Undercurrent
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
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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.
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Tree House Charrette
July 6th, 2011
By Robert Young
On Tuesday, June 14, Undercurrent hosted a Tree House Charrette in our Ontario office. Fifteen people participated in the one-hour design slam, inspired by a design competition that National Geographic is currently sponsoring. It was a break-neck speed competition that challenged designers to flush out a design concept with plans and perspective.
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Why Modern Architecture is Shut Out from Tract Homes
April 7th, 2011
By Peter Levelle, Designer
On March 17, Undercurrents embarked on its first outing—a discussion entitled BetterHomeBuilding. (Undercurrents is a staff-initiated design forum: a platform for the development of ideas and design through experience and inter-studio cross-pollination.) The gathering was presented by the Architect’s Newspaper and moderated by Sam Lubell, with panelists William Krisel, Leo Marmol, Zoltan Pali, Harlan Lee, and Neal Payton. Builders and architects were invited to discuss improving the architectural quality of residential developments and how to get architects more involved with mass-produced and tract housing.
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