design submission for red clay

spires - natural and made

talking about respect and designing a better outlook

Maggie's Gartnavel and Rem Koolhaas (OMA)

maggie's gartnavel exterior (dezeen)

Rem Hoolhaas starts his lecture about OMA's design approach to Maggie's Cancer caring Center in Glasgow as a humorous, yet realistic assessment of traditional architectural practices.  He jokes about architectural interventions needing to exist "without destroying the qualities of that site that attracted you in the first place" while flipping through pictures of the wooded area the center now occupies.  He was very excited about the topography of the site with its "romantic and delicate sections"  and sought to design a center within it that changed the "sights, smells and colors" people generally associate fearfully with hospital settings. 

The center is a ring of connected spaces that gently flow into one another, allowing for privacy where needed and views into the center garden.  OMA kept the vegetation and slope of the site as much as possible in order to not destroy what had attracted them in the first place and used these feature to influence the design.  In the lecture, he moves on to talk about how the evolution of the design process drew from the shapes of the surrounding architecture, the topography and the conversation the completed center could have with its occupants.

While an incredibly successful design, I am actually quite moved with the verbal presentation skills Rem Koolhaas exhibits in his lecture.  He guides you through his work carefully, setting the stage for each unveiling of strategy and implementation.  He makes you love and respect the site.  His jokes about the previous architecture of the area being a "full expression of doubt" make you feel really invested in his solution: he nestles the new design carefully into the somewhat troubled setting.  He certainly has a flair for speaking, for convincing and for shaping the argument of design.

deezeen

pescadero : artichoke soup and harley farms goat dairy

translating : taking direction from a client

When approached by a client to re-do a very outdated fireplace surround in an otherwise updated SOMA loft, he expressed that he wanted it to make a statement in the room.  He wanted it to really express his style and we looked at images of furniture he was thinking of for the space.

crate and barrel paloma sideboard

This was the sideboard he was most drawn to and we both thought: what if we could use all of the basic design of the sideboard and apply it to the fireplace instead?  The client was excited about the notion and before I had even drawn up the plans and figured out how we could build it, he started attacking the existing finishes on the fireplace surround.  Out with the old...

I asked the client what about the sideboard was grabbing him and he expressed that it was the linearity and the slightly rustic and varied nature of the wood. Keeping that in mind, I designed the fireplace using vertical grain mahogany veneer plywood backing with horizontal running solid mahogany strips face nailed to the front with a scribed soffit above to frame the space and allow for any slope in the ceiling.   Tom Oakes did an amazing job figuring out how to build it in components we could get through the front door and assemble on site.  (As a side note, people often discount the brainpower involved in getting build pieces into the space.  Sadly, it is not that rare of an experience to realize that the thing you designed doesn't fit through the front door.) 

After the panels went in, the Walker Zanger tile hearth and surround came next.  I chose a grout that had the same amount of color variation from the tile color as the wood strips had with the panels behind them.  Once completed, the overall effect is that of a cohesive variation and a monumental scale in the room.  Now he has his showpiece living room.

jellyfish season in lake merritt?

vacation.  i highly recommend it.

SOMA condos : know your audience

In a previous studio, I was given the 525 Brannan Building in the SOMA neighborhood of the city as my site and asked to carve the building into nine premium condos.  I really had to delve into who I thought my target market would be and tailor my condos to suit them.   My design strategy focused on open plans with as much storage and access to outdoor space as possible. The model unit materialized as a warm, spacious two bedroom with a downtown view terrace, warm cherry wood built-ins so that everything had a place and an office with a separate entrance allowing the owner to work from home.

nestled ideas, nestled office culture:

office design for cp+b in uptown oakland

At first I wondered how "Big Advertising" would fit in Uptown Oakland at all.  As an Oakland resident, I view my city as a place that doesn't really want to be told what to buy or who to be.  We protest; we Occupy; we have independent businesses we covet to buy local wares, local food, local identity, really. Honestly, I may have made myself a victim of my own advertising, thinking that just because I value those things, I can can speak for my entire neighborhood, let alone my entire city.  So, when given this design prompt to place CP+B, an agency that represents large corporate advertising, in a neighborhood that is having a huge growth spurt in the local artist and food scene and within a site consisting of two buildings separated by a BART station entrance and a public walkway, I decided that all of those factors just needed to communicate and maybe even try to hug it out.

proposed - view from Broadway

The big idea was to create a creative office environment that felt non-hierarchical, open and flexible in use and allowed for quiet creative time as well as collaborative workspaces.

The interior environment had to allow for programming where people in all departments could interact, form and split off from quick meetings and generally offer for an unhindered flow of ideas through the office like the "factory" of creativity that CP+B holds as their office culture.

collaborative workstation - print production department with high tables for standing meetings and pinup walls

creatives have a large collaborative workstation as well as private workstations

In addition to being an effective environment for CP+B to work effectively, the office had to appear open to the community around it.  They needed to join in without blending in to the Uptown Oakland scene that includes nightlife, Art Murmur and gallery spaces and a general pride for being Oakland.  This can be accomplished by making the main activities of the office transparent and viewable from the street.  From the Broadway side, a street that houses mainly business and banks, CP+B would show meetings and collaborative work.  From the Telegraph side, hosting mainly bars, galleries, venues and restaurants, CP+B would greet the neighborhood with a public cafe, an auditorium that can be used for public events and an outdoor terrace for events and parties.

framing the scene:
the photography of oscar fernando gomez

four images at the MOMA

Yesterday I spent a glorious sunny day half outside in the sunshine with friends and half inside the MOMA making friends with undiscovered exhibits.  I was really struck by four photos taken from a Monterrey cab window.  They are frank representations of the life Oscar Fernando Gomez drives by.  When asked why he started capturing these moments, he replied "When my wife and I decided to have a child, I started taking photos from the window of my taxi, to make an album to show our child what dad sees when he is out all day. Our daughter died at birth, but I carried on taking pictures: of poor people, people who have nothing. For me, the important thing is not technique or composition. It's about trying to show that the people who live the most humble lives are often the most worthy of respect"  (interview - the guardian uk)

It strikes me as so sad but rather beautiful; to make a scrapbook of experience for a baby that ended up never seeing his world.

images from no blah blah blog

new concept for BART....

What if, instead of BART being something that happens between life and destination, BART was the destination?

Taking the Civic Center BART station as my site, I designed an underground streetscape within the mezzanine level.  The city gently folds down into the station from 3 entrances on the north side of Market street including the main cafe entrance.

Once inside...the mezzanine level is lined on the south side with event spaces, flexible spaces for meetings and gatherings and a gallery.  The north side has flexible retail spaces to service both commuters and the event spaces and there are niches to feature local artists along the main circulation path.

The circulation paths are designed so that people commuting to BART event spaces primarily use the south side of the mezzanine and the commuters through BART use the north side and central core of the station to catch trains on the MUNI and BART levels.

"Lightstreams" illuminate trails of light along the main circulation paths, guiding people through the station.

flexible event spaces can be used as office and meeting rooms, allowing freelancers and small businesses a place to work whenever they need it

A large kitchen space can be used for caterers during events as well as host cooking classes

The gallery can host events and showcase local artists

The winding "ribbon" path from the mezzanine down to the MUNI level has landing pad flex spaces for impromptu meetings and waiting for trains

Overall, the design utilizes off-peak commuter hours and allows for life to happen within the station, tying it to the vibrant city above.