PIGEON POO AND GLASS CEILING

Taken today at the local cinema "Kinocity" in Drammen, designed by architects Jens Bak and Halvorsen & Reine AS, I believe this picture illustrates why you should check if there are a hundred pigeons anywhere near before you put a flat glass roof on your building.

BIG WINDOW

Picture with yours truly, taken in Gothenburg Concert Hall on a class trip in September

Okay, so you want to open the inside of your building to its surroundings and blur the transition between interior and exterior? Try making a really big, tall window. One huge piece of glass, much taller than a person. Put it into a wall, so that you don't have to have fifty layers of depressingly dark green glass to be able to heat your building. The wall also helps frame the view and proved you with something to lean on when you want to sit or stand in the window and look out for a while. It works.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For unto us a child is born (and He doesn't want you to drive your car everywhere).

Transit-oriented gingerbread house by the Center for Neighbourhood Technology.

NEVERENDING STAIRS

They may not be extremely useful, but they're quite good-looking. According to the picture, which I found on Wikipedia, they're somewhere in Munich.

A LINE

'It wasn't on purpose, I just drew a line!' -Famous last words for an architect, spoken by my co-student Ann-Sofie.

BIEBER?!

I know, I'm surprised as well. What is Justin Bieber doing on my blog? Well, I'm not sure... I mean, maybe it's just me, but... Isn't this actually a bit nice, in a very strange way?

COMPLEX

The trouble with complex architecture is that it's so damned complex.

THE LAST WEEK/CRAZY CATS

As this is the last week of our survivalist project, I don't have the time to write a proper blog post, so I'll post this video instead.

PERSPECTIVE

... can be fun.

SMALL DOORS

Why don't we install more half-height doors, like the one I'm standing next to in this picture taken in a very old farm building? Not only do they look lovely and absurd, they also completely alter the perception of the room they lead into. Going through a very low door signifies intimacy, and makes the room feel very protected, a bit cocoon-like, a great feeling for certain rooms (though, perhaps not all). See Christopher Alexanders pattern "Low doorway" from the classic A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series).

THE ARCHITECT SKETCH

Simple fun for a simple day.

IMPOSSIBLE

`Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.'

Alice laughed. `There's no use trying,' she said `one ca'n't believe impossible things.'

`I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. `When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.'