Night Windows

Edward Hopper, 1928, oil on canvas

everyone can find this edward hopper painting beautiful, or not beautiful, for whatever reason they have.

my second quarter of rocks for jocks, this one astrophysics for those who say ick (CAME UP WITH THAT ONE MYSELF THX BE HERE ALL WEEK TRY THE VEAL), included 'night labs' where we stood on the roof of kersten and "sketch"ed whatever we saw in the night sky, which wasn't ever much because of our proximity to downtown. so much of that time was spent looking into the mid-evening happenings of snitchcock, the lamest traditioniest of the UChicago dorms where students could engage in late-night bouts of dungeons and hobbits, or merely banter amidst (amongst) the century-old walls (and decor). this is that exact view, one which flashes back to me numerous times a day. one which comes to me in vague shapes, curved arches, vertically-stretched panes, overworked upholstery. 

oh, and by the way, the painting is called "Night Windows". 

days like these it physically pains me how much i miss you (@londonuk)

i tried my hand at this and was surprisingly having more success at the piccadilly (from terminal 1,2,3 and terminal 5 to cockfosters) than the line i actually lived on. damn that was a great little area of the tube, kensington olympia. but my complete inability to sketch the ends of the DL, i think, is because of all the damn starts and stops. would i start at ealing broadway, richmond, wimbledon? what about the edgware road branch? why are these all on the same line?

damn.

longchamp, nyc

i've been meaning to post on longchamp's new york store for a few weeks now, since a daily dose mentioned it in a top list of new york architecture and then it was in one of the many design mags i've been hoarding on my desk. it seemed serendipitous except that i could never bring myself to actually do it, which may have been subconscious protection. in any case, now that i'm delirious with sleep i'll cave to it. without any further ado, the epitome of a modern design aesthetic, the prototype for all future shopping experiences, the reason new york is so much more than a fashion capital but a destination for multidisciplinary lovers of beautiful aesthetic-

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