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Tuesday Links

Here is a collection of links that have caught my attention this yesterday. Check some of them out, I’m sure you’ll find them intriguing.

Bloomframe in Production – I’m excited to see this actually becoming a reality, though I’d still be nervous about it supporting that much weight.

OIL ROCKS – The first thing that I thought of when I saw these images was steeplechase roller coasters.

White Roofs? Too simple? – This post hypothesizes that white roofs have not taken off as a cultural sustainability move is that people do not trust the simple measures, but rather have much more trust in complex measures.

The Architect 50 – The Architect magazine prepared their version of the top 50 architecture firms in the world. It’s intersting, none of these firms are based out of DC though some have offices here, though there is one out of Richmond.

Links of the moment

Here are some of the links I’ve been looking at today:

The washington post has a column discussing the trials and tribulations of the new apple store in Georgetown and what this protracted historic design board rejection/approval process means for future developments here and elsewhere.
Icon Magazine has an interesting article about an exhibition at the Tate Modern of two of my favorite Modern Russian Artists: Rodchenko and Popova. I love their creation of three dimensional space within an abstract medium.
The Washington Post has an article naming four architecture firms (Morphosis Architects , Richard Meier and Partners, Kieran Timberlake and PEI Cobb Freed and Partners) as having been awarded new embassy building contracts by the State Department. Anyone looking for work near one of these firms office mght stand a good chance of getting employed, especially if you have past government experience.
Washington Spaces has a post about McInturff Architects wining an award from Spark Modern Fires for a fireplace design using one of their products. Their design has the fireplace surrounded by glass shelves filled with books. The other entries are presented on the site as well. I particularly like the fireplace in the tiled bathroom.

The Panic of 2008

Check out my sister’s op-ed piece on the similarities and differences between our current political situation and the Panic of 1837 on The History News Network. Its a really interesting read.

2008 – Top 24 Architecture Design Firms in the Washington DC area

Since moving to the DC area it has been easy to feel lost in the neoclassical and federalist architecture that pervades the area. Many of the firms here still work within those vernaculars. Those who differ seem to err on the side of bland post modern boxes. I decided that there had to be firms in the area who had a more avant-garde/metropolitan sense in their design aesthetic and so I searched through the websites of over 400 firms listed in the Washington, DC / Northern Virginia (NOVA) / Maryland region.

I only looked at architecture firms whose only office is in the DC metro area, and selected those that I felt had a more contemporary/avant-garde design sensibility. I feel that I have achieved my goal of proving that there are small to medium firms in the DC metroplex that focus on creating buildings/spaces that further the architectural dialogue and do not just rehash old building styles for the sake of building.

The following firms are in no particular order.