Sorry, but I can't pass on an obvious 80s reference. I think the official countdown is 12 days, but I really don't care. I've already done the whole graduation thing and dressing like that one time will suffice. Oh yeah, I was even the graduation speaker. All I'm concerned with is completing all the necessary wrap-up work. So that's what I've been doing since the last time I was around these parts.

There are a couple highlights to mention from the past few weeks and a few to look forward to. The first was the presentation of my thesis project to the Richmond, Indiana community. About 20 people (nearly 7x more then saw my original presentation) attended and were pleased that the spotlight was being placed on the abandoned Richmond Gas Company building. They all had their own ideas for what the adapted building could be, but were most interested in preserving the building. So I guess one of my goals was achieved. Hopefully this is just the beginning of the process.

A board member of the Richmond Parks and Recreation, which owns the building, was in attendance and wants a copy of my proposals to present to the full board for consideration in the Whitewater River Gorge Park master plan. My design is just a single vision for what the adapted building can be and ultimately I'm most interested in seeing the building preserved. I'm looking forward to providing any assistance to the community as they make future decisions. So all that was very fun.

I also mentioned in an earlier post that I had an interview for a full time position. I'm happy to report that I was chosen and have accepted their offer to begin my career in the Windy City. That's all I'm going to say on that matter for now, but with all the bad news swirling around I wanted to show everybody that its not all bad out there. I think the upswing is closer than most of us think. So keep at it and good things will happen.

In two weeks I head to Milan to do a historic preservation study abroad program. I'm absolutely pumped. My section of study is going to be on the adapted use of factory buildings at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Crespi d'Adda. Hmm, that sounds familiar. I'm pretty sure the work I did on my thesis project will be invaluable. Oh and then there's the whole thing of being in Italy. Yeah that's awesome too.

Speaking of thesis, I've compiled two different condensed written and graphical narratives of my project. The smaller 4 page spread is for a book of thesis projects the studio is putting together for posterity's sake. The longer 12 page report is a more in-depth look at my project that addresses premise, process, and product. The 4 page spread is below and both are available for download and perusal.





Thesis Book Spread
Thesis Report

So its going to be a busy and exciting May and June. Then things get real come July. I'll be hanging around here blogging about my study abroad in Italy and while I know its a school blog, maybe a taste of my first few months on the job. For now good luck to all the students finishing up end the semester projects and to everybody else looking for a job. Life is good.