ruminations about architecture and design

Sunday, June 5, 2016

acceptance and love

Towers of ilium has come to terms with the personal automobile. It is still the defining invention of human development and modern civilization. It is here to stay as long as there is civilization. We will not abandon our cars and live in high rises. Jesus built my car, as the song goes.

Meanwhile the boom in speculative luxury housing might be reaching a climax in urban areas. Boston is building a little of that, but not as much as Miami, New York, and London. We'll keep this monitored with the usual casual indifference that distinguishes the fine journalism of towers of ilium.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

where were you during the revolution?


Somewhere in China a solar panel factory is on double shifts. It's probably not pleasant work, and we can be fairly certain that environmental concerns and employee happiness aren't the top priority. But it's happening, and the visual consequences are proliferating in many parts of the United States.

Homo consumeris is a fickle creature--hard to predict, easy to manipulate, and eager to punish. But when it comes to residential solar power, towers of ilium is willing to make a prediction nearly devoid of cynicism. And although the consequences are yet to be fully realized and explained, we can see a million wheels turning in a million heads: if you can put these on your roof and you can plug your car into an electrical outlet....

Poor buggy whip makers.