design ideas thought fodder

The 500-Year Building

Historic preservation is an ever-changing field. Twenty-some years ago, people in the field concerned themselves with trying to save as many “old” buildings as they could, “old” meaning primarily Victorian-era, with the goal being to bring these buildings (or, at the very least, their facades) back to how they were originally conceived. In many cases, that meant stripping off any modern skins that had been applied during the 1940s to 1970s, removing insensitive architectural features…

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design observations thought fodder

Spelunking Online

Spelunking is the term used for exploring caves. Urban explorers in London have been spelunking in the underground structures of the city and documenting what they find because most of these areas are off-limits to the public. People love mucking about in hidden places. On a planet that seems to have had every square inch explored, what might there be left to uncover? As London’s urban explorers have found, human beings have created hidden and forgotten…

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art design inspiration

Dr. Seuss Houses in Central Minnesota

Hubby and I had occasion recently to visit St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. On our drive in, we saw these fun, quirky, “windswept” house made of sticks: Upon seeing these, I was immediately reminded of illustrations by Dr. Seuss. They’re fabulous! And, apparently, they are not meant to last forever. In fact, they were supposed to be taken down next month, but will remain until next winter. [http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2015/02/25/st-johns-stickhouse-allowed-remain-minnesota/24016345/] This sculpture project was designed by…

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