I usually write about great spaces and why they make us feel better about ourselves, give us encouragement and inspiration, and all around help us. However, just recently a friend shared with me an art form, which was completely new to me. It is called Kintsugi, a Japanese technique of repairing broken pottery with a bonding gold lacquer. The intent is to preserve the form, while telling its story. By profession I am an architect that primarily remodels existing houses. Kints

San Diego’s Balboa Park has reopened and it is time to take a new look at an old beauty. In 1915 the Panama California Exposition was  built to attract interest to this small port, the first US stop for ships traveling through the newly constructed Panama Canal. San Diego’s commerce and produce were exhibited in buildings, which glorified San Diego as the “Spanish City on the Hill.” The fair’s lead architect was Bertram Goodhue, who imagined romantic classical Spanish archite

Leon Battista Alberti, an architect artist of the 15th century wrote, “ Beauty is the adjustment of all parts proportionately so that one cannot add or subtract or change without impairing the harmony of the whole.” When experiencing our built environment we see and feel the parts as well as the whole and when these things are in harmony we can be more attached, excited, and inspired by that environment. Take for example a space you are very familiar with, your own home or ro

Spanish architect, Rafael Moneo designed the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in Los Angeles about ten years ago. Time as shown that the cathedral and grounds serves its initial design criteria to inspire with light, welcome diverse users, and incorporate current technology as a celebration of its age. So what does that mean to the common experience? Start with the purpose of the building. It is a place of worship and inspiration to seek spirit, solace, and community. The shee

Jonas Salk along with architect Louis Khan set out to create a unique campus for scientific research with the Salk Institute. Not only did the project program suggest a new way of science disciplines to work together with adjacent labs and offices, but also with an aesthetic in Salk’s words," to create a facility worthy of a visit from Picasso.” Kahn, who was an artist before an architect, understood the goal, designed a building that met function and form goals, and on that

I was fortunate to attend the World Expo in Milan, Italy this past summer. I highly recommend this experience, especially for architects. Where else can you see cutting edge architecture from around the world in one place? World Expos occur every five years. Shanghai hosted Expo 2010 and Dubai will be the future host of Expo 2020. Participating countries may design and construct a pavilion to hold themed country displays. The architecture of each pavilion is usually cutting e

Architecture in the Renaissance era, which in the early fifteenth century started in Italy, diverged from the architectural timeline - Roman to Gothic. Italy clung to its old Roman traditions. Many of its monuments still stand. Gothic style promoted methods of construction, whereas Roman Classical style emphasized form and the employment of the “Orders” of architecture – Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite. Those, such as Palladio, Scamozzi, and Vignola that reint

It is interesting to think of a city as a picture frame; its architectural elements fading to the background, only to enhance a piece of art. This is exactly what happens during the Venice Biennale Arte.  Not every piece of art is displayed with its installation surroundings in mind; but for some the unifying of area and art makes great space. At this past summers Biennale Arte 2015, three pieces impressed me with the character to enliven their spaces. Venice is the perfect s

Recently I heard Professor William Lidwell from the University of Houston lecture on the meaning of colors. His area of study is in the application of color to design and advertisement. Of particular interest is his discussion of black and white, the most elemental colors. He said, “the words for black and white exist across all cultures and languages, unlike other colors. And that the evolution of color terms, the words for black and white, are the most ancient, the most ele

The new central library in my home town just opened. Rising above San Diego’s skyline is now the library's ninth floor dome. The dome is one of the most iconic structural shapes. The Romans perfected its engineering to solve the awkward roof juncture of now square plan to dome. The Romans employed the dome in many civic structures from senate houses to public baths. Rome declined but the dome next became the symbol of the Byzantine Empire, topping Christian cathedrals and be