I love this in-progress window detail on our design for Original Music Workshop.
NYC Blackout 10 Years Ago Today
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the 2003 Blackout, a classic day in New York history. I spent the day biking around the city with my best friends and backpacks full of beer. I took hundreds of pictures that day, but nothing came out nearly as good as it felt. Above you can see Times Square with no lights...
Arts & Leisure Logo
I'm quite happy with the new logo that my friends at Mogollon designed for our development company, Arts and Leisure. More on this soon...
Kinesthesia Physio Construction Progress
We've made a little bit of progress in the construction site for Kinesthesia Physio at The Whitman. Next week we should be mounting the wall panel system and testing the lighting.
Teaching at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
I'm happy to announce that I'll be joining the architecture faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the 2013-2014 school year.
Original Music Workshop in New York Times, Again
Original Music Workshop's creative director, Paola Prestini, and the OMW Ex-Situ series are praised in this review by The New York Times.
Mogollon No21
Check out the latest selection from my friends at Mogollon
Kinesthesia Physio Detail
Here's a detail view of the panel system we've designed for Kinesthesia Physio in NYC.
Kinesthesia Physio Overview
This cut-away rendering shows the overall design concept for Kinesthesia Physio, our new project at The Whitman in NYC.
Construction Begins on Kinesthesia Pyhsio
We're starting construction on Kinesthesia Pyhsio, a one-on-one fitness and physical therapy center at The Whitman in Manhattan.
The Genius of Rick Rubin
I loved the Daily Beast profile of Rick Rubin. It covers his history as a producer and collaborations with acts like Black Sabbath and Kanye West, but it is most compelling for its insights into making something out of nothing.
Material Explorations
These images show a saw cut, aggregate block of wood that has been hand dipped in black paint. The aggregate cutting idea is something I've had in my head for quite a while and I'm glad that I finally got around to testing it. The assembly required immensely more material that I imagined and in the end produced a look that I did not anticipate. Still, I like what's going on and am going to try more at a larger scale.
Saving The Season
If you are into cooking, you have to check out Kevin West's new masterpiece, Saving the Season, which comes out Tomorrow. He is truly a phenomenal chef and I was touched to find the recipe for Jameson Jelly that we cooked together included (it was insanely good).
Continuous Knot Prototype
Our friends at Associated Fabrication just CNC milled this prototype of the perforated wall panels we have been designing.
Continuous Knot Panelization
We're working on a perforated wall panel system with a continuous knot pattern. Here's a view of four panels and their edge to edge alignment.
Mohawk Motors
I couldn't help but notice this roadside statue as I was driving through northern Massachusetts towards Maine. It towers over the parking lot of the seemingly out-of-business Mohawk Motors.
Interest in Architecture Decreasing Over Time
According to Google Trends, searches for architecture have steadily decreased since 2004.
Scene Last Night: Bono, Edge, Vega at Unfinished Venue
Via Bloomberg News, written by Amanda Gordon:
Bono whistled loudly when Zimbabwean singer Netsayi and band finished their cover of U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
“He wants to perform with you,” said the concert’s creative director, Paola Prestini, to Netsayi after the unusual fundraiser.
Billed as “An Experience in the Ruins,” the dinner party for about 60 guests and 50 musicians took place at the future home of the Original Music Workshop, a former sawdust factory in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.
Kevin Dolan, a tax attorney and OMW’s founder, has put in $8 million to demolish, excavate and reconstruct the 100-year-old building’s core. His money has also paid for Prestini to serve as creative director.
Now he needs $7 million to complete the complex. Dolan is seeking donations or money from investors who will get a stake in the building.
So the evening was a soft-sell springboard to the missing millions for a select group of invited guests including the Edge, Julianne Moore, Alan Fishman, a former bank chief executive, and David Ford, co-founder of Latigo Partners.
Among the musicians, who performed throughout dinner, were Laurie Anderson and Suzanne Vega.
The best argument for investing was music. Anderson’s violin produced the sound of the wind. Vega sang “Luka,” “Tom’s Diner” and a new song, “Don’t Uncork What You Can’t Contain.”
Hole Covered
“This will be the entrance, that’s the restaurant over there,” said Dolan, standing next to a hole in the floor, covered with planks and fenced in orange netting for the occasion. The finished complex will include a performance space and a recording studio.
Helena Christensen, the model, actress and artist, worked on the decor, sweeping floors, providing photographs projected in the space, and artfully arranging bags of pavement mix, wheelbarrows, cement mixers, power tools and hard hats.
She was particularly excited about the giant mushrooms from upstate New York she had surrounded with moss and placed on the tables.
Valerie Dillon, who has a namesake gallery in Chelsea, corralled 500 candles from 360 Design that flickered atop concrete walls and a work table displaying the architectural plans.
Great Acoustics
“This place is going to have great acoustics,” said Peter Zuspan of the Williamsburg-based design firm Bureau V. The project is Bureau V’s first building. Arup and SLAB Architecture are also part of the project team.
Dillon’s husband, Alvaro Perez Miranda, brought in members of Black Ship, an artist’s collective he created. Christophe Laudamiel, the event’s scent director, replaced the smell of concrete with a sweet floral fragrance.
Miranda flew in Paladar Underground from Los Angeles to prepare the meal: ceviche, a salad with baby carrots, braised chicken leg with truffle apple puree, and yogurt panna cotta with berries.
An Experience In The Ruin
Original Music Workshop's next event will take place within the under-construction shell of the building on May 30th and will feature works and performances by Helga Davis, Laurie Anderson, Jeffrey Zeigler, Philip Glass, Tim Fain, Maya Beiser, Erika Harrsch, Bryce Dessner, and Suzanne Vega.
Stockbridge
Yesterday we skipped work and hiked the Ice Glen in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Just as we thought we were exiting the trail, we unexpectedly wandered into this epic valley.