In the September/October Yankee magazine Ian Aldrich writes about all that is eroding in Nantucket. While the sea devours beachfront property, stakeholders squabble about a solution. The latest proposal put forth by the Siasconset Beach Preservation Fund (which would also foot the bill) is “a $20 million beach-nourishment project that would dredge the equivalent of some 200,000 dumptruck loads of ocean sand and pump it onshore to build out ‘Sconset Beach.” Many object to the proposal, including the local fishing community whose livelihoods could be put at risk by it. “…The exact degree of opposition to the proposed nourishment project was revealed, when voters came out overwhelmingly against it, 2,986 to 483, in a non-binding ballot vote...” writes Aldrich.

It’s an intriguing article beautifully illustrated by Dana Smith’s distressed photographs. Smith says in a contributor’s note, “…I have a fascination with the physical decay and decomposition of images... When Yankee brought this story to me, I immediately thought the look and feel would be perfect for the subject, especially since erosion is just another form of breakdown.” I wish Yankee had included a little more about Smith’s process. In any case, the images share an exquisite, aged, worn patina.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Salem, Massachusetts has a lot to offer besides witch kitsch. The National Park Service is doing their part to turn attention to Salem’s unique maritime and architectural history. They’ve acquired the 1770 Pedrick Store House from Marblehead and are reconstructing it on Salem’s Derby Wharf. They’ve sited it near the Friendship (the replica eighteenth century trader ship) so that once construction is complete, the two-story, timber-frame building and neighboring ship will suggest the way the wharf looked back in its heyday.

Thus far, the Store House foundation sills and deck pilings are in place. Several structural bents have been assembled, though not yet installed; they lie temporarily atop the foundation in the photo above. A free, public demonstration of traditional timber framing techniques was scheduled to be held at the Wharf yesterday, but was cancelled due to the stormy weather. Visit the National Park Service website to find out when it will be rescheduled. If you can’t make the demonstration, drop by anytime this fall to check on the status of the reconstruction. It’s a great alternative cultural activity for those daunted by Haunted Happenings.

In The Wall Street Journal Dominique Browning interviews John Maeda, the soon-to-be-inaugurated President of the Rhode Island School of Design, my alma mater. Maeda’s an inspiring forty-two-year-old designer, artist, computer scientist, educator, author, thinker, mover-and-shaker. I’m thrilled for him to take the lead at RISD. He tells Browning, “I love to learn.” Bravo. He also amusingly relates MIT (where he worked for more than a decade) to RISD saying, “RISD is MIT for the right brain.” Speaking of the brain, you might be interested in the twofer post that I wrote about Maeda's book, The Laws of Simplicity, and My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.

WSJ story link by way of Design Observer

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast