David Gouverneur, a Landscape Architecture professor at PennDesign in Philadelphia, has spent much time and energy exploring the problems, possibilities and characteristics of informal settlements (as discussed a few days ago). His research has focused on preemptive design of areas of city expansion, in contrast to retroactive improvement of informal settlements, sometimes called "acupunctural" interventions.... Continue Reading →
To continue on the same theme as yesterday, the poorest people in Medellin look to build their homes on the cheapest land, often free land or land illegally occupied. On the Southwestern fringe of Medellin much of the land is currently used for material exploitation, mineral exploration or strip mining. Sometimes these two forces converge... Continue Reading →
This past semester focused on growth in Colombia's second largest city of Medellin, surrounded by steep hillsides and facing the serious task of finding safe and equitable housing for its poorest residents. The city has about 2.5 million residents with another million living nearby in the Aburra Valley. The city lies in a river valley,... Continue Reading →
Enric Miralles was a Catalan architect whose projects were defined by (I would argue, perhaps wrongly) a deconstructivist style greatly influenced by an intricate sense of whimsy and whose work spanned many continents and many scales. Arguably best known for the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh and the Mercat Santa Caterina in Barcelona (both with partner Benedetta... Continue Reading →
A few inches of snow fell in the DC area last night, just enough to delay schools and render Brookside Gardens a winter wonderland:
On occasion I will write about locations and attractions in the Philadelphia area as I attempt to organize field trips out to places like George Nakashima's workshop up in New Hope PA. I have been recommended by many people to visit his workshop and I find both his furniture and philosophy to be compelling. I... Continue Reading →
A quick hello if you have stumbled upon this page. My name is Adam and I am an architecture student completing a Masters in Architecture at PennDesign. With any luck this blog will be updated daily with small parts of a portfolio of my work, in addition to writings or reflections or photos or drawings.... Continue Reading →
Adam Achrati 