Boston Ave. Methodist Church

Bruce Goff isn’t a household name in architecture, but in his heyday he was a prolific and creative designer of many impressive art deco projects. Art Deco was purely decorative style, seen as elegant, functional, and ultra modern as well. Early in his career, Goff designed the Boston Ave. Church in Tulsa, which is considered the first church designed in a strictly American style of architecture.

What is interesting about this church is the ongoing dispute over who actually designed it. From what I understand, Goff had an art instructor that developed the motif for the church. The soaring straight lines of the 200 ft. tower represent outreached arms raised up to heaven. Goff developed these sketches into the designs for the church. There is also some dispute from the firm where Goff was working at the time, who claim that other members of the firm also contributed to the project.

The sculptures that adorn the entrances to the church were designed by sculptor, Robert Garrison. While visiting the church, staff members pointed out to me that the church credits Goff’s instructor, Adah Robinson, with the design of this building.

Inside the tower serves as an entrance into the 1,800 seat auditorium on the right. Sunlight enters through the ceiling and through the eleven tall exterior windows behind audience seating. Goff considered geometrical shapes and found materials (common archi-speak) as his motivation in design. Visiting the Boston Ave. Church the complex detail and grand scale of the church were very awe-inspiring.

Year of Eastwood #3

In the Line of Fire (1993)

Starring: Eastwood, Renee Russo,
and John Malkovich
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

In this taut thriller, Clint plays an aging Secret Service Agent, haunted by the memories of his failure to protect President John F. Kennedy from assassination in Dallas. Now 30 years later, Clint must track down a former CIA loon determined to make his own mark by killing the current president. Wikipedia defines “taut” as tight. It’s a term I’ve heard used to describe movies, but it's not exactly a word that gets much use in everyday coversation. But this movie is taut. It’s got murder, roof-top chases, and some really interesting interplay between Eastwood and Malkovich.

The key to a really good thriller is always the quality of the villain and here Malkovich is pretty damn creepy and he gets to use a lot of disguises - although it pretty much looks like John Malkovich in a wig or John Malkovich with a fake nose. He’s so convincing that I didn’t once wonder if there were a bunch of people in an office somewhere about to jump into his head.

One of the reasons I find Eastwood’s movies so interesting is because he’s been so successful for so long that we’ve really been able to watch his characters progress from a steely-eyed, grimacing drifter to a steely-eyed, grimacing old grump. Seriously, in Clint’s movies of the last 15 years, his characters have softened a bit and he doesn’t shy away from showing that age has slowed him down. In one scene, after Clint talks his way back into the Presidential security detail, he has to run along side the motorcade. Clint is huffing and puffing and sweating buckets and he takes a lot of ribbing from the other Agents. Renee Russo is the young, hot shot Agent who zings Clint a few times about him being as old as dirt - but of course in the end, she can’t resist Clint’s stoic charm.

An interesting side note, watching this movie today - a small role in the film that really stands out is Frank Thompson as the weasely Chief of Staff. Thompson has been getting a lot of press lately as the ultra-conservative hope of the Republican Party for the actual President of the United States. Let’s hope this movie is the closest he’ll ever get to the White House.

In the Line of Fire really is an excellent film. Soon I will begin discussing the signature films over Clint's career, and this one may tend to get lost in the shuffle, but it deserves to be considered one of his best.

Studio 02

The second semester of studio required that we expand on our Big Idea diagrams and models from Studio 01. The program called for a Jazz Club to be located in downtown Denver. We experimented with iterations of the forms we developed in the first semester. From there we worked on sketches, floor plans, elevations and models of the buildings we designed. The final project was scale models of the Jazz Club.

It was exciting to finally work on an idea for a building since the first semester was so abstract. The two things I'll remember from Studio 02 is that our studio instructor was pretty much a hypochondriac - some days it seemed like he would walk into the room and someone would say "you don't look very good" and then we'd have the rest of the day off - and this semester was also the huge snowstorm of '04 in Denver - the entire city was shut down for a week (including work and school). I think it's the only way I was able to get these freakin' models done in time.

Seinfeld Trivia

Do you ever think about how much time in your life you've spent watching Seinfeld. For me, it's no longer a matter of "oh, I've seen this episode before" but "I wonder how many times I've seen this one?" Anyways, here's a few questions I've thought of while watching. If you have any guesses, post a comment ...

1. Do Jerry, George, Elaine, Kramer have any brothers or sisters?
2. Has Elaine ever been over to George's apartment?
3. Of the four characters, who's parents have not been on the show?
4. When has Larry David appeared on the show?
5. Seriously, where does Kramer get his money?

Studio 01

A few years ago when I decided to go back to school for Architecture, it's safe to say that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I knew that with a background in advertising/ graphic design that there wouldn't be much of a connection. I don't think I realized how much work would be involved - the late nights trying to learn to draw, the exacto knife injuries, the trips to the art store.

Well, now I've been out of school for a while and I still have an apartment full of studio projects that sit in the corner collecting dust. I've been tempted many times to have a grand bonfire to celebrate but I just can't bring myself to strike the match. So, I'm going to post some pictures from the projects I worked on for no other reason than I have to do something with all this stuff.

First up is Studio 01 - the beginning. The first semester was spent analyzing a piece of jazz music - "Lester Leaps In" - and then interpreting it into visual representation. Sounds crazy, and it was, but it was also a good lesson in drawing a lot and later model building.

At the end of the semester, we would have a jury review where a group of instructors and professionals would gather to critique our projects. Sometimes it was even worse than it sounds...

Year of Eastwood #2

Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

Starring: Eastwood
Directed by Don Siegel

Clint moves into some kind of low-rent housing and right away he knows that something is not right - well let’s just say that this is not the kind of place you want to live. His apartment is very small and could really use a good interior decorator, the building seems to be falling apart, and there’s a bit of a rodent problem. So, he goes to talk to his landlord - a Mr. Warden - and he tells Clint that there is no way he is letting him out of his lease. No one in the history of history has anyone broken their lease at his apartment, and no one ever will. So Clint steals his nail clippers.

After a while, Clint makes some friends … a wise, old man named Doc who likes to paint, the guy who played Kramer on the sitcom Jerry makes during Seinfeld (he stole George’s raisins), and a really friendly guy in the shower. Clint eventually gets a job at some wood crafting shop. Working conditions don’t seem to be very good at this place - they must not get very good benefits - so Doc cuts some of his fingers off with an ax.

Eventually, Clint decides he can’t take it living there any more, so he digs his way out of his apartment. He digs the hole with the clippers that he stole from Mr. Warden, who by the way really hates flowers so don’t bother sending him any on his birthday. Before he left Clint grabbed the pet mouse that belonged to one of his neighbors that had a heart attack. Behind the wall, there’s a whole maze of pipes and bars and I have no idea how Clint knew where he was going but somehow he ended up on the roof. Even though he didn’t have much of a view from his apartment, apparently his building was located on ocean front property, because he had to jump on a raft to finally get away from his crappy apartment. I don’t know exactly what the mouse in Clint’s pocket thought about the long swim to San Francisco, but I’m sure he was fine.

The next morning, when Mr. Warden came around to collect the rent, he found that Clint had taken off and left a mannequin head in his bed to fool him. Mr. Warden wasn’t very happy about this and I’m sure he wrote a nasty letter to Clint’s credit agency, and then he beat up some flowers.

Church of the Holy Family Shrine

Is there great architecture in Nebraska? Some might argue for the State Capitol - or there is a FLW house in McCook - or what about Carhenge? All excellent choices, but for this blog, I'm going to focus on a small church that sits atop the bluffs between Omaha and Lincoln - the Church of the Holy Family Shrine in Gretna.

This simplistic form made from Red Cedar, limestone, steel, and glass overlooks the heartland providing fantastic views of the wheat fields which were the inspiration for the intertwined structural features. A small flow of water runs from the altar, down the sides of the aisle, outside through the courtyard, and finally into a small pool which sits inside the visitor center.

The Church of the Holy Family Shrine was completed in 2001. It has been argued that the design is very similar to the Cooper Chapel in Arkansas. Regardless, it is a truly inspirational space which integrates so well with the nature surrouding the site, seemingly erected from the Nebraska plains.

Kimbell Art Museum

The Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas - and other works by Louis Kahn - were an inspiration to me while I was in school. Kahn displayed a sensitivity in three areas - form, material, and light. I was in awe of how Kahn would design with a sophistication and still allow the natural elements (and flaws) of his materials to be exposed. Visiting this museum, and walking up the enclosed stair into the main lobby, is one which I will never forget.

The overall form for the museum comes from a grain silo - at one time visible from the site - resituated horizontally on the landscape. The materials were chosen due to their similarity to each other and their compatibility with the site. Kahn often used concrete on many of his projects, claiming that "concrete must be taken for whatever irregularities or accidents in the pouring reveal themselves."

The Kimbell consists of a series of barrel vaults (100 ft. long, 23 ft. wide) with curved concrete roof/ceilings that are radially offset from the curve of the travertine-clad walls. This narrow slit allowed diffuse natural light to run the length of each vault and into the space below without causing damage to the artwork on display. The end vault is left open to create a transition from the building to the pond and park beyond.

Louis Kahn was quite a character. In addition to being a reknown architect with projects around the world, he was also a college instructor and, if you've ever seen the documentary "My Father, the Architect," he also managed to secretly lead separate lives with two different families on opposite ends of the country ... and I often complain that I can't get my lazy ass out of bed to go to my one job.

Denver Art Museum

First off is the addition to the Denver Art Museum, which opened last year to a lot of media attention. The building has sparked a lot of debate because of it's role in the "Bilbao effect" in architecture. A recent movement in architecture that began with Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The building itself has overshadowed the collection of art contained within but the mass exposure the building has received has significantly increased tourism in a city that was struggling.

The DAM addition was designed by Daniel Libeskind. He claims the form was inspired by the mountains as he flew into Denver, but the design looks peculiarly similar to other projects he has worked on. The angled walls have caused some visitors to feel vertigo, or a sense of dizziness. It is important to note that the attendance for the DAM have fallen well short of projections, which have only fueled the debate of the building's effectiveness. Also, the building is currently undergoing repairs due to leakage in the rooftop windows following the buildings first exposure to Colorado snowfall.

Year of Eastwood #1

Every Which Way But Loose (1978)

Starring: Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, and Ruth Gordon
Directed by James Fargo

Let’s started things off with the 70’s phenomenon that was Every Which Way But Loose. This is the first film with Eastwood that I can remember seeing when I was younger. A movie with a flatulent orangutan and a foul-mouthed granny was pure comedy gold to me at the time. Watching it now, a film with a cartoon-like storyline, offensive pick-up lines, and crappy Sondra Locke country songs stills manages to be entertaining.

Eastwood was discouraged against making this movie. His agents feared that it would destroy Eastwood’s career and even though the film was blasted by critics, Every Which Way was a huge hit. Eastwood plays a beer-drinking loner who’s only friend is an orangutan named Clyde, who despite opposable thumbs makes more use of his middle finger throughout the movie. Finally, Eastwood meets the woman of his dreams, but when she skips town, most of the movie revolves around Eastwood and his monkey trying to track her down.

One critical scene where a gang of bumbling bikers rumble with Eastwood takes place in Georgetown, Colorado. It was interesting to see what this mountain town looked like in the late 70’s and the film also showed it’s age when at one point they drive by a gas station where gas is 27 cents a gallon. Speaking of age, that Ruth Gordon had quite a run during her later years. Recently, I watched a couple of Gordon’s other films - Rosemary’s Baby (which she won a supporting Oscar) and Harold and Maude (one of my personal favorites) - and I would challenge anyone out there to name another old lady with a better trio of movies.

Every Which Way qualifies as an Eastwood classic even though it hasn’t aged particularly well. In fact, along with the Dirty Harry movies and his early Spaghetti Westerns, it’s the only Eastwood film that spawned a sequel - the less successful Any Which Way You Can. The film will probably be remembered along with a string of other Eastwood films of the 70’s which were light on critical acclaim but were extremely popular with the public.

A Year of Eastwood

Do you suffer from Netflixation? Every time you receive that red envelope in the mail - do you feel pressure to stop everything to watch that movie and get the DVD back in the mail - just to get another red envelope in a few days? After a while, you realize that you've seen just about every movie you've ever wanted to see ... and a few you didn't even want to. Soon you find yourself clicking on movies just to keep that queue filled.

To ease my anxiety and fill up my queue, I've decided to focus on an American Icon and watch as many of his films as I can in one year. I've decided to focus on Mr. Clint Eastwood. His tough-guy personna exemplifies the American swagger and his career has spanned many decades with several signature films that, like it or not, reflect the mood of our country during the last 50 years.

Eastwood started out as a TV star on "Rawhide," before he became a movie star in Spaghetti Westerns. He was pegged to return to TV as Two Face on the Batman series but it was cancelled before he began work. In the 70's, Dirty Harry became an icon in American cinema as a symbol of our country's frustration with the justice system. In the 80's, Eastwood became active in local politics and was elected mayor of Carmel, California. Today, Eastwood has won multiple Oscars directing films and continues to act as he approaches 80 years old.

Of course, he's had his share of bombs over the years as well - and I plan to focus on a few of those along the way. I'll post my thoughts on each Eastwood film of the week and feel free to post your own comments as well.

Architecture in America

My goal is to visit as many landmarks of architecture as I can. I plan to post photos and posssibly my musings on these buildings. All of the photos posted are from my trusty Kodak digital camera.

Great pâte but I have to motor

Welcome to my blog.

I grew up in the Heartland of America, enjoying in my formative years all the flatness that makes our country great. Since that time I have visited both coasts, with my feet in both the Atlantic and Pacific, and have hiked some of our country’s great peaks (the Colorado Rockies) and valleys (the Grand Canyon) as well as some other highs and lows along the way.

Growing up on a farm, I’ve learned to appreciate the duplicity of dining on the finest, Grade A beef our country has to offer - topped with government-issued cheese … I’m still in search of the perfect cheeseburger.