This post, like yesterday's, is a reproduction of an assignment for a class called Visual Epistemologies taught at PennDesign by Orkan Telhan. The assigment asks for summary, quotations, questions and personal responses. Today's writing is on Diagrams of Diagrams by Anthony Vidler. Anthony Vidler sketches out a thorough history of the use of the diagram as... Continue Reading →
The following is a written response to The Agency of Mapping by James Corner. Corner - Agency of MappingDownload James Corner objects to the depiction and use of mapping as a tool for representation, a means of describing objective and neutral truth. To Corner mapping is an active, engaging and revealing process which is able... Continue Reading →
It was a late night in studio with some interesting company.
Rafael Moneo came to PennDesign to speak this evening, and I'm taking the opportunity to show two projects of his that I had the chance to visit while in Spain, in addition to a short response I penned to his essay On Typology. Rafael Moneo's On Typology takes a direct, thorough, and academic approach to a discussion... Continue Reading →
A month ago I drove back to Philly from New Hope, PA by way of US Route 1, the Lincoln Highway. The route went from winding rural road to a brief stretch of I-95 before Route 1 takes you into the long stretch of Northeast Philly. At some point the expressway gives way to... Continue Reading →
While in Bangladesh earlier this month, the group I was apart of had the chance to see the opening of Shahid Kabir's I Bow My Head to You in Deep Obeisance, an art show at the Bengal Gallery in Dhaka. One room held smaller sketches and watercolors, while the main gallery space held larger intimate portraits... Continue Reading →
A year ago, while designing an archive for digital materials, I thought about building materials and their respective forms of memory. Some metals rust, and there are many examples of architects exploiting corten steel or copper patinas to let a building age in dramatic fashion.Concrete ages in a decidedly less elegant manner (although Snohetta did... Continue Reading →
Inspired by yesterday's art deco, here are a few photos of Asheville, North Carolina from a trip I took there in August 2012. One building of interest was Grove Arcade, a public market which opened in 1929 and was renovated in 2002. In the Spring of 2012 I took two very different classes which both touched... Continue Reading →
My Uncle Patrick Sokas passed away two years ago to the day. His passing was both sudden and unexpected, but from it came one of the most interesting and beautiful acts of tribute and remembrance in the form of Found Patrick. My aunt, Patrick's sister Regina embarked on a journey of collecting my uncle's written work... Continue Reading →
The following is a consolidation and elaboration of a few thoughts and interests: A few years ago I saw a clip of a morning talk show interviewing Dr. Walter Tschinkel and his unique method of documenting the structure and spatial arrangement of ant colonies. He would pour molten aluminum into the ant hills and then excavate... Continue Reading →
Adam Achrati 