conarb
Registered User
We had a great architect here named Bernard Maybeck, Saturday his ]1929 Packard Dual cowl Phaeton[/U] is coming back to Berkeley to traverse the same streets that it did when Maybeck was chauffeured in the back behind the back windshield.
Today I fear architects are too buried in codes to do great things and be great themselves, In 1969 I took a trip to Brasilia to see the great work of Oscar Niemeyer, work unimpeded by codes, stairs without railings etc., I didn't get to meet him because he was head of the Brazilian Communist Party and was in exile in Europe while I was there.
We should make heroes of architects again, maybe they'll start creating magnificent buildings again, I had an architect, the late Allan Johannes, who was honored by the City of Piedmont for designing more homes in Piedmont than any other architect (I believe it was 39), Allan bought one of the first Jaguar XK 120s that was imported into this country, he then proceeded to buy a new roadster with every change in model, XK 120, XK 140, XK 150, and XKE, when the 12 cylinder XKE came out he bought a coupe for the first time, I guess is age was showing, he drove the 12 cylinder coupe when he designed my home, he refused to buy the subsequent XJS because he didn't like it, Ironically when he designed my home I had an XJS.
Today I fear architects are too buried in codes to do great things and be great themselves, In 1969 I took a trip to Brasilia to see the great work of Oscar Niemeyer, work unimpeded by codes, stairs without railings etc., I didn't get to meet him because he was head of the Brazilian Communist Party and was in exile in Europe while I was there.
We should make heroes of architects again, maybe they'll start creating magnificent buildings again, I had an architect, the late Allan Johannes, who was honored by the City of Piedmont for designing more homes in Piedmont than any other architect (I believe it was 39), Allan bought one of the first Jaguar XK 120s that was imported into this country, he then proceeded to buy a new roadster with every change in model, XK 120, XK 140, XK 150, and XKE, when the 12 cylinder XKE came out he bought a coupe for the first time, I guess is age was showing, he drove the 12 cylinder coupe when he designed my home, he refused to buy the subsequent XJS because he didn't like it, Ironically when he designed my home I had an XJS.