Architecture

The Ranch

AKA: American ranch, California ranch, the rambler, the rancher

You know a Ranch style home when you see it: low to the ground, open layout. It feels a little like it belongs post-war and a little like you’re in a western. It looks both secluded, laid back and ready for a party. Its origin can be traced to Spanish colonial architecture in the 17th to 19th century, with the single stories, large porches, and U-shaped floor plans common to the Southwestern United States. The simplicity of the ranch home led to a revival in the late 1990s, primarily as younger buyers saw that they could afford a lovely home in then-neglected neighborhoods like Lakewood in Long Beach, or aging populations wanted an easy to navigate home with few or no stairs

As we delve further into Cinco de Mayo to gain a better understanding - remember, it isn’t their St Patrick’s Day, nor is it Mexico’s Independence Day - it’s interesting to look at Mexican architecture, and how it’s been affected by outside forces through the years. If The Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 had gone another way, we may have found more French influence in their architectural history.

• If you look closely at the main cities in Mexico, you can understand their history through the Spanish Colonial derivatives. Seriously. Try it.

• The Mayans’ taste in architecture brought many wondrous shapes and structures into the world around 100 AD, namely: Teotihuacan (the "Place of the Gods"), where the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the Pyramid

With news of Zaha Hadid Architects finishing their first project in New York plus their appointment to design a new Mumbai international airport, it seemed fitting to watch Alex Yentob’s 2013 documentary on her life and works, Zaha Hadid, Who Dares Wins.

It's always easy to look back on someone's life and say with confidence, Of course, they were going to succeed. Look at all of their promise at a young age, all of their talent. But hundreds or even thousands of talented people don't become industry superstars, and it's hard to understand the struggles they encountered after watching them win awards for their life's work.

While revisiting her biography for another Nook article last summer, I was surprised to learn that her designs weren't built

Zaha Hadid knew her place in the architectural community, in that she had no place. Hadid was her own force, creatively and as a leader of Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA). She understood that she “dangled,” in her own words, on the edges of the accepted, of the establishment. “Irrepressible, a force of nature,” is how Patrik Shumacher, senior partner at ZHA, describes her. Hadid was a living force of the very landscapes and shapes she incorporated into her work, completing 55 projects across the globe at the time of her 2016 death of a heart attack. Zaha Hadid Architects had no reason to believe their muse and leader would not be with them many more years, and now have the daunting task of 45 more projects to complete in her name, to ultimately honor her