I had to document the craziness that is the laser cutter line before final reviews. Apparently the line started at 5:30 am and the sign up is not until 1pm. The pictures can't capture the extent of the line or the frustration of the people in it. The line wraps around the hallway and as of 11 am was beginning to coil within one of the pinup spaces. The scene is one of laptops, coffee, breakfast sandwiches, more coffee, you get the picture. Keep in mind these are hallways you are seeing...all the desks are makeshift. We did just get a second laser cutter, but spots fill up fast because we share the facilities with undergrads. All I can say is thank goodness i am all digital this time around....brutal, absolutely brutal. 
21 Comments
u think all of them finished their designs
i think someone better open up a CAM shop next door
wow, so all of you guys use laser cutting for your models? I'm surprised, it's still not become a normal accepted thing to do here- only if you have really complicated screens or something going on.
Hey why not hand out numbers and have someone track 'em or something...that way you can work at your studio desk...there's gotta be a better way.
We line up our CD files on the floor, and someone working in the print shop takes them and sets up the cut. We aren't allowed to use the cutter ourselves, on account of a fire and meltdown last semester...
Bloody hell. Why does every other uni seem to have a laser cutter except the Bartlett?!
I just had to spend £100 on laser-cutting at a professional place.
(bitter mumbling ensues)
ever heard of a sign up sheet? not a new concept.
or making a damn model with your own hands!
its kind of sad to see all those people not able to make a model with an xacto and glue.
I would cry is my xacto was taken away from me...where's the fun?
What's a Xacto?!
In the UK we have a type of minature multi-purpose power tool called a Dremel. Most people use those for model-making. Is a Xacto something similar?
ok ok angry people, please calm down...as i have said before people can build models by hand here...my trusty xacto is never far from my side. however, many critics like to incorporate elements of digital fabrication into their teaching...hence tools like the laser cutter. sometimes it isn't a choice, but an assignment to produce a model that utilizes these new techniques. besides our hefty tuition does pay for these tools, so it is nice to actually make use of them while here. you are right about sign up sheets vado, but this is the line for the sign up sheet. it goes up every sunday at 1.
WHAT? so you need a sign up sheet for the sign up sheet
Chris, i think that Xacto is just american vernacular term that refers to a replacable bladed knife. its quite common in studios and i am sure if you do a search online you will find some examples of it. its powered by you unlike the dremel.
Ah. Ok.
Thanks. I stand enlightened. Gods bless the 'net.
At the GSAP (Columbia) they quickly got rid of this situation. There's two laser cutters and all you do is submit your file then they will do the work for you. (The days of been in front of the laser cutter are long gone around here...Reason: students left jobs unattended which caused serious fires in two occasions)
Now all you have is a line of cardboard plus CDs going around the perimeter of the print shop on the 6th floor.
chris daniel ---
at $28 k tuition + fees per year i am certain you could buy lots of laser time at 100 quid a pop!!
Bloody hell. Who pays $28k + fees?! Is that how much US students have to pay?
Yeah, I guess I see your point. I pay no tuition fees for my course because I'm a British citizen. A one-off cost of £100 isn't much, all things considered, but it seems a lot when it means you're eating baked beans on toast for a week (with the windows open, of course).
actually its $30k with fees. that what the going rate is at the ivies and other privates for grad school -- most will pay less with some scholarship/teaching assistanceship, etc. you can just look around at various threads and see people opting for one school over the next because of the finacial package [looks like gsd is the tightest of the bunch] its not too unusual to rake up $50-$100k in student loans by the time you finish; at least in the uk for undergrad they are talking and are aware of the burden these student loans have on the student / profession. in the us, no political party really cares. just expanded consumer debt.
without sponsorship, one'll be lucky to have baked beans to eat after the spending spree.
Wow, that's incredible.
I knew that US colleges were expensive, but I knew I couldn't afford it so I've never really looked into it properly.
I don't want to rub it in, but... (look away now if you don't want to know)
Over here, the whole training is, basically, free. In the UK, all undergraduate degrees are free except for a maximum of £1050/year tuition fees. If you're not well off, you pay less than that. The £1050 was introduced in the last decade, and even that has people complaining. It looks like the fees will go up soon, and that's a massive political issue here.
It doesn't matter if you go to Cambridge, UCL (of which the Bartlett is a school) or the "University of Central Nowhere". The fees are the same. The only architecture school that is not part of this free system is the AA (Architectural Association), which charges about the same as US colleges.
For architecture, both degrees are (for the purposes of funding) officially undergraduate. Both degrees therefore only cost a maximum of £1050 for British students (overseas students pay quite a lot).
So that's the story over here. I'll still leave university with about £25 - £30k of student debt, but that's to cover my living expenses rather than fees.
By the way, TED, which school/college/country are you from? You seem quite knowledgeable about the trans-Atlantic differences.
Goodnight from London.
its only money man. you didnt need that house, car, savings anyway. just architect man.
wow. shit. around here we're still casting plaster and photocopy transfering...no queues for that though.
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