Archinect - Columbia University, GSAPP 2014-20162024-05-10T12:41:09-04:00https://archinect.com/blog/article/111098490/taking-a-break-and-the-first-lectures-at-gsapp
Taking a Break and the First Lectures at GSAPP Martina Dolejsova2014-10-12T11:52:26-04:00>2014-10-18T13:55:41-04:00
<p>It’s Sunday and in Brownie’s Café in the basement floor of Avery Hall, it is a quiet cave and there are only two other students sitting here… but it's like they aren't even there as from where I'm sitting they can't be seen. It is a change from the bustling activity that happens here during the week. It is absent of all the items that accessorize the café. Tapletops are cleared of everything including napkins. A long countertop usually full is stripped of the utensils, the coffee, hot water pots, and the tea bags. Missing are the students who are going over readings or research agendas, or eating among other students, and it is somehow revelatory to find a space that is lacking people. </p><p>The past few weeks have been packed with classes, readings and research as well as working with GSAPP events that my intention of posting once a week may have been wishful thinking. </p><p>I began to write small observations as seen below from the lectures I've been attending, the first two being la...</p>
https://archinect.com/blog/article/108974611/the-start-of-school-and-the-value-of-sunsets
The Start of School and the Value of Sunsets Martina Dolejsova2014-09-14T22:45:00-04:00>2014-09-17T23:05:33-04:00
<p>My second week of classes are done and I missed posting last week as a result of figuring out my courses and being buried under text. Just to give you an idea, in my first week of classes, I was assigned 628 pages to read and ‘comprehend’. With an overwhelming assembly of information and rapid googling when I found myself in seminars where someone said, ‘everyone knows this image… this exhibit.. this design.. this phrase’ and I had no idea what they were talking about, I jammed as much information as I could into my already full consciousness. This week is about the same and while I am still swimming in excerpts and articles, I have come to understand that this is never-ending and decided to take a break from Colomina, Benjamin and Simmel. </p><p>Even with the anxieties of keeping up, the limitless threads of dialogue that explore architectural history and the questions of cities and their environments are everywhere and exciting. I was fortunate to get into the class Reinhold Martin ...</p>
https://archinect.com/blog/article/107799102/up-and-cccp-dinner-and-getting-ready-for-the-program
UP and CCCP dinner and Getting Ready for the program Martina Dolejsova2014-08-30T16:39:30-04:00>2014-09-01T11:51:02-04:00
<p>Last Sunday, a dinner was organized by Andrew Lassiter from the Urban Planning Program for students in the UP and CCCP programs. We met at the Deluxe Diner off of 113th and Broadway that was large enough to hold the 20+ people that arrived to meet up. I met two more CCCP peers, Maryam and Meita and we talked about which classes we were thinking of signing up for and the upcoming start of school. </p><p> </p><p>The group of people at the dinner came from all areas of the world and yet I found myself between two people who were from New York and talked about the city and its various histories, buildings and streets. I listened to UP student Andrea describe how certain streets got their names. Pearl Street had been named because of the oyster shells that used to line the street. Canal Street used to be a canal, and Peter Brightbill who was sitting close by and a professor/guide for a walking tour called ‘Guide to Gotham’, added that once the canal had been paved over, it continued to be a mar...</p>
https://archinect.com/blog/article/107007763/apartment-hunting-and-thinking-of-olmsted-part-ii
Apartment Hunting and Thinking of Olmsted, Part II Martina Dolejsova2014-08-20T10:26:49-04:00>2014-08-27T16:12:34-04:00
<p>Friday, August 15</p><p>This was the day that I received an email – apartment by 96th street and Central Park inquiring if I was still looking for a room. I had placed an ad on listingsproject.com for ‘Grad Student needs a room: clean, responsible, drinks tea’ and they had seen it. After having given up the other apartment on 81st, I responded with interest and crossed my fingers that this one would fit. In this one week, I had seen half a dozen apartments, and was starting to feel pressure to find something with classes starting in September. I had also given in, begrudgingly, and set up an appointment to see an apartment in Brooklyn, about an hour commute to the school (depending on if you were on an express train). </p><p> </p><p>The apartment in Brooklyn was immediately off the J train in Bushwick so it would be easier to get around. Somehow in getting there, I managed to exit at the wrong stop and walked the extra 15 minutes to the building, letting me see the neighborhood and the treelined s...</p>
https://archinect.com/blog/article/106491467/apartment-hunting-and-thinking-of-olmsted
Apartment Hunting and Thinking of Olmsted Martina Dolejsova2014-08-13T17:19:54-04:00>2014-08-18T20:22:48-04:00
<p>I was told that finding an apartment in New York is one of the most stressful and difficult things you can do. I’m apt to agree. And if you don’t mind the comparison, it’s like buying a house in Los Angeles. Everything in your price range goes quickly and so you have to know what you want and act fast, and there’s always a better place (that you think is better) just a little more expensive. And dwelling on the imperfections will just keep you from getting anything. </p><p> </p><p>So after one week of looking I’m without an apartment although I was close. I saw an apartment off of 107th and Broadway in a brownstone walkup, one hour too late. Another person expressed interest and was first in line to get it. I’m still on the hunt.</p><p> </p><p>Last Friday I went out to Brooklyn to meet another student in the program, named Gabrielle (Gabby) Printz. We talked about how it looks like there may be a higher percentage of women in our year and that this was a good sign. In a field that’s consistently been ...</p>
https://archinect.com/blog/article/105937334/l-a-to-n-y-c
L.A. to N.Y.C Martina Dolejsova2014-08-06T12:53:39-04:00>2014-08-11T17:00:18-04:00
<p>Leaving Los Angeles, August 5, 6:00am, PST</p><p>A towncar waited for me outside of my gate at 6:30am. It’s the first time I’ve ever taken a towncar but a friend had suggested it and said it was less than taking a taxi, so they were called and scheduled to pick me up. I believe the driver was from eastern Europe, and he reminded me of a tough mobster as he sat on his phone texting while I tried to hurry up and leave. I stalled briefly and looked out the window. I soaked in the island of towers off in the distance and the palm trees sticking up from the streets that surrounded it. </p><p> </p><p>Once I got into the car, the faux flowers in a small pewter vase stuck on a small dash, and the small tray of sweets (which I immediately took an orange flavored piece) wrapped me up in the eccentricities and character that I love so much about LA. And that I’m looking to find in New York. On the way to LAX, I watched the hum of houses and lowrise commercial buildings blending together in the valley as w...</p>