Changing things up

Maybe, I am approaching this blog the wrong way. I started out wanting to share my love of architecture with everyone. I consider myself fortunate for always knowing the career I wanted to get into and always saw my peers struggling to pick a major and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to give a little insight for those thinking about getting into architecture. However, at the end of the day I was only giving the readers the same projects the more well known blogs or websites are providing. At the end of the day I knew other sites were able to give better information than what I could provide and I wasn't having much fun just looking through projects and posting a little insite for the sake of having a new post. So, lets try something different. Let me give you guys something a little more personal. One of the best things I have learned as a designer is that everyone loves a good story. So, Ill switch things up a little while still staying on the topic why I starting this blog in the first place. I'll bring you guys with me on my journey as an architecture student at the University of Houston.

What has happend since the last post?
Let me bring you guys up to date. During this past summer I earned my first architecture related job as an intern at an urban planning and real estate development company here in Houston. The internship was a wonderful learning experience about urban planning and development (and city parking codes). At the end of the summer I was able to provide the developer with a list of properties in Houston that I felt would be great developments for the community and the company.

Whats going on now?
Now, studio has officially started. We received the first project: Reference to Human Scale. We are given a 23' x 20 'x 12' room with a small 3' x 12' x 9' mass. Within the mass we have to design four major spaces that unfold and rotate from the mass to create an eating area, grooming area, sleeping and working area. the project is along the same lines of Gary Chang's apartment or an even better example, Christian Schallert's apartment. As of now, the project is due in 8 days with 95% of my design complete. As a last week notice, the professor is allowing me to design outside of the room which I intend to design a nice indoor/outdoor transition space.

Changes?

Most of what ill post will probably be best categorized as 'brain droppings of an architecture student.' At the end of the day, I hope I get people to think about design and about their environments more often. As for the site? I am not sure I like the name much anymore and Ill definitely change the layout. When I make changes, I will let you guys know in advance and if I do change the name.




- The Arch Movement

John Hardy: My green school dream

I saw this and just thought it was amazing. I think its pretty awesome that this guy was moved enough to do something about changing his surrounds for a better. Also, the structures are gorgeous!

Birds of a feather...

I thought this was a cool little installation to share with you guys. The artist is Kate Mccwire, and she does a lot of her work with different kinds of bird feathers.





Find out more from the artist here

Three firms, three futuristic visions for Los Angeles

Yesterday, i posted a little futuristic video for the ID guys out there. Today, we're going back to architecture and urban planning. Newsweek just released this interesting article with the question "What will our cities look like in 2030?" The question was directed to three architecture firms- cityLAB-UCLA, Gensler, and Michael Malzan Architecture.

Here's the link to Newsweek.

Electrolux Design Lab 2010 Finalists

Here is a sleek presentation of the finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab.

Herzog & de Meuron’s Parrish Art Museum Breaks Ground Today!

Today is the day! The Parrish Museum will next open its doors the summer of 2012 in Southampton, NY with a brand-new 34,500-square-foot modern structure designed by Herzog & de Meuron's. The museum will consist of two parallel single-story wings settled on a 14-acre site.





Official site of The Parrish Art Museum

My sentiments exactly.

Maybe its just me, but i actually love this little creature. This structure is the L41 home designed by Michael Katz. The aim of the 220 sq-ft structure is to give the essentials for living to allow people to become homeowners in a struggling economy. This would be a nightmare for families, but as a college bachelor, I think this is awesome!





The aim of the designers is to eventually have this residence listed for 50 thousand a piece. Although i love the concept and i really enjoy the structure, I still think 50 thousand is way too much. I havent found if the price is just for the structure or for the structure and a patch of land, but I would love to see this available for half that.


The L41 is designed to allow for the construction in many configurations, from the basic single-unit to high-rises.


L41