MIT's Building 20: a Masterpiece of Utility
The building was praised for throwing people at random. Because people were getting lost all the time and wandering into places they did not want to go. the building was a low rise and sprawling, which meant that conversations in corridors where a genuine conversation could develop rather than the eternal home of the glib, the elevator. More import... See more
Tim Harford • Just a moment...
Gaia Soykok added
Building 20 in MIT, was ugly, and disorderly but its residents loved it. a building with a special spirit, a spirit that inspires creativity and the development of ideas
Tim Harford • Just a moment...
Gaia Soykok added
Building is a journey into randomness. By venturing mindfully through a wealth of data, collective histories, and economic considerations, there are remarkable synchronicities to be discovered.
Nikita Singareddy • Building Physical/Digital Spaces for Healthcare, Trends in 💊 Development Timelines and more
Vernacular design outside of architecture
I've been thinking about how this idea applies to design in fields outside of architecture. Architecture is unique in its geographic, climatic, and cultural contexts, since the "localism" aspect is particularly relevant. But there are probably some parallels that could be drawn to modern software design, pr... See more
I've been thinking about how this idea applies to design in fields outside of architecture. Architecture is unique in its geographic, climatic, and cultural contexts, since the "localism" aspect is particularly relevant. But there are probably some parallels that could be drawn to modern software design, pr... See more
Coleman McCormick • Designing from Experience, Not Expertise
("JP") added
The OMA group studied desire lines and used them to plan the campus center, unified by a long single roof. The building wasn’t so much a new creation as an observation of extant use: it effectively enclosed the pathways and connections between activities on campus that were already established.
Sara Hendren • What Can a Body Do?: How We Meet the Built World
Among all the various kinds of buildings (old or new) in a city, some kinds are always less efficient than others in adding dwellings to the land. A three-story building will get fewer dwellings onto a given number of square feet of land than a five-story building; a five-story building, fewer than a ten-story building. If you want to go up far eno
... See moreJane Jacobs • The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Stewart Brand ties the concept of "subconscious milieu" with architecture in his book "How Buildings Learn" by emphasizing the importance of designing buildings that are responsive to the needs and experiences of the people who inhabit them. He advocates for creating environments that consider the social milieu and the sensory experiences of the oc... See more
Just a moment...
("JP") added
By intention, everyone would be in one another’s way. Members of the technical staff would often have both laboratories and small offices—but these might be in different corridors, therefore making it necessary to walk between the two, and all but assuring a chance encounter or two with a colleague during the commute. By the same token, the long co
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