The first Paragon is in the final stages of preparation for its debut in the next week.
The Paragon...
Here is a sneak preview of what I was doing in the few moments I wasn't working on my thesis this semester. MLM's Devin Biek and I have set out to design and build a custom moped frame from the 19" wheels and swing-arm up to the polished aluminum tank and seat. Oh, and the pedal shaft... Our inspiration comes from 60's & 70's 50cc GP racers with a flavour of 20's and 30's record breakers. Don't mind those EBR's they're just on there for the mock up. More to come in good time...
Design Precedents:
Early Triumph racers
'65 Honda 50cc GP racer
The 1937 Excelsior "Manxman"
Italian 50cc racers
The famous supercharged Zenith "Super Kim"
60's Minarelli 50cc GP racer
Ivan Wicksteed's Brooklands record breaking supercharged Triumph Speed Twin
60's & 70's GP racers
Harley Davidson board track racers
I love this shot. And those handlebars...
Letter to Malcolm: Chiefly on Krier
Dear Malcolm,
All traditional architecture is not necessarily classical. The classic is the very best of a tradition. Jefferson's capitol would be an example of a classical building because it not only hearkens back to former classical buildings, but has itself become a classic. It is so because in it Jefferson took a previous example, namely the ancient Maison Carrée at Nîmes, and made it thoroughly modern for the new seat of provincial government in Virginia. In this example lies part of the answer to your question about the practical uses for classical architecture in the modern world.
Classicism is not un-modern. One of my professors in fact describes classicism as the "other modern." Modernism, the ideology that has held architecture around the world in a death grip since the 1920's, was based in the denial of all previous models and sought to replace them with the paradigm of the machine. The "international style" is a good example of such a mentality based in the desire for a new, unsullied architecture, fitting form to function. All but a few anachronistic modernists have long since left the machine slogan behind, however its influence can still be seen in even the tamest new construction.
Traditional architecture, on the other hand seeks to work with and continue local traditions, to render the urban order of the city more intelligible, and to tell the user and passer-by about itself through its form. Part of this process involves the adaptation of the way things have been done in the past to suit current needs. In other words, it does what buildings have always done until roughly eighty years ago. In opposition to many modernist buildings which are often either completely inexplicable to anyone but their designer, or hideous blights on the land, (or more often both) the traditional building seeks to be a good neighbor. Being a good neighbor entails a willingness to have a dialogue with one's surroundings, not to be offensive, to understand one's place in the order of the city, and most importantly to contribute to the public good. This means that in a Western city such as Richmond, the provincial capitol will be the most important building, traditionally ornamented with a fully expressed order, etc., all at an appropriate scale. Lesser buildings take their cue from this and are ornamented in a way that tells the story of the city. Classical buildings like the State Capitol are the best of these good neighbors.
So, perhaps another question might be "what are the practical uses of an architecture that refuses to look to the past and continues to build indefensible, un-neighborly buildings? Of course I have made this seem very cut-and-dry. There are many current architects who seek to use the modernist language in a communal, legible way, with varying success. I would argue, however, that such efforts are inherently futile.
I am not sure what exactly you mean by the resources and processes originally used, but your question does raise an interesting question: how do we recover the skills and traditions of a building craft ignored for the last half century? One of the main difficulties with such an undertaking is the difficulty of mastering many of the required skills of the traditional architect and builder. Many of these traditions have been protected or rediscovered in the preservation field. There are several institutions around the world, my school among them, which seek to continue and spread the skills and traditions of the last 2700 years.
If you would like to know more about traditional and classical architecture and urbanism I would recommend the book, Architecture: Choice of Fate, by Leon Krier. It is a great place to start understanding classicism in a modernist world.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Best,
Clipstock
All traditional architecture is not necessarily classical. The classic is the very best of a tradition. Jefferson's capitol would be an example of a classical building because it not only hearkens back to former classical buildings, but has itself become a classic. It is so because in it Jefferson took a previous example, namely the ancient Maison Carrée at Nîmes, and made it thoroughly modern for the new seat of provincial government in Virginia. In this example lies part of the answer to your question about the practical uses for classical architecture in the modern world.
Classicism is not un-modern. One of my professors in fact describes classicism as the "other modern." Modernism, the ideology that has held architecture around the world in a death grip since the 1920's, was based in the denial of all previous models and sought to replace them with the paradigm of the machine. The "international style" is a good example of such a mentality based in the desire for a new, unsullied architecture, fitting form to function. All but a few anachronistic modernists have long since left the machine slogan behind, however its influence can still be seen in even the tamest new construction.
Traditional architecture, on the other hand seeks to work with and continue local traditions, to render the urban order of the city more intelligible, and to tell the user and passer-by about itself through its form. Part of this process involves the adaptation of the way things have been done in the past to suit current needs. In other words, it does what buildings have always done until roughly eighty years ago. In opposition to many modernist buildings which are often either completely inexplicable to anyone but their designer, or hideous blights on the land, (or more often both) the traditional building seeks to be a good neighbor. Being a good neighbor entails a willingness to have a dialogue with one's surroundings, not to be offensive, to understand one's place in the order of the city, and most importantly to contribute to the public good. This means that in a Western city such as Richmond, the provincial capitol will be the most important building, traditionally ornamented with a fully expressed order, etc., all at an appropriate scale. Lesser buildings take their cue from this and are ornamented in a way that tells the story of the city. Classical buildings like the State Capitol are the best of these good neighbors.
So, perhaps another question might be "what are the practical uses of an architecture that refuses to look to the past and continues to build indefensible, un-neighborly buildings? Of course I have made this seem very cut-and-dry. There are many current architects who seek to use the modernist language in a communal, legible way, with varying success. I would argue, however, that such efforts are inherently futile.
I am not sure what exactly you mean by the resources and processes originally used, but your question does raise an interesting question: how do we recover the skills and traditions of a building craft ignored for the last half century? One of the main difficulties with such an undertaking is the difficulty of mastering many of the required skills of the traditional architect and builder. Many of these traditions have been protected or rediscovered in the preservation field. There are several institutions around the world, my school among them, which seek to continue and spread the skills and traditions of the last 2700 years.
If you would like to know more about traditional and classical architecture and urbanism I would recommend the book, Architecture: Choice of Fate, by Leon Krier. It is a great place to start understanding classicism in a modernist world.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Best,
Clipstock
The Tools of the Shadowcaster
Lead holder, small triangle, the all-important ruling pen, light, medium, dark and very dark shadow washes, a warm reflected light wash, and a variety of brushes.
The shadowcaster often works upside down depending on which way the shadow is graded. In this case the shadow is darkest at the top of the building.
Even the masters make mistakes. Spot the mistake the shadowcaster has made in this detail and win a small dish of reflected light, or perhaps a vial of backshadow...
Octogenarian Leads Raft Expedition Across Atlantic
All the materials [for the raft] have been either donated or purchased by Mr Smith, who is spending compensation he received after he was run over by a van two years ago – an accident that has left the adventurer, writer and grandfather with metal pins in his leg. More here.
Letter to a Renaissance Humanist
I seem to be a bit slow to agree with with the idea that a piazza must be an irregular and varied composition. I would still prefer it to be as well ordered and unified as the architect can make it.
Where does one make such a distinction? Wasn't the goal of the great Renaissance and Baroque architects to create rational and ordered buildings and public spaces? It doesn't seem to make sense to compose ensembles that merely please us in a picturesque way. This would seems to subvert the ordering role of the architect in the cause of the chaotic and in many cases disorderly and irrational effects of time and human error.
Also, I have it ingrained in me not to like the "American" street grid, but I have this nagging feeling that it is really something that, as a classicist, I should like. I'm thinking here of Miletus, of Roman town planning, of Ferrara and the Renaissance gridded plan. Perhaps, like the regular, unified "boring" piazza, the regular uniform "boring" street grid can hold great possibilities?
The praiseworthiness of an overt architectural demonstration of the disconnect between the ideal and the real seems ridiculous in the face of the awesome impossibility of the ideal ever really being approached.
Best wishes,
Clipstock
Where does one make such a distinction? Wasn't the goal of the great Renaissance and Baroque architects to create rational and ordered buildings and public spaces? It doesn't seem to make sense to compose ensembles that merely please us in a picturesque way. This would seems to subvert the ordering role of the architect in the cause of the chaotic and in many cases disorderly and irrational effects of time and human error.
Also, I have it ingrained in me not to like the "American" street grid, but I have this nagging feeling that it is really something that, as a classicist, I should like. I'm thinking here of Miletus, of Roman town planning, of Ferrara and the Renaissance gridded plan. Perhaps, like the regular, unified "boring" piazza, the regular uniform "boring" street grid can hold great possibilities?
The praiseworthiness of an overt architectural demonstration of the disconnect between the ideal and the real seems ridiculous in the face of the awesome impossibility of the ideal ever really being approached.
Best wishes,
Clipstock
Snow an Unstable Material...
"The Risk Management and Safety Department warns students of the dangers of building snow forts and tunnels in the piled snow. There is a very serious risk of snow collapsing, trapping and suffocating a student. Snow is an extremely unstable material. Fluctuating South Bend weather, and any shifts in the snow banks from snow removal vehicles further facilitate snow shifting and collapsing. Please use caution while enjoying the winter weather."
Abated Breath
I recently discovered that I did not know how to spell "bated" and in the process of looking up its correct spelling found this verse explaining the difference in Geoffrey Taylor's poem Cruel Clever Cat:
Sally, having swallowed cheese,
Directs down holes the scented breeze,
Enticing thus with baited breath
Nice mice to an untimely death.
Sally, having swallowed cheese,
Directs down holes the scented breeze,
Enticing thus with baited breath
Nice mice to an untimely death.
Moped vs. Pitbike
Not so good on the turns, but Devin's carefully built and tuned setup put out more power than the motorcycle. Isn't this track fantastic? I can't help but compare it to a sort of Brooklands for mopeds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)