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Christopher Alexander et al. approve.
There's a chapter in there about this sort of thing, little hideouts for kids.
It’s basically a classic neighborhood, but vertical.
If you ever read Delirious New York by the architect Rem Koolhaas (super fun book) there’s a lot of talk about that sort of idea (though often with more emphasis on the fact that each layer can be independent and anything at all).
I always recommend A Pattern Language.
IANAA, but I think this fits what you are asking for.
Yes. I immediately thought of architecture and the classic A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series).
FWIW "A pattern language"is an excellent reference manual for Planning design architecture. I've heard that software engineers use it also
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195019199/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_MWER9ETY04H313H7CJTB
Sometimes you have to look a little deeper into some modern buildings in that the material usage and techniques can be really interesting, but I am also not really into large scale modern buildings as it's hard to get a proper view of them in an urban environment. Too much visual noise is in the way.
Here is something that's worth reading if you have not already that speaks to some of your observations.
https://www.amazon.com/Bauhaus-Our-House-Tom-Wolfe/dp/0312429142
As for interesting more artistic stuff, I like smaller industrial buildings and residential work. Homes you can see the entirety of the buildings most of the times and there is no shortage of inspiring artistic homes.
Lately I have fallen in love with Lautner's homes. He has an amazing sense of form giving down to the details that creates a cohesive language that is sophisticated yet remains pure.
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/john-lautners-sheats-goldstein-house
I can't emphasize enough how this will change how you think about home design, although to really get it, you need to first read Volume I, The Timeless Way of Building, which is s much bigger time commitment.
May I suggest you read A Pattern Language. You don't need to read the whole thing, just the patterns that interest you. Well with your while, and very enjoyable.
> Take aways as an ex-builder - we build complicated shapes as our ‘entry homes'
I actually dislike the ersatz complexity of our developer builds. It also has the potential to create costly maintenance issues later on down the line. I would far rather have a well insulated Scandinavian box that is easy to repair.
If anybody is interested Stewart Brand writes about it in his book <em>How Buildings Learn</em>. Unfortunately our architects refuse to.
25 is not too old at all! You are still very young and if you want to pursue architecture, then go for it!
The school should have degree plans and information on which program you take. In the US you can go for Masters with a bachelor in something else, but I’m not sure how it works in Germany.
For skills, you will want to start practicing drawing and become familiar with how architects use drawings to work through ideas and communicate a design. Architecture: Form, Space & Order is a good primer in the different drawing techniques used, and A Place of My Own is a great read on the development of an architectural idea into a building.
Since you have a music background I’m sure you will have many great ideas once you get going. Architecture and music are a great combo. Good luck!
I am 100% with you that it is going to take a community to solve this problem.
I'm not against paying money, as long as the community gets something for it. We could pay whatever it's going to take to tear it down. Then pay 175M to build a new building over 20-30 years (Using Boston's hancock tower as an example). And then just end up with some luxury real estate rentals like what happened in Boston's Fenway.
A new building isn't going to evaporate yearly maintenance, or, by itself, magically create money either. In fact, a lot of artist new buildings in major cities with lofty idea become impossible to maintain. (https://www.amazon.com/How-Buildings-Learn-Happens-Theyre/dp/0140139966 is a great book that covers some of the ways money is wasted on some new architecture, or how some money was wasted in the past with over architecture).
I'd also take that appraisals opinion with a grain of salt, given where it came from.
What if we approached it more like what is the city missing, what can give back to the community if money were invested. Office space? Nah. Garden? Na . .
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1885254008/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dyX-Fb4HP3BDP
The link above is an architectural theory book behind some of the most successful buildings of the last 40 years.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1568982925/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KCX-Fb2GYDZS9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
This one is about social responsibility and architecture
Any Phaidon books, but preferably ones that show not only pictures , but technical drawings / plans of the buildings featured
My husband recommends The Geography of Nowhere
He says it is more essays than a textbook but that it will hit a lot of the marks you were interested in and he feels is pretty readable.
Read the book A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. It is actually a book for architecture, but you can use allot of it in game design. Another good book is Level design in games by Phil Co.
I recommend reading The Geography of Nowhere. The book has its ups and downs and its points and non-points but I think it gets to the heart of what you are asking.
Neat. Not to hijack this post but if you're into comics and planning (and/or architecture) then check out Bjarke Ingel's archicomic Yes is More
Read this book. Yes is More: An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/3836520109/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_Pt2nwbKJ7XEJG
When I am struggling for a concept I turn to research. Before I start design I like to know all that it is possible to learn about my site and surrounding area. Almost always during this research I find something inspiring. Remember to tell the story of your design rather than talk about the product. If I don't have a concept then I don't have enough research usually.
Oh it's harmful in so many ways, many that aren't even obvious at first.
For those interested, there's a great book on the subject called The Geography of Nowhere. It's a great read.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Geography-Nowhere-Americas-Landscape/dp/0671888250/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402686231&sr=8-1&keywords=the+geography+of+nowhere
its not a democracy in the traditional sense.
the RBE model was inspired by buckminster fullers book <em>Operating Manuel for Spaceship Earth</em>
here is an explanation i found with google, outlining the differences:
> Technocracy uses “energy tickets” to control inventory. The Venus project does not. Technocracy still has citizenship, barriers between people on different continents, and still holds on to obsolete social values such as patriotism and nationalism. Barriers between continents and therefore, people, inevitably breeds ignorance and bigotry. The Venus project believes in no such boundaries and is open to all of the world’s people. In a Technocracy, members are appointed to make decisions and have headquarters. The Venus Project proposes to arrive at the decisions based on the carrying capacity of the earth. In a Technocracy, powers are mostly held in continental headquarters. Venus project is Global in scope working towards international cooperation. The Technocracy proposes defenses. The Venus project believes that it is not needed because of “the common heritage of the Earth’s resources.” The Technocracy movement has no specific blueprints for social design, Venus Project has blueprints for cities in the sea, building methods, transportation, energy systems…etc.
technocracy also suggest its an end-game state. whereas the resource based economy accepts the emergent nature of people+technology
Might I suggest spending $40 on "A Pattern Language" by Alexander which describes good building elements. It is considered the bible for architects, but it's very, very readable for the layman - over 200 3-6 page chapters. You will learn a lot about design and what features make a house into a home.
The best money I ever spent on a book.
While I agree that political corruption and greed in both city government and labor unions were partly responsible for Detroit's decline, let's not forget that this happened. Further, while the auto industry allowed Detroit's boom, the subsequent dismantling of public transportation by the auto industry and carving up of the city by expressways made living in Detroit proper untenable. James Howard Kunstler writes extensively about the destruction of the American landscape, and particularly about Detroit, at the hands of the rising car culture in his book The Geography of Nowhere. Briefly, he argues, and I tend to agree, that planners began shaping America for cars, not people (i.e. those without cars, or those that prefer to walk, bike, take public transpo), and the result was suburban sprawl and uninhabitable cities. Largely, the general public went along for the ride for the sake of the conveniences offered in the petro-auto boom years after WWII. Anyway, I'd recommend the aforementioned book for anyone trying to get a handle on the culture-wide influences that can address the question: What happened to [insert dilapidated city name here]? I don't think it's as simple as identifying lone culprits without acknowledging greater forces of history and culture.
You'd learn a lot by traveling and observing people all over the world, or to your own cities various ethnic neighborhoods, but if you're going to read books to learn a kinesthetic subject, besides those works already suggested, also read Edward T. Hall's works; specifically, The Hidden Dimension and The Silent Language.