#429 - MARINA’S 3 FAVORITE BUILDINGS
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design discuss Marina’s 3 favorite buildings. They touched on Farnsworth House’s radical design; building code and modern architecture; Frank Lloyd Wright’s work; the Pompidou Centre; beauty in architecture; architecture juxtaposition; buildings in winter; and more. Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS
(01:50) Marina's First Favorite Building.
“Why isn't more mid-century style development happening in Los Angeles, for example? These houses are so cool. A lot of people in California love them. They were built simply as a post and beam structure. Why don't we have more spec houses like that? It's because they're more expensive than the spec houses being built now because of how construction has evolved. A lot of mid-century houses do not meet today's criteria for building codes. The amount of glass in [the Farnsworth House] would be considered very expensive if you were to do it today and you'd have to have railings everywhere, which would destroy the look of this building. It would be completely different. It's easy for us all to romanticize older architecture but there's the reality that you couldn't do this now because it wouldn't be allowed.” (13:38)
(15:11) Building Code and Modern Architecture.
(18:51) Farnsworth House radical design
“What makes architecture, architecture? We have to enclose space to keep the elements out, so we're protected from the rain and the cold, but beyond that, the function of the home, aside from the core, comes from only the furniture. That's why I find it so strange when people want to divorce furniture and interior program from architecture… The idea that these are separate things or different professions is a very narrow-minded view of what architecture is.” (23:43)
(25:56) Marina's 2nd favorite building.
“Frank Lloyd Wright’s projects have an edge to them because he's trying things that don't quite work for construction reasons or sometimes even design reasons. They're a little bit sloppy. The relationship between two different components is filled with friction but that’s okay. [An analogy is] In music, you can play a piece perfectly, or you can play it with a bit of an edge, where things get a little bit out of control because you’re trying something. That's what we should be doing in architecture. In Frank Lloyd Wright's work, that's what it's exciting to me. I think that's also what made him well-known. If you just do things that are expected, nobody's going to care. You're not pushing anything anywhere.” (34:48)
(48:13) Marina's 3rd favorite building.
(59:43) Beauty in Architecture.
“There’s always been [this perception] in the society where anything industrial or utilitarian is not beautiful. People think that a building has to be of a certain genre [or style] in order for it to be beautiful. Why is that? I think what makes architects different from the general public is we understand that beauty can be found across different genres. When you are dealing with clients, oftentimes they are victims of those preconceptions. ” (01:02:25)
(01:11:19) Architecture juxtaposition.
(01:19:03) Buildings in Winter.
