Archinect - Pratt Institute (Eric)

The Ultimate Bureaucracy; Waiting for the laser-cutter..

2008-12-03T21:17:38-05:00

There is a lot i can write about at this point. Its been a while, but the only thing on my mind right now is getting a FINAL model done. Thats right- final. Our design final is in a week from today- and the countdown is on. I've decided to get my model mostly done first (minus little detailing work) and then quickly move on to drawings (sectional axons, plans, perspectives) pictures to come. Hope everything materializes... I am quite excited for this critique- the process was the most fascinating part of this project and my aim with the final model is that it will directly reflect that.

Library Design: redux

2008-11-11T11:49:00-05:00

After a hefty contextual analysis of Sara D. Roosevelt Park, a handful of structural studies in the form of laminated chip-board models and a number of facade studies [many based on photos from last summer's trip to japan] I've tried to put my ideas on paper. What does a contemporary library mean to me and how can design play a role in manifesting or speaking to that? As usual I wrote this before i even thought of drawing or building:

Through understanding the larger site context, I recognized the scope of history contained within the Bowery, and more importantly how it has manifested itself and spread out over the past decades. That being said, my intention is to bring the focus of my site analysis, a study of Sara D. Roosevelt park, and the contemporary creative history (i.e. musical, written, and artistic) of the Bowery together to form a library. Being that the lower east side contains a large amount of music venues, right across the park from our site, I began thinking about h...

Breaking the Buffer

2008-10-12T15:51:32-04:00

Here are some thoughts in regard to my site analysis (99 Bowery, New York, NY):
The Bowery, despite being rich in both history and culture has become an area frequented by new Yorkers on the basis of need; i.e. an individual [with the exclusion of residents of the Bowery itself] will tend to go to this area, sandwiched between Wall Street and SoHo, only if he or she has an appointment, has to buy goods, or has a specific event. As someone who has lived and worked in the immediate area, I am also guilty of overlooking, and even knowingly ignoring this area. My fondest memories of the Bowery consist of running through the Bowery to get to a concert or bar on Ludlow or Orchard Streets. In order to analyze and familiarize myself with the site I had to walk around it for hours. Each visit yielded more and more information and ideas. The first visit I noticed how accessible the site was via public transit (many subways and a bus-stop right in front of the site) and through biking (the Ma...

Pratt Fall 2008 Lecture Series (Finally)

2008-10-03T12:34:55-04:00

They FINALLY posted the lecture lineup for Fall 2008. ANd what a lineup it is...

check it:

Fall 2008, Brooklyn Campus

All lectures take place in the Higgins Hall Auditorium at 6pm unless otherwise noted (*). Please note schedule subject to change.

John LOBELL - Author, Professor, Pratt Institute
"Spirit in the Architecture of Louis I. Kahn"
Celebrarting the Re-Issue of "Between Silence and Light"
*Tuesday, October 7, 6:30pm
* Urban Center Books 457 Madison Avenue at 49th Street

Philip BEESLEY, Philip Beesley Architect, Inc., Ontario and Professor, University of Waterloo
"Recent Work"
Thursday, October 30, 6pm

Richard MEIER, Richard Meier & Partners, New York
"Recent Projects"
Monday, November 3
*Memorial Hall

Shigeru BAN, Architect, Shigeru Ban Architects, Tokyo and Paris
"Recent Projects"
Friday, November 7

Ariane LOURIE
Editor of Peter Eisneman's
"Ten Canonical Buildings"
*Monday, November 10, 12:30pm

James WINES, Architect and Designer, SITE, New York
"Art...

The end of the beginning.. hand drawings and books-- the future.

2008-09-21T11:58:02-04:00

So far in design ive been hand-drawing. Simply, solely and Only hand-drawing. After a crazy search for a Mayline which took me into manhattan and left me scrounging for all the accompanying parts in studio i successfully re-installed my parallel-rule. I never thought i would say that again, nor have to use it (virtually every other second year studio is not only on the computer but taking scripting courses at that). With that said i ABSOLUTELY LOVE HAND-DRAWING. There is so much depth and thought put into a drawing when one uses pencil or ink on paper. The purpose of this series of drawings was; an analytical precedent study of OMA's Seattle Public Library. We did this aspect of the project in pairs- a first for me in a design class. I worked with a good/very talented friend of mine- brian (hoodie) schulman. Normally i would try to avoid working with someone im friendly with but this worked out quite well as we both learnt alot from each other- both in our processes and on an overal...

subject uno: DESIGN

2008-09-15T21:48:02-04:00

Second year design at pratt is the end of the fully theoretical- fully process based projects and the beginning of more pointed and architectural classes (i.e. very exciting). In the next few postings i will detail and give my thoughts on a few of these classes starting, of course, with design. In studio every section does the same basic project (a library) but in the beginning of the semester all of the second year professors give a presentation on their outlook on how that project should be approached and tackled. The eight professors views differed DRASTICALLY. While one professor noted that the semester would be about succinct hand-drawings generating clean plans and sections and stressed the importance of sketching another stated that the semester was not about a library but rather about "scripting" and noted to be ready for his computer bootcamp on the first day of studio. One professor resonated with me in particular. I firstly had to make the decision whether to go for a stu...

First Day Musings

2008-09-02T10:14:28-04:00

Before i even get into my classes i promised i would wrap up a few observations on some summer travels- i already summed up japan but wanted to briefly touch upon new orleans and the pacific northwest. On the way down to new orleans i took a route which went through virginia, maryland, the carolinas, alabama and mississippi. A few notes: Charlotte, NC was very interesting in that it was clear that Art Deco informed the design in the major downtown areas. Birmingham and Montgomery, AL contained plenty of monolithic and classically inspired buildings (namely the state-funded projects like courthouses). New orleans itself is in somewhat of an interesting position at the moment due to a rapid gentrification of the city based on the low-priced real-estate after the storm. I stayed in the Garden District (outside of the flood zone). It contained plenty of old shotgun houses in various states of disrepair. These homes all have rich history to them and a clear european influence as the span...

Summer Travels Unravelled

2008-08-26T01:53:36-04:00

Before school begins [next week] i wanted to briefly sum up some observations about some trips i took late this summer. I went to Japan, road tripped to new orleans, & flew down to the pacific northwest; vancouver island, seattle, portland. All very different places to say the least.
Japan, clearly and obviously stood out the most. The society itself is based off of age-old traditions and values leading to a formal quality in both the architecture and the overall demeanor of the people. I primarily stayed in and explored tokyo. There are the more obvious Ando buildings, H de M's Prada store and countless other "famous" architectural feats in tokyo. However, as interesting as these buildings were they did not have as much of an impact on me as the buildings that made up the smaller-scale, denser areas of tokyo. The two and three story buildings, due to the limited space, must essentially take the form of simple cubes. This in of itself is not very interesting at all. However to coun...