Lessons from Living in a House Designed by William Wurster
Thursday, January 12th, 2012 Posted in Architecture | 9 Comments »
Urban Designer Jay Claiborne reflects on thirty-five years of living in a house designed by William Wurster.
Architecture
Artisanal Recycling by Leger Wanaselja
Friday, November 11th, 2011 Posted in Architecture | 2 Comments »
In this post, we highlight several projects from a Berkeley architectural firm that practices Artisanal Recycling, a craft-oriented approach to reusing materials and objects.
Architectural Ornament as Urban Texture: Part 3 – Heraldry and Emblems
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 Posted in Architecture | 3 Comments »
When we look at architectural ornament of heraldry and emblems, we see things associated with the aristocracy. Over time the aristocracy of business and commerce subsumed that of humans. Companies and corporations commissioned heraldic crests emblazoned on shields, which were displayed on the buildings they owned and occupied.
Architectural Ornament as Urban Texture: Part 2 – Animals and Birds
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 Posted in Architecture | 4 Comments »
The animals commonly depicted on buildings exemplify desirable human character traits. They are the focus in this second installment of the series Architectural Ornament in San Francisco.
Architectural Ornament as Urban Texture: Part 1 – Human Forms
Monday, June 27th, 2011 Posted in Architecture | 5 Comments »
Modernism replaced ornament with a different vocabulary of details involving straight lines, right angles, and clean edges. Still, since we admire buildings from the time when ornament was popular, revealing the meaning of decorative motifs would broaden our understanding and increase out pleasure in passing by them. They contribute to the urban texture of our cities.
Life-Savers for Buildings
Monday, December 6th, 2010 Posted in Architecture | 2 Comments »
Saving people’s lives from the disastrous results of major earthquakes is an important part of California’s building codes, as indeed it should be. But what about saving the lives of buildings?
Bridges to Nowhere – for now
Monday, July 26th, 2010 Posted in Architecture | 17 Comments »
Pedestrian bridges, often including bicycle usage associated with urban areas are now in demand. As shown by the three bridges presented here, the reduced scale of urban bridges and their proximity to human beings and nature no longer call for a rustic design.
San Mateo’s Shoreline Parks
Thursday, June 24th, 2010 Posted in Architecture | 4 Comments »
Endres Ware provided architecture and engineering services for two parks in San Mateo along the Bay Trail, a 450-mile continuous open space corridor around the San Francisco Bay, helping to transform the once desolate and often windy expanse of waterfront.