The studio’s second podcast: Local architecture and natural landscapes of the South West
The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture and everyday life. Curated by architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.
A variety of topics are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are advice for other designers, critiques of buildings and other projects, or informal explorations of everyday life and of design. The second workshop is also available on iTunes, SpotifyAnd Youtube.
This week David and Marina from FAME Architecture & Design discuss the local architecture, adobe buildings, and natural landscapes of the southwest region of the United States. Both cover the role of nature in cities, experience design, how architecture can coexist with the natural landscape, craftsmanship, and more. Destinations included the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Frank Lloyd WrightIt is Taliesin Westand Arcosanti by Paolo Soleri.
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Highlights and timestamps
(00:00) Discover national parks and modern cities.
Monument Valley is an uninterrupted 360-degree experience of nature. There, nature is the main actor in the space and if there is architecture, it is well behind. If you look at big cities, like Los Angeles, you have to look for nature. Nature is in the background or it’s the thing you see out your window looking out at the ocean. It’s not this uninterrupted experience and perspective that makes me wonder what’s the point (of building if it destroys the beauty that was already there)? (10:20 a.m.)
(15:48) Create local and meaningful architecture
The adobe architecture of the Southwest is not only fascinating because of its aesthetic appearance. It looks the way it looks because it was built that way out of necessity. With adobe houses, the relationship between their structure (what supports the architecture), their construction methods and their aesthetics, and therefore their design, are one and the same. They were conceived as non-distinct things. That’s what makes them beautiful. There’s an intense honesty to this type of architecture, whether it’s done with Adobe or something else. (6:50 p.m.)
A striking feeling I had as we approached civilization (the big cities), it was like we could have been anywhere. Everything looked the same. Everyone had the same cars. The houses could have belonged anywhere. We didn’t feel like we were in a specific place. It was sad. That’s something that we’ve noticed, and it’s one of my pet peeves, is that the way to build and grow a lot of American cities is to have a bunch of crappy chains. There’s always a Michaels, a Target, a Walmart, a Costco, a KFC, and a Burger King in the same place, and all the buildings that house these programs still look the same everywhere in America…except, I think, in Santa Fe. , McDonald’s had a turquoise color instead of yellow and red. (21:01)
(23:40) Creating experiences through architecture
We often say that we don’t design buildings but we create and design experiences. I like to think about architecture this way and design this way because it takes the focus away from this physical thing (the building) which is just a means to an end. (26:20)
(29:11) Avoiding superficial design decisions
Often what people consider “beautiful” and what they consider desirable is simply based on what we’ve all seen a lot of or what someone else owns. (…) In this state of mind, design becomes a copying game where everyone is just copying things. One of the biggest challenges we (clients and architects) face is getting through it. Don’t copy what someone else does. (…) Instead, let’s create something specific to the place and to you. The real challenge of designing architecture is finding some truth in it. That’s really what it’s about. (29:25)
(34:00) Should architecture blend into the natural environment?
What relationship should human-built structures (architecture) have with the natural landscape around them? (…) In color theory, if you have a green color, an easy way to work with that green is to choose another shade of green. But in color theory, there is the word complementary, which I have always found very interesting. For example, green and red, it seems like they’re sort of opposites, but they’re also complementary. Blue and orange are also very different, but also complementary. So there’s this idea that two things can be aesthetically and on the surface completely different things, but they attract and work with each other. There is a resonance between them and they reinforce each other. They define a new understanding of each other. I think that’s really what architecture should do with the natural environment around it. (43h00)
Conceptually, architecture also defines our relationship with the natural environment. In the primitive sense, architecture shelters us and protects us from the outside. As a result, it acts as a mediator between us and nature. (35:55)
(45:35) Craft and love
I often feel like the know-how has been lost. That is, the care you put into something and the care you put into making something good, not just making a quick deal to make money and move on. Architects can also be considered artisans. I always think of Europe as a reference point, and in the small towns there, people make their own things and they’re very proud of it. The local guy who makes bread or the local cheese shop is passionate about what he does…they are artisans. Even the signage above the cheese shop door would probably be hand painted and they would have chosen the colors very carefully. I think if you put love into what you do, you can transfer that love to people and create more love around you. (46:46)
(56:03) Taliesin West by Frank Lloyd Wright And Arcosanti by Paolo Soleri