So, I'm quitting school, guys...

...Not really.

But, boy, this semester has been so stressful, I'm sure I've thought about it at least twice, as have most of you. But, no matter. It's over. The semester, I mean. And sure, I still have one more final paper I have to drop off by the end of the day, but as far as I'm concerned, the semester ended at 9:30 AM Monday morning, when all of the Guild projects were posted up.

Ah, the Guild project...it was hard for me at first, because I was struggling with a case of indecsion and an untimely creative block, but as I started to make decisions, the work began to flow more easily. It was crazy, this project, because it was the first project I'd done at this large of a scale. A whole complex! SO MUCH SQUARE FOOTAGE! I had to figure out what to do with all of that space, how to use it best...so much more to thank about than with a little museum or row of townhomes.

I was excited about my choice for a guild, though. I felt it was something I could work with, given my obsessive passion for international food. That helped with my creativity issues, and it made me less nervous when it came to talk to other human beings about my concept with other human beings during the review.

The review.

I was pretty happy about how it went. I got a lot of positive feedback and some really useful suggestions--got some crazy ones, too, but I guess it comes with the territory. And! I was able to make it through the review without passing out from severe sleep deprivation and everything, also a huge plus. I got to glance at my classmates's projets, and I must say, guys, I'm pretty proud of y'all...Especially of those who were chosen to formally present. I thought there were a lot of really great concepts and structures throughout the class. Also, props to those who did their work digitally! I'm afraid of digital work; computers and I fight all the time, and my patience for technology is considerably low. However, while I thought it might be neat to complete my project in FormZ, I decided that it would be best if i didn't experiment this semester, considering all the other things that needed to be done.

And you can never go wrong with a pen and pencil.

Sleep Keeping?

I am taking a little break from this Humanities assignment to let everyone know that tonight is my night to sleep in the sleeper keeper. Its pretty warm in here; the thermometer here says its about 62 degrees or so. Hopefully it doesn't rain tonight. My computer is in here, and while our structure hasn't leaked yet, it would be just my luck...

We built our Keeper a few days ago. Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out, but mostly, I am glad it's over. I didn't enjoy this project as much as I had anticipated,probably because I've been so swamped with work in general that I haven't had time to enjoy much of anything. If i had to pick the thing I am most proud of with this project, it is the fact that the SKWAD was able to litterally find (legally, thank you), nearly all of our matierials, from aluminum siding, to wood to glass. Also, I am proud of the water collection system, especially since it was conceptualized and completed (succesfully, I might add) in so short a period of time.

I only wish that our groupwork went more like it was supposed to. From the begining we had committees and everything, but it still turned out to be some sort of scramble just go get as much done as possible--as fast as possible--with not enough organization and a severe lack of commitment/communication withing the group.

But, yes...it's over with now...the actual building anyway. Now we have the writen portion to do. Should be a blast! :-)

****UPDATE: IT DID RAIN LAST NIGHT! And I am completely dry! (and so is my laptop)

Sushi?...No: Searching for a Physical Abstraction of Washoku**

So....it's after 8:00 am and I've been up all night.

(Lke that's new, right? Ha ha)

Right, so I've been up all night. I decided that I would force my brain into an all-night bootcamp, and I think it worked. See, I've been struggling with my Guild project. I'll design something, then I'll hate it, then I'll try again....(It was bad enough that I went through a whole lot of back-and-forth trying to decide on a guild to begin with, but the indecision didn't end there. ) Anyway, I had to decide, arches or no arches? Serpentine plan or not? What was the best way to mimic the characteristics of Japanese food without someone approaching my structure form a mile away and automatically shouting, "OHMIGOD! That building looks like a roll of sushi!"

Wack, right? Right.

SO, Thursday night, I decided that I needed to refocus and try to get rid of all the loose ends in my idea. I needed to start over, to break down my concept and build it back up again. This meant a lot of writing and time spent on Google. I looked at the steps to become a chef. I found out what ingredients are used most often in Japanese cuisine, what these ingrediants looked like. I researched what finished Japanese dishes are "supposed" to look like.

Friday night, I dreampt up a variation of the structure I'd been working with. As I slept Saturday night, my mind played a series of SketchUp animations of different ways I could build onto the variation from the night before. True story. Sunday, I worked through my dreampt-up ideas (this time in real life, on paper and on SketchUp in real life). And, for the rest of the night (until maybe an hour or so ago), I built up my program and so on....

Mission more-or-less accomplished.

For now, it's naptime.

And, boy, do I have a craving for Shiitake mushrooms...









**Washoku: Japanese term for "traditional Japanese cuisine"

Why is Blogspot blocked???

So, it seems that the Powers that Be on this campus thought that it would be a good idea to block Blogspot. So, here, I can post all day, but I cannot see anyone else's blogs.

*sigh*

And it's too bad because I wonder who else posted about our outing to the Home-a-Rama event in Virginia Beach today.

We went to this event called 'Home-a-Rama' today in Virginia Beach. There were seven homes--HUGE, EXPENSIVE homes that were furnished and decorated down to every detail, although no one lived there. But I bet everyone who passed through those houses wished they lived there! There were themed homes: one was called the "Wedding House" and another was called the "Virginia Beach House". The former had kind of an Art Deco theme on the interior (but it was Gerogian on the exterior, said the guide Travis W. talked to) and 3 floors and it was actually the setting of a real wedding only a day before we showed up. And everything was white and black. The master bedroom looked like a gaudy Vegas Honeymoon suite. It wasn't my favorite home, but it was certainly one of the most interesting. The latter home was sea-themed; there was an aquarium in the dining room, mermaids on the walls and fish painted on the glass shower doors. The countertops were made of some sort of stone with specks of blue and sea-green and brown, and one of the bedrooms had a sand-colored carpet and sky-blue walls (think: beach). This was one of the most pleasent homes in the show, but a lot of it was blocked off, so I didn't get to experience the whole thing.

Another home that was kind of a big deal was the "Mothership". It boasted a grand staircase in the front and a million bookshelves, patios, a really cool and expensive-looking home theater ROOM. (That's right, not a mere wooden shelf, but a whole ROOM!...complete with several plush seats and a movie theatre set up). The neatest thing about this house, though, was that it was constructed with styrofoam and steel walls filled with concrete. I learned that these walls interlocked, and were filled with concrete story by story. The man who was showing of this type of contruction was pleasantly shocked when we caught a reference the product literature made to Cradle to Cradle. He gave "props" to Hampton University because we'd actually read the book and knew the significane of its contents and sustainability in general. According to him, the majority of students from other architecture programs in VA that visited the show had never read the Cradle to Cradle or cared about what it was about.

Nice, right? Much thanks to Prof Shannon Chance for making us look good out in public :-)


....What else happened...OH! We saw that house number seven was missing a drainage system on the roofs; the "overhangs" were made with the roof shingles that covered the rest of the roof, and they were uneven at that. It was declared that Prof Peronnet would be pretty unhappy about that...

Untitled

I made a serious breakthrough in this last fable-slash-museum project as far as model coolness. This is a big deal, because I feel pretty insecure about modelling. And, surprise-surprise, I even had fun with this model. It's my "baby": I got to start from the basics, and I really got to build a little Mini-Me of my Fable idea. I started with the structure, then went to adding the skin/claddin and so on. I dropped my model on the ground carrying it to the auditorium to post it up, and it didn't break! Exciting, no?

Also regardng this project, we figured out how it's merely a glorified musem. Funny thing is, I actually would like to design a museum at some point during my career. So, I kind of had the oppurtunity to try it, and I'm a little dismayed that I didn't think of it as a museum to begin with. My fable actually turned out to focus more on worship with my specimen and selectivity than showing it off for a bunch of people...Does that make it less museum-like? I don't know...but it's something to think about.

...Not like I need to be thinking. I really need to be sleeping...so I guess I'll get on that immediately.

This effin model!

So...about this sectional model.


I learned something new. I found out what a sectional model even was in class yesterday. Apparently, what I'd envisioned in my head all along was completely off-base. The cool thing about it is that I get to show the structure. I actually kind of think structure is pretty exciting. Does that make me an "architecture head"?--(i stole that term from a First Year named Monty). I'm currently trying to figure out how the structural supports should be arranged, since my design is radial. And I also need to decide how filagree and solid construction can be used together successfully. Can a big slab of stone or concrete go on top of floor joints? Or does one build floor supports around the slab?




Going from this (^^^) to....???????????????????

Decisions, decisions.





Party in Bemis tonight, I guess...