Our client wishes to have a bath for his five daughters(!) such that they can bathe at the same time. After all wash time is party time: ‘splish, splash I was taking a bath…) This meant fusing two Villeroy and Boch quartz baths into one and setting the entire ensemble into a log.

At the Practice Research Symposium in Ghent 2 weeks, Johan Verbeke proposed to me that in research terms a ‘manifesto’ was a ‘proposition’ without the need for evidence. This in turn called to mind the brazen words of Patrick Schumacher who had written, if my memory serves me correctly, that there had been no manifestos in architecture since Modernism. If a manifesto is as Verbeke claims a mere trumpet call then Shumacher’s claim is a manifesto in itself as manifestos are liberated from any need to be factual or evidence based. Therefore as Architects we should get going: talk up your own manifesto as a means to say something provocative! For example, one Manifesto for architectural practice in NZ is: Bro’Town must replace Motown: social fraternisation is required in cities like Auckland which are being strangled by the car…. How to Write A Manifesto: see Henrietta Ross’ Election Aesthetics On the NZ car, see Patrick Reynold’s Transit Blog

The Temple of Laughter was a pioneering project for The Game of Architecture in the sense that it played with the rules of the architectural competition. As the submission requirements called for a drawing and a model this raised the possibility: could the drawing literally build the model? This action would be confrontational as it would, for example, render architectural representation pointless. In architectural culture, the architects’ drawings are the principle design tool conveying information ranging from ideological expression through to construction detailing. Yet with the Temple of Laughter the drawing was purely a 2d plane emptied of all information such that the drawing was now a flat geometric plan(e) awaiting transformation, origami-like, into a three dimensional form. The question was how could we work out the geometrical puzzle that would allow this to happen? WHAT_Architecture used a hybrid “8-bit parametricism” of part-analogue (paper), part-digital (computer) modelling to crack the problem.

In the same way as Radio Soulwax (2ManyDjs) adeptly mashed two songs seamlessly together, it is not uncommon to read two (or more) books at the same time. If architectural theory accommodated a critical mash-up this would lead to counterpoint and cross-reading!  To that end I am currently cross-reading… Colin Rowe’s “The Mathematics of the ideal Villa and Other Essays” from 1947 (which compares the design of geometric proportioning in the work of Palladio and Le Corbusier) with Mark and Jane Burry’s The New Mathematics of Architecture from 2010 (which observes digital design in architectural morphology). What does this mash-up cross-reading avow? In a sentence: a mathematical shift from abstract volumetrics to complex surfaces. 

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Architattoo. Here’s Spitalfield’s Christchurch on the arm of Mafalda.

A holistic restaurant for four-legged friends, The Curious Canine Kitchen will pop up on Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 April in, da-rah, Shoreditch. Featuring two seating’s each day (1-3pm & 3-5pm) this ‘Doggie Fine Diner’ is the first of its kind in Britain to serve high-end, freshly prepared, organic canine cuisine.  Lucky Foodie Fido’s will be treated to a five-course, drink paired set menu. Items on the “The Nature Way Tasting Menu” for dogs include Textures of Tripe with seaweed and kale puree, crispy Paddywack with reishi mushroom flaxseed cream and coconut and blueberry chia pudding with gluten-free cinnamon quinoa ‘dog biscuits’ to name a few. Served alongside refreshments such as Alkaline water, beef consommé and coconut water, the menu will be polished off with a piquant marrowbone, known for its teeth cleaning properties and a ‘Fresh Breath’ herbal tea tonic to aid digestion. Served by waiters at one of the restaurants four bespoke doggy tables, any left over’s will be available to take home in a doggy bag, along with a special goody bag featuring some easy tips and tricks on introducing fresh foods and herbs to a dogs diet as well as recipes and samples from dog loving sponsors including brands such as Diet D’Og and Woof&Brew. On-site entertainment includes a fido photo booth for posing pooches. Not wishing dog owners to miss out on the action.. they too will be served an assortment of seven, raw whole food amuse-bouche and a variety of drinks as part of a set ‘Rawsome Tasting Menu’. Featuring a range of the superfoods presented in the doggie menu including spirulina, flaxseed, coconut oil and chia, the menu which includes items such as gazpacho raw soup, golden quinoa, coconut and mango salad as well as avocado, blueberry and chia cheesecake demonstrates how culinary ingredients can be shared between owners and their hounds. http://www.curiouscaninekitchen.com The image below compares breakfasts: my son’s breakfast (left) vs our dog’s (right).