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In today's architecture we are bombarded by, what I like to call, "POP Architecture". That is to say, Architecture that is simply there to look good. We've all seen it, we've all been walking down the popular streets in our own cities and seen the Architecture that tends to be overly complex in it's design and shape.
I've begun to wonder why that is? Is it necessary in an architectural expression to add on layer upon layer of artifice to make the edifice? What has happened to the audacity and simplicity of the modern movement? Architects like Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Peter Eisenman and Richard Meier have shaped their individual times and locals with built works that are beautiful in their simplicity and economy of form and space. Take into consideration Meier's Ackerberg House in Malibu, California. At first glance all of Meier's work appears similar almost to the point of being carbon copies. Even the chosen color, always white, has in it myriad variations as the sun makes it's trek across the sky. And this is something that hasn't been seen since the days of the Villa Savoye.
Is it the clients? Have our clients become ingendered with this apathy towards good design versus the cost of construction? Is everyone of the mind that high design comes with a high cost? Recently I attended a lecture hosted by my local AIA chapter by Marlon Blackwell. For those of you not familiar with his work, visit his website for more information.
I recently came had a discussion with some coworkers about "architecture". The breadth of the discussion was mostly about the difference in taste between architects like Frank Gehry and, say, Paul Rudolph. I bring up Rudolph because during the discussion one of his works at Emory University in Atlanta Georgia came to mind. It came to me because this simple chapel is an example of architecture that I think embodies a vertain amount of the purity of design, the simplicity and moderation that I've been discussing here.
In the image you can see the simplicity and honesty that i'm referring to. There you can see the exposed concrete, the rough lines of the forms used to shape the walls and even exposing the connection of the roofing at the archway. These are honest and true expressions of an architectural language. And this is the true nature of Architecture: To be honest and true in the representation of Material, Connection and Craft in today's environment.
I'm thinking, this morning, on advertising and getting your message out there. I've recently began taking a more proactive initiative in getting my business off and running, so obviously Advertising has been on my mind quite a bit. And looking around at the internet and tv, and even radio, I begin to wonder what is the best course of action. Do I go for the free avenues of expression or do I get out and pay for the splattering of my message all over town? I'm thinking the free route is more viable. And besides, if you did enough, search the internet, there are thousands of ways to market yourself and get your message out there. Hell, I'm doing it right now. As I type these words, hopefully, someone is reading a previous post and thinking that I may actually have something to say that is worth paying attention to. And this will lead to others doing the same, and eventually someone contacting me about some work. After all, I am attempting to create sort of a Living Portfolio, if you will. A constant work in progress. And just like any design challenge, it has to develope in it's own way and become a complete "thing".
I love that term, "thing". One of my first Architecture classes in college was with an eccentric professor who told us not to design a building, but to design a "thing". Of course, we all thought he was crazy, but figured, "hey, we're freshmen. let's have fun with it". And so we did. My design of course came out as a house (mostly because that's what i set out to design in the first place), but an interesting process nonetheless.
I think advertising can be looked at in much the same manner. You have a design challenge - How best to get your message out to the people that will bring you work - and finding the most suitable solution to that end is dependent on your specific target and market (i have a business major in the family). And of course you want to get the most exposure for the least ammount of expenditure. Because we're all here to make money, right?
Well, those are my thoughts for the day.
On the cover of Architectural Record this month is the title statement "Altered Perceptions of Space", and in this month's issue is a series of critical articles on Record interiors. I must say that the projects profiled in this issue are remarkable, as are all works that appear in Record. And listed are works by some renowned architects such as Tadao Ando and Rene Gonzales. But what struck me first about this issue was not the content but simply the title of the expose, "Altered Perceptions of Space". This got me to thinking about Architecture and about Space. We, as Architects, design Space; we shape the world and mold the way in which we experience and interact with that world. And looking through history one can see in the works of our best and brightest how architects and designers have used many different ways to alter how we perceive and interact with the world around us. This, I think, is a profound challenge for all Architects.
If you look at the work of one of the great masters of this age, Le Corbusier 
. He set out not only to change our perceptions of space, but to create a "Machine for Living".
And in this machine for living, Corbu also began to change the way we perceived the spaces within the home. Much as Frank Lloyd Wright also did with his Prairie Style. But where Wright centralized the public spaces and secluded the private, Corbu opened the entire plan and made one space seperated by non-load bearing partitions or "screans". Many of us have grown up in McMansions all over the US and abroad so we are familiar with the compartmentalizing of the traditional house: a central living space with kitchen and dining adjacent, the master suite secluded to one side and the children's area tucked away in yet another corner of the building. This creates a sense of seperation within a single space. Corbu exploded that seperation and drastically changed how we perceive the interaction of individual spaces within the home. And this should be applied more than it is today, more than half a century later.
How can we bring about this change in the thinking of designers and Architects to take into consideration, not only the human scale,
but also the human experience? Walking down the streets of Jacksonville, Florida you see the disinterest and lack of interaction of pedestrians and buildings. There is no human scale, there is no way to experience what is around us, accept from above. What is the solution? I put it to you.
Hello there. My name is Jeremiah and I am "the man" of M2 Design where our moto is "Design like you give a damn". Right now some of you may be asking "what do they do", and I'll tell you. M2 Design is a design firm specializing in residential remodeling and additions. But we don't stop there. As an entity, M2 Design is a place for all types of design and artistic expression. Everything from painting and sculpture to architectural and furniture design. It's a passion and an energy that needs to be expressed and this blog will be the forum for that expression.
So, that's the skinny on M2. From time to time I'll be posting images and photos and even commentary on my own work as well as any work that i find to be interesting and worthy of more praise. I welcome and and all feedback from the public who may read this blog. I believe a dialogue and a colaberation are necessary with all walks life in order to grow and change.
I do hope that soon I'll have some images and words up for comment and commentary. So, let's get this party started.
Ciao.
