We're almost done with the CNC work. In the past week we've been simultaneously building the house on site and cutting the pieces on the CNC. We have been super fortunate to have the help of some friends lending tools and helping out with assembly.

This week we've also had the chance to meet Tristan Copley Smith, a London-based filmmaker and open culture cultivator. He's been in Denver asking about our project and documenting some of our work. Him and Aaron from Open Tech Forever have joined us during assembly and we look forward to working with them and contributing to the open source community in Colorado.

In addition to working on the house we've been preparing the rewards to send out to our faithful backers. Here's a sneak peak at the rewards in progress. We'll be shipping everything before we leave for Bluff, UT in the middle of August.

We’ve cut and assembled one module of the FOUNDhouse (which is 1/3 of the total structure), and it is currently on display at Sustainability Park as part of the Biennial of the Americas event. Last night’s event, Canada Night, brought a lot of people through, many of whom got to see... View full entry

Hey everyone, Thanks for all the comments and the support! We're approaching the end of our initial fundraising phase. This means we're finalizing the design and making adjustments based on our projected budget. We are excited to show some of the new concepts and update you all on our progress... View full entry

As I begin the summer (yeah, I'm in studio) I'm excited to present a project that myself and a fellow student are working on.  We are designing and building a microhouse called FOUNDhouse. It's 150 sf, made with the structural system from wikihouse then added components to make it fully... View full entry

This weekend, 10 students from UC Denver presented their ideas for the design of the Billjohn Residence near Montezuma Creek, UT as a part of their design-build education in partnership with Design Build Bluff, a non-profit organization designing and building sustainable housing on the Navajo... View full entry

This is not a discussion of whether I should buy a moleskine or a Leuchtturn, or why Rhodia makes better dot grid pads than Quattro. It's also not about hand drawing vs. digital drawing (that one is for another day) (actually, bring it up if you want to). We will also skip the part about drawing... View full entry

So it's probably going to be a different kind of semester; for me, for my school, for Denver. It's the first semester of UC Denver's newly minted, newly accredited Bachelor of  Science in Architecture. This marks a departure from the school in Boulder and the start of a new chapter in... View full entry

Winter break = good friends, good beer, good times - check family - check/in progress new boots - check revit - check rhino - check grasshopper - in progress 3ds max - stretch goal processing - in progress reading - 2 of 5 books down whiskey - in progress...   Next post - Open All The Things! View full entry

Here's a short view of my final project. I was fortunate enough to present at the Studio Awards. The very gracious Slaterpaull office hosted  5 studio levels, about 20 presenters and more than 100 people (on a work day). Thank you to my jury (who awarded me the Studio III John Anderson... View full entry

Since I'm not sure if there are any AIA Colorado members on Archinect, I'll do the official post for the conference in Keystone, Colorado this weekend. The AIA Colorado Practice + Design Conference: The New Normal held this weekend in the beautiful Keystone was a refreshing look at emerging... View full entry

by Breadtruck Films

Was very helpful. Thanks to Justin, Kevin, Rachel and Anne. Results: no sleep, lack of nutrition, $16.00 for prints, $38.00 for models. a medium sized change to my parti a small change to my room arrangement a huge need for detail and attention to detail a giant inspiration and motivation for the... View full entry

or at least it was last week. Was it? What day is it? Where did I get this #11 x-acto? That isn't too dark is it? I'm just a little disoriented. We are ramping up the efforts for our midterm review. Hyperanalyzing the site. Scrutinizing envelopes and program requirements. Crafting experiences... View full entry

Here's some things I've been doing in my "off" time. Drinking coffee in between drawing lines Eating Chinese food way too late at night Making things on our laser cutter, this one is inspired by Studio H View full entry

Ok, it's been three weeks. I tried to stay on the weekly blog post schedule but I've had my head down in studio for so long, I had to come up to breathe. So I'm breathing this weekend. w05 I am fortunate to be a part of the founding board of the Design Build Institute of America student chapter... View full entry

"Life is not about maximising everything, it's about giving something back - like light, space, form, serenity, joy. You have to give something back." Glen Murcutt said that. How can you possible know enough about a place, a site, a pre-existing culture, ecosystem, language, with a whole history... View full entry

I'm a little off on my weekly post, but I'll do two this week: San Fran had much to offer on Thursday: SFMOMA = Sol Lewitt + Stan Allen + Cindy Sherman? Tea Gardens = zen walk + zen views + zen tea Off the Grid food trucks (upper Haight) = Kung Fu Tacos (duh) Renzo Piano's California Academy of... View full entry

The California trip is on. I'll admit, I don't get out much. This will be all new to me.   San Francisco, the De Young Museum, the Japanese Tea Gardens, the California Academy of Science, sea kayaking, Monterey Bay Aquarium then drive down the coast to the site. Point Lobos. The site. The... View full entry

That’s semester three, week one. 4 semesters, 15 weeks left to go. And 5599 IDP hours... New studio: Our instructor is Scott Lawrence. We’ll be researching context, place, body and connection and designing for a site in Pt. Lobos, CA. We are already discussing introverted and... View full entry

I made the move to Denver this weekend. I had way too much stuff in my old apartment and now with a smaller space and even with the enormous amount of stuff I got rid of on Craigslist and the good old landfill, I still have way too much stuff in my new apartment. I had no idea a person could... View full entry

Alright, listen. Jury was fine. Thank you Marcus, Patricia, Chris, Barbara, and Eric. Your comments were honest, your opinions candid and your critiques constructive. First year was great. Thank you Rachel and Matt, I've learned more than I could have hoped. But more important than what I've... View full entry

First, I want to post a little update on studio, because that's a little but what these school blogs are about and I think it's important that the work our students are doing is available. Right now in Studio II we are amping up the turn-around time on drawings and models, trying to fine-tune and... View full entry

Didnt want to post on Friday the 13th at the end of week 13. Bad mojo. Saturday feels better.   Got to see a great lecture from Peter Stutchbury last week at the Denver Art Museum. Been studying his work since then. He has a process and approach that can only be described as lovely. Such... View full entry

What do I have to show for this week? Well... Oh and a ten page paper about the Pantheon. Neat. View full entry

Some presentation drawings for the house project. starts with site research and context analysis, moves to the conceptual analysis from my last post. I'll spare you the rambling  for another time Now working on content. More writing and pontificating coming soon.   View full entry

Its semester two, week eleven, day 6. I’m feeling it. Its a little bit deeper of a burn than it used to be. I’m just pumped up. I think I’m in love with design. I can’t help it. Ideas fly around every minute of the day, every waking moment (and non-waking moments I... View full entry

it was Monday. Thanks to the jurors who came to see our work and give us their time to critique our projects. Lacy giving the jurors a run for their money with her "leftovers house." and its over. It was... fun? Not really. Exciting? Not quite. Stressful? A little. Helpful? I guess so. Long?... View full entry

There is only 171 hours till midterm jury. You can't see the panic on my face because I'm not. Yet. Sequence 1.5 Finalization This week: producing drawings, diagrams, a final basswood model (including at least one Chopper II session and a little bit of laser cutting (for the plexi)). Also, heads... View full entry

Program criteria, how exciting. 6 weeks of context, research, abstract modeling and theory, 2 Corbusier readings, 2 Lewis. Tsurumaki. Lewis books, and a lot of chipboard (sans laser cutting) for two week of programming, finalizing, basswood building and last-minute panic before jury. Feels weird... View full entry

Sequence 1.3.2: Structure After my last post, with the volume investigation done, one of the models (the tornado looking one) was advanced to the structure stage. Here, the goal was to add a structural layer such that the site was organized physically (with supporting elements such as columns... View full entry

INPUT: Elements: volume, structure, envelope Site Analysis form sequence 1.1 Cultural/spatial analysis from sequence 1.2 TACTIC: Utilizing organizational systems and organizing principles to achieve a specific instrumentality in the investigation of volume, structure and envelope. Three sets of... View full entry