One person’s staycation is another person’s vacation.  You may be choosing to stay home and enjoy your city, but, depending on where you live, you may find that there are plenty of tourists who are visiting your city as well.
The Church of England, hoping to get in on the staycation trend, has launched a new Church of England Staycation web service to encourage locals to put churches and cathedrals in their stay at home travel plans.  Churches and cathedrals can provide a bit of sacred space, but they are also wonderful sources as museums, art galleries, architectural sites, history, and …read more

The 108-story Sears Tower has recently had its name changed, and it is now known as the Willis Tower.  Chicago residents are not alone in struggling to remember the name change, and I have a feeling that it may take a generation or so before the new name sticks.
Regardless of what it’s called, you can still ride of to the Skydeck, the building’s observation deck.  Located on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower, is is one of two popular observation decks in Chicago.  (The other is the Hancock Building, as there is great debate over which one is the …read more

Located 16 miles south of Washington DC, Mount Vernon, the estate of George and Martha Washington, sits atop an undeveloped area along the Potomac River.  The Washington’s acquired the estate in the mid 1700’s, and George oversaw the development of the estate, from design through furnishings, even while he was off fighting in the Revolutionary War.
Whether he was a control freak, or just didn’t trust Martha’s judgment, I’m not sure, but the results are most impressive.  Today Mount Vernon is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It is open to the …read more

This month the Empire State Building celebrates its 78th birthday.  With its 103 floors, and its antenna on top, the 1,454 foot tall skyscraper is one of many iconic buildings in the New York City skyline.
The building is located at Fifth Avenue at 34th, and is a popular spot for tremendous views of the city.  It’s been featured in numerous movies, including the classic An Affair to Remember and the more recent Sleepless in Seattle.
Beneath its art deco facade, the building houses floors and floors of offices, a 3-story lobby, shops, restaurants, a variety of services, and one of …read more

For over 90 years, the Palace of Fine Arts has been a part of the history and culture of San Francisco.  Originally designed for the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition, to celebrate the completion of construction on the Panama Canal, it was also a way for San Francisco to come back after its infamous 1906 earthquake and fire.  It is representative of classic Roman and Greek Architecture, complete with a rotunda, stately columns and adjacent lagoon.
After the Exposition closed, the Palace of Fine Arts went through numerous “lives” before eventually becoming part of the San Francisco Park System.  It fell …read more

At the top of Telegraph Hill, in San Francisco’s Pioneer Park, stands one of the prominent buildings of the city’s skyline – Coit Tower.  Along with the Golden Gate Bridge and the Transamerica Pyramid, it is one of the most recognizable sights in the San Francisco.
The art deco tower was built in 1933, with funds donated by Lillie Hitchcock Coit, after whom the tower was named.  Folklore claims that the tower was designed to look like a fire hose nozzle, and was a tribute to the firefighters of the 1906 earthquake fire.  Although this may be more urban legend than …read more

I’ve mentioned the 100K house here before, but head’s up – the blog is going strong, with all kinds of cool information regarding building thoughts, materials, and costs. Also you can catch all the most current photos, renderings and floorplans of the postgreen 100k house project at flickr. The interior shots are really neat.
If you’re lost read this for a quick run down: Will $100,000 Build A Good Green Home?

Ok, hopelessly may be pushing it. It’s not like I’m sending them stalker letters or visiting them first thing of the day. That said, I do really, super, very much adore this blog. It’s not an architect blog, more a smattering of stuff – mostly wicked cool stuff.
I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been stretching out from my usual feast of architect and green blogs, and while I was doing so, one blog I found happened to be Electro^Plankton. It was a good find though, because look at this stellar house they have posted:

It’s not so much a house …read more

In case you missed it; this week at Offbeat we had some delightful posts about…

A brand new documentary about sustainable building. 

The upcoming release of the Earthship Coffee Table Book.

Earthship design.

Mushroom Houses

A hip zig-zag studio.

Indoor stars! 

Carmel’s Fairytale Style Cottages

And boys who take nice architecture pictures while barhopping.

It was a great week. I highly suggest you visit all of the above posts (of course, I would suggest that.) Hope everyone’s had a wonderful weekend and it ready for the next.

So, I was looking up another house when I came across this.

You have to admit, this is a pretty slick house. Sure the colors are blah, but the shape is divine. On the downside, I can’t tell you anything other than it’s in Clear Lake, IA. Why? Well, because two fellows on a booze trip took the photo, and of course offered no explanation. On the upside, you have to give these guys props. They took this photo on a journey that took them to 76 bars in five days. 76 bars! And they still had time to take decent …read more