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LEED-AP

We are now members of the US Green Building Council and LEED-Accredited Professionals.

Erasmus

Exhibit Idea

stair field

giant's causeway, originally uploaded by fromform.

NaCl

We are working on three new building projects in the small Spanish hill town of Cardona. We are also researching salt.
Cardona is one of only two places in the world where naturally occurring rock salt reaches the surface of the earth. The town was formed and always relied on salt for its economy. The salt mines were closed in 1990. We want to find a new relevance for this natural resource. We are researching the specific propeties of this salt, including its effects on the soil and possible methods of environmental reclamation, its curative properties for the human body, the unstable geologic effects of salt and water, and its potential use as a building material.
Each aspect of this research holds urban, spatial, material, social, and environmental consequences.

Architects as Retailers

Mass retailers and architects are more than a little alike. Each commands a constantly changing field, each peddles the wares of others. Shopping is as ubiquitous as buildings. Each serves users who live oblivious to the subtlety of their controlled environments.

HIDE & SEEK

“Pocket City” is an urbanism defined by the hidden social frameworks within the city
.
While people vote with their feet, cities vote with their storage.

The goal is not simply to reveal, but rather to level hierarchies.

GET LOST!

According to Kevin Lynch, “Organization is fundamental… to the very survival of free-moving life.” Rather than way-finding, however, people are now confronted with the problem of never being able to be lost. The state of anonymity is a luxury, the secrecy of being lost is an admired state.


How to impose a structure on the fluidity of contemporary life? The premise of an undertaking like this is that everyone is accessible at all times. It is guaranteed that a message can reach anyone at any time. It is clear that what is needed at this point are filters, from junk mail and unknown callers to lighting timers and mail/voice forwarding. The need to filter has become ubiquitous. Inaccessibility has become a desired state (location) and that with the “freedom” of mobility has come the new individual responsibility to dislocate.


What are the architectural implications of the absolutely fluid scheduling of contemporary life?
What are the accessories of the daily tourist, the person unburdened of schedule?
What are strategies for secrecy?
How can one hide in plain sight?

We need to discover the workings of our shared need to control our moments of secret chaos.
We want to reveal the luxury of being lost.
Alone Together.

THE 1970 HONDA 'VAMOS'

The VAMOS was a small pickup truck from Honda. Introduced in 1970, it replaced the Honda T360. The Vamos was an open doorless cabover truck, with various seat and canvas top variations. It was based on the TN360 and 2,500 were built until 1973.
SPECIFICATIONS