The Salsarchitect

Jenga? – 56 Leonard Street

salsarchitect — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:01:37 +0000

56 Leonard Street is an interesting high-rise concept I stumbled across on Archidose (I really enjoy this blog for its content and clarity. Until I branch out and try new sources, a majority of my posts will originate from articles from here). Its concept was completed in 2008, but as per my understanding it is still going through approval stages, so I have no idea weather it will ever be built… but I’m adding my two cents anyway.

The overall design concept presents an interesting alternative/solution to the stepped high rise. Traditionally, because of code regulations, the higher you move up, the widths of the floors get smaller (think Empire State Building but on a smaller scale). If you look close enough we see this here. I have mixed feelings towards their approach. In the editor’s post here he suggests that this building is successful on the street scale but not on the city scale. I agree to a certain extent. At the street scale, imagine if this building was only 20 stories instead of 60… Although a drastic reduction in scale to the original idea, I believe the concept of stacked residencies would be better experienced by the individual if the scale can be internalized on the street level. What would be novel at 20 floors, intentionally askew stacked boxes, becomes too random and repetitive and ultimately removes that sense of “organized chaos” the architects seem to be building upon. It does remind me of Jenga blocks, but even there it falls short. The allure of Jenga is that the structure remains standing with its voids.. the more blocks you remove, the more “holes” in the structure, and the less likely it will stand. When I look at 56 Leonard Street, it looks more like a Jenga tower but instead of the blocks being removed its just poking out blocks randomly. A more powerful visual can be achieved (and probably more interesting inhabitable spaces throughout the high rise) if there were more voids, maybe of entire apartment units, throughout the building. Another solution would be to mimic the conditions at the top on the bottom or vice versa. In these concept images, the top and the bottom don’t look like they belong together, but rather like two similar projects cut in half and reassembled one on top of the other. Again, lacking the “organized chaos” appeal. Admittedly, this is intentional as the top 10 floors are unique penthouses, but I still feel they appear too different from the rest of the building.

Baila Society – “Volando”

salsarchitect — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:34:57 +0000

Sometimes, if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. At least that’s the cliche phrase that comes to mind whenever I think of this next video. As a choreographer one of the most challenging truths to confront is the realization that your vision will almost never come to fruition the way it did in your mind, because you can only really be responsible for your own movement. I have seen this piece with three couples and with one, and I really believe that this is a one-couple piece. As beautiful as the movements are, with more couples, the smallest of differences in timing and fluidity stand out. That being said, this piece is stunning. I love anything Marc Anthony, but his music is (in my opinion) better danced on one so choreographing to this song on 2 is a little risky… BUT THEY KILLED IT hahah so it really doesn’t matter. Looking at this piece over again I would even go so far as to suggest that in dancing on 2 Daniel and Ahtoy are really able to stretch the movements and utilize the entire 8 count. This adds a more dramatic quality to their performance. The dance fits the song impeccably, so much so that its almost scary. You know a great job has been done if you can say that there is not one thing you would have done differently. And I can say that. So without further adieu….

http://nuevotec.com/index.php?&title=QuickSearch+baila%20society&option=com_zoom&Itemid=38&page=view&catid=150&key=3&hit=1

Oliver Pineda

salsarchitect — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:01:04 +0000

When I think of great salsa dancers, there are many that come to mind. Every dancer has their favorites for one reason or another: styling, precision, character, energy, turn combinations, tricks, or whatever else makes them stand out from the rest. I have a few, but right now I would like to focus on one in particular – Mr. Oliver Pineda. I was searching on YouTube for some videos and I came across three that really stood out. The first video is from 2004, the second is from 2009, and the third is from 2007. Keep in mind, just by looking at the dates he has been a professional since before I even knew what a basic step was. However, these im reposting these first two videos because they are a perfect example of just how long it takes to master an art. He was already a professional in 2003, and seven years later he is still at it. Watch the 2003 video first. It’s a very good social dance. Great energy, great creativity and musicality. All things which I look for. Next, watch the 2009 video. Also a great dance, you can see how he’s improved at the professional level over the past couple of years. His turn patterns are executed smoother. His posture is more upright and as a result his tension (believe it or not) looks better. In terms of creativity, these dances are about the same, musically as well, but visually the 2009 video looks almost effortless. I will say that this effortless look runs the risk of looking almost so easy its almost devoid of that passion characteristic of salsa but that’t not an issue here. These videos serve to show that improvement is possible at ANY level. The third video is just a great video that I watch every now and again. It is of him and his partner, Luda, dancing to Hacha y Machete by Alfredo de La Fe, a song I posted on earlier.

2003: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOv1_xVkcr0

2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajVMhI747a4

2007: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHlZV0l320M

For those interested, I found a link to an interview that was done with Oliver a few years ago. It gives some interesting perspective on his background as well some of his personal advice on instructing salsa.

http://www.salsaweb.com/instructorsforum/Oliver%20Pineda’s%20Interview.htm

Portas Novas

salsarchitect — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:20:57 +0000

It was love at first sight. I am a sucker for residential architure so automatically this caught my eye. The natural light! The clean lines! The wonderful integration of spaces, materials, boundaries! If the pictures represent the house at all, I would bet it just breathes with the landscape. I wont even attempt to write an overview of this house, as the people from Interior Design Magazine already did it justice. Check out the top link for the article (with pictures) and the bottom link for a different perspective.

http://www.interiordesign.net/article/CA6715248.html

http://www.homedesignfind.com/architecture/portas-novas-by-oceanfront-paradise-by-victor-canas-architects/

Abakua

salsarchitect — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:31:27 +0000

So I rarely ever see performances from Abakua. Actually, this is the first performance from the group I’ve ever seen lol. I’ve gotten familiar with the studio through its monthy (bi-monthly?) socials. From what I’ve seen, they are a hard-core latin jazz studio. Their dancers have lots of flavor and are very unique, easy to spot on the dance floor. This performance is all shines, and it is one of my favorite shine performances of all time. Great body movement and precision, fluid but sharp movements and whatever else they lack is more than made up for by an abundance of personality.

http://mambonyc.com/category/teams/abakua

Split Level House (Qb Architects, Philadelphia)

salsarchitect — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:55:04 +0000

Those of you who know me know Philadelphia is a place near and dear to my heart. I basically lived in University City for 4 years, I started dancing salsa there, started studying architecture there and met some of the most important people in my life today there. My introduction to residential architecture also occurred in Philadelphia via studies of the rowhouse, a staple of Philadelphia architecture. As a studio project, we designed a rowhouse for a specific lot in West Philadelphia with the intention of bringing “new and affordable architecture into the community. 2 to 3 stories, paying respect to the preexisting architectural integrity of the neighborhood, and taking an attitude to the treatment of the corner were some of the the things we were asked to consider.

THE HOUSE: http://www.archidose.org/Feb10/15/dose.html

In lieu of length, I wont go into as much deatil about the house as the guys at archidose because they have already done a stellar job (w/pics and everything!). I will however throw a few cents in. Definitely check the pics out ’cause they’re what my comments are based on.

What’s poppin’:

The voids in the facade – vertical, horizontal, 3-dimensional. Very creative and is a refreshing break from the cookie-cutter alignment of doors and windows seen almost everywhere. There is a great balance between whats obscure and whats transparent, and the mass of the facade enables those types of voids to be created while further mainting this balance.
The spatial organization of the house. taking advantage of the L-shaped corner lot, Qb decided to abandon the traditional rowhouse layout (with the stair straight and along one of the walls) and moved the stair to the middle of the space. Good call, definitely changes the dynamic of the interior layout.
The use of in-between levels to separate spaces (instead ofjust a slab with plenty of interior walls). Again, it further opens the space up. Interestingly, this vertical division also changes the way the house deals with privacy. Each floor becomes its own space, rooms and walls arent necessary. Pretty cool.
The interior is (huge ground-breaking architectural observation coming up —–>) fly. Im a sucker for minimal design and this has my name written all over it.

What’s not:

The facade color. While I get the use of wood and grey brick as an aesthetic element, the slate-grey brick makes an already different look stand out like a sore thumb. It’s too much of a difference and throws off the visual rhythm characteristic of the rowhouse.
The rounded corner. I get the idea, but something about it seems super cliche. While it’s definitely visually pleasing, ehhh… doesn’t make my socks roll up and down. I think the overhang created by the setback of the entrance works, but the curve of the facade prevents that void to have the same effect as its counterparts because it changes the “boxy” edge condition present in the others. I get it though. *Shoulder shrug*

That’s about it. Overall, I like it, otherwise it wouldn’t have been posted!

Unhappy Hipsters

salsarchitect — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:27:02 +0000

Finally, something architectural. I found this on a blog which I’ll refer to later because I really don’t feel like linking it lol. Yes, I just ate and I believe my laziness is at its peak for the day… any way, according to the blog which won’t be sited now, this web page “lightly critiques both the architecture, the inhabitants and the means of expression Dwell uses to convey their particular “brand” of neo-modern residential design.”

Yeah, what he said. I thoroughly enjoyed it, got a few chuckles in and by the end was smiling ear to ear. But maybe thats ‘cuz im an architecture nerd. Either way, I’d say its pretty poppin.

http://unhappyhipsters.com

Photo credits go to Dwell, also an architecture website/magazine. Not the blog though! Check it out if you like.

Edit: http://archidose.blogspot.com/ <— the aforementioned blog

A Salsa Story

salsarchitect — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:38:23 +0000

So Allan from Nuevotec sent me this story. It’s enjoyable because I think that many dancers can relate to his story. I plan to show this to a few people who have expressed similar sentiments to me when I recommended they take salsa. This is just further proof to me that anyone can learn. Why not? Give it a try.

Story: http://www.salsaadventures.com/2010/02/13/hello-world/

Music Monday

salsarchitect — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:47:55 +0000

Wassup yall. Taking cues from Twitter, I want to try a “Music Monday” Post (LOL even though its being posted on Tuesday). I’ll start with one of my favorite songs of all time – Alfredo de La Fe’s “Hacha Y Machete”. As a dancer, I believe that it is very important to know your preferred type of music. Especially with regards to a genre such as Salsa. There are so many different styles and artists that there is literally something for everyone, and I believe that once you find that style that resonates you will begin to notice a change to how you dance to songs of that nature. More comfortable, more controlled, more fluid… the song puts you in a place where you can let your mind go and your body take over… anyway, this song is a truly amazing song. Its classy, smooth, dynamic, and extremely unique in the phrases it offers. There are so many ways to dance this song! I choreographed to it, u can find it on Nuevotec, but the original choreography that inspired me is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYaD_G0bb38 . I’ll find a way to post a link of the actual song, but until then enjoy this video. Note! this version is live, and Alfredo actually freestyles staccato (plucking the strings instead of playing with the bow) over his own track. Fire. The end is also not part of the original piece but hey… when you have the artist playing the song on stage with you, it’s kind of a big deal. Enjoy.

salsarchitect — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:48:52 +0000

Dang. I need to move to where THEY are. Pronto. IMHO, groups outside of the states dance with a precision that is unparalleled anywhere else.

link: http://vimeo.com/7365090