East Windsor Residence_Alterstudio Architects, LLP

From the outside alone one could guess that the view from the top floor of this residence is nothing to joke about. The principle Archtiect Keven Alter is quoted as saying, " Despite its four bedrooms, the three-story house is essentially a one-bedroom loft." The top floor is said to present a 270 degree view. The oak looking facade over the stony base of the structure presents a mixture of materials that balances out the visual experience of the exterior of the work. Its is not surprising that the client a radiologist and a father of five commented on how the whole process of the design and construction took him to a new level intellectually. The structure just looks like it was fun to build! Maybe that the trick to good architecture. Make it look like its a breeze to put together. Actually that not a bad approach to most works of art!

Alpers - Jannetta Residence

Architect Paul Lukez of Paul Lukez Arhcitecture used the vacation home of a client into a dream house. Acording to Lukez the original home was not as inviting as it could be with the living room being place in the center of the structure making the living space look a bit dark and uninviting.

As seen above one of the many improvements to the structure allowed the client to take advantage of a more elegant and natural use of external light dew to the use of vaulted ceiling. The side placement of the most important rooms such as the dinning rooms and bed rooms also helps with the issue of lighting. the correct use of light in architecture can make or break an entire work if it is not considered correctly.

Seadrift Residence-CCS Architecture

San Francisco-based architect Cass Calder Smith, AIA’s has managed to give the client the type of experience that one would have sitting in a beach house off the coast of Miami Beach, only this is neccisarily on a coast. This work dubbed the Seadrift Residence is actually located at the mouth of Balinas Lagoon in a small town located in Stinson Beach, California. Waterfront property can pose a great challenge for the architect because you have to achieve a balance between what the client wants, what possible on the edge of the water and what looks good in that particular atmosphere. It sort of looks like the architect envisioned some sort of dock and built the house from that vision. I wouldn't be surprised if the client feels as if they are partially residing on the water. It's funny how proximity to a body of water can make anything look light as a feather.

New Media/Design/Artist?

This whole idea of media arts/new media/design is a really eye opening experience for me. I have countless conversations with myself on a daily basis just asking myself where I fit in all of this. It makes me wonder what the DESIGN of my life is. How do I design my life? What are the rules? What will I accomplish? What will I end up doing? I mean I know we all have an idea of the career field's that we want to get into but what about success? How do you design a life of success? Is there a method or do you just chop away and hope the tree falls? I have to say that the whole issue is mind boggling to me. Sometimes I think about it all and I just wish that I was the type of person who was content just getting a job and living a simple life. Sometimes I feel like my desire to design things and analyze everything is what holds me back. On one hand I love to attempt to design things and I am working on a few personal projects but the fact that I don't know that I will be successful sometimes palatalizes me. I have good idea's and then I realize that there really is nothing that special about what I am trying to do and then I get down and critique my self into not moving further. I wish that someone would tell me how to DESIGN my mental processes. Maybe I'm just thinking too much. maybe I need to just do what ever it is that I want to do and not worry about what will happen.

the Pyramids Indianapolis

The Pyramids located on the upper west side of Indianapolis just off of 465 were constructed in 1972 for CP Pyramids and Associates LP. Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC, were the principal designer is Kevin Roche was responsible for the architecture. Roche is known for his grand facades. I wonder what made the company build these so far from downtown. The Pyramids are the tallest buildings in Indiana's Marion county Pike Township. All three structures are connected through basement and ground level corridors. It seems as though Indianapolis is one of the most spread out cities in the nation. You can find pockets of great architecture all over the city. I have driven by these three structures countless times so one day I just parked in the parking lot and decided to take some photos. I notices that Indiana Tech and The Institute of Art are tenant's of these properties. I think the structure obviously is capable of meeting the needs of smaller private schools like the Art Institutes. My only problem is the location. I know that it is located in a business district that features a lot of big companies. But when you think of something like this you think it should be downtown or something overlooking the city! Well regardless of where they are located they are definitely an Indianapolis landmark.

Good Idea/Bad Idea

I'd like to critique one of my own ideas in this blog post. Last week Wednesday I proposed that there could be some sort website that took the photos from a consumer's phone and placed on a postcard to send to the address of their choice for a minimal fee. At the time I felt as though it would be something really cool and convenient for people who traveled a lot, especially those who traveled overseas on a regular basis. You know like military personnel. Over the weekend I mulled over the idea and I realized that it's actually a lousy idea. The problem is virtually NOBODY is interested in receiving or sending postcards nowadays! Really the only time you really see a postcard in use is for a business promotion. People don't even want paper billing anymore! Why would they want to have a postcard with a picture on it from someones 1 mega pixel camera phone? People send images all the time over the web. I think that it is important to know when you have a good idea vs. when a good idea has you.

The Crystal Cathedral

This play is otherworldly. It looks like something straight out of snow white. The structure above is refered to as the Crystal Cathedral. It is owned by Chrystal Cathedral Ministeries headed by Dr. Robert H. Schuller. I have watched this ministries television broadcast and I got the impression that there was some sort of man maid rain forest just behind the pool pit area. Its almost as if they told the architect to make it look like Jesus and his host of angels were tenets. The towering structure on the right is referred to as the Tower of Hope. It was originally commissioned in 1961 to noted architect Richard Neutra. It was completed in 1969. Dr. Schuller commissioned architect Phillip Johnson to design the sanctuary referred to as the Crystal Cathedral.