An entry in three parts:

First (the future)
Last fall I applied to post-professional graduate programs. Part of the initial draw for coming to the CUDC was the quick curriculum...it's essentially the 'new' 5-year professional degree. So, having spent a wonderful(ish) 5 years here, I'm off elsewhere.

This is what happened:


While initially bummed at the lack of choice, it's a blessing in disguise. (+ it's a tough year...having a choice is a good thing)...Penn was the school I really wanted to go to for my MArch, but chose against for a variety of practical reasons. This time around, after visiting and reading, I think it's really where I'll belong.

(I'm sorry if you found out here and not in person...I kept my good news/options somewhat to myself during the deliberation process)




Second (the current)
My studio is over.
At the CUDC, we do a 10 week deal instead of the full 15.
I still have friends doing the 15 week, where they're working a coda of a project...dealing with narrative and urban design. I'll keep the world updated of their thoughts as they work through that.

Second.5
Meanwhile, I'm working on an independent study for the next 4 months. The cliffs: I'm looking at old technology - analog electronics, wired telephones, computer scripting/logic, cellular automata, etc. to inform current thoughts regarding the component and component relations (specifically architectural) - as systems behave as isolated/interactive loops...

It's coming together





Third (the past)
I didn't blog last semester much regarding studio.
Most of the time I too frustrated/negative at the situation to blog...they would have all turned out pretty bad.
In retrospect, the semester was great....I learned a lot but definitely had some issues in the heat of it.
In the next few days, I'll try to post some retro-blogs...

this sets the context

this will set the mood


So how do you begin to debug the suburb?
What is authentic and what is not?
How do you optimistically design in a place you hate?
...regardless of the option to put the hate aside, it still comes out in one way or another. but maybe that's okay. maybe snarky design can save the world.

But no matter....

We'll start with looking at precedent and present. Gather the maps. Find conditions. Get statistics. Take photos. Do it.
Then look at these projects....Plug-in-city, New Babylon, Lucca, Linear City, Park de la Villete, Subway Suburb, FLO's Central Park, ....and one I can't remember.

And apply to the given. Don't think, just do it. Get the tactics, and put 'em on Streetsboro.

I was working with Plug-in-city.
...and interested in the location-bending aspect of it,
the result: