A DAY AND A HALF IN NEW YORK CITY

July 7, 2023

Having wrapped up client meetings in New York City, I had some time to myself. With nothing on the agenda, no one to meet, not much in particular to do, I put on walking shoes to wander this island of Manhattan. In a day and a half, I visited 20 architectural works, walking 44,631 steps. Doing the math, that is nearly 20 miles.

STROKES OF GENIUS?

May 26, 2023

There is a fascination with how an architect, in a single first sketch, can capture the entire concept of a proposed project. Is such a sketch evidence of inspired genius blasted onto paper within seconds vs. a mere doodle of no concern vs. smoke-n-mirrors and good salesmanship?

ARCOSANTI: DREAM INTERRUPTED

May 5, 2023

Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri (1919-2013) envisioned an experimental artist colony known as Arcosanti, The Urban Laboratory. Soleri’s ideas of “Arcology,” a combination of architecture and ecology, created a walkable, compact, hillside town, which counters urban sprawl and eliminates the reliance on cars. To what extent has the vision been realized? What is the message/myth/marketing vs. reality?

SINS OF OUR PAST: THE 1871 CHINESE MASSACRE

April 14, 2023

It is often said that history is cyclical; when humanity disregards the lessons of the past, we are doomed to repeat it. Racism against Asians has been on the rise. Individuals continue to be under threat. As a society, we have not learned from past failures, and we are bearing witness to history repeating itself. Round and round, the past returns to haunt us. This destructive circle must be broken. If not, history has taught us nothing, and the past, which has become the present, will continue into our future.

MID-CENTURY MODERNISM: POINT OF DEPARTURE

March 24, 2023

100,000 attendees descended on Palm Springs last month for Modernism Week 2023, the 10-day design festival celebrating Mid-Century Modernism (“MCM”). As a feature lecturer, I presented The Myth of Mid-Century Modernism—positing we honor the design style of the 1950s and 1960s, but should not embalm it. For the thousands of MCM fans and fanatics, my position was blasphemous of sorts.

© Poon Design Inc.