Air Force Base Dorms

[priad]

great update !!

[Da_elf]

Elf,


whattya up to these days?

im working on an animated film

[paulison]

surely leaving off some of the neo classical detailing would save money! a few less pieces of lovely polystyrene would be better for the envirnment too!

we have the same problem here Jack and I also think it is driven by developers and the fact that everything is becoming purely more and more sales driven. Most sales at the least cost. At least we have some decent buildings going up for the government these days which I thank the introduction of the GST for because they all have so much money that they cant find enough projects to waste it on!

As an architecture graduate as well, I also think stickon elements are repulsive! (as we are all taught). I also do a lot of project home crap which all has to be painted various hues of brown... maybe in 2010 everything will be painted purple?. The people that make these decisions seem to miss the point that it doesnt have to be painted at all.

My point is that its as bad in aussie now as well. Actually I think we have a big problem where everyone thinks they are a master of modern contemporary design so there are a zillion cloned rippoff buildings with exactly the same elements that they all photocopied from the same magazine but reproduced in a very similar way to how the neoclassical stuff has been glued on. Its not just architecture though, its furniture, clothing, music and even seen in the way people all seem to talk in exactly the same way without any individual thought. The way I see it things are getting worse and worse and no doubt everywhere will 'evolve' to the new level of shit design that america has reached. Forgot what we were talking about now lol /rant

[jacksc02]

nice rant dude!
i think everyone needs to do an architectural taste course at high school to show people other types of architecture, sure these polystyrene mc mansions might be cheap to build but you could build something modern for the same or even cheaper still! There I go thinking like a modernist again..... leave the old architecture for the past lets do something different for a change. end of my rant. for now.

[Da_elf]

thank goodness some architects here are more modern however due to the materials at hand they cant be toooo modern. but alas. i need to put arch viz out o fmy mind. thank goodness. that industry doesnt pay well down here

[jacksc02]

well its funding part of you movie..........

[Da_elf]

actually its not. the film is funded by grants. its enough barely to buy equipment. i more or less look after myself with my teaching

[jacksc02]

ok i will re-phrase, arch viz gave you the drive to do movies

[jmartin]

It all comes down to what gentleman.......Money....Most developers want to cram as many buildings on a parcel as they can....More buildings,,,,More money....When these guys are building these dorms.....They are gonna build 10-20-30...who knows....This is a concept for the local ait force base, but the design process comes out of Scott's Air Force Base. That is where ALL decisions are made for ALL the Air Force Bases.

Oh, simmer down now LOL As a recent AF retiree (working in the Civil Engineer Squadron and doing design work on a daily basis) I can say without a doubt that all decisions at all bases are not made at Scott. The AF does have a very particular way of doing things, and money is definitely a BIG part of it. But you would be amazed at how much influence the base architect has in a case like this. I have seen absoulutely beautiful facilities get turned down because the base architect did not like the style. This same guy was at this particular base for 20+ years so it goes without saying that he had some pull. The AF is spending more money on facilties that are nicer than they used to be and offer more conveniences but the general public does not want a fortune spent on "pretty " buildings for the troops when their tax dollars go only so far nowadays. This design suits the AF needs better than most I have seen and it really has nothing to do with the American style of architecture. And it is easy to maintain which is another main goal. Just my 2 cents after 20 years, 3 months and 21 days in.

John

PS Please take this with a grain of salt

[EricCamper]

Gotcha.....Yeah....THe main guy there told us that most of the decisions are made there for the Construction/Architecture part of the bases....But who knows...He may have been just trying to impress..