Briefed 8.27

Does designing a building for an anti-gay church make the architecture firm anti-gay? Discussion about Sienna Architecture's design work -- which appears as a backdrop in a Mercury photo -- for New Hope Church, which is working to overturn recently passed gay rights laws, is going on over at Metroblogging.

Ace Hotel's decor appeals to the well-styled manly man, the London Times reports. One who knows that "living in a skip limits one’s pulling capacity."

Sustainable homes aren't so accessible to regular, can't-afford-a-consultant folks, the Register-Guard reports.

Briefed 8.22

West Seattlites are against the development of a PetCo that Gary Reddick and Sienna Architecture Co. are designing.

Interesting International Herald Tribune story about architecture design competitions, in which Thom Mayne points out that the GSA didn't make clear the hypothetical-ness of the site during the Eugene Courthouse competition, and therefore screwed over the design team. (I'm paraphrasing.)

I used to obsessively check the H&M website, hoping they'd board the internet commerce train and offer their cheap chic online. But, as ultra pdx says, with a Seattle store on the way, is Portland far behind? Potential bonus: Most of the Euro H&M's are in coolly renovated historic spaces. Hello, Galleria.

Is Wyatt developer Bob Ball running for mayor? Perhaps, Willamette Week reports.

Flumeoxed

Interesting things on the internets:

• Entries in Living Future 07 are now downloadable in PDF form, Ethan Timm of Worldchanging Portland points out. Entries include North Portland projects by SERA and Sienna.
• Nancy Keates is chronicling the teardown-rebuild of her Portland home, which is being designed by Dave Giulietti of Giulietti/Schouten, for the Wall Street Journal. And she has been for months and months...I'm just ultra slow on the uptake.
• And in the real, reading-leads-to-paper cuts world, the Spring 2007 issue of Oregon Land showed up on my desk last week. I'm pleased to report that it contains the phrase "turd flume," as well as an neat mix of essays on Laurie Olin, the downtown waterfront, and water in the city (all of this goodness is available for download).