Wednesday Workings 3rd Edition

Welcome back to Wednesday Workings. I haven't had a chance to post much of my work because of midterms. My profs collected our sketchbooks, so I couldn't do anything until I got it back. First, this is my final product of the Midterm project, from the last Wednesday Workings post. Three different levels of vellum. Different shapes on each level, creates my composition.

This week we have moved onto what we will be using for the rest of the semester (6 weeks!) We will be using the same designs to do a variety of different projects. This one is a Tile Pattern Assignment. I took 3 different 3 inch x 3 inch squares and rotated and reflected the image to create 6 inch x 6 inch squares. Which one is your favorite among the 12 different designs?

So that's my design class. Tonight for shop class, I started using the Router to carve out the two short ends of my box to make the trinity knots stand out. The holes in the middle are my pilot holes for carving out the inside of the knots. They won't stay there, don't worry.

Alright, well that's it for now, small update this time!

Sunday Structures 4th Edition

As promised from my previous post, Frank Lloyd Wright's Home and Studio.

The home was built in 1889, and the studio added to the property in 1898. This is where he spent the first 20 years of his career living and working. He also lived here with his first wife and their six children. And let me tell you, the rooms were not that large, But the children's play room was pretty sweet.

The studio was added in 1898 and is where he and his associates developed the Prairie Style of homes, which is the most popular style of older American homes. He designed 125 different structures in his studio, including the Robie House, and Unity Temple, also in Illinois.

He uses a lot of different techniques in his home, like low ceilings in the hallways that lead to high vaulted ceilings in the main rooms. This creates a sort of anticipation as you are led down a narrow path that suddenly opens up into a massive space. This is the children's playroom. It had a piano in one corner, but because Frank didn't want to take up floor space, he pushed it into the wall. He took off the back leg of the piano and suspended it in the stair well with iron hooks. When you walk down the stairs under the playroom, you have to watch your head, or you might hit it on the piano! This room also features a gallery seating (not pictured) This was where the children would either seat their guests for the plays that they created, or they would make it their stage and the audience would watch from the main floor.

The dining room used to be their kitchen, but Frank expanded it. It features indirect lighting above the table, use of organic and geometric shapes that are echoes in the table and the lighting above the table, which is exactly the same size as the table below. He made use of built in furniture and built in bookshelfs and closets. He didn't like taking up his precious floor space. He designed all the furniture for the house as well.

The studio is amazing. He had his own private office and waiting room for his clients, the studio was full of old plans. The studio has rotating octagons all throughout the structure, and the final layer is actually suspended by iron chains. As in the second floor gallery is just hanging there. Pretty cool. The library served as his office to meet with clients and to showcase his plans. This also had a series of smaller octagons throughout the room from floor to ceiling. High windows and skylight let the sunlight in. The room was virtually sound proof. Frank didn't like his clients to be distracted from his speaking by sounds from the outside.

It was pretty cool to walk in the place that he had been in for twenty years of his life. He wasn't such a great person, but his architecture is amazing. I can't imagine living on Oak Park under the shadow of his name. Living in Illinois, there's always going to be that shadow that is Frank Lloyd Wright, but especially in Oak Park, you can't get away from him. He designed more homes on the street that he lived, you can do an entire walking tour of his designs in Oak Park.

Giving in to Something Heavenly

Last week was a super crazy week. 2 concerts + 3 midterms = little sleep. At least the concerts were worth it. I could barely stay awake for my Midterm Critique on Tuesday. My ears were also fuzzy from Hanson. But the critique went well. Both positive feedback and constructive criticism for me to learn from.

Wednesday was a long day as usual. But I managed to win a ticket to Sanctus Real and Addison Road in the chapel. The concert started at 7, but I had class til 8, so I missed the two opening bands, but got there right as Addison Road was getting on stage. I really love Addison Road and a lot of the meaning behind their songs. Obviously. It was good to hear the songs live. I also got to meet Addison Road after the concert!

I only knew a few Sanctus Real songs, but one song that I listened to non stop before my move from Champaign was especially meaningful to me. The chorus is this:

Whatever you're doing inside of me

It feels like chaos somehow there's peace

It's hard to surrender to what I can't see

but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Thursday I had my design midterm. It didn't take very long, and I felt fairly confident. My prof already posted my grade online. I got a B+ for the midterm exam and so far I have a B+ for the class!! That makes me happy.

I was supposed to study for my two midterms on Thursday night, but I couldn't bring myself to be motivated, so instead I woke up at 5 on Friday morning to study. My first midterm was all writing for History of Civilizations. I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be, but I did what I could. And that grade is also posted, 95% for the exam, 95% for the class so far. Imagine what would happen if I actually tried in that class. My last midterm was Physics. I haven't gotten it back yet, but we'll see. Last time I thought I failed and I got a B, so hopefully that happens again.

After midterms and work was a 4 day weekend! Finally some time to relax. I watched a few movies because I felt like being lazy (Adventureland-watch it; Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist-don't bother; He's Just Not that Into You-watch it; The Women-watch it). I did manage to complete all the online chapter exams for my history class for the rest of the semester. Which means I only have the written assignments and the paper left for that class.

Rachel came up on Sunday night. On Monday we went to Frank Lloyd Wright's Home and Studio in Oak Park for a tour. It was incredible, I will do a Sunday Structure on that this coming weekend. It was kinda cool to walk around in the house and studio that he designed for himself and actually lived in.

I'm glad I had a chance to relax and spend time with Rachel. I needed to recoup after that last week. And now I feel refreshed to go back to school tomorrow and start the last half of the semester!

Also, totally random, but a few of my favorite things about Fall/Winter: Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks, and Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash. I don't know why I'm so excited for Cranberry Splash, but I am...

Stand Up, Stand Up

This is the new Hanson EP, 5 new songs. I think they played all of them last night. I have yet to get it, but I will. I know, I know. I'm not a real fan if I don't have the cd that's been out for a couple of months...I'm a horrible Fanson.

Anyway, the title comes from a song called "World's On Fire" Here's the chorus:

Do they know that the world’s on fire?

Do they know that the time is now?

Do they know that you gotta stand up, stand up
Let your voice speak out
Do they know that it’s time?

Also, I really want this hoodie. I realized last week that I don't own any Hanson apparel. And that is just absurd considering I've been a fan for nearly half of my life. Isn't that crazy? MMMBop came out in 1997. And almost 13 years later, I'm still loving their music.

Anyway, onto the concert, which was amazing as usual. Danielle and I got down to the House of Blues around 4. The doors were set to open at 4:30, so we got some Starbucks and then stood in line. The other two times we've been to the HoB, we weren't allowed cameras. I've had to check my camera in the store and claim it after the concert (lame!) It even says it on our ticket, but for some reason, they didn't even check our purses, we just walked right in. I was super excited about that, and glad that I decided to bring my camera anyway.

The opening bands started playing right at 5. Sherwood was alright, Steel Train was kinda weird. Hello Goodbye was fun. They did well at energizing the crowd. They also said they would be out in the crowd during Hanson to hang with all of us and dance around.

Hanson went on around 8 or so. They sang some of their oldies of course, they do have 10 years of music to choose from. They sang their new songs. They took requests from the night before. They also had a poll for fans on their website to choose what song we wanted. And the song Danielle and I voted for "Sweet Home Chicago" won. That was fun.

This first clip is the chorus of "Runaway Run" off of their This Time Around cd. Love this song. And the reason the camera is shaking so much, you might ask? Well it's not because I was freaking out, thank you very much. It's because people were jumping, which makes the entire floor move. It's crazy.

Here's some old school "Where's the Love"


"If Only" chorus...mainly because I love Taylor and his harmonica. It's amazing to me that he can play keyboard and harmonica at the same time.

"MMMBop" of course, crowd favorite!

My freak out moment did come during the concert, and Danielle can testify to it. So I'm standing there just listening to them sing, and I feel something hit my arm that's holding my purse. And my first thought was "Someone just threw something at me" I thought maybe it was a gum wrapper or something. So I look down and wedged between my arm and my purse was a guitar pick. ISAAC HANSON'S GUITAR PICK!!!!!! Are you kidding me?! He tossed it into the crowd, and it just landed on my arm. Totally crazy, right? It's not like I went out of my way to launch myself in the general direction to fight off all the other fans who wanted it. It just landed on me.


So as they're singing their encore, with Tay behind the drums and Zac singing lead...Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", these guys come pushing through the crowd. And then I realized, 'hey, those are the guys from Hello Goodbye that said they were going to come dance with us. So I natually took a picture while they were passing me to get to the front.

I think that's really it. Danielle and I grabbed some food after the concert and then got back on the L. It was a late night, and I could barely stay awake for class today, but Hanson's always totally worth it.

Wednesday Workings Second Edition

Hey ya'll! Here's what I've been working on the past couple of weeks. I like seeing the progression of my work. Both in my design class and my wood shop class. I actually do school work up here, for the record.

So first we had to draw a reflective object in just a contour and shape drawing, and then we filled all the alternating shapes in black and white.

The next assignment was to trace 50 of the shapes from these drawings and color them in with ink.

Then my current project was to take ten of those and put them together in 5 different ways to create some sort of composition that shows levels of hierarchy and focal point. Which one is your favorite?

That's it for my design class. Onto shop class. I think my project is coming along nicely. This is what I've done in the past couple of weeks.

I'm really happy with my design and how it's looking,

I'm pretty proud of it so far.

And that's about it. Wednesday are really long days, and I'm exhausted, but next week is midterm. I'm halfway through my first semester in architecture!

Sunday Structures 3rd Edition

Welcome readers to the newest installment of Sunday Structures. Today, I thought it would be fitting to share some information on the place that I spend most of my time, and the place that will most likely become more of my home rather than my actual apartment during my time here at Judson.

The Harm A. Weber Academic Center (aka HAWAC, pronounced Hey, wack)

Architects: Burnidge Cassell Associates of Elgin, IL.

88,000 square feet, houses the library, classrooms, gallery, and architecture studio space.

Certified Gold Level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) by the USGBC (US Green Building Council)

Energy conversation through natural lighting, passive cooling, photovoltaic system, and a mixed mode naturally ventilated heating system.

What better way to learn about sustainable building and energy conservation than to study in an actual model of it? Winston Churchill said "We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us." I love this quotation from him.

First, Mixed-mode natural ventiliation system. The building can operate fully natural, fully mechanical, or a mix of the two. Cool air comes in from the basement of the building and is allowed to flow naturally up the four floors until it is exhausted into the outside air at the top. In the winter and summer, the air is recycled inside instead of being let outside.

Second, Photovoltaics (PVs). Those are the solar panels at the top of the picture. They generate electricity for the building. Third, the deep set windows on the south facade. These windows allow the winter sun in to light and heat the building, but in the summer, it allows light in, but not heat. This has to do with the position of the building to the position of the sun during those seasons.

Also, the buildings' studio space and library has ample views of the outdoors and daylight, which is shown to increase workplace productivity. The middle block of the architecture studios and library has a light well atrium. It brings in light from the outside to the very center of the building and down into the basement. During most of the daytime hours, we don't even need to turn the lights on because of this naturally daylighting approach.

The exterior is as much a part of this building as the interior is. The landscape provides stormwater control, minimizes water runoff, and reduces the need for storm sewers. The native plant species restores native habitat. The walkways are made of light colored concrete, which reduces heat generation.

This is a good building to study in; a good design. Here's more information on the building in an interactive map. http://www.judsonu.edu/uploadedFiles/__Judson_Public/Support_Judson/New_Academic_Center/LEED_map.swf

My heart is filled with songs of forever

It's been almost a month since I posted a blog that was not a Sunday Structure or Wednesday Workings. Things have been really busy, obviously. I'm a couple of weeks away from midterm, I can't believe I've already mad it through half of the semester. I haven't been doing much more than class and work and homework though.

My first late night was a couple of weeks ago with my design assignment, previously mentioned in my Wednesday Workings blog. That was partly due to Rachel coming for a surprise visit on her way home from her sister's soccer game. So good to see her! It was strange not being able celebrate our birthday's together. This is the first birthday we haven't celebrated since our Sophomore year at Lincoln. But dinner was good, and I got to show her a little bit of the building before I had to go to class and she had to finish her drive.

The most exciting thing in the past couple of weeks has been my trip down to Champaign. Last Friday, I skipped my classes to drive down in the morning. I hung out with my favorite cool people during the day and tried some good stuff at Crane Alley Friday night.

Saturday I went over to the Waters' new house in Champaign to help them move stuff in. I cleaned a lot, and smelled likie bleach by the end of the afternoon. It's such a cute house, great wood floors, awesome porch, nice basement (where my room is!!) One of the funniest things happened at dinner. We were all talking about how Zeke calls it the Acorn House because there are huge acorns all around their property. Since it was so windy last weekend, the acorns were falling like rain, very dangerous! Anyway, so we're telling this story about the Acorn Shower and Corrie says "yeah, it was NUTS!!!!" get it? Acorns, nuts? HAHAHAHAHA. Funniest part was that she didn't even realize what she was saying. I love her!

Saturday was Katy's Lia Sophia party. We did very well, and I got to see people that I haven't seen since I moved, so BONUS!

I got a new book while I was in Champaign. Donald Miller's new book. I love it so far, I just want to read it all day with a great cup of coffee, but I have work to do. It's about living a great story, and realizing that it's a great story, not just a bunch of random experiences. You can read the first 30 pages on his website. It's enough to get your hooked...if you like to read. http://donmilleris.com/

The drive back to Elgin was nice, too. I had a great new cd to listen to (thanks for making it for me!). I have conveniently titled my blog with my favorite song's chorus from Thrice's new album, Beggars. It's a song called In Exile. Seriously, the entire cd is great, even the bonus tracks. And just because I love this song so much, here's the whole song.

I am in exile, a sojourner
A citizen of some other place
All I’ve seen is just a glimmer in a shadowy mirror
But I know, one day we’ll see face to face

I am a nomad, a wanderer
I have nowhere to lay my head down

There’s no point in putting roots too deep when I’m moving on

Not settling for this unsettling town

My heart is filled with songs of forever
The city that endures when all is made new
I know I don’t belong here, I’ll never
Call this place my home, I’m just passing through

I am a pilgrim, a voyager
I won’t rest until my lips touch the shore
Of the land that I’ve been longing for as long as I’ve lived
Where they’ll be no pain or tears anymore

Beautiful song...simply beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, I think fall finally came this week. It feels so nice out, even though I'm not used to the cold breeze. Now there are a lot of good reasons to go to college. I like this school, I want to be an architect. You know, the good stuff. But one of my all time favorite reasons to go to college...HOODIES!! Yes, I am a fan of hoodies (you didn't know that, did you?) So I broke out my hoodie collection tonight. Yeah, that's right. Green Hoodie...oh how I've missed you!

I should probably get to my homework that's due tomorrow. I think that's really it. Oh yeah, my countdowns:

Hanson: October 12, 11 days!

Fall Break: October 19-20, 18 days!

Prosser Wedding: November 7, 37 days!