http://www.josephclarke.net Writer and architect Joseph Clarke Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:33:06 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The forthcoming Fall issue of Crit, journal of the American Institute of Architecture Students, includes a brief article by me on the history of performance as an architectural paradigm: Advertised as a scientific, “expert” way to solve problems, systems analysis was highly influenced by the emerging discipline of cybernetics, which taught ... http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=78 In a new article, I trace the parallel architectural histories of the American megachurch and the corporate-organizational complex. The image of rural America as the paragon of morality and social harmony was buttressed by the specter of a nuclear attack on a major city. In the 1950s, municipal governments went out ... http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=58 My latest article, in this month's issue of Frieze, is about new concepts for urban mass housing in China: China stopped providing housing as welfare about 10 years ago and instituted a mortgage industry through state-owned banks; since then, real estate has become its most profitable industry. For many middle-class families, ... http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=56 Philip Beesley uses robotic architectural installations to imagine fantastic and sometimes terrifying intersections of technology and organic life. I have a new article on Beesley's work at core.form-ula: The realization that an organism's life is bound up with its milieu is a product of late 18th century zoology and the nascent ... http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=55 On April 7, I'll be speaking in New York about the evolution of the megachurch and its intersections with the history of the corporate workplace. It's part of an evening of presentations on architecture and urbanism by designers, filmmakers, musicians, and critics organized by the magazine Triple Canopy. The Kitchen 512 W ... http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=53 Described as a "Hegel in tight jeans," American architect Joshua Prince-Ramus has taken to the pages of a style magazine to rail against the stereotype of the visionary starchitect: "All the great architects--every one of them--says, 'It represents. . . .' I say to students, 'Don't you think it would be ... http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=51 From my new essay at Triple Canopy on northern Kentucky's Creation Museum: The tacit message is that the archetypal godly environment is a Christian arcadia, free of the violence of natural selection. This idyll's most memorable occupants are the dinosaurs. According to wall-mounted placards, they were created on the sixth day ... http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=49 Jubilation on Harlem's 125th St. at 2:00 AM, hours after Barack Obama was elected president. http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=48 In recent years, New York City has not only proven singularly incapable of executing innovative large-scale architectural designs, but has also set about obliterating some of its most significant mid-twentieth century buildings. Three years ago, New York's Museum of Arts and Design was given the green light by the Landmarks Preservation ... http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=46 Several months ago, the new exterior of 2 Columbus Circle in New York City was unveiled with relatively little fanfare. Located at the conjunction of the rectilinear Manhattan grid, the oblique line of Broadway, and the traffic circle that marks the southwest corner of Central Park, the building has been ... http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=36