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Title: Greening Modernism
URL: Greening Modernism by Carl Stein
Purpose: Greening Modernism’s author, Carl Stein, makes a case for a more unified and holistic architecture that reaches a sustainable synergy through building reuse, with particular attention to the balance between the qualitative aspects of science and the more effect-driven aspects of utility and human experience.
Merging the Finite with the Wisdom of Occupant Experience
This beautiful book, Greening Modernism
Often emphasized in this book is the notion of how the authenticity of experience is frequently missed due to our lack of awareness regarding the finite nature of that which surrounds us: the environment, its resources, and the energies which buildings utilize (for their demolition, construction and operation). I agree with Stein as he eludes to the notion that authentic experiences are hard to come by these days, as there is an epidemic of “devalued experience”, which may be a by-product of the lack of awareness that our resources are, in fact, limited.
As you may surmise, Greening Modernism offers a narrative that will lead you through the strategies, relationships and consequences of how to “build” sustainably for our time, complete with color images that often serve to reinforce the links between what we need to do, and what has been done.
Energy, Restraint and Smart Reuse: Beyond ‘Buildings as Objects’
As one delves deeper within Greening Modernism
Astutely, Carl Stein investigates the interrelationships between Read more
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The sign on the door doesn't look good, pushing heavy doors doesn't feel good, and both can leave a negative impression upon your building occupants.
Image: gruntzooki | Flickr
The other night as I was approaching (to enter) a restaurant, a group of people happened to be exiting. And as they were making their way through the main doors, one of them exclaimed (with a lot of passion in her voice), “we had to eat a lot of food to be able to push these doors open” — the doors were just “so heavy“.
As it became my turn to enter, it also became my turn to hold the door and I quickly discovered just how right she was in her observation.
While this was a good restaurant…There were some lessons to be learned here.
As an architect you must make a concerted effort to go beyond the visual and aural senses — for, in the restaurant design that I recently experienced, it would have helped immensely if the designers had made their entrance/exit “gateway” feature more than just look good…because despite their best efforts to do this, once occupants interacted with the doors, their negative perceptions reflected badly upon the restaurant and their dining experience.
So much of architecture is a touch-based and tactile experience. Just think of how many times your occupants “touch” something (architectural details) while experiencing your building design.
It may help to actually walk yourself through their journey, while paying particular attention to what their sensorial journey will be like. For instance, what do they Read more
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Image: D'Arcy Norman | Flickr
Architects often look at where their occupants travel within their building, what makes them decide to go wherever they are going, and what behaviors they engage in once they arrive. But what actually happens to building occupants as they move through your building? Does the speed at which they move through your building have impact on their experiences while they are there? And upon how those experiences are remembered?
In a recent research article published by Science Daily, it was cited that the Society for Neuroscience studied and found evidence that “activity in rats’ memory-related brain areas varies with how quickly they move to explore their environments”. (1) So, for our purposes, we can begin to deduce that the speed at which a subject moves, can alter their memory of the setting within which they moved. (1)
Here is a slightly more detailed description of why this happens in the first place:
“They found that the pathway associated with storing and consolidating memories was most active when the animals moved slowly. At faster speeds, the balance shifted from these circuits to circuits bringing in info from the outside world.” (1)
Speeding Your Occupants Up Versus Slowing Them Down
So, within your own building projects, how might you go about designing for the way in which your occupants move? And what about your design solutions might benefit them as they engage in their real-time activities within your building?
First, you must ask yourself how you would go about slowing them down versus speeding them up as they travel to and fro within your built environment. For instance, might putting in a sloping floor impact their Read more
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image: Manky Maxblack | Flickr
As you design your building, do you ever think about what will remain “standing” both physically and in the minds of those that experience it in the future?
Yes, buildings weather and must pass certain “tests of time”, but do you ever consider whether your building will be worth “saving”, or will even be in use as time passes? It has been said that “[i]t takes a lot of money to build a building, but it doesn’t cost that much more to get it right”.
Thus, you should think about how to gain the most “design leverage” to ensure that your architecture will not only “stand” in the future, but will also be of value to those that experience it.
What Makes a Building Stand the Test of Time?
Eventually as time passes, you will reach a point in your career where you will need to Read more
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One way to Juxtapose A Door/Corridor cliché
Image: Andy Miah | Flickr
I recently read an article by Seth Godin who describes a very powerful writing technique where an author takes a popular and widely used cliché, points it out in his or her work and then writes about its exact opposite. When done cleverly this can produce a very powerful result whether an author is trying to stir humor, thought, emotion or even trying to change a reader’s belief or behavior.
As architects, we should take a cue from this author’s “gem”.
For example, the way many architects spec Read more
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Image: wauter de tuinkabouter | Flickr
Great architecture exists as a rich conversation between critical parts. I know that is fairly basic — but when you start to consider all of the parts that go into a building it sometimes can become muddled as to which parts are most important and some may be forgotten all together.
Rich Balance for the Visually Impaired Occupant
I recently came across a great model by which to think about architectural design balance. Yes, balance is more that just a visual experience. So, to take this a step further lets explore what it would be like to achieve great architectural balance to best accommodate the visually impaired occupant.
By considering how to design for an occupant that puts less emphasis on the visual sense — it becomes clearer just how important balance is for good architectural design. In this example, there are three main parts that need to be in meaningful dialogue and, thus, balanced: they are aesthetic, function and economy. Now, by removing the visual aspect to our hypothetical design project, you as an architect, may begin to think of each in new ways: (1)
It is interesting that aesthetics for a visually impaired occupant may mean that you Read more
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Image: kamikazecactus | Flickr
Early on in my architectural education, Paul Klee inspired me when he wrote that “movement underlies the growth and decay of all things.” I think this quote is so true on so many levels — at whatever level of architectural expertise.
I am paraphrasing here but, I can remember this quote coming alive for me as I understood that a point “grows” to become a line just as a column “grows” to become a wall. At its most basic level, this seems to be a simple notion, but there is much to learn by stopping for a moment to contemplate its possible meanings.
“A Line is a Point that Went for a Walk”
The latter is a frequently quoted Paul Klee quote. I like it because it challenges me to think of ways I can use it in my designs. For instance, what if the point is actually an orientation point defining the beginning of an occupant’s physical journey through a building. The line can then become the culmination of that occupant’s steps through the building. Hence, in its simplest form, that circulation route may begin to define a physical and experiential journey for the senses through an architectural space(s).
The gist of what I am saying is this: Every point you incorporate within the design of your building culminates in an Read more
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As you design architecture, it is important to consider your occupant’s memory. You should consider not only what your occupants remember, but also how they remember.
Why?
Just after experiencing your building design, your occupant will be full of a large portion of the information they just absorbed. The memory of walking through your design will be fresh in their mind and the nuances about their experience will be easy to recall. But, what do you want them to remember about their experience? Do you have any control over what they remember as a great moment? Do you want to have a say?
HOW OCCUPANTS REMEMBER
When your occupant processes an architectural “scene”, they actually dismiss a lot that they don’t think is important…. In the video below you will watch a scholar from Princeton University further explain that the brain uses processes (like shortcuts) to help people Read more
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Image: Ethan Hein | Flickr
It’s hard to find a quiet place on earth anymore. Human-caused noise seems to be everywhere, and that’s because it is. (1) Our living environments are “soundscapes”, and “noise” quickly becomes a relative term.
Yes, your architecture greatly contributes to the “soundscape” that people experience. Sound within your building is greatly linked with functions going on within it, but what about the design of sounds that you purposefully inject and mold into your project?
WATCH OUT… SOUND CAN BECOME NOISE
For architects, it is common to be concerned with the elimination of sound, otherwise referred to as noise. Some hospitals are filled with noise that keep patients from sleeping “soundly” (pun intended) and some schools are bombarded by urban noise that interferes with learning.
For some, these are just manifestations of modern living — where there is a fine line between sound and noise depending on who and when is listening. For architects, closer attention should be given to this phenomenon.
TAKE CONTROL…DESIGN A SOUND SPECTRUM
As you design architectural complexes ranging from an urban master plan to an individual building project, you need to keep both sound and noise Read more
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Image: Steve Kay | Flickr
IT ISN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE
I discovered a site that has a thought-provoking section on workplace by design. Read this introductory quote to get you thinking about workplace design and what principles you use to create healthy and productive work environments.
The workplace today is a result of historical innovations that were designed to make the workplace a productive environment. However the world of work continues to change, and the design factors that once were helpful are adding less value than they once did. (1)
Today, workplaces must answer to a wide range of needs using various new technologies and design principles that not only foster productivity — but also creativity. In addition, workers want to work in healthy, stress-free environments that promote everything from spaces for focus to spaces for social interaction. Work environments need to meet a multitude of needs at once, and that is why Read more
