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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.
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.
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 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Biggest update is I may be joining Team Tati ! I know I'd been telling a lot of people on B&B that I wasn't all that interested in races and that really I was more about just riding with people, so it may seem a bit strange that all of a sudden I'm joining a race squad. However, the vibe I get from this team is very different from others. First off, J, the founder, is really actively trying to seriously coach a women's team, which is in fact very unusual. xXx has a women's squad that trains together, but that's about it in Chicago. I used to race for Turin, but I was pretty much alone, meaning I've been on the receiving end of team tactics (NOT FUN). The team also trains together rather than alone. One of the most unique features of the team is that they're trying to be environmentaly friendly. If you think about it, bike races have huge carbon footprints from driving to the races. J is trying to think wholistically though, so he's got organic wool team jerseys, cotton bar tape, corn oil based chain lube, and natural food based riding food. They're even in partnership to try to produce an esspresso machine that runs off of bike trainers. How awesome would that be?
Anyways, I've said that I'm not that competitive when it comes to racing, but honestly, I've never been coached before, and I've also never really had teammates to train with. Even on Illini Cycling, most of us just trained alone. Also, I really like riding with people, and it's a great way to start of the morning. So I'm pretty excited about it.
I rode with Team Tati for the first time today. All of the members were very welcoming and not arrogant since they were mostly beginners and learning about the sport. We went north at a decent pace, stopped by at Metropolis Coffee Shop, and headed back. I'd forgotten my wallet, but J was kind and covered the cost. Thanks, J! I got to talk to quite a few of the people along the way, and they all seem like a really cool bunch of people. I haven't formally joined, but I'm pretty sure I will soon enough. My sprinting is non-existent, my racing is a bit rusty, but my baseline's fine, so I'm sure with some hard work I'll be ok.
Also today, I joined up with ARCH 475 on their site visit to catch up with Amy Kuo, my former roomate, and Professor Hammann. They are designing a children's museum in the South Loop. I'm so jealous: their site, parking lot on State and Harrison, is sooo much better than the site I had to work with (south quad at Chambana). Yes, I should have just sucked it up and dealt with what I had, but I can't help it, I just love cities more than college campuses. I live and breathe cities. Amy said there's a bigger emphasis on sustainability on this project, that they're actually going to design it to be LEED Silver, I think, and they'll submit a sustainability matrix too. Thank you Professor Hammann, for lunch, once again!
And then I caught Logan at Caribou, where we discussed his complex theory about the economic recession, Iraqi war, oil, sustainability, and the world at large over French-press, fair trade coffee. He is very influenced by Guns Germs and Steel, which I'm going to try to read at some point after I finish Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck) and Herodotus' The Histories. Why Herodotus? I remember reading some excerpts back in college freshman year and thinking it was really well written. Thanks Logan, for coffee.
I've gotten to eat lunch with quite a few other people this week. Notably, Alex, Eduardo, and Logan from 4240 Architecture, my former piano teacher Mrs. Siegel and Sarah Constantin, a friend from high school. Conversations for all involved were pretty lively and covered a broad spectrum, from the Olympics in China, Chicago's bid for the Olympics, Obama and Hyde Park, and why I hate the suburbs. It was good to see Sarah doing so well. I was in math team with her, and remember being pretty terrified of her abilites. Thanks Mrs. Siegel for lunch!
Man, reading over this, I'm just a free-loader this week. This is awful! I really need to get a job soon.
"High Fidelity" was filmed in Chicago! They even included a scene on the Point right by Hyde Park where I live, and I never noticed it before!
I like "The Lakehouse" because it's filmed in Chicago too ... especially since Keanu Reeves' character is an architect, and they have so many scenes of Chicago's architecture (otherwise, I have to admit it's not the best of movies or anything, but humor me). And "Batman Begins" because of the wonderful skyline-at-night scenes, and of course "The Blues Brothers" (Best blues soundtrack ever). I'll put "When Harry Met Sally" in this list too, even though it's mainly filmed in New York, just because they start off the movie at the University of Chicago - I swear, I grew up on that campus.
I've lived in Seoul for 2 months, Versailles for 9 months, and I really loved Paris, Tokyo, and London. There's something about really large cities that absolutely fascinates me, and I can't seem to leave them indefinitely. I start to get antsy when I'm on campus at Urbana-Champaign for too long. I've also noticed that I get seasonally nomadic. Perhaps that's a result of my having been sent away to South Korea during the summer time 3rd grade through high school.
Anyways. Even though I'm in love with cities in general, Chicago's my home. New Yorkers and Parisians can go on about how Chicago's not an international city, and that it's just a little Mid-Western town, blah blah blah, I don't care. It's got its set of problems, like the CTA and its @#$%$#@ budget cuts, but Chicago's simply in my blood.
I wonder how I'll hold up this summer.
