Yona Friedman on Transformable Architecture

Since discovering Yona Friedman and his Ville Spatiale while writing my senior project in college I've been inspired his tireless advocacy of flexible human-centric environments. In this interview, filmed in his 96th year, he makes the case again for a new architectural approach centered on continual process and transformability. Many of his best known projects … Continue reading Yona Friedman on Transformable Architecture

Why It’s Legitimate to Concern Yourself With Packaging

Recursive image used by Winston to demonstrate why not to use laser pointers in your presentations I've lifted the title of this post from Patrick Winston's short course, "How to Speak". Winston was the director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and regularly gave this talk on presentation techniques. The video is available on MIT's … Continue reading Why It’s Legitimate to Concern Yourself With Packaging

Dogtrot

I'm drawn to building types that are flexible, developed incrementally and unitary in design. The American Dogtrot house as a historical style carries these attributes and I think it is worth exploring for the straightforward design and performance features it offers. The style has transcended frontier utilitarianism, recently becoming a framing device for embracing the … Continue reading Dogtrot

Tech City

Tech City, Kingston, New York. Stewart Brand wrote "All buildings are predictions, all predictions are wrong". This one is massive. 2 million sf+, acres of unobstructed blue carpet. It's been years since IBM and the corporate banks left. In this next phase of the place, apparently pulled from a J.G. Ballard novel, I can feel … Continue reading Tech City

New Urban Experiences of Mediated Communities

This is an extract and a draft of an article currently in process exploring the technologies, both current and emerging, that are driving the expression and the renewed promise of new communal living situations. Working together with my coauthor, the building technology consultant Tim Lehotsky, we've framed some questions around tech-enabled coliving to better understand … Continue reading New Urban Experiences of Mediated Communities