Sep '06 - Jan '11
Summer came, and summer went. In a flash. One of those flashes that burn your retinas leaving you with your arms flailing, head dizzy, and eyes attempting to regain any sense of orientation. It was the first summer in New York, and with an architectural education, that means it was my first time to see and enjoy the city. But boy did it go fast.. I feel like yesterday I was setting up for the end of the year show.
And thus, dear readers, is why I bring you my updates at such a slow pace. I thought time was moving faster than it really was.. (and I was a little lazy..)
This is going to be a sort of pecha-kucha, blog style. A lot has been happening this summer and it has to be squeezed into one entry. Plus, those new bloggers will be coming soon and I wanted to jump in before they (hopefully) fill it up with posts.
(images from the Cooper website)
The end of the school year came fast, the reviews were great. Too bad they coincided with me having to finish my projects.. but I made time for both. The end of the year show was a success (success meaning we finished pinning everything up a few hours before the show opening).. and well worth the 2 weeks of effort by the staff and students. The fourth year rooms were even themed, with Lebbeus Woods' room a dark, apocalyptic matrix and Diane Lewis' a haven for basswood fetishists (see above second photo).
My projects ended off pleasantly well. Actually, to tell the truth, my thoughts were in other places, like..
Photo I and Descriptive Geometry. Which ruled.
The New Cooper Academic Building by Morphosis is well on it's way to being finished. The sweet panels are up, and it's beginning to cover up its columns slanted on two different axes. More photos from our class adventures inside, here.
Moved into a new apartment..
Saw the amazing Bucky Fuller exhibit at the Whitney, the not-so-hot Public Farm 1 at PS1, the London Telectroscope, the Olafur waterfalls, and had the best steak of my life at Peter Luger (for free!). 
This summer I'm working at Storefront for Art and Architecture. Amazing place, amazing people.. to say the least. My duties include photographing/photoshopping and bringing all the old newsletters into the digital webosphere for all to enjoy. Also, I've been in charge of most of the Re-Storefront Blog. You see, Storefront is going under major restoration this summer, as they bring back the famous Holl/Acconci facade to a presentable state once again. It's quite a learning experience being under all the construction day to day.
As well as working at Storefront, I've been employed by the Cooper Union Architecture Archives. An amazing place too.. all the exhibitions, publications, and student work documentation goes down at that place. I've been helping out with the general documentation of student work from the past year, and learning great model photography tips in the meantime.
And when none of that's happening, I've been busy with a lot of personal projects. I guess the work ethic won't slow down in the summer.
Whew.. well, in two weeks school will begin. It's not going to be the apocalypse as I foresaw. We got our schedules in the mail today and the line up looks pretty comforting..
10 Comments
fascinating post!
1) whose is the "of man's first disobediance..." work? I like it, although I don't know why.
2) what are you watercoloring there?
3) I've always wondered : with free tuition, where does Cooper Union get all it's cash for things like major new building projects?
4) awesome-looking apartment. I didn't think things like that existed in NYC.
I second comments 1 and 4...
Good luck with the new year. Sounds like the summer has been fruitful.
storefront and the cooper archives: two great places to even further enhance your education in nyc, allowing you to soak in as much as possible. congrats on both - for landing the jobs and for making the decision to take both.
good work as always. so glad you made the switch to cooper and have found your stride.
mantaray, nam:
1) i had to memorize the lines to paradise lost
2) i took that 1st idea and started to typographically represent more lines of text i really liked
3) it is sometimes a mystery to me as well.. but they own a lot of real estate. like the entire chrysler building and the land it sits on.
4) they do in brooklyn. way in brooklyn.
steven:
yes, exactly why i took them. i wanted to opt away from the firms for a summer or two, and get some different learning experiences. thanks for the comment, i'm finally completely ok with the switch.. this summer confirmed it.
Danny,
Thanks for the clarification(s). Way in Brooklyn equals Redhook and Parts further in the boonies?
In line with what Steven was saying. I think the idea of moving away from the regular interning at firms was a great idea. For one it seems to have given you some opportunities for more creative(?) thinking outside the usual limits of a architecture students summer.
Also, nice website.. I like and more and more seem to be seeing people doing collaborative work, who sometimes are across the globe from each other. That seems to be the case with Restlessworks, is that correct?
If so how do you like the globular process of collab?
nam, more up north.. in bushwick.. it's a sort of commercial work/live lease. neighborhood's 95% industrial.
the restlessworks collab started in kent where i originally went to school.. i went off to new york, they studied abroad in florence for a semester. i forgot to remove florence off the list.. but i see it's making us look more interesting.. ha. but for a year or so we've been working away from each other, and it works out pretty well.
Ah Bushwick,
I am from Fort Green area by birth although regretably i haven't lived in NYC for a very long time over a decade.
I miss the city though. Think you will stay there after you're done at Cooper?
hi Danny,
i liked looking at your photos of the storefront as it's being renovated. i haven’t been by there in some time, and didn’t know about it.
i went to the end of the year show, and the work was impressive. I’m curious if you have any comments or thoughts about the thesis reviews that you went to, or if there was any sort of overall dialogue about the content of the projects.
summer always goes by fast, but its been such a nice august in new york.
Danny,
I have been thinking about Cooper's new post professional degree for my grad school. It seems pretty legit that the school is growing and producing good work. Do you know anything about the new program? Good profs/ same profs as undergrad/march 1?
Good looking stuff. Caught your portfolio on the portfolio ass kicking thread.
hi
john marker
i like your blog
MinnesotaDrugTreatment
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