the art of construction

Better Buildings: Better Business Conference

2012-01-29T15:36:00.001-06:00

I'm headed to Schaumburg tomorrow for a conference focusing on energy efficiency improvements for home in the Midwest. http://www.betterbuildingsil.org/index.php is the conference home page.

I'll be doing breakout sessions like:

Deep energy retrofits

With the collapse of the financial markets and the U.S. debt bubble, it seems likely that new construction activity will continue to contract. At the same time, peak oil prices and climate change will drive interest in dramatically reducing energy consumption in existing buildings. In response, more attention is going to deep energy retrofits of homes and other building types-the topic of this full-day workshop. We'll look at the nature of the challenge, where energy goes in homes, and the underlying building science. Air barriers and insulation detailing will be illustrated, primarily through numerous case study examples. We will also examine mechanical systems for low-load retrofits.

I'll also be sharpening my chops on other technical issues over the course of the next 3 days. http://www.betterbuildingsil.org/sessionschedule.pdf is a link to the rest of the conference schedule. Hopefully I'll get to post something from the conference.

finding today in yesterday

2012-01-16T01:47:00.000-06:00

William Butler Yeats
1st Verse of:

The Second Coming

TURNING and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

The underline is mine and, in these last two lines one can find my greatest fears and my current perception.

I read that Yeats was, in part, inspired by PB Shelley's Prometheus Unbound which ends with this:

To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;

To forgive wrongs darker than death or night;

To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;

To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates

From its own wreck the thing it contemplates;

Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent;

This, like thy glory, Titan, is to be

Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free;

This is alone Life, Joy,Empire, and Victory.

constructing a substrate

2012-01-15T14:32:00.000-06:00

rea·son

[ree-zuhn]

noun

a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, etc.: the reason for declaring war.

a statement presented in justification or explanation of abelief or action.

the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences.

sound judgment; good sense.

normal or sound powers of mind; sanity.

ra·tion·al

[rash-uh-nl, rash-nl]

adjective

agreeable to reason; reasonable; sensible: a rational plan foreconomic development.

having or exercising reason, sound judgment, or good sense :a calm and rational negotiator.

being in or characterized by full possession of one's reason; sane; lucid: The patient appeared perfectly rational.

endowed with the faculty of reason: rational beings.

of, pertaining to, or constituting reasoning powers: therational faculty.

truth

[trooth]

noun, plural truths [troothz, trooths] Show IPA.

the true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out thetruth.

conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of astatement.

a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or thelike: mathematical truths.

the state or character of being true.

actuality or actual existence.

ev·i·dence

[ev-i-duhns] noun, verb, -denced, -denc·ing.

noun

that which tends to prove or disprove something; ground for belief; proof.

something that makes plain or clear; an indication or sign:His flushed look was visible evidence of his fever.

Law . data presented to a court or jury in proof of the facts in issue and which may include the testimony of witnesses,records, documents, or objects.

knowl·edge

[nol-ij]

noun

acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition: knowledge of many things.

familiarity or conversance, as with a particular subject or branch of learning: A knowledge of accounting was necessaryfor the job.

acquaintance or familiarity gained by sight, experience, orreport: a knowledge of human nature.

the fact or state of knowing; the perception of fact or truth; clear and certain mental apprehension.

awareness, as of a fact or circumstance: He had knowledgeof her good fortune.

log·ic

[loj-ik]

noun

the science that investigates the principles governing correct or reliable inference.

a particular method of reasoning or argumentation: We wereunable to follow his logic.

the system or principles of reasoning applicable to anybranch of knowledge or study.

reason or sound judgment, as in utterances or actions: Therewasn't much logic in her move.

convincing forcefulness; inexorable truth or persuasiveness: the irresistible logic of the facts.

bundle of collage

2012-01-11T20:12:00.000-06:00

The show at the Guild is down and here is what became of my 2'6" x 13' collage. It is a bundle about 7-1/2" x 6" x 3-1/2".

Teddy Cruz & Density

2012-01-07T22:27:00.000-06:00

In the context of a post 9-11 political equator that divides the world and the city between enclaves of mega wealth and sectors of poverty, urbanities of labour and surveillance, the formal and informal, our institutions of architecture have lost their socio-political relevance. Instead, the architecture avant-garde has become fully complicit with an international, neo-liberal project of privatisation and homogenisation, by camouflaging gentrification with a massive hyper aesthetic and formalist project.

New experimental practices of intervention in the collective territory will emerge only from zones of conflict. The radicalisation of the local in order to generate new readings of the global is transforming the neighborhood – not the city – into the urban laboratory of the 21st century.

The micro heterotopias emerging within small communities across the world, provoked by social emergency, are producing non-conforming spatial and economic contingencies that will incrementally pixelate the large with the small. These economic and political informalities generate a different idea of density and land use, a counter form of urban and economic development that thrives on social organisation, collaboration and exchange.

Contemporary art and architecture’s task is not only to reveal ignored socio-political territorial histories and inequalities within this polarised world, but also to generate new forms of sociability and activism.

Elsewhere, Cruz writes about the redefinition of density as 'the amount of social exchanges per acre.' If social exchanges includes the monetary then this is an interesting perspective suggestive of mixed-use and mixed economic development.

Architecture, which in so many ways has become the tool of the dominant/hegemonic paradigm - the status quo - the architectural practice of which can be seen as having collapsed with the real estate bubble will have to re-invent itself as a practice that does not depend on 'excess' for experimentation but can be a "new paradigm [which] must necessarily emerge from scarcity, not abundance, thereby reclaiming the margins as the site for architectural experimentation in our times." (from Urban Future Manifestos)

Architecture, Design, Art: Strategies for Survival

2012-01-07T13:51:00.002-06:00

This video is chock full of great ideas and proof that artists are people too.

Journal Collage

2012-01-01T13:15:00.001-06:00

I've Always Liked Trains

2011-12-31T21:24:00.002-06:00

Charles Sheeler and Scullin Steel

2011-12-30T22:13:00.000-06:00

Charles Sheeler, an American photographer and painter, worked through the 1950s. Much of his work documented industrial scenes. I just heard that the smoke stacks of Scullin Steel are slated for demolition soon. Another part of our disappearing industrial past. Here are some images of Sheeler's work (top) and a couple of photos I took the other day of views of the stacks.

Reflections on Chris Jordan

2011-12-14T21:13:00.002-06:00

Selections from Chris Jordan's Running the Numbers are on exhibit at the St. Louis Artists' Guild through January 7th. There is lots of good stuff in each gallery and it all is connected to St. Louis with an environmental and sustainability twist.

More info: http://www.stlouisartistsguild.org/new/

BPI Training Complete

2011-12-14T19:57:00.000-06:00

www.bpi.org

Building Analyst Standard

Envelope Professional Standard

I have to wait 4-6 weeks to get the official results but I'm pretty sure I passed all my exams and field tests for the BA and EP Certifications. It has been an interesting 2 weeks of classes, field work, late nights hitting the books with a bit of stress and worry thrown in for good measure.

As a LEED AP and a builder with over 30 years experience I have long embraced sustainable and energy efficient construction practices. The work of the past few weeks has reaffirmed my commitment to these practices (and their application in existing buildings) in a way that has the depth that comes with this new, 'nose to the grindstone' experience & knowledge.

I can now measure what I once knew as theory. I can measure change as it occurs. I can calculate the needs and possibilities that exist in a given building and combine it with my previous experiences in order to deliver meaningful, measurable results.

A special shout out to my instructor, Dan Payne, of http://www.environmentalenergyconsultants.com/ - he did a fine job in the class room and during the field training. He has worked hard to develop an impressive and comprehensive curriculum that really does the job in an in depth way and it worked well for me.

I'll be using my new certifications in my new role as an Energy Programs Manager. I am administering energy efficiency programs for utilities and governmental entities and part of my work will be evaluation and quality assurance of completed projects.

BPI Certification

2011-11-27T18:02:00.001-06:00

In a week I will begin training and testing to become a BPI Certified Building Analyst and Envelope Professional. I'll have a lot to study and learn as well as equipment to master. I hope to find a bit of time to share the experience here.

I have the class materials now and have started to review our primary text. As a LEED AP I am familiar with the theoretical side of whole building science but now I will be drilling down into the 'hands on,' technical side of the work.

Go to http://www.bpi.org/ for more info.

collage of a collage installation

2011-11-25T11:00:00.001-06:00

This is my piece in the Sustainability and the Built Environment show juried by Chris Jordan. Its been a busy month and I hope to get back to posting stuff about the art of construction now. I have been photographing this piece in various ways to see if I can generate some useful ways of presenting the info here. It is 2'-6" x 13' and it is meant to be read and studied.

Sneak Peek

2011-11-06T20:06:00.002-06:00

Here is a detail from my piece in the Aggregate Series opening at the St. Louis Artists' Guild this Friday, 11/11/11:

Click to enlarge

my pecha kucha moment

2011-11-05T21:05:00.001-05:00

Sustainability Discussion at Artists' Guild

2011-11-01T20:24:00.003-05:00

Sustainability Panel Discussion as part of the programming for the Aggregate Series which includes Sustainability and the Built Environment of the St. Louis Region

When: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Admission: Free and Open to the Public

The St. Louis Artists' Guild will host a panel discussion, moderated by Jean Ponzi (host of Earthworms on KDHX 88.1), further exploring the themes of the Aggregate Exhibition Series.

Panelists include:

Tom Bradford, Culver Way Eco village

John Wagner, FOCUS St. Louis

Dr. Tim Keane, St. Louis University Sustainability Department

Bob Hansman, Washington University Architecture Department

Charlie Vinz; ReBuild Foundation

Marc Lopata, MicroGrid Energy

Tony Sirna, Dancing Rabbit Eco Village

11/11/11 Opening at the Artists' Guild

2011-10-30T21:04:00.001-05:00

The Philosophy Section

2011-10-25T09:06:00.000-05:00

I looked at the philosophy section in my neighborhood used bookstore the other day and took this picture. I thought about this as a large collection of books that as a commitment to wisdom, reason and logic that is beautiful and flawed - like all human activity. In spite of the flaws it is valuable and useful in helping us become a little wiser, more reasonable and more clear.

There is no subject, including religion or faith, that escapes the philosopher's gaze. The philosopher does not lack faith - it is my assertion that no one does who bothers to get out of bed in the morning.

Why is all this philosophy flawed? As a student of the subject back in the day it was our job to read the great thinkers and then write papers exposing the weaknesses in the various theses and arguments we read about. They are always present. Still, as students, we were always enriched by the effort.

Wisdom is not the same as knowledge and meditating on this distinction in our current political and economic climate is worth the effort.

State Energy Efficiency Rankings

2011-10-22T20:03:00.000-05:00

State Energy Efficiency Rankings is a new report showing that Missouri has has fallen a few spots since last year. We are near the bottom.

11/eleven/XI Opening

2011-10-13T21:45:00.000-05:00

Click to enlarge. Please spread the word.

joe

2011-10-09T18:44:00.002-05:00

Ionic IV

2011-10-02T11:54:00.001-05:00

A fine example of a tradition re-purposed for modern needs. Click image to enlarge.

2011-10-01T11:28:00.004-05:00

http://mashupcitizen.com/ is worth a look. Here is an intro from their site:

We are a collaborative blog about people and urbanism. Mashup Citizen is an online platform based on a community of authors who write about their cities, neighborhoods and emblematic places from first hand experiences and everyday observations.

Our goal is to capture the ongoing transformation of the metropolis by collecting individual voices linking inquiry to place and place to cyberspace. Our writers follow individual beats, each opening an intimate window to urban life, practices, technologies and politics.

We are interested in pursuing an inclusive virtual dialogue about cities and their residents through the intersection of multiple voices marking singular experiences and spaces. By reflecting upon our own legitimacy as writers, we hope to also consider the voices that are not present in this dialogue and ask: how can we use virtual space to foster action and bring change to cities?

As the terms implies, Mashup Citizen is about the combination of multiple fragments of media, pluralist perspectives and diverse opinions into a new form of civic understanding and participation. In this way we expect that the development of our content offers an imaginary map of the urban landscape that defines our contemporary times.

Back to RR:
It is good to look around and see what else is going on. St. Louis has some great blogs, actions activities and more and pumping in some fresh views from other urban areas can lead to some cool surprises.

MSD on the South Side

2011-09-28T22:58:00.000-05:00

Our storm water and sanitary infrastructure is a complex system of separated and combined lines. There are a couple of large projects taking place near my home just south of Tower Grove Park. The first involves replacing, repairing and upgrading lines that, in the future, will separate sanitary and storm water.

The water entering these street side inlets will drain to a stream. It might be the case that they pass through a waste water treatment plant on the way - at least for the time being. All water ends up in a stream, sometimes it takes a circuitous path.

Lots of precast concrete pipe is stocked and utilized in the rebuilding project. Streets are closed, large trenches dug and many hours of labor are needed to fit the new stuff. These are big projects, using big equipment and they test the patience of nearby residents. Still, it is an important part of taking care of issues that are very serious environmental concern. Our rates may rise but it is an essential part of being a responsible community.

The images below are from a pervious alley project just east of the larger pipe project. A concrete perimeter and the relaying of alley pavers on a specially designed substrate will work to slow water down before it enters the combined system. The goal is to prevent overload and untreated waste water from entering our streams. This is part of a multi-pronged approach to a big problem.

I lifted the grate at the end of the alley to reveal the intersection of the pervious alley and the existing system. The water in the alley will filter its way down, slowly, into the green pipe. Eventually much of it will discharge here and then return to the existing MSD system. The goal is to have water from a large rain event have a minimal impact on an already challenged system. It is one part of a solution.

Individuals can help with rain gardens and rain barrel usage on their own properties.

Photography and Construction

2011-09-25T17:43:00.001-05:00

These books - a few classics and, perhaps, a classic in the making, are not overtly concerned with construction in the sense of the built environment. Still, they are worthwhile reading for those of us who must use cameras in our work.

The documentation of construction work in progress can be approached from several vantage points. It has a QC function, a historical function and, if done well, a marketing function. In-progress shots can tell a story of materials and assemblies that can help make important points about the process and value of construction practices linked to energy efficiency and sustainability.

Good photography can help share and generate enthusiasm for quality architecture. Geometry, light, space can be, to some extent, captured and shared through the photographic image. The images are not a substitute, but can be thought of and used as enticements to curiosity.

Capturing existing structures can bring satisfaction to photographer and viewer. We can learn from studying the geometric, documentary abstractions that make up much of the art of architectural photography. We get to share a 'vision,' as it were.

If you 'google' ruin porn you will find many articles and images of ravaged areas of Detroit and other metro areas in decay. There are interesting debates about the value and bias inherent in much of this work.

To me, it is a bit more complicated. I first started taking pictures of old buildings years ago. Some were/are very well preserved and others in very bad condition. I shared the images of buildings in various states of ruin with architects and other builders as reminders of the destiny of our life's work. It was/is a bittersweet call to mindfulness about the temporary nature of our creations.

Recently I have started to think about ruins again. It is not always an indication of carelessness and neglect -not if we are looking forward. In some neighborhoods neglected buildings and their photographs are the 'before' pictures of a renaissance in the making. Preservation starts somewhere.

I love taking pictures - buildings in particular - and it requires a sense of responsibility and thoughtfulness and sensitivity. Think about it.

How much coal do you burn each month?

2011-09-10T21:02:00.001-05:00

The headline from the Post - Dispatch reads: Leaks from Ameren toxic waste pond in Labadie stir fears. It seems like energy production is problematic in many, many ways.

Labadie, the largest coal-fired power plant in Missouri was a featured part of my Pecha Kucha presentation Thursday evening. Among other things I want folks in the region to pay attention to their electric bills. How many kilowatt hours (kWh) per month do you use? What steps can be taken to reduce that number?

Here are a few stats about the coal burned at Labadie from some work I did with the St. Louis Beacon a couple of years ago:

Our electric comes from a regional grid and it is generated from various sources: coal, nuclear, natural gas, etc. Still, 85% of what we use come from coal-fired plants.

What would the effect be if all the power for your electric use came from Labadie? Something like this:

The take away is, in part, that it takes more than a pound of coal to generate one kWh of electricity from the plant. The more efficient we get the less coal will be burned, the less fly ash generated and so on.

On the home front we did a serious upgrade on our HVAC system. The net effect is that we used 700 kWh less in August 2011 than in August 2010 and I'm willing to bet we had a hotter August this year.

Green Project Planning with Washington University

2011-09-04T15:52:00.001-05:00

I'll be working with a graduate level design studio to help students focus, in part, on best practices in sustainability for residential projects including townhouses, multi-family and duplex options. Another focus of my work with the group will be budgetary issues. Here is a map of the area and a bit of context for existing structures.

This particular project is on the national radar w/ Kaid Benfield and the NRDC as well. Should be a fun semester.

Sustainability and the Built Environment of the St. Louis Region

2011-08-26T15:43:00.001-05:00

St. Louis Magazine has published its anual 'Fall Arts Preview' and the exhibit I've been working on with all kinds of cool people - especially Dana Gray and Gina Alvarez of the Guild - is featured. Here is an image of the cover and our place in the issue - next to some pretty interesting shows to catch as well. Click on the image to enlarge.

Habitat for Humanity and the Case Equipment Rodeo

2011-08-21T21:47:00.001-05:00

I went to my first 'heavy equipment rodeo' on this past rainy Saturday. Many operators compete in skills tests on front loaders, skid loaders and backhoes. Time and a delicate touch are the main skills to demonstrate. The event had a dual function as a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis and that is the reason that brought me there.

Habitat staff and volunteers, like me, shared info and opportunities with the crowd. William McHugh, the Habitat Construction Manager did a fine job as a competitor as well

Pecha Kucha September 8, 2011

2011-08-18T21:57:00.001-05:00

I'll be presenting at this edition.

Construction Schedules and Our Current Economic Conditions

2011-08-11T15:11:00.000-05:00

A few observations about the new 'normal' in our industry:

The best of the best have jobs and have work

No one has a backlog that provides the confidence to hire additional staff

Very few anticipate anything but prolonged tough times - another year or two at best

With the above assumptions/conditions work is being hoarded and protected in ways I have not seen before. Construction schedules and timelines are difficult to meet in this scenario.

I spoke with a construction business manager who recently laid off nearly a dozen employees because he had work lined up to take him to next March if he he kept everyone or to November with the lay-offs. He believes this is an essential survival move.

Timber Frame in Progress

2011-08-10T20:34:00.000-05:00

These parts will be installed in the next month or so on a project that is part of my regular gig. Skinned with 6-1/2" SIPS, triple glazed windows, geothermal hvac and much of the lumber cut from the land.

Please Share: Deadline Extended for Submissions on Sustainability and the Built Environment of the St. Louis Region

2011-08-03T19:16:00.000-05:00

http://www.stlouisartistsguild.org/new/images/Sustainability_Prospectus_Web_8-3-11.pdf links to the revised prospectus.

The new deadline is 9/16/2011. Now gather up your work and take a chance! I am.

Larger, in progress projects may be submitted. The work doesn't have to be completed upon submission or acceptance especially if it is a big, long, involved project. Often times in progress architectural/design projects are interesting and applicable in the process state. We have had some questions and concerns regarding this matter.

Thanks!

this will bring you here

2011-08-02T20:05:00.000-05:00

Rebuild Foundation

2011-07-31T00:50:00.000-05:00

I added a slide show of images from the past few weeks work in Hyde Park. A small thing or two by me as artist and as a builder and a whole lot of stuff by the students, led by Theaster Gates, and his team of artists and builders.

more images from Hyde Park

2011-07-23T20:35:00.000-05:00

The Rebuild Foundation and students from Washington U. and the neighborhood are getting a lot done.

playing with history

2011-07-16T08:56:00.000-05:00

Population Density and a Shrinking City

2011-07-11T21:33:00.001-05:00

I have thought often about population density and the St. Louis area. I have NO expertise regarding these matters but as I think about my work in sustainability and construction the issue comes up, if only tangentially, regarding site selection, amenities and the walkability of a particular place.

I've read that Manhattan residents have very low carbon footprints. This is due to population density - at least in part. High rise apartments, smaller living spaces, fewer cars, highly walkable neighborhoods require less energy to maintain. Per the 2000 census New York City had a density of over 26,000 people/square mile. Manhattan's population per square mile was over 66,000.

There is a Wikipedia Article on Optimum Population. From the article: "The optimum population is the size of a population that is optimal. There are, however, various opinions on what "optimal" means in this usage, resulting in various end-targets for it,[1] but estimations usually take ecological sustainability and carrying capacity more or less into account. Also, optimum population can refer to a specific area, such as a region or country, but can also refer to the entire world or universe."

According to the 2010 census St. Louis has a density of just over 5,000 people per square mile.
Here is a chart of our region:

I have lived in the City of St. Louis for almost 30 years. The shrinking city has meant ample parking in front of my house, most of the stores and neighborhoods I travel to for business and pleasure. Density-wise it is not a stressful place to live. The mortgage is not painful either. We have not experienced much in crime either, though we know some who have not been so lucky. In Tower Grove South, where I live, my particular house rates pretty well on walkscore.com - it is 13 points above average.

Having seen films like The Pruitt-Igoe Myth in which the plight of high density developments in shrinking cities is shown to be problematic I wonder: How do we find an equilibrium? What is our equilibrium? How would a region keep this dynamic thing balanced over the course of time?

More later...

The Rebuild Foundation and Hyde Park

2011-07-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

http://seed-network.org/ is an organization dedicated to Social Economic Environmental Design® - SEED

from their website:

SEED maintains the belief that design can play a vital role in the most critical issues that face communities and individuals, in crisis and in every day challenges. To accomplish this, SEED provides tools—the SEED Network and SEED Certification—that guide design professionals toward community-based engagement with design practice. These tools support a public-interest methodology that is increasingly recognized as an effective way to sustain the health and longevity of a place or a community as it develops over time.

SEED Network
For designers and others looking for resources and a community of practice where like-minded people share an interest in the results of design and care about fundamental ideals of practice.

SEED Certification
For designers, project developers, community leaders and others who desire a common standard to guide, measure, evaluate and certify the social, economic and environmental impact of design projects.

Here is a project of great interest to many in St. Louis interested in combining these elements in a single project:

The Rebuild Foundation is working in St. Louis' Hyde Park neighborhood to establish a community arts center.

Trumpet Builders LLC, where I run operations, is engaged as a carpentry subcontractor on the project as the site is prepared for a group of architecture students to work with Rebuild Foundation founder Theaster Gates on various aspects of the buildings' rehabilitation and conversion into an arts center. Salvaged material will be at the heart of much of the work as plans unfold over the summer.

The building is well over 100 years old and it provides lessons in the adaptability of structure over time in its very bones:

Click on the images to enlarge. Note the areas in the photos above where the original structure was added to; see the old roof line along the masonry and see the gable end studs that have been added to when a full second story was built.

Here is some info from the Rebuild Foundation website:

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT + THE ARTS

The Rebuild Foundation is a not-for-profit, creative engine focusing on cultural and economic redevelopment and affordable space initiatives in under-resourced communities. We currently manage projects in Detroit, Omaha, Saint Louis, and Chicago, each city enlisting a team of artists, architects, developers, educators, and community activists, who work together to integrate the arts and alternative entrepreneurship into a community-driven process of place making and neighborhood transformation.

Founded by Chicago native, artist, and urban planner Theaster Gates, Rebuild engages an artistic practice which uses as its medium the urban fabric of under-resourced districts, bridging the creation of art with renovation and adaptive reuse, recycling of building materials, and community-driven initiatives for neighborhood revitalization.

MISSION STATEMENT
Rebuild Foundation activates creative community resources to build vibrant neighborhoods. We act as a catalyst in local economies by integrating small business incubation, creative architectural rehabilitation, hands-on education, and artistic intervention.

Here are a few more images of the building:

In the image above carpenters and Rebuild Foundation staff hoist a reclaimed timber in place to serve as a beam in the new, more open, floor plan. The work of my organization consists of structural stabilization and heavier carpentry, including cutting in a new stair from the basement to the second floor.

I am excited to be a part of the project and I look forward to sharing more info as things progress.

a review/feature on this blog

2011-07-08T20:00:00.000-05:00

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-blog/blog-review-art-construction

small sculptures from back in the day

2011-07-06T20:37:00.001-05:00

violin

pipe, glass, newspaper on a table

glass

glass on a table

These pieces are part of a series of studies in cubism from the late 80s and early 90s. The materials were sourced from construction projects where I worked as a carpenter and the occasional run down an alley. Wood and, occasionally copper were the materials of choice. The older the better, with any patina greatly appreciated. The basis for this work was a study of cubist vocabulary. I wanted to learn and understand the limitations and uses of the material used by Picasso in some of his constructions from 1910 - 1915. I thought, and still think, that the power of cubism is poorly understood and still very relevant and useful.

Collage, Part 1

2011-07-05T21:03:00.000-05:00

Here are a few collages I did over the weekend. A collage is a type of construction, an assemblage, more or less 2 dimensional. Most of them come from re-purposed material and can serve as objects of contemplation about the nature of materials and meaning.

Pattern, balance, text, image, the whole, the parts, the happy accidents and serendipities make engagement with collage a mini-adventure. Collage is also a good way to work out design concepts and rhythms - a way to test the waters on a manageable scale. Creating them is an act of meditation, of engagement and focus that, for me anyway, keeps me deeply in the present.

There is lots of collage work in the slide shows posted on this work as well. Each journal is full of them. Also, I recently photographed some old sculpture pieces from back in the day. 3D collage, constructions and so on, which I will sort through and post in a day or so.

it rained in st. louis yesterday

2011-07-04T20:53:00.000-05:00

The roof foot print of the main part of our 19th Century, 3 storey home is just over 600sf. We have 4 downspouts on this portion and we just hooked up a 55 gallon rain barrel before the rain fell yesterday. Today it is full. We have lots of storm water issues in this town and it is hard to understand on a personal level but it becomes easier when we have our own ways of measuring the rainfall where we live.

A single rain barrel is not the answer. Maybe thousands of rain barrels are part of an answer, part of an equation that has yet to be solved in our region.

the great american vacation, part 4 - Logan, Utah

2011-07-03T13:27:00.002-05:00

This is Main Street in downtown Logan

A bungalow w/ a yard for the dog

Louis' studio - shared w/ other grad students, etc.

some of what we brought home

Wasatch Range up Logan Canyon

Louis & Herbie coming off the trail

Click on any image to enlarge. Paths and roads - journeys are, almost literally, like funnels, moving from the large to the small. We moved along side rivers on interstate highways to blue highways and small streets and eventually to dirt roads and single track paths. There are the roads less travelled - but travelled they are, and they lead to some great views, some great destinations. The pay-off is the potent reminder of the grandeur and interdependence of man, nature, family and community.

slowly going green @ home

2011-07-02T14:51:00.001-05:00

In the last couple of years the wife and I are slowly getting our 'green' on at home. We started, years ago with a commitment to the city and our existing housing stock in a neighborhood with a short commute/walk for many amenities; we're in Tower Grove South. Getting our kids through school (almost) slowed us down in many ways but we're starting to catch up.

There is no shortage of deciduous trees shading the south face of our home - this helps keep us a wee bit cooler in summer and let's in the sun in the winter. Putting full blinds on the south facing windows has helped with comfort in summer as well.

We started at the top with a white roof and we replaced the wood work with composite/recycled material that will never need painting. We finally got caught up with our tuckpointing as well.

We don't have a whole lot of grass and we're not big waterers anyway, but a newly installed rain barrel should help minimize our use of potable water for this purpose.

As we did bits of work on the interior we replaced plumbing fixtures with low flow toilets, faucets and shower heads.

Finally, we have recently installed a 95% efficient 2 stage HVAC system with a programmable thermostat. (Wish we did this a long time ago)

Next big tasks: window replacement, duct sealing, insulation improvements

compare and contrast - the american west and east africa

2011-06-29T22:09:00.000-05:00

the great american vacation, part 3

2011-06-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

The satellite image above can be enlarged w/ a click. On the bottom right side is Badlands National Park. It looks like a landscape from another planet. On the left side is the Black Hills and the Mount Rushmore National Monument. These places are less than 2 hours apart by car and worlds apart in appearance.

Between the Badlands and Mount Rushmore are the towns of Wall and Keystone, South Dakota. Almost everything cheesy and patriotic and made in China is available in these tourist trap towns. The false front of western streetscapes in old movies is alive and well in here. Nothing is quite what it seems (but we all know better, don't we?). I make no claims to be above it all; I like t-shirts and the occasional shot glass and coffee cup.

I did not take the images on the left (immediately above) but I wanted all to get a feel for downtown Wall, SD. What I find worth contemplating is the juxtaposition of the awesome natural wonders and the souvenir stands which are full of the familiar, at best. Is there a deeper reason then a remembrance for such disparate phenomena to exist side by side? Does the souvenir stand help us exit the realm of the awe-inspiring and return to civilization and its discontents?

Here is Keystone, SD:

Here is my postcard image of Rushmore:

It is an impressive site. My interest begins with watching re-runs of North by Northwest on TV as a kid. It is big and many people view it with a reverence that borders on the religious. Some say Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey refers to this.
Greenpeace activists used it to send a big message to Barack Obama a few years ago:

The mountain pine beetle is having a devastating effect on the pines that look so dark from a distance that it gives the Black Hills their name:

Still, there is something about a double rainbow at the end of a long day on the road.

These days my roots seem deeper than my wings can spread - that is to say I don't travel quite as well as I used to back in the day. I still like to see new stuff and I still like to experience the visually familiar, like Rushmore, in person but it is bittersweet in so many ways.

The sweetness is about the grand, expansive nature of this country; we have before us what we need to thrive - will we do it? The bitter is seen in environmental damage, man-made devastation and a sense of falling below potential.

the great american vacation, part2 - energy

2011-06-26T11:58:00.000-05:00

Drive by shootings (photography on the fly) can capture the truly fleeting image, moment of light and image of interest that is not worth stopping for; a road trip would never end if every curiosity was honored with a stop. Energy makes this economy turn and we cannot escape its production while in the act of its consumption on the road. Click on any of the image to enlarge.

Gasoline and wind turbines under a big sky

Thunder Basin is the largest strip mine in North America and the source for most of the coal burned in Missouri and many parts east of here. This is where the trains come from and to where they return. Ameren's Labadie Plant will burn up to 3 trainloads a day in July/August.

Just to the right of center can be seen the Callaway nuclear plant with a puff of white smoke. The cooling tower is over 550' tall.

the great american vacation, part 1

2011-06-25T22:46:00.002-05:00

Robert Frank marks the transitions of his great book, The Americans, with images of Old Glory. The flag pictured below is at the Golden Spike National Monument Site at Promontory Point, Utah. Here, the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. This marked our turn around point.

The wife and I just returned from a trip through the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota, along the blue highways of Wyoming from the northwest to the southwest into Logan, Utah. The furthest point west of St. Louis and the ultimate (visual) goal was Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty on the Great Salt Lake near the Golden Spike Monument.

The best part was spending time with my son and daughter-in-law in Logan. What a big, wide, beautiful, and awe-inspiring country we live in. The juxtaposition of natural wonder, infrastructure and americana tells a great story.

We drove over 3,000 miles in a week. The image below depicts our turn by turn directions.

Envisioning Hyde Park

2011-06-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

Check out this new project by Andrew Raimist and participate as able.

Special Presentation on June 23, 2011

2011-06-08T19:36:00.002-05:00

The Architecture Section of the St. Louis Artists' Guild is proud to present:

Public Housing in St. Louis: Vanishing Mid-Century Modern Architecture
Architectural historians Michael Allen and Lynn Josse will provide an overview of the history and design of public housing in St. Louis city, from low-rise Carr Square Village in 1941 through the high-rise Arthur Blumeyer Homes in 1968. The talk will cover the contributions to local public housing architecture by major designers like Minoru Yamasaki, Gyo Obata, Joseph Murphy and others. With St. Louis' two public towers both slated for demolition in the next two years, the talk will devote special attention to the development of high-rise housing forms and features at the Cochran Gardens and Pruitt-Igoe projects. Remaining public housing buildings at Carr Square and Clinton-Peabody have been heavily altered, meaning that the last intact buildings soon will fade to memory.

The event will be at the Guild, #2 Oak Knoll Park in Clayton at 7PM on Thursday, June 23, 2011

Faulkner's 'Rowan Oak' and My Southern Summers

2011-06-04T21:07:00.002-05:00

I spent the summers of youth in the house shown above. This home is near downtown Helena, Arkansas. Helena is about 65 miles south of Memphis on the Mississippi and not too far from the famed 'crossroads' of the blues. Most of the music and the subtleties of delta culture were beyond the comprehension of the child I was.

The house above is William Faulkner's home in Oxford, Mississippi. That both these homes are Greek Revival is an interesting coincidence. As I entered adulthood and spent time reading Faulkner I associated the sights, sounds and smells of Helena and nearby Moon Lake with the feel and the descriptions Faulkner provided in his work.

I have often thought of Faulkner as an explanation of the complexity behind the scenes of the summers I spent in the south. Whether or not this is true is hard to say - but it is not hard to say that the south has stayed with me in deep and profound ways and it remains a touchstone. When I go there I see how it has changed and how I have changed. Growth and aging, maturation, sweetening, mellowing and the remnants of what was. And hard life. This is not to say that I 'know' the south, only that is has been and remains an important part of my heritage.

A Church by Charles Eames

2011-06-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

The cornerstone of St Mary's Church in Helena, Arkansas states '1935' as the year of erection. Helena is a sleepy delta town on the Mississippi about 65 miles south of Memphis. This project predates Eames' time at Cranbrook and the meeting of his future wife Ray.

The building is traditional in footprint with a transept and crossing. The steeple is of copper with an interesting net-like detailing. Click on the images to enlarge.

The Internet and Hard Work

2011-05-29T23:45:00.004-05:00

Susan Sontag wrote an essay about the personality of Walter Benjamin called, Under the Sign of Saturn. It is about the saturnine or melancholic type. It is a fine description of attributes and traits and maybe it is quite accurate of Benjamin, I don' know, but it sure has a few parts that resonate with me.

Underlying Sontag’s understanding of the saturnine personality is the basic world view inherent in the piece that "l'existence precede l'essence" or existence before essence. That is to say, we are an act of creation - of our own will and of our own environment. We exist and we are active participants in the development of our essence, of what will become essential about us and to us.

That there are several forces at work here is key. We have a say; there is an aspect of self-determination in our lives, but we are also heavily conditioned by our environment. Beware of this construction - choose - find a place for depth and breadth that is different from mere quantity.

Maps, labyrinths, cities, arcades, vistas, as Sontag writes of Benjamin, become metaphors of self construction and journey. Diagrams of being and discovery. So many paths and possibilities becomes an indecisive blundering about - a stasis of becoming, of almost, of contemplating commitment or action. She also considers the idea of the self as a text to be deciphered or a project to be built.

The self can also be seen as a collection, an acquisition of experiences, a kind of library in the making. Learning is a form of collecting, of acquisition as well. The desire to learn is an admission of the inadequacy of the self: 'I am not enough to thrive.'

Sontag saw Benjamin (as I occasionally see myself) as one who is 'multi-positioning.' This is living at the cross roads - available to see and defend many positions from a single stance. This is, of course, something with positive and negative aspects. It is an acknowledgement of our epistemological limits, though it can also be seen as a kind of vacillation or a big 'maybe' about what comes next, about what to do.

I read a couple of things in the New York Times this weekend that got me thinking about these kinds of things in the 21st Century. The first was a piece on a new book by Eli Pariser called The Filter Bubble. This is about the concept of the internet as an echo chamber, as something that gives back what we give.

"Personalization [of the internet via filters] he [Pariser] argues, channels people into feedback loops or 'filter bubbles' of their own predilections." 'Filter bubble' is a good term and it reminds me of Thomas Kuhn's concept of the Paradigm Shift. It's as if the internet, with all its cookies and algorithms has arranged for each of us to become our own little paradigm. We become, in cyberspace, an example of us - we become a set of forms and the particular element that is the thing in common. There is no crossover or shift or the chance to create or become our own Venn diagram of overlapping interests and struggle with our own complexity and contradiction.

If this is coupled with what I would call (and what I think I observe) a diminishing level of self discovery via primary experience - by actually doing things, reading difficult texts and going places instead of some kind of secondary experience in which we watch, search and we're fed back some semblance of our own expectations and desires as perceived by the web then we may be in serious trouble.

We need hard work. We need to struggle with opposing ideas, conflicting ideas and take this work seriously in order to come close to this thing called our 'potential.' To think through difficult, nuanced arguments and concepts takes time and effort. If we are kept from conflict, from difficulty by a technology that wants us to be 'happy' with the results of our interactions with it, then the cart is before the horse and the servant has become the master.

There is this thing called 'self-awareness' and it exists on many levels. Going back to the intro of this essay I called for mindfulness of depth and breadth and not just of quantity when we contemplate the perspective with/from which we interact in the world. It is not the number of ‘friends’ we have that makes a life. A filtered interface diminishes this opportunity for depth.

Another op ed piece in this weekend's Times by Jonathan Franzen posits, "the ultimate goal of technology, the telos of techne, is to replace the natural world that's indifferent to our wishes - a world of hurricanes and hardships and breakable hearts, a world of resistance - with a world so responsive to our wishes as to be, effectively, a mere extension of the self." This is another writer finding the filter, the echo of technology, of the internet as a means of distraction. This is a temptation away from the hard work.

Franzen writes of being 'likable' - something so essential for Facebook, as "incompatible with loving relationships." More hard work. Long term, loving relationships with a friend or a partner don't come with filters. There are times when we are not likable; we get each other, warts and all.

Now who/what is creator and created?

Synthetic Cubist Still-Life

2011-05-16T21:30:00.009-05:00

An essay from back in the day...

A Brief Meditation on Existentialism and Modern Art

The period from 1880 through World War I was filled with “…sweeping changes in technology & culture.” (Kern 1) Books like Stephen Kern’s The Culture of Time & Space document the advances as well as the losses from this rapidly changing era. In William Barrett’s Irrational Man it is noted: “In losing religion, man lost concrete connection with the transcendent realm of being; he was set free to deal with world in all its brute objectivity. The loss of the church was the loss of a whole system of symbols [and] images…” (Barrett 25) This ‘brute objectivity’ is a world not governed by reason or intelligence; per Nietzsche, ‘God is dead.’

Living in this period of great flux and change artists created new forms that would keep them connected with their artistic traditions while articulating the experience of a new perspective. This perspective is “…not simply an external and quantitative change in the number of forms an artist can assimilate, it is also, and more profoundly, an internal and qualitative change in the spirit with which the artist appropriates these forms.” (Barrett 47)

The works of art produced from this perspective are part of man’s effort to utilize his new found condition as well as an attempt to reinvent a meaningful set of symbols and images which would reconnect him with the “transcendent realm of being.” The transcendent is no longer simply associated with rising to ‘new heights’ heavenly or otherwise but also refers to going beyond, to exceed or outdo. It is much more like the Latin word: alto which can mean both ‘high’ and ‘deep.’

These works became a part of an existential symbol structure – a body of work full of images dealing with the problems of being and the new articulations of the artists’ conceptions of their relationship with the world – an understanding of which is essential in comprehending “…the new turn in the human spirit…” that helped define modern man. (Barrett 49)

“Existentialism,” “Art” and “symbol” are crucial, plurisignitive terms and for the purposes of this paper here is the context, background and definition for them.

From dictionary.com:
existentialism (ɛɡzɪˈstɛnʃəˌlɪzəm)
a modern philosophical movement stressing the importance of personal experience and responsibility and the demands that they make on the individual, who is seen as a free agent in a deterministic and seemingly meaningless universe

Philosopher Antony Flew defines existentialism as “ a view that the problem of being must take precedence in philosophical investigations. Being cannot be made the subject of objective enquiry; it is the fact of the individual’s presence and participation in…[the] world? (Flew 107)

I turn to Martin Heidegger to define ‘art.’ He uses the Greek word ‘techne.’ For Heidegger: “Techne means neither art nor skill to say nothing of technique in the modern sense. We translate ‘techne’ by ‘knowledge’ but this requires explanation. The knowledge meant here is not the mere result of observations concerning previously unknown data. Such information, though indispensible for knowledge, is never more than accessory. Knowledge in the authentic sense of ‘techne’ is the persistent looking out beyond what is given at any time. The Greeks called art ‘techne’ because art is what most immediately brings being (i.e. the appearing that stands there in itself) to stand, stabilizes it in something present (the work).” (Heidegger 159)

Heidegger’s ‘techne’ is art that reveals. It is a kind of ‘know-how.’ It is looking out beyond the superficial without losing sight of what appears to the senses. It is art that fully embraces the breadth & depth of human experience while recognizing perceptive ability and human creative potential.

I now turn to Paul Tillich to discuss the concept of a ‘symbol.’ For Tillich, “The first function of a symbol…is the representative function. The symbol represents something for which it stands and in the power and meaning of which it participates. So, why don’t we have that for which it stands directly? This is the main function of a symbol – the opening up of levels of reality [/experience] which are otherwise hidden and cannot be grasped in any other way.” (Lowe & Wainwright 481. Paul Tillich. Religious Symbols and our Knowledge of God) To achieve this level of expression art relies on symbol (the method by which hidden levels of reality – transcendent levels – are uncovered) while often becoming symbolic in and of itself.

A potent segment of these newly emerging sets of symbols in the synthetic cubist still-life work grandly exemplified by Picasso’s Still-Life with Compotier, 1914-15 as an early example and Still-Life with Grapes, 1927 as a late example by Georges Braque.

Still Life with Compotier

Still-Life with Grapes

In this paper I will examine some of the strengths and weaknesses of synthetic cubist work and defend the view that this work maintains a powerful, life-affirming value as part of the creation of a new set of symbols directly linked to changes of perception and understanding of the world brought about by new technologies and the philosophy that would come to be known as ‘existentialism.’

Post-Impressionists, Fauves, Futurists, Expressionists and the Cubists all emerged from this tumultuous era of change, discovery and creativity. Cubism evolved and spread in response, not just to the changes in the art community but, to changes in how the artists perceived the world at large.

In the early stages of cubism (as opposed to synthetic cubism) the artist’s palette was dominated by ochres, grays and blacks. Also, it seems as if “…the painters had begun with a more or less naturalistic image which was then fragmented and analyzed (and thus to a certain extent abstracted) in the light of the new cubist concepts of space and form. Now [in the work I’m most concerned with] the process was reversed: beginning with abstraction the artists worked up towards representation.” (Stangos 66 Cubism by John Golding) This reversal was a positive act of creation rather than deconstruction by analysis. This positivity along with the subject matter is what gives synthetic cubist still-life its existential punch.

The artists also began to employ an expanded color palette including greens, blues and oranges along with techniques from other schools of painting and the decorative arts to go along with their creation of the collage. (See collage appendix after this paper.)

The dotting techniques the cubists appropriated from the pointillists will provide an example of a process employed, with varying degrees of success, in synthetic cubist still-life painting. The masterpieces of this style are not the product of arbitrary gestures, but the thoughtful, skillful use of techniques to demonstrate new concepts of relationships between space and object. The method was used “…to enliven surfaces, to evoke a play of light, to counteract the monotony of planes of one color [and integrate their union] and create a decorative effect.” (Cooper 194) It is a tool that calls for a balanced use so its significance and value are not diluted.

Louis Marcoussis, in his Still-Life on a Table, 1921 has most of the surface covered with dots making it difficult to discern any descriptive function. Instead of breaking up monotony they create it by covering 90% of the surface. They provide little to no sense of depth or light.

Still-Life on a Table

In a painting such as Picasso’s Still-Life with Compotier, 1914-15 (seen earlier) however, the technique, through changing color points, helps make plane transitions while the pointillist planes themselves add a greater sense of depth to the whole composition. The planes that compose the ‘easily readable’ objects in the painting are on a horizontal and vertical orientation while the dotted planes enter the composition diagonally and if they were diving into and extending from the picture surface. This sense of depth is further accentuated by the use of shading behind the pointillist planes.

As can be seen, the paintings are built up with planes, interlocking and overlapping as the form an integrated environment on the picture surface. It is this concern with integration that inspired Georges Braque, in a statement of 1917 to say: “the subject is not the object, it is a new unity….” (Chipp 260) This integration is uniquely different from that pursued during the Renaissance; it is not primarily a visual recreation but a conceptual one.

And while Braque may have had a more abstract subject in mind, in the still-life work the objects and their interrelationships embody the new unity. Most of the things – bottles, glasses, fruit, musical instruments and newspapers are the everyday objects of the artist’s life and, as such, have been the classical subject matter of the still-life genre.

Still Life with Plums

These are the objects Apollinaire called “impregnated with humanity” - objects that illustrate, with cubist treatment, a basic unity within man’s environment. (Stangos 61) Objects created by man and for man and infused with the human touch from creation to utilization. This demonstration of object leading into object and plane into plane is one of synthetic cubism’s greatest strengths.

The foremost criticism of cubism centers around the question of accessibility when trying to ‘read’ a cubist work. Contemporary critic Donald Kuspit considers a “will to unintelligibility” to be the desired end of all modern art, including cubism. (NAE 26) He contends that modern art seeks to exist as mystery rather than reveal any mysteries or noteworthy spatial or conceptual relationships, and that if the mystery in a modern painting is uncovered it will “lapse into the banality of outspokenness.” Also, after hundreds of years filled with art subject to “certain methods of representing a three-dimensional object or a particular volume of space on a flat or nearly flat surface” it may be difficult to look at space and object rendered in a new way,” (Lucie-Smith 145), a way other than that developed in the Renaissance.

Yet, if we take a deeper look into art history and examine the work of the middle ages as well as other cultures we might find ourselves in agreement with Guy Habasque:

If we grant that a painting (and art in general) is a visual concretion of our knowledge of the outside world and expresses, not an immutable reality, but our conceptions of a reality that is forever changing (or anyhow gives us this impression, since we are continually discovering new aspects of it) and once we admit that the artist’s choice of plastic means is determined not by their purely imitative qualities but their adequacy to the results of his observation of the world around him and the values created by his cultural environment, then, surely, it is easy to see that cubism, far from distorting nature, provides a new interpretation of it, equally realistic, [valid] though other than that of the Renaissance. (Habasque 62)

With these words in mind let’s consider that to the modern/contemporary viewer the still-life work of Chardin may be, in some sense, more abstract than those of cubist painting. In such works as Attributes of Music, 1765 and Clay Pipe and Earthenware Jug, undated, Chardin uses most of the same objects revered by the cubists such as musical instruments, pipes, sheet music, cups and fruit dishes. Chardin place the objects on a table but basically minimizes background and foreground space, leaving the objects in a somewhat suspended state, idealized perhaps, but out of reach – not quite connected.

Attributes of Music

Clay Pipe and Earthenware Jug

The traditional presentation/perspective of the objects in Chardin’s work is, nevertheless, beautiful, especially in historical context. In modern art however (and by extension for modern man), “…organic forms have disappeared, and with them has disappeared the idealism which is always connected with organic forms.” (Tillich 94) Tillich is concerned with an idealism built around Renaissance views of a relationship with art and science and man and God that don’t exist anymore.

At issue, for me, (and I understand that this is deeply personal) with Chardin’s work is not concern over the ‘beauty’ of his paintings, but rather the lack of existential power his work has for this modern viewer. It seems more of a record or artifact then something providing a direct connection with the objects, space and meaning of our times.

I have chosen Georges Braque’s 1918 masterpiece Café-Bar as the quintessential synthetic cubist still-life and will now concentrate on an analysis of it and the new description of the relationships of space and object it provides.

Café-Bar

First of all, the symbols inherent in still-life painting are generally the objects making up the composition. They can be a potent reminder of our mortality, as in a ‘vanitas’ (a painting, often with a skull), as well as a celebration of the joys of life with the depiction of objects that provide simple pleasures.

In synthetic cubist still-life work such as Braque’s Café-Bar not only are the objects symbolic emblems of the senses and emotions, but space and the relationship of space and object are articulated in a symbolic manner. This is the ‘new unity’ referred to by Braque.

Café-Bar centers around a café table viewed through a street front window. The table top is tilted – one of many facets evoking multiple perspectives. It is painted in expressive, muted greens and contains commonplace objects such as a fruit bowl with pear and grapes, a pipe, sheet music, a newspaper and a loosely constructed guitar.

In this painting Braque utilizes almost everything from his painterly bag of tricks. Trained as a decorator, Braque creates texture by adding sand to paint, combing (a wood graining technique) and faux bois. These methods help bring an earthy, impasto-like texture to an otherwise flat surface.

The border on the window serves as the frame of the composition as it ties in with the diamond-patterned floor. The floating letters that spell ‘café-bar’ suggest they are being seen from a distance, though the objects on the table appear to cross in front of the window sign. Considering, too, the clarity with which see the objects, a compressed, wide-angle view is suggested. By this I mean that a spatial distinction between background and foreground is difficult to distinguish even though, through the interlocking planes, the composition maintains an acute sense of depth. This paradox, and the work to see how it functions, is crucial to understanding cubism.

A gray-green plane with orange dashes weaves in and out of the composition only to be broken itself with a shadow effect created with a mottled gray-black that seems to quickly diminish as if the light source was somewhat direct.

The movement of the planes in white serves to help construct the fruit bowl and sheet music as well as to unify the feeling of ‘connectedness’ in the painting with the implied continuity of line behind planes which seem to cover it. In other words, the planes weave in and out from foreground to background.

The guitar is of particular note as Braque was very passionate about music and because it is not merely composed of planes, but a combination of planes that give it a floating airiness and solidity simultaneously.

In the bottom right-hand corner is a white silhouette of light on glass that seems to be caused my some sort of reflection, yet its vertical line immediately leads into an interior plane. The reflection picks up the pattern of the border and floor and supports, still more emphatically, the linear, planar, integrated aspects of synthetic cubism. ‘Reflection’ itself becomes a symbol of what is going on here, as does the glass window with its dual function as barrier to the elements but not the eyes.

In Café-Bar there is an astounding conceptual depth revealed in both the objects and space when they are given a flat, planar representation. It is a depth that is at once physical and spiritual. Physical in the sense that we are called to reexamine not only the relationship between object and space, but the objects we’ve surrounded ourselves with as well. Also, there is a spiritual depth, the depth Tillich calls “numinous realism.” He sees cubism as nothing else than an attempt to look into the “depths of reality.” (Tillich 95) Tillich is speaking of a realism, of a validity of experience that can only be encountered through the use of symbol. A spiritual realism as well as something living up to Heidegger’s sense of art as ‘techne’ looking out beyond mere appearance to explore relationships between things that may be easier to feel than see. The integrated relationships between space and objects in Café-Bar are an example of the effort to communicate this feeling – to make it visible.

The objects of these still-lifes are as basic to our existence as our existence is to us. The guitar that inspires, the fruit that sustains, the newspaper that informs, the pipe that soothes are made real in a numinous sense by being presented in a manner other than traditional perspective and woven into the fabric of space as perceived by Braque. There is an interdependence and connectedness in the construction of the composition that illuminates the firmly rooted and unified relationship of space, object and existence – firmly rooted in each other.

Although the cubists knew little or nothing of existentialism as a philosophical movement in the first 2 decades of the twentieth century, they surely spent plenty of time reflecting on their “own unique and concrete existence in time and space.” Works like Café-Bar are the evidence and fruit of these reflections; what they found. They were able to recognize a unique relationship with space and object that was basic to their “participation in the world” as visual beings.
For these artists this new ‘reality’ had come home. The world in all its ‘brute objectivity’ became man with the ability to respond to all the stimuli in his life, including the transcendental realm of being. The loss of belief in a responsible party with powers greater than their own and the consequent loss of the symbol structure erected and associated with these beliefs did not leave these men floating aimlessly in an abyss. They were breaking new ground, discovering how firmly rooted they are with this earth. They rediscovered the power of their humanness and demonstrated this power, symbolically, with their treatment and representation of commonplace objects and the space that surrounds them in an integrated fashion. This is the metaphysical ‘terra-firma’ of the early moderns, because like Apollinaire, they recognized the humanity in the objects they chose to celebrate and elevate to this level.

Appendix: Papier Colles and Synthetic Cubist Still –Life

While my paper is not directly concerned with collage I should not that with its re-invention by Braque and Picasso what we know as synthetic cubism might not have come to exist. For “it was only when Braque and Picasso understood more fully the significance of their discovery [of papier colles] the they began to translate papier colles into terms of oil paint…” (Cooper191) Papier Colle in many ways mark the onset of the stylr I’m most concerned with in this paper.

It seems important to note, too, that the materials they used/borrowed from reality such as sheet music, calling cards, packaging and newspaper are imbued with a significance that exists on several levels.

First of all, from Jack Flam’s essay in Robert Motherwell’s Collage Prints:

“…these objects are man made, and for the most part industrially manufactured rather than hand-made objects. Thus collage as a medium is very much an industrial medium – one that was viewed at the time with a sense of promise. Still, the objects used give us the sense that they were not only made for some other reason, but,, by their age [worn, yellowed newsprint and sheet music for example] seem to actually have been used for something else. It is this second hand aspect which posits them as fragmentary reminders and remainders of the passage of time – tangible evidence not only of past experience, but the notion of passing time. These tokens of the past (sometimes even dated) are understood as implicit symbols of the existence of time itself.

The papier colles affirms the existence of the real world, of the artist having passed though it. And in doing so, they [the objects] almost seem to affirm the notion that something like an objective reality might also exist.”

This affirmation is still further support of my thesis of synthetic cubism’s value as an existentialistic symbol. That we are firmly grounded in some sort of ‘objective reality’ and that there are relationships between space and object worthy of our consideration and worthy of artistic illumination can be seen as a pictorial contribution to our investigations into the problem of being.

more images/drawings from Sumac Lane

2011-05-10T13:12:00.000-05:00

introduction to Building with Bernoudy

2011-05-08T19:10:00.001-05:00

I received some positive feed back for the intro to my presentation at the Guild on the 23rd so I thought I'd share it here as well. I'll add some photos and drawings when I get a chance.

Residential Architecture, for me - and this is architecture with a capital “A” was to be an answer to a tough set of problems: How to live and navigate the everyday in space and time? There seemed so much promise and possibility about what might be accomplished and enriched through the quality definition of space, the design, the architecture, etc…and so on.

Looking at neighborhoods around St. Louis we can get glimpses of how the navigation of space and time has been made manifest. My neighborhood, south of Tower Grove Park, is a great example of “the new urbanism.” Of course it is really the old urbanism as it dates from the late 19th Century. Tall ceilings and the late Victorian formality of the home design sometimes serves cross purposes with functions of comfort and matters of taste. But, we have corner stores, mixed income, mixed use spaces with inviting front porches from which we can socialize with our neighbors. It is walkable, very diverse and, in my opinion, very unassuming. I’m glad to have been able to call it home for over 20 years.

While raising my family here I spent most of my work time building in more grand, central corridor suburbs like Ladue. (In fact my house ended up with so much salvaged material from Ladue that my zip code was changed.) From this work I learned, quite convincingly, that money does not buy happiness; I’ve had some happy, well-adjusted and well to do clients, but almost as many who were immature, unhappy and unkind.

I have seen architects and clients alike agonize over minute details (because it seemed they lost sight of the ‘whole.’) in ways I found incomprehensible – at least relative to my experiences watching people live in these highly controlled, rigorously designed spaces. Once folks moved in, life took over and the best one could hope for is that building and occupants were up to the challenges that were asked of each.

In 1993 I was by no means certain my family would remain in TG South. I longed for something like Sumac Lane. As a kid I was fascinated by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Robie House, Fallingwater and the lot. I thought of home as a refuge from the stress and strains of modern life. A place to rest and re-fuel and prepare to engage in community activities. A family monastery, if you will. I had a sense and hope of home as a sacred place in which the layout of rooms, furniture, activities, gardens is meant to facilitate the day to day and, also, encourage the achievement of personal & family goals. These goals, for me at least, included more reading, less TV, a nice yard for the kids, we had a Kitchen Garden, a place to talk and share meals with family and friends.

Reading about Wright and then Bernoudy & Fay Jones, and looking at lots of books and then traveling, making pilgrimages to architectural landmarks in order to drink in the feel and details (philosophical aside: who/what is doing the consuming – do you drink it in or eat it up? Or, is it a passion that consumes you?) of space designed around a hearth, at a human scale (provided your were 5-8”) made me virtually drunk with aesthetic pleasure. I felt the beauty and it felt quite human. For me, it was wrapped around the learning – the acquisition of knowledge and the goal of integrating this thinking in my home. The work of Wright, Bernoudy and Fay Jones became, for me, an ideal – not the only possible architecture – but a really, really great one.

In retrospect, I hoped for more from them than they could deliver and that I really had a right to ask. Still, it felt like such a privilege to be able to restore and enlarge a home like the Simms House. I considered it a great opportunity and responsibility.

Wright’s lack of work and his troubles (financial & otherwise) in the 20s and 30s led to the development of the Talieson Fellowship, Broadacre City and the Usonian Home as a way to keep busy and try and make ends meet. A lot of this thinking had a lot to do with the American love affair with the automobile and a really different level of mobility from that which informed the development of my city neighborhood in the 1880s and 90s.

William Bernoudy was among the 1st group of apprentices in Wright’s fellowship. He was with Wright when the Hanna House and the 1st Usonian (Jacobs House) were drawn up. Bernoudy learned about hearth, home and family here and he married it with the influences of other modern architects, including his partner Edouard Mutrux, to create something unique.

At any rate. Sumac Lane in the early 1950s was as close to a perfection of this kind of influence – the home nestled in a spacious lot and centered around a hearth and being thoroughly modern - as could be found in our region.

I’m not sure if the group gathered here today lives with/in a mid-century modern or has aspirations to do so. I think it can be a really great experience. I also think that the story of this project can serve as a cautionary tale about the limits of architecture (in a real-world, practical sense) and the construction process.

The Talbot House (Mrs Talbot was a Mutrux) and 2 other homes (since destroyed) and the Simms House – about which I’ll be talking about today made a damn fine suite of good looking homes. Though not large, there is something great, formal and diverse in appearance while united in goal about these homes. The indoors and outdoors are integrated, the hearth unites the family and the family is nestled into a protective landscape. And you needed a car.

So let’s get going…

What Makes a Habitat for Humanity St. Louis home LEED Platinum?

2011-05-06T11:02:00.001-05:00

Wind Farm on I-155

2011-05-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

This is between Peoria and Springfield. Big sky and plenty of wind when I went through last week.

Environmentalism & the Arts at Washington University

2011-04-15T11:54:00.002-05:00

Building with Bernoudy - April 23rd

2011-04-10T20:35:00.000-05:00

I am teaching at STLCC on Tuesday, talking about my art at the Guild on Thursday, doing a curriculum planning gig at South County Tech on the 20th and this on the 23rd. Then some time off.

The story of working with and adding to a William Bernoudy-designed house becomes a lesson of “complexity and contradiction in architecture” on a very local and personal level. Builder and designer Richard Reilly will share the story of renovating and updating the 1953 Simms House (located at #3 Sumac Lane in Ladue) with his drawings and photos of the project.

Speaking at The Guild on 4/14

2011-04-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

I have a speaking engagement at the St. Louis Artists' Guild at 7:00PM on Thursday, April 14th. Click on the link for more details. The Creative Artisans Section has invited me. I have done a lot of public speaking about sustainability & green construction that has incorporated my photography but this is the first time I'll be speaking about my creative processes and how they inform my participation in the community as a builder and artist.
I will bring a few portfolios of specific photography projects, something from my last show and a few journals for people to peek at while I present a bit more info about projects I currently have in progress.

small world department

2011-03-29T20:49:00.000-05:00

Anthony Bourdain at Fred's Fish House is a link to video from his trip to Fred's for his Ozark edition of 'No Reservations.' He is, by far, my favorite food guy and for this to air 2 weeks after I was back at Fred's for the 1st time in years seems more than a coincidence.

studies in projection

2011-03-26T14:18:00.000-05:00

The Elements of Euclid

2011-03-25T21:52:00.000-05:00

This is a facsimile edition of a mid 19th Century book. Primary colors and black are used to code the proofs in this remarkable edition. It is hard to have art or construction w/o geometry.

A Green Renovation in a Modern High Rise

2011-03-20T20:27:00.000-05:00

One condo at a time. I am consulting on a 2 unit renovation and this is an opportunity to set a mindful standard for sustainability practices in this building. I've always liked this building and hope to make the most of it.
There is a lot that can be done, even with a central plant for heating and cooling. IEQ issues, material and resource choices, universal design, recycling and more can be a significant part of a project such as this.

The Information

2011-03-13T19:33:00.000-05:00

James Gleick's new book (pictured above) is a fascinating meditation on 'information' as the defining quality of the modern era. I am not quite a third through the book and he is covering a lot of material on communication and language I am familiar with from other sources but with a sharper focus on what it is making of us.

A section on telegraphy quotes Scientific American from 1880: "the time is close at hand when the scattered members of civilized communities will be as closely united, so far as instant telephonic communication is concerned, as the various members of the body now are by the nervous system." Gleick follows the quote with: "Considering how speculative the analogy was, it turned out well. Nerves really do transmit messages, and the telegraph and the telephone did begin to turn human society, for the first time, into something like a coherent organism." (p126)

Technology participating in the creation of analogies/metaphors, using the particular which, in turn, become analogies/metaphors for the general. In some sense it seems to enhance a holistic world view. In this sense technology doesn't make the world a smaller place, but a larger one. All of a sudden our realm of concern is extended far beyond the village or countryside and we have the pressure/need to be involved in something much larger than our forebears had need to consider.

more on JR

2011-03-06T18:06:00.000-06:00

JR wins 2011 TED Prize. See his presentation : Turn the World Inside Out

This is some of the most engaging and relevant work I have seen in a long, long time. I highly recommend watching his presentation.

really cool maps

2011-02-25T09:01:00.000-06:00

I've always liked maps. I made them, used them and rely on them. They are great ways to communicate information graphically. They tell us a lot about ourselves and how we've changed. Check out these images that map roads in America. We have changed alot and left practically no stone unturned. America is a construction site.

The first shows postal roads/routes from 1796. The second is from an artist named Ben Fry and shows America with a black line for every road. The 3rd is an illustration of our interstate system in the style of a subway map. Click on the image to enlarge.

another picture of the arch

2011-02-24T14:11:00.000-06:00

St. Louis Economy - from the Post-Dispatch

2011-02-24T11:58:00.000-06:00

St. Louis economy shrank sharply in '09

Here's how St. Louis stacked up with a few of its peer regions in the Midwest in terms of GMP growth in 2009.
St. Louis -5.1%
Cleveland -4%
Denver +0.4%
Kansas City -2.3%
Indianapolis -3.5%
Minneapolis -3.1%
Nashville -4.7%
Average -2.4%

museums and preservation

2011-02-20T20:13:00.000-06:00

http://architecturesection.blogspot.com/2011/02/baroque-preservation-english-mansion.html
check out this post I did on another site yesterday. I am seriously interested in coming to grips with appropriate use of buildings and material which have little chance of being saved as a whole.

more news from louisreillystudio.com

2011-02-16T19:36:00.000-06:00

Louis will be in this nationally juried show this spring:

CRAFTSMANSHIP:CONCEPT:INNOVATION

RED LODGE CLAY CENTER INAUGURAL JURIED NATIONAL

Red Lodge Clay Center (The Center) is celebrating five years of success with the introduction of a Bi-Annual Juried National. It is our mission to provide a place for professionally minded ceramic artists to create new work and share the collective importance of art in our everyday lives. The Center hopes to extend our mission by showcasing the most current and thoughtful innovations and practices in the field of ceramics today.
JUROR:
Brad Schwieger has been teaching at Ohio University since 1990 and is presently a Professor of Art and Ceramics Area Chairman.
Brad received his MFA degree from Utah State University and his BFA degree from the University of Iowa. Brad’s work has been shown nationally and internationally.

His work has been in multiple exhibitions throughout the USA, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Spain. He has presented workshops and lectures at more than 80 Universities, Colleges and Art Centers. His work has been published in Ceramics Monthly, American Craft, Clay Times, Ceramics Art and Perception as well as several textbooks.

Here is a link to his web page: http://www.louisreillystudio.com/ and a few images of his work:

What is Enlightenment? by I. Kant

2011-02-16T15:13:00.000-06:00

An Answer to the Question:
What is Enlightenment? (1784)

Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! [dare to know] "Have courage to use your own understanding!"--that is the motto of enlightenment.

Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why so great a proportion of men, long after nature has released them from alien guidance (natura-liter maiorennes), nonetheless gladly remain in lifelong immaturity, and why it is so easy for others to establish themselves as their guardians. It is so easy to be immature. If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all. I need not think, if only I can pay: others will readily undertake the irksome work for me. The guardians who have so benevolently taken over the supervision of men have carefully seen to it that the far greatest part of them (including the entire fair sex) regard taking the step to maturity as very dangerous, not to mention difficult. Having first made their domestic livestock dumb, and having carefully made sure that these docile creatures will not take a single step without the go-cart to which they are harnessed, these guardians then show them the danger that threatens them, should they attempt to walk alone. Now this danger is not actually so great, for after falling a few times they would in the end certainly learn to walk; but an example of this kind makes men timid and usually frightens them out of all further attempts.

Thus, it is difficult for any individual man to work himself out of the immaturity that has all but become his nature. He has even become fond of this state and for the time being is actually incapable of using his own understanding, for no one has ever allowed him to attempt it. Rules and formulas, those mechanical aids to the rational use, or rather misuse, of his natural gifts, are the shackles of a permanent immaturity. Whoever threw them off would still make only an uncertain leap over the smallest ditch, since he is unaccustomed to this kind of free movement. Consequently, only a few have succeeded, by cultivating their own minds, in freeing themselves from immaturity and pursuing a secure course.

But that the public should enlighten itself is more likely; indeed, if it is only allowed freedom, enlightenment is almost inevitable. For even among the entrenched guardians of the great masses a few will always think for themselves, a few who, after having themselves thrown off the yoke of immaturity, will spread the spirit of a rational appreciation for both their own worth and for each person's calling to think for himself. But it should be particularly noted that if a public that was first placed in this yoke by the guardians is suitably aroused by some of those who are altogether incapable of enlightenment, it may force the guardians themselves to remain under the yoke--so pernicious is it to instill prejudices, for they finally take revenge upon their originators, or on their descendants. Thus a public can only attain enlightenment slowly. Perhaps a revolution can overthrow autocratic despotism and profiteering or power-grabbing oppression, but it can never truly reform a manner of thinking; instead, new prejudices, just like the old ones they replace, will serve as a leash for the great unthinking mass.

Nothing is required for this enlightenment, however, except freedom; and the freedom in question is the least harmful of all, namely, the freedom to use reason publicly in all matters. But on all sides I hear: "Do not argue!" The officer says, "Do not argue, drill!" The tax man says, "Do not argue, pay!" The pastor says, "Do not argue, believe!" (Only one ruler in the World says, "Argue as much as you want and about what you want, but obey!") In this we have examples of pervasive restrictions on freedom. But which restriction hinders enlightenment and which does not, but instead actually advances it? I reply: The public use of one's reason must always be free, and it alone can bring about enlightenment among mankind; the private use of reason may, however, often be very narrowly restricted, without otherwise hindering the progress of enlightenment. By the public use of one's own reason I understand the use that anyone as a scholar makes of reason before the entire literate world. I call the private use of reason that which a person may make in a civic post or office that has been entrusted to him. Now in many affairs conducted in the interests of a community, a certain mechanism is required by means of which some of its members must conduct themselves in an entirely passive manner so that through an artificial unanimity the government may guide them toward public ends, or at least prevent them from destroying such ends. Here one certainly must not argue, instead one must obey. However, insofar as this part of the machine also regards himself as a member of the community as a whole, or even of the world community, and as a consequence addresses the public in the role of a scholar, in the proper sense of that term, he can most certainly argue, without thereby harming the affairs for which as a passive member he is partly responsible. Thus it would be disastrous if an officer on duty who was given a command by his superior were to question the appropriateness or utility of the order. He must obey. But as a scholar he cannot be justly constrained from making comments about errors in military service, or from placing them before the public for its judgment. The citizen cannot refuse to pay the taxes imposed on him; indeed, impertinent criticism of such levies, when they should be paid by him, can be punished as a scandal (since it can lead to widespread insubordination). But the same person does not act contrary to civic duty when, as a scholar, he publicly expresses his thoughts regarding the impropriety or even injustice of such taxes. Likewise a pastor is bound to instruct his catecumens and congregation in accordance with the symbol of the church he serves, for he was appointed on that condition. But as a scholar he has complete freedom, indeed even the calling, to impart to the public all of his carefully considered and well-intentioned thoughts concerning mistaken aspects of that symbol, as well as his suggestions for the better arrangement of religious and church matters. Nothing in this can weigh on his conscience. What he teaches in consequence of his office as a servant of the church he sets out as something with regard to which he has no discretion to teach in accord with his own lights; rather, he offers it under the direction and in the name of another. He will say, "Our church teaches this or that and these are the demonstrations it uses." He thereby extracts for his congregation all practical uses from precepts to which he would not himself subscribe with complete conviction, but whose presentation he can nonetheless undertake, since it is not entirely impossible that truth lies hidden in them, and, in any case, nothing contrary to the very nature of religion is to be found in them. If he believed he could find anything of the latter sort in them, he could not in good conscience serve in his position; he would have to resign. Thus an appointed teacher's use of his reason for the sake of his congregation is merely private, because, however large the congregation is, this use is always only domestic; in this regard, as a priest, he is not free and cannot be such because he is acting under instructions from someone else. By contrast, the cleric--as a scholar who speaks through his writings to the public as such, i.e., the world--enjoys in this public use of reason an unrestricted freedom to use his own rational capacities and to speak his own mind. For that the (spiritual) guardians of a people should themselves be immature is an absurdity that would insure the perpetuation of absurdities.

But would a society of pastors, perhaps a church assembly or venerable presbytery (as those among the Dutch call themselves), not be justified in binding itself by oath to a certain unalterable symbol in order to secure a constant guardianship over each of its members and through them over the people, and this for all time: I say that this is wholly impossible. Such a contract, whose intention is to preclude forever all further enlightenment of the human race, is absolutely null and void, even if it should be ratified by the supreme power, by parliaments, and by the most solemn peace treaties. One age cannot bind itself, and thus conspire, to place a succeeding one in a condition whereby it would be impossible for the later age to expand its knowledge (particularly where it is so very important), to rid itself of errors,and generally to increase its enlightenment. That would be a crime against human nature, whose essential destiny lies precisely in such progress; subsequent generations are thus completely justified in dismissing such agreements as unauthorized and criminal. The criterion of everything that can be agreed upon as a law by a people lies in this question: Can a people impose such a law on itself? Now it might be possible, in anticipation of a better state of affairs, to introduce a provisional order for a specific, short time, all the while giving all citizens, especially clergy, in their role as scholars, the freedom to comment publicly, i.e., in writing, on the present institution's shortcomings. The provisional order might last until insight into the nature of these matters had become so widespread and obvious that the combined (if not unanimous) voices of the populace could propose to the crown that it take under its protection those congregations that, in accord with their newly gained insight, had organized themselves under altered religious institutions, but without interfering with those wishing to allow matters to remain as before. However, it is absolutely forbidden that they unite into a religious organization that nobody may for the duration of a man's lifetime publicly question, for so do-ing would deny, render fruitless, and make detrimental to succeeding generations an era in man's progress toward improvement. A man may put off enlightenment with regard to what he ought to know, though only for a short time and for his own person; but to renounce it for himself, or, even more, for subsequent generations, is to violate and trample man's divine rights underfoot. And what a people may not decree for itself may still less be imposed on it by a monarch, for his lawgiving authority rests on his unification of the people's collective will in his own. If he only sees to it that all genuine or purported improvement is consonant with civil order, he can allow his subjects to do what they find necessary to their spiritual well-being, which is not his affair. However, he must prevent anyone from forcibly interfering with another's working as best he can to determine and promote his well-being. It detracts from his own majesty when he interferes in these matters, since the writings in which his subjects attempt to clarify their insights lend value to his conception of governance. This holds whether he acts from his own highest insight--whereby he calls upon himself the reproach, "Caesar non eat supra grammaticos."'--as well as, indeed even more, when he despoils his highest authority by supporting the spiritual despotism of some tyrants in his state over his other subjects.

If it is now asked, "Do we presently live in an enlightened age?" the answer is, "No, but we do live in an age of enlightenment." As matters now stand, a great deal is still lacking in order for men as a whole to be, or even to put themselves into a position to be able without external guidance to apply understanding confidently to religious issues. But we do have clear indications that the way is now being opened for men to proceed freely in this direction and that the obstacles to general enlightenment--to their release from their self-imposed immaturity--are gradually diminishing. In this regard, this age is the age of enlightenment, the century of Frederick.

A prince who does not find it beneath him to say that he takes it to be his duty to prescribe nothing, but rather to allow men complete freedom in religious matters--who thereby renounces the arrogant title of tolerance--is himself enlightened and deserves to be praised by a grateful present and by posterity as the first, at least where the government is concerned, to release the human race from immaturity and to leave everyone free to use his own reason in all matters of conscience. Under his rule, venerable pastors, in their role as scholars and without prejudice to their official duties, may freely and openly set out for the world's scrutiny their judgments and views, even where these occasionally differ from the accepted symbol. Still greater freedom is afforded to those who are not restricted by an official post. This spirit of freedom is expanding even where it must struggle against the external obstacles of governments that misunderstand their own function. Such governments are illuminated by the example that the existence of freedom need not give cause for the least concern regarding public order and harmony in the commonwealth. If only they refrain from inventing artifices to keep themselves in it, men will gradually raise themselves from barbarism.

I have focused on religious matters in setting out my main point concerning enlightenment, i.e., man's emergence from self-imposed immaturity, first because our rulers have no interest in assuming the role of their subjects' guardians with respect to the arts and sciences, and secondly because that form of immaturity is both the most pernicious and disgraceful of all. But the manner of thinking of a head of state who favors religious enlightenment goes even further, for he realizes that there is no danger to his legislation in allowing his subjects to use reason publicly and to set before the world their thoughts concerning better formulations of his laws, even if this involves frank criticism of legislation currently in effect. We have before us a shining example, with respect to which no monarch surpasses the one whom we honor.

But only a ruler who is himself enlightened and has no dread of shadows, yet who likewise has a well-disciplined, numerous army to guarantee public peace, can say what no republic may dare, namely: "Argue as much as you want and about what you want, but obey!" Here as elsewhere, when things are considered in broad perspective, a strange, unexpected pattern in human affairs reveals itself, one in which almost everything is paradoxical. A greater degree of civil freedom seems advantageous to a people's spiritual freedom; yet the former established impassable boundaries for the latter; conversely, a lesser degree of civil freedom provides enough room for all fully to expand their abilities. Thus, once nature has removed the hard shell from this kernel for which she has most fondly cared, namely, the inclination to and vocation for free thinking, the kernel gradually reacts on a people's mentality (whereby they become increasingly able to act freely), and it finally even influences the principles of government, which finds that it can profit by treating men, who are now more than machines, in accord with their dignity.

I. Kant

Konigsberg in Prussia, 30 September 1784

on the edge

2011-02-07T14:15:00.000-06:00

Square Footage vs Eco-Friendly

2011-02-06T16:48:00.000-06:00

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/02/04/mm-smallhomesmyth

is a link to a story from NPR with some local roots. There is a gap between what consumers want in a home and what is considered 'best practices' from an environmental perspective.

We are on a path which will eventually unite consumer demand, enlightened building codes and economic necessity. UNtil then, let's make the most of the energy efficient measures we can incorporate into our projects.

St. Louis Green Jobs Report

2011-01-26T20:47:00.000-06:00

St. Louis Green Jobs Report

Greening Historic Homes

2011-01-24T21:40:00.000-06:00

I was interviewed for a piece on patch.com and they ran a few of my pix. Respect and sustainability can go hand in hand. Here is a link to the story.

Guitars, Architecture and the Study of Art

2011-01-22T11:40:00.000-06:00

In the 80s I fell in love with Cubism, especially with cubist sculptures of musical instruments. It seemed a perfect marriage of my interests, skill set and the kinds of things I wanted to learn about. I used this infatuation as a springboard to expression and a hands on method of studying via the actual experience of construction. I made a large number of instruments over the years most of which were sold or traded to other artists. I have a couple left around the house along with one of my few forays into forgery.

Salvaged and scrapped building materials became the 3D assemblages that I made as a means of meditation on cubist sculpture. It was a really absorbing and positive experience.

The piece on the left (immediately above) in Picasso's Mandolin and Clarinet, from 1912. One day in my studio, looking at a pile of scrap I 'saw' the Mandolin and Clarinet in a pile and allowed myself this indulgence.

In February there is a new show opening at MOMA called Picasso Guitars. Finding out about this is the inspiration for this post. In 1989, thanks to the generosity of some friends and some hard work I was able to spend a weekend at the Pioneering Cubism exhibit at MOMA. I also saw the big Jenny Holzer exhibit at the Guggenheim...but that is for another day.

The Charter for Compassion

2011-01-20T12:06:00.001-06:00

from http://charterforcompassion.org/

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

A Green Dog House and a Good Cause

2011-01-20T10:54:00.000-06:00

Trumpet has teamed up with Jeff Day & Associates to design and build this green dog house. It, along with others, will be auctioned off at the Gimme Shelter event tonight. It is made with re-purposed pallets and recycled galvanized components and will harvest rainwater as well. The event is raising money for the Animal House shelter.

Economic Segregation in the St. Louis Area

2011-01-16T19:44:00.000-06:00

Above, is a map of housing value and below is a Missouri map with that names of all the counties and their borders. Below that is a map showing percentages of people below the poverty line. Economic segregation and housing issues go hand in hand. There are many studies indicating the value, in terms of escaping poverty, of mixed income, mixed use developments.

Median Household Income in St. Louis Area

2011-01-14T11:28:00.000-06:00

How do we tie together/think about commute times and income? Workforce housing, close to jobs seems so imperative; money can be saved by those with modest incomes having a shorter commute. Washington County is just southwest of Jefferson County and, from these maps it seems to be a place in which residents have the longest work commutes and the lowest income. I submit this as food for thought.

Commute Time in St. Louis Area

2011-01-08T17:00:00.000-06:00

There are a lot of reason we live where we live. These days we have to ask ourselves questions about affordability. How long does it take to get to work? How much does that cost every month. Our lifestyles are a combination of factors and associated costs. House payment, car payment, gas, utilities, etc. Do you have the right combination for your family?

From the sustainability perspective strategies are available that yield the effects of more time at at home, lower utility costs, cheaper transportation costs, lower insurance premiums and more. If it makes sense, live closer to work and save money. Here is a map of commute times in the St. Louis area. Where is yours?

Click on the image to enlarge.

Jerry Yudelson's Top 10 Green Trends for 2011

2011-01-06T15:07:00.000-06:00

My Top Ten Green Building Trends for 2011
I say that the green building industry will rebound strongly in 2011 in spite of the continuing economic difficulties in most developed countries, and I think 10 major trends support this prediction.
What we’re seeing is that more people are going green each year, and there is nothing on the horizon that will stop this trend. However, in 2010, the slowdown in commercial real estate construction in many countries put a crimp in the start-up rate for new green building projects. In putting together my Top Ten trends for 2011, I’m taking advantage of conversations I’ve had with green building industry leaders in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australia as I’ve given green building keynotes and presentations all over the world during the past year.
Jerry Yudelson’s Top Ten Green Building Trends for 2011 include:

1. The worldwide green building movement will continue to accelerate, as more countries begin to create their own green building incentives and developing their own Green Building Councils. More than 70 countries, on all continents, will show considerable green building growth in 2011.

2. Green building will rebound in 2011, as measured by the new LEED project registrations as a proxy for this growth. The dramatic slowdown in commercial real estate construction in many countries was not offset by other sectors such as government, and so the growth rate of new green building projects fell dramatically in 2010.

3. Green building in the U.S. will continue to benefit from the Obama presidency with a continued focus on greening the executive branch. New announcements of a commitment to a minimum of LEED Gold for all new federal projects and major renovations confirm and highlight this macro-trend.

4. The focus of the green building industry will continue to switch from new buildings to greening existing buildings. The fastest growing LEED rating system in 2010 was the LEED for Existing Buildings program, and I expect this trend to continue in 2011. “My 2009 book, Greening Existing Buildings, documents the strategic components of this trend.”

5. Blue will become the New Green. Awareness of the coming global crisis in fresh water supply will continue to grow, leading building designers and managers to take further steps to reduce water consumption to increase sustainability. This will be done in buildings through the use of more conservation-oriented fixtures, rainwater recovery systems and innovative new water technologies. My latest book, Dry Run: Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis, shows how to do this in green buildings all over the world.

6. Zero-net-energy designs for new buildings become increasingly commonplace, in both residential and commercial sectors, as LEED and ENERGY STAR ratings become too common to confer competitive advantage.

7. Performance Disclosure will be the fastest emerging trend, highlighted by new requirements in California and other states. Commercial building owners will have to disclose actual building performance to all new tenants and buyers.

8. Certified Green Schools will grow rapidly as part the LEED System. This trend will accelerate as understanding of the health and educational benefits of green schools grows. Already by mid-year 2010, green schools represented nearly 40% of all new LEED projects in the U.S.

9. Local and state governments will step up their mandates for green buildings for both themselves and the private sector. We’ll see at least 20 major new cities with commercial sector green building mandates. The desire to reduce carbon emissions by going green will lead more government agencies to require green buildings.

10. Solar power use in buildings will continue to grow. This trend will be enhanced by the increasing focus of municipal utilities as they need to comply with state-level renewable power standards (RPS) for 2015 and 2020. As before, third-party financing partnerships will continue to grow and provide capital for large rooftop systems such as on warehouses. However, we may very well see a slowing of large solar and wind systems, as federal grant support, in lieu of tax credits, is phased out.
I’ve added two “bonus picks,” strongly emerging trends, to this list: First, there will be a continually growing use of software and the Internet “cloud” in green building design, construction and operations; Second, the revolution in sustainable building materials is gaining momentum each year, one that gives higher performance at ever lower costs.

from the Post-Dispatch

2011-01-05T16:23:00.000-06:00

St. Louis County planners may promote living closer together

BY PHIL SUTIN psutin@post-dispatch.com > 314-863-2812 www.STLtoday.com

Posted: Wednesday, January 5, 2011 12:00 am

St. Louis County planners want to change the county's zoning codes to encourage people to live closer together to save energy and the environment.
The current codes reflect society's reliance on the automobile and people's preference for stand-alone houses, one to a lot.
That's not the future of housing, experts say.
The county's current codes cover the unincorporated area, the home of about a third of the county's residents. They now favor separating commerce from residential and separating single-family from multifamily housing.
The new codes would encourage communities in which apartments, condos, houses, offices, stores and restaurants mix together.
And the new codes would promote a shift away from the automobile. For instance, new codes might reduce the number of parking spaces a developer must provide.
John King, an attorney who for decades has represented developers on zoning matters, said the county effort is a necessity.
"There is a need for density to make sure that costs don't go out of sight. People can't afford to buy a house or live in a house," he said.
"Developers will welcome this," King said.
With the unincorporated part of the county largely built up, the changes would have more effect on redevelopment of older, established areas. And they may influence municipalities, which set their own codes.
The county planners have interviewed four consulting companies that are finalists for the code revision project. A winner is expected to be selected soon.
The county did not identify the companies. About $150,000 from an $8.4 million federal stimulus grant to the county will pay for the work, said Gail Choate, a county planning official.
The planners hope the County Council ultimately would approve changes in the zoning code no later than a year and a half from now.
The changes would encourage "places where people can work, live, play and walk and use public transportation," said Jen Samson, the county's project manager for the effort.
Choate noted that some older areas of the county, such as in Affton and Lemay, mix commercial with residential, with houses and stores close together.
"But you still need a car to get to the stores" on such roads as Gravois Road in Affton, she said.
Among the issues the consultants and planners would consider are:
• Transit-oriented development, where new development or redevelopment would be in easy walking distance to a transit hub. The county has one MetroLink station in the unincorporated area — North Hanley — and one partly so — the University City-Big Bend station that has an entrance on the Washington University Danforth campus, which is in the unincorporated area. "Transit-oriented development doesn't just have to be at MetroLink stops, it could be at bus hubs," Choate said.
• Other mixed-use developments where stores or offices could be on the street level with apartments above them.
• High-density areas where tall apartment, condominium or office buildings could be next to wide sidewalks with enough room for outdoor cafes.
• Codes that could provide another way for developers to cluster larger buildings. Developers and officials would pay more attention to the public space around a project's buildings.
• Regulations to encourage and control such energy efficiency devices as solar panels on roofs or wind turbines.
• Designs that would reduce the impact of storm water.
King, the zoning attorney, said higher density would reduce developer costs of installing utilities, such as water and sewer lines and wiring for cable television.
A tight-knit project also would help developers meet new storm-water regulations, he said.
King agreed that county's approach would encourage redevelopment of older areas.
"There may be some trauma" as residents near proposals for denser development react to change, he predicted. "People will get used to density," he said. "The market is different than it was five or 10 years ago" and, he said, it won't go back to what it was.
Lyzel Krebs, staff vice president for governmental affairs of the Home Builders Association of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri, said her organization could not comment in detail until it sees more specifics. Homebuilders, she said, want to maintain "a good viable community" that includes a proper balance with the environment.
In addition to advice about the county zoning code, planners want consultants to provide ideas for the municipalities in the county, Choate said.
"We would like to help the municipalities who are interested in doing something, but do not have the resources," she said.

The planners want developers, builders, design professionals, municipal officials and advocates for public transit, bicyclists, open space and compact development to participate in preparing changes, Choate said. The staffs of the county departments of highways and traffic and public works should be involved, she said.

The Pruitt Igoe Myth

2011-01-02T19:12:00.001-06:00

Here is a link to the trailer for a new documentary called: The Pruitt Igoe Myth: an Urban History

Was it the end of modernism? What about affordable housing or workforce housing? I look forward to seeing this film.

All That We Share

2011-01-01T22:09:00.000-06:00

All That We Share is subtitled 'A Field Guide to the Commons' and it is an interesting collection of ideas about navigating what we have in common in the context of increasing populations, limited resources and a growing awareness that we can no longer properly consider, as Protagoras did, 'man as the measure of all things.' The Commons-Based way of thinking is 'a way of life that values what we share as much as what we own.'

Perhaps it is simply because I'm older and my kids are grown, or almost so, that this idea of focusing on what we share seems so important to me. At any rate, here is a connection to some interesting work.

A Winter's Day

2010-12-31T13:57:00.000-06:00

December 2010

2010-12-26T18:59:00.000-06:00

125th Anniversary of the St. Louis Artists' Guild

2010-12-06T20:16:00.000-06:00

Come on out and take a look around. There is a really great show hanging and there is an opportunity to do some unique Christmas shopping while talking with friends and artists.

LEED for Neighborhood Development, Habitat for Humanity and our Neighborhood Stock

2010-12-03T11:24:00.000-06:00

I am part of a group of volunteers working towards LEED for Neighborhood Development Certification for a 17 home project in Old North St. Louis for Habitat for Humanity. Our planning charrette points to certification at the silver level.

The following is a kind of intellectual odyssey that begins with the rejection of our grant proposal to cover ND certification fees of $20,000.00. I will share some of the readings I'm doing and thoughts I'm putting together while striving to understand and encourage adjustment to the way the LEED ND fee structure and grant awarding process is administered.

The journey begins with Different Spaces, a lecture by Michel Foucault, which has had a powerful effect on contemporary discourse regarding urban environments. It revolves around the concept of a heterotopia (other place). It is a plurisignitive term that becomes appropriate for the Old North community. Old North is, all at once, an old//new community, within the city limits and outside the status quo.

The idea of a heterotopia has become an important part of contemporary thinking about urban planning and geography, especially in the work of Edward Soja. Soja uses the idea as part of his work to promote 'spatial justice' (see pp31-38), among other topics. According to Soja, spatial justice begins with “…the fair and equitable distribution in space of socially valued resources and the opportunities to use them.” Looking at the history of development in the St. Louis area, one can’t help but conclude that environmental and spatial injustices have been commonplace and that seizing every opportunity to address them is important. We can do this by favoring redevelopment in our urban core that will include and attract “socially valued resources.”

In The Endless City the transformation of post-apartheid Johannesburg is described as an, “…expansion outwards … evident in a ‘doughnut-effect’ of people abandoning the city centre for high-security residential enclaves.” I can’t imagine a better description of what has happened in St. Louis in the last 60 years. It is only recently that we are beginning to make progress in the urban center, of which Old North is a crucial part. Please take a peek at the attached Sanborn Maps of the neighborhood and see the vivid disappearing act of an abandoned neighborhood in the city’s core. Edge expansion and development is so often, here and abroad, about exclusivity and exclusivity and sustainability are fundamentally incompatible practices and concepts.

I recently re-read a short piece in Multiple City called “City as Collective Memory.” In this essay Sofie Wolfrum, writes, “…it is only natural for us to read the structures of a city like a text, sometimes like a palimpsest. The city can be read and interpreted like a history book.” This is certainly true of St. Louis and, like many other cities, we have the past and present situated side by side indicating a great simultaneity and juxtaposition of texture. This is what is being done to great advantage with Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis and other partners in Old North. It is among the best of what can be done and the best what can be situated as a model for further neighborhood redevelopment with an emphasis on inclusivity and sustainability.

Kaid Benfield of the NRDC has been a supporter and follower of developments in Old North for several years and has posted numerous entries on his blog that are well worth reviewing for a complete understanding of the value of site selection in the Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis project. This is synergy to the tenth power and evidence of many parties working together to maximize the utility of each group’s efforts, in which the whole will be greater than the sum of parts.

The maps below come from Eric Fischer and US Census data. Here is the source.

The Old North work is being done by a diverse group and, like a few other parts of the city, is becoming a model of unity based on shared goals and not perceived differences.

As I consider urban spaces, environmental justice and sustainability through the filters of the LEED ND product and through the specifics of our project in Old North, I can't help but think I see a place for our build to be considered a priority in this system. At the heart of this is an understanding that in most metro areas, including St. Louis, there is little to no need for new neighborhood development while land, infrastructure, existing buildings abound in the heart of our doughnut-like MSAs (metropolitan statistical area).

Presently, however, this is not the case.

Our region has seen increases of real estate development wildly disproportionate to our population growth for quite some time. If this is an unstoppable inevitability then I am all for such developments being done to ND standards. Still, if I think in terms of biggest bang for the buck to the entire region, I am confident that the sensitive redevelopment of our existing stock of neighborhoods is the greenest thing we can do in terms of environmental, spatial and social justice. St. Louis has long been admired for its existing housing stock. (Our brick homes are legendary: see this piece in the NY Times about brick theft in St. Louis) Now we have to analyze our town from a broader perspective – from our Neighborhood Stock. The ND product makes a great contribution to this kind of expanded and more holistic thinking.

This may run a complicated course but Ariadne’s thread is not severed on this journey and I hope the USGBC will see the benefit, to an entire metro area, of careful site selection in the ND system – selection that reduces the emphasis for more development. I don’t know that it is ironic or paradoxical, but it does seem self-evident that projects like this benefit every citizen in our region, even those on the geographic edge, by reducing the total embodied energy of project construction, reducing the region’s carbon footprint, reducing the cost of living for neighborhood residents and through the uplifting of an established neighborhood that is in the midst of an extraordinary renaissance. To keep this rebirth going and provide a portion of the density required for continued recovery our project adds:

- Three new families (a total of 7 people) on the 1900 block of Hebert

- Four new families (a total of 18 people) on the north side of the 1900 block of Sullivan

- Five new families (a total of 13 people) on the south side of the 1900 block of Sullivan; and

- Five new families (a total of 16 people) on the north side of the 1400 block of Dodier.

The total number of new occupants in Old North is 54.

Our work is reversing a 60 year old trend; we are reversing the Sanborn maps.

Inside the Dome

2010-11-27T23:22:00.000-06:00

I took my little Rollei to the dome for the Rams game last week. The aesthetics of repetition:

The Chrysler Plant

2010-10-31T18:44:00.000-05:00

As I understand it this demo work is being done because the owners don't want to keep the heat on, which would be necessary to keep the code required sprinkler system from freezing this winter. Its about money. Maybe demo is the right answer, maybe not...does anyone have any insight?

There are more than a half dozen excavator with various implements on the business end chomping away on various parts of the structure.

JR

2010-10-30T21:46:00.000-05:00

Utah State Ceramics Studio

2010-10-11T18:47:00.001-05:00

Louis' Studio links to a slide show

Paris, Idaho

2010-10-11T18:19:00.000-05:00

These images are from the Bear Lake area in southern Idaho/northern Utah

Another Generation's Optimism

2010-09-29T15:15:00.000-05:00

While researching a project in SE Missouri at the Mercantile Library yesterday I came across a thin volume on Cape Giradieu and pulled it from the stacks, thinking there might be a chance it could be connected to my work. It wasn't, but I found it fascinating nonetheless.
In 1916 a group in the Cape area put together a proposal/plea to have an armor factory located in their region. Although the US had not entered 'the war to end all wars' yet it looks like anticipation was building. At any rate, I pulled out my cell camerea and snapped a few pix from the book as I was struck by the optimism the went along with a belief in 'almost unlimited electric power' from a 'commercial water-power dam.' Here are a few pages of the book.

Sustainability & Exclusivity

2010-09-27T16:10:00.001-05:00

from the NY Times piece:

"What Masdar really represents, in fact, is the crystallization of another global phenomenon: the growing division of the world into refined, high-end enclaves and vast formless ghettos where issues like sustainability have little immediate relevance.
That’s obviously not how Mr. Foster sees it. He said the city was intended to house a cross-section of society, from students to service workers. “It is not about social exclusion,” he added.
And yet Masdar seems like the fulfillment of that idea. Ever since the notion that thoughtful planning could improve the lot of humankind died out, sometime in the 1970s, both the megarich and the educated middle classes have increasingly found solace by walling themselves off inside a variety of mini-utopias.
This has involved not only the proliferation of suburban gated communities, but also the transformation of city centers in places like Paris and New York into playgrounds for tourists and the rich. Masdar is the culmination of this trend: a self-sufficient society, lifted on a pedestal and outside the reach of most of the world’s citizens."

In the long run sustainability and exclusivity are incompatible and no development that is truly sustainable can be called both exclusive and sustainable. Click on the pix to enlarge and click on the Times link to see the whole piece on Masdar.

Where We Live

2010-09-22T14:21:00.000-05:00

These maps , from Bill Fisher, have made the rounds in the last few days - at least they have in my Twitter world. They show ethnic/racial distribution of populations in cities. The first is Chicago, the second is St. Louis and the third is a close up of my Tower Grove neighborhood. I like the multi-colored dots in my neighborhood.