Chicago/NY

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I went back to the home town and visited friends and family in Chicago, Illinois. After living in New York for a while, I've gotten to know certain parts of the city, and from my upbringing from outside of Chicago, I think I know at least a little about Chicago architecture as well. I wish I could make an adequate compare/contrast list of NY to Chicago, but obviously, that's impossible. But being a fan of both cities, I'll do my best to at least begin to talk about one point. If anyone has any further comments, please feel free.


History.

Chicago and New York both have elaborate, fantastic histories. Chicago's is more specific to the topic of architecture, with FLW, Sullivan, Van Der Rohe all initially gaining recognition in the city by the lake. The Columbian Exposition(aka the Chicago World's Fair) was one of the most important architectural events of the 19th Century, no matter how few people know about it. It shaped the city of Chicago, thereby shaping most of the rest of the cities which cropped up AFTER Chicago.

New York's history is much more deep, meaningful and interesting - but in a cultural way, rather than an architectural one. Of course, the story of the Chrysler Building (My office building) vs. the Empire State is interesting, the Flatiron Building, Central Park (pseudo-architectural), and of course the World Trade Center and it's collapse. These are all incredibly interesting, important stories about architecture. But nothing in New York compares to the social and political stories.

But, in these two cities' varied stories of history, a very strong basis for "meaning" emerges. What I mean by "meaning" is still basically undecided in my head. But I think that "meaning" is what makes Architecture such an important art - it's what creates atmosphere in a city, it's what creates memory in one's mind and it's what creates history in concrete, wood, steel, and glass. Without "meaning," architecture would fail to be anything more than shelter.

In Chicago, "meaning" exists through the elaborate facade of Carson Pirie Scott, or in the corner clock at Marshall Field's (which it will always be known to me as), or in the blocky, masculine stepping of the Sears Tower, or, more contemporarily, in the sleek, perfect, mind-bending reflective beauty of Cloud Gate (another example of Chicago being the ONLY city in the world to show successful public art. No other city has ACTUAL "public" "art" like Chicago.) And in the last example lies the key. As time goes on, architecture grows older. Cities grow older. But obviously, developments continuously change and refine the city's definition and attitude. This is why History plays such an important role. Without any old buildings still standing around city, there is nothing to compare the new construction to. There is no Geiger to set up checks and balances. There is no Datum to define quality from crap. And this is the success of both cities of New York and Chicago.

With deep, meaningful histories, both cities set up landscapes to compare the new constructions to. In Chicago, the Sears Tower contrasts the Home Insurance Building. 860/880 Lake Shore Drive, by Van Der Rohe, is compared with the yet-to-be-built Aqua Tower. And of course, IIT Campus and Soldier Field both contrast themselves. In New York, the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building contrast the Citigroup Building. The Flatiron contrasts the Seagram Building. And the World Trade Center contrasts the yet-to-be-built Freedom Tower(don't get me started on that one).

So for good or for bad, the age of buildings and the relationship that they create with their city sets up a dynamic and always interesting discussion. Cities such as Chicago, New York, London and Paris all participate in this discussion. Cities such as Los Angeles choose not to. Getting caught up in constant contemporaneity has created a one-liner. It's excused itself from the discussion. I can't comment on LA as much as I wish I could, because it is what it is - nothing more or less will or has ever existed.

And then there's Tokyo - a city which is obviously near and dear to my heart - but one that also cannot enter into this discussion. This time, it doesn't have itself to blame, but its sad past which was brought upon by the violent acts of WW2. Since Tokyo was completely firebombed to the ground, a new Tokyo had to emerge in the 1950's - and that resulted in the most contemporary city in the world. The ironic thing about this is the Japanese' famous respect for their past. So while NY and Chi both have a physical past which they can relate to, Japan has only a memorial (or, meta-physical) past, but since this is such a strong attribute of the Japanese people, the two are almost equal. And while Tokyo doesn't have physical architectural past, most other Japanese cities have much older and more wonderful architectural pasts than any Western City. Kyoto and Nara, the two most famous old Japanese cities have wooden buildings over 1000 years old. To touch a building which is older than your entire COUNTRY is something special.

This will prove to be an incredibly fragmented post, but I have to go to the grocery store. I hope this will satisfy some of the anti-football readers out there (if you actually got this far - hello!) for a little while. And again, this is only a small portion of what could be said about this topic. And there are plenty of other topics to discuss. I encourage some comments to get our thoughts going.

Newcastle United Weekend Wrapup

Not much to say about this weekend, unfortunately, since I didn't watch any of it due to the holiday. Maybe I should make that a habit, considering how well my boys played, so I have heard.

I'm obviously glad to see Dyer playing up to his ability, and so far, looking to be quite healthy. People forget how dominating he can be, since we scarcely see him play. But from what I read, he had a few devastating through balls and shots which almost created goals. What's beginning to happen is with a slow increase in speed and quality, defenders are starting to play more cautiously around Dyer AND Martins, creating chances for others, like Sibierski to strike while the iron's hot.
I'm getting quite sick of hearing Roeder stick up for Martins every game that he doesn't score. The truth is that Martins is playing very well, he's been just barely off in the last few games, but he's CREATING chances. His presence is opening up our attack, and if the club is scoring, who cares if it's Martins or Sibierski. I think Roeder over emphasizes Martins' quality just to make up for his denial of Luque's quality. Obviously Luque has some dedication issues. But his inability to play well and get amped for matches can only (historically) be pinned on the gaffer. So Roeder feels guilty. Rightly so... Luque has shown his skill in Europe and other fairly meaningless matches. It's his lack of playing time that has cost him his spot in Prem matches. And insisting to play Ameobi up front, even while he was injured and desparately needed a hip surgery, was not the wisest decision for the club, in my mind.

But here's to the up and up. We're now 3 points clear of the drop zone, and as poor as that sounds, at least it's SOMETHING to get a bit excited about.

Newcastle United Weekend Wrapup

Well, there was not to be any sprouting of devil horns or any premature, grizzly death of our tubby chairman, but there certainly WAS some fine play by Dyer, and somehow, we came out of Emirates with a draw. I feel very proud of the point (even though we were only one AMAZING Thierry Henry free kick away from all three) but the way we achieved that point leave a little do be desired.
When I was watching the game I could obviously feel a difference in advantage(60-40) - but I never thought it would end up in an alarming 26-2 shot difference. But one trend that continued to infuriate me throughout the match was our overall lack of desire to win any loose ball. We didn't look like we even cared to be out on the field. When we DID get the ball once every 3 minutes, on the rare occasion that someone would actually make a nice run and call for it, our player would keep the ball, try to dribble around the Arsenal defender, and inevitably lose the ball. This is Arsenal. Do they not know that? Fast on the feet, skilled with the ball. Obviously their individual skills will trump ours. So why does James Milner think he can juke William Gallas? I just don't understand.
Bramble got the start on Saturday. We ended up playing the old 3-6-1 formation that Roeder has become quite fond of. Actually though, Taylor stayed back just ahead of bramble, in effect forming a diamond back 4. They paired very well together and with Taylor out there to direct where Bramble was rolling around, he only had to use his head when there was an inswinger coming into the box. And he cleared many chances, and I've got to give the man credit. He played very solid with only one or two minor tactical slip ups. Babayaro and Carr were both injured, and that proved to be the best possible lineup change we could have asked for because Roeder didn't have any other options than to put Ramage and Moore wide in the back. They both played very tough and well, and the defense, although giving up 26 shots and 10 of them on goal, kept as tight a ship as I could have hoped for against such a fast and fluid team.

So here's my logic:
1) We tied Arsenal. So we're equal to them. Period.
2) Arsenal beat Liverpool 3-0. So we're three goals better than Liverpool.
3) Liverpool beat Chelsea in the Community Shield. So A) we deserve the trophy now. Give it to us. And B) We're superior to the Prem Trophy holders. That's just a fact.
4) Arsenal beat Man Utd at Old Trafford, so we're above Man Utd.

Looks like there's no stopping NUFC now - it's only a matter of time and the treble is ours.

Newcastle United Preview

Come on.

My Official Prediction:
Arsenal : 2-2 : Newcastle United

I'll never predict a loss. It's a formality that I can't overcome. If I COULD predict a loss - this would be the week I would, but I just can't.

Honestly though - is it just me or is it getting absolutely hilarious how much bad press is being thrown around about my beloved Toon? There's "Roeder Out," there's "Shephard Out," there's "Emre wants Out," there's "Losing money," there's "Owen's Done," there's "Babayaro Out," there's "Luque wants Out," there's "Arsenal hosting Newcastle this weekend," it just goes on and on.

But, I'm hoping Dyer has a killer game, and Parker gets back on the scoresheet. We're going to need to score this match because the Arsenal quick attack will leave our defense shaking in our boots. An early red card will help out, as will an own goal. If BOTH of those things happen, we'll be in with a shout. If not - a draw is the best we can hope for. Actually the BEST we can hope for would be if "Insene" Arsene Wenger sprouts devil horns, climbs up into the stands and eats Freddie Shephard's skull whole. Then, we'll be bought by a new suitor, and we won't have his incompetence to deal with anymore. And it'd be a heck of a clip on Match of the Day.

Newcastle United Preview (+ Full Prem Preview!)

Since Newcastle will be taking a less pronounced role in this blog, I present to you: the weekly NUFC preview AND weekend preview in the premiership!

First, let's get this over with.
Glenn, please don't play Bramble. Taylor and Ramage in the middle, Carr and Babayaro one the outsides. I don't like Carr OR Babayaro, but they're fairly solid, and typically won't give up any goals. If only Carr could complete a decent cross, we'd be rollin'. In the midfield, I say play Duff on the left, where he's comfortable. Let Parker pair up with Emre in the middle, and start DYER on the right. Let's ALL hope that Dyer sports a pair of those WICKED goggles like Edgar Davids. I despise Edgar Davids, but his glasses are top. It'll be great to get Dyer back in the fold. It's tough for me to know where to put him because he's not been in the squad much lately. He could play center, winger or striker.
But for Striker, I hope Glenn follows through and plays Sibierski and Rossi up front. They could be a great pairing. Sibierski has scored more head goals than the rest of our team combined I think this season, and he's only played in European games. The guy deserves a run out. So then for the bench we've got N'Zogbia, Milner, Solano, Luque, and whichever keeper isn't injured at the moment. It'll probably be Harper starting and Given riding the pine (that'll be interesting to see.) But I think Given needs one more week.

Official Prediction:
Manchester City: 1-1 :Newcastle United

On to the rest:
Portsmouth v Fulham: As much as I bash Fulham, I hope they take this one, and I REALLY hate 'ARRY. He's got a turkey neck and a dirty accent, and he's funded by a less-cool version of Roman Abramovich. And he doesn't play Lua Lua NEARLY enough. And McBride will score 7 goals with his temple tomorrow.

Chelsea v Watford: Come on. If Newcastle can beat them, Chelsea will eat them. 4-0 Chelsea. Drogba will bag two. (please, for fantasy sake...)

Sheffield United v Bolton. I'm a Bolton hater. And it's not even because big Sam is a lying, cheating bastard. It's because that ear piece he wears annoys the crap out of me. It reminds me of Zoolander's phone. It's Fugly. And you know what else? Davies' head looks like a disfigured melon. Don't get me started. Don't EVEN get me started.

Everton v Villa: I'm going with Everton here. I want Andy Johnson to get back on the scoring track, and I'm tired of the whole "Martin O'Neil is God and Villa will win everything this season." I'm jealous. NUFC could have had him.

Blackburn v Man Utd: Not a big Blackburn fan. And as much as I LOVE to see Man Utd lose, the more weeks we've got with someone other than Chelsea top, the better this league is looking.

Reading v Tottenham: Did anybody see the Tottenham Chelsea match last week? After watching three NUFC games, I had forgotten how fun football could be. That match reinstated the joy in me. I hope Reading pulls this one out though; there's nothing better than listening to a REALLY tiny crowd going CRAZY for their home team.

Arsenal v Liverpool: Obviously nobody really cares about this match. I'm hoping Wenger pile -drives Rafa into the ground. I want them to put up their dukes. No gloves. Just good, old fashion fisticuffs for the supporters. And as much as you want to say "Oh Kevin. That's quite a funny quip you just made (as always!) you know that will never happen in the high-stakes, professional world of Top-flight football. The Premier League is made up of strictly gentlemen!" You know that somewhere in the back of your mind is a lingering thought that it's very possible, bordering on probable. I'm calling Wenger in 4 rounds. Rafa's girth will be no match for the insurmountable wingspan of the Wengmeister.

Enjoy the games, everyone.

Water update

Well, after one day of slight panic and charette, we seem to have come to some kind of decision in terms of the water table. For all of you coming in late, (which, by the lack of comments, that seems to be many of you) (or actually, FEW of you, but the word FEW still adequately describes the BULK of my readership.) I'm working on an addition to a house in New Canaan, CT. The contractor was digging yesterday, and began to notice water seeping (or, percalating) UP through the soil. First instinct said it was settled water from the recent rain. But as a test, the contractor went down into the hole and put spraypaint down at the lowest level of the hole. After waiting a few minutes, the paint was not laying on the dirt anymore, but floating on top of a thin layer of standing water. That water must have been coming UP rather than settling down. That's bad news.
So basically, the water table (see last post for a further description of "water table") was 30" above our proposed bottom of footing level. That means we needed to get rid of 30 INCHES of our addition in the vertical direction. This is not easy. What we ended up doing was bringing the basement from a very generous 8'-1" down to a barely legal 7'-0" in ceiling height. Also, on the first floor level, we had a very nice section of the addition that stepped down TWO steps into a sunken living room, which we had to change to only one step, salvaging 7.5". These two maneuvers, coupled with a couple other more technical, boring ones, were able to bring us ONE INCH above the recommended elevation.

SCORE!

In other Harry Elson Architect PC news, we were informed today from a past client who recently sold their apartment designed by us, that they sold said apartment for the highest price EVER PAID for a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East side of Manhattan. THAT is saying something! At least, that's what I got from their email. It was fairly cryptic.

We hit water...

Here's a quick update on some stuff that's gone on in my firm lately...

So we're in construction on a house addition in New Canaan, CT. It's a beautiful project - the existing house is very old and nice, we were able to completely destroy an incredibly UGLY addition which was added to the original house, sometime in the 1980's. Now we're adding on this very simple, immaculately detailed glass box, essentially.

Well, one of the client's main requests was that they get a full basement for the kids to run around in. We've always told them, "okay but there's a chance we'll hit a water table down there." They live near a wetland, and although all the engineers' test probes came up negative, you can never be sure with water. A water table, basically, is the term referred to the point at which water does not come UP towards the surface anymore. At a certain depth, there is water under every point of ground. It's just a matter of how deep. At this point, it was roughly8 or 9 feet below the surface, which is really not that deep. So it creates structural and obviously water problems. So now we've got us, the engineers, the contractor, and everybody else hurrying to come up with a solution.
Good thing we're only managing this one project - because we're in emergency mode at the moment! I'll keep you updated.

Newcastle United Weekend Wrapup

Newcastle are going to be one of the best Championship sides the league will have ever seen. That is, if they somehow change the form that they've been showing this entire season. As I said a couple weeks ago, this form will continue, and I repeat it here today - This form will continue throughout the season, and Newcastle will be relegated. And when that happens - they might actually have a battle to get back up into the Premiership.

This post will most probably represent the last regularly-posted entry (at least regarding NUFC) since it's not going to benefit myself or any readers to read the same rant-attacks on the same manager and coaches every week. I'm throwing my hands up in the air and saying "that's it - I've had enough." Really, the Magpies just aren't an interesting story anymore.

But one more rant won't hurt, will it? For old times sake...

Wow - it's actually really dark down here at the bottom of the table. I can barely make out the red and blue of Chelsea and Man United up at the top - even lowly Fulham looks happy and sparkly, sitting mid-table. I must be wearing hundreds and hundreds of sunglasses. That's how "bright" my "future" is. Hehe. Oh, boy..

Well, once again, Roeder came out with a ridiculous side, as my previous post stated. Babayaro, Moore, Bramble and Carr in the back. Babayaro has no interest in football, Moore, who looked like some sort of shameless hitman on the pitch today, is learning quickly from Bramble, who is too poor to waste any time on in this post. Carr looks like he's pushing 50 years old, as he consistently ruins offensive opportunities and gets caught out of position. How long has this record been broken for? Is Glenn deaf? Can't he hear this record skipping?
I won't even write about our midfield because they never touched the ball. Thanks to the defense lofting the ball forward every time they touched it, Parker and the rest of the ONLY positive attribute to our team was non-existent.
Again, Roeder played Duff up front, where he had no impact whatsoever. I can't stop laughing when I picture Glenn alone, in the shower or in his bed tonight, crying and asking "what else could I do? What else could I do?" Well Glenn - any number of things, really. All you listeners know my positions - since I've repeated them 3-4 times after seeing exactly the same failures week after week and not having anything new to talk about again.
But to place all the blame on the manager would be irresponsible and pointless. The players are the ones who are losing these games. All four defensive players (who were soully at fault for this game - and none of whom were ever substituted) were indescribably poor. I've already went over this. What I did NOT go over - is the exclusion of Steven Taylor AND Peter Ramage - easily the two most skilled defensemen. They were possibly injured, but I never heard anything about it. If so - that's the only adequate excuse.

So anyway, from here forward, I will put less effort into writing about Newcastle United, more effort into writing about more general, idealogical or theoretical football topics, but the MOST effort into writing about architecture. It's been sorely lacking, and I've had numerous requests for it.