in the beginning...

First week is underway with our official start this past Thursday. I'm really excited that know we have started the pace looks fast and work load heavy. On Wednesday of this week all incoming students were invited to Kent Bloomer's house in Gilford, CT. I regret I don't have images, but I'll get some from a classmate. The party was great...burgers, beer, wine, oysters, shrimp, more wine, a live band, a spectacular view, more beer, brilliant dancing, great/awkward first discussions with faculty/dean.

Thursday was our first day and it began with the standard introductions moving on to Advanced Studio lotteries. List looks pretty good this fall, although thankfully/unfortunately I have to wait quite a while until the Advanced Studios.


Following the lecture was a lecture by Charles Atwood "Follow The Money: Sex, Greed and Architecture in Las Vegas". Charles is the head of Harrah's Entertainment and he seems an intelligent person and lives up to what I would expect as a head of Harrah's. He advocated for a more personalized and performative gaming experience centered around the individual and catered towards a vast array of choices. Architecture played a backseat role only serving to facilitate the 'experience' or otherwise becoming an infrastructure to facility 'gaming.' Basically help make the owners more money. Obviously being a director of entertainment this is his focus, but I really think their should have been more addressing why this should be an issue, is this ethical [especially to the locals], relationship of developing Las Vegas as a whole rather than just the strip, why any architect would want to..etc all in all i think the standard q's any architect would have.


here are some more images of the addition, renovation building...I'm really excited about the renovation and totally unimpressed by the addition.






On Friday we had our first Peter Eisenman drawing class. I'm incredibly excited for this class for a myriad of reasons. I have certain issues with the Architecture education system as a whole [more some other time] and I have more than a little disrespect for uncommitted 'faculty.' Peter is a professor who is extremely committed, engaging, brilliant, and just interesting to listen too. Due to his prolific nature I'm sure many people have their opinions regarding his work, and as do I, but I don't believe that support of or against has anything to do with him as a professor. I won't really even share my own preconceived opinions, since the point of coming to grad school is to expand and broaden [or unlearn what you've learned according to Peter] and I could not be more excited to do so.

we also have a History/Theory class with Kurt Forster [haven't had it yet, but looks good from afar simply because it's Kurt Forster teaching the class]. We also have what seems to be a classical water colour / beaux-arts style drawing course and I'm going to hold judgment here until I actually have the first class. I got out of Structures I so I'll be looking for an elective this coming week as well.


Studio seems like it's going to be interesting/fun/fast/intense/etc...I'm also really excited about studio both with overall critics and whom I have, although I'm going to do another post later that's just concerning studio and what elective I end up choosing.

_ks