for Brian: some new row houses that totally fuck with the paradigm, both facade-wise (narrower) and interior-wise (divided horizontally into duplexes):
“thin flats” in philadelphia.

something that’s also always fascinated me about siding (wood or vinyl) is that by changing the size of the visible siding pieces, you can change the apparent scale of the building: the larger the pieces are, the smaller the building will seem (and the converse). This is the same for any texture or pattern on a building or inside a space: we (instinctively?) read a smaller-scale pattern as being farther away.

why? the same-size pattern at a greater distance would appear smaller. so… of two same-size buildings at the same distance from us, the one with a smaller pattern will seem to be farther away — and thus larger.

this is the secret strategy behind using tiny little tiles to make floors in small bathrooms, and also part of the reason why acoustical ceiling panels, with their large shapes and bold dividing lines, always make even huge or high spaces look small and low (e.g. the Providence train station, which has a tall dome, but has no feeling of spaciousness: because someone lined the inside of the dome with acoustical ceiling panels!!!!)

it’s interesting to compare baltimore/phila/brooklyn, where the siding is much more of a color/texture identification of the rowhouses’ flat fronts, and providence/worcester/(any new england factory town), where the siders had more odd protrusions, mansard roofs, gabled windows, etc. to deal with (and often smoothed them over or cut them off…)

I have yet to take any pictures of the buildings I was/am thinking about re. vinyl siding as sculptural simplifier. but to tide you over till that happens, here’s a link to a just-read BLDB BLOG post with references to many artists who make composite images of cities/buildings etc. Adam, I think you might especially like these “model homes”, the image manipulation is not always the smoothest, but the ideas and the atmospheres are totally up yr alley: isabelle hayeur: “maisons modeles”.

how did the RI power lines photo project go? if anything comes out of it, I want to see it!

okay, now ends the longest, dorkiest comment ever.

That’s part of what is so striking when a new townhouse is built on the footprint of one of these individual buildings- their continuity of form, differentiated only by various vinyl sidings and shingles, is disrupted by a taller, slicker concrete…interjection?