October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. When you think about architecture, you probably think about walls. Walls define spaces, rooms, places. They can be made out of […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. We can use columns to define a space as well as to hold up the roof. Our Swiss-French friend, Le Corbusier, […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. Sometimes all it takes is a good floor to create a place. In the case of Philip Johnson’s glass house in […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. Consider the roof: It protects us from the elements; keeps the rain off; provides shelter. It also is a major determinant […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. Doors are another form of filter that get placed in a wall. Doors are meant to allow us control over who […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. Walls are designed by their nature to keep things either in or out. Windows are filters in the wall. Windows allow views […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. Another of my favorite buildings is a tomb, a mausoleum, called The Tempietto (the little temple), built by Donato Bramante as […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. One of my favorite buildings, one that I find not just impressive, but emotionally moving, is The Pantheon. It was commissioned […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. I have written about this before, but I think that the Origin of Architecture was when the first early people stood […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. Marc Antoine Laugier was an 18th century Jesuit Priest and architectural theorist. He developed the idea that architecture, the human act […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. In the modern era, Le Corbusier, the great Swiss-French architect, one of the Modern Masters of Architecture, developed a method of […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. I believe that architecture starts with us, humans. There is no better illustration of the idea of the centrality of human […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. Wish me luck. :p To start off: My Personal Architectural Creed. I have posted this before, and it has a page […]
The following images were made this week as I was working on a small cottage project that was recently re-started by the clients after a break of almost 2 years. In the intervening years, the building code changed and the Oakland’s planning regulations changed, so we had to make some […]
As architects we do a lot of different things. It’s more than making drawings. As an example, in August I finished the permit drawings for a commercial project in San Francisco, an accessory dwelling unit in Sunnyvale, the conversion of an existing garage into an accessory dwelling unit in Oakland. […]
I’ve written about the ever changing building codes before. They are updated with changes every three years. California just adopted the 2016 Building Code, with the State’s own amendments, in January of 2017. I am now preparing the documents for projects which will be the first projects for which I […]
Next Monday, August 21st, we will experience a solar eclipse. Although the Bay Area is not in the path of “totality” – where the sun will be completely covered by the moon – we will still be able to see about 80% coverage. This is one of those “only once […]
There is nothing more gratifying to an architect than when an old client returns with a new project. That recently happened to me. A client for whom I designed a sizable remodel and addition about 15 years ago, recently contacted me about a project they have in mind: a brand […]
The project in Danville is under construction and the contractor is making good time. I was out to the site last week to look at the construction, answer questions, and take some pictures. As a reminder, this is a 900 square foot addition to a 1950’s house. The addition is […]
With the recent changes to state law regarding Accessory Dwelling Units, you can see how various municipalities are dealing with changing their planning ordinances to come into compliance with the state legislation. In Oakland, they are allowing development within a house, and development attached to a house. They are allowing […]