Archinect - Lawrence Technological University (Jason)

Pecha Kucha Detroit

2008-08-06T17:53:16-04:00

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Pecha Kucha Night Detroit will be held at the Atwater Block Brewery on August 21.

Pecha Kucha Night, devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein Dytham Architecture), was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers, performers and artists to meet, network, and show their work in public.

The key to Pecha Kucha Night is its patented system -- each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds -- giving 6 minutes, 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people a chance to present.

Pecha Kucha (Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown. This is a demand that seems to be global, as Pecha Kucha Night, without any pushing, has spread virally to over 120 cities across the world. For more information, visit www.pecha-kucha.org.

2007/2008 ArchiLECTURE Series

2007-10-08T00:34:07-04:00

October 25, 2007: DAN ROCKHILL
Rockhill & Associates. Lecompton, Kansas.
Lecture Title: "Design & Construction: Hand & Mind. The Work of Rockhill & Assoc. and Studio 804"

November 8, 2007: SHANE & BETSY WILLIAMSON
WilliamsonWilliamson. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Lecture Title: "Between Scale".

March 20, 2008: WILL ALSOP
Alsop Architects. London, England, Great Britain.
Lecture Title: "Progress Check"

WIRED SPEAKER SERIES

2007-04-11T12:05:04-04:00

This one is a can't miss, from www.cranbrookart.edu...

THE WIRED SPEAKER SERIES
At Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cameron Sinclair
Co-founder of Architecture for Humanity
In conversation with Melanie Cornwell, Editorial Projects Director, WIRED magazine.

Thursday, April 12 | 7:00 pm
Cranbrook Art Museum/deSalle Auditorium

$6 non-members, $4 seniors and students with id, free to ArtMembers@Cranbrook. For more information, call 248-645-3323.

Frustrated that less than two percent of the world benefits from architectural services and that one in seven people live in slum settlements, Cameron Sinclair co-founded Architecture for Humanity, a non profit that seeks architecture solutions to humanitarian crises and brings design services to communities in need. For the last six years his team has initiated and implemented a number of programs including post-Katrina disaster relief in New Orleans, housing ideas for returning refugees in Kosovo; mobile health clinics to combat HIV/AIDS in Sub-...

Archilecture 05

2007-04-09T14:02:26-04:00

Click hear for full size.

Periodical

2007-03-27T01:07:28-04:00

I've just come from a David Adjaye lecture at the University of Detroit Mercy. I am quite fond of Adjaye's work, though the lecture didn't live up to expectations. I first heard of Adjaye from his Idea Store in Whitechapel, London. Though this may be one of his more published persuites, I was more drawn to a couple of his other project, Dirty House in Shoreditch, London, and the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway. The Dirty House is an adaptive reuse of an old masonry building. The exterior is dark and the windows on the ground floor have been covered with a mirrored tint. The upper floor hosts a large terrace with a cantilievered roof. At night, the buildings stark exterior is transformed into a beacon of sorts, glowing about the terrace and lower level windows. The Nobel Peace Center is an amazing work which I will not get into here, but I encourage you to explore this at some point.

Moving on, our midterm reviews were a few weeks ago, followed by a much needed spring b...

Archilecture 04

2007-03-16T11:12:23-04:00

Randolph R. Croxton, FAIA: Moving from "Green" to Sustainable... Overlooked Assets & Opportunities

Thursday, March 22, 2007, 7:00 pm, Architecture Auditorium, A200

See the full banner here.

Awake is the New Sleep

2007-02-12T14:27:43-05:00

Hey. Long time no see. I've been busy lately. I'm currently designing an addition to a museum and library, trying to save another library, building houses in Detroit, moving, planning a wedding, and trying to get 8 hours a sleep a night on top of all that. Some needs are met, others are ignored. Mostly, the sleeping thing. Usually, this early in the semester, I can get away with sleeping 7 or 8 hours a night. Not so much. Lately it's been 5 or 6. I can just imagine what will happen come midterms.

In studio, we have moved past a precedent study, site analysis, and block diagraming, and have moved on to mass-modeling, which I can attribute to my lack of sleep last night. Things are progressing quite well and I feel I am ready to jump into some down and dirty design work.

In my other two courses, I just took an exam in Environmental Control Systems last week, and I have an exam in Structures 4 tomorrow. Aside from the ample homework, those two courses are going well.

I wi...

Welcome Back - Part 2

2007-01-22T13:38:56-05:00

Spring semester officially began a week ago. I'm once again a full time student, taking 12 credit hours this semester, on top of working 40 hours a week. Looks like I'm going to be busy. My class line up is as follows:

Integrated Design Studio 4 - Tod Stevens/Cornell Mays
Structures 4 - Edmond Megerian
Environmental Control Systems 1 - Janice Means

In studio this semester, we will be focusing on the ACSA competition "Preservation as Provocation: Re-designing Saarinen's Cranbrook Academy of Art." The program calls for a 9,770 sq. ft. addition to the library and a 53,580 sq. ft. addition to the museum. The competition will be juried by Tod Williams, Jorge Otero-Pailos, and Marja-Ritta Norri. Originally, we had plans of doing the AISC Steel Competition, but everyone does the steel competition. I think this will work out in our favor, as Cranbrook is right in our back yard, and we can make many site visits. Althought I've been to Cranbrook many times before, I took a trip t...

Boston - Day 5

2007-01-08T21:32:47-05:00

On our final day in The Athens of America, the plan was to take the T to M.I.T. to see Frank Gehry's Stata Center, Eero Saarinen's M.I.T. Chapel, Alvar Alto's Baker House, and Steven Holl's Simmons Hall, then find the Genzyme Center. Next, hop the T to Harvard to visit the G.S.D., then to Allston to see the library...

Unfortunately, most of that didn't happen. Monday was the only day of our trip that the weather didn't cooperate. It was cold, and it was rainy. We did, however, make it to M.I.T. Lindsay was miserable and I thought if I made her oogle architecture any more, she may leave me.

Our back-up plan was to visit the Museum of Fine Arts, but it took a trip there to discover that some places close on New Years Day.

The conference concluded with a keynote presentation by Brian Healy, AIA, principal of Brian Healy Architects in Boston, which may just have been the best lecture of the Forum. We capped the night off with some cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Tomorr...

Boston - Day 4

2007-01-01T14:54:30-05:00

We spent this morning walking around the Back Bay for a while, and then we visited the host campuses. It wasn't a well organized tour, as most of the buildings were locked. We did, however, get to see the studio spaces at Northeastern and Wentworth. The studio at Northeastern sits directly under the tracks of the T, so I can imagine it could be dificult to concentrate or to crit at times. he studios were nice, but I'll stick with LTU's...

Our keynote speaker for today was Theodore C. Landsmark, Ph. D., the recipient of the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award. Dr. Landsmark is a strong advocate of diversity within the architecture profession. We also heard from two groups, one from Notheastern, and one from the B.A.C., about their recent work in New Orleans.

After the keynote presentation concluded, the 50th Anniversary Beaux Arts Ball began. This year it was held at the Cyclorama. This years theme was dancing through the decades, and we had a wicked good time...

Boston - Day 3

2006-12-30T22:02:40-05:00

This morning began with a tour of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Redsox. Fenway is the oldest ballpark in America, and is currently undergoing some major renovation work. The tour wouldn't have been the same if we wouldn't have had the best damn tourguide in all of Boston. This guy could have been as old as the Redsox organization itself, and his tales took you back to a time when baseball truly was America's game. The park itself was rather underwhelming, but I guess it's the history that makes this place so amazing...

After Fenway. we took the green line to the red line to the silver line and spent the afternoon at the new Institute of Conteporary Arts, another truly amazing place. In the pictures I have seen, the building looks cold and industrial. The first thing I noticed upon arrival was the expansive wood decking around the building, and continued on the underside of the buildings cantileiver. The view out over the harbor is fantastic from both the Founders' Gallery ...

Boston - Day 2

2006-12-29T22:01:49-05:00

This morning marked the official opening of AIAS Forum 2006. Registration went fairly quickly, and we were greeted with a bag full of goodies, including a triangle and a nice notebook. I spent all day in a hands-on graphics and rendering workshop presented by Mike Lin, ASLA, ASAI, one of the most sought-after graphic instructors in the country. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mike Lin and his workshops, you can visit his site, www.beloose.com. It was truly an amazing experience, as Mike teaches you many things related to both rendering and life in general.

This evening was our first in a series of keynote presentations. Tonight featured Steven Kieren, FAIA, who spoke about his ideas for the future of the architecture profession.

At the end of the night, we were all given a copy of Visionaire 34 - Paris Dior Homme in a beautiful metal and plastic case. Enjoy the beautiful Boston sunset...

Boston - Day 1

2006-12-28T22:03:18-05:00

We arrived in Boston this morning via Logan International Airport. Our flight was delayed roughly an hour because of computer problems at Detroit Metro Airport. Most of that time was made up in flight, and we arrived only 15 minutes later than expected. After picking up our bags from the baggage claim, we took a cab under the inner harbor through the Ted Williams Tunnel to the Back Bay. The hotel allowed us to check in early, and put us in the eleventh floor facing south. Here is a view out our window towards the Christian Science Center and the Symphony Hall...

After we unpacked, it was time for some lunch. We found the Pour House right around the corner...

After we ate, we took a walk down Boylston Street to get a feel of the city. We walked past Boston Public Library into Copley Square. From here we got a good view of the Hancock Tower and the beautiful Trinity Church...

After walking around some more, we headed back to the hotel for a (not so) short nap. We woke up h...

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2006-12-14T13:10:16-05:00

No, I'm not talking about Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or even Festivus. I'm talking about the end of the academic semester. It's the time of year when all the good boys and girls finally go home after weeks and weeks of seemingly endless nights in the studio and, for the first time in days, take a shower and get cleaned up, only to turn around and head back to those hallowed halls of knowledge, to have all of their hard work and suffering critiqued by perfect strangers.

For some, this can be a stress-filled time. Many begin to tremble or studder, or exhibit other symptoms of nervousness when it's their time to present. Not yours truly. I was cool as a cucumber. I got up, did my thing, and when it was the professors turn to speak, all he said was "I don't disagree with that." Sure, everyone wants to hear "Wow, that's the most amazing design I have ever seen. Why don't you come work for me and I'll pay you six figures!" But I was realistic. My only goal was to go in...

Back on Track

2006-12-05T12:18:24-05:00

New Laptop - $3000
New Flash Drive - $90
New External Hard Drive - $50
New Wireless Mouse - $40
New Laptop Bag - $60
New Sketchbook - $15
Having your laptop bag stolen with your laptop, flashdrive, external hard drive, wireless mouse, and sketchbook in it three weeks before the end of the semester - priceless.

Well now that we got all of that out of the way, let me tell you what's going on at Larry Tech this time of year. Classis are winding down. My final crit is next Wednesday. I had a good deal of my design done before my laptop was stolen, but the two weeks with no computer put a dent in the time I was planning on using to wrap up my CAD model and do some renderings. I'll be working on my physical model this weekend, using basswood and plexi. I decided to do my presentation with powerpoint to save time on plotting and mounting. I did my midterm with powerpoint as well and it turned out well. I have an exam on the 11th in landscape, and a notebook to turn in then as...

Broken Glass

2006-11-20T09:01:55-05:00

As if the weight of the semester coming to a close wasn't enough, someone had to break into my truck and steal my laptop! What did I do to deserve this? They smashed my window and grabbed the computer. I came back to a pile of broken glass and a missing laptop. It's not as if I were careless. The laptop was in a black bag on the floor of the back seat of my Explorer, with dark tinted windows. It's not like someone just stumbled upon my laptop sitting on my front seat. It was definately concealed. Someone was looking for something to take. Oh I had insurance. Insurance doesn't cover weeks of modeling time, or a sketch book nearly filled with drawings or notes. Of course I had the files backed up. Do you think I would take a chance with the MPC craptops they offer at LTU? I had them all backed up and safe. On a flash drive. In my laptop bag. With my laptop. It's all gone. So as all the other architeceture students are looking forward to a break from the studio, a tim...

Archilecture 03

2006-11-14T10:12:59-05:00

For more information, click here.

I will give a brief recap of the event in my school blog Friday morning following the lecture. This should be a good presentation and I encourage anyone in the area to attend.

Midterm Review

2006-11-03T23:16:09-05:00

Our studio held its midterm review this week. It went better than I had expected. The presentations went in alphabetical order, and due to an absence, I went first. My project was as far along as most in the class. There were a few that were quite a bit behind. I had a good idea who they would be though, as it is hard to get much done when you're never in studio. On the other hand, there were a couple that were near completion. I don't think this was of any advantage, however. It seems when you spend a lot of time on renderings and boards you tent to forget about the architecture behind the project. Anyway, I think my review went quite well and gave me some much needed direction. The one major problem I am having is how to address the facade of the buildings. This seems to be a common obstacle in all of my projects. I guess it is something I will have to work through in the next few weeks.

Above is a sketch perspective of my project. The building in front houses retail...

Archilecture 02

2006-10-27T10:50:19-04:00

Patty Johnson was our guest last night and the second speaker in our "Archilecture" series. Johnson is a Canadian-based designer who does a lot of work in furniture. Here is a brief bio:

Working out of Toronto, Patty Johnson draws upon her training from the school of Crafts and Design at Sheridan College and the University of Toronto for her minimalist furniture designs. Many of her designs have achieved considerable success and notice. Her "technology free" plywood table, constructed by folding it as one would a paper origami sculpture, earned her an I.D. Magazine Annual Design Review Award in 1994. In June 2002, Johnson's "Turn" table was launched by Keilhauer at Neocon in Chicago. She also designs for Nienkamper and Eureka lighting. Johnson is a member of the design collective "Furnace" (with Andrew Jones, Tom Deacon and Scot Laughton) who recently exhibited "I-Designs based on a single form" at Canada House in London, England and Fluid Living, a furniture manufacturer, will m...

Crossing Boundaries

2006-10-24T10:00:21-04:00

As part of my semester studio project, I did a study of boundaries, both visible and invisible, near my site. From this study I was able to conclude that this was a useless study and taught me nothing that I wouldn't have learned by simply visiting the site. Oh, the joys of academia.

Stay tuned for my next post, which will include a survey of Detroit architecture.

Apples & Oranges

2006-10-23T08:25:06-04:00

Once upon a time, some guy in Cleveland decided the third Saturday in October would be known as "Sweetest Day." From then on, people would spend the day wondering why we needed another Valentines Day. Thus my trip to the cider mill...

In 1863, the Yates family constructed a wooden dam across the Clinton River, in what is now Rochester. This set the stage for construction of the Yates Cider Mill. Three generations of the Yates family kept the wheels turning with water power, and two generations of the Posey family have continued to use the original turbine water wheel and machinery, which still operates the mill to this day.

Aside from the cider mill itself, the area offers miles of walking trails, some of which parallel the Clinton River.

Maybe even more interesting than the cider mill, this was the first time I'd actually seen someone fly fishing.

On another note, much work has been done on my project, with my midterm review in a week, and I will be posting some in the next f...

Weekend Update

2006-10-16T08:51:34-04:00

This weekend, Lawrence Technological University played host to the 2006 Midwest Quad Conference of the American Institute of Architecture Students. The events included a deans pannel with the deans of three local schools of architecture, break out sessions on LEED, presentation, and the profession, as well as a firm tour of Rosetti in Southfield, Michigan, and a tour of the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, and a trip to the Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

From left to right: Stephen Vogel, FAIA, Dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture; Glen Leroy, FAIA, FAICP, Dean of the Lawrence Technological University college of Architecture and Design; Douglas Kelbaugh, FAIA, Dean of the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning; Jonathan Bahe, President, American Institute of Architecture Students.

The Deans Pannel covered many topics topics that would be of interest to students, including critical regionalism, s...

Archilecture 01

2006-10-10T10:25:41-04:00

Blair Kamin, Architecture Critic for the Chicago Tribune, will give a lecture at the Lawrence Technological University College of Architecture and Design on Thursday, October 12, at 7:00 in room A200.

Kamin is a native of Red Bank, New Jersey. He graduated from Amherst College in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts and from the Yale University School of Architecture in 1984 with a Master of Environmental Design. In 1999, he was a visiting fellow at the Franke Institute for the Humanities at the University of Chicago.

Kamin was a reporter for the Des Moines Register from 1984 to 1987. He joined the Tribune in 1987, covering suburban and cultural news. Since becoming the Tribune's architecture critic in 1992, he has written about the full range of the built environment-from skyscrapers to museums to parks to public housing. Kamin has lectured widely, with audiences including the American Institute of Architects' National Convention, the annual meeting of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Cons...

The Great Outdoors

2006-10-09T08:54:32-04:00

With studio weighing heavily on my mind, I still managed to take a weekend trip to visit my family. We spent some time at our property up north, getting out of the city and getting some fresh air. It's a great time of the year for it too, as the trees are changing color now. My dad has spent the past few weekends working hard on a new paver patio, which turned out quite nice, and he is quite proud. The weather was just perfect.

Fall color.

The fam and the patio.

This will be filled in with rock.

Tools of the trade.

More fall colors.

Some interesting mushrooms.

Even more colors.

I thought these leaves were pretty cool.

Don't drink the water.

The author.

Lights Out

2006-10-05T11:04:15-04:00

Wednesday was the due date for the group projects in studio. We got to pick what we wanted to research, and I of course chose Detroit architecture. The other research areas were precedent study, Detroit history, site study, and a site model. It appeared Tuesday as I left the studio that we would be the only group done in time. Our presentation was pinned up a full day before it was due. So Wednesday rolls around, and I get to school about 15 minutes before class starts. I parked in the front row, which is very unusual. As I was walking to the architecture building, I noticed it was very dark inside. It was when I got to the door that I knew what was going on. The campus was without power and no classes would be held for the remainder of the day. All of that hard work for [seemingly] nothing. Hopefully with an extra 5 days, everyones projects will be up to par. Anyway, it's good to have a day off once in a while to have a drink and watch the Tigers... they got rained out...

Deco in the D

2006-10-02T09:12:21-04:00

More buildings from downtown Detroit. This time, it's the Guardian Building, located in the financial district. This building was designed in 1929 by Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls and renovated in 2000 by SmithGroup.

It was originally the Union Trust Building. This Art Deco masterpiece combines brickwork, glazed tile and terra cotta in new combinations of color, form and texture.

The inside is filled with Italian travertine and black marble floors, and the walls and ceilings are full of mosaic and pewabic tile.

This building was nicknamed "The Cathedral of Finance" when it was built in the late 1920s.

In 1989, the building was declared a national historic landmark, and the interior renovation, completed by SmithGroup, a decendent firm of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, received awards for its part in continuing the tradition.

The Rebirth of Cool

2006-09-28T10:23:16-04:00

We were required to complete a design proposal for our planned development in downtown Detroit. This was a very informal activity followed by a pin up. No one was exactly sure what to include in this proposal, because no one had ever done one before. We weren't given a lot of details from the instructor, just to show what it is we plan to do with our site, and to do so graphically. I think he might have a slight addiction to the word "cool," but I'm not so certain he knows what cool is. I included in my proposal a mapping I had done, showing some important activity nodes in the area, and the pedestrian linkages between those nodes, and how these linkages relate to our site. I also did a graphic showing the quantity of spaces I plan to include in the site, as well as some inspiration of what I think this building should be. I also included a grapic from the cool city project, which I altered slightly to make it fit into my presentation. I have no idea what this graphic accomp...

Movin' On Up

2006-09-27T09:45:31-04:00

In our latest assignment, we were given one studio session to design a loft floorplan that we would like to live in. I came up with three variations of my plan. The first is an open loft style apartment, found in many of the new lofts going up in this area. The second is a traditional apartment style plan, with walls and doorways dividing the different spaces, and the bedrooms off of a long hall. The third variaton is a 2-story plan, with a 2 story great room and the master suite filling the entire second level. I thought it would be important to include outdoor space, something that recent loft developments have provided too little of, so I included a 50 ft. terrace in each plan. The one problem I ran into was, when designing an open plan, how do you get the bathroom away from the people? There is no hall to stick it at the end of, so you're left with a peek into the bathroom from the couch, which is something most would deem undesireable. Also, when designing a "loft," are...

[un]urban

2006-09-26T10:22:57-04:00

For our first assignment, and to get us adjusted to thinking in the urban context, we were told to select a building which we thought was a good example of urban architecture, and a building which we thought was a good example of suburban or non-urban architecture. We were then to record the buildings photographically and to write a short analysis of what elements differentiate them and why this makes them urban or non-urban. We were limited to a 20 X 30 presentation format, although not everyone followed these guidelines. Here is my presentation...

For the urban architecture, I chose the Compuware Building. I looked at the building to be a good example of urban, and not necessarily an example of good architecture. When I think of the city of Detroit, this is what I picture. It is the center of downtown.

For the non-urban architecture, I looked at a couple of old buildings in the State Fair area. The buildings may be run down, but they are undoubtedly non-urban. With only ...

More Than Meets the Eye

2006-09-22T09:03:19-04:00

'Transformers: The Movie' Transforms Detroit's Train Station Into A Hollywood Set

It's true. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

People have said that the old train station off of Michigan Avenue, once a glorious, unique, and fascinating place for movers and shakers on the go, has become a debilitated, abandoned, eyesore, but is anything but abandoned.

The bottom line is with this unique structure and incredible architecture, even with broken windows and unsightly graffiti, it has star quality to Hollywood. Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks Productions has just inked the deal with the city of Detroit and the owner of the train station to shoot the final scenes of the live-action movie that will breathe new life into Hasbro's toys.

The shooting will begin around the first week in October. The movie will be directed by Michael Bay, who shot portions of the movie "The Island" in downtown Detroit. His experience his last time around using Detroit as a location spot was so positiv...