The shutdown of Yahoo Answers is no longer news for sure. Nonetheless, should you have chosen the heights of Ararat as your last lockdown destination, we once more confirm: on May 4, the most relevant cultural diversion from your past years is going offline for good. Born naïve in the age of the Internet of Naivety, when Facebook was little more than a bothersome disciplinary issue for the Dean’s office at Harvard, when an MSN Messenger status the sole small stage for one’s intellectual attitudes, when the internet was perceived as the promised land of a future democratic equality, Answers was the place wheere anyone could ask anything, and anyone else could answer with (almost) anything. And the thing has remained the same, for 16 years. The lifetime of Yahoo Answers, by the way, has also covered the years when some alarming kind of evolution has affected the meaning of terms such as counterculture or counterinformation, mainly implicating a delegitimisation of established media. Could architecture and design, perceived as they were (and they are) as the Olympus of self-referential snobbery, escape the destructive wave of bottom-up anti-elitist narratives and actions?
The pains of the young internet. Design dilemmas from the Yahoo Answers era
As the life of the legendary q&a website comes to an end, Domus bids farewell to what in a sense could be considered as an epistemological competitor.
Fundamentals.
Fundamentals.
Hisctoricism.
State of the art.
Why are architects’ solutions often beautiful but hardly functional?
Edges all over the place, spiral staircases with no railings, skylights above your bed waking you uo at dawn, bath tubs in the middle of bedrooms with just a glass wall and no curtains, amazing ultramodern kitchens with no dish drainer . Why anything really necessary has always to be sacrificed?
Because they’re not payed to “be functional”. That’s for engineers.
Lucky enough when they remember to put stairs.
Beautiful solutions are great promotion for their work.
Functionality is not their business, they don’t actually live in the places they design.
A cross-cultural reader.
Which book do you recommend on Modigliani, Le Corbusier and similar to Coelho/Volo?
Hi everyone!!
It soon will be my firend’s birthday, she’s fond of Modigliani and Le Corbusier, I thought I could gift her a book on one of these two artists. Which one do you recommend? All suggestions are welcome. Anyway, I also wanted to tell you that I would prefer some novel-like book, so that reading the whole thing about these two geniuses can become funny and engaging.
Otherwise, any title similar to those by (Paulo) Coelho or Fabio Volo (Italian writer) ?? To make it simple: that kinda books that teach you something, those that make you think , because my friend also like this genre, a lot.
I recommend The Modigliani scandal by Ken Follett it is a mystery book, but not with murders or stuff like that. I’ll write down the plot for you.
Life choices and profession.
What kind of job do architects do?
I’m attending Architecture school, this is my third year.
Architects designs houses, churches, squares, streets, or simply furniture and many other things. Most of all, they also study individuals and the target, approaching the sociological aspect. Sometimes they also do furniture and design.
It’s a very challenging yet fascinating school.
Fundamentals.
In 2010, the LifeGate circuit invited to post this question all across Yahoo Answers, to raise awareness on environmental issues, in a sincere attempt to make sustainability go viral.
Human beings are getting “heavier and heavier” for the planet, polluting, releasing CO2 emissions, producing waste. What do you do to be a little bit “lighter”?
Do you know that:
- more than 80% of C02 emissions in the world come from energy supplies? Have you considered using renewable energy sources? Do you know how to do it?
- 30% of CO2 emissions can be cut by recycling glass waste, up to 85% by recycling aluminum: do you care about recycling?
- 1 km by train: 35 g CO2; by car: 150 g; by bike: 0.
Design advice. My walls are chocolate and cream, what colour should my curtains be? If you want your space to be bright, light-coloured curtains, possibly cream as well. Otherwise, to create contrast, I’d use swamp green. Strawberry and Lemon.
Design advice.
Your opinion on this furniture I want to put in my studio-room?
They go on two confronting walls, plus a desk in the base color.
Update:
The second is basically a library, most of all.
Update2:
The cupboards have a shelf inside dividing them in two.
furniture height about 2.30 m
width about 2.80 and 1.40
desk legth 2 m
Update3:
you see the two shelves low in the first bookcase? The one on the right is for a modem
Update 4:
Iceman, the second furniture set is basically a bookcase
Considering the first only, it’s 8 ( spaces?) and one will host the modem
Update5:
Philosopher, the point would also be to create a very cheerful room.
Design advice.
Do you think my house is beautiful?
there is the picture of the interiors, two bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen/living.
I will post the picture of the exterior in the answers…you will see the entrance and the windows of of Kitchen/living and the two bedrooms, circled in red.
Update:
my parent’s room is the one with the walls painted in fuscia, they bought a new closet at Ikea, with sliding mirrored doors.
It shows a classic apartment structure, it’s beautiful, welcoming, and furnihshed with a certain style. The mirrored closet is truly divine, and the single bedroom is beautiful, if it’s yours I would customize it with some picture on the wall or stuff like that.
Building advice.
How much would it cost to raise my house, one more floor…?
All permissions and conditions are ok….how much would it cost to raise, build walls and a roof of about 100 sqm? I’m talking about raw (structure) and how much would it cost once completed (light, gas, water supplies etc) .. starting from a flat walk-in roof .
Too much, better give up….
Building matters.
Of life choices and profession.
Design advice.
What color should I paint my room?
Furniture is aqua green and beige ... I can’t make up my mind between old rose, deep lilac or purple, with a darker tone on one wall. Do you have any other ideas?
I had a bridesmaid gown, aqua green and old rose, it was Saint Laurent. I think this two colors together are perfect.
I suggest a charcoal grey. I used to drive a car that color.
Design advice.
House orientation: is this ok?
I’d like to rent a flat with oriented this way. In your opinion, it’s a good or bad orientation? Keep in mind, it is already aligned with the compass. I don’t want a house where the rooms never get any light.
Service design. Shazam before Shazam
Guys can you tell me the title of this song?
..it’s a song form the 90s, the chorus does: “PIROPPOPPOROPO” xDDD..thanks a lot
It’s called I’m a scatman (Scatman John), there’s also a video of the movie byeeee
Fundamentals.
View Article details
- Giovanni Comoglio
- 19 April 2021
“Architectural History as we know it is biased on the social plane. amount to little more than a who’s who of architects who commemorated Power and wealth; an anthology of building of by, and for the privileged (...) with never a word about the houses of lesser people. (...) Architecture Without Architects attempts to break down our narrow concepts of the art of building by introducing the unfamiliar word of non-pedigreed architecture.”
This is what Bernard Rudofsky wrote in 1964, as a preface to his seminal book celebrating all “spontaneous”, unbranded forms of built expression, after a long season of textbook historicism and in the full heat of late Modern debate. Yahoo Answers came along in the wake of some intense seasons as well, in different fields. One of these was the starchitects’ season. The Answers discourse has told us about a consequent delegitimisation of all figures connected to the ideation and production of space, to design, to anything reflection or qualified debate; the choice of interior decoration, of wall painting, of building a house or not, could be no longer entrusted to a designer, but to the whole internet instead. The same happened to questions concerning sustainability, services, professional or slightly existential questions. And so it went for 16 years.
As it was clearly anticipated, the story is not so exciting, spoiled as it was since the beginning. Elites have basically remained the same, social classes still stand where they used to, the effort to make the design discourse more inclusive and comprehensible remains as engaging as it used to be. Still, little time is left to go and admire a __ ruin of the internet, the one to challenge for a while a not-refined-enough Google search, a not-yet-existing Shazam — it happened, evidences are still online — or whoever could be entitled to develop a design project.
So long, Yahoo Answers, Domus salutes your experience by sharing some of your best q&a, starting from this fundamental question:
Why are architects’ solutions often beautiful but hardly functional?
Edges all over the place, spiral staircases with no railings, skylights above your bed waking you uo at dawn, bath tubs in the middle of bedrooms with just a glass wall and no curtains, amazing ultramodern kitchens with no dish drainer . Why anything really necessary has always to be sacrificed? Because they’re not payed to “be functional”. That’s for engineers. Lucky enough when they remember to put stairs. Beautiful solutions are great promotion for their work. Functionality is not their business, they don’t actually live in the places they design.
It soon will be my firend’s birthday, she’s fond of Modigliani and Le Corbusier, I thought I could gift her a book on one of these two artists. Which one do you recommend? All suggestions are welcome. Anyway, I also wanted to tell you that I would prefer some novel-like book, so that reading the whole thing about these two geniuses can become funny and engaging.
Otherwise, any title similar to those by (Paulo) Coelho or Fabio Volo (Italian writer) ?? To make it simple: that kinda books that teach you something, those that make you think , because my friend also like this genre, a lot. I recommend The Modigliani scandal by Ken Follett it is a mystery book, but not with murders or stuff like that. I’ll write down the plot for you.
What kind of job do architects do?
I’m attending Architecture school, this is my third year.
Architects designs houses, churches, squares, streets, or simply furniture and many other things. Most of all, they also study individuals and the target, approaching the sociological aspect. Sometimes they also do furniture and design.
It’s a very challenging yet fascinating school.
- more than 80% of C02 emissions in the world come from energy supplies? Have you considered using renewable energy sources? Do you know how to do it?
- 30% of CO2 emissions can be cut by recycling glass waste, up to 85% by recycling aluminum: do you care about recycling?
- 1 km by train: 35 g CO2; by car: 150 g; by bike: 0.
Your opinion on this furniture I want to put in my studio-room? They go on two confronting walls, plus a desk in the base color. Update: The second is basically a library, most of all. Update2: The cupboards have a shelf inside dividing them in two. furniture height about 2.30 m width about 2.80 and 1.40 desk legth 2 m Update3: you see the two shelves low in the first bookcase? The one on the right is for a modem Update 4: Iceman, the second furniture set is basically a bookcase Considering the first only, it’s 8 ( spaces?) and one will host the modem Update5: Philosopher, the point would also be to create a very cheerful room.
Do you think my house is beautiful?
there is the picture of the interiors, two bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen/living.
I will post the picture of the exterior in the answers…you will see the entrance and the windows of of Kitchen/living and the two bedrooms, circled in red.
Update:
my parent’s room is the one with the walls painted in fuscia, they bought a new closet at Ikea, with sliding mirrored doors.
It shows a classic apartment structure, it’s beautiful, welcoming, and furnihshed with a certain style. The mirrored closet is truly divine, and the single bedroom is beautiful, if it’s yours I would customize it with some picture on the wall or stuff like that.
How much would it cost to raise my house, one more floor…?
All permissions and conditions are ok….how much would it cost to raise, build walls and a roof of about 100 sqm? I’m talking about raw (structure) and how much would it cost once completed (light, gas, water supplies etc) .. starting from a flat walk-in roof . Too much, better give up….
Furniture is aqua green and beige ... I can’t make up my mind between old rose, deep lilac or purple, with a darker tone on one wall. Do you have any other ideas? I had a bridesmaid gown, aqua green and old rose, it was Saint Laurent. I think this two colors together are perfect. I suggest a charcoal grey. I used to drive a car that color.
House orientation: is this ok?
I’d like to rent a flat with oriented this way. In your opinion, it’s a good or bad orientation? Keep in mind, it is already aligned with the compass. I don’t want a house where the rooms never get any light.
Guys can you tell me the title of this song? ..it’s a song form the 90s, the chorus does: “PIROPPOPPOROPO” xDDD..thanks a lot It’s called I’m a scatman (Scatman John), there’s also a video of the movie byeeee