This is the last of three posts of a review of the book After Amnesia: Learning from the Islamic Mediterranean Urban Fabric Colonial interventions receive surprisingly abbreviated attention in After Amnesia's analysis. This is not to say that the role of colonization had been marginalized, nor is it to say the costs of such... Continue Reading →
Blog
05/23: After Amnesia (cont.)
Petruccioli outlines a number of definitions in an effort to further frame his argument. He differentiates between the linguistic terms langue and parole (the former being all the collective rules of language codified, while the latter is one individual's use of language) to explain the evolution of building types. “A [building] type may be a... Continue Reading →
05/22: After Amnesia
Part one of a book review of Attilio Petruccioli's book After Amnesia: Learning from the Islamic Mediterranean Urban Fabric. After Amnesia: Learning from the Islamic Mediterranean Urban Fabric (2007) is the culmination of decades of research, interest and teaching of Islamic Mediterranean cities. The author, Attilio Petruccioli, serves as Dean at the School of Architecture... Continue Reading →
05/21: Road Counter
I almost stumbled over these rubber tubes strewn across a major arterial road, which are attached to unmarked boxes locked to trees along the median. These are most likely means of tracking and quantifying traffic and car counts. I used to think they could track speed and thus were part of police surveillance. At this... Continue Reading →
05/20: Deck Table
Two years ago I had the privilege of working with my father on a project to build a table on his deck. I used both the Pentagon Memorial and the High Line as inspiration and designed a picnic table using dimensional lumber oriented to match the deck. The staggering of pieces allows for easier circulation around... Continue Reading →
05/19: David Grayson Clubs
Today I graduated from PennDesign with a Masters of Architecture. My sister was kind enough to give me a copy of The Architecture of Happiness as a graduation gift. I hope to enjoy a bit more balanced life and get a chance to read the book soon. A few weeks ago, while reading The Bully... Continue Reading →
05/18: Fabrication
Continuing from yesterday, the stool was fabricated in a mad dash after hours during the last week of school last spring. We had access to a CNC milling machine at a local fabrication shop and hired the help of a fabricator. My favorite memory involved catching a bus from the fabrication shop at midnight with a... Continue Reading →
05/17: Co-Stool
I mentioned the student group Co-Lab a few months ago. They are a student group focused on designing and building small scale installations in and around PennDesign and Meyerson Hall. This time last year, in preparation for the 2013 Year End Show, I had the opportunity to design and build a stool to use at... Continue Reading →
05/16: Year End Show
Tonight PennDesign had a show to celebrate all the work done over the past school year. The centerpiece was a 'menagerie', netting which had sheets of paper hung from it to catch projected images. It provided an interesting volume for the image to inhabit, as opposed to the usual flat surface. Kudos to Eric Wong... Continue Reading →
05/15: On Stage
My sister Nora celebrates her birthday today and celebrates it with a full day of rehearsals for stage productions in the DC area. She is an actress. She is very good, too. Here is a dramatic performance (improvised) from Tlemcen (northwest Algeria) in 2009 with Ami Tayeb. The amphitheater is part of the Roman ruins there... Continue Reading →
Adam Achrati 