Archinect - Virginia Tech (Meredith)

Iceland

2009-09-14T18:37:44-04:00

I've been in Reykjavik for almost a week now. I went to Iceland Academy of the Arts last Wednesday to meet with the Dean of Architecture + Design, Jóhannes. I am going on a tour of design firms for tuesday + wednesday, to discuss their history, influences, education, process, etc. It should be a good resource for my thesis/research.

Photographs of the city are here

I leave on Friday for a trip around the Ring Road. Stykkisholmur on Friday and Roni Horn's Library of Water on Saturday, then Akureyi, Myvatn, and continuing around the island.

Tuesday a week from tomorrow I head to Stockholm. Going to Woodland Chapel, the library, and a multitude of other lovely buildings.

Proud to say that I was one of the Honorable mentions for the Live Forever Competition....

Still doing various competitions with C U P, including MJ and the recent Advertisement for Architecture which will be exhibited in Australia.

Activities

2009-07-11T12:57:36-04:00

C U P is up to a lot these days.. Since January 1, we have completed 21 competitions.

We are currently working on a prototype for a pet garden, which will debut in San Francisco's Architecture + the City Festival in September.

I will be traveling to Iceland in September-October as a part of the KPF traveling fellowship.

Went to the opening of the Burnham pavilions for the Burnham plan centennial in Chicago. Hadid's pavilion wasn't complete, but the structure was an homage to the weaving of an urban blanket? It looked very nice as is, but seems like it will be nice when complete with video installation inside. There was a beautiful couple taking wedding photographs on UN Studio's pavilion and it was a nice site for the public to be taking advantage of these gifts. The new wing at the Institute was very nice... walking up on the promenade to the terrace.. There is fabric on the terrace which shaded part of it and it was a space to relax, which many people were doing. There was a...

End of Year ( maya lin, KPF + )

2009-05-11T11:28:58-04:00

Rounding up the year.. much has happened.

I have been working with t.j.surjan's Second Year students. They are a great group of students with a strong sensibility of collective atmosphere, work ethic, and design sensitivity - and at an early stage of their education. Working with these students has served as a renewal for my own design spirit, as I have one year left, and the rejuvenation will surely aid my thesis process. We went to Haley Farm (Clinton, Tennessee) at the beginning of May, where there are 2 maya lin buildings (chapel + library) on site. the library is quite amazing, as the shell was the pre-existing barn (circa 1880), which was labeled, deconstructed, and reassembled as a wrapper for the new structure. I also traveled to Washington DC with these students in March for maya lin's Systematic Landscapes exhibit at the Corcoran gallery. this exhibit is amazing - simple, cohesive, analytical. the most significant pieces for me are the old map books which have been cut to...

NEXTFEST + VT + C U P

2008-09-28T15:30:39-04:00

Just got back from Chicago for WIRED's NextFest.

Monday, drove up to Chicago in a Uhaul with 14,500+ Components that would become the Suitcase Pavilion 2.0. Tuesday morning, we started constructing the pavilion which serves as the gateway for the Festival, exhibiting technology of the future. 12 VT + C U P Architecture students (3rd, 4th, and 5th years) and faculty had Tuesday through Thursday at noon to complete the pavilion, to be ready for opening night. NextFest is held in Millennium Park, and is now open to the public until October 12.

Images from WIRED NextFest Opening Night.

Pillow Cloud in Millennium Park

My professor, Terry Surjan, with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and his wife, Maggie, in the Suitcase Pavilion 2.0 with artwork by Eric Natzke.

I am in the Suitcase Pavilion 2.0 with Bruce Mau of Bruce Mau Designs. BMD is exhibiting part of The Chicago Project at NextFest.

Fourth year...

2008-08-25T20:41:48-04:00

Today was the first day of class. For studio this semester, I will be doing a thesis on sustainable communities, which will apply to the Market Viability contest of the Solar Decathlon. I will be sitting under Joe Wheeler and Bob Dunay, who have worked on the previous VT SD houses and also took a group of students to the Milan Furniture Fair.

The class that I'm most excited about this semester is Book Arts. It's a professional elective, where we make books! This class will be such a great prep for my thesis documentation next year, and will give me great ways to express my thesis in a way that applies to my interests.

C U P is having a big exhibition on Sunday at Cowgill Lobby (5pm - Blacksburg) to showcase the different competitions we've done over the last year. C U P is a collaboration of faculty (Associate Professor and 4/5 year chair, Terry Surjan) and students ranging from 1st to 5th year. What would you do with the Breuer tower?, City of the Future, Suitcase Pavilion, CityRac...