FutureHaus - Architectural sculpture. Art you live in. Custom Certified Passive House design for ocean view acreage high atop San Marcos, CA, USA. Incorporating a rotunda that’s a calendar time piece, southern exposure protection, use of on-site stone, rainwater collection, 100% solar and a greenhouse. True Organic Architecture borne of the site, it’s relationship to the sun and breezes, the views, and the owner’s needs and desires. Colonizing Earth, in a responsible and artful way.
Z House + Winery Construction Update /
Experience the construction site with me.
Z House + Winery Construction Visit /
Wet Desert - Exploring In My Explorer /
The desert and surrounding mountains are even more beautiful when soaking wet. Photos from the morning after Hurricane Kay had her way with the countryside.
Z House + Winery Construction Update /
Z House + Winery Construction Update /
Christopher Alexander In His Own Words /
What IS that feeling one gets, in/around certain places. Mr. Alexander tries to quantify it, use it and manipulate it.
Client Gift /
architectural music composed for me by a client on my birthday in 2008
dEUS - The Architect /
Haha - I love this
dEUS - The architect
What is the architect doing?
He is by the riverside
What is he thinking out there?
He is committing egocide
Now isn't that a strange thing?
Well to him it feels just
Well we guess a person's gotta do,
What a person feels he must
He said
I won't throw myself from the pier
I'm gonna go home and shut up for a year
And when the year is over I'll reappear
And have a solution
I've reason to believe that what I find
Is gonna change the face of human kind
And all these years before well I was blind
That's my conclusion
'Cause I'm the architect
'Cause I'm the architect
'Cause I'm the architect
Now the man has understood
That outer space is overrated and too
About all the problems on this earth we should
Worry now to solve them later
And so he's brooding and alluding on a perfect design
He thinks that working on behalf of himself is a crime
He flushes out by the water, a view so divine
He's the architect of his own fate, a man in his prime
He said
I won't throw myself from the pier
I'm gonna go home and shut up for a year
And when that year is over I'll reappear
And have a solution
I've reason to believe that what I find
Is gonna change the face of human kind
And all these years before well I was blind
That's my conclusion
'Cause I'm the architect
'Cause I'm the architect
'Cause I'm the architect
And so he drew himself a pentagon
Thinking it through a geodesic dome
From the coast of Tahiti, to the hills of Rome
Step aside cause the man will take the Nobel prize home
He said
I won't throw myself from the pier
I'm gonna go home and shut up for a year
And when that year is over I'll reappear
And have a solution
Now if these aspirations bother you
Well you are just you, you don't have a clue
I'm sticking to the plan I will see it through
Let there be no confusion
'Cause I'm the architect
Published in Architectural Digest /
Finally arrived, in the pages of Architectural Digest. You can read the article here.
Exploring in my Explorer; Ocotillo to Campo /
US/Mexico border wall
Jacumba Hot Springs original spa building
Pacific Southwest Railway tresle
Super cool house on boulders
Pacific southwest Railway Museum
Z House + Winery New Renderings /
My architectural design, my 3D model, then rendered to perfection by Redon Studio
Currently under construction.
Organic Architecture Defined /
For those interested in the true definition of Organic Architecture. This excerpt from an interview with James Walter Schildroth architect explains it absolutely perfectly;
Mark Darrall’s Questions: Answered by James Walter Schildroth, Organic Architect
Mark: 1. Building, like life itself, is evolutionary and never stopping. How would you say this comes out in the " final product" --- the built structure?
James: First I would say that the creation of Organic Architecture is very different from the action of just designing a building. Since OA is not a style and is not copied intentionally, it is an expression of an individual mind. Who and what that individual is, has everything to do with what will be created. As the Individual matures and grows so will that individuals expression of Architecture. The more the individual understands himself and the physical environment he has been born into, the better he will be able to create architecture of and in harmony with this physical place we live.
The creation of Organic Architecture is the coming together of three major players; the Client, the Site and the Architect. All three must be present for the result to be Organic Architecture and the resulting creation springs from the interrelationship of all three. Now it is possible to adapt an original creation to a new site, but in my view it is not truly Organic, even though it may be done very well and fit in if done by a skillful architect. Mr. Wright often did this with his designs that were not built on the original site or even by the original client. In the strict use of the concept, architecture is not Organic unless created from the specific site. I find that even if I move a design even a few feet on the original site it begins to effect the design concept. So the place on the earth, or some other location in the universe, is very important to the creation of the design. The Site is much more then just topography or climate. To design truly Organic Architecture the site must be experienced by the architect and as many times as necessary until the conception is in mind. There is, I believe, more than just physical information to be received at the site. All the senses come into play including the sixth.
The Client is the second essential source of very important information. Without a client there is no Organic Architecture. The real needs and conditions of the client is what I look for and not what they tell me they want. This requires real understanding of the client and some of the needs will not be revealed until very late in construction. So the design is constantly changing from first meeting until construction is complete. This can go on for ever as in the case of Mr. Wright and both Taliesin and Taliesin West.
The Architect is the third part of the whole interrelationship. The Architect to me can only be a single individual mind, not a committee. Organic Architecture is a creative act of conception and that can only be done by an individual mind.
I think the question is more about how the final form comes into being. To me the creative process is more growth than evolutionary. It is in three steps that continuously expand as the design forms and moves from formless first contact to complete physical existence. The form is continually changing and growing all through the course of the creation and this is done completely in the mind of the individual designer, not on the drafting board or on the computer. The design should not be physically recorded until it can be seen completely enough for the designer to be able to walk through and around it in his minds eye. The mind of the individual is the source of original form. It is private solo work and must not be shared until it is drawn or recorded and fully developed by the individual. When the concept is complete and drawn to the designers individual satisfaction, then is the time to present your design to the client or review by others.
The three parts of the creative process are as follows:
Understand the conditions and needs and get the information into your mind. Not just available in some unread resource but known first hand. Get the problem into your mind. I call it internalization of the problem.
Do something else. Do not concentrate directly on getting an idea. An idea will come to your mind. It will probably be unfamiliar at least we hope so, because if it is to familiar, you copied. Ideas seldom start as complete forms, they grow and develop in the mind and build on the original partial vision. Keep the vision in your mind and do not speak of it or try to draw it until it is complete enough to see and visualize from all sides, within and around.
When it is complete in the mind then draw it and refine the details.
As new conditions are presented and the design must be revised then just repeat the three part process. Changed conditions, bring new visions in part two. Trust this process it has worked for me for over 36 years. The individual human mind is the source of all creative ideas.
Mark: 2. Do you feel environmental concerns---such as energy conservation, material and process selection based on environmental performance, "sustainable" living, etc. are an integral part of Organic Design? Should they be of equal importance to expressive considerations?
James: I would say this. You will design what you believe in and from the maturity and understanding you posses. If Organic Architecture is what you believe in and want to do, then you will want to design in harmony with the conditions that are natural to that environment. The expression of the form will be the creative result of your understanding of the conditions and the needs.
Choice of materials, should be made before step two and are part of internalization of the problem and are the reasoning part of the creative process. The mind will solve all the conflicting conditions for you, just feed it the facts and do something else. Nature spelled with a capital "N" is the great teacher. The Nature of everything. The better you understand the Nature of this place you call home, the better Organic Architect you will become. Be a student of the Nature of Life.
One of the major conditions of part one is that architecture is for human beings and an understanding of yourself and what make us all human is an important part of making you an Organic Architect. Organic Architecture is design in harmony with Nature. We all have to live together on this earth and some believe for many life times, so the new buzz word of sustainability has always been important to the Organic Architect. It is the individuals choice by his point of view that makes the difference in what each designer brings to the creative table. Your design will reflect what and who you are, your philosophy, attitude and life experience are part of your expression in form.
Mark: 3. Could you summarize your personal design process? Is there a combination of intuition and ration, and could you say how much of your process is intuition and how much rational? How is the mental process of design ( thought-building, as FLW once said) coordinated with the physical process of drawing and model-making?
James: I have touched on this earlier here. The Individual mind is the source of all creativity. It is both reason and intuition that are necessary in the creation of Organic Architecture or any original idea. Our standard education teaches us to copy or manipulate information which is already known or to look to existing sources. This does not work when you are searching for original form and expression. Within the individual mind is where the creative action takes form.
Z House + Winery Construction Update /
Z House + Winery Construction Progress /
Drone footage provided by the builder. Production by Mark A Silva.
Exploring in my Explorer; Ocotillo to Taliesin /
First unplanned stop - The dunes in east Imperial County. So many times driving by, I’ve always wanted to stop, so this time I did. Don’t drive off the pavement! Almost got stuck in the sand, but between my fast reaction and the Explorer’s great 4WD and low gear reverse, I BARELY escaped, with heart pounding and adrenaline pumping.
Next unplanned stop - Painted Rock Petroglyph Site. Saw the sign at 80 mph…. turned off to check it out. 11 miles in and back, yes that works. Amazing site. Huge group of stones in a round mound many covered with ancient petroglyphs. The site is considered sacred and healing by many Native American tribes.
My place to stay, the Arizona Biltmore. Some controversy as to the level of Frank Lloyd Wright’s involvement in this resort. Two things were very clear to me, he was heavily involved in the conceptual design, and he was not involved in the design followthrough during construction. It appears that’s his hand in the drawing from 1928, and its documented he designed the blocks. Regardless, its a beautiful resort and amazing to experience its design. I would definitely recommend if you have to stay in Phoenix.
The Next Day - Taliesin West. First thing displayed once you’re in, are petroglyphs. I had no idea, when I made that decision to go off path to visit that petroglyph site the day before.
It goes without saying this is a stunning complex to see and experience. I strategized well, I was out front of all the people in the self-guided tour. While they were all listening to their headphones and app, I was exploring everywhere that was on the tour, all by myself. Got to see, feel, and experience it all without anyone else there.. Always wanted to feel that canvas roof in the drafting room. No words really. Both a humbling and motivating experience at the same time.
