One for you, one for youtube.

So I realize that I haven't shared like, any videos of my sorted adventures. Let's fix that now.

Tate Modern - London

 

Hills in Derbyshire

Lyme House, Derbyshire

Chatsworth House Picture Gallery

Kedleston Hall Ballroom

Edinburgh Castle View

 

Dunnottar Castle - Exterior

Dunnottar Castle - Interior

For me, for me, for me, formidable

I have just returned from the south of France and man does London weather look downright miserable in comparison. Now granted, I am not adept at warm temperatures. In fact, anytime it gets about 80 I start fearing for immediate implosion, but after several months of what seems to be the perpetual mid-November weather of England, a Mediterranean trip could not be turned down. Our first stop was Lyon, which is in the southern central part of France and home to some of my favorite street art. Including one which told me (in English) that : "Life is too short for soft porn". Thanks. Gross.

But what I found most interesting in Lyon were the three following places:

 1) Jean Nouvel's extension of the Lyon Opera House -  I liked it, for whatever that's worth. It's trying to be epic and sophisticated but in a contemporary fashion. Much like the loud break-dancing teenagers outside the opera house, it's an attempt at taking something historic and making it contemporary. Though the real success is how it meets the public space adjacent to it.

2) Le Village de Etats Unis (and corresponding murals) - This odd area of the city was designed almost entirely by Tony Garnier, and as such has an almost Utopian feel to it. Originally this was built, as the name implies, for Americans who had served in WWI, built between the years of 1920 and 1935, as affordable housing it's a remembrance of its time. Both beautiful and just a little off.

3) Halle Tony Garnier - You may be able to guess who designed this one. Sadly we couldn't go inside, but the exterior was quite lovely. In fact, I would venture to say it is the nicest slaughterhouse I've ever been to. TAKE THAT SMITHFIELD MARKETS!

After we left Lyon we made our way to La Tourette, or more formally, 'Sainte Marie de La Tourette'. Which is a Dominican monastery outside of Lyon, about 30 min by car. If you're reading this blog, I'm making a general assumption that you are aware of Le Corbusier and his subsequent effect on architecture both modern and contemporary. But for me personally, I always hated the work of Le Corbusier. I know that's blasphemy, but we're being honest here. For years I thought his work was enormously over-rated and, as little as it matters in the grand scheme of architecture, ugly. This ugliness comes from what I perceived as a lazy style of baton brut, clumsy forms and ideas which are overly political for someone who finds himself 'convieniently Swiss' every time a war breaks out. He may have had Sigfried Gideon and Colin Rowe in his pocket (which are indeed, pretty good gets), but not me.

Though I always found my hatred of this ugliness to be contradictory, I mean I loved (and still do love) Robert Venturi's work, and that is about as ugly as ugly gets. Why then so much Corb-hate? I suppose it's because I saw it as claiming to be more than it is, the product of a really good spin artist and a figure just arrogant and articulate enough to be believable. That is until I saw La Tourette. Cliche as it sounds, I think the monastery may have started to make a believer out of me. Do I think it's my favorite building of all time? No. Not even close. But being there, walking around, staying in one of the cells, I get it. There are theorists who believe that Le Corbusier's work was done in such a manner to make it more photogenic. I'm going to have to disagree. In photos La Tourette looks like a massive, miserable block of a building. Solid, impenetrable, unfeeling. But I guess what I never realized, not fully anyway, is just how hollow and empty the courtyard of the building seems to be, how green, how, well, peaceful. It should be noted that just about a 2 min walk away from the entrance of La Tourette is a graveyard. As the woman who runs the monastery stated 'it's a wonderful place to be deceased' and yeah, in a weird way, you feel almost like a ghost in La Tourette. It feels ancient, and you are merely the earth-bound shell of blood and bone holding, like a egg in a nest, a soul which emerges, fully formed upon your death. Or maybe that's the wine talking. Either way, it was better than I expected.

 

Though the skylights sticking out of the chapel are stupid looking from the exterior. That I'm never going to change my mind on.

The next step was the provincial town of Arles. Arles is the kind of place that you feel a Diane Lane movie should be set. You know the one I'm talking about, like a middle-aged woman moves to a small town in Europe after her crippling divorce to discover herself and along the way meets a gardener or like a mechanic or a wine merchant or whatever who teaches her to love again.

As a side note, I'm going to list words I hate that are used in movies such as this:

- Sensual
- Lover
- Wit and Wisdom (together, the words are perfectly fine apart)
- Rediscovering herself

Ugh - kill me.

However, to the best of my knowledge Lifetime has never actally filmed a movie in Arles, so I allowed myself the freedom to like it. And it is, really, really charming. Maybe it was the sun, maybe it was the entire pizza I ate by myself, but the connection of provincial, ancient and accessible just gets me every time. Sometimes I suspect that going to these places as an American means that you're going to see these places differently. In the US if there are 'charming winding streets' they are usually artificial and conceived of a Richard Sennett inspired urbanist, which is fine, by the way. But there is a kind of obsolete usefulness to these streets, like stubbornly using a type writer from the 1920s, even if the damn thing barely works. They have problems, they're not practical, but what can I say? Oh, let's just let 1990s Meg Ryan do it for me?

Stay tuned for next time when we talk about Marseilles, Unite D'habitation and various other sundries.

Initial License

For future reference, I thought I would take this opportunity to document this phase in the process.  I submitted my application for initial license on May 3 via USPS.  On May 28, I logged into the Department of State's website to check and see if I had be listed as registered yet, as I had done every day since May 3.  I was delighted to see that on May 28 my license was issued and the information was updated on the DOS website.  At present, May 30, I have not received the hardcopy in the mail yet.  If they sent it out on May 28, it is conceivable that I will receive it tomorrow.

As a side note, in PA, licenses expire at the end of June every 2 years.  I was curious how it would work for me with my initial license being issued so close to this renewal deadline.  As it turns out, they basically gave me the rest of 2013 so my license was issued May 28, 2013 and doesn't expire until June  30, 2015.  Now, as to whether or not there is some sort of additional pro-rated fee, I am yet to be made aware of it.

Additionally, on May 20 I submitted for AIA National's Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship.  The eligibility requirements are that you are either an NCARB record holder in good standing, or an Associate AIA member in good standing.  Since, once again, the timing is close, I'm not sure if I am any longer one of those things, or if it matters since that is what I was when I submitted the paperwork. Anyway, what I wanted to share was that my NCARB record was set to expire tomorrow, May 31, 2013.  I was reluctant to renew it, because I don't NEED the NCARB record any more, now that I have my license and it is a $75 fee.  However, once I entered in my new license number, it waived the renewal fee and offered me congrats on becoming an RA.  Now they are going to send me information to get the NCARB certificate, which I am still on the fence about.  That fee is significantly more per year than $75.  I think it is in excess of $200.

Anyway, I just wanted to share some fun facts before they fade into "I don't remember...."

Initial Licensure

I am pleased to officially report that I have submitted my application for initial licensure to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  The process is pretty simple... complete your NCARB record, pass all the exams, fill out the application, write a check for the $40 fee and mail it in with the application.  I sent in the application last Friday (8 days ago), we'll see how long it takes for the state to send the license.  I believe all architect licenses in Pennsylvania are renewed in the month of June, so depending upon when they get around to actually issuing the license, I may have to renew like immediately.

I am not certain how the AIA upgrade works.  I have heard rumors that they let you ride out the rest of the year on your Associate dues, but bumped up to AIA member status.  I am also not certain if I need to complete CEU's for the first partial year.  If I do, it shouldn't be a problem because I have been completing CEU's since I learned what they were, in an effort to score more IDP credit as well as just because I am going to have to anyway, might as well get in the habit of updating my AIA transcript!

Code of Ethics: the AIA's "Prime Directive"

On some days, when the player-hating ways of the industry seem to wear more heavily, my brain conjures up new analogies between the struggles we face in the day to day, and the pleasures we employ after hours.  Today, that analogy was Star Trek with its Prime Directive and the AIA with its Code of Ethics.

While many of us AIA members (Starfleet officers) & AIA Associate members (cadets) honor and value the Code of Ethics (Prime Directive), and understand what it strives to protect in the construction industry (Alpha Quadrant... well, universe), there are those among us of a different professional affiliation (non-Federation species/civilizations) who do not understand and therefore do not seek to honor the code (Prime Directive).  It is our struggle to not only serve and protect the public's health, safety, and welfare while simultaneously creating attractive, sustainable, functional & economically attainable design, but to resist the pressures from other related industries to defy our own code.  (e.g. the Kazon who insist on entitlement to Voyager's technology and that Voyager "share" it with the "rest" of the Delta Quadrant)

Most notably, as in all series of Star Trek, there becomes a climax in the plot where the Prime Directive's black-and-white instruction becomes blurry or gray.  Similarly, there are times when the AIA's Code of Ethics seems unappreciative of the "changing climate" we face in the wake of a national recession.

I will have to expand on this later, as I must make haste for a previous engagement!

Candy is Dandy, But Brickers are Quicker

I love living in London. There, I said it. It's not just because there is a vast network of design, architecture, culture, music, art, whatevs. No, it is a city that seems to be keenly aware of all mid-twenties' flaws and interests. First we'll talk social, then we'll talk architecture.

1)  The bars close about midnight.
At first this seems like a terrible idea, I mean aren't you going to make more money after people get really, really drunk at 11:30? England says 'No. You are drunk. Go home.' and shuffles the group out the door. Sure there are clubs that stay open later, and I'd be lying if I hadn't been to several of them.

 (including one in Bethnal Green that looked like a haunted house. I've been trying to find it since then and that club is like a darker, spookier Brigadoon. No one knows what I'm talking about. But I've seen it, I was there)

However, like a responsible friend, the city remind you that a lot of things done after midnight are really, really bad ideas. Kudos.

2) OMG Food.
Dude, I can't even. I have lost my ability to even. All even has forthwith left the premises. There is a stereotype about British Food being bland and terrible and that's just not true (except in the case of Sainsbury's Pastys. I'm sorry. They're awful). You get everything. Let me say that again: OOOOOVVVEEERRRYYYTHIIIING. And now that I've found a carryout website for my area, the chances of me turning into this are more likely than ever.

So why bring these aspects up? Isn't this an architecture blog? Why are you talking about your overeating and drinking you hedonistic, hippopotamic land mass? I'm getting there, hold on.

In my adventures around the city I have come across some pretty good bars that are in honest-to-God beautiful buildings. Knowledge which I will now share with you. So see below for my list of the best architecturally themed bars in London:

1) The Corner Room
Town Hall Hotel, Patriot Square, E2 9NF, E2
If you want to go somewhere to feel like you run the British empire then check out the Corner Room. The Town Hall Hotel is exactly what it sounds like. Previously a civic center it was abandoned for a number of years before it was taken over and re-vamped into a hotel. The private room is in an old hearing chambers and screams 'damndable inconvenience this First World War what what!'

2) One Marylebone
1 Marylebone Rd, NW1 4AQ, NW1
Originally designed by the famous Architect John Soane, this former church now serves as an event venue/sometimes restaurant/sometimes bar which has a pretty flexible interior space. As their website states: "It was the most expensive, and externally the most architecturally distinguished of [Soane's] three churches...Apart from the loss of the original chancel and most of the original fittings, the basic structure of Soane’s church survives complete, and is of national architectural and historical significance."

3) Architectural Association Bar
36 Bedford Square, WC1
This may be a little bit biased as it's literally the closest bar to my School, but it can't be beat for student prices and has a pretty decent selection. Located on the second floor on a refurbished Georgian house in the last full Georgian-era square in London, the AA bar might not be the most glamorous but it has always got an interesting exhibition on and as an architecture school, a space layout to be proud of.

4) The Shoreditch
145 Shoreditch High St, E1 6JE
We may be seeing a pattern here. Old buildings refitted with new bars: not this one. I'll get real with you here: There are better bars in Shoreditch, there are better bars in Hackney, there are better bars in Hoxton but as an architecture bar, I do like this one. It seems that between 2006 and 2011 there was an obsession with shipping containers as architecture, the blame for which I place directly on to 'Yes is More' and just as wood paneling screams of some kind of Mad-men-esque mid-century California modernist ideal so does this bar say 'It was 2013 and I was listening to Animal Collective and The Weekend on my shuffle while this Dude-bro was yaking on and on about his organic urban bee-farming project.' Just put on your 60$ flannel shirt and get with the Zeitgeist. I promise you, 40 years from now people will think it was cool. Whatever that means.

 5) River Cafe
Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, W6 9HA
I should start off by clarifying: I am specific kind of poor right now. Not 'I'm starving' poor. Not 'I don't know where my next paycheck is coming from' poor. Not real poor. I'm the kind of poor where you get really pretty before you go out so you can charm someone into buying you drinks based solely on your appearance. It's something that I like to call 'Con-man' poor and while it shames me to admit it, it works. That being said, the River Cafe is the kind place that is so expensive looking it makes a drifter-fly-by-night-Carney like me nervous. It's a 2008 Richard Rogers/Stuart Forbes set-up so while vaguely reminiscent of an Ikea, it's less meatball and more money ball.

6) Coq D'Argent
Central Boulevard, Blythe Valley Business Park, B90 8AG
If you're more of James Stirling quasi Post-modern fan, then the Coq D'Argent roof deck is a great place for you. The word for this building is 'Unsubtle' so you will be able to spot it from a ways away. Some people love it, others hate it, but regardless of preference you can't deny it's got style. Nestled deep in the financial district you can get a great view of the city and the river from one of the weirdest, most wonderful buildings in London. And I will fight anyone who says different.

So that's all I've got for now. Is it a complete list? No, of course not. In fact there is a woeful lacking of 'Pubs' which are the most ubiquitous and comforting of all English Bars. Just take these as a recommendation if you like buildings and liquor in the same place.

E-Verify

I just learned about this new statute signed into PA law that requires all public works contractors (and subs) involved in projects over $25,000 to use E-Verify.  From what I understand, E-Verify is this online system that basically confirms your work eligibility in the U.S.  The intention is to ensure all American jobs go to American (or legally-employable non-American) workers, for public construction projects, for all the typical reason you could imagine.  It is also my understanding that not all states have adopted this statute.  For PA, this statute takes effect for contracts signed on and after January 1, 2013.

While I do not foresee much impact on my day-to-day with this particular new statute, I can see where other firms with larger and public sector projects might find some initial delays.  I don't know if you need to do E-Verify every time you start a new contract, every year, or what the case may be.  My first reaction is that it is probably something that could be seamlessly incorporated into the hiring process.  Particularly considering some of the other more involved requirements for public sector projects, e.g. all on-site individuals involved in the construction of a public school must have their fingerprints taken and on record.

I need to look into more issues like these, but I just heard about this and thought I would share quickly!