Under the newly adopted California Codes set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2014, all new homes must be fitted with solar-ready roofs.  In other words, another Government mandated investment by every new homeowner for infrastructure for some dreamed of future installation of energy hardware …

perhaps obsolete by the time some future family is able or interested in investing in energy hardware ???

Perhaps that helps explain why business has been such a struggle here ? 

Recent research reveals that a wee bit less than half of the US population is receiving government aid … shortly after you read this, we will cross that 50/50 line.  Then those on the givin end will be outnumbered by those on the takin end.

Better get yours while the gettin’s good!!!

Recent articles about Architecture have been not-so-upbeat of late.   Reported the “fifth most useless major” a few months ago,  meager earnings ($36,000) and soaring unemployment (13.9 percent) for recent grads; and today research by the National Survey of Student Engagement, architecture majors studied MORE hours per week than ANY OTHER MAJOR —more than physics, more than chemical engineering; almost twice as many hours per week as peers in journalism!

Idea Echos

 

When grand visions that involve the built environment die, a lot of detritus is left behind.  Most of this material ends up in the trash; this installation is a ‘second life’ for two pieces from that stream of debris.  These ‘re-rendered renderings’ are an attempt to capture ‘idea echos’ of a proposal to create here in Sacramento what would have been the largest residential building complex on the west coast – and in so doing examine the now faint echos of optimism, courage and ambition embodied in this form.

 

Last Dance of a Thousand Dots  

 

An Architectural Vision is portrayed in a fashion to make it seem as real as possible.  These pieces are intended to motivate (financial) commitment – and serve that purpose best if they have a visual power that helps suspend ‘disbelief’.  The ‘hand’ that creates the images is by design ‘invisible’ – so it won’t take away from the illusion of reality.  When grand visions die, they usually fade over time, represented here with Correction Fluid placed in Dots.  Each ‘dot’ is one of the ‘do not’ that were part of the unfolding story – placed one by one by human hands until the original idea is obscured.  What remains is the Idea Echo – portrayed as a ghost like presence on the skyline.