Archive for March, 2012

March 29, 2012

Infinite Space, the Architecture of John Lautner

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet John Lautner was a big man who practiced architecture in big gestures. He could not draw very well, or very pricisely I should say, so he drew with a thick pencil in large, sweeping gestures. He then left it up to his staff to figure out the details. He is best known, among midcenturymodernophiles (a term I just made up), for the Chemosphere House, and next perhaps the Elrod House in Palm Springs. But after having watched the movie Infinite Space, the Architecture of John Lautner, I have a feeling that he would not be satisfied in knowing that…

March 27, 2012

What you Might not have Known about Frank Lloyd Wright

by: Jennifer Gunther

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Jennifer Gunther. *Don’t miss the panel discussion tomorrow, March 28, as part of Modern Phoenix week, at the Phoenix Art Museum called Perspectives on Frank Lloyd Wright with panelists Grady Gammage, Emily Talen, Vernon Swaback, David Davis and Eric Anderson.* About one month remains for Phoenix Art Museum visitors to admire and explore the work of American architecture legend Frank Lloyd Wright. “Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century” will be on view until April 29. The name Frank Lloyd Wright appears everywhere in Phoenix. The name of the Wisconsin-native designer…

March 26, 2012

Phoenix: Growth vs. Efficiency? Or a random contemplation of a single cup of coffee.

by: Feliciano Vera

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Feliciano Vera: As I cross the threshold into the office, Laurie Carmody immediately notices the Starbucks cup in my hand. Shooting imaginary laser beams at me, she asks incredulously “What are you doing with that? Why didn’t you get coffee somewhere else? Someplace local?” “My sister gave me a Starbucks card for Christmas. I had to use it.” I admit, sheepishly. But my decision was also based on the location of this particular Starbucks – a five minute walk to and from Laurie’s office. I didn’t have time to go anywhere else before…

March 21, 2012

Take Metro Out to the Ball Game

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: Spring is here, catch it while it lasts. Seriously, if I was able to maintain my focus, I’d be outside right now, feverishly typing this post on my phone, just to enjoy the 8.42 days of really great spring weather we get. Actually, if I was really slick, I’d be writing this on my way to one of my favorite spring activities, Cactus League Baseball. (Confession, I am really slick. Hooray for productive train rides). Normally I am not a fan of event-based transportation, of the teeming masses that only take…

March 19, 2012

Urban Appropriation through Art

by: Kirby Hoyt

Tweet Today’s post is by Kirby Hoyt: Let’s face facts, cities are incomplete. They are never done. They’re either in a state of expansion, decline or repair. But they’re never complete. Phoenix is still developmentally infantile. At least you’d think that by studying the figure/ground relationship within its urban core. With all the recent discussions about “vacant” land, empty lots, and the like, you’d think Phoenix was some sort of ruin, a former urban battleground, with the remnants of the buildings swept away. One problem with our mass of urban lacuna is the deadness they promote. Reminiscent of larger urban…

March 14, 2012

The RO2 Lot: Beyond the Oatmeal, Beyond the Homogeneity

by: Mike Davis

Tweet Today’s post is by guest writer Mike Davis, founding principal at DAVIS architecture firm. Michael R. Davis, AIA is a second-generation Arizonan who has lived in Phoenix since 1973; when the population of Maricopa County was 1,157,000. He is an architect, artist, theologian and mountain climber currently in training for a January 2013 attempt of Mt. Aconcagua in South America. These are interesting days. Interesting to me, anyway, because they’re not too dissimilar from days past. Interesting because we’re in a pattern that we can’t seem to break. Bankers still rule development. Designers have become aestheticians at best, compliance…

March 12, 2012

Bow Ties and Boutique Business in Phoenix

by: Feliciano Vera

Tweet Today’s post is by a new contributing writer to Blooming Rock, Feliciano Vera, an entrepreneur in real estate and finance. Jim McPherson does not know how to tie a bow tie. Lingering over the antiqued wood display table at Mercantile, he brushes aside that fact and ushers us closer, in an almost conspiratorial manner. “Look,” flipping over one of the many bow ties. “This tie was originally made from another that was sold at the Broadway. And that one over there was a tie from Goldwaters.” Clutching a purple and white checked sample, my eye is drawn to another…

March 08, 2012

Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for an American Architecture

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The story of Louis Sullivan isn’t just important for architecture, it’s an important part of American history. He was many years ahead of his time, he continually broke new ground and he was, undoubtedly, an original. His most ardent dream was to establish a decidedly American architecture. At the time he came on the scene as an architect in Chicago in the late 1800’s, the zeitgeist was to emulate European architecture. This young nation didn’t have a voice of its own yet when it came to the art of buildings and it still deferred to Europe to tell it…

March 07, 2012

Canstruction Phoenix: Giving Back to the Community Through Design

by: Andrew Johnson

Tweet Today’s post is by architecture graduate student Andrew Johnson: Dear design enthusiasts and Phoenix community champions! Phoenicians across our communities have certainly faced unique struggles with recent economic woes, and as a group of ASU graduate design students who frequently study community-scale social problems, we feel a sincere desire to help our community. In the architecture classroom, we consistently research and explore solutions to these big problems in an effort to create positive change, but we recognize that we rarely practice what has been preached. Now, in an effort to put this pedagogy to practice, a team of six…

March 06, 2012

Rainwater Harvesting at the Castaway House

by: Cavin Costello

Tweet Today’s post is by Cavin Costello, the designer of the Castaway House: The Castaway house is nearing completion and the central focus of the design, the landscape, is currently being installed. Jeremy Stapleton of Synergy Design Lab worked in collaboration with us from the very beginning to create a design that focused on desert indoor/outdoor living. The result was a beautiful and functional landscape design, which Jeremy describes as an “Edible, Medicinal, Sensory & Wildlife Garden.” This garden expands the interior of the house into nature and its neighborhood; all while being water efficient. There are numerous active and…