Architecture for the Poor, for Everyone

Hwaairfan's Blog

Irwin Weiner ASID - When we think about Egypt today, we're visualizing civil unrest, shifts of government, and an outcry for greater freedom. I think of Hassan Fahty, the great architect who changed the face of home design forever by focusing on native building materials, design for the human scale, and accommodating places to live for the poor. Egypt has many great wonders, but not all of them are carved out of stone, e.g. the pyramids. Think of individual people who have changed the course of history - and one many whose caring concern for how people live is a beacon for all people everywhere. Read more about Hassan Fahty in this Design2Share profile.

Special Drawing

Design2Share would like to reward you. Post a comment - a sentence or two is fine - about WHY I LOVE TO DECORATE, we'll have a drawing at the end of Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, and the winner will get a gift code worth $75 off any purchase in the over 200 CSN Stores online; splurge on anything from a new pair of shoes to modern office furniture. Add a quick WHY I LOVE TO DECORATE comment right now - and good luck.

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Future of Architecture

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Irwin Weiner ASID - Ignore the fact that our featured video is a video advert for Hewlett-Packard; we love the cinematography and the vision of what's happening today in the professional design world. The video's message underscores what's happening at an increasing rate with architecture and interior design: more collaboration with teams and clients all over the world, and a demand for a mobile office reliant on simple, efficient technology to transmit drawings and sketches, plans, and feedback in real time. My goal this year is to migrate from paper to tablet-based technology. My drawing skills will be much better utilized if I were to use a tablet-based drawing program on a client's job site, make my sketches right there - or sketch on top of an architect's blueprints - in front of my client and their vendors, then email copies right away to everyone. It's time to embrace technology for its mobility, freedom, and efficiency. 

Here are some of the architects and firms represented in this video; looks like they're doing fantastic, imaginative work (an example is in the above photo showing a housing project from Span in Vienna):

Field Lines Architecture, New York

BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, Copenhagen

Span Architecture & Design, Vienna 

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Architect Nathalie Wolberg

Irwin Weiner ASID - French architect Nathalie Wolberg likes to experiment, and she's created a high tech home for she and her family to live in. Love being a lab rat? Well, that's not exactly the case here, as I'd gladly volunteer to live in Nathalie's amazing world of sophisticated lighting, slide-away partitions, stow-away seating and nooks - and even a relaxation net stretched out over a missing section of floor (reminds me of the net at the prow of a catamaran I sailed in last January in the Bahamas). You'll see in the following video how the architect loves to have her Maison NW spaces function on many levels: comfort, beauty, utility, and multiple functions. When something is not in use, slide it away and out of sight! When you want to add drama, change the lighting, color, and mood with the flick of a switch. I predict many more homes will be built following Nathalie Wolberg's practical and aesthetic vision. 

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James Bond House

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Irwin Weiner ASID - We're starting the new year off with a salute to modern home architecture, and we're turning our attention today to architect John Lautner and his Elrod House in Palm Springs. The former Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice excavated the 23-acre property site and unearthed amazing boulders which became part of the organic design. Used in countless photo shoots, the house was put on the cinema map in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. So like art to copy life, as this home is a real gem.

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