d8311 bench________21 November, 2011
say hello to d8311, a gallery bench made from laminated cherry and stainless steel. unbuilt.
(click an image to enlarge)
watch city hijinks________11 August, 2011
remember that time i was back in boston to watch a chamber music performance at wellesley? yes, me too. it was last weekend. in the process, i also got to visit waltham (the aforementioned “watch city”), which was, as always, spectacularly brick and charmingly unpolished. while in the area, the fam and i also made a visit to the (relatively) new ICA museum (by diller scofidio renfro). it was a very nice building, formally speaking, if somewhat marred and marooned by a gigantic eyesore of a parking lot splat in front of any pedestrian approach from the city. like other DS+R buildings i’ve seen, it had various rounded corners, nice interiors, jagged edges, and conspicuous omissions. one particularly notable omission was detailing. almost all the exterior glass i ran into was handled more or less entirely with grout. that’s basically okay on the ground-level street facade, but it’s an odd choice for that leaning box thingy that hangs out over the water, 15 meters in the air. because when that grout cracks in five or ten years’ exposure to that salty sea air, it’s going to be really un-fun to replace those windows. there was also the strange matter of having one level of gallery for a four-level building. that seems to be a growing trend (thanks, sanaa!). but anyway, gripes aside, a very handsome and engaging building. and it really tried to give something back to the waterfront and the public space that lines it, so that’s admirable. awesome floorevator too.
in other news, i’m planning for the trip to spain. this will no doubt be epically spectacular. i also finished draft two of graphic novel two. it’s definitely made strides in the right direction, but it’s also got at least a few more drafts to go. hopefully the next one (or two, or three) won’t take two months apiece. fingers crossed! photos:
E8111 chair________3 August, 2011
hey, gang! i hope everyone is spectacular. i’m gearing up for my traveling fellowship (but not before a visit to boston and my ol’ stomping grounds, new haven). in the meantime, i’m finishing up the second draft of metabolism (i’ve gotten to the bit where i am really glad i’m not the protagonist) and, apparently, designing furniture. please welcome the E8111 chair, my first chair design in awhile if not, uh, ever. i took a page out of eileen gray’s book for the naming convention (really more like half a page, since it’s just phonetic similarity). i’m not super-happy with the current incarnation of the fabric and may yet update it. as is or no, hopefully i’ll get the chance to build it sometime. it would actually be a pretty easy build–a bandsaw + drill would be enough, but having a table saw and a belt sander would help too. time consuming, maybe, but really very simple. enjoy!
