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The ancient domesticity of the Mediterranean basin has long fascinated me, what we learn about the thousands of year old living arrangements continues to inform our styles from Moshe Safdie's early condos which bring to mind hilltowns to the mosaics of Bisazza and Sicis. With each new find and subsequent exposure of the past, a new generation of companies and stylists again become inspired.
The Metropolitan Museum currently has a show unveiling a trove of mosaics accidently discovered during road constuction near Tel Aviv in 1996. It will be interesting to watch how these detailed images will influence the new. (If you can't get to the show in time, read about it here.)
My new favorite magazine is The Atlantic; under its new ownership and editorial staff it continues to be well written and appears to me to be a voice of reason on our current global economy without the cheer leading, grandstanding or bs evident in so much of today's mainstream media.
THE FUTURE OF HOUSING STYLE
The lead-in to the article: "Houses of the Future" goes like this: "Four years after the levee failures, New Orleans is seeing an unexpected boom in architectural experimentation. Small, independent developers are succeeding in getting houses built where the government has failed. And the city's unique challenges—among them environmental impediments, an entrenched culture of leisure, and a casual acquaintance with regulation—are spurring design innovations that may redefine American architecture for a generation." The houses featured are small and functional, and my guess is that the classic Greek Revival shotgun style house will become a favorite, despite the attempt to "upgrade the taste" of the populace with modernism by the various players. The author describes 5 house in the article, so be sure to follow the link map in the article to see the designs by the well-known architects. These are the efforts to which Brad Pitt is lending his star-power.
The article notes that the classic New Orleans style (pictured above) is by the New York architect William Monaghan, who grew up in New Orleans and both understands and appreciates the vernacular architecture. Check his website Build Now for other classic New Orleans plans.
THE FUTURE OF HOUSING SIZE
The small houses featured in the article are functional and above all affordable. It was most instructive to read Witold Rybczynski's archived article from 1991 in the same publication "Living Smaller, the Advantages of a Small House". I wonder if he had any idea then of the McMansions that were to come. Recently, the Harvard Center for Housing Studies reported that new home sizes are slowly coming down in size, but it seems to me that their numbers are not yet significant.
THE FUTURE OF HOME OWNERSHIP
However, the most interesting article from March 2009 may be the most significant of all, as it relates to the future of housing - "How the Crash will Reshape America." Richard Florida discusses the winners and losers in the geographic lottery, the choices and opportunities as we reshape our economy and where we will live. The most interesting idea that he develops is his call for reducing our focus on home ownership, he sees renting as a much more flexible way to keep our economy strong and flourishing in the future. Renting will allow the population to follow opportunity much more readily than home ownership, moving forward. (In the past, when IBM stood for I've been Moved, home ownership was never a problem, because large companies simply bought up home at market value to remove any burden from their employees - times have changed.)
The concept entails sound thinking, and will have a major impact on interior finishes. We would be moving towards the European model, so industries must develop products that are movable like kitchen furniture instead of built-ins - a radical change for many material and product suppliers. There are many years to plan for this eventuality, but now is the time to plan ahead. - rather than let others countries become the winners like the Japanese automobile manufacturers became when the domestic manufacturers refused to build fuel efficient cars. (IKEA stands to become the go to cabinet manufacturer because they already know how to do this.)
We know that Washington needs more revenue, and whether and how fast this shift will happen, depends on who has the deeper pockets for lobbying to keep the tax write-offs for themselves and their customers.
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Today, the British design and home furnishings troika of Sir Peter Osborne, Tricia Guild and William Yeoward discussed their personal connection to the Silk Road and how it has influenced their products. All three make annual pilgrimages to India both for inspiration and manufacturing. They certainly inspired the room full of designers who came to look and listen at the Boston Design Center. A historical perspective was also offered by moderator Pamela Parmal, David and Roberta Logie Curator of Textile and Fashion Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Know for brilliant saturated color,Tricia Guild based her first collection, created almost 40 years ago, on the recoloring of hand-blocked Indian textiles. (In the 9/11 post below you can see one of the printing blocks that I found at Brimfield.) Her showroom is a must-visit on every trip to London, one can always expect to see trends being developed there.
Although Osbourne and Little prints are softer in color, all three spoke of floral inspiration (particularly the rose) as well as the ever important paisley decorative element. Also expect to see more pomegranate designs. (Above from Osbourne & Little) The hundreds of years of continuity of these designs are comfortable and familiar, and have been a part of our design heritage since the first link was created from Asia to Europe - the Silk Road. All three designers have updated the various Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern influences to fit today's lifestyle. We never grow tired of worn classic cabbage rose patterns and embrace every new version of Silk Road interpretations that are introduced, particularly on the East Coast.
4 minute video has it all - art, architecture, charm, history, even tile. Enjoy!
Built in 1923 for $17,000, (70% over budget) La Miniatura in Pasadena is now on the market for $7.73M. Wright decided that he would make a silk purse out of a sow's ear by molding a cross-shaped "textile" pattern into concrete blocks, the cheapest of building materials. It has recently undergone a major renovation - as it, like all Wright houses had water issues. Ah, the price of genius! And then again, not a bad return on investment.
I grew up next to, what we then called a "nasty run-down rental" with a family living there that called their only son "Brother," the house was easy to ignore because it sat on a large piece of property with gorgeous old growth trees. The owner left the property to his daughter, and to our delight, she immediately restored the house to the charm of its origins - a Sears catalog bungalow. Today, beautifully landscaped, this house makes a good neighbor. My parents are ever hopeful that someone doesn't come along and tear it down to build a McMansion. (For more inspiration see a collection of the original plans from the Sears Catalog of houses at About.com on architecture.)
Bill Valentine of HOK, whose article Voluntary Simplicity: Making Smaller Better, I mentioned in November 07 is finally getting his wished-for form of housing. An article in the Wall Street Journal introduced developers Ross Chapin and Jim Soules from the Seattle area to the entire country in an article:The Newest Cottage Industry. They have been building boutique neighborhoods of a dozen of so Craftsman Style cottages ranging in size from 800-1,500 sf, about half the size of typical new homes. The cottages are built around a communal courtyard and are not cheap, they sell in the $600,000 range. The houses are well designed for optimal living in small spaces, for example, interior walls have been replaced with floor to ceiling bookshelves. It is nice to hear that the Bungalow aesthetic is finally making a comeback when sustainability is on the tip of everyone's tongue!
When I purchased my 1890's Victorian house, the interior colors were comfortable and tasteful, if not exactly to my liking. I knew that the colors were not Victorian, but couldn't quite figure out their provenance until I toured Wright's Unity Temple in Oak Park. There was the palette that the previous owners had used throughout the house.
Suitable for today's organic aesthetic, Pittsburgh Paints has introduced a palette of Wright colors - the Fallingwater Inspired Colors. These colors have the same spirit that is present in Oak Park, with the inspiration that Wright found in the central Pennsylvania mountains. The colors have been authenticated by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the caretakers for Fallingwater. The area and house are well worth a weekend adventure.
Ludovica and Roberto Palomba, Palomba Serafini Associati are interviewed by Alice Liao in Kitchen and Bath Business in the March 2008 issue. They discuss their inspirations and articulate their design philosophy which explains the beauty of the products that they produce. "Our work combines a contemporary vision of society and users' needs with an extensive knowledge of the historical and cultural roots of design, producing results that blend the past with the future." Poetic objects require more flourishes, but their radiator design for Tubes Radiatori is simply the essence of elegance - . In their interview they remind us: "To complicate is easy, to simplify is hard."
From the Wright Library
The ancient domesticity of the Mediterranean basin has long fascinated me, what we learn about the thousands of year old living arrangements continues to inform our styles from Moshe Safdie's early condos which bring to mind hilltowns to the mosaics of Bisazza and Sicis. With each new find and subsequent exposure of the past, a new generation of companies and stylists again become inspired.
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