Reading "Happy City" Made Me Sad - Terry's Tiny Book Review

I just don't know what's wrong me. I am the worst advocate ever. And here we have this terrific source book for urban advocates which I claim to be. And doesn't everyone want happier cities that make people happier?

Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery. Thanks to Atlanta City Studio for lending it to me.

I recommend reading it in little chunks. This is where I'd go if I needed a couple slides for a presentation. It covers the waterfront, quotes from Aristotle to Freud to Jacobs, vignettes, anecdotes, psychological research, with 316 footnotes to back it up.

  

But I just can't get through it. Your results may vary.

See, I have these trigger warnings.

First: The subtitle is "Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design" and he really means it. But I lump subtitles like this in the self-help section and I'm am beyond self-helping - ask my family. Honestly if there was a book that proposed "transforming our lives with meatloaf and key lime pie," I'd probably stop eating them so much.

Second: The proposition is that my suburban brother Kenny has no soul. As Montgomery puts it (frequently), "Does the detached suburban home REALLY make its owners more independent and free?" (emphasis added). We know the answer to that one, it's urban activist speak for "Kenny has no soul." It irritates him to have no soul, makes him extra cranky to know that he is ruining it for everybody. Worse, Kenny no longer listens to perfectly good urbanist advice.

Third: Why can't we all be Vancouver? I wish Atlanta could be Vancouver except in Atlanta. Vancouverism as almost a real word. Atlantism isn't. I'd settle for a Medieval piazza with a Renaissance upgrade, a Piazzas del Campo instead of Centennial Olympic Park. Don't we all deserve it? Sure would make urbanism easy.

Fourth: I only need one of these sorts of books and for me that was Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck to explain why Kenny has no soul and that makes me sad.

The next Terry's Tiny Book Review will be Makeshift Metropolis: Ideas about Cities by Witold Rybczynski which I got through just fine. Anyone know how to pronounce his name?

Happy New Year!

People, street trees, & buildings share a comparable life expectancy, about 80 years

Building life expectancy:  "There's a lot of spread in that. The average residential building lasts about  150 years, but the average Walmart or a (not so hot) apartment complex last 10 or 15 years but the average is 80 years." Paul Knight's Streets Lecture - Part 1 



Please Come see part 2: Streets: Designing a Master Street Plan (Part II) on Tuesday, December 13th at 6:30 pm at the Atlanta City Studio on the 2nd floor of Ponce City Market.

"Streets" is one the Architecture Tourists favorite subjects, streets as public spaces, making them more fun, less boring, more democratic.

It's free. I'll be there. Please say hey. Don't let the word "lecture" scare you off. This will be fun.

Paul L. Knight, architectural and urban designer at Historical Concepts and president of Douglas C. Allen Institute for the Study of Cities, will present his second lecture about Streets on Tuesday, December 13th at 6:30 pm at the Studio. Last month we learned why streets are the most critical and long-lasting components of our cities. If you missed it, you can view a recording of the lecture below. This month, Paul Knight returns to explain how to analyze the best examples of American town planning, garnering design lessons and principles that can be used for future development.The free second seminar focuses on master street planning and design. Come join us to learn how streets can improve our cities. Please come early--it was a packed house last time and we ran out of chairs.

Here's part 1, about 38 minutes. Part 3 to be announced soon.




What is the Douglas C. Allen Institute for the Study of Cities?

Big Brand New Teardown Bedrooms Ought to be a lot Better

It seems "wow" at first but I don't feel so good in there.

If you build 4,500 square feet spec houses, you can afford a day with an architect to design the master suite.

Or you can buy A Pattern Language and skim patterns 127, 136, 144, 187, 188, 189, 190, and 196. (I'll get to A Pattern Language in a minute.)


Or you can build this: A 4-door, 10' double tray ceiling, "shock and awe" master. On a checklist, it's pretty darn good. And it's BIG!

I see these over and over again. I presume builders, investors, bankers, and brokers follow the herd for safety.

A running conversation with Holly at Things That Inspire focused me two ideas:

1. Can you bathe and dress without disturbing the loved one sleeping or ill in bed?
2. What makes a bedchamber, particularly a marriage bed, feel private and cozy?

Then Brad Heppner gave Holly, Claire and I a tour of one of his 4,500 square foot designs. The bed chamber itself was small, plain, peaceful and private. After four years THIS is the bedroom I remember most.

It's not about style, fixtures, or finishes. I've seen it done very well in houses by Brad, Joel Kelly, Rodolfo Castro, Stan Dixon, Brian Ahern, Cara Cummins and Jose Tavel, Spitzmiller and Norris, Bobby McAlpine, Dencity Design, and more. Big and small, modernist and traditional.

A few quotes from A Pattern Language:

136. COUPLE'S REALM "...it needs some kind of a double door, an ante-room, to protect its privacy."

144. BATHING ROOM "...they must be able to have a shower, or use the toilet, unseen, when they want to."

187. MARRIAGE BED "...an intimate anchor point for their lives; slightly enclosed, with a low ceiling or a canopy, with the room shaped to it; perhaps a tiny room built around the bed with many windows."

188. BED ALCOVE "The valuable space around the bed is good for nothing except access to the bed ... dressing, working, and storage of personal belongings which people stuff uncomfortably into the corners of their bedrooms - in fact, need their own space, and are not at all well met by the left over areas around a bed."

189. DRESSING ROOM "Dressing and undressing, storing clothes, having clothes lying around, have no reason to be part of any larger complex of activities. Indeed they disturb other activities."

190. CEILING HEIGHT VARIETY :...in an intimate nook, or over a double bed, where the social distance is no more than five or six feet, the ceiling has to be very low."

196. CORNER DOORS "The success of a room depends to a great extent on the position of the doors. If the doors create a pattern of movement which destroys the places in the room, the room will never allow people to be comfortable."

note: floorplan floorplan master bedroom closets doors

The Year in New Urbanists Lecturing Atlantans - 2013 Krier, Duany, Nygren, Speck, Mouzon

Some of  best "new urbanism" personalities spoke in Atlanta in last year.

While I don't want to argue about urbanist definitions, I will argue that urbanist lectures are lots of fun. The standard for urbanist lectures is high. All compete with Jane Jacobs' impossibly witty "The Death and Life of Great American Cities."


Leon Krier gave the first "Academy of Medicine Lecture" at Georgia Tech on January 23, 2013. I think Krier was a new urbanist before they coined the term. Quote: "Skyscrapers are vertical cul-de-sacs."


Leon Krier (left) had his quiver loaded with stinging criticism for lame planning. "It's not about style."


Jeff Speck, author of Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, spoke to the Midtown Alliance on March 28, 2013. Everybody dressed up. I do not know how I got the invitation but thanks.


This is the view from PWC conference room at 1075 Peachtree Street. Wow.


Here's Jeff. Maria Saporta wrote about it in the Saporta Report: "A more walkable Atlanta equals a healthier and more prosperous city."


The NAREE (National Association of Real Estate Editors) had a new urbanism panel at their annual meeting on June 7. David Bodamer moderated Steve Nygren, Andres Duany, and Jackie Doak. This was an entire day of ideas crammed into an hour and a half. Way too short.


Steve Nygren founded Serenbe on Atlanta's doorstep. Steve is the practice of the theory.


I doubt that Andres Duany has ever uttered an unquotable sentence. "Essentially there is no choice in the suburbs. Everybody has the same lifestyle ... everybody drives everywhere for everything."


Duany was not ready to stop when his time was up. He loves the dialogue and the argument, me too.


Thanks to Tony Wilbert who snuck me in as a journalist. Tony (follow him at @twilbert) is one of Atlanta's newsiest tweeters.


Steve Mouzon spoke to the Atlanta Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism on December 19. Steve's heart, soul, and energy levels are bigger than this. But he didn't talk about urbanism. He talked about his latest book: New Media for Designers + Builders and told the audience to turn their smartphones ON.


And there was some nice dessert at The Shed at Glenwood.

I'm keeping my eye out for new urbanism talkers in 2014. I'll let you know.

Gordon Stringer, Friend, Designer, R.I.P.

He said, "It needs something yellow down there." Then he proved it.

Earl Gordon Stringer, Jr., 1938 - 2013, died a couple of weeks ago. Do you mind a few random memories? After 25 years we have so many. If you have memories, I hope you'll share them in the comments.

Gordon didn't like his picture taken but we have a few. We even have Gordon in time-lapse action at the bottom of this blog post.

Gordon hung every picture in our house, picked every color, every fabric, nearly every piece of furniture. He arranged. And when he thought we needed it, he re-arranged. As much as anyone he was and still is in our house. We had some greats times in the process.


If Gordon wasn't sitting down, he was probably moving things around.

Over time we thought of Gordon as the designer in the family, our colorful uncle.  He saw our children grow up. He knew us. He knew when to push and when to back off. And he really knew how to return a favor.

He was my favorite architecture tourist companion. He knew great potential, great houses, great landscapes, and great details all over Atlanta. Here's how it often went: He'd say, "You need to do this to your sidewalk." We'd think, "That's crazy." Then he'd take us to see what he was talking about. We'd say, "Why did we doubt you?"

Gordon's talent and experience demonstrated the value of designers: For the same money you can have a space that sucks or a space that delights you every day. Gordon could "see" potential, "see" outcomes, and he knew how to make it happen.

Gordon worked by the hour, handshake deals, no contracts, word of mouth marketing, many long-term clients. Wise realtors gave him a bonus when a house sold. No days off, no vacations. He loved to do it.

But even Gordon tired out once in a while. He certainly enjoyed a wide-ranging conversation, a meal, a movie after the work was done.

All Gordon's friends knew "Gordon Time." Gordon was perfectly predictable if not perfectly punctual. He liked to finish with you before the next appointment.

Another "Gordon Time" meant unexpected visits; but after a while you expected unexpected visits. We'd spot him from the window and announce, "Gordon's here."

The third "Gordon Time" involved extended evenings. He enjoyed winding down his evenings with folks he knew. Sometimes it dragged on but he was good company. Finally he'd say, We'll I'd better get our of your way."

Everybody has Gordon stories. One of  my favorites and I don't know where it came from was something like: "If Gordon had a good agent/manager, he'd have been a millionaire." I believe that's true.

But measured in terms of doing what he enjoyed and in the delightful places he designed for clients and friends, he was a rich man.



Gordon took great delight in using what you had. Moving stuff, composing on the fly was one of Gordon's fortes. It was a sight to behold and it got instant results.

He wouldn't stop until he'd done the very best with the material at hand. He'd raid other rooms looking for "material at hand." On the next visit he might have a lamp, a pillow, or a throw that pulled it together.


This was June 3, 2012 our last project with him. Gordon had already perfected our green "jungle" office. In June he was determined to make it better.

All who knew Gordon learned what "epic" means. Gordon could - and did - work ordinary folks into physical, mental, and exasperation-al exhaustion. 

For example: We put our house on the Morningside Tour in 1990. JoAnn and I had no idea, no idea at all. Gordon got our house ready, keeping us all going until 4am. He went over every inch of the house, adjusting things by inches.



We met Gordon in 1988. We asked Crythis Bristow (a leading real estate agent in our neighborhood) if she knew anyone who'd advise us on remodeling or moving so we'd have room for our child #3. Gordon was Crythis's not so secret weapon: Gordon staged houses long before there were TV shows about it.

Gordon's advice about his staging: "Get Ready to Move."



We'd need a trilogy to tell it, but that started our 25 year friendship / relationship.

Gordon was 50 then. However talented he was, he already had 30+ years of experience.


Design is so personal that you end up inviting the designer for holiday meals.

On that thanksgiving dinner Gordon ate at a table he'd picked out for us 20 years before. It's our laundry room table. We move it to the big room, unfold it and have a table for 8. We had no idea, but Gordon had been at it for decades.


We even put him in the family picture.



Your designer is more intimate than your doctor. A doctor see's you naked, but he doesn't look in your messy closets.

It's not getting into an argument WITH the designer, it's getting into an argument IN FRONT of the designer.

Once you develop a relationship with a designer, you stick with him. That was certainly true with Gordon. When clients transferred to other cities, they'd fly Gordon out to pick their house.



See these bookcases with ovals? Gordon always had his eye out for you. He spotting these while shopping for other clients. They were cheap, beautiful, and met a practical need. He called, we bought. Why would we doubt him? This was a great day.

I'm wearing you out with Gordon so just one more.


Color was Gordon's thing. He was an Olympic level athlete with paint chips. On this day Gordon was picking out exterior colors with JoAnn. After all we WERE going to repaint one day. And this was pure pleasure for Gordon, and even more fun with the stone to consider and the trim, shutters and mullions.

	Cabin Fever 4B 1540 House
	Jackson Tan HC-46 Mullion
	River Gorge Gray 2B 15 Trim
	Sharkskin 2139-30 House
	Durango 2137-30 House
	Norwich Brown HC-19 Mullion
	Amazon Green 2136-30 Mullion
	Warm Tan 2162-30 Mullion
	Dark Olive 2140-30 House
	Glocester Sage HC-100 House
	Cromwell Gray HC-103 House
	Crownville Gray HC-106 House
	Charleston Brown ext rm Mullion

The next step will be to narrow down and test.

But Gordon won't be here to see how beautiful.

Gordon in time-lapse action.

Field Guild to the Designers - Cathedral Inspriation House 2013

It's an antique market (Jan 31 - Feb 2), it's a one-day tour of homes (Sunday, January 27), it's an inspiration house (Jan 27, Jan 31, Feb 7, Feb 10), it's a major fundraiser. It's the happy design overload of the Cathedral Antiques Show and Tour of Homes.You should go. Angela at The Painted House has also blogged it. Lori at Lori May Interiors blogged it too. Ally at From the Right Bank blogged it.

Terry's tips for enjoying these things: !. You can't see everything so visit every room, take a little break, then visit every room again. 2. Introduce yourself to the designer, few people can do this, fewer still have the courage to do it in public. 3. Ask the designer about their favorites or interesting things in the room. 4. Look closely at one little part of the room. 5. It's OK to ask "Could I afford that?" 6. It's inspiration, you don't have to live there. 7. Folks hog the designers, you should interrupt politely after little wait. 8. Don't hog the designers.

Here is the plan of the Inspiration House. Here is my amateur Field Guide to the Designers. There are links to the details, professional pictures, and links to their websites. Hope it helps. Corrections welcome. Any more folks on Twitter?

Alley Kim did the porch. I couldn't get her to stop fiddling long enough to take a picture. @FromTheRightBnk
Brooke Merrill did the big foyer with 4 murals by Bethany Travis.
Summer Loftin did the library, Ace Ventura territory.
Elle Cantrell, Yvonne McFadden, Kate Stephens did the parlor as quiet and cozy with huge fireplace.
Wesley Huffard did the dining room with the best fish plates you ever saw, look for them..
Karen Ferguson did the men's room and, as a guy, I approve.
Louise Cronan the little foyer in blueish and red-ish, check out the chandelier.
David Ecton and Lance Jackson did the white red and blue living room. Bold and red!
Rick Anthony Bonner did the telephone nook. He's co-chair with Cindra of the Inspiration House and he's got duck.
Jennifer Reine and, Robert White did the boardroom and dressed it in jewelry.
Jenny Rothman and Warner McConaughey with HammerSmith did the kitchen with a major renovation.
Dayka Robinson did the hall and the up stairway and it's not like the others. I challenge you to keep from smiling. @daykarobinson
Bryan Kirkland did the upstairs living & dining rooms with pop.
Jonathon Gonzales did the upstairs bed and bathrooms with classic.
Rogers King, Sarah Price, Duncan Spears  with Eumenean Construction removed the upstairs kitchen.
Lesia King also worked on the upstairs apartment with eye-popping art.
Rhonda Peterson did the downstairs hall with angels, birds and trees. @RhondaEPeterson
Lori May, Sherry Hart did the stone room with glamor and a sense of humor @sherryhdesigns @lmayinteriors
William McLure and Bill Ingram did the hearth room, a big renovation from what was a florescent lit office. @williammclure
Thanks to Cindra Brown, co-chair (with Rick) of the Inspiration House for her courtesy and hospitality. @terrykearns

EPIC room rearrangement - then we moved it all back

What are you going to do? We should have suspected. Gordon was competing with his own design - I think his very best design for us. Gordon thought we could get a fresh look while eliminating the messy buildup and without spending a dime.

On Saturday we made the plan, on Sunday we made the moves.

JoAnn, Gordon, our 6'2 mid-twenties son, his strong bud Spencer, and I went at it all afternoon. We had a really good attitude and we needed it. That stuff is heavy.


Spot the messy buildup?

This is not a "home-office." It's an office-office in our home. Over the years we'd bought real office furniture, private brand stuff by Steel-Case. In 2005 Gordon turned it into a spectacular looking space that was spectacularly efficient.


We call it the Green Room. The walls are covered in grasscloth painted dark green. It has a modest tray ceiling that takes it up to about 9 feet.

It's a special room meant to impress guests as they enter the house. It's has 6"2 windows on 3 sides with French doors to the foyer, designed and built by Bill Harrison in 1988-89.

The time lapse starts about midway through. We're getting a little tired.

Green Room Redo Time Lapse (1:07) Thanks to Duet for Theremin and Laps Steel for the music.


We moved everything back where it was, less the clutter.

That was Sunday.

Today we bought a big carpet remnant from Carpet Liquidators' Chamblee store. But that's for another room, installation this Wednesday.

Classical Coverup on North Highland

I'm participating in Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch. Thanks to Susan!

It's being renovated for new tenants. In the process they are covering the classical decorative details c. 1920.


I'll be happy when it's occupied again. It was a Wolf Camera most recently but it's been vacant for a while, a hole in a favorite walking street.


But I'm very surprised that they are covering up the decorative details.


I thought designers treasured these things and showed them off.

They don't detail like this anymore except in mansions.


There are doing a nice job of protecting it as far as I can see.


The details didn't shout. You might have "seen" this as you walked by, but probably not.

Did they look interesting enough to study, sketch, or take a picture?

I remember something being there, but not exactly what.


It looks poignant now, framed in 2x4's.


So I thought I'd show you while I could.


I wish I'd been there the day before.


Few will remember it...even tomorrow.


It will still be there though.


As long as it stays dry and nobody knocks a hole in it - not knowing it's there...


...it should be a great rediscovery one day. "

They'll say, "Can you believe somebody covered this up?"

They'll appreciate how the carpenters tried to protect it.


So I don't think it's tragic. They left everything right where it was.


But I'm surprised.


Every owner and designer would make their own choices against time and budget. We might yet love the finished project or at least respect it.

But my first instinct would have been to let the old parts show.


Here are Key Lime Pie and Surin of Thailand just down the street. They left things alone for now.


I guess it depends on the look you are going for.

What do you think?

Thanks to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.