Wright Chat

A Pattern Language is clearly intended for a general audience and not solely academic. But I have trouble seeing Alexander outside the world of academia in any sense. Surely every professor who writes books has the 'intent' of a general audience, yet nearly always preaches to their [academic] choirs...

Interesting stuff, SDR... One could wonder if Alexander drew too general a conclusion about this "sham" by supposing his instructor's opinion was the judgment of Modernism itself..? And can't a seemingly "non-serious" design application result in something good, regardless? I rea...

By the 1950's, it does seem that Wright's wide assortment of pre-existing Usonian plans were being revisited for new clients. Some previously built, plenty that weren't built. The story of the Anthony house, if I recall it correctly, seems like a fair illustration of how apprentices were being utili...

Interesting house. Much to like. Looks like they used 12" board and batten vertical height units, which clash with the 8" CMU units. The living room clerestories seem to be 3' vertical heights, and the front-facade perforated windows at 2' heights. I don't think we've seen this in Wright o...

6 Pond Ln, Linwood, NJ 08221 Everytime I see a Bob Marley poster, I'm reminded of a neighbor I once had. On their living room wall was a framed poster, not of an image, but only 3 words. These words were in bold white letters, all caps, on a black background. It read: "BOB MARLEY POSTER"

Thanks for linking the new book, David. Looks like a good one. Just after Richardson died, Olmsted was working on Franklin Park (Boston). He designed a piece of legitimate architecture, an "Overlook Shelter" that housed a restaurant, changing rooms and bathrooms. The facade with its crisp ...

As always Dan, thanks for detailed response. Very informative. The photo of your roof in the snow really illustrates the nature of thermal transfer. One wonders, if building anew, what additional measures would be necessary to achieve a more acceptable efficiency in the Usonian concept...? Seems to ...

Old thread, but glad to read it. I'm tempted to dive into this conversation about the 'fireplace as psychological center', (my personal opinion being the fireplace cannot be omitted, if the goal is to have a Wrightian-esque residential space).. However, I'm gonna step out on a limb and raise the que...

Very large houses don't excite me much...but the Entry on this home seems fantastic.
And wow, that pergola.

Good podcast interview!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcdEP7cfgJA

Will it now be safe ? I do wonder if the NRHP is a bit of a scarecrow... As in, a sign that says (implicitly) 'this property isn't worth the nuisance you'll have if you try to demolish it".... Because as I understand it, the NRHP provides no real protection: "Listing in the National Regis...

Hugo Avila made a 3D model of the Dabney house:
https://youtu.be/UtGngx_gCNg

Came across Jorn Utzon's online archives... Great stuff with easy navigation: https://utzon-archives.aau.dk/ Favorites so far–– https://utzon-archives.aau.dk/photography/Architecture_projects/Hellebaek_house%2C1952/ https://utzon-archives.aau.dk/drawings/private-life-low-cost-housing-sweden/ https:/...

A misleading headline....but great for page-clicks I'm sure.
The article is fascinating, though. I found myself empathetic to both parties... Ms. Carlson for putting her thoughts out there so directly. And Wright & co. having real patience with her.

In 2006, my step-brother showed me one of the popular conspiracy videos on 9/11. It was quite compelling, and combined with the Bush political agenda of fear-mongering and wars in the Middle East, it seemed plausible enough that at least *some* aspects of what happened on 9/11 weren't as what was be...