Hey all, I wanted to let you know about a project I've been working on from one of the courses I taught last semester. We've finally completed it and self-published the book on Blurb today. Check it out and please provide feedback if you can.

Thanks,

~CC

below is the news release from the dean...
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I am pleased to announce the official publication of IDIOM – Volume 1, developed and conceived completely by students and faculty of the Howard University School of Architecture & Design. The book is now available exclusively from Blurb at the following link:

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/880977

As a new release special, Blurb is offering a FREE soft cover copy of the book with the purchase of two hard cover copies from now until October 15th. (a $75.00 value!) I am very proud of the work produced in this book and once you see the final product, you’ll agree it is worth every penny. Please stay tuned for official book release event details to be provided soon.


Book Summary

An "idiom" is generally defined as a combination of words that have a meaning which is different than the individual words themselves. It can have a literal meaning in one situation and a different idiomatic value in meaning and/or grammar. These colloquial metaphors are not considered a part of the language but rather a part of the culture. Here, students were challenged to see Architecture through different eyes and develop new “idioms” for a building of their choice. This project seeks to journey into uncharted waters and develop new paradigms of thinking for classical ideas.

The contents of this volume are comprised of the work completed in Professor Curtis Clay's 2009 Religious Structures: Historic Independent Study course where students explored a topic of their choice for an entire semester. These explorations are enhanced by on-site research undertaken when the entire class travels to the particular city where all of the student's structures exist. This particular semester, all of the students traveled to Florence, Italy. This volume is comprised of each student's research as well as photographs from other cities that the students encountered during their travels.

With over 350 images, drawings, maps and graphs, this 418 page volume offers essays with varying perspectives on architecture, religion, beauty, ethnic oppression, architectural history, art, and theater, in conjunction with photographic journals on seven cities throughout Italy.


About the Author

Book editor Curtis Clay is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Howard University school of Architecture & Design, a practicing Architect in Washington, DC and the Administrator of Construction at the D.C. Department of Real Estate Services where he managed the design and construction of the 2008 Presidential Inaugural Stands. He has been published in the book African-American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary and the inaugural issue of the journal Open Dialogue

Curtis is a member of the American Institute of Architects and has served as a peer reviewer for the Association of the Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) conference for the past two years. He received his B.Arch from Howard University and his M.Arch from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research addresses fundamental questions of social and cultural representations in Architecture with a strong emphasis on broadening the potential of how historical precedents are used in contemporary practice.

http://www.howard.edu/ceacs/departments/Architecture/index.html

The Howard University Department of Architecture offers a program of study leading to the five-year professional Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) degree accredited by the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB). The program places emphasis on student competence in the following pragmatic areas: design, inquiry/research, architectural history and theory, human behavior and environment, technical systems, computer usage and professional practice. These are complemented by elective courses in general/liberal education, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences.

Study in these areas provides the student with fundamental communication skills through critical thinking, conflict resolution, visual literacy, knowledge of forces that shape and influence societal and human affairs and the impact of new technologies in an ever-changing world.

Student Contributors:

Nia El-Amin
Victor Adjei
Delaine Anderson
Brittany Dapremont
Aaron Humphrey
Yasmin "Joi" Humphrey
Moriya Morris