My latest trip to Japan was fantastic. It dispelled much of the myth surrounding Japanese architecture for me, while raising some other questions.

I stayed in Kyoto, which seems to be having problems trying to reconcile historicism in modernity, id est the city is attempting to return to the "Japanese aesthetic" by mandating that residences have gabled roofs and beige exteriors - at least this is my understanding of the current problem. This to me is problematic because an aesthetic does not necessarily respect tradition or culture. In fact, i feel that mere aesthetics are superficial and therefore fail the respective tradition or culture it [the aesthetics] is responding to as the image or surface can be easily created without actual knowledge of space or building techniques used by a particular culture. Of course, this argument is problematic because it can be seen as the "chicken or the egg" dilemma. What drives vernacular building techniques and regional aesthetics? Is it the materials used and traditional construction techniques, or is it a culture's aesthetic desires? Or perhaps it is an expression of both?

I digress. The point i was trying to get at is this, Ando Tadao's HH Style is for rent in Omotesandou. See!!!!????!

About 34 hours from now i'll be landing in Japan at 3 o'clock on Wednesday. I know the math doesn't quite add up, but that's what i'm told. I was dumb and will be flying into Narita, so i just tacked on a nice 4 hours and hefty Shinkan-sen ticket to my experience. Next time........next time. I'll... View full entry

A few months back we had a very nice lecture by a certain architect. He's in the photo below. Can you name him? :P And his Functionalist buddy? Discuss.... View full entry

This is an open call to anyone who has diagrammatic sections and plans for the Experience Music Project in Seattle. I am in desperate need of some. Will trade booze, porn, candy, coffee beans or anything else you all might be into.... :P View full entry

Okay. This is kinda cool and either belongs in a Mastercard commercial or simply follows the cigarette campaign targeted towards little kids. Vectorworks 2008 (Education) - Free Artlantis (Education) - Free Priceless renderings and paying for sexy programs given to you while you were in school... View full entry

Year number two is well underway. Hopefully, if things are executed properly, i will be graduating in 2.5 years. *fingers crossed* But that's not why i'm posting today. I'm posting because i thought i would show off some of the pictures i took from the NEW School of Architecture and Planning... View full entry

Man, it feels good to enjoy the summer. This last semester was pretty enjoyable, though intense at times. Over Spring Break I travelled to Japan and ran around Tokyo and Kyoto for 10 days. They have it figured out over there! And now i can't wait to go back. (Sake in vending machines??? Public... View full entry

For Valentine's Day (i hate Hallmark holidaze) we were a little loony in studio. I figure someone here could appreciate this: Yes folks, what you are seeing is a shirt with a velcro heart on it....and you can attach things....we were missing the "o" so we had to improvise. View full entry

I forgot to mention that i went to Seattle over the break. That's a SWEEET city. So, now i am sad that i'm in a not so sweet, crime-ridden city. Anyway, i took some photos while there. Here are some merges of the EMP, which is pretty cool. I like the signs on the bathrooms in the science museum... View full entry

Okay. So the new semester has started and i am going to try and post more frequently, as i admit i have been slacking. This is semester number two for me in the 3.5 year Master's program. My course load is as follows: -History of World Architecture II -Structures I -Programming -Introductory... View full entry

Wow. The semester ended so quickly, yet not nearly as quickly enough. It's like i needed another week but was going to pop if kept staying up until 4+ AM. I am waiting to document my final model and post it up here. Until then, here is my FormZ final. This project was more of an exercise in the... View full entry

Okay, It's been close to a month or something since i posted last. I apologise for the lack of activitiy. We are gearing up for our final studio review next Wednesday. I haven't done much for that BECAUSE... ...i have to waste my time working on "busy projects" that, while COULD be interesting... View full entry

Here we are (i'm in the middle) at the GRAND OPENING OF THE APPLE STORE IN ALBUQUERQUE!!! Yes folks, the "Thunderdome" is back on the map. We are now a new travel destination. And i love the store. I hijacked a MacBookPro to post this. :) Since i forgot to bring my camera, i had to use the one... View full entry

This is the last installation for the "abstract expressionists" that we have been evaluating. As some of you may know, i studied Jackson Pollock's piece "Untitled 13." We were to choose a blobject from our houses and then diagram it in reference to the artist's work we were assigned. I study... View full entry

So here are two other abstractions from the Pollock painting. Both of these are final models for our final review on Monday. I found that making the frame for the suspended chipboard was problematic particularly when making the tensioners and achieving the appropriate width (and tension) to create... View full entry

So this is not for the faint of heart. IF YOU DON'T LIKE BLOOD, DON'T SCROLL DOWN!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This was my most recent attempt in body modification. It was an unintended attempt at removing a digit. Next time i am going to keep the finger BEHIND the edge of... View full entry

For our latest project we were to choose one of 12 abstract expressionists, analyze and then create a construction of the work. I had Jackson Pollock, which i thought was going to be relatively straight forward. That was a misconception. This was the piece that i was assigned: This are a few of my... View full entry

Wow. School has been insane. Lots of theory and names. How does one remember it all? At this point, i don't think we are supposed to. We are just getting immersed in this new world. How very exciting, but frustrating. It's frustrating because i can't seem to remember all i want to. A few weeks... View full entry

I am curious. Who here sketches in pen? In pencil? Reasons? I am attracted to pen right now. Each line seems to have to have intent and one cannot arbitrarily draw lines without thinking of consequence. It could be argued that this might inhibit the "free-form" of sketching, but i like the... View full entry

On Friday, for an Architectural Analysis class, we took a field trip up to Santa Fe, New Mexico (about an hour north of Albuquerque) to look at two projects by the famous Mexican architect, Riccardo Legorreta. We were very fortunate to have this opportunity and the hospitality was excellent. Many... View full entry

So, who "uses" creative juices here? Don't be shy!! This one is my personal favorite:EFFEN Black Cherry Vodka. God bless the Dutch. The "motion blur" was intended. Consider it artistic touch. I have other "still" pictures, but they don't convey the "meaning" well. Right now i need to point myself... View full entry

Alright. I'll have to ask for some patience here as i figure out the layout of the blog publisher/editor. It is a bit more sophisticated than what i am used to. Whew! So, i think i just started my third week of school. It's pretty hard to say exactly how long it has been because the days bleed... View full entry