Archinect - Ball State University (Gregory)

Goodbye Stranger

2009-08-19T20:05:43-04:00

For the first time in 18 years I am not going back to school. So I guess technically I'm no longer a school blogger. That's why I'm here to say goodbye. Our time was short, just one year, but it was the most important year as I earned my Master of Architecture. So now its time to apply my knowledge acquired through six years of formal architectural education in the real world.

I'm one of the fortunate ones who successfully landed a job upon graduation. After six weeks in Europe, I began my architecture career in mid-July. As my sixth week comes to a close, I'm 99.9% sure I'm doing what I love. And though I'm officially finished with school, the learning never stops. The amount of knowledge I've acquired in just six weeks on the job is astounding. Most of it is "stuff" that can't be taught in school.

If you want to continue to follow me, head over to thebldgbloc(k) where I am chronicling my new job. Along with insights from my job I post random thoughts on architecture an...

Italian Preservation Work

2009-05-20T17:52:31-04:00

The vacation's over. Well not really considering at the completion of the project we have a week divided between Florence and Rome. But the preservation work at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Crespi d'Adda has begun. It started on Monday and will continue through the end of next week. The group of seven Ball State students has joined a group of six Milano de Politecnico students in the preservation work. I've taken to damage assessment of the hydroelectric power plant. The equipment inside the building is simply stunning.

For the most part I've been responsible for snapping photos to collage together to use to indicate the areas of damage. This process involved climbing an old, unstable ladder upwards of thirty feet to capture many photos of the interior elevation. The job certainly wasn't for the faint of heart. Tomorrow we get to use the infrared equipment to further assess the damage. That should be a blast.

Other students are working to create a master plan for th...

Going Geothermal

2009-05-08T17:11:34-04:00

Commencement is tomorrow. But I'll be at home packing for my European adventures that begin Tuesday. A lot of friends think I'm crazy for not walking, but its no big deal to me. I know the work it took to earn my Masters degrees and I don't need a public acknowledge of my success. And I'm not missing out on the fun that goes along with graduation as I went to a party with most of the graduating class last night after packing the last remnants of my apartment.

What I find most interesting about tomorrow is following commencement is the groundbreaking for Ball State's geothermal energy system. When completed it will be the nation's largest closed system and save the school over $2 million a year. You can read more about it here.

That's all for now. Next time you hear from me I'll be checking in from Milan.

It's The Final Countdown

2009-04-27T16:55:13-04:00

Sorry, but I can't pass on an obvious 80s reference. I think the official countdown is 12 days, but I really don't care. I've already done the whole graduation thing and dressing like that one time will suffice. Oh yeah, I was even the graduation speaker. All I'm concerned with is completing all the necessary wrap-up work. So that's what I've been doing since the last time I was around these parts.

There are a couple highlights to mention from the past few weeks and a few to look forward to. The first was the presentation of my thesis project to the Richmond, Indiana community. About 20 people (nearly 7x more then saw my original presentation) attended and were pleased that the spotlight was being placed on the abandoned Richmond Gas Company building. They all had their own ideas for what the adapted building could be, but were most interested in preserving the building. So I guess one of my goals was achieved. Hopefully this is just the beginning of the process.

A board...

Taking It to the People

2009-04-10T20:18:25-04:00

As I've mentioned before, part of my thesis project involved the engagement of the Richmond, IN community. From the outset I worked with a gentleman from the area as a direct contact to the community. He has restored some historic buildings downtown and continues to play a role in the preservation effort in Richmond. With his help I was able to set up a public presentation of my thesis project in Richmond, the details are as follows. If you are in the area please stop in.

The Gas Works Project

Thesis Presentation by Gregory Dowell
Student of Architecture
Ball State University
Thursday, April 16th
6pm to 7pm
Conference Room
Leland Residence
900 South 'A' Street
Richmond, Indiana

The Public is Invited
This Event is Free of Charge
Light refreshments will be Provided
Community Comments will be Welcomed

Presentation Sponsored by Richmond Art Works and The Leland Residence

Questions please contact jim@richmondartworks.com

The goal in presenting my design project to the ...

EuroTripPlanning

2009-04-06T20:55:52-04:00

Now that my thesis presentation has come and gone, its time to look towards more exciting things. No I'm not talking about the small report I have to write about my thesis due in a few weeks, but rather my summer travels in Europe. I think I mentioned in a previous blog that I am finishing off my educational career with a 3 week historic preservation study abroad at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Crespi d'Adda outside of Milan supplemented by two weeks of traveling a few European countries.

My time in Italy is pretty well laid out as I'll be seeing all the sights and sounds with my study abroad group (which is a nice size at 8). Milan, Como, Bellagio, Verona, Venice, Florence, Rome, etc. What is less known at this time is what I'm going to be doing the two weeks at the completion of my program. So that's where I turn to the collective insight of the Archinect world and seek suggestions.

To make it a little easier on you I'll layout a rough calendar of destinations and th...

Thesis Review

2009-04-02T17:30:18-04:00

It's done. On Monday, six years of architectural education culminated in my final thesis presentation. I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly though it'd be more than a desk crit or mid-review. I was mistaken. I presented nearly two semesters worth of research, along with 10 weeks of design work in front of one studio professor, my advisor, a former student and a gentleman I invited from Richmond. There were also a few colleagues who had presented early in the day who hung around.

I figured the College of Architecture and Planning, and at the least, the studio professor would invite professionals from around the region. Maybe they did, and everybody said no, but that seems highly unlikely. So there I was at what I consider the pinnacle of my educational career presenting a significant research and design project to people who had seen my project all semester.

As I presented and then received questions and feedback the sparse crowd really didn't gross my mind. But ...

One Week

2009-03-22T16:57:20-04:00

One week. Seven days. 168 hours. 10,080 minutes. 604,800 seconds. Seems like a long time when its broken down in to seconds. But no matter how you slice it, that's how long I have until my final thesis studio presentation/review. For for all intents and purposes the designing has ceased and the production has begun. Per usual, its going to be a photo finish. So this is probably my last post until early next week when I present to you what I presented to them. Get excited.

But there is much more exciting news, at least to me, this week. I have an interview for a full-time position tomorrow in Chicago.

Hopefully I'll be back with some good news in the near future.

It's All Greek to Them

2009-03-13T00:32:59-04:00

After spending the first half of spring break working on my thesis project (which is now due in 17 days!) I've headed home to relax for a few days and not think about architecture. Well, at least try and not think about architecture. When you're surrounded by it nearly 24/7 its hard to get away from it, but I'm trying my best (well at least getting away from thesis). But I was nice enough to talk with my cousin and her husband about floor plans for the home they are about the build.

This really shouldn't surprise me, but I found it hard to believe how difficult it was for them to read/follow/understand the floor plans. (They weren't oblivious by any means.) I say this having 6 years of (formally) reading, dissecting, studying, analyzing, designing, etc. floor plans. But when you step back and look at it from their perspective, there's a lot of stuff going on.

Walls, doors, fixtures, dimensions, dashed lines, hatches, you name, its on there. So I was happy to clear up any con...

Spring Break

2009-03-04T23:28:18-05:00

After consulting my advisor and favorite studio professor today, I feel comfortable where I'm at with my thesis project to let it be for a few days and enjoy a short break. Spring break officially begins with the close of classes on Friday, but since I don't have class on Thursday, I'm skipping studio on Friday and taking an extended weekend that will suffice as my spring break.

I have clearly articulated an attitude, vocabulary, and materiality for the main focus of my thesis project that I can begin applying it to the secondary and tertiary spaces to create a cohesive project. Determining the attitude, vocabulary, and materiality was the hard part. Applying it to the rest of the building should come rather easy (and it has to come quickly upon my return because my focus must quickly turn to articulating the details.) The details are where the real fun begins. I'll have some graphics to share early next week.

As for my truncated spring break, I'm heading back to the old Alma...

Good.Bad.Ugly

2009-02-25T19:38:38-05:00

Good
In my attempt to avoid the real world for as long as possible (and lets not kid ourselves, there are no jobs out there- more on that later in the post) I've decided to finish my college education by participating in a study abroad program in Milan, Italy. Working with students from the Politecnico di Milano, I'll gain hands on historic preservation experience. The work is at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Crespi d'Adda, which is a little known "model town near Bergamo built between the 19th and 20th centuries for factory workers."

Besides gaining invaluable experience, I'll have the opportunity to travel most of Italy, which just happens to be the next destination on my "to travel" list. Furthermore I am extending my stay two weeks beyond the 4-week program to meet up with friends from undergrad to visit Munich, Berlin, and Prague. Please tell me any and all must see sites and adventures in any of those cities.

Bad
Today was the second day of the job fair. There wer...

Jaded

2009-02-21T19:49:49-05:00

I should have known that things weren’t going to go as planned for my thesis mid-review when the jury scheduled to critique my project thought they were finished for the day with the previous presenter and were readying themselves to grab some coffee.

Let’s just say it may have been better had they gone for coffee.

That’s not to say that my mid-review went poorly. It didn’t. But it wasn’t good either. I can handle a bad review. I’ve had a handful in my nearly six years of architecture school. To me, the worst review is one you come away feeling as though you learned very little, if anything. And that’s how my mid-review went.

I probably came across as hostile to some of the jury. In my estimation I was simply defending my work. And its hard for me to keep from showing a wry smile or releasing a muted chuckle at some of the suggestions from so called professionals. At an institution where one should attempt to do the impossible or at least break the so-called rules, I had...

It's Been A While

2009-02-16T22:32:44-05:00

I can't recall the last time I posted (without looking I'm guessing it was at least 2 weeks ago). It's not as though I've been super busy, though busy nonetheless. Thesis project mid-reviews started today. I was lucky (or unlucky, depends on perspective) enough to be assigned a Friday review date, therefore giving me the rest of the week to prepare presentation material. Essentially we are supposed to present everything we've done up to this point. I know the professors (as well as outside reviewers) are expected a lot, so it really isn't just posted trash paper and random sketches. And for that reason it serves as a good kick in the butt for me to getting working.

By the time I present Friday afternoon it will be just 5 weeks (including spring break...so much for that) until the final presentation and review. That leaves April to compose a short written "report" of the "findings" as a companion to the presentation material. At this point I've made my "big moves" and addres...

Counting Bricks

2009-02-02T20:52:43-05:00

I spent a portion of my weekend counting bricks. That's one of the many joys of working with old buildings. After a lot of correspondence with various people, I determined that even if any drawings of the abandoned Richmond Gas Company building do exist, it was going to be quite difficult for me to get them. So it was with that determination that the counting commenced.

I was lucky enough to get pretty much unobstructed access to the building. That allowed me to get over 200 pictures of the building. Based on that extensive catalog, I had either an interior or exterior shot that allowed me to estimate the dimensions of the spaces based on standard brick and CMU dimensions. I'm pretty convinced my SketchUp model is off at most by a foot or so in any direction.

And even if there are some dimension inconsistencies, the model is at least proportional. So now I have a pretty accurate representation of my space and can get cracking on my design intervention.

I'm pretty sure I'...

Richmond Gas Company Building

2009-01-29T15:08:29-05:00

After a short search I managed to find a ruin (within a reasonable distance from Muncie) that will work perfect for my thesis creative design project. The building is the abandoned Richmond Gas Company Building located an hour east of Muncie in Richmond, IN. Richmond has a rich history of historic preservation so thats an added bonus.

Built in 1855 the building, now part of the National Register of Historic Places, played an important role in the development of Richmond. Located on the Whitewater River and former CSX railroad it is just a single reminder of the important role industry played in the city of Richmond. Just south of the site, also along the river, is the site of the former Starr Piano Factory and Gennett Recording Studios. Now it sits abandoned waiting for a plan to make it once again a prominent building in Richmond.

The benefit of being located on the river and the former CSX railroad is that the building is within the vast Whitewater River Gorge Valley Park a...

Snow Day

2009-01-28T14:48:46-05:00

What I'd give to be a meteorologist. Sure they predicted snow, but they were off by at least 4 inches or nearly 50% of what they predicted for maximum accumulation. Imagine spec'ing a roof that was 4 inches off?! Exactly.

We got about a foot here in Muncie so Ball State canceled all classes for today. The city doesn't even bother plowing the roads when an inch of snow falls, so there was no way things were going to work out with this much snow. The roads in Muncie are littered with potholes and they don't even care.

Oddly enough its not my first college snow day. During my undergrad at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign I had two snow days (the first time class was canceled due to weather in the school's 140 year history) when nearly 3 feet of snow was dumped on the area. So here I am literally snowed in my apartment.

So that gives me time to complete the process of reformatting my computer and reinstalling all the vital information. I've been working on this for ove...

Wrapping Up

2009-01-15T17:43:11-05:00

Before I get too far along with this semester, I thought it'd be best to show you what my historic preservation studio produced in the fall.

To briefly summarize the project, we were tasked with proposing a revitalization plan for East 10th Street in Indianapolis, IN between Arsenal and Olney. Within our groups of three it was up to our discretion on which buildings were kept or demolished and the best infill for removed buildings or already vacant lots.

If you know the area, it'd be easy to say there is little worth saving. But for the most part, we preserved most of the corridor and its awesome character, while adding buildings that only enhance the area. My group was specifically tasked with the area between Oxford and Dearborn.

An animated "drive-through" of the proposed revitalization can be seen here in two parts:

Part 1
Part 2

If you interested in the specific designs my group proposed between Oxford and Dearborn, check out the PowerPoint, here.

I hope you enjoy, now ...

Begin the Begin

2009-01-13T18:41:54-05:00

Anybody who knows the reference in the title is a friend of mine. It's back to school, again, but also for the last time. (Since I have not filled out a single application to pursue a PhD, it is surely the end...for now. There will probably come a time when I head back to school for my PhD in Anthropology.) But as it stands, the future is now. I am not going to rant about the situation that awaits, as the current environment is not something I can control. Things will happen and I'll manage the curveballs.

The focus is now on completing my thesis project. I wrapped up the fall semester with the submission of my thesis proposal and now its time to resolve the proposal with an architectural design. For better or worse I did not spend one second during winter break thinking about thesis. Nope I spent two weeks in Peru and you can read about my Peruvian adventures right here. There are some good stories and photos, so please check it out.

But looking back now, some of my exp...

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T13:48:18-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. I can't believe we've reached the final week of 2008. Where did all the time go? 2008 was a great year. It found me transitioning from working 7 months in Chicago to school at Ball State for graduate school. It found me returning home to Louisville for summer work for the first time in 2 summers. It found me making new friends and catching up with old ones. There's not much I can complain about, well there's that whole economic downturn that may or may not be a curve ball as I graduate from school and look for a job. But I can't control that and I'll save that for another day.

It's been a fun semester here on the Archinect blog. I hope you've enjoyed at least something I've posted. It's only going to get better as I work toward resolving my thesis proposal. I'm going to celebrate Christmas with my family and then on December 28, I catch a flight to Lima, Peru to join my sister and brother-in-law who are traveling the world. I'm...

It's Done

2008-12-12T15:45:38-05:00

The semester is over. Okay, so I have an exam on Tuesday and another on Wednesday, but for all intents and purposes it is complete. On Wednesday I submitted my thesis proposal, which topped out around 10,000 words. As soon as I get it compiled and PDFed I'll link it from here so anybody interested in perusing through(or actually reading it) can. It feels really good to have that complete. While it'll be in the back in my mind through out winter break, I'm going to distance myself from it. Hopefully that will allow me to come back to it with a fresh perspective as I work on resolving my thesis with my design project.

Studio is also complete. Last night my studio presented our revitalization for East 10th Street in Indianapolis to the Community Board of Directors at the Boner Center. It was fitting as the Boner Center is directly in the heart of our revitalization. It was the first time in 11 semesters of architecture school that I presented to somebody other than a jury of ...

Organized Chaos

2008-12-07T23:47:55-05:00

I've been in self imposed solitary confinement all weekend as I work towards the final draft of my thesis proposal. I don't know if the way I do it is the best way to do it, but its way I've done it forever and it works so I stick with it.

Here's the organized chaos...

Essentially all I have left is the conclusion. And its not a conclusion at all considering this is the proposal so next semester is when I work on the solution. It's more of a "this is where I'm at and this is how I'm moving forward."

That leaves me plenty of time to proof read, edit, format, so on and so forth to have it ready for submission on Wednesday.

Thesis is Fun!

2008-12-04T23:46:45-05:00

I just completed reading and noting 18 articles and scholarly papers relevant to my thesis topic of memory, identity, and architecture. I'm knee deep in thesis since the final draft of my thesis proposal is due Wednesday. One might suspect after a long day of reading I'd be tired of thesis and my topic. But surprisingly (at least to me) I'm not, and I'm very much motivated (and its not yet the deadline causing such motivation since I still have 5 days).

More specifically I'm looking at architecture as targets of purposeful violence because the architecture is "who we are - past, present, and future". And for my design project next semester I'm looking at the treatment of this damaged/destroyed architecture. Its all so complicated, deep, controversial, exciting, so on so forth.

There are some who tell you that thesis determines what you do with the rest of your life. Others will tell you that is just another project. I don't subscribe to either extreme but as I continue to e...

Superstudio

2008-12-03T18:38:19-05:00

We were notified today that next semester's "thesis" studio will be run as a superstudio with all 30 graduate students working in the same space with three professors who are not assigned to any particular group. I'm sure it won't be as powerful or as efficient as a supercomputer, but I like the idea.

Not only have I been working on my thesis design project proposal for the whole semester, but through the research methods course I've been exposed to a large number of my colleagues proposals and I'm anxious to see their solutions to the proposed problems.

There's a lot to be learned from my colleagues even if their thesis doesn't seem to relate in any way to my own. I'm quite curious to see how some projects resolve the proposed problems. And as much as I love my topic of inquiry, I do need step away from it every now and then. Being around all the other students will allow such an escape.

But now is not one of those times. The final draft is due in a week, and there's a lot ...

All At Once

2008-11-23T22:51:35-05:00

One thing that never fails is deadlines congregating around the same date.

Another thing that never fails is that no matter how well you think you've planned for the onslaught, you're woefully under prepared.

Last week I completed a building facade rehabilitation design as well as a research poster on the history of architectural glass production. That took care of two classes, only three more to concern myself.

It's a symptom of professors everywhere, but they all forget what "break" means, as in, Thanksgiving BREAK. Ball State's break commences Tuesday after classes (which is actually Fruesday- Friday classes on Tuesday, to balance class meetings) but that doesn't mean I'll be free to do whatever I want over those five days.

Upon returning from Thanksgiving, the other three classes' deadlines rear their ugly heads. In order to have our comprehensive digital model (the entire 10th Street streetscape) completed in time for the presentation to the community, each group has to ...

Pasquarelli Lecture Recap

2008-11-15T12:58:21-05:00

Over the past two days I was lucky enough to spend nearly five hours with Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP. I don't want to call him a genius (since that's a term I use only to describe myself) but he's certainly a visionary within the field of architecture. I learned a semester's worth of knowledge in the short time spent with him, at a roundtable discussion, through a critique in studio, and finally during his lecture, which I will share here.

Thursday afternoon Gregg was kind enough to spend two hours at a roundtable discussion which was essentially a short preview of his lecture followed by question and answer which led to fruitful discussions on performance based architecture, preservation, academia vs. practice, along with many other issues. I'm sure the discussion could have lasted for hours on end but Gregg kicked us out and told us we were tired of hearing him talk. Here are some things that caught my attention during the discussion.

- The diversity of SHoP. None of the ori...

Badanes, Woods, Pasquarelli

2008-11-12T23:21:03-05:00

The fun never stops.

Today I submitted the second draft (of three) of my thesis proposal. That was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, only to realize the third and final draft is due in just three weeks. But I'm very happy with the progress I have made, submitting 35 pages when only 20 was required. The major addition to the proposal this time around was five precedent studies, in which I analyzed five buildings damaged or destroyed by purposeful acts of violence and the approach to rebuilding. In all the cases, the very conservative to pretty conservative approaches were taken. I hope to break that pattern with my thesis.

In other thesis news, I contacted Lebbeus Woods earlier in the week about discussing my thesis proposal with him and he responded today that he would be glad to discuss it with me. So with that news I went back to his War and Architecture and studied, noted, and developed the best questions I could think of. I look forward to this opportunity and beli...

SHoP Lecture

2008-11-07T13:21:40-05:00

Today the CAP announced Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP will be lecturing next Friday, November 14. Here's the announcement:

Dear CAP Faculty and Students:

The 2008 CAP Sappenfield Lecture will offer us a wonderful opportunity to hear from a designer and a design firm that have become extremely influential in our understanding of future opportunities for architects, landscape architects and urban planners. The nature of their work is truly multidisciplinary.

Please join me next Friday @ 4:00pm in AB100 for our 2008 CAP Sappenfield Lecture.

I look forward to see you.

Guillermo

CAP Sappenfield Lecture 2008

Friday, November 14th, 4:00PM

Gregg Pasquarelli,

SHoP Architects, NYC

Gregg Pasquarelli:

Gregg received a Master of Architecture from Columbia University (1994) where he graduated with Honors for Excellence in Design. Pasquarelli was named the Sarinen Professor of Architecture at Yale University in Fall 2006, served as the Shure Professor of Architecture at The University of ...

Sleep Walking

2008-11-06T15:59:27-05:00

Today in Professional Practice we had a great presentation by Wil Marquez of Indianapolis, IN based design firm, A2SO4. The presentation looked at the changing face of architecture and the bigger picture of using design to solve challenges of all varieties. Wil challenged us to ask big questions and not settle for traditional answers.

The presentation was framed around the notion that we were all "sleep walking" before September 11, 2001 and it took a tragic event to the "face" of architecture to awaken us to a new understanding of not only of what is architecture, but how design fits into the new model. It's no longer just about the architect and his blue plans.

Currently a lot of the work A2SO4 is working on is in the United Arab Emirates. So Wil discussed how A2SO4 has collaborated and created partnerships on the global scale to make the best design possible. A2SO4 is asking the big questions and attempting to solve them through non-traditional answers.

The presentation w...

When Push Comes to Shove

2008-11-03T00:14:26-05:00

The calendar has turned another page and things are starting to heat up as the semester quickly comes to a close. November is one of my least favorite months (after February, of course) as winter moves in and the workload increases. Between now and November 19 things are going to be hectic, so its time to prioritize the tasks.

The most urgent assignment is a 20 page draft of my thesis proposal. It's due on November 12. I submitted a 10 page draft last month, so its only an additional 10 pages, but the previous draft needs to be polished along with adding additional research. This time around my professor is looking for additional literature reviews as well as five precedent studies. He has also asked us to speak with somebody outside the College of Architecture about our thesis, be it a former coworker or some other "expert". So priority number one this week is obviously the thesis proposal draft.

The following week I have due a research poster on the evolution of glass/win...

A Request

2008-10-23T13:44:57-04:00

Alright, I have a request of the Archinect community out there. I was recently assigned a small case study for my professional practice course and was hoping one of the many architects out there could help me out.

The case study involves examining a "project from a practice/service/process perspective (not necessarily a design perspective)". The meat of the case study is an interview with the designer responsible for the project which is supplemented with other published sources (journals, books, web sites, etc.).

One of the requirements is that it cannot be a project on which I have worked during internship. So sure I can contact either of the two firms I've worked for and choose a project I didn't help with, but I'm quite familiar with most of their work, so I'm hoping to broaden my perspective.

So if you have an interesting project that you wouldn't mind sharing with me (and eventually the BSU School of Architecture, at large) than please contact me, either in the comments ...