In an essay entitled The Hedgehog and the Fox, Isaiah Berlin quotes the Greek poet Archilochus, “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing” (Berlin 7). The essay was written as a commentary on Leo Tolstoy’s view of history, however, the text can offer an understanding for how one might practice architecture as well. For us, this understanding reveals itself in perceiving the environment as a fox and believing in it as a hedgehog.
Perceiving the environment as a fox requires “plenty of full light” (Albers) and a methodical rigor aimed at exploring forces and processes including climate, culture, economy, atmosphere, and material.
Believing in the environment as a hedgehog requires a confidence and trust that the projects we build and discussions we nurture “feel the pull of life” (Martin 159) and contribute positively to our clients and the world around us.
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Albers, Josef. Poems and Drawings. Ed. Nicholas Fox Weber. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. Print.
Berlin, Isaiah. The Hedgehog and the Fox; an Essay on Tolstoy’s View of History. New York: Mentor Books, 1957. Print.
Martin, Agnes and Briony Fer. Agnes Martin. Ed. Frances Morris and Tiffany Bell. London: D. A. P./Tate, 2015. Print.
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Geodesic Dome Renovation
Minnetonka, Minnesota
Residential
This renovation transforms a 1980s geodesic dome, originally conceived during the height of the energy crisis, into a bright, connected, and contemporary home. A new primary suite frames views of the surrounding forest, while an open kitchen maintains visual and acoustic connection to the living and dining areas. Fresh finishes throughout renew the interior without erasing its character.
Seth Daulton
Printmaker
Art and Design
In this episode our resident architects Joe Rivers and Kevin Barden visit with Seth Daulton, a printmaker from Georgetown, Texas. Seth Daulton is an artist who has worked in printmaking for nearly a decade. He has spent much of that time learning and developing his craft in academic settings, now as an instructor himself. Joe and Kevin sat down with Seth to discuss his process of creating, his approach to teaching, and how place, history, and structure, inhabit his work.
Talking About Wood (Reden Über Holz)
Translation: Kevin Barden
Writing
In 1985, Swiss architects Michael Alder, Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, and Peter Zumthor sat down with Archithese to discuss building with wood; the continued traditions of its use as well as the possibility of developing new traditions. All four architects articulate a specific interest of the material and offer a critical eye to the others’ work. While Alder is concerned with the aesthetics of wood, Zumthor is attentive to the material from a cabinetmaker’s…