Landscape Architecture Magazine’s Post

Just explored an intriguing article on Huntsville, Alabama's hidden architectural gems, revealing stories that sound almost fictional but are deeply rooted in real history. From the high-ceilinged Spite House, crafted to disrupt a view out of sheer rivalry, to the accidental architectural comedy of the Backward House, and the haunting attraction to the Salem Witch Trials leading to the creation of a replica Witch House in Huntsville. These narratives showcase the uncanny ability of buildings to capture and tell stories, offering a unique insight into the past that shapes a city's character. Huntsville is more than rocket science; it's a place where history's whispers can be heard through its quirky and fascinating architecture. A true testament to the city's rich cultural tapestry and a reminder of how history, intent, and sometimes a hint of spite can culminate in some of the most intriguing architectural landmarks. A stroll through Huntsville promises a journey through time, filled with tales of intrigue and architectural anomalies. #Huntsville #Architecture #History #IntriguingHomes https://lnkd.in/eHk48Mrj

Artist and urbanist Johanna Hoffman, who studied landscape architecture at University of California at Berkeley, calls for partnering with communities to visualize “new and potential worlds.” This world-making can help “move us beyond what currently exists into what could one day be.” She is inspired by the creative fields of “art, film, fiction, and industrial design” and how they use “speculation to provoke, imagine, and dream into what lies ahead.” The book outlines novel engagement approaches that enable communities to dream big and make vision reality. 📗 Discover Speculative Futures: Design Approaches to Navigate Change, Foster Resilience, and Co-Create the Cities We Need and other Best Books of 2024 in ASLA's THE DIRT: https://lnkd.in/eb2b8bhc Image Credit: Speculative Futures: Design Approaches to Navigate Change, Foster Resilience, and Co-Create the Cities We Need / North Atlantic Books, 2024

This recent article from The Christian Science Monitor on Destination Crenshaw highlights the need for cultural design and intentional public/private investments -- something so necessary can feel like gentrification if we collectively turn our back on what improvement is needed for the people living in our communities today. Surviving or flourishing is our choice. Crenshaw chooses FLOURSHING.

🖌️ Preserving history, shaping the future. Today, Nigel is at The Courtauld Institute of Art taking part in Records of Care: informing approaches to the conservation of Britain’s wall paintings. This symposium, hosted in collaboration with The Church of England, Icon - The Institute of Conservation, and English Heritage marks a milestone in making the National Wall Paintings Survey accessible to all. This vast archive—begun in 1980—holds records of all known British medieval wall paintings and a wealth of post-medieval decorative schemes. Now, thanks to a major digitisation project, it will soon be available through a dynamic online database. Nigel is contributing to the panel on Collaborative Approaches, chaired by Sarah Pinchin (Icon/Historic Royal Palaces), exploring how specialists can work together to ensure these fragile pieces of history are studied, protected, and celebrated. At Archangel Architects, we believe that conservation is not just about preservation—it’s about connection. Connecting past and present, research and practice, expertise and accessibility. The National Wall Paintings Survey will be a valuable resource for anyone passionate about Britain’s architectural heritage—past, present, and future. #Conservation #Architecture #WallPaintings #HistoricBuildings #HeritageScience #Collaboration 📸 St Christopher bearing the Christ child over the waters at St Andrew’s, Impington. A programme of conservation works, funded by Historic England, was undertaken by Tobit Curteis Associates in 2021. Tobit will also be speaking today.

Modernizing a beloved city landmark, such as the former San Francisco Art Institute, is no easy feat — particularly when the goals are to address deferred maintenance and to ensure future relevance and functionality without overriding layers of history and undoing past “edits” while returning to core concepts. Then, there are the constraints of the city’s historic preservation guidelines. But for culture-oriented architects, complex historic design challenges offer an intriguing opportunity to stretch the imagination and to connect with chapters in San Francisco’s history that make the city special.  San Francisco architect Mark Jensen is the new architect tasked with the revitalization of the art institute’s fortresslike former campus in scenic Russian Hill. His team at Jensen Architects been hired to reimagine the 2-acre deserted art school at 800 Chestnut Street. The San Francisco Art Institute dates back to 1873 when the San Francisco Art Association founded the California School of Design, renamed the California School of Fine Arts in 1916 and the San Francisco Art Institute in 1961. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle: https://lnkd.in/gbDBfDTs Photo by Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle #california #ca #sf #sanfrancisco #art #artinstitute #landmark #city

New post about sprituality's impact on art and architecture in my Artful Mind blog series!

Ken Rockwell, metadata librarian in the Marriott Library's Digital Library Services Department, has been honored with the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Utah Historical Society. He was recognized for his work in creating the Utah Religious Architecture Photograph (URAP) collection and the Salt Lake Religious Architecture Photograph (SLRP) collection. Want to learn more about Ken's work and its impact? Read more in our latest blog post!

The message echoed in the blog, and especially the story of Maya Lin, resonated with me – we are the architects of our life and work, but we must first grasp the shape of what we are building to create anything worthwhile. And that requires us to “visualize the end” – the life we want to design, live, and leave a legacy of. https://lnkd.in/gRNS5neN

Tomorrow, the Delft Lectures on Architectural History and Theory resume with Carola Hein’s lecture, Time and Temporality. As part of the Situating History: Vignettes on Critical and Global Approaches to Architectural Research series, Eireen Schreurs will present her vignette, Genetic Criticism in Architecture. In her vignette, Schreurs considers an interdisciplinary research technique originally developed in literary studies. Translated into architecture, genetic criticism adds a distinct temporal perspective to the discussion of the architectural project. While critically assessing its assumptions and principles, she will discuss how the strategy of studying the genesis of a project helps to understand architecture as a creative practice, with buildings as dynamic entities that evolve spatially and materially over time. She will illustrate some of the applications with examples from her dissertation and recent research.

Fall 2024 Course Highlight: This fall Professor Jennifer Pruitt will be teaching ART HIST 210 "A History of the World in 20 Buildings" TR 1:20–2:10PM. No Prereqs! | First Year Friendly! | Counts Toward Architecture Certificate | Humanities Breadth | L&S Credit. #uwmadison #uwmadisonarthistory #OnWisconsin #arthistory #historyoftheworldin20buildings #architecturalhistory #uwarchitecturecertificate #firstyearfriendly Enroll here: https://lnkd.in/gRG9Y_Rm Description: Why were the ancient Egyptians obsessed with building elaborate tombs? Was the Taj Mahal really a monument to love? Why do the Greeks want the Parthenon marbles returned? Was Frank Lloyd Wright "modern?" How have buildings reflected and shaped the historical forces of the modern age, from colonialism, to industrialization, to globalization? Take a journey through space and time and explore the history of the world through its great buildings. Learn to recognize, analyze, and question the dynamic interaction between culture, politics, religion, and architectural form. Perhaps more than any other visual art, architecture is alive. Buildings shapeshift over decades, centuries, millennia. They stand as both witnesses to and agents of historical change. Unpack our buildings' histories to reveal their role in our shared human story.