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!

Wednesday Workings 1st Edition

Welcome to the first edition of Wednesday Workings. Like my Sunday Structures, I hope to post projects that I've been working on every week. I don't think I'll ever run out of projects to post. My design class has two assignments almost every week, and for my Woodshop class, you'll see the process of turning a plank of wood into a box that I designed myself.

Ok, if you remember my first design with all those little squares, we continued with another project: pick the ugliest squares, find 9 different designs, pick the best one and then invert the values. This isn't my favorite. I liked my spiral a lot more than this one. I probably spent the least amount of studio time on this, maybe 3 hours total.

The next assignment took forever We picked 15 squares, put them in 10 different designs, then drew the original design in our sketchbook, then inverted the values on a piece of illustration board. I was mostly pleased with this one. This took probably 8 hours of studio time. I don't really remember at this point, it all blurs together.

We finally moved away from squares, and went to drawing lines. We had to come up with 12 different compositions using 5 horizontal/vertical lines. Then pick the best one and draw it in full size. We had to complete this whole process using diagonal lines, curved lines, and a combination of all the lines. My favorite one is the vertical lines. When we critiqued these in class, the professors picked mine to show that even with very stable vertical lines, you could still create a sense of movement in the composition. Do you get the feeling that this line is moving towards you from the top left to the bottom right? Can you see the curve that your eye creates from line to line? That was my intention! The only downfall of this assignment was that I waiting too long to get started on it. It was due on Thursday and I started it on Wednesday night after my night class ended at 8 pm. I was up until 1:30 and then got up at 6 to get ready for class. That's not too bad, but I don't think I'll be doing that again.

For my shop class, I picked this really ugly piece of wood. I cut it down to size and made all the sides even and then sanded it in a planer to get it the right width. I wish I would have taken a picture of it before I started the process. I didn't want to pick it because it was so dirty, but I was advised that it might turn out to be a good piece. It turned out to be really beautiful with a nice even grain. Last week I cut it into my four sides of my box. I don't know what I'll be working on tonight though, but I'm excited.

I think that's really it for Wednesday Workings! Until next time.

Also complete side note: I am so excited for this weekend! Just two more days!! Also, 19 days til the Hanson Concert!! Yippee!

Sunday Structures 2nd Edition

I've been really busy lately. I'll catch you all up sometime on the rest of my life, but for today...SUNDAY STRUCTURES!!! Today's feature is the Dana-Thomas House, designed by my personal favorite, Frank Lloyd Wright. I have had the pleasure of touring this house 3 times. The last time I went, it was the last week before they shut it down due to cutbacks from the city. But, they reopened it, so many more people will have the experience of a well presevered Frank Lloyd Wright design.

Designed and built between 1902-1904 for Mrs. Susan Lawrence Dana. She liked to entertain, so she had Mr. Wright design an addition to her already existing family home. FLW used the Prairie Style home. The second owner was Mr. Charles Thomas, a medical publisher. He was responsible for maintaining the orginal furnishings and design. He sold the house as a whole to the State of Illinois in 1981 for $1 million.

This place is so cool. In the basement, there's a pool table, a mini bowling lane, and a library full of children's books and toys. I love the colors and the way the interior ceilings create a sense of being in a public area versus a private area. They also decorate for Christmas every year. It's neat. If you're in the Springfield area, I definitely suggest a visit.

Sunday Structures

Welcome all to the first edition of Sunday Structures. In my last post, I commented on a favorite building along the Chicago River, 333 West Wacker Drive. I came up with the idea to pick a favorite building or particular structure once a week and blog about it. Sara helped with the title, isn't it catchy? Since I love architecture so much (it kinda is what I want to be doing with the rest of my life), I thought I would subject all of you to also learn about significant (according to me) structures.

Gateway Arch (aka St. Louis Arch)

Designed by Architect Eero Saarinen and Structural Engineer Hannskarl Bandel. Construction began in February of '63 and was finished in October of '65. It is the tallest national monument in the United States, towering 630 ft. The span at the base of the arch is also 630. The arch is called a catenary curve; it's the most structually sound arch shape. They built from both legs at the same time, and fit the final piece in at the top.

Because of the construction design, and to make sure the legs connected at the top, the margin for error was 1/64th of an inch. Holy Cow!!! We have machines in our shop that are accurate to 1/32nd of an inch. But these guys had to be stinkin' precise with the instruments they had. The arch is built to sway in the wind, but it's still perfectly stable. The maximum sway is 18 inches in 150 mph wind, but usually, it only sways 1/2 inch; not even noticable when you're up at the top. Each section of the arch is an equilateral triangle; the base sections of the arch is 54 ft and the top section is only 17 ft.

"To the question, what is the purpose of architecture, I would answer: To shelter and enhance man's life on earth and to fulfill his belief in the nobility of his existence." Eero Saarinen

"The only architecture which interests me is architecture as a fine art. That is what I want to pursue. I hope that some of my buildings will have lasting truths. I admit frankly I would like a place in architectural history. Whether I do or not and how big a niche depends, in the end, on native talent and one cannot ask for more than one has. But one has to work as hard as one can." Eero Saarinen.

Yes, Mr. Saarinen, you have a place in architectural history. And thank you for encouraging other architects to pursue what interests them, to work as hard as they can with the talent that is given to them.

The River

Not to be confused by a previous post entitled 'River', this is 'The River.' Bonus points to the person who knows the artist of this song.

Quick update before I get to the good stuff. The first critique in Design class went really well. The profs said that I had good craftsmanship, good eye movement within the design, and good contrast. To do something as difficult as a spiral was a bold move. So I'm happy with that. The beginning of the week was really tense with trying to get everything done, but as soon as class was over Wednesday night, it was smooth sailing. Also on Wednesday night, I got to pick my materials for my box that I have to design, and I used the Sliding Compound Miter Saw to make my first cut. Pretty exciting stuff.

All the art and design students had a first of the year grill out, so I got to meet some new people. I was talking to one student about starting the program later than the rest of the traditional freshman, and she brought up a very good point. I'm being thrown into the pressures of design studio without having to also get used to the pressures of being on my own for the first time, so I'll be able to handle design better. I love that, and it's a great way to look at it.

So Thursday, of course, was my birthday! Thanks to all that called or sent cards. I got out of class on Thursday at 10:45, and Danielle called me and told me that I needed to go to my car. She drove all the way to school to see me on my birthday, and she brought cake!! We ate some cake, and went out to lunch at Noodles and Co. Then I showed her around campus and the studio. It was a great birthday.

Saturday, I drove into the city to spend the weekend with Danielle and Heidi. We had rescheduled Heidi's birthday surprise, which was Kayaking along the Chicago River. We went on the fireworks tour. So we kayaked for 3 miles to Navy Pier, watched the fireworks from our kayaks, and then kayaked back 3 miles to where we started. I've never been kayaking before, and let me tell you, it's not as easy as it looks. (That is not really a look of excitement, I was kinda nervous, I really didn't want to tip, but I didn't!!) I had so much fun, there are so many beautiful buildings along the river, I just wanted to coast the whole way to just keep my eyes on the skyline.

Architecture lesson of the blog: My favorite building was 333 West Wacker Drive. Built in 1983 by Kohn Petersen Fox Associates. The building was designed to match the curve of the river. The glass panels are green to reflect the Chicago River, the sky and the surrounding buildings. It's one of the most popular all glass skyscrapers in the world. It is ranked #62 of 150 on the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) America's Favorite Architecture List. http://favoritearchitecture.org/afa150.php

http://kayakchicago.com/index.html (These first pictures are before the trip started, check out our stylish PFD's aka Personal Floatation Devices made for paddlers; the last picture was at the end, we were so tired, it's a workout!)

I think that's really it. It was a good weekend. I needed to get away, even though I've only done two weeks of school, it's been draining getting used to the routine. Design assignments 2 and 3 will be up this week (probably Tuesday or Wednesday) for ya'll to look at.