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| Carlin outside of C.A. Camp & Sannino |
Where better to sit and read a magazine? Wouldn't you love to have this be the place you go everyday for work?!
Carlin's shop -- lucky her -- happens to be next to one of her favorite businesses in all of Charlottesville:
Why is this a favorite of Carlin's? Because she loves WG and Josh and because her dream as a little girl was to be an architect. (Moving to Europe and getting married and having babies somehow prevented those dreams from materializing....)
Being next to an amazing architect's office has rekindled her love for architecture and at this point in her life is the next best thing to being one herself!
Carlin's love for WG Clark runs deep. How could it not...he brings her lunch (with a dessert!) most every day, lets her play with with models, teaches her to draw in perspective and understands her thirst for his trade.
He answers all her questions and has proven to be her favorite architect on the planet.
This bit here gives a little more information on WG and not only what a great architect he is, but also a great visionary:
"Asked what his dream job would be, Clark points to the Habitat for Humanity multi-unit complex he designed for a SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art) competition. His intention is to form a community (as opposed to a neighborhood) with different size options to accommodate different sized households and a variety of design choices available to the residents. A green structure, power would be supplied by photovoltaic strips on the roof, which is slanted so water runs off into a channel in the central courtyard to be collected into a reservoir. This water is used for irrigation of the communal vegetable beds that take the place of lawn. The structure seems to sum up what’s Clark’s about: it’s low impact, democratic, and stripped down to the bare essentials, it is a triumph of graceful design."
Multi-unit complex model:
WG Clark
B.Arch., University of Virginia
Edmund Schureman Campbell Professor of Architecture
W.G. Clark was born in Louisa, Virginia, and studied architecture at the University of Virginia. He began architectural practice in Charleston, South Carolina in 1974. He won several national competitions including the New Orleans Museum of Art competition in 1983.
Mr. Clark was appointed design critic at Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1987. In 1998 he was appointed chairman of Architecture at the University of Virginia where he now teaches design. He was named Edmund Schureman Campbell Professor in 1989.
Mr. Clark’s work has been widely published and is the subject of Richard Jensen’s book, Clark and Menefee. He was included in “40 under 40” by the Architectural League of New York and twice listed in Time magazine as one of America’s best designers. His work has received three National Design awards from the American Institute of Architects: Middleton Inn, Reid House and Croffead House.
However, also in the office is Josh Stastny who has intuitively guessed Carlin's love of certain architecture and turned her on to architect extraordinaire Rick Joy. She will be forever grateful. (Plus, Josh is the one who lets Carlin play with those little trees for the models.)
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| Rick Joy |
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| Rick Joy |
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| Rick Joy |
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| Ventana Canyon House by Rick Joy |
Avra Verde, created by Rick Joy, consists of 7 exclusive pavilions on 40 acres.
In the desert; specifically The Saguaro National Park West.
Stunning.
“The desert is a fantastic place in the most correct meaning of the word; it is at times a dreamlike fantasy of a landscape. . . . the desert’s beauty extends beyond objects and things to an atmosphere of place that is defined by quality of light and other sensory kinds of input.
Attention to sensory stimulation, what Joy calls “ethereal, visceral experiences,” guides his design work to such an extent that it often “preempts consideration of the formal aspects of a project. Sounds, smells and tactile qualities are often more important than the shape of the object itself.” Owing to this focus on sensory experience Joy’s architecture, while undeniably rooted in Modernism, avoids the coldness sometimes associated with the style. “To this day,” Joy said proudly, “several of my clients don’t believe they have modern architecture projects.”
Attention to sensory stimulation, what Joy calls “ethereal, visceral experiences,” guides his design work to such an extent that it often “preempts consideration of the formal aspects of a project. Sounds, smells and tactile qualities are often more important than the shape of the object itself.” Owing to this focus on sensory experience Joy’s architecture, while undeniably rooted in Modernism, avoids the coldness sometimes associated with the style. “To this day,” Joy said proudly, “several of my clients don’t believe they have modern architecture projects.”
“I think I can read a place pretty well, because of my experience in the desert,” said Joy who suggested that he may some day return to his native Maine. “For now I promise to keep it up and to really make this work worth it and to do great projects in the future. It’s really just about loving life.”
I think we're all smart enough to realize which sentiment resonated with Carlin the most.....
From Rick Joy:
IT'S REALLY JUST ABOUT LOVING LIFE.
