Okay, so before I begin this post, I have a few confessions to make....first, of course is that I have not been regular AT ALL with my blogging. While I really enjoyed my initial burst of blogging, during the past two weeks, my performance has been dismal. Well, it wasn't that that there was a dearth of material to write about (rather there was quite a lot!) and actually I did start more than a couple of posts, but never did find the time and inclination to finish them. What I have realized though in the process, is that blogging really has to be quick and spontaneous….cause if it ends up taking time…it really never does see the light of day. So instead of taking up those unfinished posts now that have been in the works for the past two weeks, I will write a fresh one---well, because everything on this blog has to be mostly ‘naya-taaza’!! And this past weekend was filled with stuff that might be fun to write about, share and document in the process.
So, during this past weekend, I had the rare opportunity to attend some work-related and some not-so work-related conferences in Boston. For some weird reason, this time of the year seems to be really popular with conference organizers of all sorts---must have something to do with the imminent promise of spring, although this year the expected enthusiasm was somewhat marred by the current recession—leading to fewer attendance and modest arrangements.
The first one (although it was a 3-day thing, I attended only a couple of sessions on Thursday) was the ‘Traditional Building Show’. This is actually a bi-annual event, of which the first event in the year always takes place in Boston. It is usually a good mix of architects, contractors, builders, masons, craftsmen, manufacturers and almost anybody related to the historic building industry. The first session was on window restoration, and tied in with the whole current emphasis on restoring rather than replacing existing wood windows in most historic buildings (although the latter might be advisable in some cases). The second session was more general and talked about the first “double” platinum certified LEED (read Green for the uninitiated) building in the country..it’s located in Lansing, MI and houses the offices of a developer firm – the project involved reuse of an existing building.
What was most interesting to me though, was the number of entrepreneurs and small businesses in the traditional building industry that exist in and around this area – from people who make historic window frames, to historic mortars and all sorts of specialized products. It’s remarkable that industry trends and preferences in this part of the world have made it possible for such businesses to come into being and sustain themselves…hopefully we can learn some lessons (in the Indian context) to allow tradespeople specializing in traditional techniques to make money..although just like here, the impetus will first have to come from the demand for such type of work In India.
The other conference was a one-day affair on Friday, organized by the North-East chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology (APT-NE) and was held at the Boston Architectural College in Back Bay. I actually really enjoyed the conference, except for the one session after lunch when it was very difficult to keep my eyes open, not least because the presentation was boring..but cause I was so stuffed on the cookies! Anyways a quick synopsis would be that the theme of the conf. was Glass (used architecturally of course). Open-ended as that may sound, the lectures were rather delightfully focused - either on a particular project or technology. The keynote speaker, partner at a local structural engg. firm, talked about the infamous John Hancock Tower and the problems it underwent in the 1960’s and 70’s, when regular storms would leave many of the installed glass panels flying out onto the street, making the area a nightmare for the local police to cordon off and patrol and causing much embarrassment to the celebrity architects of the building. In the ensuing scrutiny, a number of other material and structural problems were discovered with the building and thereafter fixed. Most interesting was that even today, a rigorous maintenance schedule exists for the tower, glass panels frequently develop cracks and are immediately replaced, rather secretly at that, to avoid attracting too much attention. No wonder many local Bostonians remain very skeptical about walking too close to the Building, especially on windy days!!
So, during this past weekend, I had the rare opportunity to attend some work-related and some not-so work-related conferences in Boston. For some weird reason, this time of the year seems to be really popular with conference organizers of all sorts---must have something to do with the imminent promise of spring, although this year the expected enthusiasm was somewhat marred by the current recession—leading to fewer attendance and modest arrangements.
The first one (although it was a 3-day thing, I attended only a couple of sessions on Thursday) was the ‘Traditional Building Show’. This is actually a bi-annual event, of which the first event in the year always takes place in Boston. It is usually a good mix of architects, contractors, builders, masons, craftsmen, manufacturers and almost anybody related to the historic building industry. The first session was on window restoration, and tied in with the whole current emphasis on restoring rather than replacing existing wood windows in most historic buildings (although the latter might be advisable in some cases). The second session was more general and talked about the first “double” platinum certified LEED (read Green for the uninitiated) building in the country..it’s located in Lansing, MI and houses the offices of a developer firm – the project involved reuse of an existing building.
What was most interesting to me though, was the number of entrepreneurs and small businesses in the traditional building industry that exist in and around this area – from people who make historic window frames, to historic mortars and all sorts of specialized products. It’s remarkable that industry trends and preferences in this part of the world have made it possible for such businesses to come into being and sustain themselves…hopefully we can learn some lessons (in the Indian context) to allow tradespeople specializing in traditional techniques to make money..although just like here, the impetus will first have to come from the demand for such type of work In India.
The other conference was a one-day affair on Friday, organized by the North-East chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology (APT-NE) and was held at the Boston Architectural College in Back Bay. I actually really enjoyed the conference, except for the one session after lunch when it was very difficult to keep my eyes open, not least because the presentation was boring..but cause I was so stuffed on the cookies! Anyways a quick synopsis would be that the theme of the conf. was Glass (used architecturally of course). Open-ended as that may sound, the lectures were rather delightfully focused - either on a particular project or technology. The keynote speaker, partner at a local structural engg. firm, talked about the infamous John Hancock Tower and the problems it underwent in the 1960’s and 70’s, when regular storms would leave many of the installed glass panels flying out onto the street, making the area a nightmare for the local police to cordon off and patrol and causing much embarrassment to the celebrity architects of the building. In the ensuing scrutiny, a number of other material and structural problems were discovered with the building and thereafter fixed. Most interesting was that even today, a rigorous maintenance schedule exists for the tower, glass panels frequently develop cracks and are immediately replaced, rather secretly at that, to avoid attracting too much attention. No wonder many local Bostonians remain very skeptical about walking too close to the Building, especially on windy days!!
The other lectures talked about ---an abandoned 19th century glassworks factory in the Berkshires, MA (fascinating details about how glass was blown, then rolled into sheets, given texture and tinted with hues), restoration of stained glass in a historic church that was destroyed in a fire, restoration of the Hoboken terminal in NY, the new design involving glass panels at the Fogg Museum at Harvard, and another townhouse project in Manhattan involving the first fully cantilevered glass staircase. Highlight of the day was a trip to something called the ‘Mapparium’ – a hitherto undiscovered destination in Boston that I was glad to get a free ticket to visit during lunch. It is apparently the biggest stained glass sphere in the world and they have a neat sound and light show. The conference ended with a reception at yet another beautiful historic building in back bay---the Ayer Mansion, a 19th century house with magnificent stained glass windows, and middle-east-inspired tile/inlay work in the interiors. All in all, it was a day well spent—especially since after trying to for the past year, me and Abhi finally went to the Frog Pond (ice-skating) rink in Boston in the evening, skated (or rather tried to!) in freezing temperatures for two hours and skidded and swooshed across the ice unabashedly – better late than never though!