The Navy will begin reverting destroyers back to a physical throttle and traditional helm control system in the next 18 to 24 months, after the fleet overwhelmingly said they prefer mechanical controls to touchscreen systems in the aftermath of the fatal USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) collision.The investigation into the collision showed that a touchscreen…… Continue reading In Praise of Tactile Controls
Category: Design
Former Fire Stations
Cycled with a friend looking for former fire stations. This unusual beauty was built in 1923 in the American Craftsman bungalow style. Former Fire Station Number 13 is now an architects’ office. One of the partners gave us a tour of the sensitively repurposed building.
Redeeming a Crumbling Edifice
Walked my bicycle down a dirt road behind the derelict Harris Machinery Company building at the edge of the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus. I love this crumbling edifice, but until today thought it was beyond redemption.
Commercial Beside Residential
Cycled past colorful commercial buildings in a predominantly residential area of South Minneapolis.
TWA Flight Center
Between flights, explored the former TWA Flight Center at New York’s JFK Airport, now a hotel. Opened in 1962, it was designed by Finnish-American architect, Eero Saarinen.
TWA Flight Center: Building Excitement
https://youtu.be/kQLyXFOBbYE We’re up, up, and away on a Delta flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Malaga AGP, Spain. In less than eight hours we’ll be on a Mediterranean beach. My 11-year-old nephew and my partner sit beside me. The other nephew (aged 10), and his parents sit across the aisle We’re oblivious to the…… Continue reading TWA Flight Center: Building Excitement
Less is More
“Less is more” is famously the motto of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969). The idea is to reduce design to its necessary elements. Less famously, Mies picked up the phrase from his teacher, architect Peter Behrens, in Berlin around 1910. Behrens is considered to be the first industrial designer. In the 1930’s Mies…… Continue reading Less is More
Breaking the Box
On my sunny walk: the Weisman Art Museum, designed by Frank Gehry.
Minneapolis Modernism
Took delivery of furniture, including this bench for our entry. I love the asymmetry and the playfulness. It’s built from a 1939 design by Ralph Rapson (1914-2008), Minneapolis modernism architect. It looks ready to rack, but it’s actually extraordinarily solid.
Rail Shed
Wandered through open doors at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel. The hotel has recently opened this lovely event space in the former rail shed of the Milwaukee Road Depot. The chimneys vented smoke from steam locomotives.