Architecture 100B design goals

Fall semester started today and I'm feeling pretty excited for it. I'm going to be studying under the course coordinator for once, so Keith will be my instructor. First short assignment is due Monday so we're diving in pretty quickly. Having some loose goals last semester was helpful in guiding some personal progress so I'm going to outline a few for 100B.

1. Be inspired.

Research, consume, and digest as much information as possible. Develop a strong base of knowledge of what is out there and what is current. Explore more real, physical architecture and visit sites around San Francisco and the rest of the bay. Figure out what ultimately interests me and what I want to pursue.

2. Have an opinion.

Not just observe what others have done but study their work and be critical. Take a stance and make your own ideas about things. Consider other possibilities.

3. Take risks.

Less "safe" architecture, more exploration. You don't need to know what you're doing to do it. Abstract more and be willing to push things past what's comfortable.

4. Think graphically.

More drawings and less words in the sketchbook. Develop a stronger personal style and language. Improve skills with design software and presentation.

5. Look ahead.

Create portfolio quality work and update it often. Study firms from around the bay and their work. GREs and internships.

Penguin Great Ideas

A preview of Series 4 of Penguin's Great Ideas books from the Book Cover Archive (which is a great site and resource). The Great Ideas series has some amazing cover designs though I only own one personally. Utilizing a clean look, great type, and selective colors, the series showcases a wide range of styles and designs while still creating a cohesive collection. Did I mention I love the colored spines? I've seen this book on the history of Penguin's covers at Moe's plenty of times. I need to get my hands on it soon.

via Book Cover Archive

Hearst Memorial Mining Building

Late night drinks

Despite being completely laid back since the conclusion of studio and even flying back home to West Covina, I still had a take home final to finish today. I spent the last week desperately avoiding it, which predictably resulted in me rushing to write the paper poorly and turning it in late. The past couple days at home have been relaxing aside from that. Being welcomed home is always an amazing feeling. I'm surprised by how my parents have developed a kind of cosmopolitan lifestyle in my absence and of that of my brother. It feels good to see them active and enjoying themselves more now that we're out of their hair. When I flew in Tuesday they had both taken off from work for the day so we had a nice lunch at a new ramen restaurant nearby. After my sister came home from school we visited Whittier Narrows park which I hadn't been to before. Afterwards they introduced me to another restaurant and we ended up going out late for some coffee. Tonight we went out for drinks as well and I supposed that's why I'm able to stay up right now. Maxim Cafe has an awesome yin-yang tea/coffee drink that's reasonably priced and bottomless as well. I don't know why I pay $4 for coffee at school.

Anyways, I'm working on a post of my final review this semester. It'll be my first such release of schoolwork and hopefully up some time tomorrow.

Resolute

This summer will be one of adventure.

Pushing to the end

I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post. Clearly I don't juggle my classes with other priorites very well. I've had a short reprieve the last couple of days since I had a midreview on Monday. Time to gear up for finals. I guess I'll be back in another month.

Putting out fires

Yesterday I slept all day while waiting for the mail. At seven in the morning, the tracking for the overnight package said it had been delivered but nothing had come! I didn't drive to Los Angeles with my dad to pick up my mom from work because I wanted to wait at home. The cds my brother sent didn't arrive until around two in the afternoon. I must have been knocked out then because I didn't hear the doorbell and the postman just left it in the mailbox. I was relieved that they repaired my system just fine and everything is back to normal. I need to start backing up my work to spare myself a lot of stress.

Is it part of human nature to slip into apathy so effortlessly? Despite having a decent workload for the break I still haven't sit down and started on anything. All feelings of urgency normally present at school have been sufficiently defused so that I now lay in bed all day with my mind landing nowhere long enough to have a substantial idea. It feels taxing enough to try to parse these thoughts into words here, much less study the failings of the Chinese republic in the 1910s and 1920s and the development of socialist thinking. Somehow I feel I've been conditioned into managing life from crisis to crisis, from one review to the next, from midterms to finals. Nothing can seem pressing enough until it has reached crisis proportions. That would explain all the last-minute cramming and all-night studio production. I'm tempted to think the lulls in between the storms of work are just periods of recovery and should be forgiven as such, but they do perpetuate an unhealthy cycle of work ethic. 

A related issue is how some people feel the need to stir up trouble, whether consciously or otherwise, to add some new excitement to their lives. Everyone knows at least one person like that, the friend who has some new drama every other week. I'd say I do prefer this mental stasis over that.

Perhaps it is a primal vestige from our human evolution. How can one plan so far into the future when one's existence is uninsured? We might not fear getting mauled by wolves in the search of our next meal but the logic persists that mental processes would be better utilized for what's at hand. What a weak excuse. How easy it is to attribute my own indolence to some innate and insurmountable cause.