Llamas and Chillies

Hey Stashpocket readers,

this blog hasn’t been updated in months and there is a reason to it. In September I flew to Mexico and I’ll be gone for about 8 months for a simple reason: I love to travel (as much as I love architecture). I know you may not care about this =) But I though I’d give you and explanation. So… Not to be completely cut off from any of you who might care about what I do, myself and one of my best friends who is traveling with me, have a blog of our own. We try to update it as much as possible so that our friends and family can track us on our journey through Mexico, Central and South America.

Link: http://llamasandchillies.wordpress.com/

I hope I can bring Stashpocket back to life next summer, until then – take care.

Pura vida,

Petra.

Tibet | Possibly All You Can Do

image: www.identitythroughart.com

There is not much we can do but please take a minute to sign the Avaaz petition in case you haven’t done it yet. If there is as much as a glimpse of hope that this might help Tibet, it is well worth doing. If you’d like you can also read this post by Pia Jane Bijkerk.

/sing the Avaaz.org petition

/read this blog post by Pia Jane Bijkerk

Talented Architect Vs. Poseour

Such a good topic, and one that continues to emerge through time as history repeats itself. There’s an article, that is basically putting words in my mouth, at SFGate about determiming good architecture from well… ‘bad’ architecture. I usually don’t like to point out a piece of work and label it as anything at all, let alone label it as ‘bad’. But let’s not keep our mouth shut. I generally agree with the author of that post. In my humble opinion, less is always more and I don’t digest the new ‘baroque’ that well. But that’s just me, you can beg to differ.
/read the article at SFGate

Meet The World | Icaro Doria

The Brazilian Icaro Doria has been working for the Grande Reportagem magazine in Lisbon for 3 years now and came up with these very original graphics. Icaro says: ”The magazine Revista Grande Reportagem is a Hard Journalism magazine, on the same line as the Times. The idea was to bring across the concept that the magazine offers profound journalism about topics of real importance to the world today. This is how we thought of the concept Meet the World. /…/ We used real data taken from the websites of Amnesty International and the UNO.”

/see the rest of the flags here.

The History of Evil

This is a (said to be unfinished) student project that by no means wants to trash religion, claim that god is dead or blame the western cultures for all the evil. But if you don’t get that it’s pretty sad =) Check it out, the graphics are great.

Questioning the Cult of the Sketch

Here’s an interesting article at Coroflot – must designers/ architects know how to draw – freehand, that is? Interesting question. It seems to me that all of us can sketch well enough for the finish product to look like something, but is it quality? And does it matter these days? The art of sketching seems to be in decline ever since CAD was introduced to all of the engineering professions. To me, sketching is essential. There is something primal about it, something ancient that comes preprogrammed within you and what probably made you different from the other kids. Not better at all, just different. You have to draw to think. I’m positive that if you spend time drawing something on a piece of paper, your heart goes into it. You brainstorm and mull the idea over; it can be a way to discipline yourself. It’s right there, your own creation, in your face, torturing you to perfect it. You will cherish it more, I’m sure, because you made it without any help. It is an original expression, like something a dancer shows with movement and a singer with voice. There is no doubt we need CAD for the finish product, we do. But when you brainstorm, CAD will never have a fix-lame-idea toolbar. Not convinced? We’d all be construction engineers :D So there. Disagree if you wish.
/read the article at Coroflot 

Working For The Mayjah Starchitect

For all of you who think that working for an architectural studio of a high profile, such as SANAA of Kazuyo Seijima and Ryue Nishizawa, is a joyful experience filled with rainbows and unicorns, this is proof of how mistaken you are. An architecture student blogged about her experience as an intern at SANAA in Tokyo and what was told is not pretty. We’ve all probably worked at a studio before and it can get frustrating, I’ll agree. But it was never anything like this story – working for free, all the time. I strongly disagree with the statement they usually throw in your face – that you should be glad you’re even a part of the team and will benefit from the internship in a way money can never cover. Understandably don’t let you do the concept, or let you pick the materials, or define the structure; you are not a part of the creative process and we all know what’s left for us to do. But the conditions you live and work under are dehumanized beyond belief. It has become a common thing that architecture students are treated that way and it is wrong. Can big studios today even sustain without the (nearly) free flow of students/ graduates? What is sad is that when you come to a point in your life when you need to get employed, the portfolio with the ‘starchitects internee’ written on will probably nail you the job – when the employers themselves know it’s a load of crap. The circle is vicious. I hope they’re providing her with food and shelter but they probably switched meals with food pills years ago.

John Cleese (?) | A Letter to America

I have no idea how I haven’t noticed this piece of brilliancy up until now. I’ll just make it a ‘better late than never’ thing and post it. Said to be written by John Cleese, it goes like this:

To the citizens of the United States of America:

In light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories (excepting Kansas, which she does not fancy).

The Story of The Bauhaus School

There’s a great article at the International Herald Tribune about the icon of modernism that is The Bauhaus School. I won’t copy snippets because you can read it by yourself, but I’ll give you my brief. It influenced art, architecture, interior design, industrial design, graphic design and typography profoundly but it also shook other areas such as politics and women rights to the core. It was established in 1919 and designed by Walter Gropius in a conservative town of Weimar. What Gropius wanted and succeeded at was to create “the new building of the future to embrace architecture, sculpture and painting in one unity.” The school was moved from Weinmar to Dessau where it got its cult building. From the locals point of view the students were too bohemian. From the woman rights point of view it was sexist for limiting women students to weaving and ceramics workshops. From the Nazis point of view the Bauhaus was a ”hotbed of Bolshevism, despite Gropius’s ban on political activity”. What is more, one of the schools teacher, Johannes Itten, insisted on students to wear flowing robes and adopt vegetarianism.

When Gangsta and Excel Collide

Hahaha oh I HAD to post this one! OK you may not find this funny if you’re not familiar with the basic gangsta rap/ hiphop/ street culture and terminology but if you are, continue reading, it’s GREAT. Click on the image above to check it out.