If you think it’d be cool to live in a building like this, you’re probably not alone. The building plays music through its instrumental drainpipes when it rains, and is part of the a series of whimsical courtyard buildings in Dresden, Germany known as the KunsthofPassage.

However, why don’t we see more creative, humanistic buildings like this, and what can we do about it?

First, the short term bad news. The vast majority of real estate investment dollars won’t touch this kind of project

read more…

While this debate can extend endlessly, and this entry is surely to be one of controversy, architecture in general seems to fall under two categories in the eyes of the general public - that which is traditional and that which is modern.

The former is inspired by just about anything built before the 1930s, while the latter was, and is, inspired by what’s possible with technology.  Creatives however, prefer contemporary, and seem to gravitate to a remixing of such styles into something with

read more…

A year ago we profiled how human-proportioned buildings not only provided a more welcoming urban fabric, but higher property values as well. These were generally in historic neighborhoods, but seldom in new developments.

Well, it took an Italian urban designer with a tremendous amount of respect for historic Italian neighborhoods to design these new buildings (pictured) in the Shiodome Italia, Tokyo development. The 30 Italian-inspired buildings in Japan’s new Little Italy surround a piazza

read more…

I’m working with a number of developers that are in various stages of planning, and we’re investigating a strategy of developing buildings that are more anthropomorphic - taller than they are wide, just as is the rule for windows.  Verticality is more human-like, horizontality more machine-like (ie cars, ships, planes).

The factors in favor of smaller, vertical buildings, as far as value to the home buyer/resident:
1. People feel more like they own their own place, have their own identity.
2.

read more…

More than ever, the focus on growing a vibrant economy is on design.

In a globalizing economy based on mass production and commoditization, the business of design is more than ever the path to productivity and profit, not to mention a sense of soul.  What elements does this design economy entail?  Fast Company magazine provides a look:

Be project-based: Aka the hollywood model, creativity thrives when there’s a finite beginning and end (like movies, and the design and construction of

read more…

Whether you’re walking through downtown San Francisco, New Orleans, Paris or Rome, there just seems to be a level of comfort and security that you just don’t get in most cities.  Some people will say…

“It’s gotta be the windows”.

Just as we subconsciously gauge our comfort level by whether we’re surrounded by friendly faces and welcoming eyes, the buildings have a human character all their own… and the bottom line is, the more humanistic they are, the warmer we feel.

The windows are the

read more…