January 30th, 2009 § Karynn
Today Shepherd of the Valley is featured on Archinnovations. Back in November, the site also featured our work on STIX Restaurant and Lounge in Boston.
For more on Shepherd of the Valley check out these posts:
ProJo Finds Treasure in 3six0
Maeda on 3six0 and 3six0 on Maeda
Connecting Architecture and Spirituality
January 28th, 2009 § Chris
From the New York Times, January 28, 2009
And in Florida, not far from the Palm Beach clubs where Mr. Madoff wooed some of his investors, George L. Theodule, a Haitian immigrant and professed “man of God,” promised churchgoers in a Haitian-American community that he could double their money within 90 days.
He accepted only cash, and despite the too-good-to-be-true sales pitch, he found plenty of investors willing to turn over tens of thousands of dollars.
“The offices were beautiful, and I was told it was a limited liability corporation,” said Reggie Roseme, a deliveryman in Wellington, Fla., who lost his entire savings of $35,000 and now faces foreclosure on his home.
This brings to mind the question of authenticity. Ponzi schemes, shams that we can believe in, until the truth comes out, prey on our desires and weaknesses. Our willingness to rely on appearances for signs of authenticity (The offices were beautiful) points to questions about architecture’s role in such deceptions.
It’s been said that ”Art is a lie that tells the truth” . The history of architecture, reflects an ambivalence about “truth”. Architecture operates like language, representing but not necessarily embodying, and architecture is a constructed embodied, materialized phenomenon that is primarily experienced. We read and experience architecture simultaneously. Geometry, space, materials, tectonics order form, form an order which we would hope is revelatory, engaging and celebrating our humanity , rather than deceitful, obscuring and controlling.
The predominance of vision has effected the way we think about materials. As more and more communities employ “stampcrete” and if they can’t afford that, “stamphalt” in public spaces, the erosion of values is painfully obvious. The attitude of “as long as that stuff looks like brick, it’s OK” is exactly what got the ponzi scheme victims into trouble. Actually all the use of fake materials is sort of like a ponzi scheme–you simply put the day of reckoning off until the whole thing fails and at great expense you end up doing what you should have done the first time around. Materials carry memory, and the replacement of materials with facsimiles destroys memory, with it the hard won truths and values of our society. As an example I’ve posted two images of bricks one of painted stamped asphalt and the other of 19th century brick pavers.
The inadvertent marks of the makers, of the hands that handled the wet clay can be seen in the lower image, the memory of the lives that made these bricks. The moss growing between each brick reveals an unanticipated symbiosis of inert and living matter. the bricks, slightly uneven gently accommodate the pushing of tree roots below without cracking or failing. The stamphalt has none of this capacity to hold time and life–no capacity for memory and for that matter, imagination. The fact that it is unsustainable and unrecyclable is no coincidence. Whenever we remove the dimension of time and the capacity to remember from materials, we fall prey to appearances and hidden costs, not only economic and environmental but cultural and societal.
January 26th, 2009 § Nick
a view of the interactive book @Issuu.com
We’ve recently uploaded our printed portfolio to Issuu.com where it can be viewed as a virtual book, embedded into other sites, or shared with friends on the web. This same book can be purchased in printed form at Blurb.com. We’re currently developing a series of smaller format, soft-cover books that will soon be posted on both sites–please check back soon.
January 23rd, 2009 § Karynn
According to Trendhunter.com, 3six0 is a trendsetter in restaurant design. The site features a unique set of tables our firm designed for STIX Restaurant and Lounge in Boston: the tables fold up into the walls allowing the space to easily transform from a dining area into a dance floor. This is just one of three restaurants that 3six0 designed around the theme of motion. Achilles, also in Boston, transforms from a boutique into a restaurant, and Circa, located in Memphis, uses wine racks that double as screens and create optical illusions as visitors walk through the space.
January 20th, 2009 § Karynn
A few hours from now, America will swear in its 44th president. Millions will watch him and never know that this day might not have been if instead of taking to the law books, Obama had decided to take drafting classes. A recent tip from Arch Daily, revealed that Obama once wanted to be an architect. You can hear Obama say it himself in this YouTube video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNOp2VaUoQ4]
Some of you might be wishing that he had taken this path, while others are just as thrilled that he did not. Setting aside the politically motivated opinions, my colleagues and I at 3six0 think that being an architect is one of the best professions out there even if it is not as high-profiled as the presidency (you might remember our post on architects being among America’s happiest workers). Even in these challenging times, we still love our profession and take pride in our contribution to the world.
January 19th, 2009 § Karynn
Today is Martin Lurther King, Jr. Day, and I decided to dig through 3six0’s archives and dust off a project we submitted to a competition for the National Martin Lurther King, Jr. Memorial back in 2000. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the specific details of the project online, but the competition ran from February 15, 1999 until a designer was selected on September 12, 2000. It attracted over 900 submissions from 52 countries. 3six0 was proud to submit a design to this competition and contribute to memorializing one of America’s greatest leaders.
Paths from all directions take one through a “foundation of great building”. Dr. King’s message is carved sequentially into the vertical faces of the foundation stones and leads the visitor into the memorial and up a ground swell. As one ascends, one “surfaces” through the tops of the stones along with others from other paths. From this level, the stones present a continuous surface of water that reflects the sky: an event horizon of sight and sound. A statue of King arriving stands at the summit.
The winning design is available on the MLK memorial’s website.
Unfortunately, the memorial has faced numerous delays over the last 8 years and is still not complete. You can help by donating to the memorial at MLKmemorial.org.
January 16th, 2009 § Karynn
While exploring the intersections of faith and design this week, I came across this article from Theooze.com, “The ‘Body Art’ Of Emerging Church.” The article explores the relationship of architecture to spirituality, and intrigued by this, I emailed the author, Paul Fromont, about 3six0’s Shepherd of the Valley project. Paul replied with a gracious email and offered to include us on his blog, Prodigal Kiwi. Check out his latest post, “Architecture, Space, Spirit and the Journey of a Church Community,” which highlights Shepherd of the Valley and links to his reflections on architecture, the church, and spirituality.
January 9th, 2009 § Karynn
As you may know, both Kyna and Chris are faculty at RISD in addition to being the principals of 3six0. Recently, the Shepherd of the Valley project was featured on RISD’s blog, which is written by RISD president John Maeda and staff.
Maeda was also recently interviewed by Dezeen, a magazine featuring architecture and design. Click below for the full interview.
Bad Behavior has blocked 114 access attempts in the last 7 days.