I recently came across the Gottscho-Schleisner Collection at the Library of Congress, and thought it was a new vein I could mine for blog posts. The criteria I use are (1) interesting views of buildings or other structures and (2) pictures that are in the public domain, and the G-S collection meets both. Unfortunately, as …
Three closely related articles were stored away in my browser bookmarks and it’s time to spread them around. First, “The Carbon Footprint of Material Obsolescence” by Blaine Brownell. The article looks at the life-cycle carbon cost of various construction materials. We need to consider not just the cost (meaning money, pollution, and carbon liberated) of materials’ creation …
Yesterday was the 92nd anniversary of the Empire State Building opening for business, which is as good a day as exists to pick as its birthday. To celebrate, the Skyscraper Museum had a one-hour program where Carol Willis and I discussed some aspects of the construction of the building. The process of construction – both the economic …
A number of the old photos I’ve been picking at here in the last few weeks have been construction shots, taken at intervals to show progress of the work. Today’s trio doesn’t break any new ground, but is a good example of what you can pick up from them. Above, 530 West 86th Street as it …
One last look at the George Blumenthal house on Park Avenue, midway in time between the previous two photos. The sidewalk bridge is complete, we’ve got a lot of brick stacked up on the sidewalk, and the street facades are complete at the first floor. It’s clear in this photo that house only has a …
