We went out for a bit and found the 5th bar over on rue de Mouffetard at the suggestion of a friend (Bill if you are reading this) and gave the bartender a white sox baseball hat. He gave us free shots and a beer. Then we got panini's from a little shop and made our way back home. I have some pictures of the surrounding area of our apartment.
Those of you that have emailed me to wish me a safe journey...THANK YOU! If any of you wish to send care packages, mixed-tape C.D.'s or just a note saying 'Hi!' let me know and I will get you the proper mailing address where such things will reach me.
Tomorrow is the first day of studio, and I am almost certain we will be doing something along the lines of city research, planning and design.
THURSDAY:
First day of class. woke up at 7am and went for walk around. Saw Pompidou, Notre Dame, and had Croq Msr. for lunch at one of thousands of brasserie. We kept seeing people walking around with cut wood in various dimensions. Dont knoow if it was "National Walk With Wood Day" or that's just what people do. I am going to start documenting all of the dog shit I see. Maybe the Parisiens will be embarresed and start picking it up. Some lady was on the metro train playing the accodian, it was a cool ambiance, but I didnt give her any change when she walked around with her cup.
SATURDAY:
Well it's Saturday morning. Slept in a bit today, got up at 7am instead of 6. Starting to get a feel for things finally. Gotten over my fear of trying to converse with all 7 of the French words I can use skillfully. Three new things: 1. If you've never heard the sound of pigeons walking on a tin roof...you should, it's kind of funny. 2. Last night I went back to studioto print out some book pages scan relevent to our weekend charrette (More on that latter), as I was returning I hear some yelling "QUATRE!" and hear a tink-tink-tink, looking up just in time to see a golf ball go bouncing past me. Three guys with pitching wedges and each with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. Apparently they were practicing their chip shots on their blocked-off street which was being repaired and nothing but sand. 3. I love the street sweepers brooms. They are made of green platci bristles that are molded to look like hay.
So, yesterday we went down to the Les Halles area and went to the old market site, which is now an underground mall and above ground park for tourists and the homeless. Apparently last year four firms presented designs for possible redevelopment and Rem Koolhaas was the winner and some say it was strictly political. Prof Roesch dislikes, and we all agree I think, the proposal, and thinks something better can be done. So over the weekend he wants us to spend time in the neighborhood, critic the four proposals and each of us come up with a new design for better use of the site. AND WE'RE OFF!
View from Kitchen
I have arived in Paris. I am keeping a journal online at:http://travelingpencil.blogspot.com/index.html I am going to post bits and pieces of it here. Unless there is an overwhelming demand. Some of the more intereting pics also. View full entry
Well I am leaving in 8 days for Paris. I think we have a place to stay. I feel like I should be more worried about things then i actually am. I was more worried about getting a tooth pulled today (AND YES I HAD GOOD REASON TO BE-FUCK THAT SUXS!) I have although, finalized my list of books to... View full entry
SO I AM GOING TO BE LEAVING AUG. 22 FOR PARIS AND SPENDING THE SEMESTER THERE UNTIL THE 11TH OF DEC. I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WERE ANY OTHER ARCHINECT STUDENTS THAT WERE GOING TO BE STUDYING IN EUROPE IN THE FALL AND MAYBE IT WOULD BE COOL TO MEET UP AND TOOL AROUND. View full entry
It looks like I will be spending the fall semester based in Paris and doing a semester there. I want to travel light and have limited myself to only taking 5 books with me. I was curious if anyone had any suggestions of books they would want to have with them. So far I have: 1. Christopher... View full entry
O.K., I WAS TOLD TO RESEARCH TWO-STAGE DRAINS FOR MY ROOF-TOP GARDEN. GO AHEAD...GOOGLE TWO-STAGE-DRAIN. SEE WHAT YOU CAN FIND. GO LOOK IN PLUMBING BOOKS. CHECK-OUT YOUR MECH/ELEC BLDG SYTMS TEXT. WHAT I DO KNOW IS IT'S NOT A TYPE OF ACTUALY DRAIN PRODUCED BY A FIXTURE MANUFACTURER, UNLESS THEY... View full entry
1. CONTAINER MUST HAVE TIGHT CAP TO CONTAIN LIQUID WHEN IT IS NOT BEING CONSUMED. 2. CAP MUST BE PLACED IN AN AIR-TIGHT POSITION AS SOON AS CONSUMPTION HAS CEASED. a. "air-tight" is defined as not allowing more then two drops to escape the container, when said container is placed in an inverted... View full entry
It's never to late to build a time machine. I slept for fours hours last night on my inflatable mattress here at studio. 4 HOURS! Shit. As much as I need to get out of this building for a few hours to go to work tonight bartending, I'm scared to be gone. Anyone in Chicago that wants to come down... View full entry
Just posting my first of the semester. Thought I would pose a Q for those of you that want to debate design. If a design is concept driven how much of the program drives the design? It would seem to me that concept driven design is the idealistic that eludes the post gradute. Program=functional... View full entry
The dean of Illinois Institute of Technology sent an all College email this week saying we were accepting displaced students into our College of Architecture. I dont know the exact details, but I'm sure you can contact the school and find out more through the admissions department: Office of... View full entry
"The word 'sustainable' expresses the obligation that each generation has to the next to preserve the value of the natural world." "I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham", Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Essay appears in the Earth Pledge Foundation's book:Sustainable Cuisine. View full entry
1. Manifesto's- Who's working on an architectural manifesto? It seems to me most of the influential architects of teh past all wrote manifestos: how they defined architecture, what direction architecture should go in, what is good and bad architecture. Is the manifesto a dead practice? Is a blog a... View full entry
I was informed last week that my Archinect blog was found or reported to the dean of the architecture school, and that it was being watched. While this was meant as a joking jab it's made me wonder if faculty really cares what students have to say about the program they are enrolled in. I'm a... View full entry
Calling all students! I want to start a collection of Studio photos from the different school of Architecture around the world. If you can email me .jpg's of your studio that would be great. I hope to have enough by the summer that I can start to put a cool webpage documenting all of them. I'd... View full entry
I'm just curious as I sit here putting the last of the lettering and dimensioning on the latest revision of my timber frame house construction drawings...In as much as it may have been, is hand lettering a lost art? Are any of the rest of you taught it for more then a one-day, in-studio charrette?... View full entry
Second year at IIT studio is totally about details. We completly leave behind, for the most part, all of the designs tools we learned about in first year. I'm not complaining about it, but i do wonder how many other school spend an entire year of studo work teaching how to do details? and when I... View full entry
I've been drafting at home now for 2 weeks since the semester started. I really havn't decided if I like it or not. It's convienent, that's for sure. How many of you out there that are still hand-drafting in school have spent time drafting at home as well as in studio? What's your feelings on it? View full entry
The end of an era. I only wonder who will pick-up the torch now that the last of the great modernists is gone. View full entry
