Veritas et Venustas

Haitian Cabins UPDATE

NEW Miami Herald "Could prefab cabins help solve Haiti's housing crisis?" with video

USA TODAY "Low-cost cabins offered for post-Haiti earthquake housing"

UPDATE: Duany was interviewed on NPR. Hear the interview HERE. Slideshow HERE.

INVITATION to Press Conference HERE
Download the PDF HERE (31 pages - may be slow)

V&V Haiti Housing Posthaste
Miami Herald, "Miami architect devises prefabs for homeless"

FDR on Architecture Quote of the Day

FDR's Hyde Park home was along the Hudson River south of Rhinebeck, New York. As President, Roosevelt took a personal interest in the Post Offices built in the area by the WPA, and had some of them built on the models of regional Dutch houses that had disappeared by the Depression.

Here is what he said about them (from Wikipedia):

We are seeking to follow the type of architecture which is good in the sense that it does not of necessity follow the whims of the moment but seeks an artistry that ought to be good, as far as we can tell, for all time to come. And we are trying to adapt the design to the historical background of the locality and to use, insofar as possible, the materials which are indigenous to the locality itself. Hence, fieldstone for Dutchess County. Hence, the efforts during the past few years in Federal buildings in the Hudson River Valley to use fieldstone and to copy the early Dutch architecture which was so essentially sound besides being very attractive to the eye.[3]

. . .

Three of the six stone post offices in the region whose design Roosevelt oversaw[4] were based on historic buildings no longer extant at the time of their construction. Of those three, Rhinebeck's most closely replicates its original, and is the only one with an exhibit inside of some other remnants of that model.[5] Its porch and lobby mimic a typical 18th-century colonial home's finishing. The paneling in the postmaster's office imitates a parlor of that era.[1]

Next to the Rhinebeck Post Office is the Beekman Arms Hotel, an old hotel (circa 1700, maybe the oldest in America) that had been remodeled several times before being redesigned in the early 20th century by Harrie T. Lindeberg, a Beaux Arts graduate who had once been Stanford White's assistant.

There are photos on the web, but no good ones, unfortunately.

My "Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates" Quote of the Day

My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the “Extra Large Medium” episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine’s day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in ” Smudge” but I was a blonde in “Life Goes On”. I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line “I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska” was very funny. I think the word is “sarcasm”.

In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.

FOR THOSE who haven't followed Governor Palin's latest whine, the history is described on The Mudflats blog. Andrea Jay Friedman seems to have a better sense of humor, and world perspective, than the former Governor. The sarcasm reference, of course, comes from Palin's beliefs that Rahm Emmanuel should be fired for using the word "retards," while Rush Limbaugh should be applauded for his skillful use of "satire" when repeating the same word.

What I'm Reading

Yale University Press, Paperback, 352 pages

VERY GOOD so far.

The sizzle of a fastball, the crack of the bat

THOSE are sounds being heard today at Legends Field in Tampa. Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow, burt players were allowed to start arriving Monday.

 

Spring can't be far behind, even though Wednesday looked like this.

Live from New York

Mr. Manners Goes To MOMA (The Etiquette of Deconstructivism)

UPDATE: To read the full text, download the PDF.

I THOUGHT THIS OLD REVIEW for Inland Architect of the 1988 Decon exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art had been lost forever, but a friend recently sent it to me:

 Architectural Trivia: The editor who commissioned this review is now married to Peter Eisenman.

Download the PDF