Projects now. Projects soon.

One thing that stinks about having a real nine-to-five is losing all the free time I enjoyed at school. Its very frustrating to come back from work tired and ready to sleep, especially when I keep having cool ideas that I want to work on.

Project 1: Greenhouse for the Wommacks
I have a few goals for this project. Its a small space, and functionally pretty simple: it must keep plants warm in the winter. But I also want it to be able to open or transform in some way to become a shaded, breezy shelter in the summer. I've had a couple of ideas: it could utilize fins or louvres that would insulate in the winter and vent in the summer. I've also sketched a couple of methods of using a counter-balanced wall system that could be positioned in a closed position in the winter and cantilevered as an awning in the summer.

I'm also interested in using some sort of transparent, air-filled polyurethane bubbles to construct an insulated facade. These could be combined with a thick thermal wall, possibly even a green wall. A green wall would require a lot of research of course, since you don't want to plant something on a green wall that will die in a month or two. A dead green wall is super depressing.

The bubbles idea leads me to my second project.

Project 2: Climate-responsive envelope system

This idea is not very fleshed-out. It would build on the work of Jean Nouvel, Herzog and deMueron, Buckminster Fuller and many other architects and engineers. Basically, I have an idea for a building system that would use inflated polyurethane bubbles to negotiate the needs of program and environmental control. I feel like there is a way of filling these bubbles or pillows with a medium that could be altered to change the building envelope's transmittal of heat, light and air.

I think that the building could respond to the sun and rain and heat by modulating the contents of each bubble. Imagine one of those Wooly Willy toys, where the sun and heat and rain are the magnetic wands, and the contents of the bubbles is Willy's beard, following the magnet.

Project 3: Paper Creation

I've got about 30 pieces of bond paper (thin, translucent) that I've pulled from the recycling bin at work. They are all roughly 22" x 17". I want to make something to liven up my living space. The paper will accept ink, graphite and markers best. I've also thought of folding it, making some type of wall-covering origami of sorts (similar to the stuff we did in VisCom last semester Yannik).

I'm going to spend some time thinking about this one, but I'd love ideas too. Maybe I can create something this weekend.

Today is still Wednesday, yes?

This has been a long week.

The following video I took this morning. It is my favorite thing about my commute to work in the morning. Standing at the front of the platform, close to the mouth of the tunnel,watching the train come blasting past me, the blast of air almost bowling me over. So cool.

I love the subway, for all the obvious reasons (efficient mass transit, cheap, requires no concentration, and I can read while I commute), but I also love the subway because it is powerful in an unstoppable, seismic way. And it is terrible, the way a Greek god must have been terrible to behold. In an excellent way, it is primitive.

Speaking of movies, there are a couple of movies on that I want to see, maybe tomorrow afternoon. One is called Restrepo, a documentary about a platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal valley. It looks incredible, visceral and gripping. The second I'm interested in is Winter's Bone, a drama set in Missouri that won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. My main hesitation with both of them is the movies to which they are compared.

Resterpo is described as being as "visceral as Hurt Locker, but real." I did not like Hurt Locker. It was not compelling to me, nor did it seem to be realistic. It was not visceral. It just seemed fabricated, soldiers given emotions that filmmakers think they should feel. (This reaction is partly my own gut instinct and partly gleaned from conversations with a friend in the military.)

So hopefully Restrepo is not an over-editorialized mushy documentary, but it might be.

Winter's Bone has been compared to Precious, which looks terrible. I have no interest in seeing Precious, and I hope that Winter's Bone is not similar.

Mondays are the longest.

I spent today in the office, I worked 12.5 hours. I'm also on my third book since I arrived 16 days ago. I read "Stranger In A Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein my first week, Isaac Asimov's "Nemesis" last week, and I just started Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar," which I'm sure will be incredibly depressing. But it seems to be one of those books that is read and praised by many people, although my first impression is that Plath may have been one of those people who speaks because they can't stand silence.

I enjoyed Heinlein's book though. "A week after reading it, my impression is that Heinlein had something to say but maybe didn't understand people enough to really sell it convincingly. It came off at times like a goofy nerd sitting in a room writing a book about what the women he wished he could meet.
Saturday night I went to Brooklyn and met Amanda and Gustavo, two friends from school, and we went to a bar and had a beer. I really enjoyed Brooklyn, particularly Williamsburg, the neighborhood we were walking around. It was hip and young, and I think I could enjoy living there.

I went walking around after work Thursday last. I wanted to see a gallery exhibit off of Bowery, about 15 minutes from my office on foot. I got there about 8:00 and they were having a concert, but I was able to poke my head in and check out a couple of the pieces. The exhibit was of heroin baggies, stamped with different street names. The artists went to areas frequented by heroin addicts and collected the rubber-stamped baggies from the ground. Some of the stamps were quite terrifying, like Last Temptation and Deadly Sin. The most striking piece was the 12 foot tall wall covered in 1800 baggies that represented the amount of heroin an addict will consume in a year.

I then went walking south toward the towers in the distance. It was nearing dusk, and the lighting became dramatic, so I made a few pictures. The most moving part of the evening was seeing the Federal courthouse complex. Its not something I can fully explain, but something about the massiveness, the inhuman nature of its scale, was deeply unsettling. I felt strangely nervous walking in front of it, and I felt a strong urge to cross the street just to put some distance between it and myself.

I will write again tomorrow. I have more pictures to share.

I miss the Turnip Truck

I've been neglecting you, Oh Turnip Truck.

I've been very busy at work, staying late almost every day (which is why I am here, so no complaints about that). I then take the 1 train from the Houston stop north 150-ish blocks. I am really getting used to the ride I think. I can now nap for 30 minutes of the 35-minute ride, and wake up just as we are passing 125th Street, three stops south of my stop, at 157th.

I'm getting to start a new project this week, a remodel of a space into a dance studio. I have started by designing ADA-compliant bathrooms, (ADA is the American Disability Act) which is pretty tricky in this case, since they must fit into a certain footprint and be maneuvered around existing structures.

This weekend I slept in. Saturday afternoon I went to the Brooklyn Flea. I saw some pretty neat furniture, and if I'd taken the time to browse the clothes, I'm sure I'd have found neat stuff there too. If I move to New York in the future, (and have a real job and a real lease) I think it would be really cool to furnish a place just by flea-market shopping.

I'm planning to check out a brewery this weekend, not sure which. I want to find a nice local beer or two. Also, just found out that my friend Sabrina is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I'm very excited to get to see her!

I'm posting a couple of pictures form the office. The photo at the top of the post is what you see when you step off the elevator. Quite a jumble of great stuff! I really like the two matching chairs below. I am not sure who designed them, but they look like Borge Mogensen. If anyone has a definite i.d., I'd love to know!

This desk is pretty cool, obviously and antique of some sort. I made a picture of this one for mother and father, as I thought it might be closer to their time period of interest. More talk later. I've got more to say about my weekend, but my fingers are out of words.

First day. 15 hours.

I must remember names. I must remember names. I must remember names.

Day one was polarized. Arrive 10:00am, leisurely tour, introductions. Set up email, read office intro stuff. Bored to tears for much of the morning. (I love my job, but the first hour or two of inactivity seemed so long when I was so anxious to start helping and working.) Walked around the office, took a pic or two. The top picture is the kitchen/printing/materials/library room. Pretty cool room. The next picture is the excellent wooden floor by my desk. very hip and sexy. Also throwing in a pic of my workspace. (I might possibly move at the end of the week, once an intern leaves.)

At 3:00, after two bites of my sandwich, BOOM! Its go time! Photoshopping to the max, packing and catalogueing materials, more Photoshop, and lots more Photoshop!

Nonstop, from 3:00pm til 1:00am, pausing only for Japanese diner food. What a whirlwind first day!

I took a break or two to check out Calvin and Zach's (the principals of the firm) furniture collection in the lobby area. Lydia, you'll dig this next picture. The small part of their collection that I've seen is just beautiful. At least 40 pieces are gathered in the lobby, apparently only an 1/8th or less of their whole collection. Damn.

Speaking of damn, the view from the front of the office is breathtaking. We're on the tenth floor, and facing north up 6th Ave. You can see the Empire state building at the top of the hill, and the spire of the Bank of America tower. Picture below.

Oh, and this morning was quite the intense experience as well. Apparently real grownup architects work right up to the dealine too...

Moving in, nesting

Today was exhausting! I was on my feet for 8 hours straight, and my hooves are sore. I'm pretty sure I've doubled my lifetime subway mileage today as well, if not more. This morning, I woke up, had an apple and a Clif bar then started making some calls about apartments. I set up a couple of appointments for later in the afternoon, then set off to find my office in SoHo. Ajna and I rode the 1 downtown, and I got off at the Houston St. stop. My office is on the tenth floor of the building in the first photo.

The second photo is the Highline park, an awesome elevated park just completed on the west side of SoHo, I think maybe in the Chelsea area? I'm still a bit shaky on my neighborhoods. Anyway, the Highline is very cool. It is planted with all sorts of wildflowers and has neat benches and nooks and tiny performance spaces. Very cool, but crowded this afternoon. Apparently all the touristy stuff stays crowded all summer, then it thins out in September/October.

I then went all the back north to 158th St., where I met my soon-to-be roommate Graham. We chatted, I dug the room and the vibe, and I cut him a check on the spot. Room found. Done. I then had to go all the way back south to meet Ajna, borrow her keys, and move myself in to my new place. Oh, I met her in the Lower East side, at Houston and Allen, which meant I had to navigate a transfer from the 1 to the F train. I handled it like a pro.

I have just finished moving in. My room is pink, as the third pic shows. It has a window, a bed, a chest of drawers, a very nice drafting table, and a closet. I will be quite comfortable. The only downside is that I'll have to deal with laundromats for the first time in my life. Not looking forward to that. But maybe I'll just do laundry once a month eh?

The truck has arrived

I'm feeling pretty wiped now. Long day of travel. My friend Ajna is letting me crash at her place for a night or two, but I really hope to find a place to live tomorrow. That is my main goal. Secondly, I'm going to get a MetroCard, which Ajna said is 90 bucks and good for a month. If I've got time, I'm also going to make the trip down to SoHo and find my office. If I find a place to live quickly and have some free time, I'm going to go down to the Modern Museum of Art and maybe the Folk Art Museum.

Oh, Ajna's place is in Harlem, and on the ride from the airport to here I drove by the Apollo Theater! Landmark #1, check! This area is pretty incredible. Its been a few years since I've been to Ny, and I'd forgotten how many people you see just hanging out on the streets. It was dark when I arrived, so I'm really looking forward to seeing everything in the morning!

Packing and Trashing

Tomorrow I will be in New York! The few days since I accepted my internship with Tsao & McKown Architects have been an ongoing task of elimination. First in wide swathes, now in smaller slices, one thing at a time. I started off by donating the over 3/4 of my closet. From the remaining 1/4 closet, (items that actually fit) I decided I needed half with me in New York.

I packed this half, counted the bags, tried to lift them, and started cutting more unnecessary clothing. Finally I am down to two bags and a carry-on. Mother insists that the 30 lb. hangup bag that is larger than I am qualifies as a carry-on as well. It is not.

Still looking for a place to live, but it looks like I'll probably be in Washington Heights or somewhere around there.