Author Archive
Cause/Effect of Design Competitions
November 7th, 2011
By Peter Levelle
Undercurrent met last week for the first of a six-week Fall session, which is focused on exploring the culture of architectural competitions and how they affect us as a profession. We kicked off the session in the Ontario studio with a panel discussion, and designers from our Irvine, San Diego, and San Jose studios joined us via video conference. Our panelists included Mark Schoeman, Raymond Pan, and Robert Young from Ontario, Mitchell de Jarnett from Irvine, and James Krueger from San Diego.
Meeting of the Minds
Posted in Undercurrent
Who is Sam Maloof?
August 22nd, 2011
Undercurrent (as we call it here in the Ontario office) is a group of like-minded people with an interest in design. Through talks and presentations, we provide an open platform for the development of ideas. Recently, we had the opportunity to visit the home and workshop of the late Sam Maloof, one of the finest woodworkers of our time. As a leader of the California modern arts movement, he designed and produced furniture infused with profound artistic vision for more than half a century.
Posted in Undercurrent | 1 Comment »
Dwell on Design 2011
July 6th, 2011
By Peter Levelle
Last month, I had a chance to visit the Dwell on Design tradeshow at the LA Convention Center. It was impressive to see the range of products, all the way from coffee makers to a full pre-fab house that was going to be 
auctioned off on ebay. Even Airstream had a trailer there (is that white leather?). I was surprised and inspired to see the number of small-shop design-oriented fabricators, including two chicken coops with live chickens. The hen houses were designed to teach kids about the incubation process of a chicken egg, but also works great for inner city dwellers with small yards.
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Posted in Beyond Architecture | 1 Comment »
