A lecture by Charles Birnbaum, an authority on landscape architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries will take place on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 7 pm. This is the second in a series of lectures on the American Spirit of Landscape organized by the Graycliff Conservancy. It will take place in the auditorium of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center at 1300 Elmwood Ave in Buffalo, NY. Details after the jump...
Continue reading "The American Spirit Of Landscape, Part II" »
A PrairieMod reader sent us a link to contemporary done right. The N85 Residence, designed by the Morphogenesis architectural design
firm, is a model of how to utilize the warmth and integrity of natural materials for a modern-day interior. Check out more here.
Image copyright Morphogenesis
To understand the work of Wright and Organic Architecture in general, you have to understand why the role of Nature (with a capital "N") is so important as part of the mix. Read this article from the Calgary Herald to learn more.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
For the last PrairieMod Monday post this month on the principle of "Think Natural,” we felt we would use a recent experience the PrairieMod Squad had as an example of how a special group of people enjoy this idea in their everyday lives.
"Thinking Natural" about our homes doesn't mean focusing only on the inside. The exterior of our living spaces are just as important to consider as the interiors. For this week's installment of PrairieMod Monday, we'll take a look at one aspect of "Think Natural" for the outside--landscaping.
We’ve been exploring the PrairieMod Principle of “Think Natural” all this month for PrairieMod Monday. It’s this principle that teaches us how to appreciate the natural state of materials: either for building, remodeling or decorating our homes. Today we’ll examine how to “Think Natural” when it comes to one specific aspect of our homes—walls.
"A stone building will no more be nor will it look like a steel
building. A pottery, or terra-cotta building, will not be nor should it
look like a stone building. A wood building will look like none other,
for it will glorify the stick. A steel and glass building could not
possibly look like anything but itself. It will glorify steel and
glass. And so on all the way down the long list of available riches in
materials: Stone, Wood, Concrete, Metals, Glass, Textiles, Pulp and
Plastics; riches so great to our hand today that no comparison with
Ancient Architecture is at all sensible or anything but obstruction to
our Modern Architecture."
Frank Lloyd Wright wrote these words on the nature of materials as he
felt they should be used in his landmark 1954 book, The Natural House.
He was tired of “dishonesty” in American buildings and residences. The
dishonest use of materials to mimic other materials or used in place of
another, more appropriate material was a crime that we were all paying
for. The only salvation from this glass and steel web of lies being
perpetrated across the nation was an acknowledgement and correct use of
the inherent and true nature of these building blocks of architecture.
For this week’s post on the PrairieMod Principle of “Think Natural”,
we’ll take a look at what it means to be true to “The Nature of
Materials.”
Last month we explored the PrairieMod principle of "Bring The Outside In." This principle is actually very closely aligned to this month's principle,"Think Natural." Both rely heavily on the natural world for inspiration, but the principle of "Think Natural" goes beyond just the obvious inspirations of Mother Nature. Once we start bringing the outside world into our lives, it opens us up to more possibilities in designing and decorating “organically.”
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