I have to admit that I am reaching the point of burnout this semester. This is primarily because I took 15 credits this summer which was required of all students who did not have a prior degree in architecture. That translated to class everyday from 8:30 - 6:00, May to mid August. After one week off I rolled into 18 credits for the Fall which is also required if you want to stay on track to graduate with the doctorate in 3.5 years. So I am definitely eager for the winter break to arrive. Final review week will occur starting Dec 4 so I have around a month left.

One of the reasons also for my burnout has been the high number of group projects in classes. In one class in fact every single project for the semester has been a group project. While I certainly understand the benefits of knowing how to work as a part of a design team it gets old when that is the case in almost every class. It is difficult to build your own momentum and really run with ideas as they occur. Hopefully in future semesters there will not be such an emphasis on group work.

As an update to an earlier post, I wanted to mention that the school has been able to open its doors once again for weekend studio use. At the beginning of the semester the university had decided to close all non-research buildings on the weekend to cut energy costs and help make up for the massive budget shortfall. An energy task force was put together at the architecture school to find a way to re-open the building on the weekends and still cut costs. A plan was drafted and submitted to the school and we were allowed to open the building on weekends. It has hardly made a noticeable difference though because students were still using the building on the weekends before because security was extremely lax in enforcing its closure. However now at least we don't have to feel like we need to hide in our studios.