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michaellangford
Category Archives: architecture
vernacular architecture
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE & THE DESIGN OF HOUSES “If it is asserted that civilization is a real advance in the condition of man – and I think that it is, though only the wise improve their advantages – it must be … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, carpentry, traditional building, woodworking
4 Comments
Loyalty , Ethics and Reason
He settled on the inner ash wood sill, leaning against the doorjamb–cypress timber the skilled carpenter planed years ago and set up with a plumb line. Contrary to the attribution in the drawing, that quote is actually from the Odyssey. … Continue reading
Posted in architecture
2 Comments
Ockham’s Eraser
“As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.” Albert Einstein Last week, I opened an e-mail from our public library, … Continue reading
Tolerance and Precision
Lufkin…Starrett…Brown & Sharpe…The Holy Trinity Skeat: … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, boatbuilding, carpentry, traditional building, woodworking
3 Comments
blue sky
The Russian Bantry Bay Gig, Penetanguishene, 1994 If you can find a copy of Barns, Beams, and Boats online, it is the foundation story behind this boat. Lance Lee, fresh out of the Marine Corps. in the 60’s, went to … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, boatbuilding, traditional building, woodworking
2 Comments
Never and Always
Winding sticks on a board, preparing stock. Mind the gap. This is the first start-to-finish benchwork project for me in several years, salvaged Asian mahogany from a pallet. After sorting out most of the embedded gravel, nails, and broken drywall … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, carpentry, traditional building, woodworking
Tagged Apprenticeship, Architecture, Timber framing, woodworking
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Remarkable
Wendell Berry, in his book of essays What Are People For? (North Point Press, 1990) has a short piece titled A Remarkable Man, which is a review of All God’s Dangers. With no reason to believe that I can write a … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, education reform, woodworking
Tagged $20k house, Architecture, Rural Studio
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J L Hammond, a working history
J L Hammond and Barbara Hammond are two of the greatest historians you’ve probably never heard of. In the early years of the twentieth century, they were commissioned by the British Labor Research Department to investigate the social and economic … Continue reading
Posted in agrarian reform, architecture, food for thought, political economy
Tagged $20khouse, Agriculture, Architecture, Downton Abbey, Education
3 Comments
$20k house redux
I don’t believe it’s fair to criticize unless you can offer a better idea. If these four guys can actually build a complete house in three weeks, they are carpenters, not mere laborers. This crew is going to spend the next … Continue reading
Posted in agrarian reform, architecture, carpentry, woodworking
Tagged $20khouse, Architecture, Capitalism
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$20k House Myth
I have been following (and believing in) Auburn University’s Rural Studio program since I saw Sam Mockbee speak here at the University of Arkansas School of Architecture in ’99 or 2000, shortly before he died. Later, the filmmakers who produced Citizen … Continue reading
Dublin Green
Some years ago…a friend of mine took up long-distance running. After training for a summer, he and a group of fellow runners entered the Dublin Marathon. During most of that time we had been building a timber frame, sharing my tools. I had … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, carpentry, food for thought, furniture, woodworking
Tagged Apprenticeship, Art, Craft
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How and Why
Actually (to clarify the last post a bit), this began much earlier, but the photos from that phase aren’t digital, and I’ll eventually have to dig them out and scan them. For now, the brick part is original and we … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, carpentry, traditional building, woodworking
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Roof Valleys
Trigonometry, once you understand the basics, is fairly easy to use. The sine curve/cosine curve model works great for electrical engineering, but isn’t very useful for building math. Really, just the ++ quadrant of a unit circle is sufficient for every … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, carpentry, traditional building, woodworking
1 Comment
Design and Workmanship
Before the “Maker Movement”, there was David Pye. If you make things, or design things, and ever feel the need to communicate about making or designing, you should read these books. In 1964, David Pye published The Nature of Design, … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, boatbuilding, carpentry, furniture, woodworking
2 Comments
Piñata of Ideas
Ever have a really good idea, and when you float it out there, someone just can’t wait to knock the stuffing out of it. Yeah! Just think of it as a piñata, a little out of reach but interesting enough … Continue reading
Learning Curves 11
Swamped Not exactly sitting pretty, I swamped and soaked myself. Even worse, I lost my balance getting aboard, and slammed my foot so hard into the bottom that it split the hull. This is the sort of thing that the … Continue reading
Rhenish Helm
This old black & white is still one of the best images I’ve come across. (pl. 15, Illustrated Glossary of Architecture 1966, Harris & Lever) There is precisely one Rhenish helm among all of England’s historic buildings, atop the tower of … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, carpentry, traditional building
Tagged Cecil Hewett, England, Glossary of architecture, Sompting
8 Comments
kid’s workbench
Anyone who wants to involve children in woodworking should consider building a good sturdy low bench to accommodate their work height. I made this workbench for the kid’s workshops I taught at the library this spring. After cutting and fitting … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, carpentry, furniture, traditional building, woodworking
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raising day
Near the end of March, 1845, I borrowed an axe and went down to the woods by Walden Pond, nearest to where I intended to build my house, and began to cut down some tall, arrowy white pines, still in … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, carpentry, traditional building
3 Comments
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