Rob Harrison AIA's blog

Has anyone come across a company that manufactures tent cabins? I'm looking for something similar to the tent cabins now at Yosemite, or historically, the ones that became the tiny houses at various Methodist retreats, most notably Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard.

Ideally of course, made with organic canvas, FSC-certified wood frame and recycled blue-jean insulation....:-)

Thanks.

manifesto of lyrical sustainable design

I enjoyed David Arkin's post of the principles that guide his work, here:

http://buildinggreentv.com/workshop/getting-started/331

Arkin Tilt does great work, clearly derived from that succinct statement of values. Along those lines, I thought I would post my manifesto.

Why a manifesto?

In the late seventies, as a student in architecture school at the University of Toronto, before each project I was asked to write a “manifesto” outlining my personal and architectural aspirations for the project at hand. Our professors would then use these documents to check our progress and evaluate our designs. I returned to that idea before opening my practice in Seattle in 1992. I coined the phrase “lyrical sustainable design” to suggest my interest in the ethical, technical and poetic aspects of green architecture. That document has formed the basis for our work since then. To give credit where credit is due, I was inspired in good part by Bill McDonough's 1992 Hannover Principles, Peter Pragnell's teachings at the University of Toronto when I was a student there, and the writings of Kentucky farmer and essayist Wendell Berry.

The manifesto is in three parts - together they describe the principles, techniques, and an excerpt of a "novella" of lyrical sustainable design. Here is the first part:

click read more below to continue 

Jim Sproull and Susan Radke-Sproull's Green-Roofed Workshop has been published in the July 2007 issue of Sunset Magazine. Jennifer Matlack's article "Eco-savvy Garage" can be found on page 76 and 77, illustrated by my photos. It is a great honor to appear in Sunset, and become part of a history of regional architecture and design that goes back to 1898!