What do you get when you break a design down to its bare components? A composition; an array of shapes and colors that when combined, form components in a larger organism. It was a backwards movement, a renaissance of shape and order. The idea of deconstructivism was around long before our time, and that of architect Frank Gehry, in principal anyways. The theory of De Stijl covered many disciplines including art and architecture.

Take for instance, the boldness of Piet Mondrian and his color compositions. The simplicity of the painting almost prohibits you to call it art. Think what you want, but this is art, in its most basic form. To have any idea of how groundbreaking Mondrian’s work was, you have to realize that this was a movement from the late 19^th century.

In architecture, there was the Rietveld Schroder house, designed by Gerrit Rietveld. Notice the similarities between the artwork and the architecture? Also, take note of the simplistic lines of the roof and the use of primary colors. Take a wild guess when this was built. 1924!

Due to their wild ideas about form, these pioneers where hated by most but inspiring to others. The De Stijl movement was a major source of modernism, in its purest forms. With art leading the way, the De Stijl movement influenced other art forms as well; such as, architecture and music. Stravinsky, Ravel, and Debussy, to name a few took great inspiration from this movement.

Do you want to learn more about De Stijl, Rietveld, Ravel, or Mondrian?

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With some recent events coming down the pipes, particularly rising fuel prices, it seems there are more and more discussion about “green living”. You know something is up with Ferrari is stalking hybrid. For the rest of us who probably won’t ever drive a Ferrari, there is more emphasis on the environments in which we live rather than what cars we drive.

There are certainly many think tanks floating ideas around dealing with sustainable living, but this one by Philips takes the cake for me. The basic idea is the use of a cell based membrane in and around future living spaces. The purpose of this membrane would be to absorb and reuse energy from both the interior and exterior spaces.

This idea is great in concept, but it obviously seems very far fetched as we have very little current technology to support such a system. But, here’s to innovation and forward thinking. Here’s a video with some more information.

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As I plot along at my work at the architecture firm I work at, I have access to a healthy materials library that is conveniently located near my desk. Most of the large binders and booklets contained on the shelves are the typical fare: doors, window systems, stone samples. There is one that has recently caught my eye as what seems like a great product for both the consumer and the environment.

The products offered by Demilec USA are a line of environmentally concerned insulation, including a soy based and recycled plastic based option, called Heatlok Soy. The product is a spray polyurethane foam insulation which creates an air, moisture and vapor barrier. While most spray insulation types provide this, these products have a claimed R-value of 4, which is pretty good for an open-cell poly spray. Demilec USA also states that the product exceeds government standards for air barrier properties by 500 times, making it one of the highest performing air barrier materials on the market.

This product would be a great option for any new build projects. Being an environmentally focused product I’m sure the price is higher than other insulation options, but doing the right thing never is easy, or cheap. Head on over to the manufacturer website for more information.

Source: http://www.demilecusa.com

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To many, the notion of “green development” seems to be a contradiction in terms. So many of us think of developers as the bulldozer driving, spotted owl killing menace of the after school specials we grew up watching. While this notion may apply to the philosophy of some developers, there is a growing membership in the development community who are concerned about green development and realize the benefits.

For developers, several issues must be considered first before a project is under way. At the forefront of such considerations is land use. There is a lot to be gained with careful planning in respect to minimal environmental impact. This early stage of a project simply requires a longer project timeline and investigation, and should not impact overall cost. The key here is time, as many developers wish to see projects complete in a minimal timeline. A developer with a focus on going green will take the careful steps to ensure that the site work is properly done.

Developers are in a unique situation to get large projects to fall under green standards, as opposed to other in the industry such as Architects who primarily work one building at a time. It is frustrating that more people aren’t as concerned about green building, but I see developers as being a good starting point to getting others on board.

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I have, for at least five years now, tried to convince my parents about the immense advantages of modern design over more traditional “cookie cutter” design. Finally, it wasn’t until a couple of days ago that I managed to convinced them. This proves that older people really like to keep themselves surrounded in familiarity. Must be the nostalgia. After all they did grow up in pastiche houses. If the aforementioned doesn’t clue you in to how old my parents are, then I’ll just tell you, they’re around fifty. Meaning they’re part of the baby boomer generation.

The fifties was plagued with an infinite amount of pastiche architecture. They were victims of one of the biggest housing booms this century has ever seen. Its funny that I say victims, because in reality there were only a few fortunate families who, architecturally speaking, benefited from this boom. Despite all this, along with the trash, there were a few hidden treasures. For example, this Richard Neutra house. Built for the very fortunate Kaufmann family. A beautiful example of Mid Century Modernism. Which, I guess you can now call “Retro”. Which is now very fashionable.

Want to learn more about the Kaufman house ?

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