Spotlight Series | Architect Thom Faulders
Spotlight is a series highlighting talented artists and designers in brief interviews and displays of their work. In this article we sat down with architect Thom Faulders to discuss his work and remarkable career. With his amicable smile and naturally pedagogic demeanor, Thom opened the conversation with pointed advice to entrepreneurial architects: when you’re starting out, speak with a royal we. After obtaining licensure Thom started “Beige Design.” Of the name, Thom says:
(TF) “Beige Design,” like most people do when they’re starting off, was kind of an umbrella where nobody knows whether it’s 400 people or just one person. A smart thing to do if you’re just starting. The name started off in an ironic vein where beige was almost a derogatory term…which I liked! Beige was considered ugly, or dull. …Read the full article at www.zeitgeistudios.com.
After watching Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio I found myself both inspired and a bit sad. Sad because of Samuel’s short lived time here on earth and also in the fact that there are so many people in dire need of adequate housing. I choose however to focus on the inspirational message within Mockbee’s work. Mockbee believed that architecture did not belong to a higher class, but was best served towards those in need. He therefore created the Rural Studio to act as a catalyst between those who needed the experience of learning about architecture and those in need of its shelter or community. Overall the film does a great job of carrying on the message of the Rural Studio while allow us a brief glimpse into the genius of Samuel Mockbee. The film is available on the web until September 7, and available for purchase from the PBS website. …Read the full article at www.zeitgeistudios.com.
Photographer Iwan Baan has taken these amazing shots of the architecture office of Selgas Cano in Spain. I am a big fan of this type of architecture for many reasons. The simplicity along with the richness of the experience come off as the strongest factors for me on this project. It reminds me of Thorncrown Chapel designed by E. Fay Jones in Arkansas, the way it sits within the natural beauty of the site. One cannot help but be inspired in an environment such as this …Read the full article at www.zeitgeistudios.com.
Jeff Durkin of Breadtruck films [www] put together this nice documentary of Mi Workshop. In the film Miki Iwasaki, owner of Mi Workshop, talks about his passion and ideals as a designer/architect/teacher. I think we can all share in the desire to approach our work and life in similar ways as Miki. Check out the film and then check out his work at mi-workshop.com. Read the full article at www.zeitgeistudios.com.
With over 450 students from 1st year to 5th year the more than 3000 drawings consume every inch of the exhibition space. The massive production and the rich creativity are at the heart of the Bartlett summer show. The Bartlett is a school crossing over different disciplines, attracting a wide variety of people to participate in the event. Productions including hand crafted models, digital fabrication, rapid prototype, hand sketch drawings, CG graphics, 1:1 scale production, photos, interactive media, film and animation. Read the full article at www.zeitgeistudios.com.
The V&A Museum in London is featuring a Small Spaces Exhibition starting June 15 and ending August 30. The exhibition contains two parts; Seven Built Structures featuring 1:1 architectural prototypes built by seven guest architects or firms, and 19 Conceptual Submissions feature the conceptual drawings of 19 architects and their small space designs. The projects are meant to be playful, inspiring, conceptual while looking at the ideas of refuge and retreat. The exhibit is free to the public, so if your in London I highly recommend stopping by. Read the full article at www.zeitgeistudios.com.
A Hong Kong architect turned his tiny 330 sqft apartment into 24 variable rooms. He calls the apartment Domestic Transformer, for its ability to transform from bedroom to living room to kitchen by just the slide of a wall. Small spaces have always fascinated me and I enjoy living in them as well for their efficient use of space and easy clean up despite their sacrifice in other areas. However this apartment sacrifices nothing and is truly a testament to the ridiculous nature of the American big box home. Read the full article at www.zeitgeistudios.com.
As Professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences at MIT, William Mitchell helped to advance the use of and conceptualization of computers in architecture. As one of my favorite authors, his ideas and passion on the subject of interconnectivity will be missed. He is known widely for his publications such as Me++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City (MIT Press, 2003)or Placing Words: Symbols, Space, and the City (MIT Press, 2005) , as well as, the design of conceptual vehicles and foldable motor bikes. Bill’s memory and the impact of his visions will certainly live on for many years to come. Read the full article at www.zeitgeistudios.com.
A poet disguised as an architect. A fictional office of architects. Nothing could entice me more. In her book, Occasional Work and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture, Lisa Robertson offers us lyrical research, architectured syntax and ambulatory prose—often described as rococo.
Jon Totel, talented artist and architect whom we featured in a recent article, Causeway, will be displaying his latest work in a show entitled Ephemeral Landscapes [ www.jontotel.com ] So if you happen to be in Phoenix, AZ this summer I strongly suggest you check it out. All of the information is listed at www.zeitgeistudios.com
Exuberance is expressing the energetic, excited, and cheerful. This book selected the project by Colletti himself, Ali Rahim, Hernan Diaz Alonso and Tom Wiscombe which is a clear example that address the vivid world of neo architecture. The project that is baroque-ing which is showing off designers imagination and personality. It’s a book with graphic “depth” (complexity, layered, manifolds) that you can explore the exuberance from.
A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams is a book I read several years ago that I seem to be thinking about again. Now that I’m in a new house this spring, I feel as if I’m rediscovering my life at home. So I decided to revisit the book and see what exactly kept pulling my mind back to it. For more visit www.zeitgeistudios.com
Spotlight is our new series highlighting talented artist and designers in a brief interview and display of their work. In this article we look at the work of Ivan Hernandez, born in Mexico City in 1974. He received a tennis scholarship to study architecture at the University of Texas in Austin, however he retired early due to an injury. He went on to found LUDENS in his native town, where he also teaches and wonders around the city with a Polaroid camera.
Spotlight is our new series highlighting talented artist and designers in a brief interview and display of their work. In this article we look at Liao Yusheng’s photo index called Figure/Ground. His website is an amazing catalog of architectural works from all over the world. Its an impressive body of work that dates back to 2000. The site is simple, elegant and best of all you can sort the list by date taken, place or by architect. The photos themselves give you the overview of the forms and zoom in on the important details of the building.
Tea Pavilion on the Water is a project designed by Tze-Chun Wei in 2006 when he graduated from Cheng-Kung University. The pavilion is located at the site of an old factory in a suburb of Taiwan. The site contained an original fire control pool that is no longer in use. The programatic concept was to build a pavilion as both a reception in the day-time and a living room for the family in the night.
