tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.comments2024-02-15T06:40:00.335+01:00NOTES ON BECOMING A FAMOUS ARCHITECTConrad Newelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13361919565513238957noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-42952734486820541132017-05-23T01:17:52.106+02:002017-05-23T01:17:52.106+02:00Quite a depressing and annoying article at the sam...Quite a depressing and annoying article at the same time. Of the many who slaved in such places, only few, in fact extremely few are known aka famous today.<br /><br />Good business sense, investment in networking and strong technical knowledge is the beginning of a successful career with or without a starchitecture firm on the resume. Architects need to stop focusing on their egos and instead think about how their work can benefit society in a more practical sense.Qcsmoothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09197023060407462689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-72188418559885520452017-05-06T20:46:41.665+02:002017-05-06T20:46:41.665+02:00Haha, hilarious! :)Haha, hilarious! :)Viktorhttps://www.producthunt.com/@campvictnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-32708438482169142912016-10-18T20:39:26.703+02:002016-10-18T20:39:26.703+02:00It's funny seeing this video and knowing Beat ...It's funny seeing this video and knowing Beat is actually one of the partners at BIG now. I wonder how Kim is doing thoughAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-33723158554205573042016-01-25T19:52:03.870+01:002016-01-25T19:52:03.870+01:00Omg, I stumbled upon you by way of your article de...Omg, I stumbled upon you by way of your article describing what it would be like to relocate to Australia from America. You are hilarious! I'm giving a positive American compliment. Thank you for sharing your mind!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14200552142868093046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-15747942491433946072015-12-13T12:34:18.874+01:002015-12-13T12:34:18.874+01:00Hilarious to say the least. H.Hilarious to say the least. H.Hannes Uyshttp://interiorsplusarchitecture.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-51676865122829174902015-04-03T07:38:48.374+02:002015-04-03T07:38:48.374+02:00Thanks!Thanks!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06400143708567104659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-87874447081756373842015-03-15T15:30:50.855+01:002015-03-15T15:30:50.855+01:00A lesbian student and a gay starchitect professor,...A lesbian student and a gay starchitect professor, both closeted, will that make the perfect partnership? No sex, just the meeting of 2 minds platonically with the occasional flirting to keep people from finding the truth?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-88191092575248125172015-03-01T12:06:36.692+01:002015-03-01T12:06:36.692+01:00Hi Andy Sherman,
Thanks for the reply.
To say tha...Hi Andy Sherman,<br /><br />Thanks for the reply.<br />To say that I absolutely agree with you 100% would be a huge understatement. <br /><br />However, for arguments sake I am going to play Devil's advocate and pose the following counter arguments and questions:<br /><br />Isn't inequality and income-divide an inherent condition of the world that we live in?<br /><br />The college grad who cannot afford to intern for free is better off than the high school grad that could not afford collage. The high school grad that could not afford collage is better off than a kid in a country who can afford access to basic education, and so on and so on.<br /><br />Why put in an arbitrary mechanism to level the playing field for interns alone and not for other unfair conditions?<br /><br />Consider this, the international borders around your country serves to keep people from less well-off countries that are willing to work for less from entering yours?<br />Would you be willing to take a much lower salary and face an extremely more competitive job market by dissolving class mechanisms like international boundaries, passports and citizenships? Surely getting rid of these things would decrease the income divide between your country and a less fortunate one.<br /><br /><br />Conrad Newelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361919565513238957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-64261756951333589292015-02-27T23:07:19.464+01:002015-02-27T23:07:19.464+01:00While the arguments of career-positioning and valu...While the arguments of career-positioning and value are on point, the problem is that working for free simply increases the income divide between students - if architects (star or otherwise) know they have a free supply of labor, they'll continue a system which pushes out students that simply can't afford to work for free. <br /><br />For-credit internships are supposed to help level the playing field, allowing any student to gain experience within their academic schedule. However, if you've recently had the exhausting and discouraging experience of internship searching while in school and working, you'd realize that most for-credit internships require hours far beyond the equivalent credits.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07310617593231950297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-5762202084420438402014-12-26T12:22:50.186+01:002014-12-26T12:22:50.186+01:00Interesting point GTA!
It makes sense though that ...Interesting point GTA!<br />It makes sense though that this would be the case.<br />Heatherwick is not regularly participating in large starchitect type competitions.<br />This is a highly specific industry like being a Silicon Valley patent lawyer, or an airplane gauge sensor manufacturer. They require acute knowledge of a specific industry and only a few people in the world can do it. <br /><br />DS+R tried to be both experimental firm and starchitect completion specialist at the same time. I thought if anyone could do it they could. They certainly were very good at being experimental and cross disciplinary as Heatherwick is now. When they were just about to cross over into the starchitect competition industry there were questions about whether they could do it and they certainly seem up for the challenge. They talked the talk but ultimately could not walk the walk. <br /><br />Obviously they just fell into the deep end and got engulfed by the whole thing.<br /><br />Let’s take a look at Heatherwick in 10 years.<br />Conrad Newelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361919565513238957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-77563773177525987662014-12-26T03:32:23.913+01:002014-12-26T03:32:23.913+01:00It seems to me Thomas Heatherwick bucks the 'r...It seems to me Thomas Heatherwick bucks the 'rule' ... he designs installations and public sculptures aside from buildings and his studio hires people from various design disciplines. As of now.goodbye to architecturenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-1636173150209188342014-12-23T09:38:14.135+01:002014-12-23T09:38:14.135+01:00Hi John,
Thanks for that clarification!
I hope y...Hi John,<br /><br />Thanks for that clarification!<br /><br />I hope you take the comic with a huge grain of salt.<br /><br />By itself, I think the proposal of reusing the original TWBTA façade is thoughtful and compassionate gesture. <br /><br />If it were coming from DS+R (which I thought it was) then I would be very suspicious of the motives, so I thought I would have a bit of fun with it.<br /><br />Think about it this way. <br />If your friend came over to your house and brings you a birthday cake, you would naturally consider it a nice gesture. However, if the drunk driver that slaughtered a close relative came over and gave you the exact same cake it would take on a whole other meaning, wouldn't it?<br /><br />I think DS+R are kind of "building slaughterers" in the case of the folk art museum. So if they were to present this gesture (thoughtful and interesting as it is) it would take on a whole other meaning.<br /><br />So I am relieved to hear that it came from you and not them. <br /><br />The more serious critic though is in the previous note.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />ConradConrad Newelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361919565513238957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-25440037864396931272014-12-22T22:25:48.597+01:002014-12-22T22:25:48.597+01:00Conrad - The basic rendering is theirs, but the Fo...Conrad - The basic rendering is theirs, but the Folk Art facade on the ceiling is my addition. You can find the original <a href="http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2014/01/08/08-moma-rendering-3.o.jpg/a_560x375.jpg" rel="nofollow">here</a> and my reworking <a href="http://folkmoma.tumblr.com/post/76565015309/john-hill-archidose-3h-folkmoma-how-about" rel="nofollow">here</a>. I hope that clarifies things. - JohnJohn Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14842328320680692310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-76690398335125122922014-12-13T18:58:08.845+01:002014-12-13T18:58:08.845+01:00Hi John,
Thanks for the comment. I am not sure wh...Hi John,<br /><br />Thanks for the comment. I am not sure what you meant when you said it was not DS+R's doing. Can you elaborate?<br /><br />Best Regards,<br /><br />ConradConrad Newelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361919565513238957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-62283000628032841502014-12-12T21:46:01.905+01:002014-12-12T21:46:01.905+01:00Conrad, I hope you know that the TWBTA facade on t...Conrad, I hope you know that the TWBTA facade on the ceiling of their MoMA rendering is my critique of them and MoMA demolishing the Folk Art Museum: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/12504816453/" rel="nofollow">https://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/12504816453/</a><br /><br />It's not DS+R's doing.<br /><br />I couldn't tell from your comments, so I'm pointing it out here.John Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14842328320680692310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-86801012413740496802014-12-12T11:26:47.904+01:002014-12-12T11:26:47.904+01:00During the Micheal Jordan era back in the 1990’s I...During the Micheal Jordan era back in the 1990’s I used to hate him and the Chicago Bulls. They were too damn good. I was rooting for the New York Knicks all the way from over here. I loved Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Larry Johnson and even John Starks with all his stupid faults. They were passionate, they were the underdogs that believed in themselves, they believed in the unlikely and went one unfaithful finger roll away from taking the title.<br />Then one day there was some talk that someone in Knicks management would like to bring Jordan over to the Knicks. I was really upset by that. It was like, what’s the point of bringing in the man to come and win the title for you? If we were going to win, we should do it in our own way, on our own term and in our own style.<br />I bring this up because I see some parallels between the old DS&R and that Knicks team (at least in the way DS&R presented themselves back then): They were this interesting outsider firm that were kind of doing things that were critical of the establishment and the way architecture was being produced. As Diller in her own words says “Sometimes we were thought of as just wanting to be on the periphery; a decision to want to lob grenades from the periphery at architecture critically...”<br />Now when they got a shot at doing a major building instead of figuring out how to do it on their own terms or doing it their own way, they simply hired the same people that they were criticizing to do exactly the same thing they were critical of. As you said they hired Perry Dean Rogers to work out all the details on their first major commission (The ICA Boston) and as I have shown, they currently maintain a policy of hiring people only from well-established starchitecture firms.<br />In my view that’s the same as hiring Micheal Jordan, Scotty Pippen and Denis Rodman to throw on a Knicks jersey and win a championship for them using their trademark triangle offence.<br />Conrad Newelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361919565513238957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-86999325581491314752014-12-11T23:06:15.918+01:002014-12-11T23:06:15.918+01:00Conrad, the ICA - as a purported representation of...Conrad, the ICA - as a purported representation of DS+R having done a building - is bunkum. Perry Dean Rogers, a pretty decent Boston firm, worked out all the weird conditions and were the real architects. I know because I represented Bank of America as their quality inspector - top of the food chain, as it were, and I was on site every month, from the driving of the piles into the muck of the harbor's edge, to installation of the cash registers in the lobby the day before opening. <br />- Curtis B Wayne, AIAAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15222349499058843743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-37424493446291448062014-11-08T11:07:21.422+01:002014-11-08T11:07:21.422+01:00I think this is my first comment on this post and ...I think this is my first comment on this post and i must say this one is good.Ashutosh Kumarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09543175724204521939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-83096745493178968032014-10-20T16:57:02.036+02:002014-10-20T16:57:02.036+02:00Hi Srishti
I do not disagree with most of what yo...Hi Srishti<br /><br />I do not disagree with most of what you are saying and the article doesn't really argue much differently either. <br /><br />Zumthor's work or work ethic is not being attacked or criticized here either. I like his work! I am perhaps not as excited about it as you, (I am glad you used the word unparalleled as opposed to uncompromising to describe it) but still I would say he does nice work. I also pointed out on several occasions that his promotion strategy is a good one and have encouraged others to take his example.<br /><br />I have also pointed out in the article how nice he and his staff are as evidences where he fixed a journalist's sandals unasked. So I don't dispute that they are nice and polite people either.<br /><br />I am also choosy about the people I collaborate with, and I have never criticized Zumthor or anyone else for that matter on this issue. <br /><br />So I am not sure where the question is coming from. I am not sure if your comment is a rebuttal to something you thought I said or confirmation of what I am saying.Conrad Newelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361919565513238957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-11028527592469322302014-10-08T09:56:16.927+02:002014-10-08T09:56:16.927+02:00I think the fundamentals of Zumthor's architec...I think the fundamentals of Zumthor's architecture are unparalleled. His work is breath-taking, its beautiful. And all the image building mentioned in this article doesn't really surprise me. This is taught to us even at architecture school , to build approach, communicate that as a sort of story that sets your work in its own, and to be able to 'walk the talk' its one of the tools that help you sustain your research and practice! Specially since the creative industries owe quality of work more directly to the way of life, discipline and methods employed by individuals, more so than other professions. Its for the better, these tricks and techniques and should be taken with a pinch of salt specially when read of, and not 'experienced first hand'. Also to work for someone like him, you might need a real passion for architecture/ the art of building. his is just a different approach to sustaining his practice. which also means his work is highly personalized and he is invested in projects to a greater degree than probably more firms less choosy about the work culture and the face of their office and hence the outcome of their projects too, for these are these two are directly related. if he was practicing under-payment, poor management exploitation of employees etc...that would shock me! but so far, i haven't heard of any such accounts. infact, i spoke to the reception at his Atelier three years back and they were nice! he is very choosy about collaborators, but since when did that become unacceptable?Srishtihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02314647215822394145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-10008422951646760312014-04-21T01:44:16.413+02:002014-04-21T01:44:16.413+02:00Shigeru learned how to build buildings out of card...Shigeru learned how to build buildings out of cardboard. What is not innovative about that?! He's taken on harder challenges than Zaha ever did with her billion dollar commissions. Shigeru has made beautiful buildings with little money. Its really retarded to say that Shigeru is not innovative. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-65856476373370611862014-04-03T10:21:19.584+02:002014-04-03T10:21:19.584+02:00Hadid and Schumacher should be responsible as prom...Hadid and Schumacher should be responsible as prominent figures and guide architects into critical thinking about real issues. That aside. I also really cannot support Schumacher's comments because based on ZHA's qualities, he has no right to criticize Shigeru Ban. I am really not sure what the firm has contributed to the world that could possibly outweigh their moral ambiguity. Their projects are half baked representations of an already murky philosophy. Part of what could be considered as innovative would be contructing complicated forms, but that's not really valid if they are not actually constructed well. What's left of what they have to say is just not convincing to me. Something about curves. <br /><br />One final side comment : I don't really agree with the idea that Schumacher is being "old world", it's an insult that could be read as a compliment. It sort of opens up to compare himo a historical figure, possibly without even thinking about the history. It's a justification. The whole dictator talk is also similar. Old world, dictator, masterpiece. It's all boiling down to something, where we can begin to think that ZHA is building the Pyramids of Giza of our age. Hmm, no. Even when compared to the "old world" or history, they might be even worse. For those old regimes we now view as awful people, there are of course some very celebrated buildings. However, I cannot really think of any architect who built across so many countries for so many controversial regimes that they did not even relate to. For the Casa Del Fascio in Italy, it was built by an Italian Rationalist. Opposite to the moral ambiguity that ZHA say is necessary, that architect was probably actually in political alignment with the Fascists. Since we are talking about that time, there are a few architects that might be more important to talk about. I admit this is a bit of a weak example, but Mies Van der Rohe actually did not build for his glorious dictator. So, the argument that architects have been always building for foreign dictactors cannot be supported 100% by history. I can understand that because of the current economy that many of the construction boom areas are in areas of questionable leadership. For smaller, unknown firms, they probably deserve a pass. For the most influential firms to carry on though, turning a blind eye. It sets a bad standard, and is really unproductive for the rest. I don't think it's even a naive argument. Those firms are just being lazy and uncreative if they cannot land jobs in respectable places. If they are the best, they should be doing the best, and they shouldn't rely on people quoting Zizek to defend their failure.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-16320490825883747822014-04-03T10:20:53.739+02:002014-04-03T10:20:53.739+02:00Schumacher is just shooting himself in the foot. S...Schumacher is just shooting himself in the foot. Someone wins an award, and he just takes that opportunity to point out more problems with the Hadid firm. It's unfortunate that they are getting some bad press, but it would be a better idea to stop bringing that up.<br />He might have a legitimate concern, or he might just be manipulative and trying to justify himself and Hadid in the face of criticism. Either way, after reading that totally UNRELATED Foucault quote in that comment, it's clear he is making unintended consequences by promoting his stupid ideas. His argument is a far removed bastard offspring of some sort of fact. In order for us to make "significant contributions to humanity", and atleast to our own field, we need to be able to stay in track and in focus in our dialogue on architecture. It is very retrogressive when demagogy and trends distract from the bigger picture. We should be sophisticated and critical thinkers. Corbusier was brash when he proposed to raze Paris in order to save it. That's the flaw of his statements. He is so frustrated with his own issues that partly through his own comments and partly through some misinterpretation, it seems like that humanitarianism as a whole is some sort of plebeian concept. I don't think that's what he really wants. Something is happening where Patrik is trying to make "humanitarian work" a new word like "green building". It's gauche. So in his logic, he can manipulate it so it seems that because ZHA is not humanitarian, they are therefore not gauche, which makes them superior. Fine, they are superior, who cares. Give them a million Pritker Prizes, because anyways it's actually something more akin to the Academy Awards rather than the Nobel Prize. (Also one minor flawed logic, if he is so unhappy with the Pritzker, why is he glorifying it by comparing it to the Nobel?) Give them any award they want so Patrik Schumaker can stop encouraging designers to be pricks.<br /><br />For the sake of our community, we have already gone through one terrible tragedy and we should be vigilant to not allow it to happen again. The "green" trend is that tragedy. Some of the basic principles and issues concerning the design and construction of buildings got packed together and wrapped up into some strange gimmick monster, and what we have to show for that is proposals with skyscrapers in the form of a windmill, because by some logic that is "green." Now many of those principles are taboo, because "green" is a distraction to the conversation and far too unsophisticated for the work that we need to accomplish. Schumacher is beginning to do that packing together of humanitarianism into a trendy concept in order to validate his own work. He has become the common denominator where people are now talking about Gaddafi and temporary shelters as if they were talking about the same topic. It is important to keep the two separated even if they are a bit related. Once they get lumped together, that's how we end up with people starting to view humanitarianism as an option. You can be for or against it. That's so stupid! I mentioned before Corbu and Paris. If the conversation was about how humanitarian he was, that would be totally loosing the point! We need to be dedicated to our craft, and certain things should be a given. Just because ZHA is having some issues, don't bring everyone else down to your level. I don't want people to become polarized and I don't want any actual good work or great opportunities to be missed because designers are now going be too afraid of appearing too "humanitarian".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-19549319504137813432014-03-27T05:20:20.624+01:002014-03-27T05:20:20.624+01:00Yet no one is taking about peter eisenman and wol...Yet no one is taking about peter eisenman and wolf prix, which if you think about it, is Patrols point. Too easily some would prefer to defend humanitarianism to feel good about themselves, rather than discussing innovation. Shigeru's work is ok, but innovative? No.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3973215316119445314.post-75019996700899038282014-03-27T01:25:05.788+01:002014-03-27T01:25:05.788+01:00Totally agree too. Keep it up.
Rogelio Salmona o...Totally agree too. Keep it up.<br /><br />Rogelio Salmona of Colombia was much more worthy of the Pritzker than many previous winners.<br /><br />@_JC_Calderon<br /><br />http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/global-site-plans-grid/232726/work-colombian-architect-rogelio-salmona-destined-ruinsAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04527145539630833960noreply@blogger.com