UP ON THE ROOF

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BY THE DRIFTERS IN 1962 SUMS UP HUMANITY.  LISTEN FOR FREE ON “YOUTUBE”,   IN MY CASE KICKING BACK ON MY PILLOW IN THE DESERT AND CLICKING IPHOTO ON  MY COMPUTER AND VIEWING MY DESIGN IMAGES .  THE ONLY THING THAT SEEMS TO CALM ME DOWN WHEN CONFRONTED WITH SOCIETY.  SURE I HAVE MY DESIGN HITS THAT ARE AS RELEVANT AS EVER,  BUT I HAVE ALL THOSE IN-BETWEEN THE CRACK STUFF THAT I HAVE SPENT THE BETTER PART OF MY LIFE DOING WITH REAL CLIENTS:  THE AQUATIC PARK IN NEWPORT OREGON A PERFECT EXAMPLE:

MILICA DEDIJER ARCHITECT  –  GLEN HOWARD SMALL,  AIA ARCHITECT   2012
 

VIEW FROM HWY 101 ,  I CLAIMING, EXTREME SKID MARKS  ON HWY 101 DUE TO DRIVER REACTIONS.  NOTHING ON THE  PACIFIC COAST TO MATCH.  WHERE IS THAT DEVELOPER WITH VISION TO IMPLEMENT THIS BEAUTY?

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ALL PRAISE TO FREI OTTO

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OLYMPIC COMPLEX, FREI OTTO AND GUNTHER BEHNISCH ARCHITECTS 1972

FREI OTTO WAS A HUGE POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON ME AS AN ARCHITECT.

AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH MY STUDENTS AT COPPER MOUNTAIN COLLEGE WERE DOING A HYPERBOLIC PROJECT THAT FREI USED TO GET MAXIMUM CURVATURE FOR HIS TENSION STRUCTURES, DERIVATIVE FROM HIS SOAP BUBBLES STUDIES. ANOTHER STUDENT DOING A REPORT ON FREI OTTO.

SO TO HEAR OF HIS DEATH WAS A TRAGEDY AND SHOCK, BUT HE LEFT A WEALTH OF PUBLISHED INFORMATION AND A LIFE TO EMULATE. Continue reading

RIGHT ON FRANK

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Courtesy Gehry Partners, LLP
FRANK GEHRY WHO HAS A HIT AND MISS HISTORY WITH ME OF GETTING IT RIGHT,  SCORES  HUGE ABOUT HIS MORAL STANCE  ON WORKERS RIGHTS ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HIS   GUGGENHEIM  ABU DAHBI MUSEUM.
USING HIS FAME AND INVOLVEMENT TO COERCE THE GOVERNMENT CLIENT TDIC TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT FOR THE WORKERS.
I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AMAZED AT HOW GEHRY GETS CLIENTS TO DO THINGS HE WANTS,
THIS TIME FOR A NOBLE CAUSE.   I APPLAUD HIM FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN.

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OBITUARY GLEN HOWARD SMALL 1937-?

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OBITUARY, BY GLEN HOWARD SMALL FOR GLEN HOWARD SMALL

THERE COMES A POINT IN ONES LIFE WHERE YOU REALIZE THE NEXT BIG EVENT IN LIFE IS DEATH.

HISTORY HAS SHOWN MANY WAYS OF PREPARING FOR THE INEVITABLE END, FROM TAKING OUT A HUGE INSURANCE POLICY TO BUILDING A PYRAMID TO ASSURE AFTER LIFE.

THE PRESENT DAY IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES OF DEATH IS AN OBITUARY IN THE NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINE, OR INTERNET. WHO COMPOSES THE COMMENTS RANGES FROM THE MUNDANE CITY DESK CLERK TO ESTEEMED SCHOLARS. IF YOU ARE SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH, THERE ARE THE BIOGRAPHIC BOOKS. WHAT SLANT OR INPUT THEY TAKE IS ALL PART OF THE MIX. Continue reading

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

YES, I AM THE OUTSIDER GENIUS ARCHITECT THAT HAS SURVIVED, YES, I HAVE FRIENDS THAT PURCHASED FUTURE LODGING IN JUMP START BIOMORPHIC OASIS IN JOSHUA TREE THAT CLOSED ESCROW. YES, I STILL HAVE THE CREATIVE VIBES. YES, MY ADULT KIDS ARE DOING WELL. YES, MY FOUR GRANDSONS ARE HAPPY. YES, I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL TROPICAL WIFE. YES, I HAVE AN AFFORDABLE HUT IN JOSHUA TREE, YES, I CAN WALK AND TALK. YES, THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT. YES, I HAVE FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS. YES, I HAVE A BLOG TO SAY IT MY WAY. YES, IT IS GOOD TO BE ALIVE. WHAT FUN IT IS. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

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FOLLOW THE MONEY

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DESTRUCTION OF CONCHA ACUSTICA, 2014 MANAGUA NICARAGUA, GLEN HOWARD SMALL, ARCHITECT

AT THE TIME OF DESTRUCTION OF THE CONCHA ACUSTICA IT WAS REVEALED THAT A CONTRACT HAD BEEN SIGNED WITH FOREIGN POWERS TO BUILD A HOTEL ON THE SITE. THE WHOLE AREA RECENTLY RAZED TO MAKE SPACE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

WE ALL KNOW THIS PHRASE AND REALIZE IT IS SO TRUE, AND YET STRUGGLE WITH THE GRIP IT HAS ON OUR LIVES.

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JUMP START BIOMORPHIC OASIS

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ROUGH CONCEPT MODEL

 

I GET THIS E MAIL WHILE IN NICARAGUA FROM PAT KORTE, A MUSICIAN RELATIVE OF JOHN DEMERS, A FORMER SCI-ARC STUDENT OF MINE 40 YEARS AGO,  PAT SAYING HE IS HANGING OUT WITH JOHN IN THE DESERT AND MY NAME CAME UP SO HE DECIDED TO LOOK ME UP.    I DID NOT THINK MUCH ABOUT IT.  MONTHS LATER JOHN E MAILS ME CLAIMING I SHOULD CHECK JOSHUA TREE OUT WHERE HE IS LIVING BECAUSE OF THE EXTREMELY LOW PRICES OF LAND.  AT THIS TIME I AM IN LA MESA, EAST OF SAN DIEGO GOING NOWHERE AND SAY “WHAT THE HECK, I WILL CHECK IT OUT.”

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NATURE VS CITIES

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GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK – WIKIPEDIA, THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA

i have an illness brought on by ugly cities , the ill effects go into remission when i am in nature and i can not see anything that man nor woman have built. the symptoms are depression caused by viewing banal solutions that are visually torturing and jarring my psychic.

i am curious whether other people suffer from the same disease or whether this is a personal thing that only i suffer from? Continue reading

BOY I’M HERE

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VIEWING PLATFORM 1957

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THIS WAS A BLOCK PRINT MY FATHER MADE ANNOUNCING MY BIRTH SEPT 4, 1937

THIS IS MY TALE ABOUT BEING RAISED IN A NURTURING MIDDLE CLASS ENVIRONMENT. I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS, AND A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR. YES, THERE WAS PREJUDICES AND TRITE LESSONS TAUGHT AS WELL, BUT WHAT I WAS GIVEN WAS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE THAT ALLOWED ME TO BE SELF MOTIVATED TO PURSUE IDEALISM. AS PARENTS THAT IS OUR
GOAL TO GIVE A SPRING BOARD TO ALLOW OUR CHILDREN TO BECOME SELF SUFFICIENT TO PURSUE THEIR INTERESTS THEY LOVE. Continue reading

MORAL OBLIGATION

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DOCTOR BOB DANN HANDING OFF TO ARCHITECT GLEN HOWARD SMALL ANCHOR MAN, LOS ANGELES COLOSSEUM UNIVERSITY HIGH 1955. WE GOT BEAT, BUT WE GAVE IT OUR BEST AND RECEIVED A MEDAL.

THINK BIG. WORK HARD AND DON’T COMPROMISE

THOSE WERE THE LESSONS I TOOK AWAY FROM MY EDUCATION BEFORE I HIT THE REAL WORLD OF LIFE. Continue reading