I am Alfred DeCredico’s friend and colleague. This chapter of our friendship and colleagueship started with the words, “he’s gone,” on the phone.
Honor him; “yes,” but I am not done with Alfred DeCredico. There are some artists or architects whose work you absorb pouring over pages for years and then you’re full. I did that with Louis Kahn’s work and I’m done. There are friends that part company, move-on—done. I’m not done with Alfred DeCredico. The world is not done with Alfred DeCredico. And I want to think about continuing.
So I made a list. This is A L F R E D V. D E C R E D I C O:
Ask, “What do you think about _________?”
Lobster bisque, a bushel of oysters and seaweed, Osso bucco, peach tart.
Fight the censors.
Recognize the intelligence of others.
Eat the bone marrow.
Drawing is everything.
Vice Versa
Deconstruct chaos.
Elixir of life.
Cohere Entropy.
Really laugh.
Everything isn’t wrong with double negatives.
Don’t hide in the politically correct.
In-tolerate intellectual laziness.
Couragio.
Open mind vices.
_______________________
Alfred DeCredico died on Saturday December 26, 2009. He was an Artist & a Professor of Foundation Studies Drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design. A memorial service was held for him on Saturday, April 10th.
A new video of the Biltmore Hotel Porte Cochère project has been posted on 3six0’s YouTube channel. The evolution of the project is condensed into a 30 second animation that illustrates material reasoning driven by the net-like matrix of the hotel’s lobby ceiling, and the canopy’s function as a sheltering entry-marker that reverberates with the historic architecture of the Biltmore Hotel and the city of Providence.
STIX and CIRCA have both been published in the current issue of SPA-DE (Space and Design Vol.11) as part of the magazine’s “International Review of Interior Design” issue. The inclusion of these projects in SPA-DE, a Japanese publication, follows our recent features in the Korean magazine, PLUS Architecture and Interior Design. (February #262 / May #265)
For those of you familiar with John Maeda, you may know that since he became president of the Rhode Island School of Design last June, he has been upping RISD’s profile and expanding its presence both offline and online. As an outside observer (I go to school up the hill), I can’t help but envy RISD’s tech renaissance and wish that my school would follow suite. The school’s latest project involves Posterous.com and RISD’s brilliant faculty. The new blog was started by Daniel Pelz with Maeda’s encouragement, and 3six0’s very own Kyna Leski is among the first contributors. Continue to check back to RISDspeaks for more insights on design and the world.
In addition to full time faculty members, Kyna Leski and Chris Bardt, all four part-time faculty members in the office, Aaron Brode, Olga Mesa, Jack Ryan and Manuel Cordero, each submitted office work for inclusion. Go check it out…it’s on display until March 15, 2009.
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.
One thing you may not know about our firm is that we have very close ties to RISD, the Rhode Island School of Design. The majority of our architects are RISD alumni and for everyone else who isn’t, they teach at the school. Current students also regularly intern in our offices during RISD’s winter session to help construct architectural models.
3six0 realizes how important students are to our firm and to the architecture profession as a whole, so we wanted to highlight a scholarship that is for them:
3six0 is proud to boast two premiere educational institutions as its neighbors; RISD, the Rhode Island School of Design, is a block from our office, and Brown University is right up the hill from downtown. This weekend Brown and RISD have come together to put on A Better World by Design conference. Over the next 3 days, students, educators, and professionals will examine the intersections of design and technology and look at ways in which the two are being married to improve our world and solve economic, environmental, and social problems.
