It’s a rare thing to find an owner who welcomes additional government regulations limiting their autonomy. It’s even rarer to find an owner who would not like 40% of their money back on a major project...
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Pick a big building in your downtown which is largely vacant, deteriorating. It’s two, maybe three stories tall, built 80 or more years ago. Perhaps the cost of a true rehabilitation is beyond the financial ability and/or short-term timeframe of its individual owner or any buyer. And the prospects of any future 90% matching grants appearing on New York State’s horizon are dim. The building may be able to endure only five more years of neglect before it reaches the point of no return. Is there a way out?
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I’m glad you came to my architecture office today to share your goal of building your own home. I hope I’ve been able to answer all your questions. You say you have one more - how much will your new upstate New York house cost? Probably, it will cost more than you thought. I know you didn’t want to hear this, but it’s better that we discuss it now. Would you like to sit back down?
Read MoreIf it comes as a surprise that an architect would find inspiration in camping, it shouldn’t. When we pitch our tents – and concentrate on the ritual of dwelling in its broadest sense – our needs are pared down, our distractions are left behind and our environmental awareness is amplified.
Read More“Site” is a loaded word – in a good way. It’s loaded with opportunity for us as architects, if we’re quiet enough to hear what the site is saying. A previous post, “What Camping Teaches Us”, describes the lessons we can learn in the process.
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I just came back from seeing Madagascar, and I don’t mean the newly-released movie of the same name.
The real Madagascar is a stunningly beautiful island that drifted away from other land masses 160 million years ago...
Read MoreWhen I set my clock forward, I also set my mind forward, in the spirit of anticipation. For me, Spring is a season full of promise. The branches are still naked and only the most precocious plants dare to emerge from the earth.
Read MoreWe are the 2.1 million. And yes, we are also urban dwellers. Village people live smaller, closer and drive less than the nation as a whole.
Read MoreOccupy the Valley! Occupy the Urban Infill Lot! Occupy the Vineyard, the Forest Clearing, the Canal Edge, the Neighborhood! This kind of Occupation requires no plaques and no speeches. It makes only one demand – the demand to listen to the land, first.
Read More“Think Global, Act Local” goes the saying. And it’s usually true that we most effectively impact positive change at the local level.
Read MoreA great farmers’ market has the power to strengthen neighborly bonds by providing a regular, informal meeting place where trust can be developed. It helps build pride when residents see a vibrant market teeming with shiny, happy people carrying bouquets and baguettes.
Read MoreThe rule for neighborhoods and their venerable houses is the same as that which guides the evolution of species – Survival of the Fittest. Houses which do not evolve to meet the changing needs of their occupants perish.
Read MoreWhen it comes to discussing the future of libraries, words get in the way. More accurately, books full of words (and rooms full of books) get in the way.
Read MoreOn a recent winter’s day, stretched parallelograms of sunshine track slowly across the bamboo floor of my renovated kitchen, marking time’s slow passage.
Read MoreLast week, and only four days apart, two major league baseball pitchers performed the rare feat of throwing a zero hitter. Their performances – and the publicity they generated – proves the power of zero to capture the public’s imagination (as well as a certain victory).
Read MoreEvery product claims to be “green” these days. You can eat chips out of “biodegradable” bags, swaddle your infant in “pure and natural” diapers or buy doll accessories made from scrap and recycled materials.
Read MoreTalk is cheap, but building is not. Some of you have asked me to stop talking about building small and show an example of a small, sustainable home. Fair enough.
Read MoreA handy, if unauthorized, subtitle for the New York State Building Code might be “The Absolute Least You Can Do Without Breaking The Law”.
Read MoreGift examples demonstrating the principles that will titillate your Inner Architect.
Read MoreIt makes solid, long-term sense to invest downtown. Why? Because that’s where the future is.
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