easy as 1,2,3, fore!

getting back into golf is a easy as ridding a bike.  if it's possible to ride a bike really incredibly awful.

this summer i went out golfing for the first time in over a year, and it wasn't pretty.  in my mind there are a million different reasons why i was so bad, but the simple fact is golf makes you work for it's affection.  to play well you have to practice and play a lot.  golfing only once a year will make you look like a golfer that only golfs once a year.  thankfully i had a few shots that proved to my group i had indeed picked up a golf club before.

although my score was higher than i would have liked, it was still a great morning, and i got to cross maine of my golf list.

time traveling with [wilco]

i don't go to wilco concerts to listen to the music...

i go to time travel.

i discovered wilco in the fall of 2002 with their album "yankee hotel foxtrot."  i was twenty one, in college and had just switched majors into architecture.  i was at an age where i started to feel like i was thinking for myself. my tastes, style and preferences on everything were changing.  in a way, i felt i was shedding the shell of my youth and looking ahead to a whole new adult life in front of me.  it was new, it was confusing, it was exciting and a little scary.  yhf couldn't have been a more perfect album to discover during this time.  i've been a fan of wilco ever since hearing the opening song to that album "i'm trying to break your heart" and they've been a huge part of my life soundtrack since.

when i go to a wilco concert and they start playing my favorite songs, i'm immediately transported in time and taken back to different spots along my adulthood timeline.

when i hear "jesus etc." i'm taken back to late nights in studio working on architecture projects with my best friends.

when i hear "heavy metal drummer" i think of my friend beth when she lived in chicago, talking to her on the phone about relationships and getting her female perspective on any crazy situation i was dealing with.

when i hear "humming bird" and "handshake drugs" i think about living in san diego away from friends and family.  i think of my co-worker scott and how after discovering i liked wilco as well, he gave me a bunch of old wilco albums and other bands like uncle tupelo, golden smog and loose fur to listen to.

when i hear "either way" i think of my first break-up.

when i hear "impossible germany" i think of living in my very own apartment by myself.

when i hear "sky blue sky" i think about walking in downtown wichita.

when i hear "one wing" i'm taken back to friday nights hanging with friends at lucky's.

when i hear "art of almost" i think of taking one last trip to kansas city before moving away from the midwest.

when i hear "if i ever was a child" i think about planning my wedding and picking music for the reception.

i realize none of these memories mean anything to you and they're not suppose to; they're mine, but maybe you have different songs from different bands that take you back in time...and that's what makes music absolutely magical. it really is the best form of time travel i know.  all you have to do is put on headphones and press play.

thank you wilco for being the doc brown to my marty and helping me go back in time whenever i hear your music.

play it again [clam]

the difference between last summer and this summer?  last summer i was discovering events, this summer i'm looking forward to events.

one of those events is the yarmouth clam festival.  we had a blast last year and couldn't wait to attend this year as well.  it's not so much about the clams as it is about just being outside and enjoying the summer and maybe enjoy some lime rickeys!  to be honest i'm not exactly sure what it is, but i do know they taste great on a hot summer day.

summer is a sacred season in maine and the yarmouth clam festival seems to be one of the more sublime celebrations to attend.

 

  

  

 

[ugly] buildings [ugly] people

ugliness is subjective. what seems ugly to me might be totally beautiful to someone else.

case in point, i think the salk institute is one of the most beautiful buildings i've ever seen, my mom thinks it's one of the ugliest.  this difference in opinion has always fascinate me.  do i think it's beautiful because i studied architecture and i've been told it's beautiful? or is it, in fact, an ugly, cold, pile of concrete?

to answer this, or any question whether a building is [ugly] or not, i like to judge buildings against the same traits i find ugly in people.

-dishonest
-inappropriate
-unorganized
-negative

i don't think it's any stretch of the imagination to say that if someone had these qualities, they might not be getting "swiped right" too often 'cause they are indeed ug-ly.  i find the same holds true with buildings.

i think dishonest buildings are ugly.  if a building promises or eludes to one thing on the exterior and it's false once you get inside, that's an ugly quality.  if a building uses fake stone or brick as a material, to me it's the same thing as someone lying to my face.  false windows, false fronts, faux this, imitation that...all just lies.  the more lies told, the uglier it becomes.

i think inappropriate buildings are ugly.  i'm not a huge traditionalist at all, but if someone were to build a sleek and modern glass house in between a block of historic brick townhouses, i would find that inappropriate and therefore ugly.  the building doesn't have to be traditional but it should pick up some cues from it's context.  i feel buildings should be appropriate for their surroundings.  there are times and places to be loud and flaunt it on center stage and there are times when you need be quiet and blend in.  a building should know the difference.

i think an unorganized building it is ugly.  granted i know many people who are unorganized that i wouldn't call ugly, but when someone is organized....it's just so damn sexy!  seriously, when a complicated program can be organized into a simple plan, it's one of the most beautiful things in the world; an unorganized plan is the ugliest.  lord knows an unorganized plan will only lead to an unorganized elevation, and then there's no hope for this ugly beast in front of you.

i think negative buildings are ugly.  buildings, as well as people should always leave this earth better than they found it.  whether a building does that by creating a better space for people, use less energy, encourage alternative forms of transportation, give a new perspective to a view or simply make it's occupants smile, a building should have a positive impact on this world.

people come in all different shapes, colors, heights, widths, types and styles and buildings should too.  there are however some core traits i feel make people [ugly] and the same can be said about buildings.

so, looking at that criteria, yes mom, the salk institute is in fact a beautiful building.


and you're a beautiful person.

please check out other architects view of [ugly] with the links below



Lee Calisti, AIA - Think Architect (@LeeCalisti)
ugly is ugly

Lora Teagarden - L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
Ugly Architecture Details

Jeremiah Russell, AIA - ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
unsuccessful, not ugly: #architalks

Eric T. Faulkner - Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
Ugly is in The Details

Michele Grace Hottel - Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel)
Ugly

Brian Paletz - The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
Ugly, sloppy, and wrong - oh my!

Jeffrey Pelletier - Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum)
Is My House Ugly? If You Love It, Maybe Not!

Nisha Kandiah - ArchiDragon (@ArchiDragon)
the ugly truth

Keith Palma - Architect's Trace (@cogitatedesign)
Behold

Jim Mehaffey - Yeoman Architect (@jamesmehaffey)
A Little Ugly Never Hurt Anyone

Mark Stephens - Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark)
Ugly or not ugly Belgian houses?

Ilaria Marani - Creative Aptitude (@creaptitude)
ArchiTalks #30: Ugly

Larry Lucas - Lucas Sustainable, PLLC (@LarryLucasArch)
Die Hard: 7 Ugly Sins Killing Your Community