...And I love how her hand is just hovering above the top of the building, and her foot looks like it's on the building. Suspend reality for a second and it looks like she could be bouncing off the building, or climbing it.
I think the photo looks like I'm about to karate kick the Salk. Like Louis Kahn pissed me off so my ass is on a mission to destroy his little prized piece of architecture. Except maybe I wouldn't be smiling if that was the case.
There was a photo shoot going on while I was there. The clothing, models, hair, poses and attitude all resembled that of American Apparel. My sister and I started to emulate their shots because we thought it was too funny to pass up. We were giving our earnest attempt to be hipster chic. It failed, miserably.
As for the Salk, the detailing was incredible. The accentuated V-shaped pattern between the concrete panels was incredible. I was like a little kid touching each them and checking for cracks during the entire architectural tour that was provided by the Salk. I really, really enjoyed the stairs detailing of the travertine inlay. And functionally, the interstitial space works successfully due to the nomadic nature of the team space below.
While the detailing was incredibly, I did have a few disappointments. First and foremost: the teak. Yes, I know it was Kahn's intent to allow for the teak to grey and weather but I would have loved to have seen it maintained and sealed to provide a nice contrast against the cool concrete. I didn't realize how strongly I felt about this until the tour went to the library space and we saw a teak slider that hadn't suffered from extreme weathering because it was in a shaded area with a ceiling. The contrast was beautiful and, in my petty opinion, was lost with the weathered look. My other main beef was the lack of incorporated seating in his below-grade plaza spaces. I'm in the process of reading Whyte's The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces for the upteenth time and am reminded of the importance of incorporate seating. A simple concrete ledge that surrounds the plaza wall could have been incorporated without distraction to accommodate and maximize plaza use. Unfortunately, the Salk has purchased cheap plastic chairs and tables (with beige umbrellas!) to allow for more use of the below-grade plaza space. I kept moving the tables and chairs aside so that I could take my photos without cheap outdoor furniture in sight.
Side note: ****melt won for funniest comment of the week with this one:
That said... the guy who isn't aware he's my boyfriend will be architect once he passes all his exams.
entire architectural tour that was provided by the Salk
uhhhh, architectural tour????? They have this????? I MISSED THIS!
Now I need to go back.
Totally agree with you about both the teak and the seating, n. I'll have to check out that book -- ever since I moved to Chicago I've been ranting and railing about how many lovely parks and landscaped little urban spaces the city has worked so hard to create... all without BENCHES! Drives me crazy! It makes such a difference in a space.
The teak saddened me, too, because I think I had the images of the Salk when it was brand new in my head and when I got there I was sort of shocked at the greyness. My guess is that he wanted the material to behave as it was naturally intended to behave, but in this case, I agree -- glorifying the material by showing it in the state the provides the most rich contrast to the concrete would have been a nice choice.
manta - you probably already know this, but my biggest piece of advice is whatever schpiel you give, you're going to have to back it all up by demonstrating/modeling/showing how. simply saying "having discussions = good" is not enough unless you constantly work with your students over the entire semester demonstrating how to effectively participate in discussions and give/receive constructive criticism. if you say something like each little project is but a cog in a larger wheel of ideas - show them - give examples (from your own work or others' work) - not just once, but several times over several classes - making a connection to what they are doing to this larger idea. even if they don't understand right away, your schpiel should be your goal for what you want your students to "get" out of your studio.
this is a one-time special offer for my friends at TC to read my lectures that I give this fall. the cost will be to provide comments and feedback. so email me if you dare!!!!
_n great photo
(ah, it's nice to be wrapped up in my TK identity again)
That is a fricking awesome picture n_ - also I think that was the first time I've ever seen you in a picture. I've never been to the Salk, and now I'm very inspired to hoping to do so hopefully I can next week (fingers crossed that I can join the Wondermelting). And apparently I'm not so bright because I completely missed that comment by *m
manta - They Salk provides architectural tours Monday through Friday at noon for FREE. The tour was given by a retired architect from San Diego who was probably the most soft-spoken individual I have ever met. Coming from a large Hispanic family, I'm not accustomed to quiet, timid speakers. I'm more used to 8 people talking loudly at once about 10 different things in 2 different languages while exaggerating their hand motions to complete their story.
WonderK - have you had the AmeriCorps interview yet? I may have missed this in a previous post. My wireless is spotty this afternoon so it keeps freezing whenever I try to scroll up or move to previous pages on TC. Hmmmmm....
n_ she had her interview Monday. I'm still keeping all my digits crossed for her. Maybe it's just me but I think you reached hipster chic in the photo. I still wanna know how it came out so clearly and so perfectly. It really does look like your just effortlessly hovering over the building. AWESOME!!!!
Atechno - The comment is on the significant other thread. That's perhaps why you haven't found it.
I'm sorry to disappoint you all but I'm really not a good jumper. My jump is no higher than that of a normal (albeit a bit lazy) 26 year old female. It's all in the camera position, ****melt.
My sister positioned the camera about an inch or two off the ground with the lens pointing at the sky. It was so low that she couldn't see the screen on the backside of the camera. I jump on 3 and she shoots on 3. 1, 2, 3 (jump, snap). It takes sometime (and luck) to get the timing just right.
Sometimes it works:
Other times, the timing is a bit off:
Regardless, it's fun to do and I've been documenting my jumps with my friends and family wherever life takes me.
he he, I love how expectant you all are, looking at the camera in that second pic! You can tell the same thought is going through all three of your minds at the same time : "did it work? did it take? What's it look like??"
pretty funny, n. nice idea.
toaster, excellent point. Visual aids are always very helpful. I think in my uni at least, we never really got enough of them. Back before the days of laptops & cheap projectors, I guess...
manta- i wasn't really just talking about visual aids... I was talking about physically showing students how. for example, if you want your students to be able to give great presentations (because you believe very strongly in the power of the ability to give great presentations or something) - you literally have to give them examples of great presentations, break down why these were great presentations, and then give them exercises to practice giving a great presentation - this could be only 30 minutes of one studio and then reminders (friendly jabs or constant hounding/berating - whatever your style) in subsequent studios... but by doing this you are able to help your students become aware of how they are giving presentations, and helps them develop the tools to effectively assess their own and others' presentations.
that's what I meant by backing up your schpiel - it should be something you return to again and again over the course of the semester... it can be subtle, it doesn't have to happen in each class - your students might not "get it" until a year or two later - but if you don't reinforce your schpiel, it won't stick.
collegiality stuck with me because our profs backed it up - they actively worked to help us feel more comfortable in discussions, set up group projects, introduced us to fellow students who had similar ideas, etc... It wasn't perfect (they could have done better prep for group projects - and they weren't much help in how to deal with problem group members) - but they definitely did more than just give us lip-service at the beginning of the semester.
sorry to get all preachy... I got this drilled into me the first time I taught studio... not by the program, but by my spouse who happens to have a couple degrees in education and many years experience teaching.
hey n_ I figured you'd appreciate this; when I spent some time abroad back in college our group took jumping pictures at all of the major landmarks we visited:
No I'm not the one jumping horizontally; but he really took one for the team. Especially since he had to do it multiple times until we timed the shot right:
straw, i have older cousin with severe depression and related issues. he wouldn't take meds so his parents did intervention and now he is ok, but it took a few years before he was recognisably human again. it took tole on his parents, and i think they are very worried he may stop taking medicine any minute. being dour old scots they cope by not talking about it so i have no idea how they have managed to get through it, but it is clear that it was not easy and that they were determined to not give up.
that is a sweet loft...are there two bedrooms or one?
union square is definitely up and coming...but you'd probably need a car to live there. or at least i did when i lived in that area 7 years ago...i paid 675 and 550 back then (two different apts)
The entire upstairs area of the loft is a sleeping area, roughly 500 sf. The guy that owns it is basically asking for a "roommate" to pay half the rent and utilities, and in return allow him to crash on the pull-out sofa about 4 days a month. Imagine paying only half the rent and seeing your roommate only 4 days a month! Not bad. I forgot to mention, there's also a printing press, and an entire room with letters for the press. I think it's a collector's item. Sounds pretty cool to me.
My bipolar people are older, extended famiy members. As horrible as it sounds, they basically run amok until they pass out of their manic stage. When they hit the depressive low, they are more open to the fact that they need to take their medication regularly. My aunt will stick with hers for a few months, then once she's feeling better she feels she doesn't need it and the cycle starts all over again. Frustrating and exhausting.
lars - you don't really need a car - depending on what side of union, you're only about a 15-20 minute walk to harvard square - there are buses that go fairly regularly to the orange, red and green lines... there's the market basket (really cheap and always entertaining) - plus a bunch of pretty good restaurants.
unless the place is in brick-bottom - that's a bit out of the way...
dubK - is it in Brick Bottom?
anyway - somerville/cambridge seems to be immune from the housing crisis - our old tiny 1-bedroom first floor apartment near union square just went condo for 350k...
a printing press would be pretty cool...and like i said i was there a while ago... he does have great taste...and if i was movin back to boston i'd think about it..i'll let people i know in the area know about it
when i was back in boston a few weeks ago i did notice that union sq had totally changed... when i lived there it was very much locals/brazilian immigrants and had very few trendy locales.
i lived in somerville both for atmosphere and affordability.
its come a long way from when it was called 'slumerville'
i used to live on washington st close to union...so you're right...you can get around without a car...it's just much easier to have one..and one of the reasons i lived in somerville was so i could have a car (both my apartments had free off street parking). also having a car enabled me to get slightly cheaper rent at the time.
when i was living in boston people were developing the area around central square...looks like the trend has just continued
imo the cambridge/somerville side of the river is the only place to live in boston... or maybe jp.
toaster, yeah, I had already assumed that bit since that's what I consider teaching. What else but to show students and repeat as required for emphasis? But thanks for repeating for emphasis. ;-)
not teaching myself, just mulling over some thoughts. Thanks again for your contributions.
I am doing some side-work on a small renovation project for some acquaintances, who have been alerted to the fact that I am not a licensed architect, can offer design consulting services only, etc. etc. etc. (I will be working out some space planning and possibly doing some permit plans under supervision of a licensed architect.) HOWEVER : I was reviewing their lease agreement with their landlord, just to see if I could find anything missing, and noticed that they are calling out the space as :
"xxxx sf, to be determined by architect's record drawings"
*I* am the one producing the record drawings; and I am not licensed. This agreement is between the tenant and the landlord and has a pretty generic reference to "architect" in one other location, where it doesn't bother me. (It seemed to be part of their standard verbiage.) Is this line a problem, here? Should I have them change it to "designer's record drawings"? That sounds weird, too... but I don't want future trouble with my licensing board, or something. Even though this isn't MY agreement.
manta, I think the architect referred to in the lease agreement is the architect of the original building, right? You're not changing the enclosed SF of the unit, right?
one of the best gyros I've ever had was around union square. I can't remember the name of the place but it was so memorable 10 years later I went looking for the place and found it.
Thread Central
awesome pic n_______!!!
anyone missed me? i was last here at 327.. been very busy for two weeks.. will give a tiny update later
quick question, to start a school blog, do I just email paul, i didnt see anythin on the school blog main page?
I think the photo looks like I'm about to karate kick the Salk. Like Louis Kahn pissed me off so my ass is on a mission to destroy his little prized piece of architecture. Except maybe I wouldn't be smiling if that was the case.
There was a photo shoot going on while I was there. The clothing, models, hair, poses and attitude all resembled that of American Apparel. My sister and I started to emulate their shots because we thought it was too funny to pass up. We were giving our earnest attempt to be hipster chic. It failed, miserably.
I'm just wondering how n_ can jump so high...
As for the Salk, the detailing was incredible. The accentuated V-shaped pattern between the concrete panels was incredible. I was like a little kid touching each them and checking for cracks during the entire architectural tour that was provided by the Salk. I really, really enjoyed the stairs detailing of the travertine inlay. And functionally, the interstitial space works successfully due to the nomadic nature of the team space below.
While the detailing was incredibly, I did have a few disappointments. First and foremost: the teak. Yes, I know it was Kahn's intent to allow for the teak to grey and weather but I would have loved to have seen it maintained and sealed to provide a nice contrast against the cool concrete. I didn't realize how strongly I felt about this until the tour went to the library space and we saw a teak slider that hadn't suffered from extreme weathering because it was in a shaded area with a ceiling. The contrast was beautiful and, in my petty opinion, was lost with the weathered look. My other main beef was the lack of incorporated seating in his below-grade plaza spaces. I'm in the process of reading Whyte's The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces for the upteenth time and am reminded of the importance of incorporate seating. A simple concrete ledge that surrounds the plaza wall could have been incorporated without distraction to accommodate and maximize plaza use. Unfortunately, the Salk has purchased cheap plastic chairs and tables (with beige umbrellas!) to allow for more use of the below-grade plaza space. I kept moving the tables and chairs aside so that I could take my photos without cheap outdoor furniture in sight.
Side note: ****melt won for funniest comment of the week with this one:
That said... the guy who isn't aware he's my boyfriend will be architect once he passes all his exams.
Steroids, Slartibartfast.
I loved that comment of melt's, too.
entire architectural tour that was provided by the Salk
uhhhh, architectural tour????? They have this????? I MISSED THIS!
Now I need to go back.
Totally agree with you about both the teak and the seating, n. I'll have to check out that book -- ever since I moved to Chicago I've been ranting and railing about how many lovely parks and landscaped little urban spaces the city has worked so hard to create... all without BENCHES! Drives me crazy! It makes such a difference in a space.
The teak saddened me, too, because I think I had the images of the Salk when it was brand new in my head and when I got there I was sort of shocked at the greyness. My guess is that he wanted the material to behave as it was naturally intended to behave, but in this case, I agree -- glorifying the material by showing it in the state the provides the most rich contrast to the concrete would have been a nice choice.
manta - you probably already know this, but my biggest piece of advice is whatever schpiel you give, you're going to have to back it all up by demonstrating/modeling/showing how. simply saying "having discussions = good" is not enough unless you constantly work with your students over the entire semester demonstrating how to effectively participate in discussions and give/receive constructive criticism. if you say something like each little project is but a cog in a larger wheel of ideas - show them - give examples (from your own work or others' work) - not just once, but several times over several classes - making a connection to what they are doing to this larger idea. even if they don't understand right away, your schpiel should be your goal for what you want your students to "get" out of your studio.
LB & all of TC-
this is a one-time special offer for my friends at TC to read my lectures that I give this fall. the cost will be to provide comments and feedback. so email me if you dare!!!!
_n great photo
(ah, it's nice to be wrapped up in my TK identity again)
beta!
are you okay? seems that a tornado just passes between us! all I noticed was heavy rain...
That is a fricking awesome picture n_ - also I think that was the first time I've ever seen you in a picture. I've never been to the Salk, and now I'm very inspired to hoping to do so hopefully I can next week (fingers crossed that I can join the Wondermelting). And apparently I'm not so bright because I completely missed that comment by *m
manta - They Salk provides architectural tours Monday through Friday at noon for FREE. The tour was given by a retired architect from San Diego who was probably the most soft-spoken individual I have ever met. Coming from a large Hispanic family, I'm not accustomed to quiet, timid speakers. I'm more used to 8 people talking loudly at once about 10 different things in 2 different languages while exaggerating their hand motions to complete their story.
WonderK - have you had the AmeriCorps interview yet? I may have missed this in a previous post. My wireless is spotty this afternoon so it keeps freezing whenever I try to scroll up or move to previous pages on TC. Hmmmmm....
n_ she had her interview Monday. I'm still keeping all my digits crossed for her. Maybe it's just me but I think you reached hipster chic in the photo. I still wanna know how it came out so clearly and so perfectly. It really does look like your just effortlessly hovering over the building. AWESOME!!!!
Atechno - The comment is on the significant other thread. That's perhaps why you haven't found it.
just a wild hunch...but i suspect thatbill is going to give a generation new yorkers/new englanders their first real hurricane scare later this week
nice.
I'm sorry to disappoint you all but I'm really not a good jumper. My jump is no higher than that of a normal (albeit a bit lazy) 26 year old female. It's all in the camera position, ****melt.
My sister positioned the camera about an inch or two off the ground with the lens pointing at the sky. It was so low that she couldn't see the screen on the backside of the camera. I jump on 3 and she shoots on 3. 1, 2, 3 (jump, snap). It takes sometime (and luck) to get the timing just right.
Sometimes it works:
Other times, the timing is a bit off:
Regardless, it's fun to do and I've been documenting my jumps with my friends and family wherever life takes me.
he he, I love how expectant you all are, looking at the camera in that second pic! You can tell the same thought is going through all three of your minds at the same time : "did it work? did it take? What's it look like??"
pretty funny, n. nice idea.
toaster, excellent point. Visual aids are always very helpful. I think in my uni at least, we never really got enough of them. Back before the days of laptops & cheap projectors, I guess...
Morning all,
I am excited as today is the first meeting of the ERAB (Eastiside Redevelopment Advisory Board) I wil lbe attending as a member.
I got the advance agenda and everything. Yeah for civic engagement!!!
Hello friends. Does anybody have any experience with loved ones having bi-polar? And not taking their medications?
along the medication line, does anyone know of any surefire way to get your doctor to prescribe ritalin or adderall?
strawbeary,, good luck
'beary, ask *t...
Yep, It's a frustrating experience.
manta- i wasn't really just talking about visual aids... I was talking about physically showing students how. for example, if you want your students to be able to give great presentations (because you believe very strongly in the power of the ability to give great presentations or something) - you literally have to give them examples of great presentations, break down why these were great presentations, and then give them exercises to practice giving a great presentation - this could be only 30 minutes of one studio and then reminders (friendly jabs or constant hounding/berating - whatever your style) in subsequent studios... but by doing this you are able to help your students become aware of how they are giving presentations, and helps them develop the tools to effectively assess their own and others' presentations.
that's what I meant by backing up your schpiel - it should be something you return to again and again over the course of the semester... it can be subtle, it doesn't have to happen in each class - your students might not "get it" until a year or two later - but if you don't reinforce your schpiel, it won't stick.
collegiality stuck with me because our profs backed it up - they actively worked to help us feel more comfortable in discussions, set up group projects, introduced us to fellow students who had similar ideas, etc... It wasn't perfect (they could have done better prep for group projects - and they weren't much help in how to deal with problem group members) - but they definitely did more than just give us lip-service at the beginning of the semester.
sorry to get all preachy... I got this drilled into me the first time I taught studio... not by the program, but by my spouse who happens to have a couple degrees in education and many years experience teaching.
hey n_ I figured you'd appreciate this; when I spent some time abroad back in college our group took jumping pictures at all of the major landmarks we visited:
No I'm not the one jumping horizontally; but he really took one for the team. Especially since he had to do it multiple times until we timed the shot right:
Straw - YES!!! It's been a fun summer. Email me with questions.
cool nam!
straw, i have older cousin with severe depression and related issues. he wouldn't take meds so his parents did intervention and now he is ok, but it took a few years before he was recognisably human again. it took tole on his parents, and i think they are very worried he may stop taking medicine any minute. being dour old scots they cope by not talking about it so i have no idea how they have managed to get through it, but it is clear that it was not easy and that they were determined to not give up.
good luck Nam, I'm sure you'll have fun and they will be impressed/blessed with your extensive knowledge of architecture and appropriateness.
nice pic phuyake
n_ and phuyake, great shots! phu, that poor guy in the front... I can tell everyone is having a great time with it though, LOL.
Does anyone need, or know anyone who does need, a place to live in Boston? I thought my first stop with this post would be here:
$1100 a month - Furnished Boston loft in rehabbed brick warehouse building
I don't know too much about Boston housing but I think my friend's loft is a pretty sweet deal.
Based on my knowledge of Boston that seems like a good deal Dubk...
That's a freaking beautiful loft.
that is a sweet loft...are there two bedrooms or one?
union square is definitely up and coming...but you'd probably need a car to live there. or at least i did when i lived in that area 7 years ago...i paid 675 and 550 back then (two different apts)
$1100 a month in Union Square? that's super cheap.
union square is the trendiest hipsteriest artsiest neighborhood in the Boston area at the moment.
The entire upstairs area of the loft is a sleeping area, roughly 500 sf. The guy that owns it is basically asking for a "roommate" to pay half the rent and utilities, and in return allow him to crash on the pull-out sofa about 4 days a month. Imagine paying only half the rent and seeing your roommate only 4 days a month! Not bad. I forgot to mention, there's also a printing press, and an entire room with letters for the press. I think it's a collector's item. Sounds pretty cool to me.
My bipolar people are older, extended famiy members. As horrible as it sounds, they basically run amok until they pass out of their manic stage. When they hit the depressive low, they are more open to the fact that they need to take their medication regularly. My aunt will stick with hers for a few months, then once she's feeling better she feels she doesn't need it and the cycle starts all over again. Frustrating and exhausting.
lars - you don't really need a car - depending on what side of union, you're only about a 15-20 minute walk to harvard square - there are buses that go fairly regularly to the orange, red and green lines... there's the market basket (really cheap and always entertaining) - plus a bunch of pretty good restaurants.
unless the place is in brick-bottom - that's a bit out of the way...
dubK - is it in Brick Bottom?
anyway - somerville/cambridge seems to be immune from the housing crisis - our old tiny 1-bedroom first floor apartment near union square just went condo for 350k...
wk
a printing press would be pretty cool...and like i said i was there a while ago... he does have great taste...and if i was movin back to boston i'd think about it..i'll let people i know in the area know about it
when i was back in boston a few weeks ago i did notice that union sq had totally changed... when i lived there it was very much locals/brazilian immigrants and had very few trendy locales.
i lived in somerville both for atmosphere and affordability.
its come a long way from when it was called 'slumerville'
toaster.
i used to live on washington st close to union...so you're right...you can get around without a car...it's just much easier to have one..and one of the reasons i lived in somerville was so i could have a car (both my apartments had free off street parking). also having a car enabled me to get slightly cheaper rent at the time.
when i was living in boston people were developing the area around central square...looks like the trend has just continued
imo the cambridge/somerville side of the river is the only place to live in boston... or maybe jp.
i lived on a private street in brookline with a park in our backyard...and i kind of felt like that was the only place to live in boston
except maybe beacon hill. beacon hill is nice.
****melt, I sent you an e-mail.
Straw -
Just sent you one back. Hope I didn't ramble to much. Hang in there.
Holy crap! That horizontal jumper is my hero. He's definitely taking one for the team.
I chipped my tooth sewing today. Yes, sewing. I suppose God is punishing me for attempting to be domestic.
toaster > nope, apparently it is near the "Market Basket" grocery store.
also, n___, ouch! Sounds like something I would do :o/
toaster, yeah, I had already assumed that bit since that's what I consider teaching. What else but to show students and repeat as required for emphasis? But thanks for repeating for emphasis. ;-)
not teaching myself, just mulling over some thoughts. Thanks again for your contributions.
pro-practice question: (paging LB!)
I am doing some side-work on a small renovation project for some acquaintances, who have been alerted to the fact that I am not a licensed architect, can offer design consulting services only, etc. etc. etc. (I will be working out some space planning and possibly doing some permit plans under supervision of a licensed architect.) HOWEVER : I was reviewing their lease agreement with their landlord, just to see if I could find anything missing, and noticed that they are calling out the space as :
"xxxx sf, to be determined by architect's record drawings"
*I* am the one producing the record drawings; and I am not licensed. This agreement is between the tenant and the landlord and has a pretty generic reference to "architect" in one other location, where it doesn't bother me. (It seemed to be part of their standard verbiage.) Is this line a problem, here? Should I have them change it to "designer's record drawings"? That sounds weird, too... but I don't want future trouble with my licensing board, or something. Even though this isn't MY agreement.
any advice?
Hi all,
I am glad it is Friday. Anyone else?
I have an optometrist appt tommorow, my first eye exam in almost ten years!!!
I am way overdue for a prescription update i fear.
manta, I think the architect referred to in the lease agreement is the architect of the original building, right? You're not changing the enclosed SF of the unit, right?
one of the best gyros I've ever had was around union square. I can't remember the name of the place but it was so memorable 10 years later I went looking for the place and found it.
i believe lb is correct here. what is being referenced is the legal s.f. of the unit. your improvements will be within that area.
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