4D Design

DEATH BY DRYWALL Season 2, Episode 4 A podcast about architecture, materials, and the buildings we actually live inside.   Episode Summary Drywall is everywhere. It's in almost every wall of every home built in America in the last 60 years. But how did it get there — and is it actually the best we can do? This episode traces the full arc of drywall's history: from the pre-industrial craft of lath...

Today we dive into the world of how we build and why.  And why are we all getting so sick? It's time to look at our building envelope the same way we look at food labels - we are being poisoned while we work and sleep. This is a re-presentation of a talk given at CIRSx in Phoenix / Tempe in June 2025. Original Slides Here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j7zhgh0q4ctkkwormt3mf/CIRSX_Magis.pdf?rlkey=...

Powerpoint Lecture - The Future is Fractal (SLIDES) https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6r0gh59jfcxpwah7njmyv/CEU1_THE-FUTURE-IS-FRACTAL_Star-Tile-ICFF.pdf?rlkey=4t74xey38eu1nzh3c7ep6p7hy&st=a5nzagd0&dl=0   https://www.interaliamag.org/articles/fractal-patterns-in-nature-and-art-are-aesthetically-pleasing-and-stress-reducing/ https://www.unmpress.com/9780826352026/fractal-architecture/ African Fractals...

  EPISODE 25 - ORNAMENT Ornament has always had an important meta function within the human psyche. It has been "outlawed" for the past 100 years.   RESOURCE LINKS https://www.gadarchitecture.com/en/ornament-in-architecture https://www.artforum.com/features/louis-sullivans-ornament-209337/ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1354067x13515937?journalCode=capa https://medium.com/the-thinkin...

EPISODE 24 - HOW TO BUY PAINT   Take ALL the Paint Chips!  Do not be shy - take them all and I mean all of them Paint Decks - Good option if you're serious about color   Paint Brands - what is available in your area?   https://www.lifestoryresearch.com/2024-best-paint-ranking-review   Sheen - This is a huge decision.  When in doubt choose Matte https://www.houselogic.com/remodel/painting-lighting/...

An assortment of resources / stories about Paint.   https://www.earthdate.org/episodes/the-colorful-history-of-paint History of Pigments - they all have a specific time period Can look at the history of art through pigments   Basically people always paint if they can!   https://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/intro/history.html#google_vignette   Things not always good for you! (or even will kill you...

Choosing color shouldn't cause a panic - it can be a fun adventure, and it just requires meticulous attention to bring any beautiful color range into your design.  Today's episode gives you professional advice for choosing colors and constructing palettes.  The next 2 episodes will be all about paint and how to work with paint chips! Pro Tips (Summary) 1. Broad Categories - Color is not just one t...

Do you ever treat rooms in your house differently because you know that guests will be coming over?  What do you change about the rooms and why? Today's talk is an exploration of the psychology (and physical reality check!) behind designing spaces in our own home for Guests, either real / specific or imagined.      AK links: Four D Design - Holistic Design www.fourddesign.com Star Tile - Multidime...

People often ask about Feng Shui - and though I know a little about it I did a slightly deeper dive this week and am giving my report! It's an ancient system of design which is both practical and mystical, concerned with the flow of energy and balancing elements in all of our spaces for optimum health and success.  Some people think it makes no sense but others see it as a non-negotiable way of li...

Today's episode is an introduction to minimalism and the concept of styles being influenced by everything that came before it - that design can be a reaction to the previous generation, and minimalism can be seen as a response to excess consumption or decoration. We'll look at the origins of Minimalism, its current place in popular culture, and see it through different lenses.  Below are a few lin...

Here are a few links about the number 8 and its significance / meaning.    https://www.britannica.com/topic/number-symbolism/7 https://eyeofra.blog/2018/12/02/sacred-geometry-numbers-101/   GENERAL THEMES Eternity - perfection / balance Wealth Reaching towards the Divine   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rub_el_Hizb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_Ishtar   Lucky Number 8: The Symbol of Prosper...

Both the hexagon and the Merkaba symbolize the number 6. It is the first perfect number, meaning that 6 is both the sum and product of its factors: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6          1 X 2 X 3 = 6 https://www.britannica.com/science/perfect-number The number 6 is the symbol of the Law of Correspondence, i.e. as above so below. In other words, it is the equilibrium between the microcosm and the macrocosm which...

Some further basic reading on the properties of the number 4 and the square.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ https://geo-numerology.com/the-number-4-numerology-geometry-and-psychology https://www.ganeshaspeaks.com/numerology/life-path-numbers/life-path-number-4/ https://geo-numerology.com/square-symbolism In Buddhism, the square reflects the 4 sacred truths. The square is often associated and dep...

Today's episode looks at the history of the "Architect" in the modern sense and the decisions made along the way that created a divide between the people who use buildings and the people who design them. Architects are notorious for having their own language, with some words that are necessary and some that are not.  This episode takes the entire issue apart piece by piece, and ultimately proposes...

Design is intimately linked to the workings of your sympathetic and parasympathic nervous system.  I hope for a world in which we all understand how buildings can serve as a powerful tool to help us be the most powerful and healthy versions of ourselves. Even simple steps can have a huge and lasting effect.    Some resources mentioned in the podcast: Color Temperature: https://www.westinghouseligh...

EVERYONE can learn design thinking.   I know this as a fact, being a professor of design - the steps are simple and it just takes an interest in the field and a willingness to learn.   Classes start soon at 4D Design: In-person workshops in the Joshua Tree area and virtual classes coming soon! www.fourddesign.com/classes  

What is design thinking?   Simply put, "design thinking is a methodology that we use to solve complex problems, and it's a way of using systemic reasoning and intuition to explore ideal future states,"  https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-design-thinking   What's important is that IT IS A SYSTEM - meaning simple principles can be learned, and then it's just putti...

General Info: (Everyone has Cognitive Biases!) https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/cognitive-bias/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases   LISTS OF COGNITIVE BIASES + LOGICAL FALLACIES: Cognitive Bias Codex https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Cognitive_Bias_Codex_-_180%2B_biases%2C_designed_by_John_Manoogian_III_%28jm3%29.jpg https://www.designhacks.co/ Critical...

I'm inviting you to take a look at your home design through the lens of your core values - to see if you are supported in being exactly who you were born to be. Even small shifts in furniture arrangements, art, space for specific activities can give you the feeling that your home is supporting you AS IT IS MEANT TO DO.  Done properly, our home can be a battery pack that constantly encourages and r...

The big secret:  you don't need to know how to draw to enter the design world!  Today I'm telling personal stories of not knowing how to draw at all, having no art background, and how I finally found my footing and skills in the world of Architecture.  I also explain what is important in design drawings, and what different types of drawings exist in the world.   Drawing is a truly a skill that can...

Repetition is one of the most basic design principles, but it's also one of the most versatile.  Repeating elements can make you feel safe, they can firmly establish brand identity, they can be ridiculous and humorous - or they can make you want to join the party! Come see how repetition affects our human minds, which crave a certain degree of conformity but reject it when it's too much.    Some l...

Symmetry is one of the most common, primal and powerful ordering systems available to us in the world of Design. My intention is to take you through the basic concepts that you would be taught in architecture school, minus the late nights, fluorescent lighting and bad coffee!   It all has its origins in Biology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetry_in_biology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilate...

Why are some people afraid of the number 13 and what does it really represent?  This episode is a quick look at superstitions, traditions and various interpretations of this prime + fibonacci number.  It's supposed to be unlucky but is also baked into the graphics for the United States government?  It also corresponds to the moon and the octave in music, Death in the tarot. Let's explore - next we...

  Here are a bunch of links about the Fibonacci Series - the amount of information online is close to endless. Some of these are quite basic and some are more advanced.     Enjoy! What are Fibonacci Numbers? https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/fibonacci-sequence.html How to Visualize This https://math.temple.edu/~reich/Fib/fibo.html How the Phi Ratio works in Nature https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbe...

What is a style?  How are they made and how do they evolve? We'll take a look at the concept of style through the lens of architecture, food and fashion, and end with a discussion of sustainability and whether architectural style should be International at all.   Links: https://www.archdaily.com/906063/modernism-the-international-style-that-wasnt https://www.design59furniture.com/blogs/interiordes...