Squirming

Las Vegas is many things. A community for drinking and whoring of the earlier Mennonite communities of the area, a centre of mob activity for a time, and now a fantasy land where anything you want is available.

For me it is everything I detest about America amplified. The gambling, the excess, the boozing, the uneducated masses, the absolutely massive people which easily outnumber us healthy types 3:1, the 5 gallon Pepsi glasses yielded by 7 year old screaming drones before 9 am in the buffet line. Why is it people need a specific place to do this type of stuff? Are their lives in Lincoln Nebraska so oppressed that they have to come here in HUGE numbers to release whatever has been built up?

With the noted resurgence of the conservative movement in the USA, isn't it funny that Las Vegas is by far the fastest growing city in North America and that the majority of the tourists that come here are from traditionally conservative 'red states' who are stereotypically opposed to this kind of debauchery anyway.

Computers......

It's been a battle these past two and a half weeks. Technology has me in it's grip - and is squeezing, hard. I've crashed my computer 4 times already [problem #1]with loading way too much into the processor, and I've already spent all night here last Thursday fighting with a 3d digital model which had a tiny seam in it that I couldn't close. After 29 hours at my desk I finally managed to force it to give me this response:

Joining these edges requires a joining tolerance of 0.000921967mm. Do you want to continue? YES/NO

I clicked yes.

The wireless internet in the building has been...temperamental to say the least, so temperamental that I'm using the few school computers there are to write this as I can't connect at my desk for more than a few minutes at best[problem #2].
I saw an opportunity to take an advanced elective this fall and along with my friend Luke we are wading into the world of Advanced Computer Applications in Architecture. This includes 3d scanners, 3d printers, cnc routers, and parametric modeling.

The parametric modeling is proving to be fascinating and time consuming all at once. I haven't really explored the program yet but it does cripple my computer with it's graphics [problem#3].
I think I need to call the unofficial tech guy for our family and see what can be done, cause what I have now isn't working.

Begining Again

On Killing...

An advertisement from Bernard Tschumi

Burn it to the ground

I've been interested in Destroyed Urban Spaces for quite a while now. Most interesting right now is the MOVE! incident in Philadelphia on May 13, 1985. A situation which spiraled out of control and resulted in the local police dropping a bomb on the house from a helicopter and letting the house [and much of the surrounding ones] burn to the ground. All in all some 62 homes were completely destroyed on the Osage Ave area of West Philadelphia.
I've become fascinated with the cultural conditions surrounding these areas before and after these events.

I'm also starting to become fascinated with crack houses as well, especially when the neighbors have had enough and they storm the place and while brandishing baseball bats kick out all the squatters and addicts - and then burn the house to the ground. No one calls the cops, the fire department is never notified, and the house just burns while the citizens rejoice.

Just some things to think about I guess.

"We'd like to bring you on board."

IT'S ABOUT TIME!
About ten minutes ago I was told that I will be the latest addition to the sake slinging bar staff at an embarrassingly cool downtown hotel's Asian inspired bar/restaurant/lounge.
I start Friday, work Saturday, and then work a private function involving the owner and all of his friends Sunday night.

On an interesting side note the bar is surrounded by a custom computer designed/fabricated wall made from what looks like teak. Walls like this are cutting edge in the architecture world and was carved using a CNC Router, and the design savvy of one of the owners friends Antonio Tadrissi. Architecture seems to be following me everywhere.

On Being Selfish

"Fuck you, I do what I want."

My third [of seven] mandatory semester long studio classes is titled 'Architecture and the Metropolis'. It's focused on the greater ramifications of architecture in the world. How architecture affects the city around it and how the city affects the architecture. It has a strong urban planning slant if you can't tell by the title of the course.

Architects are often accused of playing god. We're actually encouraged by everyone to play god when you think about it. Clients want us to design the spaces they live in, actually having a say in the way they occupy built space. You could say we are obsessed with other people: how they think, what they want, who they are, and where they want to be.

You don't hear: "Fuck you, I do what I want" at all.
Why is that? Why don't architects fulfill their own desires. Wouldn't that be great! Tell your neighbors to shove off! Paint your house solid black and finish it off with some limo tint on the windows! Don't build like it's an investment to be resold at some point [thus allowing multiple personalities to enter the design process and we all know what kind of regretful crap happens when design by committee occurs].Wouldn't it be great to walk inside the space created by the mind of one person, with no one but themself in mind?