Archive by Author
David Baker Architects: Affordable Housing, Slower Streets
Architects David Baker and Amit Price Patel discuss ways to make city housing and city living more effective, livable, and inclusive. For example, Lakeside Senior Apartments integrates low-income, formerly homeless, and special-needs seniors in a new 92-unit building in Oakland, California. (Photo: Bruce Damonte)
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
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Building It: An Unheard-Of Housing Strategy
“The whole question about whether developers are greedy is irrelevant. The people leveling this charge aren’t honest. In Los Gatos and Lafayette, professionals making $250K a year are complaining about “greedy developers”. But they themselves are not producing anything tangible, like more housing. They are not contributing to the general welfare…”
– Sonja Trauss, BARF Founder
“Getting evicted is not the worst thing to happen – if you can easily find an equivalent place.”
– Laura Clark, Exective Director, GrowSF
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
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David Ludwig: Artist, Architect, Tiny House Advocate
“Home is the nest we create for ourselves as a base for living. It provides us with safety and security – making a conscious and sub-conscious statement to ourselves and our community about our personal values… One is owned by one’s possessions when the acquisition, display, storage, and maintenance of possessions falls out of alignment with one’s self-image and life purpose.” (Photo: David Ludwig)
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
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Rock Whisperers: The Subtle Power of Incan Masonry
The Incas of the Andes had a special relationship with rock, which was key to their empire. Even today their masonry inspires awe, and perhaps fear. The Incas thought that rocks were people, with their own volition and personality. Inca stoneworks live on today, as monuments and often as foundations for later buildings.
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
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David Winslow on the Guerrilla Urbanism of DIY Neighborhood Improvements
David Winslow of San Francisco’s City Planning Department talks about “living alleys” and walkable neighborhoods. “Home to me is a neighborhood where I can get basic needs met… Having a place to go outside of my own house… a corner cafe where they know me by name. It’s having public spaces that are functional and comfortable.” (Photo: green alley, Montreal, courtesy David Winslow)
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
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Richard Rhodes: Master Stonemason Turns Sculptor
“Stone is one of the most uniquely expressive materials on the planet. As an artist, I strive to think through the material – classical training as a stone-carver gives a unique perspective, similar to doing my scales the way a pianist would. I consider myself a modernist now – but still grounded in a deep affection for, and knowledge of, the classics.” (Photo: Richard Rhodes)
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
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Amy Eliot on Women in Architecture
“Women forget that we CAN go with our instinct, we can trust our intuitions. Sometimes women at big firms or competitive work situations take the attitude that “I can make it work… I have to make it work… I’ll do whatever it takes, suck it up without complaint”. For women and men alike, it’s important to have control over our own destiny. Follow your passion, and don’t assume there’s only one right way to do, or think about, architecture.”
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
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EB Min on Women in Architecture
“If you want to change things, you have to stay in the game. If you drop out and talk from the sidelines, people won’t take you as seriously.
Having a good mentor is very important. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be able to turn to someone for advice… a mentor can also be a model of behavior. I could watch my colleagues to see how they talked to people, how they spoke to clients and contractors. They did some custom, highly creative designs – how did they manage to get their way? Even the wording to use can be important… a mentor can coach you on how to speak.”
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
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Karin Payson on Women in Architecture
“When I was young, I was a rebellious soul. My dream was to be an artist, and my mission in life was to have the freedom to own my own work, control my own schedule, and protect my creative energy. At age 15, I already knew that I wanted freedom. I had a vision of myself living an authentic life. That was my rebellion.”
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
