Rebuilding south florida by learning

In an ideal world, like school, I’d have an answer for every question whirling about in my head right now. Instead, what feels like a million vague answers to these questions about how to rebuild after Hurricane Ian float about. My heart aches for my hometown of Fort Myers. This past week I have been debating about how to express my heartache, my desire…

A sketch for Tomorrow

The whole field of design is built on imaging the many futures awaiting us. JKRP, a Philadelphia firm, is currently hosting a student sketching competition looking at the future of Philadelphia. Interested, see the flyer below for competition brief: There are soo many views in Philadelphia that perfectly showcase the past, present, and most current future in progress. Right in the foreground of those…

Architect’s Weekend Out

  Falling Water: https://fallingwater.org/ Ohiopyle State Park: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/OhiopyleStatePark/Pages/default.aspx Flight93: https://www.nps.gov/flni/index.htm Falling Water is a classic house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The number of times this house alone is mentioned in a school setting makes it one of the top buildings on any architects travel list. I probably would never have considered a visit if I hadn’t been inundated with the praises and wonders…

Eastern State Pennitentiary

https://www.easternstate.org/ Originally designed as a terrifying prison aimed to inspire pentinance in it’s prisoners, this pennitentiary is now a museum aiming to bring attention to the reality of prison, the various prison types, and the implications of the prison system. This museum is eye opening in several ways. The first is obvious, waking up the public to the reality of crime statistics, the impacts…

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

Home This place lies somewhere between rubble and art. At first glance it is an overwhelming series of walls of concrete and mostly glass. But the more you walk through this installation the more captivating it becomes. Each walk through reveals a new statue previously unnoticed, a unique perspective into a space below, or a fun phrase hidden in all the tiling. The website…

Pittsburgh: A Day in the City

Pittsburgh, a city of bridges, the place where three rivers meet, is a lovely city to stroll through on a day off. As nice as the city is the trip there takes some planning and time. The trip is roughly 5 hours by car, 7 hours by train, and 1.5 hours by plane. I took the train as the time on the train can…

City Views

  When you’re phone gets full and you have to clear up space you find little gems. These photos are just a few taken on my walks to and from studio looking towards downtown Philadelphia. Each of these views came with very different weather patterns. Some look deceptively cold while others warm but in reality the look of the sky has almost nothing to…

Reading Terminal Market Adventures

Reading Terminal Market: http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/ Century 21 Stores: http://locations.c21stores.com/en/philadelphia Philadelphia Flea Market: http://philafleamarkets.org/ The Reading Terminal Market is a busy place filled with food ranging from fresh produce, fish, specialty sausages, coffee and ice cream, and prepared foods from stands such as Spartano’s cheesesteaks and Po Boys gumbo. There’s certainly something there for everyone to enjoy. I happened to be there around noon, which is…