Archinect

Hampton University (Mark)

 

Archived

Sep '06 - Dec '09

 
  • KFC dreams

    By Mark_M
    Dec 31, '09 7:13 PM EST

    Well I survived this year, actually I lived this year. After looking back at photos and past blogs I’ve written in various forums, it has been an eventful year. Thesis has been a rollercoaster of a ride. I managed to reclaim the information from the Nor’easter and the rest I just had to take the hit. I’m approaching my final semester here at Hampton and I have mixed feelings about leaving. Maybe if we were in better economic times I would be in a better state of mind. I told a professor how I got this great job lined up after graduation, buttering him up for the punch line.

    Prof: “So where is this great place you speak of?”

    Me: “KFC, biscuit baker, $7.50 an hour plus benefits after 4 years of employment.”

    I found it really funny, he didn’t. I received this lecture about how you just have to work hard and move to better regions. I nodded my head, thinking to myself that is what I have Archinect for. They tell me all the great places where people are getting laid-off. I love this forum; it gives a great overview of the profession and academia regardless of what state the profession is in.

    I leave you with imagery from my year’s activities and a quote that I read from a someone’s sketch book five years ago: Don’t complain, 50% of people don’t care and the other 50% are glad it’s not them. Happy New Year Archinect!

    People need more than a career to just survive.
    photo0280

    More images of the Squatters can be seen here.

    I presented the research I did at the local Pecha Kucha.
    PKN_2009_presenters

    I designed a hybrid pinup and model stand system for Hampton's accreditation visit. We built it as team. Its called the lumberjack jack.
    mock

    work

    More images of project Nitro can be seen here.

    I went to Madrid, Toledo, and Segovia, Spain to find some family roots.
    S7300242

    IMG_5771

    Toledo

    In_Class_6

    More images of my trip to Spain can be seen here.

    I left studio for a week and half to go to Puerto Rico to find this abondoned jewel, Mosquito Pier. Its a mile out into the carribean sea.
    IMG_5944

    IMG_5918

    More images of my trip to Puerto Rico can be seen here.

    My house got robbed....along with my camera and all of my back files on the hard disk. No images for that. Just a lot of ranting for a couple of days.

    Bought a new camera and headed to Boston.
    IMG_0176

    IMG_0214

    IMG_0007

    More images can be seen here.

    I got laid off and decided to try some creative marketing. I got great feedback but "we can't afford to take someone right now," kept coming up. So I kept digging and found some work.
    concept 1

    I started the year and damn near shed a proposal

    Have a Happy New Year. I'm going to get some booze and hope for a year of High hopes.









    View full entry



  • A single tear moment

    By Mark_M
    Nov 13, '09 3:54 PM EST

    I’ll start at the beginning. I entered my thesis year in September. I started off the semester digging back through the last four years to understand what I wanted to research, trying my best to tackle issues that I investigated through my projects. I narrowed my issue down to how to provide... View full entry



  • Gearing up

    By Mark_M
    Aug 10, '09 10:29 PM EST

    I’m currently trying to cover all bases at the moment to provide myself with as many open doors as possible. I’m approaching my final year and I know it will be the most difficult but most rewarding year here at Hampton. We are required to have an internship during the summer prior to... View full entry



  • Guilt Feelings

    By Mark_M
    Jan 30, '09 11:01 PM EST

    Our program is going through accreditation this semester so it has been a hectic one. If anybody has experienced this please post, I’m looking forward to it. One benefit to the accreditation is the school has offered a class to design new mobile pin-up spaces called, NITRO. Sweet class. Any... View full entry




  • November, already!!

    By Mark_M
    Nov 16, '08 11:36 PM EST

    Frustration has hit an all time high for me this semester. I’ve been too focused on extracurricular activities for most of the semester and I’m now just getting into the meat of my studio project. Come to think of it this is my first post of the semester…geez time does fly. an... View full entry



  • Just checkin in...to get the motor rolling

    By Mark_M
    Aug 13, '08 8:42 AM EST

    I visited NY recently to find some inspiration. I've been a huge fan of LTL's work and I set an agenda to see some of their work in NY. To my dissappointment most of them were closed. Well except Dash Dogs, which is now a taco stand. I stopped by Tides but I could barely get in because they to... View full entry



  • almost there

    By Mark_M
    May 3, '08 12:05 PM EST

    Tons of videos but no time to edit them until my final paper is finished. I recently presented my final proposal for our Norfolk courthouse project, which I have to admit went well compared to last semesters Rubik’s cube bashing, which to this day I feel is a valid programming tool. As... View full entry



  • Praha

    By Mark_M
    Mar 16, '08 11:15 PM EST

    It’s been a week since my return from Prague and I didn’t really get the chance to sit back and reflect on my trip. As many of you can relate I got right back on my studio project. It was prying me on the flight to Praha and back. The trip was an amazing experience. The people were... View full entry




  • Prague and Gateways

    By Mark_M
    Feb 29, '08 1:26 AM EST

    I leave for Prague on Saturday to spend my spring break in the cold. I’m traveling with 15 other students from mixed years ranging from 2nd to thesis students. Hope fully we will get to see all everything our proposed itinerary. SUNDAY, MARCH 2 MALA STRANA / SMALL QUARTER* (Fodor’s p... View full entry




  • First Pass

    By Mark_M
    Feb 19, '08 9:01 AM EST

    Currently: On my third pass at my courthouse building, well third serious form consideration of the many quick study models. Plans, Elev, Sections, Concept refinement, blah blah….studio stuff Making a matrix, collecting product samples, testing materials, and writing my design proposal for... View full entry





  • Welcome to Bemis

    By Mark_M
    Feb 3, '08 2:20 AM EST

    We are currently learning how to design a courthouse this semester. We were asked to pick a precedent courthouse to analyze and are now on our way to so to do some site analysis. The ball has started to roll. I have been filming and recruiting camera men in my cause but so far I’m solo. I... View full entry





  • Elbert Whitfield on "Stations"

    By Mark_M
    Jan 18, '08 12:40 AM EST

    My video blogs will compromise of mostly interviews until studio and desk crits begin to take off. I will try not to edit these recordings in order to give you the real experience not a scripted one. It's wierd when you film people. Their posture changes and tones of voices become more refined... View full entry




  • Re-visiting Richmond, VA by Olanrewaju Ajibola and Mark Matel

    By Mark_M
    Jan 7, '08 7:26 PM EST

    Hey archinect. Thanks for the support for this blog experiment. Any criticism is welcome to improving the quality of the video and audio of the blogs. This is a challenge for me and I welcome the upcoming hurdles. So your input would be greatly appreciated. I recently took a trip to Richmond... View full entry




  • a tentatio

    By Mark_M
    Jan 3, '08 7:00 PM EST


  • DC remedy

    By Mark_M
    Dec 31, '07 1:44 PM EST

    I decide to leave town on Thursday to get away form the hustle and bustle of car dependency and shopping strip escapades of suburbia life. A friend and I decided to go to DC and just lolly gag around. I just needed to see some buildings. Architecture and I had a falling out this semester and I had... View full entry



  • Sleeper Keeper

    By Mark_M
    Dec 25, '07 7:18 PM EST

    It's been a while. What I assumed to be an easy semester turned out to be quite a challenge. Here are one of the few projects that I'll be posting with the small amount of free time I have over the break. The "Sleeper Keeper." We were to design and build a shelter that would house one tenant for a... View full entry




  • 2 cents

    By Mark_M
    Oct 17, '07 11:17 PM EST

    The solar decathlon was a blast. However, it was extremely crowded and taking pictures was a hassle. Trying to get right angles while 20 other people are taking a tour with you is a pain. I did get to speak with the Maryland and Lawrence Tech students intensively. They were quite excited and more... View full entry



  • Solar Decathalon

    By Mark_M
    Oct 11, '07 3:02 PM EST

    Is anybody going to the solar decathlon this weekend? We are required to go by our Building science class but I'm sure it will be fun. View full entry



  • Have a blast. It's good for you

    By Mark_M
    Oct 3, '07 10:56 AM EST

    It’s been a hectic five weeks. Following our public transportation exercise we were to analyze three sites where we would be designing a bus stop. Our building site is in Norfolk, Virginia, one of the seven cities that make up Hampton Roads. It is the most “urban” out of the... View full entry



  • It has begun

    By Mark_M
    Sep 9, '07 10:25 PM EST

    The season has begun. We lost two faculty members last year but we gained two as well, Paula Loomis and Sarah Robertson. I look forward to working with the both of them sometime during my time here. It’s been a hectic week with schedule changes, book purchases, and the architecture... View full entry



  • summer days

    By Mark_M
    May 29, '07 5:27 PM EST

    I hope everyone is enjoying their summer for those who are on break from school already. I’m certainly taking advantage of the much needed break. My summer break will be a little short this year due summer school. Structures. It should be fun as the class is only six weeks long. Not the... View full entry



  • Aquatotter

    By Mark_M
    May 6, '07 4:02 PM EST

    Brandon and I rocking it out. I was the "Paparazzi of the event" The aquatotter is an annual project done by the Building Science I class every spring semester. They are to design an “aquatotter,” build another teams design, then take the boats out into the James River, and then switch... View full entry




  • Last hurdle

    By Mark_M
    Apr 28, '07 2:24 PM EST

    I'm currently working on the last portion of our Project Packet for Phoebus. I thought I would update you guys on how things are going. Here are some of the physical models from the third year online presentation. I also completed my Portfolio case and the re-presentation of some of my work. I... View full entry



  • Come Critique 3rd Year Final Projects

    By Mark_M
    Apr 26, '07 5:53 PM EST

    +- got to it before I did but better late than Never.Hampton 3rd Year critique Please leave your comments HERE Many thanks to Professor Derek Ham and Professor Daisy O'lice Williams for pushing our program to new Horizons. Good Luck to all the 3rd year students. View full entry



  • old skool help

    By Mark_M
    Apr 10, '07 5:00 PM EST

    Have any of you ever colored on Vellum? I mean thorough rendering with colored pencil. Do I color on the top or underside? Would prisma color markers be better? I have my sections down on vellum but I don't want to mess up. I tried some practice runs on scrap vellum but I cant get the deep tones I... View full entry



  • Anchor Leg

    By Mark_M
    Apr 6, '07 6:51 PM EST

    It's that last lap and it couldn't be anymore of a relief. That last hurdle grows taller or shorter depending on the energy boost I will get in these next couple of weeks. We have been sketching our ideas and Phoebus in the past week so here are some excerpts from my sketchbook. Trying out new... View full entry



  • Field trip/getting dirty

    By Mark_M
    Mar 31, '07 12:50 PM EST

    Our class is currently doing a project in Phoebus, Virginia to accompany what UDA proposed. We are designing different types of mixed used units to show the residents of Phoebus a little diversity. We would like to let them know that there are options instead of some of the "Plain Jane" units that... View full entry



  • The calm before the storm

    By Mark_M
    Mar 24, '07 1:17 PM EST

    Ah....finally I get to a computer. Since the death of my laptop I have been scrambling like crazy to backtrack all of my work from studio and my various other classes. Sleepless nights and lots of Ginseng is what has kept me alive this past week. My NY trip was very interesting but I was unable to... View full entry



  • Curve Balls

    By Mark_M
    Mar 18, '07 6:55 PM EST

    No laptop. No back up. No files. No ANALYSIS work. No PORTFOLIO work. No DISNEY work. No Pictures. Thanks laptop of mine for all the good memories but why did you have to completely crash and take my work with you so early? You couldn’t hold on until May huh? Well….. Life moves on, so... View full entry



  • catalyst

    By Mark_M
    Mar 8, '07 6:00 PM EST

    In my endeavors to be more active in my community I took a role to help educate local contractors to be more sensitive to existing structures. At my local surf spot condominiums are being built out of scale. Three story monsters are overshadowing lots that hold 1 to 2 story homes. This... View full entry



  • ×Search in:
 

Affiliated with:

Authored by:

  • Mark_M

Recent Entries