Deutschland/Dutchland

when you think i'm not there, that's when i think of you the most

the tunnel

*This is meant as a book-ending post of one I wrote back in May.

The bridge and the tunnel are, after all, inextricably linked. Whereas one on a bridge can be blissfully unaware, those in the tunnel never all. Often you aren't submerged into the tunnel but arrive there, possibly because a bridge must cross above you. Yet the tunnel exists as something submerging; you are physically blinded by the submerging of your body. Shrouded is another word.

In the corniest terms imaginable, you aren't always aware of yourself when you're up (unless the view is astonishing), but always uncomfortably aware of how submerged in darkness (the underbelly, even) you are when you're down.



casa aatrial



The striking thing about this particular tunnel (context below) is that the Polish architects were so able to encapsulate the European street as a main artery of the property, much as a street of this design is a main artery of the city. The steps running down one side are carbon copies of those located in many European streets on a slight slant. The cobblestone hearkens back to a bygone era.

In totality, this property has become a microcosm of a city in a most triumphant way. Even more so than what will soon be the tallest building in the world, a self-proclaimed "entire city." Incroyable. Hats off to the Poles.

"an analogous white mountain to the Sierra Blanca Peak on the western horizon"

Spencer Theater for the Performing Arts
Photographer: Hursley; Architect: Antoine Predock; Alto, New Mexico

I love this picture. I think detailing here is most important so it's going outside of the boundaries of the blogspot layout. Apologies all around. Some things are necessary like that.

Some days I lose my head and forget that the most beneficial architecture in the country is obviously in the Southwest. Beneficial to everyone. They just fucking care down there.*

*exclusive Arizona

@bldgblog I respectfully disagree with your assessment of modern suburban trends, vis bookshelves

these are two different designs by two different firms. the above is located in costa rica ("yeah, I guess it will be my, uh, thing in Costa Rica, be a nature photographer") and this is located in (sigh) seattle-

my my my what first world predilections towards floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and decorative pianos you have there, designers.


meanwhile, AMA's Mash house in australia (squee!) dips into modern suburban design without the pretension-

and an interior shot, for contrast-

sometimes i wonder if i'd even have a blog if not for bldgblog which gives fodder. and then i think, oh fuck it. all press is good press, ya schmucks. 


...(un)related, actually really starting to dig this andrew maynard guy, enough to follow on twitter (!), and was so wooed by his short/sweet bio ("I am an Australian architect.") that I now fantasize that when i move to australia circa february he'll agree to go to coffee with me and talk about things. life. space. shapes. patterns. wood. anything.


(i think i just asked out an australian architect on the internet.)
(i hope he says yes.)

punchline: "and then they'll look it up and go, oh, so that's what she meant by capitalism."

The Studio Gang Architects beg an interesting question with the renovation of South Pond in Lincoln Park* 

But what matters that the interiors are all the same, so long as the exteriors are flashy and vibrant and, goddamnit, new? We aren't children anymore; are we not ready to admit that the insides don't count?


*(advance thanks to any adorable Australian men who may or may not be taking me to the hidden eatery on the other side of LP ponds this evening...)