What do Architects think on rainy days?

A full-size replica of Villa Savoye sunk in a Danish fjord as a part of an art festival and commentary on the sunken hopes of modernists. Ah…

Do you know what an Architect thinks about on a rainy day? Well, it is probably the same thing a good contractor thinks about: did my building leak?

A lot of famous architecture is infamous for just that: leaking. Villa Savoye, a modernist mecca designed by Le Corbusier, had some issues:

“Mrs. Savoye said that her home was uninhabitable and threatened to sue Le Corbusier unless he fixed all the problems. “It rains in the entrance and foyer, and the garage wall is soaking wet. It also rains in my bathroom, which floods in bad weather because water leaks through the skylight,” Savoye wrote to the Architect.”

Since then, a specialized trade has emerged: waterproofing consultants. Large and important projects always have a waterproofing consultant on board because their fees are worth minimizing the risks. A consultant like this is particularly recommended if you want to build an architectural masterpiece (looking at you, Corbu)!

Rainy days are sooner or later followed by sunshine. A few weeks ago, we were lucky to catch some sun during the Vernal Equinox. For most people, Equinox means the beginning of spring. For us architecture nerds, it's a prime opportunity to play with sun angles.

Here we are, marking the vernal Equinox by catching the exact time the length of our shadows equals our heights (which, for those of you who slept through geometry lessons, means the sun angle is 45 degrees!) Knowing the direction and angle of the sun at any given time lets us design sun-aware buildings that work with the local climate. Want to know how? Ask us!

Yevgenia and Lidia playing with shadows in Carmel at a strategy retreat generously hosted by our mentor.