MIT develops new stronger, longer lasting, “green” concrete that will last for 20,000 years and Saudi Arabia announced plans to build a mile high tower.  Plus we sneak in another article about uncle Frank.

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Check out the show notes for links and more!

Building 53 demolition is underway, the future of BIM and sustainability are up for debate, and the two Franks are in the news again.  Plus we discuss the shocking truth about minorities in architecture.

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Show Notes

Site News

New Facebook Fans

Chris Allen, B’Arch ’06, LEED AP, of CWA Studios fame, share how he started a successful furniture business and his plans for become a master builder.  Buildings completed in six days and roads that practically pave themselves.

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Show Notes

Site News

• All call for an Assistant Producer
  • Send applications to tim at sloarch.com
• New Facebook Fans
  • Julien Stockwell
  • Brieanne Taylor Marshall
  • Lucy Bignan
  • Sean Lopes

Cal Poly News

• Maya Workshop
  • Sat. Nov. 20th, 9am – 5pm, Berg Gallery
  • By David Stamatis of Emergent and Clayton Taylor of UCLA Suprastudio
  • If you are interested to participate, please be on-time and have Maya 2009, 2010, or 2011 installed and running on your computer. Please also have the rendering plug-in Maxwell 2 installed and running on your computer. Free Trial Software is available from Autodesk online.
• 2011 Next Generation Accessible Bus Design Competition
  • Deadlines:
    • Abstract: December 1, 2010
    • Poster: April 29, 2011
  • Public transportation plays an important role in creating an accessible society because it is critical for ensuring employment, citizenship, social role participation, and social interaction for people with disabilities. This design competition challenges the public (students, transit professionals, designers, and futurists) to think creatively about what they envision for “The Next Generation Accessible Bus” of 2030. Designs must incorporate advanced technologies and accommodate people of all ages and abilities equally. For more information please see the Next Generation Accessible Bus Flier.

General News

• New residential construction falls 11.7% in October
  • http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2010/11/new-residential-construction-falls-117.html
  • Seriously?
  • Regionally, starts dropped 30.5% in the West and 13.4% in the South. They rose 1% in the Midwest and 12.9% in the Northeast.
• U.S. architecture billings index down in October
  • http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1612730020101117
• Chinese Build 15-Story Hotel In Just Six Days, Rest On Seventh
  • http://gizmodo.com/5687521/chinese-build-15+story-hotel-in-just-six-days-rest-on-seventh
  • Six days. That’s how long it took to build this level 9 Earthquake-resistant, sound-proofed, thermal-insulated 15-story hotel in Changsha, complete with everything, from the cabling to three-pane windows. The foundations were already built.
• Brick laying machine
  • http://inhabitat.com/2010/11/15/amazing-brick-machine-rolls-out-roads-like-carpet/
  • http://www.core.form-ula.com/2010/11/15/tiger-stone-paving-machine/
  • What once was a labor-intensive, back-breaking job has now become a snap with this automatic Dutch paver laying machine, called the Tiger-Stone
  • http://www.tiger-stone.nl/index.php/tiger-stone
  • http://www.chesterfieldobserver.com/news/2010-11-17/Calendar/
• Saturday, Nov. 20, 2-4 p.m., Chesterfield County Museum, 6813 Mimms Loop. Discover the unique architecture of the historic buildings on the Courthouse Green. Learn how a building receives a historic landmark designation. $8. 796-7121,
  • www.chesterfieldhistory.com
• 14 of the worlds strangest skyscrapers
  • http://weburbanist.com/2010/11/15/strange-skyscrapers-14-of-the-worlds-weirdest-towers/
• Ultra-small is beautiful for Japanese homeowner
  • http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/12/japan.ultra.tiny.home/index.html?hpt=C2
• Welcome to Canada!
  • Confronting a shortage of home-grown architects, the Canadian government is making it easier for foreign-trained designers to work there.
  • http://www.architectmagazine.com/architects/welcome-to-canada.aspx

Rapid Fire Questions:

• Cal Poly or Berkeley? Cal Poly
• Parallel bar or T-Square? Parallel bar
• Facebook or LinkedIn? Facebook
• Drafting dots or tape? measuring tape
• Ad Markers or Prisma? Prisma
• Pen or Pencil? Pencil
• Chisel or Router? Router
• Cherry or Mahogony? Cherry
• Craftsman or Dewalt? Dewalt
• What’s the Meaning of Life? pride in what you do or who you are

SCORE: 23.2

Interview

• What have you been up to since graduation?
  • Did the construction thing up until graduation
  • After graduation, he planned to get a job at an arch firm…
  • Instead he got a job working with a door and window fabricator
    • Architectural Ironworks – deal only with steal and bronze
  • The switched to Kornreich Architects in SLO
    • http://www.kornreicharch.com
  • Started his own custom woodworking company
    • http://www.cwastudios.com/
• How did you start into carpentry?
  • He felt a need to build and have a hands on aspect
  • Casework was the more universal place to start and there was a demand
  • It started building back into furniture design from the casework clients
  • Some of it is a hobby aspect, but it allows for care and attention to detail
• How did you start into carpentry?
  • Started building as a kid, a three story wood fort in the backyard was the start
  • While at Cal Poly, Mary Laport (worked in the Art and Design Department), approached him and he had his first official side job, and it started there
  • The perfection and attention to detail was appealing to him
  • It’s developed and evolved, but it’s also about the tools that you have as well as the skill and talent
• What are you plans for the future?
  • Would like to have a design build firm in the future
• Are you seeking licensure?
  • Yes
• What advice would you give to current Cal Poly Architecture students?
  • Get your hands dirty.

Carisa Nakano, B’Arch ’10, LEED AP, shares her experiences doing her senior project in Ghana, her thoughts on the World Expo in China, and Haley isn’t sure if she wants to own Uncle Frank.

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Show Notes

Site News

Rapid Fire Questions:

• Cal Poly or Berkeley? Cal Poly
• Autocad or Revit? Revit
• Parallel bar or T-Square? Parallel bar
• Facebook or LinkedIn? both
• Arch Record, Arch Digest, or Architect? Architect
• Drafting dots or tape? Dots
• Yellow trace or white? White
• Ad Markers or Prisma? Ad
• Pen or Pencil? Pencil
• Mac or PC? PC
• Giants or Rangers? the Giants!!!

SCORE: 8

Interview

• Carisa was in Sandy Stannard’s Studio
  • the stuido topic was architecture and nature
  • her thesis project was cocoa farming and education center in Ghana
• Carisa tells us about her thesis project!
  • The concept of real site and real project for thesis
• Carisa talks about her recent trip to China for the World Expo
  • http://en.expo2010.cn/
  • The effects of global travel and experiences of different cultures

Cal Poly News

• 2010 Vellum/CAED Furniture Competition & Exhibition
  • http://www.arch.calpoly.edu/exhibitions/vellum/vellum-10.html

General News

• Architecture in the subway
  • Apple may be practically selling its products in the Chicago subway, but New York is devoting at least one subway station—West 4th Street, to be exact—to architecture through the end of this week. Rolando Pujol reports that the “Made in New York” exhibit uses the station’s advertising spots to display 200 projects designed by New York–based architects and other designers. “They give a panorama of not only what’s happening in New York, but what New York architects are doing worldwide,” says AIA New York executive director Rick Bell. Five of the projects can be seen outside the turnstiles; the other 195 require you to pay a subway fare.
• Wright stuff for sale
  • It seems that there’s always a Frank Lloyd Wright house for sale somewhere, but if you have the dough (and wouldn’t mind living in the Frederick Law Olmsted–designed community of Riverside, Ill.), Mark Boyer reports that one of the classics is on the market. The Avery Coonley House is available for $2.89 million, and the sellers of the five-bedroom, five-bathroom home have reportedly fixed up the house’s mechanical systems, bathrooms, artwork, and landscaping. No word on whether the roofs leak, though.
• AIA gets organizational award
  • The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) has given the AIA its 2010 “Organisation of the Year Award”. World Architecture News reports that the entry, “Building the Designer Democracy Movement, was noted as providing ‘an impressive history of public participation, and clear evidence of the creation of a public participation culture within your organization.’” The award was given at the AIP2′s Core Value Awards presentation in Scarborough, UK. “This award represents an important recognition for the profound role architects are playing in bringing the profession into the mainstream of popular thought and culture,” AIA president George H. Miller, FAIA, says.
• Building Information Modeling as the Core of Sustainable Design
  • http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/10/27/building-information-modeling-core-sustainable-design
  • The process took about a couple of days for each site, compared to a “a full energy audit that can take weeks of effort and tens of thousands of dollars,” Blomquist said.
  • http://tinyurl.com/AutodeskWebcast
  • http://bimboom.blogspot.com/2010/10/capturing-revit-sun-path.html

Kyu Kim, Cal Poly class of  ’08, calls in from the future and from Korea!  As our first international guest Kyu tells us about the Architecture scene in Seoul, what it’s like to work internationally, and explains why he quit his job!

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Show Notes

Site News

• More fans on Facebook
• We now have a calendar!!

Cal Poly News

• Cal Poly’s 17th Annual Open House going on now! 15th – 17th
  • http://studentlife.calpoly.edu/orientation/openhouse/index.asp
  • Open House Highlights
    • HEARST LECTURE SERIES: WILL BRUDER
      • Friday, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Bldg. 3, Rm. 213
      • Apologies to Andea Ponsi (Hearst Lecturer), he is a “he”, not a “she”. We should read our own notes more carefully!
    • DESIGN VILLAGE
      • Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Poly Canyon
      • http://designvillage.calpoly.edu/
      • “This year the participants will be basing their designs on the theme “Landfill Luxury” and will be using mostly reclaimed materials in their projects. The participants will carry their structures up to Poly Canyon, the Architecture Department’s outdoor experimental laboratory, construct and then occupy their structures for the duration of the Open House weekend.”
    • reKINETIC
      • http://lib.calpoly.edu/learningcommons/gallery/10spring/
      • Thursday, April 15 – Sunday, June 6, 2010
      • reKinetic is a group installation featuring Cal Poly students, faculty, and community members with works incorporating reclaimed materials. The result is a dynamic exhibition of innovative installations and sculptures, which respond to their environment either by human interaction, internal mechanism, or natural elements.
      • Alexander Silva’s “Skate Wheel” in Venice Beach
        • http://vimeo.com/10768583
      • Prof. Thomas Fowler’s ARCH 352/33 Third Year Design Studio
      • The case study exploration of kinetic machines and the reuse of recycled or found materials are often starting points in the design studio for inspiring 3rd year architecture students to take different paths for the design of buildings. The use of kinetics can play an important design role in how buildings are conceptualized regarding their envelope system (commonly referred to as “skins”) responses to the environmental effects of sun, sound, wind, etc. The focus during the winter quarter of third year is for students in groups of 3-4 to push the boundaries for exploring the poetics for integrating the kinetics and material systems that are in response to particular environmental effects. Students are then required to use lessons learned from these studies to inform the building design for their won project during the quarter.
  • National Architecture Week!
    • Some History: http://rismedia.com/2007-04-11/president-bush-proclaims-this-week-first-annual-national-architecture-week/
    • There are things going on everywhere, locally and nationally
    • Even here in Fresno (pecha kucha)
      • http://www.pecha-kucha.org/
  • Buildings of Detroit
    • http://buildingsofdetroit.com/aboutus
    • Website created by historian and a photographer
    • Working together to compile the history of significant architecture in Detroit.
    • Photos and background on more than 150 buildings from the past and present. You can view buildings grouped by their names and by their architects.
  • Work for Architects
    • http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2010/04/work-for-architects/

Rapid Fire Questions

• Cal Poly or Berkeley? Cal Poly
• Autocad or Revit? Autocad
• Parallel bar or T-Square? Parallel bar
• Facebook or LinkedIn? Facebook
• Arch Record or Arch Digest? Arch Record
• Drafting dots or tape? Dots
• Yellow trace or white? Yellow
• Ad Markers or Prisma or watercolor? Prisma
• Pen or Pencil? Pen
• Mac or PC or BSD? Mac

FINAL SCORE: BSD just because Tim is a nerd and he says so

Interview

• Why are you in Korea?
  • Currently in Seoul, he was born in Korea and moved to the US when he was young.
  • During his 5th year at Cal Poly he was researching jobs and asked himself some tough questions which led to him seeking out a job in Korea.
  • He had a contact in Korea, after he had taken a trip during one summer to Korea to learn more about Korean Architecture.
• Why does Ryan Brockett know you? He says “Hi”.
  • Ryan says he takes full responsibility for Kyu moving to Korea.
  • They worked together in San Luis Obispo at RRM for two years.
• What were some of the difficulties in transitioning to work in Korea?
  • Cal Poly prepares you for architecture everywhere.
  • The language barrier was one of the hardest part even though he speaks.
• What is the permit process like in Korea? How are the building codes different?
  • He hasn’t had to deal too much with the process, there are still rules and standards but they’re not as strict about following them as they are in the U.S.
  • Overall it is a bit less legal, you can get away with some things you wouldn’t be able to do in the States.
• Does American Architecture have an influence on the work?
  • There is a lot of international influence in Korea
• Tell us about your blogs
  • http://kyuthekoreanamerican.blogspot.com
    http://www.designalternatives.org
  • More for his own personal log of places and thoughts rather than impressing others.
• What is he currently doing?
  • He just currently resigned in February to freelance for a bit before he returns back to the U.S.
  • He is currently teaching English to some under privledged kids.
  • Participating in cultural events.
  • Freelance reporting for a local radio station.
  • Making the most of the time he has left in Korea.
• Does anyone in Korea know how awesome Cal Poly is?
  • He was the only Cal Poly grad in his office, there had been a previous Pomona grad but for the most part most people didn’t know what Cal Poly was.
• How did your Cal Poly education help you to work in a foreign country?
  • It prepares you to work anywhere in the world
• What are you planning on doing when you return to the States?
  • Would like to go back into architecture, but doesn’t see it as a priority just yet.
  • Currently logging his IDP hours and will most likely be taking his ARE after he gets back to the U.S.
  • He always knew that he wanted to get licensed eventually once he gets back to the states
• What advice would you give to current Cal Poly students wanting to go abroad?
  • It definately depends on the situation, always be careful when you’re heading overseas, make sure it’s legit
  • The U.S. is only one country, there are many different ways to do things and amazing places to see
• You can represent Cal Poly everywhere you go, you are an ambassador for the school and the program
• What has been the best thing from your time in Korea so far
  • Architecturally, the project type, they really blow your mind and he couldn’t see doing them anywhere else but in Korea
• Check out the ‘Earth House’
• How is the Korean concept of a residence different than in the U.S.
  • In the past it was a very traditional house, open courtyard with the house arranged around it.
  • Today it’s more of an apartment, they’re very unique with their own culture and there is more status associated with living in the city in an apartment
  • Arranged around a core rather than off of a hallway so the units have views to the outside
• Clean air and In N’ Out are the things he misses most about the U.S.
• Cal Poly makes you who you are, live up your education, have confidence that it has prepares you for whatever you want to do in the world!

News:

• Cal Poly Hearst Lecture Series, Friday, Feb 5th:
  • Ann Forsyth
  • http://www.arch.calpoly.edu/news-events/hearst-lectures.html
  • Ann Forsyth’s work focuses on the social aspects of physical planning and urban development. Forsyth’s contributions have been to analyze the success of planned alternatives to sprawl, particularly exploring the tensions between social and ecological values in urban design.

Rapid Fire Questions:

This short drive and the recent building collapse of the residential block in China made me reflect again on the very serious nature of the Architecture and building professions.  As Architects, engineers, contractors, designers, and draftsmen, the decisions and the work that we do have very serious real world consequences.

Not all problems result in loss of life, but sometimes the costs can be unimaginable.  Over the years I have seen many, many bad designs and construction mistakes, as has anyone who has worked in the profession for any amount of time.  I’ve seen structures sliding down hills, doors that don’t open, and shoddy and dangerous construction in abundance.  In order to protect the innocent I won’t be posting any of those problems here, but I’ll more than gladly share other people’s mistakes.

Below I have compiled some serious and not so serious building errors for your reflection.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge, June 27, 2009

The Tacoma  Narrows Bridge collapsed on Nov. 7th, 1940 only four months after completion.  The only casualty was a dog stuck in a car on the bridge when it collapsed.

This unoccupied 13 story residential building collapsed while still under construction, apparently from over excavating the foundation while constructing a parking garage coupled with heavy rain.  Amazingly only one casualty was reported.  (Chinese news article | English translation)

13 story Shanghai building collapses, June 27th, 2009.

Improper excavation and rain apparently led to the buildings collapse

The 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston killed 492 people and resulted in sweeping building and fire code reform. The filled over capacity club, highly flammable decorations, and a poorly designed and modified egress system resulted in this tragedy. Today designers must follow strict laws regarding the sizing, construction, and placement of a buildings doors, stars, and corridors.

Cocoanut Grove memorial, dedicated in 1993

Poor rooftop access in Arizona, Jan. 20, 2008.  Unfortunately, the little details like service access are often overlooked by Architects and building inspectors alike.

On May 23, 2004, a 33 foot section of the Charles-de-Gaulle Airport terminal in France collapsed killing four people and injuring 3, just 11 months after going into service.  The main cause of the failure was determined to be poor detailing between the building facade and the structure.

Charles-de-Gaulle Airport Terminal 2E

While MIT’s Sata Center is heralded by some as architectural genius, MIT sued the architect, Frank Gehry, on Oct. 31, 2007 in response to leaks, cracked masonry, mold growth, and drainage and ice build up problems.   As of the date of this article the lawsuit is still pending.  The architect claims the owner value engineered the roof which resulted in the problems, and MIT claims the architect provided “deficient design services and drawings.”

Ray and Maria Stata Center, MIT, June 2006