IS THIS THE BEST WE CAN DO? SECOND TOURIST ATTRACTION IN THE US. LAS VEGAS IS THE FIRST
JUST UPSET MY NEIGHBOR BY A MINOR CRIT OF HER HOUSE. INTERPRETED AS A MAJOR SLAM TO HER LIFE. I COUNTERED WITH AN APOLOGY AND PRAISING HER LIFE, BUT THE DAMAGE WAS DONE.
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I AM NOT A JOINER, OTHER THAN THE AIA WHICH I DID YEARS AGO , BECAUSE WHEN I WAS A REGISTERED CALIFORNIA ARCHITECT AT SCI-ARC THE ACCOUNTANT, AFTER KNOWING ME FOR YEARS ASKED, “WHEN WAS I GOING TO BE AN ARCHITECT?” I REPLIED, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? HER RESPONSE WAS YOU ARE NOT AN AIA. IN OTHER WORDS BEING IN HER MIND AN ARCHITECT MEANT YOU WERE AN AIA. JOHN LAUTNER WAS AN AIA AND I ASKED HIM WHY HE HAD JOINED. HE SAID TO GET THE AWARDS. WHICH THE AIA GAVE HIM ON A REGULAR BASIS. ERIC MOSS AND I JOINED THE AIA AT THE SAME TIME. ERIC I AM SURE GETS AWARDS, I GOT MAYBE TWO WHILE BERNARD ZIMMERMAN WAS ALIVE. HE KNEW MY TALENT AND WHISPERED IN OTHER PEOPLE’S EARS.
STANDING ON THE CORNER TALKING TO MY BUDDY ENGINEER. PHOTO BY YASMINA DEDIJER-SMALL
ALL A MOOT POINT FOR ME, SINCE I AM OF AN AGE WHERE THE AIA LETS ME BE A FREE MEMBER, BUT THEY STILL DO NOT GIVE ME AWARDS. I THOUGHT WHEN ONE IS CLOSE TO DYING, AND NO THREAT TO ANYONE, THEY GIVE YOU AWARDS. NOT SO WITH ME YET, SO MAYBE I AM STILL A THREAT AND I HAVE A FEW MORE YEARS TO LIVE.
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IT ALL STARTED OUT WITH MY FIRST HOUSE THAT I DREW THAT LOOKED LIKE AN IGLOO WITH A CAT GOING UP THE SIDE.
THE FIFTH GRADE WHERE I WAS SELECTED TO DO A MURAL OF THE SPANISH EXPLORATION OF AMERICA. I NEVER COULD MAKE THE FIGURES LOOK RIGHT, WHERE AS JERRY THE CLASS ARTIST COULD DRAW ANYTHING, I THINK HE ENDED UP AT ART CENTER AND THEN ON TO THE FLINTSTONES . MY RESEARCH WITH MY GRADE SCHOOL CRONIES AT WEST WOOD GRAMMAR SCHOOL, DENNIS AND TOM, PRODUCED ONLY JERRY’S FIFTH GRADE CLASS PICTURE. THE POINT BEING DRAWING REALISTIC OBJECTS TO A LARGE DEGREE IS IN THE GENES, SURE YOU CAN LEARN IT LIKE ME, BUT THE BLESSED ONES WITH THE NATURAL TALENT ARE THE REAL ARTISTS.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON REQUIRED SOME LIFE DRAWING AND I TOOK IT AT UCLA ONE SUMMER. I WAS QUITE GOOD AND CAPTURED THE AGING OF MY FATHER JUST BEFORE HE DIED.
AT OREGON DRAWING WAS HARD FOR ME, IT WAS ALL SO TORTURED AND STIFF. BUT WHEN I GOT IN ARCHITECTURAL OFFICES I REALIZED TO SELL MY WILD IDEAS I HAD BETTER START TO LEARN THE CRAFT OF DRAWING TO PITCH MY IDEAS. I GOT SERIOUS, BUT STILL JUST DREW THE PEOPLE FROM THE BACK, BECAUSE IT WAS TOO DIFFICULT DRAWING FACES. I WAS WORKING IN ALAMEDA CALIF. ON TEMPORARY LOAN FROM ANOTHER ARCHITECT IN A ONE MAN OFFICE THAT WAS PITCHING SOME CIVIC BUILDING. I WAS DRAWING PEOPLE FROM THE REAR AGAIN AND THE PRINCIPLE SUGGESTED I COPY THEM OUT OF MAGAZINES OR THE PAPER. THAT WAS ALL SO FOREIGN, COPYING, STEALING SOMEBODY’S ELSES SKETCHES. TO MY AMAZEMENT IT WAS EASY TO DO, AND IN NO TIME I HAD A FOLDER OF PEOPLE AND ANIMALS THAT I USED TO TRACE FROM.
RENDERING BY HOWARD BACKEN AND GLEN SMALL 1965
MATHEW AU
I FLEW DOWN TO LAX FROM OREGON , MET BY SCI-ARC STUDENTS JUSTIN ROTH AND RYAN EKSTROM, A COUPLE OF SPIRITED BEACH DUDES THAT RECEIVED MY ENDLESS DIALOG OF LA AND LIFE. THE SAVVY AGED PROFESSOR RETURNING TO HIS CITY OF YOUTH AND DREAMS, AND THE SCHOOL HE FOUNDED.
PHOTO JAN MARDIAN
I WATCHED A BIOGRAPHICAL FILM ON BOB DYLAN DIRECTED BY MARTIN SCORSESE FIVE TIMES. WHAT STRUCK ME WAS DYLAN INITIALLY JUST WANTED TO PERFORM, HAD AVERAGE TALENT, WAS A MUSIC JUNKIE, AND HUSTLED PEOPLE OF IMPORTANCE. Continue reading
OUT OF THE JUNGLE AND BACK IN THE USA. IGNORED BY THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION IN NICARAGUA, PRESIDENT ORTEGA AND HIS ALL POWERFUL WIFE ROSARIO. MARRIAGE WITH MY NICARAGUA WIFE CHRISTIAN LUGO HAS RUN ITS COURSE. SHE CHOOSES NOT TO LIVE IN THE USA AND I CHOOSE NOT TO LIVE IN NICARAGUA. TWO DIFFERENT CULTURES. THE ERA HAS COME TO AN END. PARTING LOVING FRIENDS.
NOW WHAT?
GETTING IT RIGHT
WAKE UP GLEN. HISTORY IS FILLED WITH LAVISH CASTLES, PALLADIO VILLAS, MANOR ESTATES, AND FANTASTIC HOMES. WITH SLICK FINISHES . WITH THE MODERN MOVEMENT THERE WAS AN INTEREST IN NEW ARCHITECTURE FOR THE WORKING MAN. CORBU, BAUHAUS, IRVING GILL, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, NEUTRA, GREGORY AIN, BUCKMINISTER FULLER , EICHLER HOMES AND MANY MORE. NOW ARCHITECTS LET THE BUILDERS CALL THE SHOTS AND THE RESULTS ARE ENDLESS PSEUDO-STYLE BOXES THAT VARY WITH THE AMENITIES. CARTER’S HOUSES FOR HUMANITY PRETTY MUCH SUMS UP THE SOPHISTICATION OF CRUDE DESIGN FOR THE POOR.
DANIEL HAFID RESIDENCE, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA 1990 7,000 SQUARE FEET
WHERE IS ARCHITECTURAL SIMPLICITY, COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN FOR THE MASSES? Continue reading
SERVING THE RICH –
THAT IS WHAT ARCHITECTURE IS ABOUT.
IN MY DAUGHTER’S MOVIE, “MY FATHER THE GENIUS”, I AM SEEN STOMPING AROUND IN THE BACK YARD OF THE NELSONS’ NEW HOUSE COMPLAINING ABOUT SERVING THE RICH. THE NELSONS ARE SAINTLY COMPARED TO THE RUN OF THE MILL RICH. BUT THEY DEFINITELY HAVE THEIR LIMITS.
MY WIFE SAYS, WHY ARE YOU SO OPPOSED TO THE RICH? THEY PUT IT TOGETHER TO GET THE MONEY, DO NOT BE NEGATIVE TOWARDS THEM.
NELSON'S POOL AND HOUSE IN THE BACKYARD, SANTA MONICA CALIFORNIA, 2000
IN ARCHITECTURE THE RICH ARE THE CLIENTS, THEY CALL THE SHOTS. BEING REJECTED BY THE RICH HAS LEFT ME A DAMAGED SOUL. THE MAIN REASON IS THAT THERE IS SO MUCH GOOD THAT CAN BE BUILT WITH THEIR MONEY TO BETTER THE WORLD. I READ IN TIME MAGAZINE THAT ARCHITECT PIANO, THE RICH DARLING OF WHAT IS CORRECT IN ARCHITECTURE, WANTS TO DO PUBLIC HOUSING, BUT HAS NOT. A TALENTED FORMER STUDENT OF MINE, THAT SPECIALIZES IN PUBLIC HOUSING FOR YEARS CANNOT IMPLEMENT GOOD DESIGN, BECAUSE OF THE RICH DEVELOPERS CALLING THE SHOTS. THERE IS A GAP BETWEEN WHAT COULD BE AND THE RICH.
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THE COLISEUM IN ROME BEING THE MODEL, THAT HAS NOT BEEN MATCHED. A TOTAL EVENT THAT CONSUMED THE SOCIETY FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS.
THE BIRD CAGE IN THE LAST OLYMPICS WAS THE RAGE THAT BROUGHT A POWERFUL IMAGE TO THE GAMES, RECENTLY IT IS SUFFERING WITH NEEDS OF MAINTENANCE, THE BIG CONCERN AFTER THE GAMES ARE OVER, IS WHETHER THE STRUCTURES REMAIN VITAL?
STADIUMS ARE THE CHURCHES OF OUR ERA, THE MAJOR SCALE BUILDINGS THAT EVERY TOWN NEEDS. THE OLYMPICS BRINGING THE WORLD TOGETHER.
THEY ARE A COMPLETE PERFORMANCE WHICH HAS NOT BEEN CAPTURED BY THE MEDIA YET. A TOTAL HAPPENING OF THE POPULOUS INTERACTING. I HAVE BEEN PRICED OUT, ALONG WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULOUS.
AT 32 YEARS OF AGE IN 1969 I DID THE DETROIT STADIUM PROPOSAL WHILE I WAS LIVING ON MULHOLLAND DRIVE IN LA. AT THE TIME I WAS TAKING AN INDUSTRIAL RENDERING COURSE AT UCLA.
MORT PERSKY, THE EDITOR OF THE DETROIT FREE PREE, SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT MAGAZINE . THAT CAME OUT WITH THE SUNDAY PAPER, CALLED AND ASKED ME TO DO A STADIUM ISSUE FOLLOWING THE VERTICAL ROAD AND KERN BLOCK ISSUES I HAD PREVIOUSLY DONE FOR HIM.
AERIAL VIEW LOOKING EAST TO CENTRAL DETROIT ON THE DETROIT RIVER
THE SITE WAS DOWNTOWN WHERE THE CITY MEETS THE RIVER, WEST OF KOBAL HALL THE PISTONS’ BASKETBALL ARENA AT THE TIME ON THE DETROIT RIVER.
MORT PERSKY, THE EDITOR OF DETROIT MAGAZINE, THE SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT OF THE DETROIT FREE PRESS NEWSPAPER, HAD ME DO A CURTIN CALL , AFTER THE KERN BLOCK ISSUE, WITH A MASS TRANSPORTATION CONCEPT.
MORT PUT ME ON A PANEL WITH THE LOCAL TRANSPORTATION POWERS INCLUDING CONSTANTINOS DOXIADIS, THE RENOWN GREEK CITY PLANNER CONSULTANT WHO WAS ADVISING DETROIT AT THE TIME. HIS DAUGHTER WENT TO CRANBROOK WHILE I WAS THERE, AND I HAD SHOWED HIM MY VERTICAL CITY.
I WENT TO ONE OF CONSTANTINO’S PRESENTATIONS, IT WAS THE ERA OF OVERLAYS. STARTING WITH THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM, ROAD SYSTEM, GROWTH PATTERNS, POWER SYSTEM, OPEN SPACES, DENSITY , AREA USES, RAIN PATTERN, ETC.TO FUTURE GROWTH. BY THE TIME HE GOT DONE, EVERYBODY WAS READY TO GIVE HIM THE KEYS TO THE CITY. THE POWER OF INFORMATION. BUT WHAT YOU DO WITH THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE FOR ME. THERE IS A LOT OF MONEY TO BE MADE FROM STUDIES THAT GO NOWHERE. DOXIADIS WAS PROPOSING GOING UNDERGROUND WITH TRANSPORTATION SPEEDS UP TO 1000 MILES AN HOUR, A MODULAR UNIT IN YOUR BASEMENT THAT CAN WHISK ONE AWAY.
THIS WAS AN ERA THAT ANYTHING WAS POSSIBLE, DREAMS AND TECHNOLOGY WERE COMING TOGETHER. BUT WHAT HAPPENED WAS THE POLITICAL AND CULTURAL ADVANCEMENTS WERE NOT KEEPING UP WITH THE REALISTIC TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENTS.
GLIDING ALONG ON THE MOVING WALKWAY