Monthly Archives: April 2014

Wings: Frank Lloyd Wrong

Posted on April 20, 2014 by

Here is episode 129 of the TV show Wings, “Good-bye, Frank Lloyd Wrong,” about when a couple is offered a free house shaped like a 7 by a famous architect. The episode is here.

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Proposed Czech national library

Posted on April 20, 2014 by

A friend, commenting on the proposed intermodal center for Queens a few posts back, said he could not imagine anything more ridiculous. I asked him whether he’d ever seen the proposal for a new Czech national library in Prague. He … Continue reading →

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Which stadium “is” Qatar?

Posted on April 17, 2014 by

  Which stadium better “reflects Qatari design and culture”? One of the two has been anointed by the nation’s top sports commission, whose chairman declared that it does reflect the nation’s culture; the other is one of several designs whose … Continue reading →

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Column: Dr. Downtown’s stroll with Dr. Street

Posted on April 17, 2014 by

Dear Dr. Downtown: Please tell us about your “walkabout” last weekend with the author of Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns — Strolling in Stratford. Well, the doctor thought that Dr. Street (aka John Massengale, New York … Continue reading →

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Ridiculouser and ridiculouser

Posted on April 15, 2014 by

I’m sure some readers will think I’m getting tedious, but there seems to be no end to the asininity parading as architecture. The above abomination has been proposed for Queens. Will there ever be a time when real people find … Continue reading →

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Joze Plecnik. Gone fishing

Posted on April 14, 2014 by

The bridge above, in Ljubljana, Slovenia – I am assuming it is a bridge and not a dam – is by Slovenian architect Joze Plecnik (1872-1957), whose architectural style evolved, I gather, toward a sort of edgy Art Nouveau. He … Continue reading →

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More architectural humor

Posted on April 13, 2014 by

Actually, some of the best humor is unintentional, so welcome to “How to Remake Your House into a Midcentury Modern Masterpiece,” or whatever it’s called. Very funny video, apparently from the HGTV network, Home and Garden TV. The question is … Continue reading →

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Romantic humor

Posted on April 12, 2014 by

Life is odd, and so must be, by definition, blogmaking. I was trolling YouTube – “architecture humor” – trying to find something to match Monty Python in its ability to bring more readers to my blog. When I posted Monty … Continue reading →

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Blast Past: Biltmore nose job

Posted on April 12, 2014 by

As mentioned in my last column about the Dean Hotel, the Biltmore almost received a sockdologer right in the kisser back in 2003. I condemned it as a “nose job for the Biltmore” in a column back then, and it … Continue reading →

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My 777 conspiracy theory

Posted on April 10, 2014 by

A little (okay a lot) off topic, but like many I cannot forget about the poor jet and its passengers and their fate. But didn’t the abrupt switch away from the possibility of a hijacking and the constant focus, thereafter, on … Continue reading →

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