Thanks to LB for the great post this week.
Her picks after the jump.
East facade: As a beginning: Sarah Hamilton gets some excellent in-depth advice regarding the seriousness of a first freelance design project on which she is embarking. All interns considering a jump start to to your professional career: a freelance gig is definitely a time-tested way to do it, just be aware that it's not easy.
West facade: Another time-tested tradition? Mentorship: and all you successful architects out there, remember you were once just starting out too, and please give generously (and seriously) of your advice however you can. Our profession only stands to benefit from the sharing of information and the avoidance of mistakes by our peers.
North facade: School is starting soon. Let's talk a bit about the school blogs, or by official name, the Archinect School Blog Project, Bryan Boyer presents the whole of his thesis project: blog, mini-blog (this would be a "duh" moment for most people, but for me it was a sudden realization of how the internet is taking the place of a sketchbook), and presentation. Great job, Bryan! In so many ways the school blog project has been an enormous success. The amazing Michael Speaks, when presenting to a group of students, logged the Power Point presentation onto the school blog project, telling these eager future architects that this was the sine qua non place to find information on what architecture school would be like. The blogs also allow professionals to keep an eye on what is happening in academia, not only via lectures, but from in-the-trenches reporting. And what practitioner doesn't love being reminded of those crazy studio nights and awful crits?
South facade: A possible counterpoint to the school blog success story? Some people are graduating, and readers want new ones! To help fulfill that need, keep in mind the unofficial version(s) of school blogs. Any new ones being allowed for this year, Archinect?
The foundation: And this week, how can I ignore the elephant in the room: of course I'm talking about the Olympic Games and the attendant spike in architectural experimentation that has gone along with these games in particular. It feels to me as if we in the architecture community have been talking about them for far longer than anyone else. This is a reminder that architecture takes time; that the projects we begin master planning with starry eyes one day can take years of painful committee meetings, budget cuts, and construction snafus to realize. But in the end, good architects make it look easy.
The roof: Small works, big impact. The simple idea well-realized can change the world, and only has to start with someone being bold, and then following through. Don't forget: you've gotta nail the dismount.