home as project house

Said friend Florence (name has been changed) is a business professional and still recent graduate who is building a home in a newly developed estate by Stocklands, south of the river.  The particulars are; the home is a land and house package by Ideal Homes, block is 320m2 and house is 136m2 (total area of 182m2 with covered open spaces; garage and alfresco).  The home is a standard design for a 280m2 block and therefore, Florence has more garden than would be usual.  The total package has cost approximately $370,000 (inclusive of home, land and design variations).

I have asked Florence to share some insights into the process and reflect on her experiences on the murky topic of; building with a project home company.

[Image Google Maps of Perth Suburbia]

Read more >>

Crown Hall

 

Today Google is celebrating Mies van der Rohe's would-be-126th birthday.  I thought I would celebrate it by posting some photos from my recent visit to Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology, also pictured in Google's doodle above.  It was great to see this building bustling with activity, although I also wondered if these were all architecture students staying back late for a crit, or to work in studio on their models and drawings.  Then again, who wouldn't want to hang out after hours in a Mies building... It was all very strangely familiar and yet I couldn't bring myself to step inside

Crown Hall is visible from the elevated train line, those lucky Chicago people

Read more >>

Portraits of Success

To be a successful, well published Architect one needs to first master the art of being photogenic.

Affirmative Architecture: Resonations and Reservations from AJH, KvV & FJE

Notes, reflections and sketches from the Affirmative Architecture symposium. We haven't covered everything, just a few things that resonated with us, and a few more that didn't.

Read more >>

Reflections on Advocating Architecture: PS11.03

Last night I (and quite a few others from the BCC) attended the Perth Samplings 11.03 talk, organised by the Office of the Government Architect. The speakers were Carly Barrett, Jennie Officer, Beth George and Andrew Murray. The title was Advocating Architecture.

There are three ways which I think that title can be taken; promoting a certain activity within the profession (i.e. some activities that architects do is 'architecture', and some is not, e.g. management, or for promoting quality), and promoting the importance of architecture to the rest of society. It could also be taken as a label 'architect as advocate', so an architect who is prepared to promote a cause publicly (i.e. specific ideologies within the profession).

I thought all the speakers did an excellent job - the talks were engaging and interesting, and were generous in content. So, considering the talks against the possibilities I have outlined;

Read more >>

Architecture is an 'ace job'

The ABC produced some interesting material on architecture in the past - the interview transcripts from Plans for Life (an 80's radio show made in Perth, featuring local architects - in the Alexander Library), and In the Mind of the Architect both make good reading.

 This video is from a program called 'Ace Day Jobs' ("Love Ya Work"), aimed at primary and lower high school students.

I think it's interesting that Drew Heath has been used as an example. His experience probably doesn't reflect that of the majority of architects - but certainly makes architecture look exciting! I like the way the ABC doesn't dumb things down - this video has a lot of ideas for something aimed at kids.

Brown Bag No. 3: spaceagency (10 Sept 2010)

Michael Patroni and Dimmity Walker from spaceagency presented the 32 Henry St apartments (which received the Harold Krantz award for multiple residential from the Chapter this year, among others), and their own Prevelly Beach House (also awarded by the Chapter in 2010).

The apartments were based around an attitude to heritage which said 'no reconstruction' and 'this is best left as a ruin' when they approached the remains of an 1880s cottage on the site. The project has many ingenious solutions to the demands from the site and building codes. I like the way the ruin space was made into an interior which was given the feel of an exterior, as the visible services bulged out from the white volume above, like the forgotten backs of shops with ducts and air-conditioning scabbed all over them - but in white! The level of resolution was amazing, as was the brisk use of curved walls and flush-doored cabinet work (though this is obviously luxury residential).

image: spaceagency website

Dimmity noted that in their 'beach shack' they were trying 'not to be architects'. They holidayed in it for a number of years without changing it, filled it with old furniture, stuck salvaged chunks of other buildings in, asked the builder's advice a lot, and avoided creating another large holiday mansion which pervade the South-West coast in increasing numbers. Lara MackIntosh (who always asks the best questions) thought this collaboration with the builder was a great example of an alternative mode of practice, and wanted to hear more about it. There was some musing over whether this was what really architecture is, or should be. Michael noted the Henry St apartments were procured in "a very traditional" way, with a lump sum contract.

It is great that we are having brown bags again (thanks to the organisers and presenters!)

Labels 2