Here we are in the midst of the election season, and it’s so difficult to stay clear of partisan thoughts. But I shall try.
We’re also in the midst of the hurricane season over in the Gulf. As I write, Gustav has come and gone, but hurricanes H, I, & J are lined up behind him. Meanwhile, the rebuilding of New Orleans from Katrina proceeds, though still neither smoothly nor evenly.
In the three years since the flood—yes, it has been that long—we have seen a few high-profile design responses to the disaster, all well-intentioned and some productive, while innumerable low-profile responses, largely volunteer-driven, have accomplished much of the actual rebuilding of people’s homes.
The rebuilding of shelter is the first priority in the rebuilding of lives, but it is not the only priority, a fact particularly appreciated in the city that inspired the alternative ending to the old aphorism: “I used to complain that I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no . . . rhythm.”
Yes, functionality is important, but ya gotta have style—in the nightclub sense of that word, not the architectural sense. Buildings don’t have to be of a certain style, but they have to behave with style. Engage you, charm you, escort you home.
Here’s a little sketch that suggests one way that traditional New Orleans buildings behave:
Whenever I see a new prototype proposed for a shotgun lot, I ask myself whether that dashed circle and the conversation going on in it can be transposed into it, whatever it looks like. (Note that the two people in the circle needn’t belong to the same political party.)
For those of you who have work in New Orleans, or friends in New Orleans, or drinks waiting for you in New Orleans, here are a few resources:
—more little sketches, my Which Way, New Orleans?
—streaming sounds from the Big Easy, WWOZ
—inside tips from local architects Eskew+Dumez+Ripple (click on “lagniappe”) and Studio WTA (click on “friends”)
—Architecture School, the new reality TV show produced at Tulane School of Architecture by Woodbury University (Burbank/San Diego) architecture professor Stan Bertheaud and directed by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy director Michael Selditch (also trained as an architect).
On another (beach)front, Richard Neutra’s Mariners Medical Arts Center in Newport Beach has been saved at least temporarily from the wrecking ball through the efforts of John Linnert, AIA, historian Barbara Lamprecht, and others. Read more in The Architects Newspaper, and weigh in.
Originally published 3rd quarter 2008, in arcCA 08.3, “Engineering + Architecture.”
