Mid Review last Friday. I decided on taking the opportunity for some photographs (new 50mm f/1.8 lens!, hence all the portraits). Mind you, I probably could have done a better job had I slept in the previous 36 hours, but here's what I got, more on my flickr.

Things are picking up and we were doing quite a bit of all-nighter busywork. I say busywork because the lack of, as a personal opinion, intellectual challenge. Studio so far...not really feeling it. For Stick Studio standards, I feel like a rebel, pursuing the post-mediocracy, alternative, progressive, avant-garde, and thinktank endeavors. May I call myself creative?

uggggggghhhhhhhhh

Midst all the frustration, I am realizing that my argument against the traditionalists is weak due to the lack of mastery of the traditional.

On another note, I'm doing stuff outside school. Mary Gates Endowment Scholarship application, Architectural Design Collective, Student Exhibits, and Ballard clothes shopping. My new favorite boutique in Seattle - Blackbird.

Second post today :)

Three ongoing ideas met today.

RB - A student run organization to bounce ideas though exhibits and events across the design disciplines. Students and professionals.
LK (me) - A student run publication with a concentration in design and art at the UW. Student work, interviews, opinions, and miscellaneous. Online and quarterly publications.
AR - A student run team to connect professionals, prospective students, and current students. An idea of mentorship raised.

We all want to be active outside of curricula.
We all feel the lack of recognition as (unaccredited) undergraduate architecture students.
We all appreciate the benefits in the multidisciplinary realm.
We all want to be more connected.
We all are excited.

Any thoughts, ideas, comments, experiences?

My attempt in model photography. Suggestions/tips?

Project Overview

and I leave you a half constructed typography site.

Its a general consensus in the class. And I don't like it.

The prof says, "We don't want you to do all nighters with hot glue guns and x-acto knives...and somehow make it home safely..."

Isn't that the point? Aren't we supposed to push ourselves? Don't they expect us to excel and become better, especially since we're in what seems like a quite a competitive field?

I've finding that UW has its professionals that are really good, and that are really chill. I guess that's the atmosphere of Seattle, now to think about it.

Here’s an test model for exploring "The System"... with a capital T and a capital S. Our own designs will come later in the quarter, so they say.

Stick Studio
First studio for the incoming undergraduates to the Department of Architecture. Previously taught by Frank Ching, yes, from all those architecture drawing books.

The System
The whole quarter follows a building system, The System, of hierarchically layered posts, beams, purlins, and decking in a bypassing fashion. Human dimensions investigated.

Objective
Learn The System
Posts at 8’ by 12’
Table and bench for 4, facing each other
Counter
Bed


Materials
2’ by 4’
4’ by 4’
4’ by 6’
4’ by 8’
4’ by 10’

Reaction
I had frustration with The System last Friday. It seemed so dictating, rules this, rules that. The critiques seemed to lead students to develop an identical structural language, and even identical form, that did not account for individual creativity, ambitions, and interpretations.

I questioned myself if I am doing architecture to follow already established systems. I questioned the reality of my passionate love towards the energy of the avant-gard.

They did not like me straying too far away from The System on Friday.

After an episode of revolting, I ripped my model up, started from scratch, and decided to play dumb and follow The System. Better to be proactive than conflicting, I guess.












Construction Management Class - Sand Point - Inside what used to be a navy hanger

1AM

Gotta run to critique!

With much anticipation, we finally started orientation and school this week. 48 grads, and 48-1 undergrad (a guy decided to ditch arch for computer science). 90% of the 2 day orientation was, in my opinion, rather bland, unrehearsed, and unnecessary. Many people left half-day. But here are some notes from the good 10%.

Professional Advisory’s Council – Supporting the UW as well as being supported by the UW, the PAC is in collaboration with the school.

The PAC talked about the “previously linear” trends that are changing to “integrate design with interdisciplinary” approach, “BIM”, “sustainable design”, and that it is “global process, in which Seattle firms are designing all over the world.” Well…duhh…but they also talked about the lack of firm diversity (white male dominance) and the 2030 Challenge (carbon neutral), which was new knowledge to me.

Talks of a Department of Architecture dates back to the 1890s at UW, and was realized in 1914 with the School of Architecture. Apparently, the small “School” was in a temporary building left over from the AYP Expo and was called the “shack”.

The UW owns property in Rome, in Palazzo Pio (Campo de’ Fiori), unsurprising called the UW Rome Center. It was founded by the Department of Architecture, and there are (expensive) studio study abroad opportunities there, as well as Japan, India, Mexico, England, and others.

We have a College "Swap Shop", a no-regulation recycling closet for unused studio material. Give/Take I guess. I want to see how it is at the end of the year.

Gould Hall, the architecture building, was designed by the faculty in 1972. It has a built in photo-lab/darkroom and woodshop.

Integrated Design Lab – still looking at what it’s about.

This is the 3rd year undergraduate studio. We're doing "STICK STUDIO" - more on that later. One thing, the author of all those Ching books, designed the studio...

Does anyone know the legality of this issue? Would studio or inside an academic institution be classified as "public domain"? Aside from making sure the people are represented as presentable, am I responsible for leaving people anonymous?

I've seen both, maybe some of you can comment on how you feel about this.

That said, I don't plan on posting people very much. The issue would be if someone's head or face or something happened to be in a good picture.

Thanks Archinectors,
Luke

This will be the last SUM post, as AUT will succeed with the start of school tomorrow. Actually, the next two days will be Orientation for noobies to the Department of Architecture here at UW. School officially starts on the 30th. Updates on how Orientation goes later this week.

I just came back from a 4-week trip around Western Europe! I saw amazing things, met fantastic people, and acquired extraordinary experiences. I’ll update my Flickr once I get to organizing them. Some personal highlights were SANAA’s Serpentine Pavilion; Vitra Design Museum; Le Corbusier: Art and Architecture Exhibition; Greek statues; getting lost in Berlin 3 in the morning; Tadao Ando; Netherland Architecture Institute; Barcelona beaches; OMA; Belgian chocolate; and no drinking age! (yes, I am 20, unfortunately for living in the States).

Aside from the jet lag and enjoying the last day of summer at a Pacific Northwest Beach, I feel an urge of “cold feet”. Yes, I believe that is how to say it. Basically, my recent resignation from fulltime employment as a barista and entrance to the architecture department means that I will be a 100% architecture student for the first time! This is extremely exciting for me on a personal level that has taken me some work to achieve. I feel the start of a new episode in my life, per say, and within all the psychological complexity, I am questioning why things happened this way and if it is the right way. Do I really want to go into what sounds like an education and profession of underpaid, overworked, and competitive nature? Do I have enough passion for it and/or creative juice? Will I still be able to backpack the world, something I consider a necessity for my wellbeing?

Nevertheless, I’m downright psyched for tomorrow.

It's my first time across the Atlantic. Small differences, surprising similarities.

I've been using MIMOA to guide my way around modern architecture; its a pretty neat setup.

For your non-architecture-school amusement.





















More on my flickr