Lasagna with radicchio, pancetta and taleggio sauce. Think about your last dining experience at an Italian neighborhood restaurant; crowded atmosphere with frantic waiters, red and white checkered tablecloths, empty Chianti bottles serving as candlestick holders, and vintage photos of Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni splashing in the famous Trevi fountain.
The Paris Metro
The Paris Metro. Over the years, when visiting cities, one of my favorite pastimes has been to roam deep underground in the metropolitan transit systems of today’s dense urban capitals. Be it Chicago, Berlin, Hong Kong, London, New York, Tokyo, or Paris and metro, métro, MTR, tube, underground or U-Bahn, navigating below street level is fascinating and a reality check on a city’s identity.
Risotto with grilled shrimp and marzipan emulsion
Risotto with grilled shrimp and marzipan emulsion. There are few days that I don’t cook an Italian dish; in particular, a risotto or pasta. For the latter, choosing from my local store’s selection of noodles when I know there are 350 types of pasta available worldwide, seriously dwarfs my culinary aspirations and creativity.
Sketching -an iterative process, Part 2
About sketching -an iterative process, Part 2. I believe that for any design process to be successful, there is a need for iterative sketching to accompany the production and testing of architectural ideas. To be able to compare and contrast between sketches is critical and allows decisions to be measured on the strength and legitimacy of one’s conceptual ideas.
Continue reading Sketching -an iterative process, Part 2Design versus project
Design versus project. There is much to say about how curricula are developed and their importance in defining the content of any rigorous academic program; in our case an architectural education. Traditionally, classes within the discipline of architecture are taught according to required and elective professional courses, while additional opportunities provide students with a personalized liberal-arts education.
About miniature metal buildings
About miniature metal buildings. While the practice of architecture can be traced back to the first architectural treatise by Roman architect and author Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, the education of an architect is rather recent in the history of our profession. Morphing from the French Ecole Royale des Arts into the famous Parisian institution of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, this 19th century schooling became the world’s first educational system to train architects. Based on a rigorous curriculum where the professor was master, most future graduates were expected to serve their professional careers completing governmental projects under France’s President Napoleon III.
Shepherd’s Pie
Shepherd’s Pie. How often have I returned home from work, tired and eager to splurge on dinner at a nearby restaurant? Although it seems like a treat, at the end of each meal, I often wonder if my instincts were correct. Beyond the good company of family and friends, I remind myself that I love to cook and most often can replicate the dish at home through instinct and memory, and at a fraction of the cost.
Thoughts on architectural education, Part 1
Thoughts on architectural education, Part 1. While studying architecture in Switzerland, I remember struggling with the many competing and conflicting voices regarding what architecture meant, and most importantly, what my future role as an architect might hold.
Continue reading Thoughts on architectural education, Part 1Study sketch to drafted sketch
Study sketch to drafted sketch. Sketching might be for some a natural gift, but for most of us it is about the patient—and often painful—practice of setting one’s pencil on a white sheet of paper and letting ideas leave their mark.
Continue reading Study sketch to drafted sketchThe meaning to draw to scale
The meaning to draw to scale. While learning about architecture, I remember needing to overcome many stumbling blocks, in particular those surrounding fundamental questions about what makes good design. Included in this larger inquiry was the ability to think spatially, the confidence to translate ideas into space, and how to sketch in an iterative manner.
Continue reading The meaning to draw to scale