Terry's Tiny Tour: 16 in Scottdale Georgia Off the Main Roads

I hope nobody is home when I cruise neighborhoods taking pictures. On this day nobody was around.

And I'm always wanting to see what's off the main roads in Scottdale. I'd blogged the houses around the green before, just charming, but never south of the tracks.

Scottdale, Georgia is just inside the Perimeter just north of Avondale Estates and east of Decatur. It was a mill town but I'm not sure it was ever an official town. Your Dekalb Farmers Market is in Scottdale.

I shot these for our House Portraits - House Painters - Vernacular Cracker show at VintageATL but I didn't have time to make anything of it.

My tiny video tour of Scottdale lasts 3:07. I'm fascinated. This is familiar territory in the south, familiar to me for my whole life. What do you think?

Please click here if you can't see the video.

Terry's 2012 Epiphany: VanDevender, Eames, Grossman

I didn't want to leave these places: a loft at the Telephone Factory, a studio at ACAC, a home on video. These folks had the eye: Caryn Grossman, Nancy VanDevender, and Charles & Ray Eames. 

I recorded and finally watched "Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter" on American Masters. Have you seen it? Click the link to watch it online.

We architecture tourists are particularly interested the Eames House. So I rewound and watched that part again, and again, and again. and....and I have many more agains to go. The Eames House part runs from about 28:10 to 34:24 if you're interested.

But it's not the house itself. It how Charles and Ray filled it up. Modern/industrial filled with beautiful things collected and placed by people with the eye.

That reminded me of Nancy VanDevender's amazing studio.


This is Nancy VanDevender's place at ACAC, part of their Studio Artist Program. See the ACAC Artist Team Picture.

Nancy's an artist, photographer, wallpaper designer, certainly a collector, more too I think. I doubt she can "sing" off key, pleasure in every direction. Even her big cleanup sink, with towels, brushes, soaps and solvents,was a still life. I'd like to photograph every square foot of her studio.


Nancy's Wallpaper wall was overwhelming.

Nancy is one of five artists featured in Recollections January 11 - February 16th at the Atlanta Preservation Center. Free reception on the 11th. See you there?

I had the same sensations at Caryn Grossman's loft at the Telephone Factory Tour in 2009.


Teacups, giant collage, cookbook in French. It was only open once, though I toured in 2010 and 2011 hoping to see it again.


Glass, broken columns, soft furniture and flowers.


Graffiti, old hats, curvy frames, and crystal chandeliers. 



 I didn't want to leave.

Asteria soundchecks Château de Germolles

They sang, partly in whispers, and everyone in the Château could hear them.


Asteria Musica is Sylvia Rhyne, soprano, and Eric Redlinger, tenor and lute. They research and perform love songs from medieval France, 500 year old love songs. On Saturday night they lectured and sang at Agnes Scott for the SouthEastern Medieval Association.

The Architecture Tourist early music/chateau committee was there.


This is Château de Germolles: "It is the best preserved residence of the Dukes of Burgundy. Built during the second part of the 14th century... a rare example of such a well preserved residence in France in the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries, when most of the princely palaces of that period have almost entirely disappeared...(it) evokes court life in France on the eve of the Renaissance."

So what does a 500 old love song sound like anyway? Eric and Sylvia's research includes singing at Château de Germolles.

Maybe a the songs sound a bit like this, the first song they performed at Agnes Scott. They taped this video in the Château.



I didn't understand a word of it. "It's like they (the French) have a different word for everything" -Steve Martin. But of course we did understand.

Did Philip the Bold and Margaret of Flanders hear these songs in this very room?


Who knows, but now I have the strongest urge to paint T's and J's on our bedroom walls. "J," JoAnn, is - of course - my loved one. Thanks to Maureen Nolan for the suggestion.

Sylvia and Eric start with a manuscript, perhaps the only one in existence. They use every means of scholarship to puzzle it out.


Has this song been heard in 500 years? Maybe not.

They visited the very places where the song might have been performed, where the Dukes of Burgundy could employ the finest composers and performers of the day.


Sylvia and Eric sang in these places themselves.

The hard surfaces and high ceilings bounced sound throughout the chateau. The whole court could would have heard a performance. Imagine the shushing.

They learned that they didn't need to sing in full voice. They could sing with dynamics, even in a whisper. Sound engineers and producers compress the dynamics out of music today so we can hear it on a car radio or on an iPod while we are jogging.

Nothing commands attention or evokes emotion like a whisper. They wouldn't have known if they hadn't sung in the Château.

An extraordinary evening, it's another case of wonderful blog serendipity.


See all the smiles? We'd seen and heard something special.


Thanks to Asteria Musica: Sylvia Rhyne, and Eric Redlinger, and to Donna Sadler, (right) Professor of Art at Agnes Scott College for putting the event together and allowing me to be there. Thanks to Marueen who made the connection 15 months ago in my post, "Quant la doulce jouvencelle - medieval letters and love songs."

One more song? "Le corps s'en va et le cuer vous demeure" ("The body departs and the heart remains with you") .

Leon and Robert Krier visit Georgia and speak in Atlanta

On Tuesday October 26 it was my good fortune attend a lecture by Leon Krier and his brother Robert Krier. Pronounce "Krier" in 2 syllables, the first with a long "e" sound: kree'er. Leon Krier is considered by many to be the intellectual godfather of the New Urbanism movement in America. Leon made the case that resulted in Seaside and it's successors.

On Monday Robert and Leon lectured at SCAD and toured Savannah with Rodney Cook. Leon was called to Italy unexpectedly so Robert made the trip to Atlanta with Dhiru A. Thadani. Here is Rob signing one of his books.


The lecture was at the Millennium Gate in Atlantic Station? Have you seen it? You can't miss it if you been to IKEA. You can't see this view on a drive-by. The museum is on the lower level.


They moved the exhibits aside to improvise a lecture hall.


These are the details of an important space. Yet the rooms are comfortable and cozy.


Rodney Cook welcomed the crowd. He was still quite pumped: He'd just taken some of the world's foremost town planners to Savannah, America's first planned city. I wish we could have been there too.


Dhiru A. Thadani filled in for Leon.


Here is a tiny lesson in New Urbanism. Mix fancy public buildings, plainer private buildings, and humanely scaled piazzas.


Rober Krier himself.


We asked what he thought of Savannah. Can you guess the answer?


The Gate was full of architects. Here are Rick Hatch, David Person, and Frank Heery.


Architect Sandy Cooper (whose face is just under the stair rail) designed the Millennium Gate.


The chatting and the hor d'oeuvres continued after the lecture.


Special thanks to Anne Yauger and Victoria Woodruff for making me feel welcome.

Let me say this about the Millennium Gate: It's an odd duck that I like very much, not the least for the vision and exuberance that produced it. It takes me somewhere else. You should go.

Here is the view I didn't expect. There is a lawn and a lake on the west side, lower than the roadway. It's visually and aurally quiet. Looking west is a rare Atlanta "big sky" view framed by the roadway and condos. It was very pretty that night.

How to Enter a Pink Castle

It strives to delight and lift our spirits, not to intimidate. May I show you in via my 30-second video?

There is no trouble finding the rose door. It's the clearest of the pinks and reds from the tile, faded walls, and gravel. Isn't the color of the door perfect? Can you imagine another color?


There is another door, the service door done as a window. See the steps in the corner?


The foyer bumps out. It's plain and human sized, more comfortable than I expected. Little hedges and lanterns guide us to a perfect landing. We might have to make a dash during a rain.


No athletic step climbing is required. It's perfectly sized for families. Ladies in heels might need some gravel practice: I notice some "interesting" lady strides as we crunch toward the door. The left window lights the ladies room, the right lights the men's.


Time to go into the surprisingly cozy foyer.


Mind if I quote "Pattern 130. ENTRANCE ROOM?"

When hosts and guests are saying goodbye, the lack of a clearly marked "goodbye" point can easily lead to endless "Well, we really must be going now,?' and then further conversations lingering on, over and over again."

It's been 6 days and I'm not over it, not over my visit to the Pink Castle. I wrote about the angel & urns and about the garage.

We visit Flux 2010

I recommend skipping the words and just watching my unworthy slide show of pictures and short videos. I'm at a loss to explain. For me it was unexpectedly emotional, more than we expected, we were fortunate to be there.

October is the month of too much in Atlanta. We choose Flux 2010, a 6-hour light themed street party in one of Atlanta's most interesting neighborhoods. Here is what the pros at ArtsCriticATL.com had to say "Festival review: FLUX 2010, a one-night triumph of art, spectacle and amusement" and "FLUX Impressions 2010" from ArtRelish.com.
It was a shared experience: the comfort of the evening , wandering in the shade from one unexpected delight to another, the sense of a one-night only event. Mysteries suitable for all ages.

Let me just show you a couple of little videos. This one, "Lima Lives" by Ed & Linda Calhoun, and Ralph Brancaccio was about the zebra that escaped the circus last year. Lima danced on the wall to 911 recordings of the event.


A dayglo dance "Midnight-in-the-Garden" by Project 7 Contemporary Dance Company.


"Between You and Me" by Micah and Whitney Stansell was colossal yet with humane, human scaled content.


If you haven't seen the slide show yet here is another chance.


Make a note for next year about the first weekend in October: Flux 2011.

Quant la doulce jouvencelle - medieval letters and love songs.

This video features a love song from the 15th century: "Quant la doulce jouvencelle" performed by Asteria. It pleases me on many levels. I'm without my "duet partner" for the night and I'm feeling rather sentimental about her. These ancient walls are as mysterious and familiar as the tune.


Any French speakers out there who know the lyrics?

Anyone know this room?

Tiny modern house critiqued in a supurb video

It's a 3:37 video that I can't even embed. You'll have to click the link below.

Magazines, TV Shows, Blogs bring us more design than ever, more interaction than ever.

But I'm not satisfied. With all the interest, with all the talent, with all the technology, we should be doing better.

Last night I found this little video about a little house. It's a fascinating house but that's not what interested me most:

It's criticism in a human voice. It's educational entertainment that leaves me thinking. It's a breath of fresh air.

I think it shows up lifeless real estate ads full of marketing keywords, scripted celebrity TV design shows, and worshipful brand building magazine articles.

Mary Louise Schumacher produced this superb video and I want more. Bravo.

Click here to see the video: The E.D.G.E. (An Experimental Dwelling for a Greener Environment) A "micro" house on a bluff.
By Mary Louise Schumacher at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel
Ms. Schumacher Tweets at twitter.com/artcity

E.D.G.E By Bill Yudchitz of Revelations Architects/Builders, Stevens Point, Wisconson

You'll enjoy the floor-plan.

"Spem in alium" and Ely Cathedral: Oldies Architecture and Music

The first performance of "Spem in alium" may have been for Queen Elizabeth I's 40th birthday in 1573. This amateur video set to music puts impossible sounds into impossible spaces.


More about Spem in alium composed circa 1670. More about Ely Cathedral started in 1083.

Spem in alium numquam habui praeter in te
Deus Israel
qui irasceris
et propitius eris
et omnia peccata hominum in tribulatione dimittis
Domine Deus
Creator coeli et terrae
respice humilitatem nostram

I have never put my hope in any other but in you,
O God of Israel
who can show both anger
and graciousness,
and who absolves all the sins of suffering man
Lord God,
Creator of Heaven and Earth
be mindful of our lowliness

Thanks,
Terry

Top-C in Oldies Architecture and Music

The story is that Mozart heard this at age 14, about 140 years after it was written.

This is a good week to refresh our standard of "timelessness." The church, composer, composition, and performance all have intrigues. But we needn't know any of that to be moved. The first Top-C arrives at about 1:45.

Miserere, also called "Miserere mei, Deus" by Gregorio Allegri performed by the Tallis Scholars in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.



If words would do, we wouldn't need music, art, or architecture to reveal our highest notes.

You'll probably enjoy a few other versions of the work:

• Allegri: Miserere / Harry Christophers sung by a bigger ensemble with English subtitles.
• Miserere Mei Deus - Kings College Chapel Choir with a boy doing the Top-C
• You can follow the score if you read music. It's a little out of focus.
  

Thanks,
Terry

Halloween Tune from the other Georgia

Excepting the pumpkins I don't enjoy Halloween decorating. I do enjoy the candy and the children at our door. Why adults got nuts I don't understand.

But Halloween writing led me to reviews of Warner Herzog's 1979 Nosferatu and this Georgian folks song. No words necessary for me.



One by Hamlet Gonashvili isn't enough for me today:

Préparez vos mouchoirs - stuck song

"Get Out Your Handkerchiefs"
Last week Blue had a song stuck in his head. Not always a bad thing, I think. "Theme from Harry's Game" was written in human souls long before Clannad wrote it in 1982. I don't need the words.

a masterpiece of the highest order...

Treat your ears today...from your rock 'n' roll Architecture Tourists. Even grown men might need hankies for this one.

"As for the Messiah, it's like Michelangelo's 'Creation of Adam,' one of those rare works that appeal immediately to everyone and yet is indisputably a masterpiece of the highest order." Kenneth Clark, Civilization.



20. Air (or Duet) Anne Sofie von Otter - mezzo-soprano
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; and He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
(Isaiah 40: 11)

Sylvia McNair - soprano (at 2:12) get out your handkerchiefs
Come unto Him, all ye that labour, come unto Him that are heavy laden, and He will give you rest.
Take his yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
(Matthew 11: 28-29)

21. Chorus (at 5:18)
His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.
(Matthew 11: 30)

22. Chorus (at 7:38)
Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.
(John 1: 29)

Academy and Chorus of St Martin in the Fields
Sir Neville Marriner ( conductor )
Dublin 1992

Here are all the words to Handel's Messiah.

Thanks,
Terry

Atlanta's New Urban neighborhoods -been there?

Hooked on Houses is hosting her "Hooked on Fridays" blog party; I hope y'all will click here and have look. This week I'm hooked on Atlanta's "new urban neighborhoods.

The Congress for New Urbanism will be in Atlanta - May 2010. Below is a short promotional video for the conference. As an Atlanta fan of new urbnanism this is particularly interesting. It shows the names and faces of several movers and shakers. The sponsor list is also interesting.

Attention: Atlanta Architecture Tourists: Can you can identify the locations in the video? Have you been there? Atlantic Station for sure - Ikea is there. But Technology Square? Glenwood Park? Midtown at Piedmont Park? Market Village in Smyrna? Serenbe? I would add Virginia Highland / Morningside which isn't new but it is nice.

If you can do only one, go to Glenwood Park perhaps as a side trip from the zoo. It's just one block from I-20. It is a charming, compact, labor of love; the Atlanta development I most want to succeed.

Attention: Atlanta Art Strollers: Your host and the Architecture Tourist Auxiliary are heading to the Castleberry Hill Art Stroll this Friday (June 25, 2009). We're starting at the Castleberry Point Lofts because they are hosting their own artist market, have free wine in 2 open house loft units and you can go on the really amazing roof. Plus Jerry Miller, the developer, is a friend of ours. The neon "John Deere" sign above is a Castleberry Hill landmark.

Oh, here is the New Urbanism video

End video

Robert Neuwirth: The "shadow cities" of the future

"One billion now live in squatter Cities...This is good news." Steward Brand.

Here is 15 minute video is from TED by Robert Neuwirth, author of Shadow Cities. Poor folks squat on garbage dumps and built shanty cities in South America, Africa, and everywhere. Mr. Neuwirth makes the case that this is a good thing for the squatters. And he make makes the case for helping them but not the way you think. Watch and you'll understand, maybe even agree.



Of course Mr. Neuwirth has a blog: "Squatercity"

Stewart Brand makes a (3 minute) case: Why Squatter Cities are Good. "Squatter cities are where people are climbing out of poverty"

How Buildings Learn Videos "Flow" episode 1 of 6

Know Stewart Brand? He's the Whole Earth Catalog guy. I have a copy and remain in awe of it.

Mr. Brand also wrote a book and produced a TV program, How Buildings Learn. It's about buildings that are adaptable for human needs. It strikes a chord with me: the best homes will meet the needs of many generations of many families. Bigger building should do the same.

Now, he's put the 6 TV programs in the public domain. If you enjoy architecture, buildings, design, people, and human ingenuity as much as I do, you'll want to watch all 6 episodes, which I will post in the next few days.

Here is Episode 1. "Flow"



Here are the rest:

2. How Buildings Learn - Stewart Brand - 2 of 6 - “The Low Road”

3. How Buildings Learn - Stewart Brand - 3 of 6 - “Built for Change”

4. How Buildings Learn - Stewart Brand - 4 of 6 - “Unreal Estate”

5. How Buildings Learn - Stewart Brand - 5 of 6 - “The Romance of Maintenance”

6. How Buildings Learn - Stewart Brand - 6 of 6 - “Shearing Layers”