The other day, I heard Jessica Murray, an astrologer, state that image-generating capacity of the human mind determines what happens. At this point in my career, it’s an undisputed truth. As an architect, I envision something, draw it up, and it materializes. Seeing my personal life as a work of art, on the other hand,…
This blog is my diary. I write about what interests me. Recently, I’ve been grappling with astrology. It started as an attempt to be of service — daughter Mia is launching a fashion brand inspired by the zodiac. Well… My first birthchart took longer than a month to analyze. I thought it would be impossible…
A client wants to build a deck at the top of her steep hillside property. The view from there is breathtaking! Unfortunately, structural requirements make it prohibitively expensive. In addition, the obligatory 25-foot-wide side yard deems the project impossible to implement at the location we’re considering. Well, I am not giving up just yet. There…
I spent last ten days in NY, working on the Hamptons’ project mostly. Thankfully, there was a window of time to enjoy the city and explore a couple of current exhibitions. Giacometti at the Guggenheim. “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and The Catholic Imagination” at The Met Cloisters. I picked these two because of their architectural setting….
I’ve become a big fan of a Russian journalist Leonid Parfyonov recently. Watching weekly diary-format installments of his video blog Parfenon. Living vicariously through his reports of cultural news including visits to art exhibits, theater performances, and architectural landmarks. As someone born in St. Petersburg, I’ve been glued to a computer screen for hours watching Parfyonov-narrated…
I’ve frivolously associated Jasper Johns — his flags — with 9/11 up until last Sunday. That’s when I encountered the artist’s extensive retrospective Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth at the Broad. The exactness and graphic quality of the work, its planned proportions, meticulous fabrication, and methodical repetition engaged, captivated, and inspired to seek explanations. Thus,…
I just devoured Making House: Designers at Home — a very inspiring book. So much so, that quite a few times I caught myself losing concentration, wandering off in a daydream. I was imagining my future country home or a beach house. The more I read, the more I wanted to expand my own environment.
Architect Tony Moretti is one of the most unassuming and humble people I know. He’s my hero along with Louis Kahn and Carlo Scarpa. Extremely knowledgeable, he embodies the growth mindset in everything he does — from professional to personal life.
I am nervous: adding to an existing house. In my opinion, the addition, instead of blending in, has to be distinctly autonomous. Making it trendy, reminiscent of everything else around, is safe. However, design is not about applying a style. The new has to work with the existing and the end result should be timeless.
I am at LACMA’s Chagall: Fantasies for the Stage exhibit. Having seen it twice already, today I intend to focus on my favorite piece — Marc Chagall’s Self-Portrait With Seven Fingers — to take time, go deeper, and study it intently.