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Modern around the classic

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:17:07 +0000

London has a long and interesting history, so it is no surprise that the city is packed full of both high-quality old, and modern, architecture.
London is a city known for its beautiful and historic buildings designed by some of the world’s most famous architects. Since the turn of the century, however, a new type of architecture, constructed using concrete, steel and glass, has become an increasingly important part of the ever-changing cityscape. This modern architecture is a highly visible aspect of the city and deserves attention as much as its longstanding architectural counterparts.

As with all large, modern cities, London has its fair share of boring, uniform office high-rises, architecture that adds nothing to its surrounding environment. These and other ill-thought-out buildings tend to give modern architecture a bad name, though the reputation is unmerited. Home to an abundance of high-quality and visually stunning modern techniques, London proves that when done right, concrete, steel and glass can enrich and edify a city’s cultural heritage.
These three highly visible buildings are great examples of how modern architecture is enhancing London’s built environment.

London Modern Architecture – Lloyd’s Building (1986)
Richard Rogers’ Lloyd’s building is a breath of fresh air in a city full of concrete commercial office blocks. The daring design places the stairs, elevators, power cables, air ducts and water pipes on the exterior, creating a clean uncluttered working space inside the tower. The services, things that other buildings try to conceal, thus proudly ornament the outside of the Lloyd’s building, creating its unique look.
The Lloyd’s building is located at 1 Lime Street and although not regularly open to the public the office does open each year as part of London Open House, when it’s free to visit.

London Modern Architecture – London Eye (1999)
Similarly to the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, the London Eye was originally intended only to be a temporary construction. However, due to its immense popularity, much like the Eiffel Tower, the wheel has become a permanent landmark, an instantly recognizable symbol of the city.
The Eye is located on the south bank of the River Thames opposite the houses of parliament. It is currently the most visited paid tourist attraction in country and the 30-minute ride will cost £17.50.

London Modern Architecture – 30 St Mary Axe: The Gherkin (2004)
30 St Mary Axe, affectionately known as The Gherkin (the British word for a pickle) due to its shape, is a welcome addition to the city skyline. This visually striking postmodern tower is an extremely good example of how modern architecture can enhance its local environment. The building is appreciated by both the public and professionals alike and won its architect, Sir Norman Foster, Britain’s most prestigious architectural award, the RIBA Stirling Prize.
Located, unsurprisingly, at 30 St Mary Axe, The Gherkin is only open to the public once a year as part of London Open House.

Finding artistic value on Modern type

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:06:39 +0000

Trellises have been a favorite landscape architectural element throughout the ages. Some serve as partial walls, screening off less desirable views, others to enframe a view. All of which support flowering plant material, usually varieties of vines. Trellises are formed into many shapes and sizes, different configurations to serve various needs: Overhead trellises create a ‘landscape room’ beneath while an arched trellis may serve as a ‘gateway’ into the garden itself. The focus of this article is upon the architectural-building material from which the trellis is constructed; it is not of wood, metal tubing or from expensive wrought iron.

When I was touring northern Italy and Spain I was struck by the timeless beauty of wrought-ironworks, fashioned out of the architecture of the buildings and into the garden trellises. It was not so much the ornate details that I found so interesting as I found the strength and durability of the material to be: it tested time, only growing more attractive. Later, back in the U.S.A. and practicing my profession as a Landscape Architect I found that wrought-iron was not often affordable except in only the most selective of projects (i.e. those with very, fat budgets).
I did design my share of wooden and hollow-tube trellises over the years but I was always looking for a material that would capture the essence of wrought-iron and at an affordable price. That is when I began experimenting with REBAR (reinforced iron for concrete building footings).

Rebar comes in a variety of diameters and surface patterns, usually in 20 foot lengths. It is the ‘poor cousin’ of construction-metals exclusively finding its’ way into concrete pours to reinforce the structural value of footings, walls and flat surfaces. I have not seen it utilized for much else.

There are quite a few good reasons why rebar works well as a trellis building material. Personally, I like the way it looks, it reminds me of Sahuaro Ribs and Ocotillo sticks used in the Southwest. It also takes on the look of knotty pine poles as well. Part of its attraction is that the knobby surface catches the light in a play of shadows throughout the day (and also in the nightime with directed, accent lighting).

Rebar does not have to be treated or painted; it looks best in its natural state of surface rust. It can, however, stain tile or fabric beneath it. In a rainy climate it is a good idea to spray a mat-sealer over those areas that may drip. Most landscape surfaces, however, are durable enough to handle these occasional drips. On one occasion we had the rebar elements, powder-coated with bright colors to go with the festive character of the project (powder coating is baked-on paint, like on a automobile). I do not recommend this treatment because of its expense but it does have its uses.

Although rebar does not sculpt well as wrought iron will, it can be bent within certain limits. In fact, the bending of the rebar can be best taken care of at the rebar yard itself, (look under rebar suppliers in the yellow pages). They receive

specifications from building contractors for all sorts or shapes and configurations to accommodate their building footings etc. They usually raise an eyebrow to such requests eg. rebar stock bent for a trellis, but more often than not they get into the spirit of the project and appreciate the change of pace.

I once designed and built a rebar trellis that we named “Double-Helix”, a vine trellis; the curve linear shapes of the trellis’s roof-line created a shadow of a double helix on the ground. You also saw the double helix form when walking by the trellis. Naturally, you can build a rebar trellis out of straight pieces of rod as well and eliminate the bending. A really nice look is to use different diameter rebar sticks and place them alongside one another in a descending pattern. They can also be cut to different lengths and also be placed in a descending pattern. It is really up to your imagination or that of your designer and landscape contractor.

Some of the ’straight-rod’ rebar trellises that we have designed and built were topped with another interesting material i.e. sheets of reinforced, metal used to reinforce concrete driveways. These sheets generally come in 7 foot widths and vary in lengths, of about 10 feet. Their box pattern is usually in 4 inch squares; this allows for plenty of air flow and a chance for the vines to trail throughout the webbing.

Lastly, anchoring a rebar trellis to the ground is quite simple. Basically all you need to do is to dig a 2 foot or better deep hole, set the rebar leg into it and pour your concrete mixture around it. You can also integrate all or part of the trellis’s legs into a patio wall, if the overall architectural design of the house and garden will benefit from this application. Naturally, have your construction details reviewed by your licensed landscape contractor.

Design and Architecture

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:58:31 +0000

This article will give a brief introduction to architecture, its origins and a look at how important it is in the world today and in the past.
Architecture is the practice of design buildings and other physical structures. It is often considered a form of art and science due to the massive amount of technical knowledge required to implement a design that has been created from nothing.
Architects have many factors to consider when constructing a building such as mass, texture, materials, light/shadow, cost, construction and technology. All of these factors are manipulated in order to create an end design that appears both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

A very important part of modern architecture is that it is not merely a visual art form. Complete architecture takes into account all of the human senses as well as the environment around the structure, and management of power, water and other utilities. There is also a common concept among architects that the art cannot exist in a vacuum and that it must have context, surroundings and contrasts to be complete.

Although architecture is not widely recognised as an “important” and “popular” profession it is in fact one of the most influential and widely recognised jobs throughout history. Almost everything we know about ancient civilisation is based upon what we have found in and about it’s architecture and there are countless political and cultural symbols known primarily for their structural achievements such as the Pyramids of Egypt and the Roman Coliseum. Even modern cities and locations are both visited and known by architectural landmarks such as the Opera House of Sydney and the Empire State building of New York.

The history of architecture is also extremely interesting, as human technology and scientific and mathematical understanding increases, so to did our ability to build wonderful buildings. Architecture was born out of a combination of needs, such as shelter, security and worship and means, mainly the local building materials and physical ability. Early architecture was mainly vernacular architecture, a special type of architecture which is based around local needs and means. As it evolved the classic civilisations were born and great time and effort put into crafting areas of religious or political significance and even back in these times architecture was more than just a visual product. The roman Coliseum was designed so that all of the thousands of crowd members could see and hear the action at the centre and the way it amplifies sound was no accident.

As time passed architecture developed more and more with medieval structures like the castle and fort proving architecture had a place on the battle field as w ell as he city floor. During this period architects, especially in Europe, began to form guilds (as many craftsman did then). These guilds were design to help architects work together and achieve more monumental things, a practice that is still in society today in the form of architect partnerships.

In the renaissance architecture became a very personal affair and moved quickly away from war and religion. Many famous architects are from this period as this marked the start of buildings recognising their architects with individuals such as Palladio and Brunelleschi going down in history.

Today architecture is everywhere, almost any public building is professional designed and many compete for recognition inside their respective cities. There is massive emphasis on certain elements such as energy efficiency, environmental blending and the use of environmentally friendly construction materials. Design is also becoming increasingly advanced with superstructures like the Burj Al Arab 7 star hotel.