Wright Chat

He was not a nice man by any definition of the word "nice". He was a dead-beat Dad, never donated any of his money (unless it was done anonymously), was famous for his mis-treatment of employees, and while he started out correctly, with the "open platform" (a la Google) he totall...

Having taken on the challenge to build a home based on FLW's Jacobs #1, I can tell you that no matter how much you think it is going to cost, add 50% to it to come out with a price closer to what it will ACTUALLY cost.

Whatever your budget is: it's not enough.

As non-geniuses, it's easy for us to dismiss the claim that Frank "did nothing" for seven months. What we can't easily understand is that the mental capabilities of persons who are genuine geniuses exceed our own capabilities by such a margin, that we might call that person a magician if w...

Protip: But you don't care. Despite these flaws.

Yes yes - I am still in the land of the living. So too, fortunately, is the home I built in Christchurch. In fact it took no damage whatsoever. As it should, because it was built like the proverbial brick shithouse! :) A large portion of the city is a real mess though, and it will be 20 years before...

Large overhangs. Insulated tilt-slab concrete construction - requiring no finishing. Polished concrete floors in wet areas, cork tiles in the others. Almost-flat roof construction. Almost no painting required. Solar panels to heat water and/or floor slab (gas assisted). Triple glazed with Low-e Argo...

I know Frank was enamoured with concrete - as it is such a plastic material, and will form any shape you want with relative ease. I also recall, from my reading of "Building With Wright" by Herbert and Katherine Jacobs that he placed a high value on a process of building a wall which resul...

In fact most of the footage from Bladerunner is NOT shot in the Ennis house. From memory only about 2 minutes of it is "genuine Ennis". The producers along with Riddley Scott, were allowed to create casts of the concrete blocks, and from these fibreglass version were created, and the sets ...

By far the most prevalent is Toxoplasmosis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis Up to 1/3 of the entire world's population is infected with the parasite. If you own a cat is it almost certain that you are infected. Normally it doesn't cause any symptoms after the first week (flu like ones for...

You may or may not be interested to learn of my experience when I built my version of Wright's Jacobs #1. Initially I created my own drawings using nothing but the 1.2m x .6m grid (slightly larger than FLWs 4'x2' grid) and expressed dimensions as ratios of this grid. When we had the working drawings...

I have a lot of photos of the GW residence up at http://4sure.co.nz/gw/

The speaker is covered up when the TV is being viewed? I'd never countenance such a design! Even though it hides the TV - TV's should be connected to stereo equipment - even with only two speakers it sounds superior. And it does appear that the system is superior - I can't identify the speaker brand...

Fascinating topic. What amazes me about the system FLW employed is what they didn't know about basic things at that time. For example, it was not known that steam follows the hottest pipe, and it therefore takes a very long time for a floor heated with steam to equalise temperature. And, of course, ...

I use 4 PCs and 2 Macs. I have to say that I find the Macs simultaneously the best thing since sliced bread *AND* the most retarded and intentionally crippled devices I have ever owned. I have a good policy for Apple equipment: You're a retard to buy it new. Don't give Jobs your money, buy it second...

I can see him buying a Bugatti Veyron, and then having it seized by the bank 5 months later.

Then, perhaps he'd have a Mercedes SL convertible for the wife, and a Porsche Cayenne Turbo for himself.