Project // Fall Semester Recap

[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:

Project // Rhino Class Fun

Rhino class provides a nice little diversion from studio - often the modeling process is best learned through forms that have nothing to do with architecture. I had some fun designing a little add-on for a tennis racket model I made, it's a clip-on scorekeeper...simple, but fun. A chance to de-stress; actually, I think I like this better than my building.

P.S. Disregard the crappiness of the the renderings, Rhino has an internal render engine that is extremely limited compared to Vray / Maxwell, but we were directed to use it for this exercise

Photo // Architecture School

[It's not what it used to be....]

School // USC Graduate School of Architecture

I recently shared a course synopsis from my future graduate school with some people from the office...it reads something like this (definitions below):

Lecture: Swarm Intelligence - Scripting Workshop

The Scripting Workshop examined the role of agency within generative design processes. Algorithmic techniques were utilized in the development of a computational methodology grounded in swarm intelligence. Scripting formed the basis for algorithmic models that enabled localized interaction of agents to generate emergent topologies in the design of proto-architectural forms and urban structures.