New York is just stuck in purgatory. But watch out folks 25% capacity dining is here, which is likely a grand total of 5 patrons when you look at the square footage of some restaurants in my area.
So, to prepare for the impending doom I provide an election distraction that could nicely round off a stellar 2020 let’s commence Week #19!
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1.0 The old school of old school
Please watch in complete awe at the incredibly talented Chloe Chua. She performs Self in Mind by Jaehyuck Choi and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Winter. All from memory. Yes she’s eleven.
2.0 what a mare (mayor)!
Fighting hard to not to get too political from the get go… However, many New Yorkers are staunch on the horrific job that current Mayor, Bill de Blasio is unleashing on the city. This made me think more about the importance of civic leadership at more granular scales. For example, community meetings, council members and the like.
Below is a great TED talk by Benjamin Barber back from 2013, that presses the importance of the Mayor. Their leadership can have a direct and vastly influential effect towards literally shaping our cities. He provides many examples of how various Mayors have impacted many of our well-known and loved cities.
3.0 Remember all the city taxes you paid…?
well listen, #fuggedaboutit
Part of paying taxes is the hope that civic leadership spends it responsibly. Many articles I read a couple of months ago, are pointing to a gaping hole that varies from $400 million to almost $1 billion of (New York) tax payer’s money that has been spent on a failed and somewhat non-existent, city exclusive, mental health program called “Thrive NYC”. This huge budget black hole has been largely swept under the rug due to more recent issues (Covid) but sheds more light on de Blasio’s failed responsibilities as the Big Apple’s leader. However, what is more slightly interesting is that “Thrive NYC” was in fact a mental health program that Bill had entrusted to his wife, Chirlane McCray.
To further attest the failed mental health program, my personal empirical observations of the pandemic purgatory NYers are currently living in, show a complete sham. At present, make shift housing resembling a NY edition of skidrow is dotted through the East Village, UES (Upper East Side) and LES (Lower East Side), I’ve witnessed junkies shooting heroin in broad daylight next to Government buildings and not to mention the putrid smell of human piss adorning many neighborhood streets. Homeless and rehabilitative centers have been relocated to UWS hotels that are directly adjacent to elementary schools (no joke).
Oh wait, de Blasio had also mentioned something about getting rid of street cleaning? (To cut city spending?) uber face palm.
Anywho, feast on the articles (click on the images) that have got us all wondering where our hard earned Benjamins are going.
4.0 So the street cleaning stays but it’s reduced to only once per week.
Part of my weekly WFH amusement was watching the cars dance on my street as they make way for the street cleaner. Disguised as a “social justice reform” de Blasio is “changing New Yorker’s” lives as you no longer have to move your car twice a week. Big woop. Now we can just have dirtier streets. What about expanding the bike lanes and discouraging the number of vehicles in the city. Pre bike owning, the open streets were cute and are now more anecdotal, but what about real change. Give the city back to pedestrians, give people more options to get to places via other means of transport which will release the city of congestion. (And stop those eggs honking on the streets)
5.0 The demise of new york…
When the haters were out in full force. They all slated the demise of New York City. Let us be reminded that there is probably no city which is operating at full capacity right now. Countries that are presently bathing in no mask, ‘back-to-normal’ operations, have closed their borders and operate without the hoards of tourists that would typically be roaming their streets. Jerry Seinfeld a staunch New Yorker, came out with a great opinion article in the NYT. See below.
In addition, Larry Silverstein shares his thoughts on a full New York recovery.
Seinfeld was further supported by this well written comment and perspective by a New York Cab driver. *all the feels*
Truth.
5.0 How they approve them big projects
ULURP - Uniform land use review procedure
Yes gotta love those acronyms. ULURP a well recognised acronym amongst New Yorkers is the council review procedure that large projects that are: “breaching current zoning rules, but would like to get permission to build” have to go through.
Infamously known as bureaucratic, lengthy, political, divisive and costly, ULURP has pushed through significant projects giving them zoning exemptions and stipulating other protocols/zoning rules unique to that development.
If you would like to learn more about how the process works. Below is a great webinar that was run by ABNY (Association for a Better New York) that invited speakers Richard Barth and Susan Hinkson-Carling from Capalino + Company about the full step-by-step process.
6.0 caught short on site?
don’t forget to call ahead?!
So the other day I was at work, googling security booths and an extremely interesting, “suggested” youtube video popped up underneath an advertisement for port-a-loos/port-a-potties. (I had this video embedded originally and the paused video frame was just too much for this newsletter).
So eventually I watched the ad and was stunned, speechless, LMFAO and confused. The many ‘artistic’ decisions in the video, plus highlights of the product’s design features was very intriguing. Of course I immediately disseminated my youtube find to a couple of text groups. One of my friends (thanks Becky) followed with an even more fascinating article on the history of the competing families of portable sh*t boxes in New York City. This fantastically written article takes us on a journey on the family feuds and talks about the advertising approach for one infamous company called Call-A-Head. If you would like to watch the ad (I highly recommend), please click here.
And if you require a 7-10 min procrastination to read an article about the plastic poop stalls in NYC that adorn the festivals, NYRR runs, construction sites etc. grab a stool (woops) and read here.
Charlie and Kimberley Howard from Call-a-head take their sh*t seriously
7.0 food for thought
the future of the architecture firm
Perhaps controversial to say, but after seeing the number of layoffs, paycuts and furloughs that have plagued (pun intended) design firms this past year, it saddens me to hear of many architecture firms out there struggling. Even the players at the top are not indestructible and big companies such as Gensler, SOM and the like have had to reduce their forever hardworking workforces. But what does this really mean? I think first and foremost, we see the profession of the architect as not a necessity. When budgets come under scrutiny clients look at reducing scope and tightening their spending on services that might not be deemed as “essential” to them.
Whilst I am a strong supporter of good design and always employing an architect, it does shed some light on how our industry leaves little in the tank for rainy days and questions the amount of responsibility and our “essentialness” to society. The pandemic has shown the lack of resiliency across architecture firms and many other creative industries.
So what is the future of the architecture firm? Is it a time we see a paradigm shift where architects take back the responsibility of building things…? Because where there’s more responsibility comes more pay. Just sayin’ (I’ve also aired this dirty laundry before on a similar post last year).
8.0 tesselating vase fun.
kin workshop
Yet again, another talented friend of mine, Izzie has started making a range of beautifully handcrafted felt vases. Of course being felt they don’t hold actual liquids but they are a fun coozie for banal looking vessel.
These bespoke crafted goods a made from multiple circles that are neatly sewn together in different arrangements to create the various sizes and shapes. Please check out her etsy store if you’re looking for a fun unique present to buy this christmas. (Yes christmas is in two months). Her website is named Kin Workshop. Check it out!
9.0 is this real life?
The discovery of self
Forwarded by Kat, the work by London artist Tishk Barzanji is a refreshing take on flattened architectural rendering but with an Escher-esque flavour. Born between Iraq, Turkey and Syria, Tishk migrated to London as a young refugee. His latest pieces speak about his personal struggles on grappling with his ethnic identity and a sense of belonging. Together, the works are an ensemble of poetry and art that reflects on mental health subjects such as anxiety and depression.
In the article shared, we are given more insight into Tishk’s personal journey. During his year of being bedridden due to illness in 2013, Tishk’s imagination started to wander into a world of maze universes and black silhouettes. Influenced by his upbringing in Kurdistan and his perspective from his bedroom window in a social housing complex, he began exploring marginalized and forgotten people in society.
The architectural elements in his work aim to question the future of urban living, whilst telling the story of the people who currently inhabit this architecture.
9.0 the virtual tourist
Open Walls - A virtual museum
By Albert Orozco & Edlin G. Lopez
And Orozco (featured on Week #17) knocks it out of the park again! Last week Albert forwarded me a link on this very cool virtual museum that Edlin and himself have been working on. The museum’s main guiding principle is aimed towards creating a forum for creatives in the visual arts and design world. The curated scenes aim to recreate the narrative of dispossessed communities. The museum looks at creating a new way for the public to experience a museum that extends beyond “tangible” walls. The project does away with the conventional inequity often seen in the art world and hopes to push the boundaries on new avenues for future art representation.
10.0 so what’s new?
I guess seeing as this is an architecture newsletter we better feature some buildings…
botswana innovation hub
Architect: SHoP Architects
Location: gaborone, botswana
I remember hearing about this building a few years ago at an architecture lecture about facades and customisation, turns out this building has been in the making since 2010 when SHoP first won the competition. Starkly reminding me of the Fukuoka Terminal building by FOA, the hub centre quite successfully blends in with its surrounding landscape. Whilst still a ‘busy’ building, the nature of the facade seems more restrained when compared with some of the other more heavily ornamental exteriors seen on their newer skyscraper designs.
Dogmatic to their previous exterior endeavours, SHoP developed an in-house database to manage the building’s exterior, stating a fully automated and paperless system that allowed them to achieve direct-to-fabrication in the construction process.
From a sustainable standpoint the building uses a variety of techniques, including an “energy blanket” roofscape. The large roof overhangs help to passively mitigate extensive solar heat gain, whilst other mechanisms focus on collecting and reusing water.
Funnily enough, I literally ran past this store yesterday just as it was being completed. Poor buggers who had to screw all the crushed aluminum cans onto the panels…
Daily Paper, an Amsterdam founded clothing brand has just made its way to New York City. The brand’s three founders Hussein Suleiman, Abderrahmane Trabsini and Jefferson Osei are all of African decent and all grew up as childhood friends from the Oud-West neighbourhood.
Approximately 13,500 - 14,000 squashed and recycled Arizona Iced Tea cans adorn the exterior, and have been manually fastened onto panels. The intricate pattern takes inspiration from tradition East and South African beadwork. In addition, the ornately shaped roof seeks its roots from the forms seen on traditional Dutch townhouses.
For you New Yorkers who are keen to check it out, its located on the Northwest corner of Delancey and Chrystie Streets.
what else what else… got desparate and started looking at archdaily. however this is a great find! 👌😅
the great wall of wa
architect: luigi rosselli
location: western australia, australia
Lurking more into the true definition of “landscape architecture” and very closely to Kengo Kuma’s ‘erasure of architecture’, Rosselli has created a 230m/750ft long rammed earth wall. The wall snakes long the edge of a sand dune and cleverly creates the envelope for 12 residences. The residences are for short-term accommodation for a nearby cattle station during the mustering season. The rammed earth wall (450mm thick) combined with the sand dune located at the back provides the extensive thermal mass, thereby allowing them to be naturally cool in the incredibly hot climate. An iron rich sandy clay, along with gravel from a nearby river is bonded with water from a local bore to build the rammed earth wall.
This innovative design moves away from the typical thin corrugated metal shelters often seen in the North Western region of Australian architecture.
11.0 murals
black lives matter
location: kansas city, missouri, usa
Over 1,000 volunteers gathered to create six giant murals. Perhaps the biggest of its kind that stretched across 2,000ft/610m of pavement. The impressive murals were designed by six black artists, each with their own variation on the “Black Lives Matter” block letters.
Aside from only two death threats, movement organiser Damian Lair said that the overall community response was “really incredible”. A few of the murals have been defaced since their completion, Lair was mostly worried about protests that could surface during their completion.
12.0 affordable housing new zealand.
build build build.
To be brutally honest I saw this article on linkedin, and was not entirely sure about whether we could accurately compare apples to apples between Christchurch and Auckland. I have strong opinions on urban sprawl, infrastructure and affordable housing. And I am yet to see a scheme that is mostly successful. My question to you all, is a single individual home an all round economically viable option for future kiwi generations and the environment?
I may share my thoughts next time round. See here for article.
13.0 A SEGWAY INTO…
PLANNING FOR MINORITIES
As we have all seen, Covid-19 has poured even more salt on the wound of social disparities and shows some interesting statistics on urban density and how this has affected different demographic pockets. There is a clear distinction between density and overcrowding, with overcrowded households showing how they have been severely impacted by the pandemic. Continuing along a similar vein of work by Richard Rothstein which I have spoken about in a previous newsletter, article author Chris Walters, points out that years of planning and historic segregation has lead to overcrowded households. Put simply, households further from the city, house more marginalized communities, with larger families, less household income and inferior access to good jobs.
Before I butcher it any further and miss out too many crucial details, read here.
14.0 architectural spotlight
this is…
Philip johnson
july 8th, 1906 - january 25, 2005
Inspired by Janie and Matt’s recent visit to the Glass House (New Canaan, Connecticut), I thought that it was only appropriate to pay homage to one of the great American Modernists/Post Modernists, Philip Johnson.
Johnson was the first recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Price in 1978. He grew up in Ohio and then attended Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York. Following this he attended Harvard University where he focused on learning Greek, philology, history and philosophy. Upon graduating Johnson travelled often to Europe, where he was introduced to modernists, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius by Henry-Russell Hitchcock (architectural historian). His most important introduction was to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, in 1928. This meeting fostered a lifelong relationship of both collaboration and competition between the two architects.
The Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut
After joining the architecture department at MoMA NY in 1930, Johnson arranged visits for Gropius and Corbusier. During the Great Depression in 1936, Johnson dabbled in some journalism and politics. Interestingly, Johnson was a Nazi sympathizer who even travelled to Germany and Poland as a correspondent for a radically populist and anti-Semitic newspaper.
In 1941 enrolled in the Harvard GSD (Graduate School of Design) where he studied alongside Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius. He joined the army in 1941 and following his service in 1946 he returned to the MoMA as a curator and writer, whilst simultaneously working to establish his own architectural practice.
One of his most famous works, The Glass House (featured above), was designed as a personal residence, and was heavily influenced by the Farnsworth House (by Mies van der Rohe). The house measures 17m (56’) x 9.7m (32’), overlooks a pond, the building exterior is of mostly glass with charcoal painted steel. The floor sits 10 inches above the ground plain. As stated in the New York Times, even though it shares many similarities to the work of Mies, its pure symmetry, closeness to the earth and dark colors are Johnson’s personal statement.
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David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center
In 1956, Johnson collaborated with Mies on the famous Seagram Building located on Park Avenue. The building form was designed by Mies, Johnson designed the interiors of the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants.
Johnson is responsible for many iconic buildings around New York and in 1967 entered a new era in his career after founding a partnership with John Burgee. During 1980-1990 Johnson commenced his more famous Post Modern works. See below for 550 Madison also known as the AT&T building. This midtown darling was recently under scrutiny because of Snohetta’s new addition to the building’s iconic lobby area. There were even protests! “Hands off my Johnson". The building’s distinctive cut out at the peak resembled the design seen on Chippendale furniture.
550 Madison / AT&T Building / Sony Building
The Seagram Building on Park Avenue, in collaboration with Mies van der Rohe.
The Roofless Church, New Harmony, Indiana. Designed as an open air interdenominational church. (Reminds me of the drape function in 3ds Max)
The Lipstick building, 453 ft (138m) tall skyscraper at 885 Third Avenue. The building’s name, paying homage to its shape and colour.
time for a golden oldie
Etta James’s Don’t Cry Baby, was exactly how I kicked off my Sunday morning. With a bit of soul…😛 Thanks Anna.
shenanigans
1.0 a canine friend
Rio! Kim’s cute little pup of 5 months 🤩
2.0 babe
Ruth Bader Ginsberg. RIP. Second female Supreme Court judge, a phenomenal cultural and feminist icon. Need I say more.
3.0 what to watch
I’m forever behind on watching things and am not a huge tv watcher. (Yes I have not watched Friends or Sex and the City). But I would say, that I am up-to-date on, Borat, which was a little too much for me. If I could offer some advice: You can probably watch it at twice the speed and get 40mins of your life back and/or watch the trailer and then skip to the Rudi Giuliani scene. Personally I feel that the Borat character is too purposefully “backward” that it struggles to engage with intelligible opinions that come from the political outliers. Honestly the most shocking scenes distastefully describes an offbeat portrayal of women’s’ struggles in American society. I was very confused.
Nevertheless, this is what has been on my screen.
season 8 of the “great british bakeoff” [on netflix]
Holy moley this show never ceases to amaze. It brings me such joy. Objectively this season’s lot is very different to season 7. The first episode showstopper had me on the floor laughing. (Coral knows exactly what I’m talking about).
“the vow” an expose into the sex cult up in albany aka. nxivm [on hbo]
If you’re prepared to be on the edge of your seat, gasping, dumbfounded and shocked all at once I recommend this documentary. As Sunjae pointed out, the creators of the documentary have taken an interesting stylistic approach whereby they do not give their personal reasons upon the authorship or plotline of the show. I would say the Episodes 5 & 6 could’ve been combined, but 8 is a real eyeopener. I guess we should be reminded that being open minded is one thing, but it being so open that your brain falls out is another.
Keith Raniere, head of the cult has recently been sentenced to 120 years in prison.
“ex machina” [on prime & hulu]
So you think you’re just watching an AI, Fembot movie. But think again. Ex Machina is honestly one of the most thought provoking movies I’ve watched all year. I personally think it is successful due to its artfully distilled narrative, along with restrained number of main characters that steal the show. The day after watching I made a list on all of the topics that it touches that are more than relevant in current times. And props to Alicia, she’s a great robot.
4.0 boy
On the 28th August, 2020, the world lost a great talent and pop culture icon. Chadwick Boseman aka. the “Black Panther”. As a fervid Marvel fan, it hurts to see a role model leave our screens at such a young age (he passed away from cancer aged 43). But let’s remember him for what he accomplished.
Cast as the Black Panther, which was released in 2018, Boseman’s on screen character embodied compassion, leadership, respect and kindness. Boseman gave life to The Black Panther as a symbol of a gifted warrior and leader that taps into his emotion, intuition and calls upon his comrades to advise him on how to protect his nation and save humanity.
Before his death, Boseman had more recently starred in Da 5 Bloods, now on Netflix. Prior to his role as the Black Panther, Boseman played Jackie Robinson and James Brown.
5.0 stair porn
Hehehehehehe the cutest set of stairs!
6.0 art
On Saturday I went to the Met with DJ. Unfortunately all of the exhibitions that we wanted to see had been booked out. I mean above all I just really wanted to see the mummies. Why? Because Egyptian stuff is so cool. And it seemed appropriate considering it was Halloween. We did see a Gerhard Richter gallery located next to a room filled with baroque art. It made me think about how much I like Richter paintings. Turns out there is this cool film that shows “The Master of Blur’s” painting technique. You can watch the trailer below.
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7.0 object
I am presently restraining myself from posting about how great a dyson is during the time of a pandemic. (Hands down the MVP of the household, maybe even the GOAT). On the one hand I could continue to post about my never ending purchases of wax, (Malin + Goetz’s Tomato scent candle limited edition is divine). This post pays tribute to Muji USA (covid hit them hard) as we find the Japanese substitute which might be Yamazaki Home.
At present I have my eye on this side table.
Thoughts anybody?…
8.0 pandemic reads
One hobby that is folding back into my life is reading. I actually read an interesting article earlier in the year about how the skill of “deep reading” is somewhat lost in the current day and age. People are presented with so many distractions (phone, computer, tv) that the act of isolating and getting “lost” in a book is a practiced skill that many of us are losing.
Nevertheless here are some reads (not new) that have been particularly interesting during this pandemic pandemonium for me. Oh and the article on “deep reading” is here.
1984 by George Orwell
I am a little embarrassed that I’ve never read this but wow. Orwell describes a unique dystopian future that scarily looks incredibly believable right now. An incredibly written book with a true mastermind that has crafted their own world and twist on the social fabric.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Again a novel I should have read years ago. Again a novel that shares a future that could really happen in the next 20 years (maybe even sooner). Cline paints a vivid hypothetical VR world which has a happy ending (gotta love sci-fi).
Pachinko by min jin lee
Wow this will bring you back down to Earth. And by down to Earth, I mean a well crafted historical (fiction). Pachinko is the rude awakening to really make you think twice about what life was like in WWII vs being an a 21st century pandemic. Be warned, this is quite a sad book, when you think things are looking on an up… there’s always something around the corner.
9.0 wanderlust
St Croix is looking pretty nice right now. Very nice.
10.0 harsh realities…
With respect to all the world wide protests, Spike Lee has brought back Michael Jackson’s, They Don’t Care About Us. The 7min long video includes footage from the latest BLM protests. The full article is here and you can watch the updated video below.
Lee who directed both of the original Prison and Brazil original video clips states: Great protest songs can’t get old, stale or non-relevant because the struggle still continues. That’s why THEY DON’T REALLY CARE ABOUT US is the anthem during this chaotic, pandemic world we are all living in.
11.0 lol
Sucks to be “this guy”. Sharing the name with NYC’s incredibly unpopular Bill de Blasio is a rough gig.
12.0 nike nails it
I remember seeing this ad mid-lock down and feeling really inspired. I watched it again, the day of what would’ve been the 50th New York City Marathon…
13.0 fake news
Beaver overthinking dam
Right when I thought that fake news was well and truly done and dusted. Ali from “book club” sends us this ridiculous article about a beaver overthinking his humble abode. The struggle is real. Hahaha. Quality read.
14.0 a final distraction
If you really are feeling election anxiety, the NY Times has a pretty great link to distract you for hours.
See here.
15.0 nom nom nom…!
Just to pre tempt you with this ridiculous oreo cake Bill Gates made for Warren Buffet’s 90th birthday.
We’re highlighting…
Lilia. Union Ave. Brooklyn. Get there ASAP. (If you can get a reservation).
Got treated to a feast two weeks ago! And of course we went with the “covid friendly” option of family style. This place is delicious. Everything from the focaccia with a lump of green yum butter, to the sheepsmilk ravioli parcels, cacio e pepe balls. NOM NOM NOM. (See other people’s photos below for a true virtual feast).
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16.0 and that’s a wrap! here’s some ‘new’ music
Nothing good on the “Discover Weekly” but due to my lack of social media I’m a little slow on the uptake of somethings.
And seeing as I have left a hefty drought since my last post I leave you with two fun video clips and a playlist of some recent headphone beats.
Up first is Gaga and Grande’s phenomenal “Rain on Me” video. I’m picturing the instructions were, we just want to dance and wear ridiculous costumes. Anybody think that it sounds like they’re singing “I’d rather be drunk but at least I’m alive!” ?? P.S My favourite part of the video is definitely at 2:12.
Lastly, Korean boy band sensation BTS, who vocals and mesmerising dance moves had me in a YouTube black hole for about 2 hours.
Feel free to listen to week #19’s playlist a weird compilation of items.
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Till next week 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 :)