Architecture In Context

What is Competitive Intelligence?

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:46:57 +0000

Do you know about Competitive Intelligence and how it can help your A/E/C firm succeed? To learn more, click below on the link below for “What is Competitive Intelligence,” my article in the December issue of the SMPS Marketer.

WhatIsCompetitiveIntelligence_KristaSykes_Marketer_December2011

I’d love to hear thoughts, comments, or questions. Thanks for reading!

Webinar: Competitive Intelligence in the Architecture Industry

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:32:57 +0000

On November 16, I had the pleasure of leading a webinar on Competitive Intelligence co-sponsored by the AIA Practice Management Knowledge Community (AIA PMKC) and the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Foundation. We had a great turn out — 625 registrants — many of who offered insightful and provocative questions concerning Competitive Intelligence and its value for the architectural industry. Thank you to moderator Scott Kuehn, AIA, Principal of H+L Architecture in Denver, CO; and to coordinator Susan Parrish, Manager of the AIA’s Knowledge Communities, in Washington, D.C., for inviting me to be part of the AIA PMKC Webinar series.

A video of the webinar now appears on YouTube, thanks to AIA PMKC. In addition, to learn more about Competitive Intelligence and how it can help your architectural practice succeed in the future, download the presentation handout and check out the white paper “Best Practices in Competitive Intelligence,” part of the SMPS Foundation 2011 Thought Leadership Series.

The First Impression: One Great Reason Why Your Web Site Matters More Than You May Think

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:10:30 +0000

“You only have one chance to make a first impression.” More than ever, this old standard holds true. What’s different today, though, is that a first impression often comes not from a face-to-face encounter, but from a quick encounter with your web site. Your web site talks for you. Do you know what it’s saying?

A quick story to illustrate my point:
Last week a long-time client and friend (let’s call him “John”) asks me for advice on business development. Immediately a perfect connection comes to mind (we’ll call him “Max”). Max is an established professional with an extensive background in communications and strategic planning. He would be a great help to John, an architect in need of BD guidance. John runs a medium-sized architectural firm—a potential new client for Max. So I offer to send John the link to Max’s web site.

Here the problem arises. I find Max’s web site, which does nothing to convey his depth of experience or expertise (which I know he has). In fact, the web site’s most recent update appears to be from 2002. The funny thing is, Max’s LinkedIn profile is fully up to date, including the most recent awards (2010!) and publications (2011!). The only downfall is that it links to a hopelessly out-of-date web site. Needless to say, a decade-old site does not reflect well on Max. Do I really want to recommend him to John?

Because I know Max and his work, I decide to pass his info on nevertheless. But my email to John includes a disclaimer that, despite Max’s potentially abandoned web site, Max really is still in the game. Just check his LinkedIn profile!

In short…
Today, there is a good chance that potential clients will encounter your web site before they meet you. Your web site will make that first impression on your behalf. Ensure that it’s a positive one.

Architects: Five Tips for Better Web Site Content

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:56:47 +0000

Architects, we have an unfortunate situation here. Actually, it has been going on for quite a while. Overall, architects’ web sites are embarrassingly wretched… particularly for a profession that should be at the top of the design pyramid. We have work to do. Here are five tips to get you thinking about how, with a little bit of editing, you can make your web site respectable:

1. Web Site ≠ Portfolio
Do NOT include every thing you have ever designed. No one has that kind of time, and no one wants to sift through your potentially well-conceived yet unrealized projects. Your web site exists for your audience, not as your portfolio. Use some criteria to filter projects—include the best or most relevant projects, along with explanations as to what makes them the best or most relevant. Rotate projects at a regular interval (monthly works) to keep web content fresh.

2. Too Much Info Is Too Much
This tip relates to #1. Do not include too much of anything—copy, images, theoretical ramblings, line drawings, whatever. Keep your audience in mind. What do they want or need to know? Stick with that.

3. Too Little Info Is Too Little
I’m all for minimalism, but certain info simply must appear on your web site. Aside from basic contact details, definitely include names (and pictures!) of key players, if not all staff. Also include awards, honors, press and publications… how will your audience know you are great if you don’t tell them?

4. Keep Copy Clear and Direct
Enough said.

5. No Spinning, Swirling, Flashing, Vanishing, or Otherwise Crazy Graphics
Mobile devices cannot support certain platforms, so your audience may not be able to see said bells and whistles. But more important, such gimmicky features directly impact your dignity… it is hard to respect someone who’s professional web site features a cat with blinking neon eyes. Fun is good; satanic cats are crossing the line. (Yes, I’ve seen a firm’s web site that includes such a feline. If you are interested in seeing it, email me and I’ll send you the link. I am not going to include it here, though. I’m not in the business of bashing anyone. I’m simply lobbying for architects’ web sites that aren’t—as Vincent Flanders puts it—sucky.)

In Distraction: Cambridge City Hall

admin — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 03:47:31 +0000

Aside from the mild winters, the Boston area is blessed with another great perk—plenty of amazing architecture. (Okay—clearly I jest about the mild winters, but I speak the truth about the architecture.) We walk by a lot of it every day, in distraction, zipping from point A to point B. I think we can change this. No, I’m not advocating a meandering tour of the region’s architectural highlights; we are too busy for that most of the time. But perhaps it is worth our while to learn a bit about the architecture we encounter daily, the buildings we could admire as we hurry by.

One such structure is Cambridge City Hall, located in Central Square. Kindly, the Cambridge Historical Commission helps us out here, having posted a blue plaque on the building’s lawn. It tells us that the building was funded by Frederick Hastings Rindge (a native Cantabrigian living in California), designed by the architectural firm of Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, and completed in 1889.

Cambridge City Hall, completed 1889

A look at City Hall tells us more. The rough-hewn granite building spans a city block and rises three stories. Sandstone stringcourses demarcate the different floors, echoing the line of the roof. The rows of windows, framed by sandstone and shifting shape by floor, underscore the expansiveness of the building. At the roof’s edge dormers break the horizontal emphasis, creating a tension between the horizontal and the vertical. The ultimate vertical gesture is the central tower, which simultaneously anchors the building to the earth and reaches toward the sky. This visual journey begins at sidewalk level, sweeps up the two-tiered staircase, and pauses at the arched entrance before moving on to the clock embedded above. The trip culminates in a textural shift from the coarse granite walls of the lower levels to the smooth face of the tower’s uppermost portion. This detail reflects the practicalities of masonry construction—a more heavy “base” to carry the structural load—and draws the eye upward, making the building appear both lighter and more imposing.

Trinity Church, Boston, 1872-77; from bluffton.edu

If Cambridge City Hall reminds you of the Henry Hobson Richardson’s Trinity Church (1872-77) in Boston, it should. Longfellow worked in Richardson’s office before joining with Alden and Harlow. Thus he was well versed in the “Richardsonian Romanesque” tradition, exemplified by Trinity Church, that characterizes Cambridge City Hall.

Cambridge City Hall, view from 1967

Historical details aside, what I appreciate most about Cambridge City Hall is not the building proper but its rolling front lawn. This space wasn’t always easily accessible—note the containing hedge in the picture from the 1960s. Green space is a rare commodity in Central Square, so with the bushes removed, area residents now use the City Hall grounds for everything from sunbathing to sledding. Which brings us back to the snow….

Viewing The Carpenter Center Anew… Again

admin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:58:17 +0000

As I drive through Cambridge every morning, I purposely chart a course by the Fogg Art Museum, or what remains of it during this considerable expansion. The massive “Transformation,” as Harvard describes it, will unite the three university art museums (the Fogg, the Busch-Reisinger, and the Sackler) while providing additional exhibition, study, and visitor spaces. At this point, though, the 1925 building by Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch, and Abbott stands eviscerated, and a hole in the ground marks the previous site of Gwathmey Siegel’s 1992 rot-plagued addition, Werner Otto Hall. While I look forward to seeing the new Harvard Art Museum—as designed by Renzo Piano with Payette Associates—completed in 2013, right now I am content with the new, albeit old, view of the neighboring Carpenter Center.

For four years I lived on Prescott Street, directly across from Le Corbusier’s Carpenter Center and the now-destroyed Werner Otto Hall addition.

Carpenter Center and Fogg Art Museum before current construction

I walked down the street thousands of times, toward the Carpenter Center’s sweeping ramp, the curved flank of the building resting on piloti… all interesting, but never totally intriguing. Although I admired its parts, Corb’s Carpenter Center didn’t quite work for me. The demolition of Werner Otto Hall changed this.

View of Carpenter Center without Werner Otto Hall

Don’t misunderstand me—I think the Gwathmey Siegel addition was a fine one overall (aside from its crumbling walls). But its destruction has sent the Carpenter Center back in time, rendering its Prescott-Street context close to the original one of the early 1960s. I’m not referring to the active construction site next door, but to the absence of the Werner Otto addition, which inadvertently altered the perception of Corb’s building.

View of Carpenter Center, early 1980s; from american-architecture.info

Gwathmey Siegel’s design did bow to the Carpenter Center (for example by playing to the prominent ramp and providing an open courtyard space—see the aerial above). Yet, the platform on which Werner Otto Hall rose effectively blocked the visual approach to the Carpenter Center, changing the passerby’s experience of the building. With the addition gone, we are now free—for at least a few years—to see the Carpenter Center anew in a way that is actually old.

Cool Spaces! and Hot Tubs

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:15:57 +0000

Cool Spaces!, a new program proposed for PBS, promises a positive twist on the ubiquitous trend of reality TV. In lieu of poorly behaved 20- and 30-somethings á la MTV’s Jersey Shore, Cool Spaces! offers a glimpse into the “reality” we walk by everyday, often in distraction and without a second glance. The host, Stephen Chung, is an award-winning Boston-based architect; armed with his architectural knowledge, discerning eye, and hip wardrobe, he plans to “explore the most provocative public space design and architecture from the 21st century.”

The impulse behind Cool Spaces!—to bring architecture to the man on the street, to push it out of academia and design studios to the general public—recalls the life work of noted architectural historian Vincent Scully. A celebrated professor, author, and architectural critic, perhaps Scully’s greatest achievement involves instilling an appreciation for architecture in thousands of students—mostly non-architects. Though his dynamic lectures at Yale and the University of Miami, Scully taught people how to see the built environment around them, to notice the relationship between what we build and how we live.

So the idea behind Cool Spaces! is not new, but rather continues the attempt to draw us into conversations on architecture. And if Stephen Chung can focus attention on contemporary architecture—the “cool spaces” and even the not so cool—we will all be the better for it. Indeed, as more people turn their eyes to architecture, view and experience it with awareness, the more people will advocate for thoughtful and well-planned spaces. Imagine 8.45 million viewers tuning in to see Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Boston ICA instead of Snooki and the Situation hooking up in a hot tub…. Need I say more?

ICA Boston, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Snooki + the Situation, from MTV's Jersey Shore

Cool Spaces! is shortlisted as one of 16 shows competing for a pilot on PBS. To vote for Cool Spaces! send a brief email of support to DIFundSubmission@pbs.org. The polls close in late January.

Atlantic City Stars in Boardwalk Empire

admin — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:32:06 +0000

As an architectural historian and Atlantic City native, I have been anxiously awaiting the premiere of Boardwalk Empire, which aired last night on HBO. Steve Buscemi is great as Nucky Thompson, but for me, the real star of the show is Atlantic City herself, “the World’s Playground” wonderfully recreated in all her 1920s glory. While certain aspects (such as the Marlborough-Blenheim influenced Ritz Carlton) are the product of creative license, the people behind the show did an amazing job of portraying the lively and unique atmosphere that pervaded prohibition-era AC.

Boardwalk Empire Set, from HBO

The show’s success makes its NY filming even more of a disappointment. The producers acknowledge that AC was the first and obvious choice of filming location. Yet, due to a 15% tax break offered by NY state (did AC and NJ even attempt to match this?), the set end up in Brooklyn parking lot. What a loss for Atlantic City, which missed the opportunity to have a spectacular reconstruction of its past embedded in its present.

Politics and Partial Truths: Gingrich on Cordoba

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:59:48 +0000

In a July 2010 commentary titled “No ‘Megamosque’ Near Ground Zero,” Newt Gingrich declared: “‘Cordoba House’ is a deliberately insulting term. It refers to Cordoba, Spain – the capital of Muslim conquerors who symbolized their victory over the Christian Spaniards by transforming a church there into the world’s third-largest mosque complex.”*

Gingrich’s statement is both a partial truth and incredibly misleading. Cordoba’s rich history does include the development of a (lovely and amazing) mosque complex on the site of an earlier Visigoth Christian church. But that’s not the end of the story. When the Christians reconquered the area in the 1200s, smack in the middle of the mosque they built a Gothic cathedral (the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption), now the seat of the Catholic diocese in Cordoba.

Cathedral within Great Mosque of Cordoba, from Artlex.com

The “conquering” Gingrich mentions was not a one-way event, but a Christian/Muslim/Christian jostling for control over the course of many centuries. In fact, a struggle still exists concerning the Cordoba site, as Muslims are barred from worshipping on the Christian grounds, despite the location’s rich history. Thus, the assertion that “Cordoba House”—the name of the proposed community center/mosque complex two blocks from Ground Zero— “is a deliberately insulting term” is unfounded. With Cordoba’s past in mind, “Cordoba House” should be more insulting to Muslims than Christians, if anyone at all. Next time, Newt, do your research.
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*For a great analysis of Gingrich’s clever (mis)use of medieval history, see “Professor Newt’s Distorted History Lesson” by Carl Pyrdum

The Context of Architectural Context

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 01:46:11 +0000

Over the past fifteen years I have come to the conclusion that, all too often, architectural notions of context focus on a project’s physical site and surroundings. I have no concrete proof for this, only anecdotal evidence and gut feeling supported by tidbits such as the following:

In 1950, a young Robert Venturi declared that “its setting gives a building expression; its context is what gives a building its meaning.” Venturi actually embraced a broader understanding of context, noting in his MFA thesis “Context in Architectural Composition“(from which the quote above derives) the importance of “visual, historical, and functional” context. To him, context was more than physical—or “visual,” as he calls it—but Venturi nevertheless trained his thesis on the physical environment and site planning. In the larger discussion of context, site came first.

Venturi had a good reason to align context foremost with physical site. He rejected the modernist approach toward design that advocated the demolition of structures—or neighborhoods—that were deemed problematic or outmoded. By stressing the dependence of a building on its physical setting, Venturi opposed the bulldoze-and-rebuild mentality exemplified by Le Corbusier’s 1925 Plan Voisin for Paris, in which the architect proposed razing a portion of the historic city to make way for multiple sixty-story cruciform towers. Venturi’s emphasis on context as site was a rebellion against such tabula-rasa urbanism.

Le Corbusier, Plan Voisin, Paris, 1925

So it is quite fitting, proper even, that Venturi’s mid-twentieth-century discussion of context focused on the site and its surroundings. Sixty years later, though, context as site seems dated. The profession and practice of architecture have evolved, but the limited correlation of context and site persists. The problem? Context as site too easily translates into superficial critiques of aesthetics and form, marginalizing issues such as culture and use. Hence we hear simplifications such as “with context, you have two options—the building can ‘fit in’ or it can ‘stand out’.”

Today we need to interpret context as more than site, as site alongside culture, use, tradition, symbolism, environment, economy, politics . . ., whatever it is—and the it will change depending on the project—that allows a particular design to resonate with the people and place it serves. If we retrain ourselves to think in a broader way about context, perhaps a truly contextual approach to architecture will emerge.