Archinect - University of Pennsylvania

First I Graduated...Then I Went To Iceland

2006-05-25T10:22:43-04:00

Well it's all over. I somehow finished a project (finished as in had something to present). I moved a car load of stuff out of studio. I made it to graduation day. I got to hear Jodie Foster and Steve Wynn as commencement speakers. I got my UPENN diploma. I returned my cap and gown. And then I headed off to Iceland for a week, where I got to hang out at the Sirkus Bar in Reykjavik, and then got stuck in a blizzard on a mountain in a tiny Toyota Yaris in a town that I can't even pretend to pronounce. Somehow I made it home yesterday after being in Iceland, New York and Philadelphia all in 24 hours. And now??

I actually am not really sure, which is a really weird sensation for me. I have never had a real lapse between school and work. In undergrad I always had internships lined up and ready for the summer and went straight from school to work. After graduation in 02 i took 1 week off between finishing school and starting work for 2 years. Even last summer I had a clear...

Regurgitating Robots and Max on a Mac

2006-04-13T13:25:40-04:00

So much work to do now...a surprise visit from Francois is scheduled for Sunday (that's right Easter Sunday). We have to meet him at his hotel with digitial models ready for 3d printing. I think I speak for the whole class when I say...errrr...digital models of what exactly?? Everyone has been working hard since he left to get ready for this unexpected deadline, and I think this schedule will likely continue till the end of the semester. I am already tired....

My project has evolved into an existing vacant building that is reappropriated and transformed via robotic digestion. Basically swarms of small robots eat away at the building, partially digest it and then regurgitate the material. I think it will look something like a strange urban cave...we'll see about that.

On another note, for all you computer dweebs (don't get offended I include myself in this category) a friend of mine was able to successfully install windows on his macbook thanks to the new architecture which i...

I made a concrete turd

2006-03-31T12:12:32-05:00

I really did. I squeezed clumpy concrete through my hands and let it drip and pile up and it pretty much looked like dog crap...kinda juicy dog crap, and I was actually trying to make a model. So this leaves me feeling like WTF! I am about to walk out of here with a master's degree?! I mean at this point the only thing I have pride in is snack heaven. I am not getting anywhere in studio. I have no architectural proposition and I don't know what to do. Francois will be back next week and will surely be angry and start cursing in French, and that idea scares me a little.

At least I am not alone, I think a lot of people are frustrated. So in response I have been eating an unusually large amount of cupcakes with pink frosting...not a good sign.

plus i am still on the job hunt which is a little stressful. hopefully it will all get figured out soon. i have had a bunch of interviews, but no official offers yet. i am only worried because i did my loan exit interview the other...

Snack Heaven

2006-03-28T16:52:26-05:00

Ok this one is going to take some explaining...It all started last semester when one of my industrious classmates decided to start a new venture called J-Mart. Basically, J-Mart sells all kinds of candy and sodas and is based out of a fridge near the owner's desk. You can go at any time and make a purchase by leaving your money in a cash box. It's pretty much run on the honor system. It is a really great idea for any for any architecture school because sometimes the vending machine only has jalepeno potato chips or cherry blaster donuts with flavor bits - i know it sounds terrible, but trust me if it's late enough and you're desperate enough you'll do something you'll really regret the next day. Thankfully J-Mart can save you by providing a delicious alternative.

So the next thing I need to explain is the "web of curiousity/distraction/procrastination" that our studio has been working on. Basically it is a crazy voronoi mesh explosion that we have been constructing over our ...

My poor little mid-review

2006-03-22T13:04:02-05:00

We had mid-review last week. A little late in the semester, but it seems like many studios waited until after spring break to have reviews. It was really sad because I got pretty sick two days before the review. I had to do alll of my work from my bed. Just me, my dog and my laptop all buried amongst blankets and coughdrops. It was so pathetic. I felt terrible, although somehow I managed to still present, but it was pretty sad. Now I feel all out of sync, like mid-review never happened at all. Plus, it's just a weird time at school right now, because everyone is really starting to think more and more about finding jobs, so you have to kinda live in two worlds at the same time.

I think Francois was disappointed with where the studio is right now, but I think he is also understanding of the difficulties that we are facing. For one, this project is super-bizarro. It isn't easy to conceptualize a robotically built urban fragment. Plus, we see Francois about once every thre...

My studio teacher hypnotized me...

2006-02-24T12:52:14-05:00

So Francois was in again last week, and it was pretty much awesome. The first thing that he did was try to hypnotize us using a movie that he made for a project. It was basically this old man's face and a creepy voice that gave you instructions on relaxation. It was really cool. He wanted us to use it to try and get inside of our projects. After that, we watched the French video of Gilles Deleuze. Because it was in French, the major thing that I took away from the video is that Deleuze had the nastiest fingernails ever. They were really long and knarled. I guess when you're that smart, you don't need to worry about your fingernails.

We basically just spent the two days with Francois in a group pinup. I think he was a bit disappointed with where everyone was, but very understanding in how difficult running a studio like this can be. He is really good at being positive though, and everyone was happy to get feedback. Now we won't see him again until March 16 for our mid-r...

Striving for Mediocrity

2006-02-13T20:47:36-05:00

This is something I have been wanting to post on for a few days. I think I mentioned the exhibition/competition that I took part in last week. It is basically an exhibit of 3 project from each of the architecture schools in Philly. It is really interesting/unsettling to see all of the different trajectories that school are taking. The night that they announced the winners was totally weird. First of all, I was the only one from Penn there, while other schools had pretty impressive representation (faculty, students, parents, etc.). This is probably largely due to the fact that the awards night was also the same night as Ali Rahim's lecture, but it was still strange. Ok, let me just say right off, I didn't win anything, so feel free to take anything that I say with a grain of salt. I just felt that the whole thing was so silly. I think that is how I feel about a lot of these competitions and exhibits. The more I am involved in architecture, the more I agree with Bruce Mao's ...

I need to get my A$S in GEAR!!!!

2006-02-07T15:34:31-05:00

WTF! We are in week 5 of our semester and I have pretty much nothing to show for it yet. I am researching lots of cool stuff in studio, but if I don't output something soon, I think I am going to have a breakdown. I am doing work...not staying up crazy late or anything, but I am keeping a pretty consistent schedule, still nothing seems to be happening. It is like I am stuck in one of those weird dreams where someone is chasing you, but your feet are stuck to the floor, like with super sticky gum or something. ARGGGGGH!

On top of that, my theory class on representation is almost finished already. It all takes place in the first half of the semester, so we meet twice a week for 3 hours each day, but there are only like 3 weeks left. I need to come up with a paper topic, like a week ago. I am having a meeting with Dalibor tomorrow to discuss it, so hopefully inspiration will strike, but I doubt it.

So what is it? What is my problem? I don't think it is some mutant form of s...

French desk crits are my favorite

2006-01-28T16:21:58-05:00

I had my first desk crit with Francois yesterday. It was such a weird day...I had professional practice in the morning (9-12) after which I ran upstairs to squeeze a 30 minute deskcrit in before heading off to my theory class on Meaning and Modes of Representation with Dalibor Vessly. Such a strange mix of subject matter....project scheduling + robotic bio-noodles + the history of geometry and optics... I didn't even know where I was anymore by the end of the day.

I am sooooo relieved to have a critic who is interested, or at least good at faking interest, in my work again. The studio is pretty wild, but I really like it so far. Francois was telling me about the designs of Russian space capsules that were entirely lined in silk so that the cosmonauts could glide easily through the spaces in zero gravity...sounds yummy! We are still working on developing tangles, and mine have taken on a more infrastructural tone. I think it will be alot of fun to continue working on, althoug...

BioNoodles + BOOM!

2006-01-22T15:14:39-05:00

Well its back to the grindstone in studio...We have been working towards our first pinup with Francois which is later this week. The class has been divided into groups, for researching various topics (swarming, robotics, termites, scripting, etc) I am in the swarming group. I have mostly been focusing on applications of swarming, especially in the military, and new experiments with robot swarming. Pretty cool stuff. The craziest fact that I found is this:

[i]One of the problems with this sort of technology, that also
occurs in the real world, is that an unforseen circumstance
throws the system into chaos. When ants become isolated
from their group, they can end up running around in circles,
following an ever strengthening trail of pheromone until they
die of exhaustion.

Circular mill in army ants: a circle of ants continuously
following each other round and round in circles until death
(Schneirla). Beebe (1921) observed a mill in
Guyana that measured 120...

French madness!!!!!!!!

2006-01-16T17:00:26-05:00

HOORAY!

I am so happy to have gotten my first choice in the studio lottery. I am in Francois Roche's studio. You can check out the work of his firm, R&Sie here, but be warned, the site might give you a siezure. The other choices for the 704 research studios were David Adjaye, Cecil Balmond, Kieran/Timberlake, Ali Rahim and Homa Farjadi. The research studio, for those unfamiliar, is (as quoted from our memo):

"1.The mission of the research studio is open and explorative, yet providing a substantial intellectual focus on design research. This spans the entire range of architectural design.

2.Design research is constituted of investigating a design methodology that students can continue to investigate and benefit from beyond their education at Penn.

3.The specific area of ”˜design research' is interrogated through analysis and design as identified by each Research Studio Advisor."

It's sort of like doing a thesis project, but using the instructor's initial thoughts and intere...

Final Project Pics_Cabinet of Curiosities

2006-01-12T12:24:28-05:00

OK, here it is...the result of last semester's work...hopefully it will make sense to you.

This studio enjoyed the experience of working for a real client, the Folk Arts Charter School in Chinatown, Philadelphia, and seeing the design through to a built prototype. The charge was to create a display system for cultural artifacts brought into the elementary school. This project was the result of the work of four students, over approximately three weeks.

In designing the display system, we thought about the construction as a body. Components such as the flexible, but protective skin, the structural framework of the skeleton, the vital organs and the connective tissue became the focus of our investigations. These elements are individually recognizable within the piece, but hold the most resonance in their collective assemblage.

The value of selected artifacts is typically held not within the objects themselves, but within the stories behind the objects. This 'back story' is essent...

Where did I go? AKA Paul, please dont shut my blog down :)

2006-01-04T22:51:40-05:00

OK, OK I know I didn't keep up as well with the posting this semester, but I had some reasoning behind it, so don't be too mad at me. I guess basically my feelings towards studio this semester were just getting too negative, and I didn't want to post something nasty and really regret it later. So basically I am a big chicken. I just know that my schoolwork can get really personal at times, which I know is bad because it can make me react emotionally to situations. I think sometimes it's better to get a little distance and then reflect...

So I made it through a really tough studio, but overall I am really disheartened by it. The studio I was in was really focused on the act of "making." In the end, the class was broken into groups of three or four and each group designed and built a prototype container of sorts to go in an elementary school, who was serving as our client. The school is a folk arts charter school, and there is a big emphasis on ideas of culture and heritage, s...

Non-linear stirrings

2005-11-11T12:05:06-05:00

Things are a buzz throughout the school right now because of the launch of the Non-linear Systems Organization. It is basically a small research group under the direction of Cecil Balmond that is going to be studying lots of yummy non-linear things. The really cool part about it is that it brings together multiple disciplines, from architecture to math, to physics, and art. The launch for the group was last night, and there are lectures and workshops going on all day today. You can find out more at the website if you are interested:

http://www.design.upenn.edu/new/arch/nlso/

we are getting started on the design build portion of our studio, which seems like it will be more fun than the other exercises we have been working on. it is also structured as group work, which is actually nice. we met with the kids at the school that we are going to be buidling displays for on Wednesday. I got to talk with a second grade class about the project. I think right now everyone is just a li...

wait for it....

2005-10-26T16:11:58-04:00

i haven't posted in so long, because i have been waiting for a big breakthrough in studio to tell you about. well i kept waiting and waiting, and still nothing. now i am just getting sad about it. i don't know where this semester is heading right now. things are feeling very very stale in my work. and everything i make or do feels terribly clumsy. maybe it's just me, maybe it's the continuous mystery of our studio. each week we learn just a bit more about the end goal, but the full picture is witheld from us. i understand and appreciate the methodology, but it can be a difficult way to work, and i guess i won't have a clear picture until the end of the course.

we aren't having a midreview, so i feel a little out of sync with the rest of the school, which is bustling with activity right now. this is not to say that we don't have work to do, trust me we are swamped. i guess there is something nice about pausing to collect and evaluate your thoughts, and something refreshin...

Here's what it looks like...

2005-10-06T12:34:06-04:00

Studio is still shrouded in mystery. A strange sight visit with unforseen hints about what our project might be yesterday has left us all wondering. I am struggling to make some sense of all of it...

Electives have been great though. In Ali Rahim's class yesterday we had Mark Goulthorpe as a guest lecturer. Pretty cool for a class of about 8 people. It was very inspiring...

I don't think I mentioned that we had a guest speaker in Dean's class the other week from Glowlab. The website and work is worth checking out if you are interested in any kind of street art.
glowlab
Here are some other cool sites we have been looking at, specifically for things like gestural navigation, and use of 3 dimensional space. People are more able to rememeber things that occur spatially so alot of sites are moving to a more 3d logic.
www.bbdo.com
www.leoburnett.ca
www.dontclick.it
www.dentsu.com this one is cool because it shows where all of the elevators in the building are in real time!

and now...

The phases of frustration

2005-09-22T13:40:54-04:00

!@$%* %$@@! @#!!!!!!...

is what i have been feeling like lately. studio has been so so frustrating. we are in the process of making "material probes" and "cabinets of curiosities" the definition of everything is extremely vague as you can imagine. this is not really the frustrating part though. i understand the mentality of mystery that often accompanies a studio. it's a methodology that reigned supreme for me in undergrad, so I am used to all that ambiguity. the problem for me is that I really want to approach all of this with the experimental attitude that i have been following in previous studios. i feel that this is the only way to make new discoveries and it is the best part about being in school. this is all well and good, but so far the structure of the studio has made it difficult to work like this. every week, and sometimes between studio days, we have discreet assignments with prescribed requirements that need to be completed. this isn't really a problem in ...

back to school

2005-09-15T13:36:39-04:00

as of yesterday i finally made it through one round of all of my new classes. last week was our official first week of school, but with studio and elective presentations taking up much of the week, things got off to a slow start.

i am in wesley wei's studio this semester. i was really hoping to get into one of the studio's that would be going on a trip this semester. (especially since most of them are at least partially funded by the school) but alas, the lottery chose a different fate for me. other studio's are going to brazil, rome and costa rica for short trips. we have been working on little mind-bending warm up assignments in studio so far. the kind of thing that is part agony part fun. (i.e. construct 3 joints with a pallette of 3 materials) we'll see how things shape up from here, but i think it will definitely be interesting, and i am sure i will learn lots.

i am really excited about my electives this semester. i am taking a theory course with David Turnbull, A...

Katrina Info

2005-09-02T16:13:29-04:00

Just wanted to make a quick post for any students that have been displaced by the hurricane...school starts for us next week, after labor day. the university is doing its best to try and open up as many spaces as possible, and the city of Philadelphia is working to house families that have been displaced. interested students should check out the link below for additional information. i can also do my best to answer any of your questions by email, or direct you on the proper people to talk to.

http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/hurricane2.php

Sorry for disappearing

2005-05-16T20:13:46-04:00

Sorry I never followed up after our final review. Things have been spiraling quickly since then. Our review went pretty well, although many of us didn't get too much feedback, it was more of a laid-back review. One of the fun thinks that we did was to publish magazine covers for our projects. It might sound a little cheesy, but it actually proved to be an interesting exercise. It basically forced us to create an exciting image about the project and a use a few important catch words to describe it. The entire class then hung the covers (printed at actual size) across the back wall of our gallery for the review. This was the only image that we were required to print, the rest of the presentation was largely digital.

After the final review, I had a ton of other things to finish up for all those other classes besides studio so it was another week of work until I finished up. Then I ended up with jury duty.

Anyway after all the craziness, I made it through my first year, with...

Concert line??? No it's just for the laser cutter

2005-04-24T10:48:20-04:00

I had to document the craziness that is the laser cutter line before final reviews. Apparently the line started at 5:30 am and the sign up is not until 1pm. The pictures can't capture the extent of the line or the frustration of the people in it. The line wraps around the hallway and as of 11 am was beginning to coil within one of the pinup spaces. The scene is one of laptops, coffee, breakfast sandwiches, more coffee, you get the picture. Keep in mind these are hallways you are seeing...all the desks are makeshift. We did just get a second laser cutter, but spots fill up fast because we share the facilities with undergrads. All I can say is thank goodness i am all digital this time around....brutal, absolutely brutal.

increase caffine levels STAT!

2005-04-19T12:41:44-04:00

Apologies for not posting in so long, but i am officially swamped. Material Effects ends on Thursday so I am building models and diagramming like a champ. Then it is back to studio for final review next Thursday. Meanwhile I am trying to squeeze in work for Daylighting and Professional Practice while thinking about the paper i need to write for DeLanda's class.

In short stress and caffine levels are very high! OK back to it....results to follow

steel fabricators are cool

2005-04-01T16:30:46-05:00

we just got back from a steel fabrication plant field trip. it was pretty amazing to see the sheer size of some of the pieces and the processes of drilling, cutting and welding. it made me realize that architecture really comes down to a processing of material, which is something that can be overlooked at times in school (the infamous what is this made of question comes to mind). although i must say that for me this semester has been largely about the material world. from DeLanda's philosophy of materials to Jane Harrison's material effects, and i have really enjoyed it. we had a symposium of faculty members here last night discussing the roles of ecology and biology in design, which was also in keeping with a lot of what this semester has been about. thinking about the relationship of architecture to the economies of the material world puts things in a different perspective for me...

ok enough philosophical stuff. studio has been really enjoyable lately as i think i finally...

demolition is cool

2005-03-22T12:39:01-05:00

as a break from studio a few of us have been taking field trips to observe the demolition of the old convention center, which is right down the street from our building. While it is a bit sad to watch them tear it down, the process has been pretty amazing to see. One of my studiomates has been tracking the progress and took this picture yesterday. Seeing the building with a mess of cables dangling and collapsed trusses is somehow grotesque and beautiful. if only i could figure out a way to hijack some of the crew's equipment...

just like Moses and the Red Sea!

are graduate students just a bunch of whiners?

2005-03-17T14:22:49-05:00

As you have probably gathered if you have been following my semester, we have been struggling with the issue of teacher attendance a bit. After we approached our critic about this, it really turned out to be just a case of miscommunication rather than a lack of interest on his part. Things have been going much better in the studio and i think everyone is much happier.

What has gotten me thinking was a situation that occured the week before spring break. The morning of our midreview we had our material effects class at 9. This, of course, meant that not very many people showed up for class. There were four of us there (luckily I woke up late, but decided to make a run for it anyway) out of about 12. Naturally our professor was very upset. Although she teaches a studio that also had a midreview that day, she felt that it was irresponsible and disrespectful for people to miss class - especially given the fact that so many people have been complaining about teacher attendance t...

spring break ends and i didn't even go to cancun!

2005-03-14T08:59:58-05:00

Well here we are back from spring break. I am a little nervous because i didn't do much work or thinking about work over the break at all, but I think that might turn out to be a good thing. Maybe the time away will result in brilliant inspirations for all my classes...maybe not...

I spent the break mostly catching up on all those normal life type things, you know laundry cleaning etc. I also went to see the Salvador Dali exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Somehow it is actually quite fitting for our studio. I guess all the strange aspects of casinos is a bit surreal. I was amazed at some of the sketches that Dali had, which i actually enjoyed much more than the paintings. There were also some great short films that he was involved with, including a joint venture with Disney.

I also spent some time in NYC at Moma and the new Folk Art Museum, which were both great. Plus I finally got to see Prada (go Rem!)

We had our midreview right before the break, and it was nic...

My First Crit

2005-02-26T16:54:14-05:00

I got my first actual desk crit of the semester this week with David Turnbull! Scheduling conflicts have set our studio a bit off balance, but it was nice to get some feedback on the work that we have been doing so far. I am still really worried about midreview next week though. I just feel like my project is so behind where it could and should be for this point in the semester. Everyone in my studio is having a hard time feeling motivated right now, which is such a turn around from last semester. I really enjoyed working last semester and never felt that I had to drag myself into studio. Now I can barely sit at my desk for more than a few hours at a time. It is so frustrating.

I hope things turn around before the weekend is over or midreview is going to be mighty painful.

itunes capers and death by stench

2005-02-17T23:58:16-05:00

I think i am dying a slow death from the smell that continues to eminate from our clogged sink. Many a brave maintenance man has come to try and conquer her festering pipes with the finest plungers available, each time facing the horrible stench that awaits them beyond the makeshift particle board cover. No one has yet been successful and no one ever returns after one try. I am starting to gain a whole new appreciation for the sword in the stone. WHERE IS OUR KING ARTHUR!!?!! surely someone can unleash some sort of magical power against the clog??

yes well as you can see we still suffering from the stinky sink. it is quite a source of humor as well as misery now. i wish i could post the stench to share with all of you. no one can quite classify it...not quite baby poop, but maybe rotting baby poop?! ugh i just threw up in my mouth...

studio is moving along (but we still haven't seen our critic)...we are going to try and have a pinup next week, and i am trying to be very...

Slots in the City and a stinky sink

2005-02-14T14:35:07-05:00

Well the big charette is over and alas my team didn't win. i would say it was a good experience overall and was a big help in rethinking my studio project since it dealt with the same subject. Three of my studiomates were paired with a city planner and a wharton student. Unfortunately the wharton student never showed up, which in the end may have been a good thing. Our city planner was really good which was very lucky since the whole interdisciplinary thing really trips some people up. We worked all weekend...it was super intense but pretty fun as well. I was really impressed with the amount of work that everyone was able to produce in just two days. Some of the graphics and renderings were pretty amazing. Competitions like that are a big challenge, but i think the most important thing to remember is to have a super clear and concise idea that can be explained as simply as possible. the projects that one had the best titles that summed up the work.

our project dealt with t...

The Big Charrette Begins

2005-02-10T22:13:13-05:00

Well we are kicking of on our school wide charrette today to take a closer look at gambling coming into Philadelphia. I am working with a couple of my studio mates on our demolition concept, along with a city planner and a student from Wharton. It should be a pretty intense couple of days coming up with our proposal. The submission is due on Sunday morning and I am envisioning some very sleepless nights in the near future. Hopefully this will also be able to help inform my studio project a bit.

Studio has been presenting another problem for us. I am really enjoying the studio, I just wish that David was able to spend a little more time with us. Luckily we have a really good TA who has been filling in for him. Since we spent the first few weeks working in groups we have basically had only two days of desk crits. It is definitely a big switch from last semester when studio could run long into the night. Plus we now have studio only two days out of the week instead of three. ...