Lyrics inherited from awareness somewhere in the sky

Some music. Blackalicious has the best delivery style in hip hop.

Mockitecture on Flickr

An oversized parking meter...

I found this gem by dialing up the internets. (Which we all know is a series of tubes.) My congratulations to OmarOmar, you have a true eye for mockitecture.

Norton's Christmas Wish List

Revisiting PostModernism

The Architectural League of New York is releasing a series of Podcasts, titled "Revisiting PostModernism" It is an in depth look at some of the most serious practitioners of Postmodernism, including Charles Jencks and James Stirling. This is an up close look back at what the movement was really about. [more...]

Poetry Jam of the Week

Here is some poetry:

Butterscotch, Philip Semore Hoffman, Yoga toga, Chinese Ear Wax, Shards of glass, the Eiffel Tower, drunk pirate, Moon walk on Mars. Sarah Palin Hockey puck lobotomy, fat man on a camel, Where's Waldo Where's Waldo, MOON PIE MOON PIE

Subversion: Immersion, Cranbrook Version

This is an example of some great mockitecture. It is a project by a student for the Campus of Cranbrook Academy. There are many layers to the project, the most obvious being a floating brick in the sky. Bricks are very heavy, so to loft a brick up on the air and have it float there is subversive to start with. Usually, heavier elements are thought to be placed in the ground. Much like the work of Sverre Fehn, the giant brick in the sky breaks with expected convention, a kind of second glance architecture. It is about architecture, but it also utilizes everyday shapes (bricks) to make ironic gestures which can be interpreted on some level by non-architects.

The next ironic gesture is that of a truss in the ground. Many would say that is absurdism. (not as a compliment) The truss is just the image. The sloped columns that make up the image of the truss in the ground are completely structurally rational. The fact that a huge truss is sitting in the ground would be quite a sight.

When you strip away the heavy-feeling materials from the brick, we realize that the structure makes sense. The treatments and detailing are meant to subvert this inherit structural logic.

Truss in ground, brick in sky. Makes sense to me.

What is...a SHADOW CATCHER?

Ever since mis-hearing someone who was speaking about "Shadow Casters" (i.e. spot lights), I have been intrigued at the thought of a Shadow Catcher.  Perhaps it is just the mystery of not being able to define what a shadow catcher is/looks like, that has peaked my interest.

Maybe shadow catchers are walls haphazardly placed in the landscape?  Or, maybe they are massive holes...crevasses in the landscape?  Glass fronted buildings facing the sun seem to consume shadows originating from surrounding buildings and sidewalk activity...maybe they are shadow catchers?  Who knows?  Perhaps the eWorld will help me out with this one.  Any ideas?