HOT or NOT: B'Nai Israel Synagogue

For an inspiring example of "how to" for simple modern design, visit the B'Nai Israel Synagogue on the corner of 2nd Street SW and 7th Avenue SW.  In my opinion it is easily one of the top three examples of modern architecture in Rochester, MN, with understated elegance of its pure form and gently gestures combining to produce an iconic sculptural exterior. 

For the inaugural HOT or NOT post, the verdict is...HOT!

The reason this new house of worship has such appeal is due in large part to its approach and entrances as well as its material juxtaposition.  As you near the building, the walks lead you through an intentional experience of views in and around the composed facade.  While at the same time the materials soften at each entrance point to highlight the transition from exterior to interior. 

In comparison to the other buildings on 2nd Street, this one boldly states its purpose and wears its function as a skin for the world to see.  In contrast to a context of mimesis, the B'Nai Israel is purposefully unique; eye-catching and intriguing.  Passing along the building in the evening, the glowing clerestories and sidelites transmit light in direct vertical and horizontal beams while the name and figural menorah on the south facade is illuminated from below.

While the overall interior and exterior details are superb, the B'Nai Israel is not without imperfection.  However, the minor elements that detract from the design are extremely small and easily overlooked.  For me the two most apparent mistakes (if you could call them such) are the difference in thickness of the vertical brick as it turns and becomes the horizontal brick and the discoloration of the Ipe.  The brick "bookend" look is marvelously detailed and does have a distinct Perkins + Will shape (often and easier accomplished in concrete) but is just different enough to be noticeable.  My guess is that the horizontal is as thin as it can be, and the designer did not want to widen the verticals to match because it might be too bulky or take away floor area. 

The other issue, the discoloration of the Ipe on the facade is for me a lesson learned.  Ipe is a rich and durable wood, but on the south facade, with direct sun exposure, its color fades quickly.  What made the discoloration worse, was the overhang.  It created two tones of Ipe color thus highlighting the faded portion.  The B'Nai Israel has since re-stained the Ipe to recreate the original look, while the north and west facades have retained their rich color. 

Beyond these two minor details, the strength of detailing, material transition, and thoughtfully designed facades (including even the "back side" which faces an adjacent building to the east) are unrivaled.  For me, this building still grabs my attention every time I pass by and reveals new elements previously undiscovered that add to the magnificent design.

LEED for People

USGBC Unveils LEED for People, Granola Supplier ConAgra’s Stock Soars.

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) took another step toward complete monopolization of the green building rating system with the August release of the LEED for People pilot program. Building on the tremendous success of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) brand and identity, the USGBC hopes to take a quantum leap forward in the certification and evaluation of the green lifestyle.

“This is exciting, I’ve long wanted to know just how ‘green’ I was being but I had no subjective criteria to benchmark myself against,” exalts San Francisco resident John Edmundson. With the release of LEED for People, average citizens can “certify” their ability to live with a light imprint on the Earth. Craig Somersby from the USGBC describes, “It is one thing to say that you are living a sustainable lifestyle. It is quite another to create a prescriptive, quantification rubric to certify that it is so. THAT is the true basis for sustainability by generating increased revenue for our organization.”

The LEED for People pilot uses the same well known system to label the levels of completion: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Certified. The level of completion is determined by a point scale with a total of 60 points available in 5 categories. The broad categories that cover the everyday lifestyle include Food and Waste, Energy Consumption, Hygiene, Clothing Materials, and Proselytizing.

Verification, a central tenant of the LEED system, is integral to the certification process. Once registering with the USGBC to begin the LEED for People program, one needs to hire a personal consultant known as a Provider. The Provider’s job is to explain how to live more green. This can be in the form of personal anecdotes or charming stories, as well as websites that they found and thought were “interesting.” The Provider will be involved from registration through certification at a typical cost of their annual salary based on their education (recent quote received at $25,000). The Provider works hand in hand with a Rater who will actually be following the registered individual around on a daily basis to confirm the compliance with the requirements. They keep with them a large tally sheet to check off the categories and the total number of points. The Rater will be involved once a preliminary checklist has been created and work with the individual until certification, if they approve. This cost can range anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 depending on the level of certification.

Critics of the LEED for People pilot point to the excessive fees and the reliance on two separate consultants for the purposes of verification. This process requires the individuals expend money up front with the hope of receiving credit upon completion. Jack Wilson of Boulder, Colorado complains, “I was pursuing LEED Platinum and in the process of gathering my fecal waste, but my Rater left in his SUV to drive-thru McDonald’s. Then, after I had buried the waste in recycled cedar mulch and spit, he told me that I shouldn’t have used a plastic bag because it would not biodegrade and therefore I could not receive any points!”

While the new program will work through a study period of two years, the final program will be sure to incite anger, verbal abuse, and a new charge amongst the Liberal Left to prove the need for comprehensive sustainable lifestyle mandates from the government.

HOT or NOT

Some of you may remember an early website back in the days of Friendster and the illegal-Napster that offered an simple outlet for our gross narcissism called http://www.hotornot.com/.  The sole purpose of the website was to upload a picture of yourself and have others vote on scale of 1 to 10 for whether or not you were "hot" (I did look it up and it is still in operation although it appears to be more of a dating service now).  The premise was catchy for the early adopters, but the gimmick soon wore off. 

Well, I am not above such gimmicks and have decided to introduce a section of the blog called HOT or NOT.  Each week I will select a design project in and around Rochester, MN that is either HOT or NOT (in the design sense).  I plan to qualitatively review these projects and explain my reasoning, but in the wonderful world of Web 2.0, feel free to leave your comments of your own perception of the project.  In the end, the votes will most likely tell the story of how HOT our local designs are and where the gap exists between design and reality.

I also welcome suggestions for buildings, structures, districts, intersections, or other designs that you think should be the subject of a HOT or NOT posting.  Leave a comment on this post with your thoughts. 

Bruegger's Boogie

If you haven't been to the subway in the U.S. Bank Building, then you have never been to Bruegger's Bagels at the base of the escalators, on the opposite side as Daube's.  I happen to be a big fan of their bagels, and in the fall they have a seasonal coffee that is very tasty.  Their space layout, however, may be one of the most poorly planned in the entire subway.  I am sure there is a worse way to lay it out, but it would take some work. 

The design problem is nothing that can't be overcome, in fact, the movement through the space happens to be patterned after an old-fashioned ballroom dance.  I happen to be a dance aficionado and I took the liberty of transcribing the steps required to achieve success (ordering, paying for, and receiving food and beverage).  It may look complicated--in full disclosure it is a more advanced dance--but with a little practice, you too can be bouncing to the Bruegger's Boogie!  See the diagram below and the sequence description.

1. Start (at least I assume this is the starting place as it is nearest the elevators and escalators).
2. Proceed to the counter.  Bow to the server.  Look awkwardly for the menu before realizing that you are at the wrong station!
3. Circle to the right, swing those hips.
4. Watch out for the column! Sachet to the left.
5. Exchange glances at the patrons as you slide past their tables.  Don't knock any glasses!
6. Come to a stop, wait for the line to pass (turn to the side to slide past any larger patrons if necessary).  You're almost there!
7. Move along against the wall and turn to face the menu.  Now wait your turn.
8. Step forward at the call, place your order.  Then left over right, again left over right to answer any questions that they have about your order.
9. Come to a stop and left, right, left.  Wait your turn and pay for the meal!

This can be performed with a partner but it becomes increasingly difficult.  Only a seasoned veteran or a frequent Bruegger's patron should attempt. 

Now bow to your partner, you're done!

Modern in a Minute

One of the scariest things a client can say when being asked of their vision for a project is, "well, I want it to be kind of modern."  I guess the layman equivalent would be someone saying, "I want you to make me laugh."  To attempt to get inside a person's head and evaluate what THEY consider funny, is about as likely as guessing what one constitutes as "modern."  I think most often the confusion arises out of the literal definition of modern which is something that is new or in the present.  How can architecture built in the 30's and 50's be considered new?  The word I use when I want to connote something is new is "contemporary."  For me, "modern" imbues an entirely different meaning. 

So to try and dispel any misconceived notions of what modern architecture truly is, I have distilled the entire theory of modern architecture into a 1-minute snippet.  I suppose the next step for our attention-deficit generation is to try and pare it further to 142 characters.  But for now, 1-minute is what I am striving for.  [Note: while many of these principles apply to other disciplines (art, sculpture, politics, etc.) I am principally focused on the specific attributes of architecture]

What is modern?

At the end of the 19th Century, architecture was a formal language of classical expression founded on clear rules of order taken from the Greeks and Romans.  (e.g. the White House the Capitol Building)  Enter 1900 (roughly) and the modern movement.  A few people began to challenge the accepted aesthetic of design and viewed it as fanciful and superfluous.  For this new school, the root of architecture was the post, the beam, and the plane.  If you boiled it down to these component parts, the expression took on a much more clean, simple and organized language.  This stripped and raw aesthetic, along with the advent of industrialization of building materials and construction practices, made mass production and reproduction possible thereby eliminating elitist architecture.  Anyone and everyone was entitled to a building, produced by technologically innovative methods, expressing its function in its form, using materials to their limits (glass, steel, and concrete in particular), and devoid of any unnecessary detail.

This glory period was ultimately short lived.  As the theory took on larger and larger acceptance in practice, whole cities were conceived in the high modern style eliminating specific human characteristics such as scale, individualism, and personal space that were integral to comfort.  It was at this point, in the middle 20th Century that modern was rejected for its ironic lack of functionality and over commodification.  There was a resulting post-modern backlash which I will not get into, but today the principles of modern are back, yet in a more reserved and careful approach. 

In conclusion, when someone says "modern," it means an architecture of simple forms, innovative materials, clean lines, and functionality.  True modern examples in Rochester?  The Mayo Building, the IBM Complex, and the Hilton Building.  Contemporary modern examples in Rochester? The Rochester Art Center, the B'Nai Israel Synagogue, and the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center. 

Modern is not all bad.  Like jokes, some are better than others.  Modern has significantly altered the face of architecture in only 100 years.  In many ways, it has contributed to our built environment in more long term ways than classical architecture ever did.  But like sweets, alcohol, and sex...all are best in moderation.

DMC...run!

Have you heard the word?  The Destination Medical Community (DMC) is an initiative of Mayo Clinic to bolster Rochester's world class health care environment and state-of-the-art community services.  However, the name feels like a Disney-esque theatrical sound stage where Doctors pop out of manholes singing, "top of the mornin' lassy, mind tellin' me what ails ya?"

Because the Downtown Master Plan is almost finished, it is important that we think seriously about how the DMC can be incorporated (why bother asking if this is even a good idea at this point).  So I have taken the liberty of offering a design for new lamp posts that can become a standard detail for all new streets and boulevards that may come under construction.  I feel it evokes the sense of excitement, medicine, and whimsy that is required to make the DMC a success. Cue music!!

starting at square one

Every day that we wake up, we are surrounded by design. From the car we drive to the key we turn in the ignition, we are continuously sensing design. The goal of this blog is to try and capture those items that may pass by unnoticed in the world, lost in the information, media, and bytes of life.

By highlighting the exceptional and mundane, the overlooked and celebrated, we can come to a greater understanding of what is contributing to our health, well being and environment. Design goes well beyond being "good" or "cool." We must ask the harder questions, probe deeper into the psychological and sociological reasons for our given reality.

Step one is identifying...step two is modifying. That is design in progress.