SEATTLE HEROES AND ICONS

September 24, 2021

Upon a visit to Seattle, I confronted three different buildings—all leaving a seductive imprint on the city and my memory.

– Seattle Central Library by Pritzker-laureate Rem Koolhaas,
– Musuem of Pop Culture by Pritzker-laureate Frank Gehry, and
– The Spheres at Amazon by corporate NBBJ.

The first two projects are by two of the most famous living architects on the planet. The third is by an anonymous company without the trappings of a sole Wright-ian genius, giving way to collaboration instead—for better or worse.

continued >>

NO BED OF ROSES, PART 2 OF 4: THE FUTURE AND THE ARCHITECT’S CURSE

September 3, 2021

Jeff Haber: “Can you share maybe some moments where, ‘Wow, we didn’t really plan that, but that works beautifully.’ And maybe a, ‘Uuh, that worked a lot better on the computer than it’s doing right now’.”

Anthony Poon: “You’ve touched on a sore spot. Maybe it’s just the curse of being an architect/artist, in that nothing is ever done. Nothing is ever complete. Everything always seems like it could be better.”

continued >>

GORGEOUS—BUT HOW THE HECK DID THAT GET BUILT?

July 23, 2021

Every so often, I see a great design, a building of extraordinary exploration and creativity. Having appreciated the architectural marvel, my first question is this: How did the architect convince the client to build this incredible design? It’s not the bold design concepts with which I am impressed. We all have them, from our early student work to veteran sketches. The challenge is getting said ground-breaking ideas implemented.

continued >>

NO BED OF ROSES, PART 1 of 4: PANDEMIC RESPONSE AND THE THREE-LEGGED STOOL

July 2, 2021

“Host Jeff Haber shares conversations with interesting people from all walks of life, using a positive, uplifting and funny approach,” from the podcast series, No Bed of Roses.

Jeff Haber: “The dictionary defines architect as a person who designs buildings, and in many cases also supervises their construction. That definition is fine, but barely scratches the surface as you’ll learn from today’s guest. Anthony Poon is an award-winning American classical pianist, mixed-media artist, published author, interior designer, guest lecturer, and oh, yeah, he’s an architect”

continued >>

GENERALISTS VS. SPECIALISTS: WHO SUCCEEDS?

June 11, 2021

Ask someone, “Hey, what kind of music do you like?” You will likely hear in response, “I like all kinds.”

Why do people hesitate to list specific music? Why do they want to represent have broad and general interests, when typically, the range of personal taste in music is narrow?

Personally, I don’t like “all kinds.” I don’t listen to country western, reggae fusion, and late 17th century arias? And I bet there are dozens of genres that you don’t like either when you state ironically, “I like all kinds.”

In architecture, there are generalists and specialists.

continued >>

© Poon Design Inc.