What I read today March 14
Architecture Writing Workshop is a new platform for writers to create architectural discourse, Architect News
“SS: I think that the question of accessibility is a difficult one, but architectural writing, and in particular academic writing, tends to be written for an academic audience. If we allow academia to become the only voice and agent to shape the discourse, we’ll shrink the discipline into an echo chamber, where only those who have the luxury to read will have the luxury to write, and vice versa. In that scenario, what happens to the perspectives and voices outside of academia that don’t necessarily have the resources to contribute to the conversation? There are not enough outlets talking about architecture in plain language that the public can easily understand, and this prevents the public from engaging with issues within the built environment.”
What I read today March 13
A Pediatric Cancer Center in Spain Brings the Outdoors In, Interior Design Magazine
Getting High With the Rabbi, hyperallergic
The Birth of “Pharmaco-Hasidism”, University of Chicago
What I read today March 1
Had a long convo about TikTok this week. It’s curious how pressed people are about China, and I don’t really understand the drama-rama.
When Americans fear China, what are they really afraid of?, South China News
Why Americans Fear China’s Rise, National Interest
“China is challenging the United States’ post-Cold War status as the sole superpower, the wealthiest and most influential country in the world, and the putative leader of the international order. It is offering its governing model of authoritarian socialism as a viable alternative to democracy.”
Crocs: Cool those heels, Quartz
Just bought my first pair of Crocs
What I read today Feb 27
Father-and-Son Architects Leave Multigenerational Marks on a Columbus Library, Bloomberg CityLab
How the Peacock Chair Became a Symbol of Black Power and Liberation, Arch Digest
THE LIBERATING CALL OF *THE MOTEL* AESTHETIC, For Scale
We are BURDENED by identity performance (see: S*CIAL MEDIA). Few motels try to create “identity” (where hotels are desperate to); why bother? They have purpose, and reinforce that exclusively.
”… an anonymous motel bedroom becomes a symbol of the mobility and rootlessness of modern life”
the setting produces a “masterful simplicity, yet one that is layered with psychological ambiguity”
What I read today Feb 24, 2023
What’s an authentic story, really?, Long Dash
Defining “Authentic” For 2023: What It Really Means To Be Who You Really Are, Forbes
Authenticity matters. The more you invest in transparency, connection, engagement and relatability, the easier challenges may be handled.
What I read today Feb 16
What are Ohio schools teaching when it comes to sex ed?, The Columbus Dispatch
Annual Venereal Disease and Sexual Education Instruction Audit 2021-2022
Indian Lake and Bellefontaine use Family & Youth Initiatives (FYI). Their website is unclear exactly what the material looks like but phrased as “utilizing self-control as an alternative to engaging in at-risk behaviors” and there is a mention of “pre-born,” so it’s likely abstinence-only
Columbus is looking to buy Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education That Works developed by the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts
Yellow Springs uses Making Proud Choices!
Suburban schools develop their own curriculum
What I read today Feb 9
Archeologists Unearthed 40 Graves at North Market in 2022, Columbus Underground
What I read today Feb 3
GAME CHANGERS: The Hip Hop Designers Challenging the Architecture Establishment, Metropolis
Transforming a Gas Station into a Community Asset, Metropolis
An HBCU’s Historic Preservation Program Starts with Its Own Campus, Metropolis
What I read today Jan 30
What Does TikTok’s “Corecore” Have to Do With Dada?, hyperallergic
This is corecore (we’re not kidding), Nobells
Corky Lee and the Work of Seeing, N+1
Ok, I didn’t read this whole thing, but want to save just incase
The Enduring, Invisible Power of Blond, NYTimes
”Bonilla-Silva argues that white people have an in-group language to talk about racial categories, just as all groups do. We may use “citizen” or “taxpayer” or “American” to talk about dominant racial groups, which, in the American case, means white.”
Arthur sees himself as white because he is an American
Welcome to the Shoppy Shop Why does every store suddenly look the same?, Grub Street
Interesting… I wonder if there’s a parallel to interiors how everything looks local but isn’t really
What I read today Jan 23
Environmentalists say massive sewage system expansions threaten Big Darby watershed, Columbus Dispatch
A Detailed Documentary Traces the Process of Making Artistic Manhole Covers in Japan, Colossal
My Favorite Things: How Almost Every Object Became Branded, PRINT
Michigan is Banning Inmates From Reading Totally Normal Books, Vice
Against House Porn, Azure
What I read today Jan 19
Mayor Stahler presents 2022 Recap to Council, PEak of Ohio
Bunch of hubbub around here eyeroll
What I read today Jan 11
Goddard College: The History of a Self-Sufficient, Anti-Fascist Institution, Teen Vogue
I hadn’t even heard of Goddard until a friend from the garden’s early days shared this article, having attended the school. This gave me some perspective on starting the garden and how I feel like it is so so foundational to my being.Also this quote is a gem, “‘The thing about a radical learner-centered pedagogy is that there's no room for rigid ideologies, from the left or the right,’ says Lucinda Garthwaite. ‘So, when progressive pedagogy becomes a required ‘social justice’ pedagogy, I think there's trouble.’”
ALSO ALSO “‘A unique thing happens when you fully commit to an idea and you’re surrounded by others who make that same commitment,’ notes Hale. ‘There are tight bonds formed that you don’t see in the rest of the world, because you’re committing to yourself and your craft, and you’re committing to better lives for everyone, not to personal accomplishment.’”
What I read today Jan 10
IT’S YOUR FRIENDS WHO BREAK YOUR HEART, The Atlantic
Making New Art with No Research
Research is the number one deterrent when it comes to making art, because it’s the fastest way to see if what you want to make “has been done before” (that’s in air-quotes because we all know deep down that NOTHING has been done the same way that we’re doing it). Imagine the art that would flow out of you without any sort of “but what will THEY think of it” hang-ups. That’s really what we all want to see, right? We want to see the most surprising, most vulnerable, most specific-to-your-mind-right-now type shit. The more you care about that one person that kinda did something sorta like it one time, the less you’re gonna make anything. You can always research after the fact, if you’re really hung up on it… but at least you will have made something! Making things feels amazing.
David Brandon Geeting (aka DBG)