CulvaHOUSE

Reviews

Tim Culvahouse — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:03:59 +0000

“Intelligent Design,” McCallie Magazine

Tim Culvahouse — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:52:37 +0000

I have not spread myself as thin in the realm of community service as I have in most areas. The following four organizations are the ones to which I chiefly devote energy and resources. I support them because they are effective.

Nature Conservancy

Tim Culvahouse — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:49:54 +0000

Since its founding in 1951, the Nature Conservancy has protected more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide.

Southern Poverty Law Center

Tim Culvahouse — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:46:39 +0000

Located in Montgomery, Alabama–the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement–the Southern Poverty Law Center was founded by Morris Dees and Joe Levin, two local lawyers who shared a commitment to racial equality. Its first president was civil rights activist Julian Bond. Throughout its history, the SPLC has worked to make the nation’s Constitutional ideals a reality. The SPLC legal department fights all forms of discrimination and works to protect society’s most vulnerable members, handling innovative cases that few lawyers are willing to take. Over three decades, it has achieved significant legal victories, including landmark Supreme Court decisions and crushing jury verdicts against hate groups. Of particular interest to architects, SPLC’s headquarters building is one of four case studies in Lisa Findley’s Building Change: Architecture, Politics and Cultural Agency.

Public Architecture

Tim Culvahouse — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:36:50 +0000

Public Architecture identifies and solves practical problems of human interaction in the built environment and acts as a catalyst for public discourse through education, advocacy, and the design of public spaces and amenities. Supported by the generosity of foundation, corporate, and individuals grants and donations, Public Architecture works outside the economic constraints of conventional architectural practice, providing a venue where architects can work for the public good.

First Congregational Church of Berkeley

Tim Culvahouse — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:29:11 +0000

I belong to FCCB–the First Congregational Church of Berkeley–a United Church of Christ congregation led by Rev. Patricia de Jong, who previously served with William Sloan Coffin at New York’s Riverside Church. The UCC is the first main-stream church in North America to have ordained an African-American (1785), a woman (1853) and an openly gay pastor (1972). FCCB is an Open and Affirming congregation: “in the Spirit of love, openness, and inclusiveness we welcome persons of every sexual orientation, race, nationality, ability, age and gender to participate fully in all aspects of our Church’s life and ministry.” Plus, the music is incredible. 11 a.m. Sundays, Dana between Durant and Channing, Berkeley.

Imagining the Back

Tim Culvahouse — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:00:45 +0000

What this has to do with New Orleans won’t be immediately apparent. (It will become clearer as the book develops.) But what it illustrates is a fact of architectural design, which is that, when you are looking at a floorplan, it is pretty easy to imagine the front face of the building, but it’s not so easy to imagine the back face, because to do that, you would have to turn it around in your head. Which is why it is a good idea for architects to rotate their drawings on their desktops (actual or virtual) from time to time, to get an all-around understanding of what they’re doing.

Tim Culvahouse — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:00:15 +0000

A growing collection of “how-to” guides, by a variety of authors (including me). Click on a title to download a PDF.

Amazing arcCA Design Awards Guide

From arcCA 07.3, “Comparing Awards,” an extensive guide to national and international architecture design awards programs. Proven effective.

Confessions of a Design Reviewer: Ten Guidelines for Coming Out As an Architect

Drawing on her experience as a member of Denver’s Lower Downtown Design and Demolition Review Board, Wendy Kohn offers sage advice on how to behave–and how not to behave–at a Design Review hearing. From arcCA 07.2, “Design Review.”

On Bragging

Some people are comfortable telling others their accomplishments and abilities, and others aren’t. Here are some suggestions for tooting your horn without feeling like a big wind-bag.

Supplanting

If you’ve ever been asked to take over a project that had been begun by another architect, you know that this process (known as “supplanting”) can be fraught with problems. Kurt Cooknick, Assoc. AIA, Director of Regulation & Practice for the AIA California Council, offers advice.

Thank You For Submitting: Advice for the Award-Lorn

David Meckel, FAIA, provides insightful counsel to those who are flummoxed by the process of submitting for design awards. From arcCA 07.3, “Comparing Awards.”

Tips for Explaining Design

For architects who may be frustrated by the general public’s lack of understanding of architecture, here are some tips for drawing others into the fold, graciously. This version was selected for the AIA’s Best Practices series, available online at www.aia.org/bestpractices.

How To Write

A concise guide to the process by Sasha Culvahouse, age 6.

Tim Culvahouse — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:54:45 +0000

Here are some Bay Area-based folk who are expert at helping architects and others manage practice and projects.

Adi Shamir

Tim Culvahouse — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:21:26 +0000

Adi Shamir is the Executive Director of the Van Alen Institute: Projects in Public Architecture and the author of Open House: Unbound Space and the Modern Dwelling (New York: Rizzoli, 2002).