Various Cicada-shaped Knickknacks

Savannen 13 / Skälsö Arkitekter

Photos © Anna Sundström

Mea Culpa means “through my fault" 

Thank You, @spokeart. 

pieces from Abigail Goldman’s - ‘Mea Culpa’ at Hashimoto Contemporary 

My very unpopular opinion apparently:

Straight cis perisex able-bodied neurotypical people using aids designed for disabled people (I.e weighted blankets, grabby claw, sock holder, etc), going to therapists occasionally to keep up their mental health, using fidget toys, choosing to call their bf/gf their partner, using pronouns besides the ones associated with their gender just because they like it, and doing a million other small things that make us fitting in and being accepted a little bit easier is in fact exactly the type of support these communities need, and will ultimately help us so much more than gatekeeping ever fuckin will

Beauty

Those I love say they're proud of me, now

Tail-end of 8 months in infinity

I don't look for their words of affection.

I'm not scared to be ugly

In the way women are taught to be

All sunshine and beauty.

I do not doubt now,

That I may in fact be beautiful -

I am Beautiful

Not because I'm pretty

I don't turn heads when I walk the room

I'm hardly precious in dear finery.

What's more,

My hair doesn't always flirt with

The wind, my feet don't know how to

make love to the earth and grass, the show

Doesn't please lusty onlookers.

I pause when I see beauty,

A pleasant surprise waiting within me -

I don't wait to achieve anymore

I revel in my company.

I've learnt to hold friends tightly,

Look them in the eyes so

They may smile from inside me.

I forgive my family,

So they may not hurt any

Longer than I can help, for

all that I love about their journey.

I don't rest in the past anymore

I don't pine for a whimsy future

I'm elated to just be

And in being, I achieve me.

10 FILMS FEATURING NON-WESTERN ARCHITECTURE

Recently I’ve realised how much my design education benefitted from a childhood home that was full of National Geographics rather than Architectural Digests. As I’ve mentioned here before, architecture school curriculums can be very western-centric, and often exclude building traditions in which whole communities, rather than a single architect, contribute. When you add this to the relative difficulty of visiting some regions in person, it’s possible to miss works of amazing beauty and innovation. 

PART 1: AFRICA 

1. BUILDING AFRICA: ARCHITECTURE OF A CONTINENT (2006) A great BBC documentary, in which architect David Adjaye travels to different regions, exploring centuries of vernacular, colonial and post-independence architecture.

2. THE INGENUITY OF TRADITIONAL AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE (2020) Throughout history, innovative, climate-responsive structures from many parts of the world have been demeaningly designated as ‘huts’, and not recognised as architecture, especially those which are temporary, or evolving. This video offers a good introduction to the history and benefits of domed architecture, as developed and used in different parts of Africa.

3. STAR WARS The name of Luke Skywalker‘s home planet was an homage to the North African town of Tataouine, and many Tunisian locations were used throughout the series, with historic adobe structures appearing often, including 15th century Berber Grain Stores in THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999).

4. WORKING ON WATER (2014) Part of the Rebel Architecture series, this short film looks at architect and urbanist Kunle Adeyemi’s efforts to combat overcrowding within Nigeria’s waterside communities.

5. BLACK PANTHER (2018) This Marvel adaptation is set in Wakanda, a fictional nation which escaped colonisation and developed its own highly advanced technology and distinctive afrofuturist aesthetic. Its structures were inspired by traditional and contemporary African architecture, and the curving works of Zaha Hadid.

6. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977) This Egyptian-set Bond delivers Roger Moore to a number of iconic architectural sites, including The Great Pyramids and Sphinx, Abu Simbel, the Temple of Karnak, and the beautiful  Bayt el-Kredlea house in Cairo.

7. In recent decades, Morocco has been a one-stop filming location for movies set throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe. The ksar (fortified village) of Ait Ben Haddou features in dozens, including GAME OF THRONES, THE MUMMY (1999), GLADIATOR (2000), KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005), BABEL (2006) and PRINCE OF PERSIA (2010).

8. BBC SACRED WONDERS (2019) This looks at the amazing communal process of re-plastering the 3rd Century Djenne Mosque in Mali with mud, an annual activity in which the whole village participates. (For those outside the UK, it can also be seen in MALI GRAND MOSQUE PLASTER (2019)).

9. DAVID ADJAYE – BUILDING TRANSFORMATIVE NARRATIVES (2020) A short feature by Hour Glass, which looks at the life and work of the renowned Tanzanian-British architect.

10. TIEBELE WOMEN PAINTING THEIR HOUSES (2008) An interesting and calming little amateur video which depicts, without spoken commentary, the beautiful process of decorating the exterior of rural adobe homes with local materials and traditional motifs.  (Photo: New Baris, Egypt, Hassan Fathy. Image by Viola Bertini via wallpaper)

Shelley Duvall and Sissy Spacek in 3 Women (1977) dir. Robert Altman

Now that you know the worst in me. What will you do ? Do you trust me to fight for what's right?

I keep forgetting to post these here. Anyways

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