“No project is too small for big ideas.”

-- John Arthur Morefield

Photo source: Jim Bryant / P-I

How much do you think that architecture is worth at a time of economic uncertainty? 5 cents! I am no kidding. This is what John Arthur Morefield of Seattle does and all he needs is a booth and an empty food tin can, and a place at a local farmers market. Once a nickel is dropped into the can, he would then kick-start a conversation with his would-be clients by asking them a simple question: how does your family want to live?; And how can I help that become a reality?; and the rest… is history. By the way, every nickel John collected will proceed to the Ballard Food Bank.

"The odd thing is that as children, we knew how to make things while using our imagination. How on earth did we begin to forget?"

-- Jonathan Glancey

Whatever happened to craft?

Jonathan Glancey is absolutely right. I can't agree with him more. Gone are the days when architects were the craftmaster. We are in fact living in an epoch where computers have taken hold of the architectural process as the default means of producing architecture. Things are slowing down and the global economic outlook isn't going to get any better in the next 12 months. Could this be the best time to take up a crafting class? Perhaps, we should as a means to sharpen our designing skill. Our hand can never be replaced by any tools. As Richard Sundberg boldly puts it, " the need to express by hand will continue to flourish."

 Read Jonathan Glancey's "Whatever happened to craft?". Also read "Joseph G. Brin: Portrait of an artist".

 "Architecture is the most fragile of mediums..."

-- Robert Venturi

This so-called Lieb House designed by Robert Venturi and his wife Denise Scott Brown was sold for just $1. The new land owner had earlier wanted to tear it down but the couple managed to convince one of their good buddies to buy and relocate it hundred miles away from its original location. The transportation cost doesn't come cheap though. It costs nearly hundred thousands times more than the value of the house. Is that a sound investment? Well, there are things that money can't buy when they ( in the original state) are gone forever. $101,000K is sure a good investement for a piece of architecture with sentimental value! >> Read More

Sustainable Architecture Takes Cues From the Original Green: Nature

Glass that "breathes" like gills, solar cells that imitate leaves, and other biomimetic technologies

by Blaine Brownell

 Image courtesy of Shimzu / DiscoverMagazine

Want to cool a building? Steal a trick from the forest canopy and use leaves for shade, as Osaka University did with its Frontier Research Center (pictured above). Builders, architects, and designers seeking better ways to go green are increasingly turning to nature—the original green—for solutions that have proven track records in the real world. >>> Read More

12 architects from around the world were featured in this documentary. All of them have one thing in common; they share a common vision of a sustainable world through the works of architecture. You can read the film's sypnosis here.

"You'll never reach the past by running after it..."

 - Sverre Fehn

 Norwegian architect Sverre Fehn has died

One of Norway's best known architects, Sverre Fehn has died at the age of 84. Among his best known works is the Norwegian Glacier Museum (1991) in Fjaerland. Fehn has receeived a number of international awards. >>> Read More

 "Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your salvation with diligence!"

- Buddha

One of the most diligent of authentic architects the world ever had. What a great loss not only to the Norwegian people but also to the architectural community. Fehn reputation began at an early age. While most of us still find life hard and struggling to make the ends meet at the age of 34, Fehn on the other hand, gained internatioanl fame for his work of the Norwegian Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World Exhibition.

"If God is the solution, what is the problem?"

-- Ed Chew

I'd rather not knowing anything than relying on a solution that may or may not be true. Why rest on just one solution when we have multiple posibilities for us to consider. Afterall, isn't problem-solving forms part of our thinking and evolutionary process that makes us who we are and what we will become?

"I doubt therefore I think, I think therefore I am," so says Rene Descartes.