Architecture operates in the realm of expensive endeavors that use a lot of materials, take a long time to build, and hopefully last a long time. That makes architecture necessarily conservative because the clients are conservative. This is not all bad, because architecture is a primary substrate for neuro-aesthetics, underlying visual and spatial Gemütlichkeit. But architects are filled with many more creative ideas and many are participating in pro bono services for non profits solving real world problems outside the constraints of commercial architecture.
It's the same for industrial designers. They work in a language of materials and form which becomes the basis for our perceptions of object beauty. But their projects often involve unit commits of tens of millions over months to a few years. For instance the iPhone 4s will probably have a worldwide run of up to 100 million, with a material and labor cost of over $2.5 billion dollars.
Portland architect Brian Cavanaugh, part of the ADX Gang of Ten Group has organized a talk and exhibition by architects and designers working on non-profit projects in the Northwest. It's the Northwest region project of The 1%: Design for the Public Good, started by San Francisco's Public Architecture. It relates well to the internationally-focused project from Cooper Hewitt Design for the Other 90%.
Participating architects and firms include Architects Building Culture, CAST Architecture, Grouparchitect, The Miller Hull Partnership, ORB Architects, Perkins + Will, Schemata Workshop, VIA Architecture, Workshop for Architecture|Design, WPA, and Portland firms SERA Architects, Lorraine Guthrie Architect, Scott Edwards Architecture, and Yost Grube Hall Architecture.
At adxportland.com 417 SE 11th x Stark Reception 6PM, panel 7:45-9. Exhibition continues through Sunday, October 23 Free
Olympia's Nikki McClure is known for her paper cut stencil illustrations. She is one of the most expressive artists working in the medium. She was also an intimate part of the 1990's music revolution in Olympia. The art school museum, PNCA's, Museum of Contemporary Craft, art and design host a talk by her this evening. The talk accompanies an exhibition of 15 years of her work at the museum, and a series of podcast interviews at the museum, freely downloadable. Show at the Museum of Contemporary Craft museumofcontemporarycraft.org. Talk at PNCA www.pnca.edu-8:30 1241 NW Johnson 6:30PM Free
