New {professional} adventure!

I'm starting a new job next week! Though I went in yesterday to get my feet wet before the director left on a business trip. The organization is a great combination for me: architecture/historic preservation, community development and interfaith relations. So excited.

{San Francisco No. 18}

appreciate {the little things in life}

{appreciate / green and gray / letterpress print}

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Do you ever listen to The Story on public radio? I went to the chiropractor this morning {sooo stiff from a weekend migraine} and couldn't walk into my apartment until I heard the end of the program.

The first piece was a real life story comparable to the movie 'Up'! ... On a dare from his work mates, Jonathan Trappe took his first balloon-powered flight two years ago, in his office chair. Hoisted by over 50 giant helium balloons, he sailed up to 14,000 feet, floating across the North Carolina countryside for over 4 hours. ...

The second story made me think about the first architecture office* I worked in while still in high school. ... Jami always had an interest in typography, and that's how she found herself visiting a small print shop in town called The Sherwood Press. The owner, Jocelyn, would change the way Jami saw her career and her life. ...

*I don't quite remember how I came to work in the office. The office was within walking distance from my house and I think I just showed up one day wondering if they would hire me as an intern; they did. Fred and Adelaide were a husband-and-wife team and were easily in their mid 70s by the time I started. They had thirteen children and welcomed me into the fold like family. I haven't worked with Fred in years but I still remember his vocational instruction and his stories. The office was tiny. I remember everyone gathered for a holiday party once and we had four religious backgrounds at the table: Catholic, Evangelical Christian, Buddhism and Hinduism. To this day, I've never had a boss treat me with as much respect as Fred did. I don't think I really appreciated it at the time.

'After months of parking on the street, he finally agreed that designing the driveway around the stump was green living gone too far.'

(Photo: Miguel Coelho; via Archinet)

{via Unhappy Hipsters}

Main Street

Last week, I made around 30 cold calls to designated Main Street communities in the vicinity of Chicago. Main Street, I should clarify, is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

" The Main Street Four-Point Approach® is a community-driven, comprehensive strategy used to revitalize downtown and neighborhood business districts throughout the United States. It is a common-sense way to address the variety of issues and problems that challenge traditional business districts. "

I spent hours on the National Trust website, Googling community locations and creating an Excel doc of communities, names of directors and telephone numbers. I went down the list and just started calling. I spoke to directors about Main Street, their specific program and inquired about employment opportunities. I spent Earth Day on the phone- not exactly the most 'green' of activities. I didn't come away with a job offer but I did receive information one can only acquire from speaking directly to "the source." Conversation was fruitful and some directors passed along additional networking contacts. All the directors I spoke with are scrambling for funds. Today I read a story how the State Main Street program is on the endangered list, according to Landmarks Illinois.
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Is your community attempting to revitalize its downtown? Historic buildings? Neighborhoods? Or have things completely stalled due to the economy?

If progress is coming, is the city involved? Or are these more grassroots endeavors?

Are you involved with your local neighborhood and/or business associations?

What do you like about where you live? What do you dislike? Do you drive everywhere or do you use alternative modes of transportation [walking, biking, public transit]?

What do you see as your community's assets?

---> All responses will remain in the comments section. I'm not passing along remarks to any sort of survey. This is just for personal reflection and informal conversation.
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image: "town" ~ screenprinted fabric in leaf green on oatmeal cotton.

Couch Cushion Architecture

[via swissmiss]

BUILDblog: We’ve rounded up a (mostly) admirable collection of projects, taken from a randomly conducted search on the internet. Join us as we take a critical analysis of the architecture, methods and design philosophies of living room furniture re-appropriation.

The Muralist

I love reading the "On Location" pieces in the New York Times Home & Garden section. Some dwellings are horrid, some are energizing and some make me want to rethink everything in my own apartment.

... The feeling of sanctuary became especially important for him shortly after he bought the apartment when he was mugged. His shoulder was broken, and he could not paint for two months.

One of the first things he did after recovering was to change the color of the living room wall.

“I painted the wall as if I was up in the clouds on the calmest summer afternoon in the history of summer afternoons — think Hudson River School, Asher Brown Durand,” he says. “I mixed three or four tones of warm sienna with lighter tones of white, with a hint of yellow ochre for warmth. If my boat was in the middle of a lake, I didn’t want a single wisp of air blowing my sail. I wanted to just sit there for a bit, breathe and regroup.” ...

What a narrative!! Read the rest of the feature here.

[Photos: Trevor Tondro for The New York Times]

Modern Design

Another article I read in the NY Times this week: "Modern Design, in Miniature, Is Growing"... {NY Times photo}
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On a similar theme, my friend Holt sent me a link to the blog swissmiss.

The Mad Men of Mid-Century Modern Design

{George Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom Playboy Magazine, July 1961}
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She also sent me a link about Sealpelts. Oh my.

Doo-Nanny

Did anyone else read this piece in the New York Times about the Alabama artist, Butch Anthony? He lives on 80-acres, built his own home & filled it with his own art.

His folk art/personality reminded me a little bit of the artist in the film Junebug. [great movie- have you seen it?]
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The article also mentioned the Doo Nanny- the annual alt/folk art “micro” festival held on Anthony's property.

{all images from the NY Times}

blue house

House, Office, Apartment, London. 2004
{image via Fat}

I like the cartoony elevation.

the chair

"Choosing a chair without hurting anyone’s feelings was the toughest part of his morning. He couldn’t even make eye contact with the chaise longue." (Photo: Thomas Ibsen; Wallpaper magazine)

{via Unhappy Hipsters}
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I miss architecture school.

garden club

{vintage photographs via abby try again}

I met up with an old friend from architecture school in downtown Chicago last week. The weather was brilliant. Jenn and I reconnected on Facebook and hadn't seen each other in person for years. I was a little nervous about the meetup- mainly because of the lapse of time. Would it be awkward?

We met at the train station and walked + talked our way to the Art Institute of Chicago. Conversation was easy. The museum didn't open for 45 minutes so we sat in the Lurie Garden for well over an hour and talked some more. We rediscovered our common interests + learned that our husbands are both equally obsessed with board games :) Jenn recently resigned from her job. I'm looking for gainful employment. We swapped networking contacts in the sunshine.

We did eventually walk around The Modern Wing* for a little while. And then grabbed some lunch, sat in another garden space... before parting ways.

Relationships matter.

*{I bought a membership via Groupon last summer- great deal!}

reading material

"What? It’s a totally comfy reading nook."
(Photo: Hertha Hernaus; Dwell, February 2009)

{via Unhappy Hipsters}
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Current reading material in our apartment:

She: A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life
(by Parker J. Palmer)

Him: The Magic Circle of Rudolf II: Alchemy and Astrology in Renaissance Prague (by Peter Marshall)

opposites attract.

Unhappy Hipsters

Unhappy Hipsters
tagline ... It's Lonely In The Modern World

"Rosebud’s patience wore thin. Was the door open or closed? She refused to suffer the humiliation of guessing."
(Photo: Jason Schmidt; Dwell, February 2010)

{site link via Sweet Juniper}

Cobble Hill Apartment

I love this Brooklyn apartment featured in the New York Times. The couple met as architecture students at the Rhode Island School of Design.

{Article HERE}

playhouse

I can't get over the backyard playhouse he made for his twins. So cool. I love the pendent light and the bright orangey yellow walls.

Architect, or Whatever

"Architect, or Whatever" - interesting article from The New York Times.

... "A troubled economy and the implosion of the real estate market have thrown thousands of architects and designers out of work in the last year or so, forcing them to find or create jobs. According to the latest data available from the Department of Labor, employment at American architecture firms, which peaked last July at 224,500, had dropped to 184,600 by November." ...

I mentioned part of the story awhile back on my blog: Architecture 5¢

Low Impact Woodland Home

This isn't a movie set... it's a family's home in Wales. What an amazing project! You can read more about it here.

{via A CUP OF JO}

merry, merry

On Saturday, I ventured downtown and had lunch with an old friend. Joslyn and I met in first grade. We met at the Chicago Cultural Center- easily one of my favorite buildings in the city. An all-city youth ensemble played live jazz music for an hour. Later that evening, Brad and I walked down the street to a church gathering. Potluck.. games... white elephant exchange... roaring fire. You know, typical winter festivities in the Midwest. :) Last night, we had some family come down to the city for Thai food and the Redmoon Theater's Winter Pageant. {Brad and I attended another Redmoon production over the summer.} The Winter Pageant was very entertaining- quite odd!- but a lot of fun.

"Redmoon Theater creates theatrical spectacles that transform streets, stages, and architectural landmarks into places of public celebration utilizing an original language capable of speaking across cultural, ethnic, and generational boundaries."

Modern Gingerbread House

Via Apartment Therapy... more houses here.

I HEART BRUTALISM

Still need a gift for that architecture lover in your life?? Encourage their passion for the urban environment with this t-shirt illustration of Florence, Italy. {CafePress has quite a few architecture themed t-shirts} Or what about this t-shirt showing ones love of Brutalist architecture? tempting, no? {I should mention, my husband and I met in architecture school}.
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Brad forwarded me this link about an online series: Working out of the Box. It is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths.

We have several friends that are looking outside the box of a traditional architecture career. I would add myself to this grouping. Brad is pondering it as well.