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THE WAY WE BUILD

This is a long term interest & project of mine: how the way we build reflects the way we are. 

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From Catal Huyuk & Jericho to Brazilia & Dubai, people have been leaving clues about their core values in the way they build their cities. 



The techniques & processes of building have fascinated me for 4 decades now.  As a former bricklayer I love to watch builders at work, and as a senior architect I can't walk by a building without thinking about the way it was put together and the cultural biases of its designers.


Drawing is a way of trying to understand.  Tool number one has always been the thumbnail sketch.  Drawing board skills allow more precise studies, CAD took this a step further & Revit has now became an extraordinary tool for gaining insight into how a building is put together.



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I have spent many a weekend knocking up a quick BIM model of a building that has caught my interest.  It might be a recognised piece of architectural history, or it could be a typical vernacular dwelling, or just a building that has some personal meaning to me.



PAESTUM



Corb's box on stilts is one that I often use as the vehicle for Revit training sessions.  Most architects know it, but not as well as they think they do.  Few realise that there is a skylight serving the garage disguised in the terrace planter for example.  It showcases most of Revit's toolkit (Ramps, Stairs, Railings, Curtain Walling, Custom Families, In-place modelling, Room Separation lines ... )

SAVOYE

I could go on, but if instead you want to know how to lay bricks, this is the beginnings of my planned tutorials on that topic.  Done in Revit of course.



Or back to another well known structure.  Palladio wrapping new collonades around the old Town hall in a classic case of re-branding.  The tendency for architects to turn their backs on the past and call for new, pure, modern forms can be traced back at least this far.  But are architects the driving force ?   or is the thirst for change something more deeply imbedded in the Western tradition ?

 
VICENZA


Modern Architecture

Classical Architecture

Technology Studies