curios – Neil Flanagan

Forest Glen Seminary: One Thing Leads to Another

May 27, 2009September 10, 2009Architecture, Theory, WritingArchitecture, beautifulness, construction, context, criticism, curios, details, flaws, forest glen, history, maryland, montgomery county, national park seminary, new urbanism, ornament, pastism, porches, quality, roofs, style, Theory, ugliness, urbanism, yuppies2 Comments

Part two of a four-part essay exploring context, typology, and interpretation. Comments encouraged.

Against rich complexity of the old Seminary, the houses designed by EYA are then a real letdown. They carry the superficial veneer of “context” that is endemic to New Urbanist planning and its most visible error. To be clear, they are not abominations, but they are dull and only stylistically similar to the outré conglomeration across the street. The application of traditional elements here fulfills a requirement that new buildings respect the architecture of the historic landmark. Okay, sure, sounds good, but the legislation is fairly scant in the details of execution. The easy option, a cynical abdication of artistic responsibility, is to copy the notions of form in hazy facsimile and slap it on off-the-shelf buildings. Even where the designs are competent, the lack of sensitivity results in tepid mediocrity.

Continue reading ➞ Forest Glen Seminary: One Thing Leads to Another

Forest Glen Seminary: Into the Woods

May 24, 2009September 10, 2009Architecture, Theory, WritingArchitecture, art, beautifulness, beauty, context, criticism, curios, details, forest glen, history, national park seminary, ornament, pastism, sculpture, style, Theory, time, ugliness3 Comments

Part one of a four-part essay exploring context, typology, and interpretation. Comments encouraged.

Hidden among a leafy scattering of houses and trees, Forest Glen Seminary is a jumble of vernacular buildings unlike any of the temples of boxes that define Washington. Its buildings, both magnificent and ludicrous amount to a dignified campiness that defies expectations to be one of the most profoundly interesting places encircled by the Beltway. Once constituting a women’s college when that meant a two-year Mrs. degree, the buildings are once again becoming domestic space, the more private areas cut into condos and the core of the complex, rental units. Scattered around the area, turn-of-the-century houses are being renovated and new housing by the urbanist developer EYA has just been finished. Through the site’s history, radical changes have shaped its form, but none so radical as the current shift in context.

Continue reading ➞ Forest Glen Seminary: Into the Woods

nm0000001? Never heard of him.

March 29, 2009March 29, 2009Othercurios, film, humor, internet, popLeave a Comment

But you’d be under quite a rock to have never heard of Fred Astaire, whose unique identifier at IMDb is the lowest number for a performer. Similarly, the lowest ID number for film names is an Edison Kinetoscope of a “Spanish Dancer” called Carmencita. The fictional holder of #000000001 is notable outlaw Jesse James.

Curio facts though these may be, it does make some interesting insights into the origins of IMDb on usenet.