Newsletter | May/Jun 1989
Volume 17:3
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In this issue: | Paint Them Red and Yellow, Blue and Green - Georgia Annwell Cohousing: A Contemporary Approache to Housing Ourselves - Vera Westerfaard ArtMarin: A Pproposesd Ccontemporary Art Center, San Geronirno, CA. - Georgia Annwell Back by Popular Demand: OWA Mid-career Retreat - Yvonne Hobbs Money, Money, Money - Georgia Annwell IAWA Seeking Women's Manuscripts - Laura H. Katz June Meeting: "Project Management and Business Development" - Marlene Berkoff, AIA |
Paint Them Red and Yellow, Blue and Greenby Georgia Annwell | Share #872The thesis of my editorial is that contemporary architecture in general is much too colorless. As such it does not appeal to us aesthetically and does not meet human needs for emotional expressiveness. The environmentally concerned designer would do well to consider how the built environment might be more satisfying. A cursory study of the brain suggests that brightly hued surroundings contribute significantly to our emotional well-being. Fibers of the optic nerve carry visual information to our primitive brain, the mid-brain and brain stem, which respond symbolically. This part of the brain does not have the capability of interpreting red as either a certain pigment or wave length of light. But it does associate red symbolically with blood and fire and matters of the heart. The primitive brain responds to the highly saturated chroma of vivid color and ascribes to it symbalic meaning. (It-does not notice pale, faded, tinted. or grayed hues.) Enclosing the hypothalamus, it enables us to experience and to give expression to emotion. Because of the wealth of neuronal connections, all our responses, whether conscious or not, have emotional aspects. The way we feel is very related, not only to what we are thinking, but also to how we interpret elements in our environment. The higher brain or cerebrum reacts more to subdued color, shades, and tints. Verbal and mathematical abilities are attributed to its left hemisphere. Abstractions, spatial and textural relationships, are formed by the right. It is the right hemisphere that fits elements of space and distance, texture and tone, together into a pattern or system and contributes largely to our aesthetic response. The right side perceives those colors outside the range of the primary and pure. It responds to the more "cerebral", subtle or so-called "sophisticated" hues. Great art art simultaneously evokes both cerebral and emotional responsiveness.When the aesthetic experience has a strong emotional component, it is both therapeutic and cathartic, fulfilling and beautiful. Environmental constructions can stimulate both cerebral and primitive functions. But most urban development lacks those features which satisfy the need for emotional expression. Gray achromatic cities exemplify a culture which values matters of the cerebrum, a culture which is dominated by the achromatic male type. Contemporary architects, by and large, show little concern for the emotional aspects of design. The eccentrics and exceptions are encouraged to suppress. Emotional expression is considered vulgar by those who must fear and control it. Architectural colors are usually those of the cerebrum. Not only do our finished products fall to delight and satisfy in full, but so do our production drawings. Black and white perspectives and plans, sections and elevations, are traditional methods of communicating architectural ideation. Even small scale models are constructed in black and white, gray and beige. Color is left out during both visualization and planning. A hole exists for the color consultant to enter later, provided, of course, that there is room in the budget. Otherwise muralists and latter-day graffiti artists might improve on things and paint them red and yellow, blue and green. |
Cohousing: A Contemporary Approache to Housing Ourselvesby Vera Westerfaard | Share #880 |
ArtMarin: A Pproposesd Ccontemporary Art Center, San Geronirno, CA.by Georgia Annwell | Share #882In the early sixties (fifties in N.Y.C.), working and living in so-called lofts became fashionable for painters, sculptors, dancers, and many other artists and craftspersons who needed large workspaces. Economic factors contributed to this. The migration of industry out of cities left large vacancies in warehouses and industrial buildings in N.Y.C., S.F., and elsewhere. Landpersons looked the other way when artists moved into spaces zoned only for commerce/industry. They needed tenants. This has changed. Vast urban renewal and renovation across the country, particularly south of Market St. in San Francisco, have produced a scarcity of nice cheap loft space. Several of the artist communes in San Francisco were evicted in-the lafe-se~verid&-s- an-d- early eighties to pave the way for new office buildings and new parking structures. Commercial space is no longer inexpensive. Its cost prohibits maintenance of a separate apartment by the artist. Certain few large loft projects were purchased by their artists and have survived. They are plagued with building inspections, notices of code violations and threats of condemnation. They have long waiting lists and very selective procedures for admission of new members. In Marin County the situation is worse. There is a residential vacancy rate from 0.1 to 3%, according to community, and a commercial vacancy rate near to 5%. Both residential and commercial rentals are affordable only by moderate and high income level persons. It is difficult to find a decent apartment less than $1000 per month. And it is impossible to rent commercial space for living because of strict enforcement of zoning regulations against such practice. Also the warehouses today are steel, non-insulated, and without windows. I called the Golden Gate National Recreational Headquarters, Marin Headlands at Fort Cronkite. A few artists live and work there near the beach. There are no vacancies. It is government property so the artists live under certain regulations. For example, they can hold no exhibitions and they can construct no outdoor sculpture. I have been subscribing to the Sunday Marin Independent Journal for three years in order to determine the availability of artist living/working space. There is almost none. Two years ago one ad read: "Mill Valley loft studios for work/live situation in redwoods. $6007 1 visited right away. Four were available. 2_11 woman had just built a home for herself with four additional bedrooms. Each had a half bath and an exterior door to a shade deck. No kitchens existed. There was no ventilation unless one opened a door. They were perched on the side of a north facing cliff some seventy-five feet up. They were so small that if I rented one I would have to decide whether to move in my clothes or my drafting table. There have been no other such ads for live/work situations. To test the market for artists needing workliving space I placed an ad for one Sunday only in the Marin paper. It read: PROF. ARTISTS. Accepting comments, inquiries and applications for living working studios in contemporay art center proposed for 25 acre rural site, San Geronimo, Marin Co. Some preference to sculptors. 50 cents/sqft Write: ARTMARIA~, Box 4605, San Luis Obisbo, Ca. Some time afterward the post office requested me to rent a larger box to accommodate the excessive mail I received. It poured in from Marin, all of California, and even from as far away as New York City. Data from these sources is used in programming and designing. The central problem of this project is the development of a contemporary art center which will do the following: (1) meet artists needs for affordable studios; (2) feature a contemporary sculpture park; (3) enhance and promote both the appreciation and business of contemporary art; (4) interact with and preserve a beautiful environment in Marin County; and (5) be economically feasible. |
CalendarShare #883EXHIBITIONS Through June 10 2AES 340 Bryant St., S.F. 12-6pm Weds. - Sat. 12-8pm Thurs. "Hani Rashid and Liseanne Couture: Studio Asymptote. (415) 974-6762. May 18 - June 18 Butterfield & Butterfield Warehouse 660 Third Ste., 4th fl., S.F. Bay Area artists, art galleries and museums join together in the fight against AIDS with a major fundraising exhibition. Through June 20 Gensler & Associates/ Architects 550 Kearny, S.F. 11:30am-2:30pm, Mon.-Fri. "Animals and Architecture." Video sculpture, photography, models and slide presentation. Through July 2 Low Bay, Great Hall, Oakland Museum 1000 Oak St., Oakland "Frank Lloyd Wright's Butterfly Wing Bridge, A Southern Crossing for San Francisco Bay." Through Summer The Cannery 2801 Leavenworth, S.F. 10am-5 pm, Tues. - Sun. "Entries in the Fantasy Doll House Competition of the San Francisco International Toy Museum." (415) 44 1 -TOYS. June 27 - August 27 National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) 1250 New York Ave.. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005-3920 (202) 783-5000 "Margaret Bourke-White: A Retrospective." 120 of the artist's most famous photograph ' s. The first of four shows on women photographers presented by NMWA to honor the 150th anniversary of the invention of the camera. The show will be at the Stanford University Museum of Art Dec. 1, to Feb. 7, 1990. August Museum of San Diego History Balboa Park, San Diego Original drawing & photographs documenting the work of Lilian Rice. Hazel Wood Waterman and Harriett Barnhart Wimmer, three women who made significant contributions to San Diego's designed environment. August San Diego "That Exceptional One: Women in American Architectural 1888 - 1988". American Architectural Foundation's traveling exhibit. Contact Theresa Frederich at (619)236-0251. CONVENTIONS June 26 - July 2 Downtown Oakland Hyatt Regency "Strength Through Diversity: Women and Technology."' The Society of Women Engineers holds its annual convention. Open to all. Info and registration packets: National Headquarters (212) 705-7855 or 1989 Convention Committee, 1024 Neilson, Albany, CA. (415) 526-2915. June 27 - 28 Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, Ca. "Procurement Fair: Where Big Business & Small Business Meet." Sponsored by the Industry Council for Small Business Development. Awards for minority and women owned small businesses. Booth cost is $300. Non-exhibitor registration for all events is $15. Contact Gene Severance, General Electric, P.O. Box 530954, M/C, S-78, San Jose, Ca.95153. 1989 SUMMER BUILDING CAMPS June 5 - 11... June 25 - July 7... July 16 - 28 Contact Women Empowering Women (We Women), P.O. Box 6506, Albany, Ca. 94706, (415) 525-7645. EVENTS Tuesday, May 23 12 Noon (brown bag lunch) AIA/SF Headquarters 130 Sutter St., Suite 600, S.F. "SOMA, South of Market Rezoning Plan." Are Architects at the cutting edge of gentrification and higher rents in SOMA? AIA Seminar. Panelists: Dean Macris, Director of Planning; Susana Montana, Planner. Moderated by Charles F. Eley, Jr., AIA/SF President. May 26 11:30 - 2 pm Hotel Nikko Mason & O'Farrell, S.F. "Generations of Leadership." The YWCA will hold its Fourth Annual Award Luncheon. Mistress of Ceremonies will be Belva Davis. Tickets $50. Call (415) 775-6502. June 15 Gold Room Fairmont Hotel, S.F. "Women on the Move." Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith holds its annual awards luncheon. Mui Ho has been selected as one of 25 finalists for this prestigious award. Reservation: Caitlin Smith (415) 681-3884. Mid-July The LEAADD Group (women lawyers, engineers, architects, accountants, doctors, and dentists) is planning its annual meeting. Info: Caitlin Smith. |
Few Women Architectural Faculty at UCBShare #885The Architects for a Diversified Faculty re: Faculty Hiring Practices in the Department of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, state "Many of us have long been appalled by the non-representative number of women faculty members in the departments of architecture, planning, and landscape design at UCB. One direct result is that female students do not have valuable opportunities for role models, mentors, and advocates." Interest in confronting this issue came out of last summer's OWA Mid-Career Retreat at Westerbeke Ranch. Further interest was generated at the January conference of the California Project (an association of women architects from across the state including AWA of Los Angeles, OWA of San Francisco, and WIA of San Diego). Goals generated are the achievement of a faculty of women and men in the Department of Architecture that reflects the proportion of women and men in the college and the achievement of a faculty that reflects the diversity of race among the students of the college. Strategies: 1. Pressure the University to hire women faculty, both tenured and tenure track. 2. Include the issue of minority representation on the faculty. 3. Address any imbalance in the number of female students admitted. 4. Assure that strong and effective women are proposed and elected for new positions. 5. Consider the implications of the new Department of Architecture currently being formed at UCD. Tasks planned include surveying faculty and students, profiling hiring practices, determining the experiences of women considered, investigating and identifying key members of the university hierarchy, documenting case histories of women who have taught in the department, surveying former faculty, examining how female students and faculty in the School of Law recently handled a similar problem, and identifying other persons and groups whose experience might contribute to the endeavor. The Organization had its first meeting in April. Those interested in finding out more about working with this group may contact Nancy Florence, Mui Ho, or Christie Coffin, all listed in the Directory of OWA. Mui Ho led discussion on Architects for a Diversified Faculty at the April OWA General Meeting. OWA voted to support them in their endeavors. |
General Meeting Raises QuestionsShare #886Many expressed their compliments and appreciation re the general format and program of the April OWA general meeting held at the Berkeley YWCA. Many thanks go to the speaker, Judy Rowe. Ms. Judith Rowe spoke to us on the planning and programming aspects of her work on a variety of projects, including master planning for the Tracy, California, Civic Center. She also talked about the National Committee of Women in Architecture whose next meeting is in May. She brought to our attention that there are no women on the Board of the AIA. Her presentation generated lively and meaningful discussion and left us with certain questions. Are there any women willing to run for the board? AIA often supports things that OWA does not. Can women change the AIA through active membership? |
Woman Working for Women ArchitectsShare #887Judith Rowe, AIA, Principal Associate of MWM Architects of Oakland Sacramento, has been honored with appointment as a Funded Member of the Women in Architecture Committee of the AIA. This committee is national and is composed of five funded and ten liaison members. Their goal is the development of policies and programs to insure full opportunities for women within the Institute and the profession as a whole. As past president of the East Bay Chapter of AIA and as Funded Member, Ms. Rowe continues working on increasing the membership, visibility, and role of women in the architectural profession. She is one of one hundred women architects whose work is highlighted in an AIA National Touring exhibit. Thank you Judy! |
Back by Popular Demand: OWA Mid-career Retreatby Yvonne Hobbs | Share #888Do not miss your chance to reserve space for the year's most stimulating workshop! There will be discussion of design goals, celebration of architectural achievements, gaining of perspective and understanding of ideal jobs. Any one of the twenty-five women who attended last year can readily attest to the great value of this workshop. We will retreat from 3 pm on Friday. August 18, until 4 pm on Sunday. August 20. at the peaceful Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma County. The registration fee of $185 includes a relaxing room, great food and of course. illuminating seminars. Non-members must pay an additional $50 to cover OWA dues. Reserve your space now. Receipt of reservation is appreciated by Thursday, June 1. Space is limited. Contact Veronica Martin at 7779630 or Yvonne Hobbs at 881-4807 if you still need registration forms. If not, just send your $185 check and form to OWA. P.O. Box 26570, San Francisco, Ca. 94126. See You There! |
Money, Money, Moneyby Georgia Annwell | Share #889 |
Jane Tanfield Memorial ScholarshipShare #890Jane Tanfield was an architect and prominent member of OWA. Ms. Tanfield was born in Great Britain and completed architectural studies at the University College, London, in the late sixties. In the United States she taught design at Kansas University and worked for Baden, Arrigonii and Ross in San Francisco. She died in the Northwest Airlines crash on August 16, 1987, in Detroit.The Jane Tanfield Scholarship Fund of $500 is to be given to a notable woman architecture student at Kansas University, Laurence, Kansas 66045, through their endowment association. This year we thank Corazon Meterparel, Cameron White, and David Alpert for their generous contributions.of $200 or more. |
IAWA Seeking Women's Manuscriptsby Laura H. Katz | Share #891The International Archive of Women Architecture (IAWA) was established in 1985 as a joint venture by the University Libraries and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Its purpose is the documentation of the history of women's involvement in architecture. IAWA seeks women architects' papers, including drawings, photographs, publications, correspondence and art works. It also seeks resumes from all women in the profession. The scope is international. For more information contact Laura H. Katz, Archivist, IAWA, University Libraries Special Collections Department, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. 24061, (707) 961-6308. |
June Meeting: "Project Management and Business Development"by Marlene Berkoff, AIA | Share #892 |
OWA Summer PicnicShare #893A pot luck party and picnic is being considered for. Sunday, August 27. We are looking for a warm place in the sunny part of Marin. Georgia Annwell (359-9364) and Kathleen Cruise (221-7698) need assistance organizing this social event of the year. Place? Games? Entertainment? |
Steering committeeShare #894 |
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