Steven Holl
Monday Morning Media / Start each week off by viewing an Inspirational video
Silent Transitions
The Poetry Foundation by John Ronan, located at 61 West Superior Street, is easily one of the finest buildings constructed within Chicago within the last ten years. The result is a simple black box that offers a place to contemplate within. It carries a limited material palate but the choices have been clever. If you examine the building closer you’ll begin to realize that craftsmanship is still present in the profession. The detailing in and around the building are a joy to look. A move that I have never seen before is the slight gap between the existing sidewalk and the area around the entire project site. Overall, the project asks for attention but without begging. It is simply proud of what it is and what it is protecting within. Nicely done.
What does it take to become inspired?
As the car wash began, I quickly spaced out and started staring out of the window in front of me. I was in that place where everything around me slowly faded away. A place where I became intensely focused on a particular moment or object. I was in it; it was my moment of Zen.
As the jets began, I sat there in silence. Water soon covered the entirety of my car. My focus was now on the water that was playing around on my windshield. It seemed so lost yet still somehow managed to follow a path. An invisible path. How does that happen? Each droplet wandering aimlessly soon start to combine with one another to form lines. These lines begin to march across my windshield. It reminded me of how ants behave. Individually they become lost, then are guided by their sense of scent, but once they join forces they become a powerful and insanely efficient force. Does that idea apply to humans as well? Are we a greater force individually or collectively?
Next up, the soap! My window has now become a Jackson Pollock-esque painting. The colors change as they crash. They become brighter as they combine. It all moves so quickly. What you see as a brilliant painting one second quickly disappears in the next leaving no trace of its existence behind. How perfect, how pure. The soap had a purpose, and that was to simply wash the exterior of my car. What it gave me instead was a brief shot of artistic brilliance.
The water washed the dirt off my car while the soap cleaned it. They work well separately but work beautifully together.
Should our world behave similarly? Allowing unique people of all backgrounds to move about and think freely; enjoying themselves but then coming together for a common good. A bond formed not from greed nor envy but from a mutual respect. Or is the machine the vital part - the overall mechanism that directs and orders the water or soap. Without direction one can and will become lost. So is that what is needed? Does the world lack this type of leadership? These are some of the questions I struggle with. Individuality is important but so is a collective.
The wash seemed so simple, so unimportant. It came and went so quickly but it did its job. All it took for me to understand its importance was to give it some attention. That’s all it asked of me. We live in a world that’s full of distractions. Sometimes we just need to let our surroundings wash over us.
Monday Morning Media / Start each week off by viewing an Inspirational video
Wanderlust / Inspired by a TED talk by Stefan Sagmeister we packed up a Canon 5D and travelled through Central America, Europe, and New Zealand.
01. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
02. Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
03. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
04. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
05. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
06. Be generous.
07. Have a grateful heart.
08. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
09. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships w/ people you love & respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.
Monday Morning Media / Start each week off by viewing an Inspirational video
I really love how blunt he is with his answers. You rarely see this from people because of how afraid they are of either hurting someones feelings, not being politically correct or fearing backlash from the answers they may give. I may not always see eye to eye on his Architectural approach but I do like the fact that he brings a sense of playfulness into each of his projects. Will Alsop is a man who still seeks out his inner child and that I enjoy. My favorite quote of his from the short video clip, one that I truly agree with, goes as follows:
Your best work is when you’re not thinking too much about it. It just happens. It comes from somewhere else. In the end it becomes an intellectual exercise but after you’ve done it. Then it can be debated and discussed in all sorts of way.
To actually do it, I’m interested in the process of engament. I’m interested in the idea of not knowing things. I’m interested in, where possible, to work with the people in the area and to get them to be creative and I try to make sense of what they draw using my own freedom too.
After viewing this clip, I have a new admiration for Will Alsop. He believes that the most valuable thing that we have to give to the world is to be ourselves and I think we can all agree with that!
Such a simple, yet extremely elegant solution to storing a bike.
