The Intimacy of Craft

New Bird Hide, Wales

I have thinking about craft in architecture a lot lately.

Two small thoughts: one, crafted elements, especially if they are within reach, bring humanity to a space. A human scale.

And two, crafted, natural materials, when done correctly, can create buildings that look they have always been in a place, especially in a more natural setting. And as nature ages gracefully around, the materials will as well.

St Pancras Hotel & Train Station – Photos (with a real camera!)

Last year I had some free time on a nice sunny day to visit the newly opened St Pancras Hotel.  It is immaculate.  Background on the place is here.

 

I Took a Walk Around London Today

The city is much smaller than I think.  I walked very easily from the City to the West End this afternoon.  I visited the John Soane Museum, which I would like to move into.  And I popped into the National Gallery.  I could do this everyday…

I was too lazy to bring my real camera.  Iphone camera doesn’t love dark London winters.  Looking at these on the screen, I actually think it hates them.  These spaces were really beautiful today, even in dimly lit January.

London really does undulation really well.  You leave a very busy and big street through a tiny lane and end up in a quiet residential square or mews block, literally feet from the mayhem.  Like from Fleet Street up to Lincoln’s Inn Fields.  I literally went down a quirky lane three feet wide and ended up in the formal, expansive Fields.  I have also grown to love the City, if only for the interesting things that have happened as 20th century office architecture has attempted to wedge into a finite space where you constantly trip over old churches and halls, or remnants thereof.

St Paul’s from One New Change

St Paul’s from the north

Glough Square

St Paul’s from Fleet Street

Near Covent Garden

Near Lincoln’s Inn Fields

Where You Are in the World

North Devon countryside

I have taken a long break from writing since I finished my thesis in June. I will post the intro soon. Here’s to jumping back in…

I have been traveling a lot recently for work. I am noticing more and more the need for better clarity of place in our cities. In England, the urban and rural landscape is unmistakably English. In villages, towns, and cities, the architecture and landscape reflect the local culture and tradition of the place. The beauty of the rural landscape is derived from the agricultural heritage. It is a sometimes understated beauty, which is reflected in the architecture of England. Think of an understated Georgian townhouse in Bath.

The important distinction between city and open countryside was very strong in traditional English development. Also, how a settlement sits in the landscape was always well thought out. The buildings seem to naturally sit within the landscape, which is due in part to the materials used in the buildings. Again think of the Georgian buildings in Bath all made from that rich Bath stone. There is a clear permanence to these buildings. They are now part of the natural landscape of that place. There is an enormous cultural importance to all of this. The people that I have met from these types of places have an enormous pride in their communities. They talk differently about their community. They know how important it is to continue the arc of tradition in their place.

Cornwall

Putney Bridge, Bath

These sometimes nuanced design sensitivities and resulting community and cultural pride are all but completely lost in development in America. Of course England has its share of bad suburban development, but the dominating features of the country are the rich urban areas and the bucolic countryside. America does have beautiful urban areas, though on a much smaller scale relative to suburbia. America is obviously much younger than England. But it is shocking to see how much the newish development dominates. Maybe because it more or less all looks the same. Suburban Columbus, Ohio looks a lot like suburban Tulsa, Oklahoma. I understand that people don’t live in suburbia because it is beautiful. They live there because it has better schools and is perceived to be safer and cheaper.

The side of a highway, anywhere in the US

So traditional land patterns and architecture reflected the local culture and tradition, which grounded people and gave them a sense of pride in their community. What happens to ‘community’ when the land pattern and architecture do not reflect any local culture? These suburbs do have a sense of community around children. Schools, sports and other activities serve as the basis for community. But what happens when a suburb’s children grow up? We can look at earlier generations of suburbs if community persists. Unfortunately suburbia’s inherent inflexibility causes its redundancy every twenty years or so. Small, cape cod homes of 1940s suburbia were out of date by the late 1960s. The 1970s ranch houses were irrelevant by the 1990s. And the oversized 1990s McMansion was made moot by the real estate crash of 2008.

I believe one reason traditional buildings and cities are able to adapt to continue thriving is because they fit into the local natural patterns. Most American suburbs do not. So what follows when a suburb dies? What happens when the whole concept of the car-based suburb dies?

Streetcar Graveyards

Thanks corruption, heavy-handed regulation and collusion!!!

Electric Bicycle – My Test Drive

Kalkhoff Electric Bicycle

I had a chance to try out an electric bike a few weeks ago. We have a good relationship with Tim at 50cycles who imports these amazing electric bicycles from Germany. In our planning for the Prince’s House at the Ideal Home Show, I thought that it would be nice to have two bicycles out front, to show that this house was not meant to be seen in the middle of the suburbs, but in a neighborhood that was pedestrian and bicycle friendly. When I asked my boss Ben about it, he suggested Tim and the electric bikes. And Tim let us use them for the show, and even better, selfishly, he let us try them out!

I ride my bicycle to work everyday. It is a road bike, and I like to go fast. I also live in Highgate, which, as you can imagine from the name, on a hill. A pretty steep one. So on my way to work I fly down the hill, but on the way home I struggle up it. Having the electric bike for the day was a different experience. I really enjoyed having it. It is easy to explain how it works. Basically, every time you start pedaling, the electric kicks in. It is easy to hang of, and once you do, it is pretty effortless. It is a very sturdy bike, perfect for dodgy central London roads.

As I said, I like to go fast. The electric bike is pretty fast but it is not a road bike. It is heavier, has bigger tires and does not have as many gears. In its own way, it is perfect for the city. Where it really shines is when you are dealing with hills. It was effortless going up Highgate Hill, which is no small feat. It took me several weeks until I was able to make it up all the way on my road bike when we moved to Highgate.

All in all, I think there is a great market for these bikes as commuter bikes, especially when there is any topography. Bicycles are exploding right now all over the world, and I think these electric bicycles definitely have a place as one of many solutions post-car. I definitely had fun with mine. Thanks Tim!

The bikes on display at the Ideal Home Show

Don’t Take Away My Jumbo Mortgage!

From Danny McL, Flickr user

Deep into thesis writing mode at the moment so I haven’t had a chance to write too much.

But this NYTimes article is almost as amazing as the previous one I posted. It is a snapshot of the major shift the housing market is going through. A shift that can been seen in the latest housing figures, which are brutal. This particular article focuses on the changing government policy of putting a cap on mortgage guarantees, which will obviously make bigger mortgages tougher to get and more expensive. (Which is what they should be! More money means greater risk for banks. Greater risk means more expensive). There are so many great nuggets in here that represent this major shift.

So, here we go: [cue sarcasm]

Sellers worry that the pool of potential buyers will shrink. “I’m glad to see they’re trying to rein in Fannie Mae, but I think I’m being disproportionately penalized,” said Rayn Random, who is trying to sell her house in the hills for $849,000 so she can move to Florida.

[I support changes, except when they would affect me.]

The National Association of Realtors, 8,000 of whom have gathered in Washington this week for their midyear legislative meeting, is making an extension of the loan guarantees a top lobbying priority.
“Reducing the limits will put more downward pressure on prices,” said the National Association of Realtors president, Ron Phipps. “I just don’t think it makes a lot of sense.”

[This policy will make my industry less money. So I will go to Washington to lobby against it. It's the American way.]

Buyers might face less competition in the fall but are likely to see more demands from lenders, including higher credit scores and larger down payments. Steve McNally, a hotel manager from Vancouver, said he had only about 20 percent to put down on a new home in Monterey County.

If a bigger deposit were required, Mr. McNally said, “I’d wait and rent.”

[Wait, if I can't afford to buy a home, I have to rent? America didn't tell me that.]

I realize these are real people who have to deal with this. It isn’t their fault. The government is directly to blame for this mess. Anyway, I do realize some markets are just more expensive than others. I also realize housing prices still do not jive with real income, which traditionally they always have. This ‘reset‘ is going to be painful, no matter what. It will take a long time for the housing market to rebound, especially in redundant exurban communities built for a different time. Government needs to do what is prudent for the long term, stop rolling out silly perks to get people buying, and let it happen.

I don’t think much of anything can arrest the fall. There will be winners (walkable, sort of dense, urban areas) and losers (big, detached, car-based areas), and it may take decades to settle. In fact, you will probably find some 4,500 sf, stick-framed houses (with 8 gables and a three car garage) in the middle of nowhere to be worthless. Demographics, changing tastes and a new economy have made whole swaths of the country difficult to sell.  These 1990s and 2000s exurban homes will become (it has already started) unsuitable for new generations, much like the original 1950s and 1960s suburban houses became.

It reinforces the basic fallacy of a Fordist system.  Basing your economy on consumption leads to a disregard for what you are actually producing.  It is no mistake that pre-mass production housing is the only housing that is remotely holding its value in this recession, and might be the only thing standing after it’s over.

Delusions of Grandeur

from Recession Houses Blog

This morning’s article on exurban home builders in the New York Times is amazing on a variety of levels. A few quick thoughts:

-I think it is fitting that the last vestiges of 20th century suburbia involve having to give away a car to sell a home.

-The mentions about how much better real estate is selling in places close to ‘things’ are exactly what people like Christopher Leinberger have been saying for several years now.

-In the end, the status quo is decidedly difficult to change. I predict we will see this same story (suburban homebuyer taking a chance on a home in the suburbs because “eventually, home-buying will come around”) for many years to come.

-Speaking of status quo, it is also difficult to get government to change their explicit and implicit support of suburbia.

Today in Meet Your Congressman, or Today in Shaking Your Head

The U.S. Congress passes legislation that creates funding for things like highways or transit. Committees and sub-committees focus in on the different areas of concern. Within the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is the subcommittee on Highway & Transit. The Chairman of that subcommittee is John Duncan, Jr., or Tennessee. The first thing I found on his homepage is a recent speech he made on the floor of the House. Here is a portion:

I know most environmentalists come from very wealthy or upper income families, and I know they will say we don’t have enough oil to drill our way out of this problem.

and

When environmental radicals stop more domestic oil production, it helps foreign energy producers, but it really hurts middle and lower-income Americans.

Yes, Chairman of the subcommittee on Highway & Transit. I think we might be in trouble.

Great Quote About Urban Highways

“I wish to remind you gentlemen that in giving aid to the forces militating against the desires and well-being of the majority of the residents of Washington, D.C., you would be confirming the findings of the President’s Commission on Civil Disorders; namely, that recent unrest and frustation of poor people stem from long years of exploitation, neglect, and abuse in callous and cavalier attitudes on the part of local governments, in this case aided and abetted by the Congress…This…is the stuff that civil disorder is made of, and bayonets and Stoner guns cannot replace sincere response to the desires and needs articulated by the public…and by the constant remonstrations on the part of the public, to both the city government and the Congress, regarding the damage done to the city by freeways…Citizens in this city are also completely aware that no solution to this crisis is valid which accepts the premise that the automobile is a fixed factor around which all plans must center.”

-Charles Cassell, member of the Black United Front and citizen of Washington, D.C. at a hearing to determine on proposed legislation to fund an urban highway system in the District, 1968.