Richard Haag

Richard Haag, one of the great landscape architects (and educators) of the 20th Century has passed. Maybe you could guess he was a Kentucky boy when the Seattle Times quotes him saying:

 “A big peeve of mine is the harsh divorce of children from natural processes,” he says. “We’re beginning to see a revolt against paved schoolyards. Put in a bog instead! Kids want to play in the mud. Every child should have a chance to explore, dig, grow food, find refuge in nature.”

If you don't know his work, TCLF has an impressive memorial online.

Two of his best known works were Bloedel Reserve and Gas Works Park:

Barcelona Pavillion

I am a huge fan of the Barcelona Pavilion, one of Mies van der Rohe's greatest designs. I got hooked on it as a sophomore and have visited it repeatedly. One of the really fun ways I have shared that is taking students there, a true thrill for me.

But I mention it today because I just discovered a great video about the Pavilion. Made by the Arts & Culture Bureau, the video brings this seemingly simple structure to life. Here at the end of a stressful semester, it is a relaxing way to spend 30 minutes:

Salk Institute

An interesting review was linked by PlaNetizen: Howard Blackson III revisits Louis I. Kahn's design of the Salk institute in La Jolla, CA and asks about its qualities as a public space. Or, more properly, clarifies why it isn't public space. Blackson writes:

"I agree with Witold Rybczynski that modernist architecture sits best in nature and this is such a place looking in one direction (but, don’t turn around). Adding the sound of the plaza’s water rubicon/falls, and scent from its formal rows of orange trees, the experience can be sublime… then you get back in your car and drive through suburban office park hell to go home."

Here are some photos I took years ago that capture a few qualities of the materials and the space but say little about the surroundings.

Best and Worst in Preservation

Preservation Magazine named its Best and Worst moments in preservation for 2009.  The best included the High Line and the worst includes the continued loss of landmark modernist architecture that may still be too recently built to have strong public support.