Public Transportation - Even before I went to visit UW, I already felt more at home with Seattle. This didn't have that much to do with my having visited before, but rather because I was able to look up a method from the airport to UW campus using public transportation. I heart public transportation so much.
Rob Corser - Previously at the UVa Open House, people had told me that a couple of faculty members at UW had been at UVa. Heather had had him as a professor, so she introduced me to him in order that I could ask his opinion on where to go. First he asked me what I was looking for, to which I mentioned the Eco-Mod project as something that really intrigued me. He immediately told me to go to UVa rather than UW. Strictly in terms of academics, he thinks UVa is still stronger, and it was a good idea especially if I wanted to get a faculty position later in life. However, then he started to talk about all these great things about UW, such as how well the school is integrated with the professional, urban community, and how advanced the digital fabrication technology was compared to UVa. Apparently, it is quite possible to get a faculty position with a Masters degree in conjunction with a Master in Science degree, and a PhD is not as necessary as in the sciences.
Scandinavian Study Abroad - UW-Seattle apparently has very strong Scandinavian connections. They have well established study abroad programs in Copenhagen, Oslo, and perhaps Helsinki. Other programs include Zurich, Chandigarh (India), and Japan. I chatted a bit with Frieda, their resident Danish student who was there for 9 months on the exchange program: red-haired, tall, and a cute Danish accent that many people mistake for German. She said she was afraid to ride in Seattle because it was too hilly, but that in Denmark, she rode bikes everywhere, even in heels. I complimented her culture for doing so, and wished America would hurry up and follow suit. The ability to study abroad in Copenhagen appeals, especially to research the bike path system there (complete with curbs separating them from traffic and their own traffic lights).
UVa Undergraduate??? - So I'm sitting at the opening lecture, and who sits next to me but someone who went to UVa undergrad. Chris had gotten into UC Berkeley and UW, had studied abroad and worked in Copenhagen, and is currently working in D.C. He did think that the digital fabrication capabilities, especially in metal, are more advanced at UW, and he said the shop facilities were vastly better. UW seems to care more about keeping up to date with computer programs. Both schools care a lot about craft, but UW seems to be more specific in the craft of specific kinds of material, such as wood or metal in furniture. UVa was more a general sense of precision in model making.
Model Making Comparisons - I noted seeing many ultra precise-looking models around the studios. There are many laser cutters everywhere available 24/7. UVa's models tended to be more conceptual, more about massing, and general materiality rather than showing how each and every moment joint looked, or the bolts on steel trusses. They're both precise, but I guess the level of abstraction is quite different.
Studio Spaces - UW occupies a building extant since the Seattle World Fair of 1909 whose insides were entirely remodelled. The spaces were all separate rooms with locked doors for security reasons. They were more intimate, and I found they reminded me of the studios back at UIUC. I think I preferred UVa's studio spaces, all of which were joined together with atrium spaces. It was easier to rub shoulders with various students and professors. Also, landscape architecture students even shared the same space, making it a lot easier for the school to be actually multi disciplinary, rather than just on paper.
Happy Hour - College of Built Environments has a new home with a beautiful 4 story skylit atrium space, in which they hold a biweekly happy hour. A one time fee of $12 buys a glass cup, and then the beer is free until it's gone. By happy hour, my brain was once again melting from overload, and it was great just to be able to chat with new friends. We all got dinner on Capitol Hill with a group of local Seattlites. One asked me if it were going to be possible to ever design herself a beautiful home, to which I replied that architects are generally expensive, but she should consider adaptive reuse (or remodelling an older home) since it was a) sustainable, b) more affordable, c) contained more history and character. At some point, I found myself describing team tactics in a bike race, it's really quite a mystery.
Sleeping at the Airport ??? - Originally, the idea was that I would sleep at the airport because my flight was at 6:10am, but then it just sounded too awful. The bus would have worked out in terms of time, but I wasn't sure how sketchy the areas would be while it was still pitch black outside. Since I was saving a lot of money by staying at Heather's place (on an awesome air mattress provided by her roomate, no less - thank you sooo much Jamie!), I decided to cab it around 4:15am. I wanted to sleep, but my cab driver was talkative and kept asking me about Chicago and its crime rate. Eventually, I did find myself on board the airplane speeding toward Chicago.
WHERE WILL IT BE???
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
UVa
"Never a dull moment with Red."
Red and I met on the first day of ARCH 199, and I thought he was pretty cooky. We ended up building a cardboard Le Corbusier chair for the Halloween costume competition and studying in Versailles together with 35 other ARCH classmates for 9 months. Now we've gained acceptance to the same grad program. (He's a first year there now.)
Which is why, after flying into Richmond (rather than Charlottesville) to conserve money, Ben Hartigan (another UIUC classmate who got into UVa!) and I found ourselves in Red's green Volvo in an ever darkening, winding road wondering if we were in the beginning sequence of a horror movie. It turns out we had somehow missed our exit and made our way halfway toward a little town called Waynesboro. Eventually, we did wend our way toward the Virginian for delicious burgers, but not before we were absolutely famished.
For all of Sunday, Red played gracious host. He gave us the star tour of campus, drove us through downtown Charlottesville, and up to see Monticello. He also worked Ben and me over like his life depended on it. I should mention Red can be one of the most convincing people in the world if he puts his mind to it, and he knows it. If architecture doesn't work out for him (very unlikely hypothetical situation), he should consider selling luxury European cars. Driving us up by the Blue Ridge Mountains was a smart move on his part. We drove on this road that went uphill for a good 10-20 mins, and I imagined the beautiful climbs we had on Bike and Build ...
"Southern Hospitality"
The faculty student ratio at UVa is pretty amazing. They keep the number of students small to maintain a high level of quality in instruction, and generally the faculty live in Charlottesville and have plenty of time to breathe down students backs at all hours of the day.
During open studio hours, I wanted to peek over the shoulders of one particular professor giving a desk crit to a student and listen to their interaction. When he saw me stop, Professor Peter Waldman completely stopped what he was saying, turned to me with a smile, and said, "Hello, welcome to UVa, my name is Peter Waldman. Do you have any questions?" I mumbled something about what their project program was, mortified that my seemingly sneaky peek turned into such a huge intrusion.
Later on, Renee, one of the students in Red's studio was briefly describing the monastery they were working on, when we heard a commanding voice behind us, "Show them your site model too. They don't know what you're talking about." We turned around to face W. G. Clark, the gentleman terrifying Red at the moment, and who also designed one of the two new wings of the Architecture School at UVa. We introduced ourselves as Red's friends, to which he responded, "David's friends? Oh, I am very sorry to hear that you call him your friend." For all of Red complaining about how much W.G. seemed displeased with his lack of progress, and how intimidated Red felt in his presence, Ben and I decided that it was all lies. W.G. obviously really likes Red, and he was only trying to push his design really hard. Anyways, W.G. proceeded to lead us around to Tom's desk, summoned Tom to present his project too ("Red, you don't have the requisite models enough to explain yourself properly."), finally headed over to Red's desk so we could see his project. Ben and I thought we were free, but then he lead us over to the Venice studio to have the students there talk to us too. Yikes!
"UVa really likes model building."
Oh really? Red's known for his formidable sketching abilities, but not so much for his model building. Ironically, UVa students are known for their amazing model building skills, so he's been working incredibly hard to bring himself up to speed. He's gotten really creative! He even stole one of the books lying around to make a topo model (to which W.G. expressed great displeasure). A local cabinet maker donates all their scrap wood to UVa students (W.G. "prefers" Spanish cedar over walnut). I'm not much of a solid wood type person, but I did learn to make origami before I strung together proper sentences, and model building is definitely my forte design skill so I imagine I could pick it up quickly enough. I guess they must have liked the 1/4" scale section model I made of Seattle Central Library in my portfolio.
They are also known for melding digital and hand techniques. Professor Christina Hill said they were not so much about pursuing the latest most technologically advanced method of digital representation so much as figuring out what type of representation was best for what situation. Sometimes, those technologies are necessary to show special details, but other times, concept can be most palpable from some pen drawn lines on napkins.
"Bryan Bell sighting at UVa!"
The Eco-Mod projects have undergone 3 iterations at this point, and they are working on finalizing the design documents (or was it construction?) of Eco-Mod 4 to build over the summer. In brief, it is affordable, sustainable, modulor housing designed and built by students, this year for Habitat for Humanity (<3). And who do I see but Bryan Bell, there as the reviewer for this project, right with John Quale, the professor who began the project in the first place. Surreal ...
Epilogue
By the end of yesterday, I could barely string two words together to form a coherent sentence because of the action packed open house. I was glad to be able to go back to a surprisingly comfy Ikea "sofa bed" to sleep in with a yellow skirt-clad chihuahua to welcome me and my host, Fatima, at the door. All the sudden exposure to architecture and design shocked my atrophying architecture muscles out of hibernation quickly enough though, and by the time I was on the little aircraft bearing me back to Chicago, my brain simply wouldn't shut up about all the potential studios I could take next fall, and thesis topics I could pursue.
Red and I met on the first day of ARCH 199, and I thought he was pretty cooky. We ended up building a cardboard Le Corbusier chair for the Halloween costume competition and studying in Versailles together with 35 other ARCH classmates for 9 months. Now we've gained acceptance to the same grad program. (He's a first year there now.)
Which is why, after flying into Richmond (rather than Charlottesville) to conserve money, Ben Hartigan (another UIUC classmate who got into UVa!) and I found ourselves in Red's green Volvo in an ever darkening, winding road wondering if we were in the beginning sequence of a horror movie. It turns out we had somehow missed our exit and made our way halfway toward a little town called Waynesboro. Eventually, we did wend our way toward the Virginian for delicious burgers, but not before we were absolutely famished.
For all of Sunday, Red played gracious host. He gave us the star tour of campus, drove us through downtown Charlottesville, and up to see Monticello. He also worked Ben and me over like his life depended on it. I should mention Red can be one of the most convincing people in the world if he puts his mind to it, and he knows it. If architecture doesn't work out for him (very unlikely hypothetical situation), he should consider selling luxury European cars. Driving us up by the Blue Ridge Mountains was a smart move on his part. We drove on this road that went uphill for a good 10-20 mins, and I imagined the beautiful climbs we had on Bike and Build ...
"Southern Hospitality"
The faculty student ratio at UVa is pretty amazing. They keep the number of students small to maintain a high level of quality in instruction, and generally the faculty live in Charlottesville and have plenty of time to breathe down students backs at all hours of the day.
During open studio hours, I wanted to peek over the shoulders of one particular professor giving a desk crit to a student and listen to their interaction. When he saw me stop, Professor Peter Waldman completely stopped what he was saying, turned to me with a smile, and said, "Hello, welcome to UVa, my name is Peter Waldman. Do you have any questions?" I mumbled something about what their project program was, mortified that my seemingly sneaky peek turned into such a huge intrusion.
Later on, Renee, one of the students in Red's studio was briefly describing the monastery they were working on, when we heard a commanding voice behind us, "Show them your site model too. They don't know what you're talking about." We turned around to face W. G. Clark, the gentleman terrifying Red at the moment, and who also designed one of the two new wings of the Architecture School at UVa. We introduced ourselves as Red's friends, to which he responded, "David's friends? Oh, I am very sorry to hear that you call him your friend." For all of Red complaining about how much W.G. seemed displeased with his lack of progress, and how intimidated Red felt in his presence, Ben and I decided that it was all lies. W.G. obviously really likes Red, and he was only trying to push his design really hard. Anyways, W.G. proceeded to lead us around to Tom's desk, summoned Tom to present his project too ("Red, you don't have the requisite models enough to explain yourself properly."), finally headed over to Red's desk so we could see his project. Ben and I thought we were free, but then he lead us over to the Venice studio to have the students there talk to us too. Yikes!
"UVa really likes model building."
Oh really? Red's known for his formidable sketching abilities, but not so much for his model building. Ironically, UVa students are known for their amazing model building skills, so he's been working incredibly hard to bring himself up to speed. He's gotten really creative! He even stole one of the books lying around to make a topo model (to which W.G. expressed great displeasure). A local cabinet maker donates all their scrap wood to UVa students (W.G. "prefers" Spanish cedar over walnut). I'm not much of a solid wood type person, but I did learn to make origami before I strung together proper sentences, and model building is definitely my forte design skill so I imagine I could pick it up quickly enough. I guess they must have liked the 1/4" scale section model I made of Seattle Central Library in my portfolio.
They are also known for melding digital and hand techniques. Professor Christina Hill said they were not so much about pursuing the latest most technologically advanced method of digital representation so much as figuring out what type of representation was best for what situation. Sometimes, those technologies are necessary to show special details, but other times, concept can be most palpable from some pen drawn lines on napkins.
"Bryan Bell sighting at UVa!"
The Eco-Mod projects have undergone 3 iterations at this point, and they are working on finalizing the design documents (or was it construction?) of Eco-Mod 4 to build over the summer. In brief, it is affordable, sustainable, modulor housing designed and built by students, this year for Habitat for Humanity (<3). And who do I see but Bryan Bell, there as the reviewer for this project, right with John Quale, the professor who began the project in the first place. Surreal ...
Epilogue
By the end of yesterday, I could barely string two words together to form a coherent sentence because of the action packed open house. I was glad to be able to go back to a surprisingly comfy Ikea "sofa bed" to sleep in with a yellow skirt-clad chihuahua to welcome me and my host, Fatima, at the door. All the sudden exposure to architecture and design shocked my atrophying architecture muscles out of hibernation quickly enough though, and by the time I was on the little aircraft bearing me back to Chicago, my brain simply wouldn't shut up about all the potential studios I could take next fall, and thesis topics I could pursue.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Commuter Bikes Change Lives
In the "recent updates" type post, I did not mention that about a week ago, Bernard and I went to Champaign-Urbana, IL to pick up my commuter bike. It deserves its own post.
The driving portion was uneventful, other than Bernard not believing me about which roads we could take from my place, (yea, I know I don't really drive, but I did make the trip down there several times a year for several years. Have some faith!), and the fact that I rudely fell asleep on the way there ... sorry. We met up with Priya, Amy, and Tim for breakfast at Courier Cafe. Milkshakes for breakfast? Perhaps not the best idea, but I have yet to try a milkshake made better than Courier's. Chocolate Peanut Butter ... mmm ... It was good to catch up with college friends over delicious fresh breakfast foods :D Also, Priya got me some awesome "I love sushi" bike socks, complete with images of delectable sushi on the ankle. And thanks to Tim for putting up with holding on to my bike this long, and Amy for keeping my leftover odds and ends til now.
So why did I ask such a big favor of Bernard to get back a rusty, creaky, heavy, unremarkable pile of old bike parts. Take today for example. I was able to stop at J's shop briefly to hear updates on the shop's progress, make it to the Medici on time for preliminary work info, and stop at Treasure Island for Bigelow decaf Vanilla tea, all within 2 hours. With my beloved blue Schwinn Worldsport, it took 20 minutes total to commute. Without the bike, it would have been an hour. How awesome is that? Plus, I get to work the orange striped socks fashion and retro red pleather messenger bag. It's all fantastically worth it.
The driving portion was uneventful, other than Bernard not believing me about which roads we could take from my place, (yea, I know I don't really drive, but I did make the trip down there several times a year for several years. Have some faith!), and the fact that I rudely fell asleep on the way there ... sorry. We met up with Priya, Amy, and Tim for breakfast at Courier Cafe. Milkshakes for breakfast? Perhaps not the best idea, but I have yet to try a milkshake made better than Courier's. Chocolate Peanut Butter ... mmm ... It was good to catch up with college friends over delicious fresh breakfast foods :D Also, Priya got me some awesome "I love sushi" bike socks, complete with images of delectable sushi on the ankle. And thanks to Tim for putting up with holding on to my bike this long, and Amy for keeping my leftover odds and ends til now.
So why did I ask such a big favor of Bernard to get back a rusty, creaky, heavy, unremarkable pile of old bike parts. Take today for example. I was able to stop at J's shop briefly to hear updates on the shop's progress, make it to the Medici on time for preliminary work info, and stop at Treasure Island for Bigelow decaf Vanilla tea, all within 2 hours. With my beloved blue Schwinn Worldsport, it took 20 minutes total to commute. Without the bike, it would have been an hour. How awesome is that? Plus, I get to work the orange striped socks fashion and retro red pleather messenger bag. It's all fantastically worth it.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Snowboarding + Coffee
Yesterday, I was up in Wisconsin trying my hand at snowboarding. Actually, it was more tumbling down slopes with my feet attached to an oblong object.
A few weekends ago, we got a lot of snow in Chicago, so Bernard attempted to teach me on one of the few (artificial) slopes around the area. Last year, I was told I was goofy, so I got really confused by his whole "regular" stance board, so of course within 10 feet of first strapping my feet in, I was flat on my back. By the end of that day though, I was able to kind of stop and turn in the directions he called out.
Anyways, I figured it was enough to avoid having to pay for a lesson, and by the end of the day yesterday, I did manage to get down Wisconsin blues (probably a green in Colorado or SLC, admittedly), but not unscathed. I'm still working on understanding how a snowboard balances since it's completely different from a bike, and somewhat different from surfing. The best part about the Green I practiced on was that it wrapped around the slope with all the jumps and grinds. I got to watch kids probably half my age getting 5 feet of air, turn 360, before flying down the rest of the way. There was even an Asian kid in an orange jacket: I wanted to ask if he wanted to join Tati.
Today, there was a coffee tasting. I never had a chance to really taste the difference between drip coffee & French press, Americano & Espresso, Cappucino & Latte as back to back samples before, so it was actually a learning experience. Mmm, coffee.
A few weekends ago, we got a lot of snow in Chicago, so Bernard attempted to teach me on one of the few (artificial) slopes around the area. Last year, I was told I was goofy, so I got really confused by his whole "regular" stance board, so of course within 10 feet of first strapping my feet in, I was flat on my back. By the end of that day though, I was able to kind of stop and turn in the directions he called out.
Anyways, I figured it was enough to avoid having to pay for a lesson, and by the end of the day yesterday, I did manage to get down Wisconsin blues (probably a green in Colorado or SLC, admittedly), but not unscathed. I'm still working on understanding how a snowboard balances since it's completely different from a bike, and somewhat different from surfing. The best part about the Green I practiced on was that it wrapped around the slope with all the jumps and grinds. I got to watch kids probably half my age getting 5 feet of air, turn 360, before flying down the rest of the way. There was even an Asian kid in an orange jacket: I wanted to ask if he wanted to join Tati.
Today, there was a coffee tasting. I never had a chance to really taste the difference between drip coffee & French press, Americano & Espresso, Cappucino & Latte as back to back samples before, so it was actually a learning experience. Mmm, coffee.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Cambridge - MIT - Harvard GSD
Carpenter Center !!!
Studios at Harvard GSD
MIT SOA -
Much fewer people here than at Columbia. The staff checking us in were wearing t-shirts, I noticed, and I was glad I was wearing pants rather than the skirt I brought.
Yung Ho Chang, the head of the architecture design department, introduced himself and the faculty using an animation of faculty faces superimposed on cartoon bodies: really playful! In general, the atmosphere seemed intense, but not as if people took themselves too seriously. The program is pretty small, only 25 - 30 people. What was really helpful was when they showed us the portfolios of people who got in. Do I have a chance? I have no clue, at this point.
The faculty presentations were 10 min each, and we had to choose to go to 3 of 6 available. I saw Mee Jin Yoon's (head of the M. Arch I program), Alan Berger's, and Sheila Kennedy's of Kennedy Violich Architects. M. J. Yoon showed us a project involving the conflict between "on-grid/off-grid" energy, using the Katrina victims as the means to study this phenomenon: figuring out how to provide off-grid energy to people where the grid was too damaged to use. Alan Berger studied how to rehabilitate a brownfield in Italy, and after presenting his research to the local government there, convinced of the need to follow through with his interventions. It was awesome how the designers could dictate what should happen, rather than developers whose general goals are economically motivated. Sheila Kennedy described photovoltaic powered organic LED's that could be woven into textiles and provide light and electricity. It was at the interface of technology, crafts, and architecture.
That evening, I ate dinner at Beer Works with Marty from Bike and Build! Shira couldn't make it because she had prior plans, but we caught up on events since reentering the real world, and about other Bike and Builders we had hung out with to that point. Beer Works brews their own beer, and it was excellent. I had an Irish something or other and the blueberry beer. Marty tried out the peanut butter beer??? It had only a hint of peanut butter, and mostly just tasted like beer, but creative certainly.
Harvard -
Walking toward Harvard's architecture building, I saw a building using glass bricks for windows, and smiled thinking, wow, a throwback to mid-century design. I kept walking, and stopped cold ... because I realized I was in the presence of greatness: The Carpenter Building is the only Corbusier-designed building in America. I stopped by ath Gund Hall for registration, realized I was an hour early, ran back and sketched like mad, only to remember how obnoxious it is to sketch Corbu buildings because they are so exacting. It was like seeing an old friend though. A Corbu building in America is the last thing I would have ever expected to see; I associate him so much with France and Versailles and William Curtis. It made my day.
More people here than at Columbia! The faculty presentations were a bit drier, but the students were spectacular. One PhD student was studying the intimate details of Type II diabetes in order to figure out a design for how best to deploy medical supplies to remote locations, which relates to architecture in the most abstract sense. A masters student with one of the most eclectic backgrounds I have ever encountered (also a former OMA employee) presented an urban study of a small Irish town, and how he used existing relics of pathways to reconnect the entire area in a mixture of historic analysis and modern design.
Later that day, I watched part of a studio review in process with Scott Cohen, head of the architecture department, and 5 other faculty members as critics. They spoke fast and animatedly about very abstract projects involving hotel design and facade vs. interior space, and they would even argue with each other about how they felt about each project. When they didn't like something, they said so quite bluntly, which was a welcome respite from how "nice" the reviewers were at UIUC.
It was an intense trip, and well-worth it.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
COLUMBIA OPEN HOUSE !!!
I dropped off my bags at Lauren's house pretty early and had a chance to just sit on campus and absorb the atmosphere for the wee morning hours before the open house. It was nice.
On the stairs ... I ran into Maurizio ?!?!? a co-worker from 4240 Architecture!!! And Jason was there too! Turns out they're considering applying to grad schools for next year. And then at the student Q&A I looked across the room and saw Ben Brichta from Lab School !!! Small world, but to make it even smaller, he had taken the New York/Paris program at Columbia, and he had had Tricia for a professor, who I had had while I was at Versailles. CRAZY.
The faculty presentations about architecture were amazingly inspirational. One particularly memorable statement by one professor was: "the building was beautiful to begin with, all we had to do was not f*** it up." They all ran through slides very rapidly and spoke quickly and energetically about everything.
I met a guy named George who was at UC Berkeley for architecture when he complimented a sketch I did of the chapel during the campus tour. We might exchange info, since he's considering UIUC.
Aries, Lauren and I meandered as best as we could through the first year grad studios, but it was packed with open house people and existing students. It was funny, I was bashing mac computers at one point, and this guy turns around from using his mac and goes: I like macs. But rather than continue to look at more studios, Lauren and I opted to take a small break in a secluded courtyard around the corner and chatted about architecture, school, and people we knew. It was really nice to get away from the craziness of the open house just for a little bit.
As closing remarks, the Dean spoke a little about his take on the school, and he said the faculty and himself were speaking last when we were all exhausted because the school was about the students, and students should represent the school. We bring the verve and challenge the faculty to come up with interesting projects that we will design.
Afterwards was little hairy. I had to get to Penn station and find the Megabus, eventually finding out that I had accidentally bought a ticket for tomorrow in stead of today, causing me to frantically call up the megabus operators to fix the error. Then again, I wasn't that frantic. If there weren't seats, I was thinking I'd take an amtrak or find some other mode of transport. It was going to work out. I did get on the bus though, so it was fine.
On the bus, I met Natalie who's from New York and wants to get out and is thus visitng MIT's open house. All these architecture students are on a grad school pilgrimage right now, it's pretty crazy. Where is the holy grail of architecture?
And my cab driver talked about the 19 year long civil war in Somalia. It was really interesting to hear about, but I was just so exhausted by that point that I had a hard time paying attention. I did tell him to be careful when he visited Somalia in the near future.
I appreciated tonight's shower about as much as I did during Bike and Build.
On the stairs ... I ran into Maurizio ?!?!? a co-worker from 4240 Architecture!!! And Jason was there too! Turns out they're considering applying to grad schools for next year. And then at the student Q&A I looked across the room and saw Ben Brichta from Lab School !!! Small world, but to make it even smaller, he had taken the New York/Paris program at Columbia, and he had had Tricia for a professor, who I had had while I was at Versailles. CRAZY.
The faculty presentations about architecture were amazingly inspirational. One particularly memorable statement by one professor was: "the building was beautiful to begin with, all we had to do was not f*** it up." They all ran through slides very rapidly and spoke quickly and energetically about everything.
I met a guy named George who was at UC Berkeley for architecture when he complimented a sketch I did of the chapel during the campus tour. We might exchange info, since he's considering UIUC.
Aries, Lauren and I meandered as best as we could through the first year grad studios, but it was packed with open house people and existing students. It was funny, I was bashing mac computers at one point, and this guy turns around from using his mac and goes: I like macs. But rather than continue to look at more studios, Lauren and I opted to take a small break in a secluded courtyard around the corner and chatted about architecture, school, and people we knew. It was really nice to get away from the craziness of the open house just for a little bit.
As closing remarks, the Dean spoke a little about his take on the school, and he said the faculty and himself were speaking last when we were all exhausted because the school was about the students, and students should represent the school. We bring the verve and challenge the faculty to come up with interesting projects that we will design.
Afterwards was little hairy. I had to get to Penn station and find the Megabus, eventually finding out that I had accidentally bought a ticket for tomorrow in stead of today, causing me to frantically call up the megabus operators to fix the error. Then again, I wasn't that frantic. If there weren't seats, I was thinking I'd take an amtrak or find some other mode of transport. It was going to work out. I did get on the bus though, so it was fine.
On the bus, I met Natalie who's from New York and wants to get out and is thus visitng MIT's open house. All these architecture students are on a grad school pilgrimage right now, it's pretty crazy. Where is the holy grail of architecture?
And my cab driver talked about the 19 year long civil war in Somalia. It was really interesting to hear about, but I was just so exhausted by that point that I had a hard time paying attention. I did tell him to be careful when he visited Somalia in the near future.
I appreciated tonight's shower about as much as I did during Bike and Build.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
New York - New Haven
Bernard was chauffeur extraordinaire for me today. I am incredibly grateful that I didn't need to navigate the train system and that we could decide our own schedule.
We started out really early, in case there was traffic. We actually got there really early, so we had a chance to grab coffee, wander around and explore the area. The campus area is incredibly reminiscent of the Oxford campus (I learned later that this was completely intended by the original founder). It was definitely a college town, but it had a permanence and stateliness about it. The shops were boutique-like and upscale compared to Champaign-Urbana. There were more people wearing skinny jeans and fantastic overcoats and jackets with glorious lapels.
At one point I remembered that this was where the Bienecke Library (the rare books library) was built, so I dragged Bernard over to see it. It wasn't technically open with construction on the inside, but we stepped in just briefly, and I was able to see the light seeping in through the marble panels ... This building definitely is not very photogenic from the outside. I liked it a lot more on site.
Nicholas' class apparently went overtime. The crazy thing is that as I was waiting for him outside the building, I ran into Professor Moon! I'd sort of forgotten that he had moved there from UIUC. We could only talk briefly, but he helped me find Nicholas, and we chatted a bit while Nicholas came to find me. I'm really happy for Professor Moon. U Illinois students didn't appreciate how good of a professor he is at all, and he deserves better. He was the type of professor who would try to get us to understand the theory and basis for what he was teaching rather than just give us equations to plug numbers into. I will probably remember how to construct a shear envelope for the rest of my life.
Nicholas looks to be thriving here. We caught up on how his job went back in Europe, and he gave me a concise and loaded tour from top down in the historic Yale School of Architecture building designed by Paul Rudolph. The resources available here for model making are amazing; there's a first year grad program involving designing an affordable home that is design/build; some studios coordinate crits with foreign universities such as Tongji in Shanghai and Hong Kong University; etc. etc.
Afterwards, I got together with Matt Lawlor from Lab !!!!! We shared some biking across America stories since he went with Habitat Challenge, caught up, and tossed around how other friends from our Lab School group were doing. He's considering math in stead of physics as a major, and he is considering staying in academia, which I find unsurprising. He had a way of making ridiculous intuitive leaps in class, but he was also able to explain things so it was really easy to understand. He looks like he's doing pretty good too :D
We began the drive back around 4pm just to make sure the traffic didn't hold us too much. Bernard dropped me off by the Grand Central Station, where I met up with Jeong and Lauren for dinner at a Mexican place !!! Delicious. Talked architecture, Versailles, school, working, Lauren's and Rob's marriage plans (!), all over shrimp burritos and refried beans. Oh it was good times all around.
AND BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We started out really early, in case there was traffic. We actually got there really early, so we had a chance to grab coffee, wander around and explore the area. The campus area is incredibly reminiscent of the Oxford campus (I learned later that this was completely intended by the original founder). It was definitely a college town, but it had a permanence and stateliness about it. The shops were boutique-like and upscale compared to Champaign-Urbana. There were more people wearing skinny jeans and fantastic overcoats and jackets with glorious lapels.
At one point I remembered that this was where the Bienecke Library (the rare books library) was built, so I dragged Bernard over to see it. It wasn't technically open with construction on the inside, but we stepped in just briefly, and I was able to see the light seeping in through the marble panels ... This building definitely is not very photogenic from the outside. I liked it a lot more on site.
Nicholas' class apparently went overtime. The crazy thing is that as I was waiting for him outside the building, I ran into Professor Moon! I'd sort of forgotten that he had moved there from UIUC. We could only talk briefly, but he helped me find Nicholas, and we chatted a bit while Nicholas came to find me. I'm really happy for Professor Moon. U Illinois students didn't appreciate how good of a professor he is at all, and he deserves better. He was the type of professor who would try to get us to understand the theory and basis for what he was teaching rather than just give us equations to plug numbers into. I will probably remember how to construct a shear envelope for the rest of my life.
Nicholas looks to be thriving here. We caught up on how his job went back in Europe, and he gave me a concise and loaded tour from top down in the historic Yale School of Architecture building designed by Paul Rudolph. The resources available here for model making are amazing; there's a first year grad program involving designing an affordable home that is design/build; some studios coordinate crits with foreign universities such as Tongji in Shanghai and Hong Kong University; etc. etc.
Afterwards, I got together with Matt Lawlor from Lab !!!!! We shared some biking across America stories since he went with Habitat Challenge, caught up, and tossed around how other friends from our Lab School group were doing. He's considering math in stead of physics as a major, and he is considering staying in academia, which I find unsurprising. He had a way of making ridiculous intuitive leaps in class, but he was also able to explain things so it was really easy to understand. He looks like he's doing pretty good too :D
We began the drive back around 4pm just to make sure the traffic didn't hold us too much. Bernard dropped me off by the Grand Central Station, where I met up with Jeong and Lauren for dinner at a Mexican place !!! Delicious. Talked architecture, Versailles, school, working, Lauren's and Rob's marriage plans (!), all over shrimp burritos and refried beans. Oh it was good times all around.
AND BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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