Category: Uncategorized

Previously Published 26 July 13

When you see magazine photographs of a building, the feelings and impressions you get never match the understanding when you see the building in real life. This was certainly true during our recent unplanned encounter with a Stephen Holl residence. During a bicycle sojourn in the Lake Champlain area, we came upon the Nail Collector’s House during a ferry ride into Essex. This is a small tower like residence clad in brass plates that we have been reasonably fond of for years as it has been published extensively. Shameless architectural sleuths that we are, after we confirmed that nobody was home, we were able to walk around it and look in the windows. Despite all of the publication hoopla and accolades, we were underwhelmed standing there looking at it. For one thing, the piece was glaringly ignorant of the site. Granted, there is interior spacial complexity which we could only peek at thru the windows so we did not get the full experience. Kurt recorded his impressions on a drawing the next morning. So maybe the building hit deeper than we at first realized or care to admit.

Previously Published 10 July 13

Everyone wants to be an architect. During the past few years, the following people with an association to our projects have gone to either architectural or design school; two contractor’s daughters, one client’s spouse, and now one contractor. Whether this is some sort of new societal trend or if it is a phenomenon localized around our practice is difficult to say. We get many comments from clients and contractors that our job must be fun, which it is. Maybe what we really do is help people get in touch with their inner architect.

Previously Published 12 October 12

Buildings are free. They are free to see, that is, once they get built. Whatever the art form, be it drawings, paintings, music, sculpture, etc, you generally have to pay to see / experience it. But you typically don’t have to pay anything to see a building and get a cultural thrill. Speaking of thrills, we recently visited the Morgan Library with the Renzo Piano addition. This visit to the Library, which was probably our third, confirmed that this building is one of our absolute favorites; the scale, light and details are all simple and elegant. We also enjoyed seeing at The Morgan the original Robert Wilson sketches for Einstein on the Beach; alas, we had to pay to see those.

Previously Published 21 August 12

Craft is a word that has fallen out of common useage. This word was used recently by the most exacting contractor with whom we have had the pleasure to work. His observation is that all parties working on a project bring their respective crafts to the building process. And that it is this craft which sets the final level of quality of a construction project. With the increasing generalization of quality (“jack of all trades, master of none”), it was nice to be reminded of craft, and the significance of it in the building process.

Previously Published 4 April 12

Fifth year landscape architecture students from SUNY – Environmental School of Forestry in Syracuse conducted an excellent design charrette last week for Empire Brewery. The students provided brainstorming and analysis of land use factors that will impact the project. The great ideas discussed will help to knit the building into the landscape. The enthusiasm and energy the students bring to their work is first rate and they are fortunate to have the opportunity to work on real world projects. Altonview was happy to host the event.

Previously Published 17 April 11

Farmers are increasingly constructing fabric barns for their livestock. They really are very cool structures; translucent, open, airy. Some manufacturers even tout their system as moveable. Then it suddenly hit us, these fabric barns are incredibly similar to the Iroquois longhouse (pre European influence), which also used to dot our landscape. Both are or were arched, long and rectangular, lightweight, easily constructed, easily disposed and ultimately moveable. Has our regional architectural history come full circle?

Previousy Published 1 March 11

We are against lifting the fracking moratorium, until all New York counties have had the opportunity to strengthen their zoning laws. We want to see property values increase and we don’t see how industrial production sites distributed across the countryside helps with this valuation. It is ironic that our clients are required by zoning laws to construct silt fences during excavation to control surface runoff; meanwhile, their next door neighbors are allowed to lease their land to gas companies who will inject harmful chemicals into the actual groundwater, for which no zoning application is required. The resolution of this dilemma seems simple; apply the municipality’s zoning law to ALL proposed land uses, be it residential construction or gas drilling. For municipalities without zoning laws, the County Planning Board should review the proposed land use to ensure that SEQRA requirements are enforced.

Previously Published 23 April 10

We greatly enjoyed our trip to the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. Not only is the sport near and dear to our hearts. But the building is part of the 20th century architectural cannon. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, it was such a joy to spend time in and around it after seeing only photos in books. Everywhere your eye went, there was such delight. You could almost imagine the pleasure that the draftsmen felt as they drew the long continuous horizontal lines with their pencils and t squares. And the fact that the whole thing was finely crafted around a single tennis court just increases the fantasy exponentially.

Previously Published 12 March 10

The local Cub Scout Pack was in the office this week. They had to visit an Architect’s office as a requirement for a badge they are working on. Because they thought that the Badgley / Kong Residence was sufficiently cool, they spent part of the time drawing that house from a scale model. The results are absolutely great. Below are two of the drawings. Brad said they may hang the series in the house. Once again, everyone’s inner architect shines thru.

Previously Published 28 December 08

One of the (many) great things about the Sol LeWitt retrospective at Mass Moca is that they used manual drafting equipment; straightedges, lead holders, etc. for the wall drawings. We found the first, lowest, floor to be the most spectacular; given the precision and huge scale of the drawings, we thought that at some point, they became architectural although we were not sure exactly how. Any trip we take to Mass Moca is inspiring, and the Sol LeWitt show only increased the pleasure. After that much art, the only way to recover is dinner at The Spice Root (Indian) in nearby Williamstown.