SMALL AT LARGE

John Johansen bites the dust, another famous professional that backed my work. 1916-2012 96 years young.

like every architect that is creative and thinking, he was constantly experimenting with different approaches and thought processes. he went from a glass house to, womb curved spaces, to brutalism, to clash and bang to megastructures, finally settling in the last 20 years of his life to designing futuristic proposals made from exotic natural systems. Continue reading →

ELEVATION OF THE VERTICAL CITY. TO ME THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND INSPIRING. THE ULTIMATE , THE BACK SIDE OF THE SIERRAS ON A MOON LITE NIGHT IN WINTER WHERE THE SNOW COVERS THE MOUNTAIN RANGE COMES CLOSE, BUT THIS IS AN ALIVE MOUNTAIN CITY DETROIT WITH LITES BECKONING. CITIES LOOK BEST FROM THE AIR LOOKING DOWN AT ALL THE LIGHTS, BUT THIS IS LOOKING IN ELEVATION IN A THREE DIMENSIONAL FLOWING FORM. I WANT THIS IMAGE ON MY COFFIN. IT SAYS IT ALL FOR ME. Continue reading →

PEERING OVER THE TRIANGULAR VERTICAL CITY MODEL AT THE RIPE AGE OF 29 IN MY STUDIO AT CRANBROOK ACADEMY OF ART

MAKING A FLUID FOLLOWING SHAPES LIKE I WAS PROPOSING IN VERTICAL CITY 2, STARTS TO HAVE RAMIFICATION OF GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT HOW SOMETHING OF THIS SIZE OF 5,000 FT HIGH WILL STAND UP. I LIKED NERVI , CANDELLA AND GAUDI STRUCTURES, BUT WAS NOT EQUIPPED STRUCTURALLY ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WENT TOGETHER. I SORT OF GOT INTO STRUCTURES THROUGH THE BACK DOOR. Continue reading →

SCI-ARC WAREHOUSE 20011 L.A. ON THE TRAIN TRACKS

LAST SEPTEMBER I WAS ASKED BY ERIC MOSS TO ATTEND A THESIS REVIEW. I COMMENTED ABOUT THIS VISIT TO SCI-ARC WITH BLOGS TITLED: SCI-ARC SCREEN TEST, I SHALL RETURN, AND I SHALL RETURN. THIS INVITATION WAS BASED ON MENDING FENCES AFTER 22 YEARS AND LOOKING ME OVER TO TEACH AT SCI-ARC.

AS A SCI-ARC FOUNDER AND PROFESSOR FOR 20 YEARS I AM PLEASED THE SCHOOL HAS SURVIVED AND IS CONSIDERED AN EXCELLENT INSTITUTE FOR LEARNING. IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A LOT BETTER.
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VERTICAL CITY 1965 – GLEN HOWARD SMALL

THE VERTICAL CITY INITIATED A CONCEPT BASED ON AN ECOLOGICAL MEGASTRUCTURE. THE IDEA WAS TO MAKE THE MINIMUM IMPACT ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT BY MAKING THE CITY AS SELF SUFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE. I HAD A SINCERE INTEREST Continue reading →

THE TIME WAS 1965, TIJUANA BRASS, KINGSTON TRIO AND SOUND OF MUSIC. I BOUGHT MY WIFE JOANNE, WHO PLAYED THE PIANO, A GUITAR IN HOPES SHE WOULD BE JULIE ANDREWS. PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON WAS PUSHING CIVIL RIGHTS AND STARTING USA VIETNAM INVOLVEMENT IN MARCH 1965.

SAN FRANCISCO VERTICAL RIBBED PEDESTAL CITY, SPRINGING FORTH FROM THE TOP OF SAN FRANCISCO HILLS, 1965
A COMPLETE FANTASY SKETCH THAT EVOLVED WITH STUDIES THAT LEAD TO THE FINAL SOLUTION OF THE VERTICAL CITY.

I WAS FRUSTRATED, ELEVEN DIFFERENT OFFICES IN 4 YEARS, ALWAYS FEELING SUPERIOR TO THE MEN I WORKED FOR. DOING THE WORK I LIKED AT NIGHT AND ON THE WEEKENDS, ECONOMICALLY STRUGGLING. I WAS HEADSTRONG AND INDEPENDENT. NOT THE SORT OF EMPLOYEE THAT TAKES ORDERS WELL. I HADN’T MARRIED MONEY, STAYED LONG IN ONE OFFICE. , NOR LANDED A CLIENT WITH MEANS. THEREFORE, I WAS LIMITED ABOUT HOW I COULD EARN A LIVING. Continue reading →

IN THE FALL OF 1988 I WAS CORNERED BY THREE REBEL STUDENTS AT SCI-ARC THAT WANTED TO DO HOMELESS HOUSING IN PUBLIC AREAS. THE IDEA OF INSTANT HOUSING TO BRING ATTENTION OF THE PLIGHT OF THE HOMELESS. I WAS ALL UP FOR IT, AND WE PUT A STUDIO TOGETHER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. Continue reading →

MY INTEREST STARTED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON IN 1959 WHEN RICK MATHER, NOW OF LONDON ARCHITECTURAL FAME, MY CLASSMATE, RENTED AN APARTMENT WITH HOWARD BACKEN AND THEY DECORATED IT UP AND HAD A PARTY. RICK TOOK SOME HEAVY PAPER AND CONSTRUCTED SOME LANTERN LIGHTS. MUCH TO MY ENVY AND ADMIRATION.

DUTCH BONNET SHADE 1969

THE VAST MAJORITY OF SOCIETY LIVE IN SOME FORM OF A BOX. TO GET VISUAL STIMULI WE TURN TO THE OBJECTS IN THAT SPACE. Continue reading →

PHOTO – YASMINA DEDIJER-SMALL

I AM A STORY TELLER, STATE THE FACTS EMBELLISHED BY PERSONAL DATA THAT MAKES THE MUNDANE INTERESTING.

THAT IS THE WAY I WRITE, AND I AM NOT UP FOR DELETING PEOPLE NOR COMMENTS ABOUT ARCHITECTS. Continue reading →

I AM A BIT LEERY ABOUT WRITING THIS BLOG, BECAUSE DAVID HERTZ FAIA ARCHITECT, IS A FRIENDLY NICE GUY. BUT THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE. FRIENDLY GUYS SHOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE DIFFERENCES.

DAVID WAS A STUDENT OF MINE AT SCI-ARC AND WENT WITH ME TO EUROPE IN THE SUMMER OF 1982 WITH A GROUP OF SCI-ARC STUDENTS THAT HAD A BASE IN A HILLSIDE FARMING TOWN OF VICO MORCOTE, SWITZERLAND OVERLOOKING LAKE LUGANO IN A SCI-ARC VILLA THAT WAS BEING REMODELED. Continue reading →