A chapel built in the west African nation of Gabon was first constructed in a warehouse in Italy, then disassembled and shipped via container in Libreville, where it was rebuilt on site in 25 days. Read more…
Architects are not Artists
The best architects are expert servants. They’re problem solvers armed with boards, bricks and passion. Still, too many people, including architects, regarding design professionals only as artists, a kind of aesthetic savant brought in to make the technical stuff look pretty. Read more…
Buildings Speak
It’s possible, say theatre people, for an audience to leave a performance humming the set. It means that the scenery was better than the show, or certainly more memorable. Actors know that where a story is told can influence how, or whether, the story is heard. And it’s true whether your story comes from Shakespeare or Solomon. Read more…
Edges
My wife and I bought our first house about 30 years ago. It had a struggling lawn with tall weeds and not a tree in sight. Naturally, the next thing we bought was an edger. Read more…
Why Bad Buildings Happen to Good Churches
I can’t help but make all kinds of judgments about the owners of disheveled, loud or poorly conceived buildings. I secretly conclude that they’re slobs or don’t know better or don’t care enough about what the neighbors think. Read more…
I [Heart] Church Building Committees
My friend Scott is an architect who designs schools. Terrific schools. He willingly slogs through torturous meetings with teachers and facilities people and doesn’t bat an eye working with Byzantine state bureaucracies. But he would rather poke out his eyes than work with a church building committee. Read more…
Forget Your Mission
One of the most important reason to hire an architect is to help figure out what the question should have been. Read more…
Church in the Public Square
One of the privileges of being on my own professionally is the freedom I have to take on iffy propositions. Read more…
