Hello world, my name is Harold-Sprague Solie and I am currently in my 2nd of 3 years as a graduate student at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning (in future blogs referred to as "TCAUP" for short). You can also call me Harry for short, I only use the hyphen because of the assumption that to be a great architect you must have at minimum 3 names.
I have been running my own blog on tumblr since I started at Michigan last year http://hsolie.tumblr.com/ however I am looking forward to a much broader audience and much more of a conversation here on Archinect. I must admit I have been stressing a bit about what to write in this first blog post and so I think I will just keep it short and sweet with a little background about myself. Here it goes...
My interest in architecture started when I was about 9 years when my mom brought home a Puzz3D three-dimensional puzzle for me. Anyone out there remember these things? They were foam puzzle pieces that allowed you to build 3D puzzles of houses, famous buildings, even the entire island of Manhattan. They were great and in no time my entire attic was filled with completed puzzles. From there I was fortunate enough to go to a high school that had a well established AutoCAD and drafting program, of which I took full advantage. I then attended undergrad at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) where I got my BFA in architectural studies.
After graduating UMass in 2009 I was excited to come back to my hometown of Boston, MA and get my architecture career started......wait there's a recession going on? Bummer....
With the entire architecture industry crashing down all around me, I managed to keep busy and involved in the profession by starting my own architectural drafting and rendering company, +1 Design, as well as join a freelance architectural collaborative called moonlight | Studio. After a year and a half of hustling my way through floorplans and sketchup models for the occasional client, I decided that it was time for graduate school and headed west to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.
One year later here I am....
I am a graduate student and an entrepreneur at the University of Michigan Taubman College where my studies are focused on leveraging design ideas across multiple scales and platforms. Meeting at the intersection between design, tectonics and fabrication, I am continually exploring how a design idea can navigate complex material and production systems and evolve into fully realized architectural artifacts.
3 Comments
I remember the 3D foam puzzles. I had the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
I just had legos...
nice to read about grad school, I'll be checking this blog to see what Michigan is like, In a few years i'll be looking for programs myself. And youre right about Boston in the recssion... took me 6 months just to find an internship here...good luck to you
Hello Harry,
Could You please say few words why you decided to study at TCAUP? How is it different from say, Harvard, Yale? What is the peculiarity of the program at TCAUP?
I am applying for the next academic year and would like to know some basic information. Unfortunately I can not come for open day, since I live in Italy, so your reply would be of great value to me.
Thank You.
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