RegardingDesign

Patterns

One of the things that make old homes so addictive and satisfying is the process of discovery that goes on as you move things in, clean things out, peel back the layers. The house we've moved to was built in the late 1800s. It was broken up into a two-family, and then the owner before us spent the last 7 years turning it back to a one-family. We are fortunate to have found great bones and to be able to dig into mostly cosmetic fixes.

One of the things that I have found in other old homes is something called "linoleum carpet." It's basically big sheets of linoleum that are printed with patterns resembling oriental rugs.

In this house, we have snatches of linoleum carpet throughout the basement and attic in an astonishing array of patterns that I found pretty intriguing and with a richness that you just don't see in today's flooring options. I thought I'd share some snaps of the various fragments with you -- maybe they'll offer some inspiration.

The Sisters

On a slender strip of land that runs between the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal in Little Falls, NY there are these two, abandoned buildings, referred to by the locals as "The Sisters". They have changed hands several times over the last two or three decades, mostly recently falling into ours. While we all hear the word "unique" used to describe all kinds of things that are not original or unusual or one of a kind, I do think that word applies to these brick buildings. Where else can you find such historic, architecturally-interesting edifices on an island, with water on both sides, in a beautiful part of the world, just a few hours from major metropolitan areas but also a quick drive to the Adirondack park, in a corner of an old-fashioned town that also contains new-fashioned things like a French restaurant, a B&B, a soon-to-open inn, restored mill buildings, antique shops, an arts center, a rock-climbing area, a lock, boat tie-ups, bike paths, ice cream/coffee shop and more??? Not to mention, they were incredibly reasonably priced. No, actually, they were downright cheap.

Which might have something to do with the fact that the interiors look like this:

So now that we have them -- lunatics that we are -- what are we going to do with them? Well, you can see, just steps away, across the river, what other intrepid folks have done with much larger, stone, former mill buildings, which house most of the aforementioned amenities, as well as a few stunning apartments:

We hope to develop some combination of residential and commercial spaces in our buildings, along with a garden in the lot in between. We are planning to apply for grant monies for part of said development. New York State has some wonderful programs that offer money to bring back properties like these, especially on the water and in the Erie Canal corridor -- hopefully the recent meltdown on Wall Street won't have too adverse an impact on this small corner of the state budget. In any case, we're working up plans now. If you have any thoughts or ideas, you designers and/or architects out there, I'd love to hear them.

Long term, part of the plan may include turning the top two floors of this building into an owner's unit. For us. Water views everywhere you look. That wouldn't suck, now would it?

The Renderings are as Beautiful as the Finished Product

It's wonderful when a designer or architect has been trained as an artist first. There's something undefinable that gets into their designs, and something quite clearly superior that gets into their presentation of their designs. Take Winka Dubbeldam. Trained as a sculptor, her fierce intellectualism, interest in mathematics, and desire to work not in solitude led her to architecture. However, the influence of her art education is obvious in the buildings she engineers, and even more in the renderings she creates.

You can enjoy all these images, as well as her thoughts and those of other architects and writers, in her latest monograph, AT-INdex. Designboom had this to say about the book: "It chronicles archi-tectonics' work with a project-by-project look at their research, experimentation and development. as reed kroloff proclaims in the introductory essay, although dubbeldam's work is derived from objective data and research without regard for the esthetic implications, the results manage to be sensual and beautiful. this is evident through the entire collection of works sorted into the categories of armature, surface
and interface. each section features pieces of work from the firm as they relate to the chapter's theme. each project is examined from multiple levels, including the inspiration, the process of examination, articulation and realization. dubbeldam's fascination with data and information shines through as we are provided with tables, plans and graphs throughout the book. archi-tectonics takes full advantage of digital technology and it shows in their work. buildings and space are prototyped with 3-d software reflecting the flexibility and fluidity of architecture today."

 

Another Creative with a Funny Name

When POL/Oxygen magazine asked me to profile Winka Dubbeldam, I confess -- to you, not to them -- that I had no idea who they were tallking about. What kind of name is that, I asked myself? Dutch, it turns out. What does she or he do? Well, it's a she who does some pretty cool architecture through her Manhattan-based studio, Archi-Tectonics. Which is aptly named, not just because it means the science of architecture, but because her work looks like a bit like what tectonic plates might resemble after a very massive earthquake and from miles high in space.

Once I started researching Ms. Dubbeldam, I confess to being a bit confounded. Not so much by the work, but by the language that surrounded it. What exactly is a "a lapidary architectural one-off with an experimental glass curtain wall"? And what is one to make of this description: "pragmatic, data-driven, high-concept but no-nonsense, deeply immersed in scholarly arcana (topological mathematics and knot theory as well as Deleuze, Husserl, and other postmodernist usual suspects) but treating the ideas as working tools, not tactics for one-upmanship."

Greenwich Street Lofts in New York

Well, once I met the woman, I realized that all that high-flying rhetoric is more a reflection of the writers and less the architect. Sure she's brilliant, cerebral, articulate, a self-described computer geek -- I mean this is a woman who when I ask what she does for fun rattles off a list of obscure, theoretical authors whose books she reads, see list above -- but the one personal picture adorning her dusty, under-construction office in Tribeca is of her golden retreiver squiggling itself in her lap, licking her face.

Sure, she's a practice professor and the director of the post graduate masters prorgram at UPenn and has taught at Harvard, and has studied with Peter Eisenman, and does research into robotics with the MIT Media Lab, and writes about how mathematics and philosophy relate to new developments in architecture. But this is someone who insists great design should not be expensive and says her buildings (no matter their stomach dropping price tag for apartment purchasers) cost no more to construct per square foot than typical buildings.

And her work, while decidely steeped in intellectual theory and engineering wizardry, has a softness underlying the geometric interconnectedness. Yup, she's a sculptor. But she gave it up because she found it too lonely and wanted to do work that kept her in touch with people. Sure she's tall, slender, shapely, wears cool jewelry, has a good haircut, is very beautiful. But when I tell her she's more "earthy" than I expected, she nods enthsiastically.

The American Loft Building in Philadelphia

So I say to my readers, beware the verbiage of the critics. Writers are known to use $10 words when a nickle one would work as well or better. Go see the work. Go meet the artist, architect, designer. And if you're in Philly or NYC, go check out Winka's projects. 

Straight Pipes

AIGA has annouced it's corporate leadership awards, "which recognize perceptive, forward-thinking organizations that place a premium on design and play an instrumental role in the advancement of design by adhering to its highest standards as a matter of policy." This year, they go to Design Within Reach and Harley-Davidson, which is being "recognized for its unparalleled strength as an iconic brand and its dedication to creating holistic customer experiences—from its innovative product and engine design to its unique retail environments, advertising and merchandising."

The timing is perfect as Harley Davidson has just opened a new museum, designed by Pentagram, on 20 acres in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum "brings our passion alive through exhibits and events that celebrate the people, products, culture and history that have made Harley-Davidson the icon it is today." Can't get to Milwaukee? Take a virtual tour of the museum, or purchase this Harley-Davidson anniversary book, Harley-Davidson Motor Co Archive. MotorBooks has a huge selection of H-D books from "101 Uses for an Old Harley" to mechanic manuals. Given the way gas prices are going, the sound of straight pipes -- and crotch rockets -- is undoubtedly going to increase!