Architecture and City & Regional Planning have taught me that successful design is not only about the spaces we inhabit, but also the spaces we define in-between. Michael B. Cadwell, FAIA Walter H. Kidd Professor and Director of the Ohio State University, Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture, instilled a lasting influence over my ever-developing architectural philosophy and practice.
In those early years at the Ohio State University, I recall Mike once encouraged me to simply, “get out there and build something, and the next thing you know… you are on the cover of an architectural magazine… Guy builds stuff!” Architects, Designers and all should read Small BUILDINGS, by Mike Cadwell, Pamphlet Architecture 17 by Princeton Architectural Press. This series of small wood buildings interacting with the landscape shows how even small-scale gestures can have a large impact. Architecture is not simply a stand-alone art form, it is the combination with human interaction and defining of spaces.
While small gestures can have a great impact, sometimes architecture and planning engage a larger influence over a greater area. Take for example the Allen Lambert Galleria, a six-story high pedestrian way designed by Spanish Architect, Santiago Calatrava. The Galleria connects Bay Street and Sam Pollock Square, in Toronto, Canada.
There is an elegance in the interaction and connections between buildings with a more traditional facade, and the modern parabolic structures. The branching out of the engineered structures plays off the feeling of a tree-lined avenue. The filtering of natural light embraces the built structures. It is often the spaces in-between that we define.