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| [View from the penthouse of City National Plaza, where our final reviews - called "Blue Tape" - were held. More information on the event here and here.] |
Fall semester at USC was like a romantic fling; at first, school work occupied my every thought, consumed my time and required my physical presence at all hours of the night, but I needed the pace - after all, I hadn't been in school for a long, long time. So I wanted it, and I got it. Hard. And then the semester crept along, and it became more and more difficult to maintain the pace that seemed so natural at the beginning. At certain points, I had to ask myself, "Why even bother? What am I getting out of this? I'm so busy I can't even think straight!" Towards the end, fatigue and frustration made the work unbearable, but I had to give it once last necessary push at the end, if for no other reason but to test myself. Then it all came to a halt - done - over. While in a way its saddening to detach yourself from the routine and the familiar faces, the end also brings a sense of incredible relief and a release of a massive burden. It's at that point you sternly assert, "I never want to go back to school ever again!!!"
But enough of the amorous conceit. I won't spend too much time discussing the work, just displaying it and providing some background. I would prefer to respond to comments rather than wax poetic about my own feelings, as conversation is always preferred to dictation. So, my loyal readers (all three or four of you), let me know what you think and I'll be happy to explain or clarify any confusing points.
First, some quick thoughts:
1. I heard that Michael Weinstock, RIBA, director of the AA, gave a pretty good lecture here the other night (I didn't attend because, let's face it, after a long day of class the last thing I wanna do is sit in a chair for another hour. Why can't they have these on non-studio days? Or on the weekend?), and he basically said California is toast. I can't help but agree: how does a city like LA, so widely dispersed and dependent on the car without a source of fresh water within the city extents, even manage to sustain itself? Doom and gloom for SoCal.
2. Frank Gehry and Lorchan O'Herlihy are "teaching" here this semester. Actually I think Lorchan does appear regularly, but Frank will not. Stinks that architecture schools have to hire "names" to build reputation, because Frank is as about as useful as a teacher as a bag of bricks.
3. Falcons season's ended in supreme disappointment, I'm sick of seeing Atlanta teams getting annihilated in the playoffs in embarrassing fashion (Hawks v Magic, Braves v Giants). Atlanta teams do well in the regular season though, and it's possible that all four major sports teams will qualify for their playoffs this year. I don't think any other city managed that feat the previous year. That's pretty astounding given that some cities would give anything just to sniff a winning record (Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns).
4. Las Vegas is a silly place, though it does have incredible interiors architecture. Another trip to document some examples is in order. Also, is it weird that the only way I'd gamble again is if I had more money to spend? Casinos are a black hole for your $$$. P.S. Sports betting not a good idea.
STUDIO //
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| [My project got a lot of publicity because of its location in the reception room...drunken publicity is better than none, right?] |
The review went well I think, a pretty even mix of positive/negative comments, and I think I could have improved the scheme had I not developed it in only a few weeks at the end of the semester. Below are just a few image from the final presentation...
COMPUTERS //
I didn't get quite as much out of this class as I hoped I would, but nevertheless I've posted some images of the final project, which is a parametric model done in Rhino/Grasshopper, 3-d Printed and rendered in Maxwell. Originally the intention was to use our product model as the base for some kind of parametric morphing, but as mine was too technical and miniature, I had to come up with something new.
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| [Overly dramatic rendering...] |
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| [3D Print] |
URBAN STUDIES //
For those of you who heard that I was doing a research paper about Atlantic Station, here is a link to download a copy of the final edition. I don't think the paper is getting published, so it's safe to post and safe to download...probably. My badz if not. The paper contains quite a bit of information on Atlanta's west side revitalization, so natives of the ATL and people familiar with the neighborhood might find it particularly interesting. Everyone else might find it boring. With a capital B. But that's their fault.
Yo! A good evolution for your school. You moved from comfy courtyard to something more broken up, outdoorsy. Your exploded axon reminds me of a meshed fingerless glove...wait, you're not going to think that's a compliment...or even a constructive criticism! You do like 80s metal hair bands though, so...you should take it as a cue from your subconscious. Or id, or whatever.
ReplyDeleteIt's very tectonic, constructivist-like, and can't really be "understood" from just one vantage, which is a great must for good arch. in my book. Does each grade get one floor in each "bar"?
(No-one dares to draw by hand anymore, do they? Do any of you have pencils? This semester some enterprising grad student is going to physically wire each of your cortexes up to the Cloud and achieve modeling bliss, a parametric Nirvana...)
I'm joking. Nervously. I have no rhino, maya, grasshopper tantrics in my "skill set". It's all very cool. The tools are just that, and they're up to some good in my book.
I seem to like the phrase "in my book." As if I have a book. How pretentious.
ReplyDeleteThe tools are good. I do have pencils, and I use them frequently, but they simply aren't required for presentations as I suspect they are more interested in your ability to push the envelope, as it were. That's not to say you can't do badass drawings with pen and pencil (FLW, Thom Mayne, Archigram, etc.) but the amount of work they assign dictates you use the most expedient means at your disposal.
ReplyDeleteAlso the desks we have are cubicles and there is no proper drawing surface, and that's a shame.
I did get the critique that the final scheme was too Morphosis-like, and I saw it coming. But at least that's better than boring.
"I never want to go back to school ever again!!!"... You might eat those words in the future when you realize that your biggest "design" decision of the day is to decide whether a double 5 vinyl siding profile is better than a triple 4.
ReplyDeleteWell there is always free coke.
Mark
I do miss the free Coke...
ReplyDeleteOf course, the words refer to the immediate feeling after you get out of a relationship, i.e. "I'm done with women/men/whatever!" but soon you are back in the game. Same with school. Once the semester is over, it takes awhile to summon the energy again.
But don't bring a brother down with vinyl siding. Arhghghghh!