kazys.net

If you're wondering where that post you saw the other day went, wonder no more. The main page at kazys.net displays only recent entries. For posts from further back in the past, check out the kazys.net archives, organized by month, or use the search section on the left side of the page.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 02:05 PM PST

Thursday, September 13, 2001

"I feel this way about it. World trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center buildings in New York ... had a bigger purpose than just to provide room for tenants. The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace ... beyond the compelling need to make this a monument to world peace, the World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness."

- Minoru Yamasaki (died 1987), architect of the World Trade Center

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 12:30 AM PST

Wednesday, September 12, 2001

The terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center was an unprecedented act of war against the United States. Architecture didn't fail, as this BBC news article states, careful design saved lives.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 08:44 AM PST

Tuesday, July 31, 2001

Sometimes, late at night, everything becomes clear. Your vision unclouds and the world makes perfect sense. Tonight was one of those nights. Driving back home from Echo Park, we encoutered the Gershwin Hotel Hollywood (5533 Hollywood Boulevard). It was the face of post-(post-Fordism) or whatever name this period will have: naked, raw and pure. Enough said. You'll have to visit. Preferably late at night. But make sure you club your car.

An update: according to the Gershwin Hotel people, the hotel isn't finished yet. The interior spaces will be designed by Karim Rashid and a Totem store will be located on the first level.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 01:01 AM PST

Friday, July 27, 2001

I always really disliked Aeron chairs. And who didn't dislike the dot.com industry? Learn their cruel fate in Salon.com's article Auction of the damned

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 02:54 PM PST

Thursday, July 12, 2001

My article “Hallucination in Seattle. Frank Gehry’s Experience Music Project,” published in Pasajes de Arquitectura y Critica, in June 2001 is now available in English, on kazys.net: here.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 03:48 PM PST

The Southern California Studies Center - (SC2) has an excellent set of documents on the urban environment in Southern California, including Sprawl Hits The Wall, the product of a two year analysis of growth in the Los Angeles region.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 03:38 PM PST

Wednesday, June 27, 2001

Robert Sumrell's M.Arch thesis [best thesis award, SCI_Arc 2001] is now available on-line: superbrutalism. The thesis proposal from May 2000 and a visual argument from October 2000 show the thesis process.

You'll also note the creation of the Architecture Urbanism Design Collaborative [AUDC]. We'll be adding substantially to the site over the course of the summer.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 10:23 AM PST

Monday, June 25, 2001

According to the Los Angeles Business Journal, the "creative office" is dead. Can we have the giant Lego dinosaur from the etoys HQ? On second thought, maybe not. Note mention of 6100 Wilshire (next door! and the subject of many night photos of vacant offices...see below) and carsdirect.com's continuing saga (now the corporation is dead, but the office can't be rented).

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 03:05 PM PST

Sunday, June 24, 2001

My most recent article in MIT's Thresholds has been published. You can read it on-line here or better yet, in the journal itself, available in most architecture bookstores soon.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 12:50 PM PST

Saturday, June 23, 2001

Even dead malls find a home on the Internet: deadmalls.com

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 11:35 AM PST

Friday, June 22, 2001

Another salvo in the war against sprawl: Alternative Views of Sprawl: Is Los Angeles Style Sprawl Desirable? by Reid Ewing - SGN Library at www.smartgrowth.org

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 11:20 PM PST

Thursday, June 21, 2001

Fast Company compares two suburban communities outside of Denver. One is the utterly repulsive Highlands Ranch (this is a planned community..this is not an accident???). The other is the far more interesting New Urbanist community Prospect New Town. The latter is a bit out of the ordinary, allowing modern houses in (just what is wrong with modernism anyway?). See Is This Your Beautiful House? on the web. The print version is superior, however, as it has images. There's more on Prospect New Town at Terrain.org

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 06:29 PM PST

Wednesday, June 20, 2001

SCI_Arc's reconstruction of the Santa Fe depot building into a cutting-edge school of architecture continues apace. A visit to the site yesterday revealed that workmen are laying rebar for the concrete slab for the first level floor; electrical work is continuing; sprinklers appear to be in place or largely in place; and all the interior shear walls are nearly done - one last one needs to be shotcreted. The construction crew was also color-testing exterior paint.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 01:52 AM PST

A month and a half ago, a former member of the SCI_Arc faculty told me that they thought globalization was merely a buzz-word. Now just what was going on in Quebec City at that time? Hmm.. Hopefully this person is staying away from anything involving the teaching of current events and I guess they shouldn't visit this web site on Japanese Engrish either (thanks to Israel Kandarian for the link).

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 01:40 AM PST

Tuesday, June 19, 2001

To finish off post-Fordism once and for all, Record tells us it looks likely that Richard Meier will design the Woodstock music pavilion.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 08:06 AM PST

Monday, June 18, 2001

Rumor has it that there will be new- or interim -heads at all three big east coast schools this fall. Tschumi at Columbia, Lerner at Princeton, and Silvetti at the Harvard GSD are all on their way out. Or so we hear.

Posted by Kazys Varnelis @ 05:24 PM PST