Category: architecture

the dome and the blue tarp

Domes have been found from early Mesopotamia, which may explain the form’s spread. They are found in Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Chinese architecture in the Ancient world, as well as among a number of contemporary indigenous building traditions. Dome structures were popular in Byzantine and medieval Islamic architecture, and there are numerous examples from Western Europe in the Middle Ages. The Renaissance architectural style spread from Italy in the Early modern period. Advancements in mathematics, materials, and production techniques since that time resulted in new dome types. The domes of the modern world can be found over religious buildings, legislative chambers, sports stadiums, and a variety of functional structures.–Wikipedia
Rotunda, Homer, blue tarp
with the color…

day of rest

Church Proffit VA
Cornerstone Life Christian Church, Proffit, Virginia–c 1881.

“Listed in the Virginia Landmark Register (1998) and the National Register of Historic Places (1999), Proffit is described as “a rare survivor of the black communities established in Albemarle County after the Civil War, but which have largely disappeared or been rebuilt.”–read more about Proffit National Register District

room with a view

bluebird house
Installed bluebird houses #4 and 5, built by Clark Walter following Carl Little’s design. 100% occupancy last year.

Of all the birds a gardener could choose to attract, the bluebird is the quintessential helpful garden bird.
Gardeners go to extreme lengths to attract and keep them in the garden for their advantageous properties. Bluebirds are voracious insect consumers, quickly ridding a garden of insect pests–Wikipedia

sense of place

Quincy, Florida courthouse
Dome of the Gadsden County Courthouse. Quincy Florida, Built 1913, architect Hal F Hentz of Hertz, Reid and Adler. The firm is “known in the Southeast for their Beaux-Arts style and as the founding fathers of the Georgia school of classicism.”
Arkansas Capital building
The Arkansas State Capitol was constructed between 1899 and 1915 on the site of the old state penitentiary using prison labor. These buildings, when, where and how they were built cause discomfort among some. Should they be removed?

Your ability to create places that are meaningful and places of quality and character depends entirely on your ability to define space with buildings, and to employ the vocabularies, grammars, syntaxes, rhythms and patterns of architecture in order to inform us who we are.—Jim Kunstler

Kitatama Elementary School

Kitatama ES
Neighborhood school across the street and up the hill. Looks like a school, not a factory. Gardens on the school grounds, different than the US model (big parking lot and few windows)
brooms
Notable degree of cleanliness prevails. Possibly that training starts early? A commonly held societal value?
residential streets
The hillside neighborhood is an oasis of quiet. The neighborhood streets are typically 12-14′ wide. “Fire codes” wouldn’t allow this street typology in the US.
Walking to school starts early.
The practice of walking to school is nearly universal and starts early.
Car use around the school is restrict. The community assures that children walk, and that while walking they are safe.
Car use around the school is restricted. The community assures that children walk, and that while walking they are safe.

Big Pharmacy

foo house
September 13, great discussion by the entrance corridor review board regarding proposed big box pharmacy which desires to locate at 1170 Emmett Street (southeast corner of the Barracks/Rt 29 intersection). The ERCB made comments based on the entrance corridor design guidelines and deferred the matter in hopes that the applicant will return with a plan that will complement the community.