2.5 Twist Reverse Pike Somersault

NOTE THIS IS BEING POSTED ON THE 28TH BUT WAS WRITTEN ON THE 24TH. I'M NOT ONE FOR BACKDATING BLOGS BUT ATTEMPTS TO PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE WHEN I WAS IN THE MOOD TO DO IT HAVE FAILED AND NOW I'M GOING OUT OF TOWN. SO....


There's nothing more dramatic then passing out in the studio. Unless, of course, one does it after cutting the tip of one's thumb off and doing a pseudo-conscious backflip over the back of one's chair while tying to sit down after feeling somewhat lightheaded during an attempted personal gauze application.
Now I'm not one to worry my mother, I think I've put her through more than enough in the past, but I should say that the above described individual was me AND I AM FINE. EXCELLENT. STUPENDOUS I do have a large lump on the back of my head from where I hit the radiator on the way down [Did I forget to mention that?], which has resulted in a staggeringly large headache. My good friend Lisa who just happened to have walked up to my desk asked me what was up after seeing gauze on my desk. She arrived in just enough time for me to say "I cut my thumb." *CUE BLACKOUT* She asked why I was so yellow about a half second before I did a not so graceful dive over the back of my chair. Jon, who sits next to me, had called an ambulance before I regained total consciousness, and I spent a minute on the floor of the studio trying to figure out exactly just what had happened until paramedics showed up.
Now the piece of my thumb that was taken off seemed small enough to not warrant any of this type of drama [not even to the fingernail - a tiny little shaving really]. It came off in an amazingly clean fashion and I was quite calm and reserved while I walked over to the first-aid kit near the sink. I gave it a quick rinse, patted it dry, and grabbed some gauze and tape to wrap it up; all with the idea that this was so small I needn't worry anyone about such a little thing and I could simply just get back to work.
So the Aquatic Center model I was working on is now on hold and I have a meeting with my supervisor later today to discuss the deadline I have on Monday.
Now all of this happened last night and I was in absolutely no mood to discuss it last night,[You know who you are],I just wanted to put my massive headache to bed. And now I simply want to return to normal and get back to work. It was such a small little cut, simply exploded into a big scene by a low blood-sugar [4.1] and a rather unexpected queasiness.
I guess now there's just a little less of me to spread around.
Once Again, Feel Great - Excellent - Marvelous!

It's the 19th??

I have a major presentation, a monster paper, and prep for a trip out of the country - all happening within 3 days of each other next week. And I still have no idea what I'm doing for the summer. I'm going to have to put on some serious charm and make a few phone calls and see if can get a job in a firm in town. I'll do anything, pour coffee, whatever.
How am I this far behind? At least everyone else is just as wired as I am.

The Conversation

There's lots of buildings out there, lots of construction, but as I have felt for a long time, and recently highlighted by a rather vocal visit of Toronto-raised starchitect Frank Gehry, there is very little architecture. But what is this architecture? When I look at the city I left behind for this one - the similarities are interesting and possibly unfortunate. Vancouver didn't have the shear amount of property to expand onto when it started to grow. For Toronto it was simply a case of living a little further away and commuting just a little farther. Vancouver developed extensively in recent years, [post expo'88] and developing out was only sustainable for so long. Vancouver suffers [?] from a geographical constriction by being located next to the ocean on one side, the mountains on another, and major rivers through the middle. Commuting is not really feasible when there are only so many bridges, in fact it is actually quite difficult to go very far without having to cross a major bridge at all. Commuting in Vancouver is made up of a series of bottle-necks with some land between them. Living close to work was needed for the populations sanity. When expo was gone from the banks of False Creek, the residential condos started to go up. And boy did they go up.
Now Vancouver has created something quite interesting and not seen in many cities around the world - a densely populated urban fabric in the heart of the city. Towers are spaced beautifully, and their modern lines and glass are something unique to the developing skyline of Vancouver. The City of Glass has developed without even really knowing what it was doing. If you've ever walked through this fledgling area of Vancouver the towers are beautifully fresh and their proximity to services, work, and open spaces is impressive. Landmarks, however are few and far between. All of these towers look the same. Every single one. None of them are trying something new, proposing a different way of building, or living, or occupying the space in which we live. Now can Concord Pacific, one of the major developers of this area and one of the major players here in Toronto's latest development, be held accountable? Well, to expect a business working in a field as competitive as construction to take a risk and try something new is not going to happen. They are in the business of minimizing their risk. Investing millions of dollars in something untested with unknown results is just not done very often. So the result is twins, triplets, quadruplets, of repetitive building designs. "Ohh we'll change the floor heights, this one will be just a bit shorter, that'll create some visual interest!" Are we buying this crap? Apparently we are. And in Toronto, there seems to be a new crane along the southern edge of the city almost weekly.
Accidents in architectural design are unfortunate and do happen. However, tower after tower of boring, ugly, and deplorable shitiness, is starting to result in something new. More of an interest in design. A good thing no? Home renovation shows are booming on television aren't they?
But I'm beyond paint colors and the type of shiny chrome faucets in the bathroom, what are we living in? Architecture and it's resultant projects is a contribution to a conversation about the possibilities and goals of the population. When was the last time someone was rewarded for playing it safe at anything?
So as we build up, and explore the high rise world of living, are we really improving our way of life? Are developers actually developing anything at all or just recycling a formula which seems to work?

ps. Image is Steven Holl's "Simmons's Hall" a student residence at MIT, completed in 2002. Go and check him out. You can get in with the tiny 'entry' text in the top left.

Technology

Architecture used to be based in the world of T-squares, Triangles, Pencils and Paper. Until recently this has been they way of the architect for as long as architects have been around.
Today architecture is caught up in the technology boom, and many firms around the world don't use paper at all in the office. Technology is here to stay, and it's possibilities are amazing. However, it seems like we are just playing around looking for something visually cool and not really considering the ramifications of what we are doing. Exactly what is the point of doing something like what these programs are capable of? I feel like all we are doing is exploring the possibilities and not actually creating something good.
In a positive sense architecture has broken away from it's Cartesian roots and is free to explore the actual intents of the designers. We as architects are no longer limited to something like complex geometry and engineering issues. Did you know Jorn Utzon, the designer of the famed Sydney Opera House is rumored to have had to radically alter his original design [towards the conservative] because the original shape was too complex. However it is generally the most daring building projects which change the way we look at architecture, and change architecture itself. In time maybe even this will be a masterpiece...
OCAD

Aftermath

The bulk of the month's attention in the building has been towards the Thesis Presentations/Critiques/Defenses. On the 14th and 15th the Thesis students were scattered all over the building presenting their work to faculty, students, and visiting critics. Exactly what thesis 'is' still seems a bit of a mystery to me and others in my class. It seems more of an open book to explore the seemingly infinite possibilities of architecture; whether it be practical, theoretical, conceptual or total fantasy. There are the occasional hints that we should be thinking about our thesis already, reading books, looking at plans, researching; but I just don't know what I feel like just yet. I'm still getting my feet wet so to speak.
There are a few themes though which seem to come around again and again. Lebbeus Woods seems to be a perpetually recurring individual and his work is both visually and theoretically impressive. I know I'm interested in urban centers and things like population expansion, human density, and reintroducing structures left abandoned in the city grid.

Regardless, thesis is now done and the building seems quieter and a little empty from all the activity. I encourage all of you who read this who are in the area to come over, take me out for lunch, and look at some really fascinating projects. Some practical, some inventive, some offensive, and others which defy a description. They should be on display until the end of February.

New newer newest

Yes the realm of the new is upon me! At the top of the list is a girl who wouldn't take no for an answer when I met her. And here we are almost a year later and her purses (ridiculous in color, variety, size, and most noticeably to me, quantity) are exercising their feminine influence on my ridiculously tiny closet. It is so nice to come home to someone in the house; specifically a human being as having my sisters cat with me for 3 weeks before Christmas affirmed that I am DEFINITELY NOT a 'cat person'. Moreover she is on my side when it comes to the staggering workload and the stress it takes out on my life outside of the studio, she can make dinner[she's at "Chippy's" as we speak], she helps out with groceries, and rubs my back for the ten minutes I manage to spend awake when I get home until I pass out in her lap on the couch. I think she's fantastic; I do worry that I'm not around enough but she knows what I'm trying to do at the studio.
Other new things relating to her recent arrival consist of her demands of internet and cable TV at home. The internet has allowed me to keep up with the streaming broadcasts of BBC Radio One's music shows and specifically radio dj Gilles Petersen's Sunday night show Worldwide. The shows are amazing and it is the number one source of music for me. This is where I generally find all that crazy imported stuff my mother has to order by August in order for it to show up by Christmas. The most recent acquisition I've made from his selections of music is a New Zealand group by the name of Fat Freddy's Drop. And as they do their thing in the background I must think of the other new things going on....
I've been on a bit of a book buying spree lately picking up books on Thomas Hirschhorn, Ukiyo-e, and Zaha Hadid. There are more on the way and a lighter workload this semester has allowed me to sneak in a few glances at their glossy pages.
I voted early last week and my riding was a hot battle ground as the wife of the NDP leader runs here and has lost twice previously. She won as I suspected [I do live in a heavily student populated area] and it seems I've been unable to shake the stank shadow of the Orange Cloud which has followed me from the west.
The sun is starting to come up so that means I'm late [but not as late as my student loan is] so I should get at it and head off to school in the next few minutes.

a side note: "GADZOOKS!!!!"

Total costs of supplies for last semester which I just added up just blew my hair back and I thought I'd blow back some of yours too. I'm still missing from the total at least $150-200 in lumber costs which I don't have any receipts for yet. There were some weird costs for things which I'll have for a very long time and I knew the set up costs would be substantial. Still it is impressive considering this is on top of tuition, books etc..

Ready?

$1713.49

Can't you feel it? It's like a F1 car with the top down.....