New Mexico or Bust!

Well, I'm off to the misty mountains of northern New Mexico for the summer. I will try to post some pictures while I am out there, but I make no guarantees. Regardless, I will post sporadically during the summer, depending on the availability of computers. Ciao!

I <3 AS

I swear, if it wasn't for AdultSwim.com right now, I would seriously blow a rod.

World Trade Center Update

According to yesterday's Wall Street Journal, New York's World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein has named world-class architects Norman Foster (who incidetally was one of the finalists in the competition for the World Trade Center master plan) and Richard Rogers of London, and Fumihiko Maki of Tokyo to design three skyscrapers to "line the east side of Greenwich Street, currently a long strip of concrete dotted with weeds that runs through the middle of the site." The project site will be directly to the east of ground zero, with ground floor retail space, and each tower is projected to contain office space above. The news is a positive development in the controversy over development at ground zero, which has been delayed for months over conflict between the New York Port Authority which owns the property, and developer Silverstein who owns the development rights. This announcement comes shortly after a tentative agreement between Silverstein and the Port Authority.
Potential problems with the arrangement may be the relolution of iconoclastic architectural styles within such a closely packed arrangement, and the short period of time Silverstien has given the firms to come up with a design (construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2007, with the trio being completely finished by 2012). A team of top designers from each firm has been set up in a shared space on the 25th floor of 7 World Trade Center, overlooking the site. In addition, Adamson Associates of Toronto will produce the construction drawings, and RTKL Associates of Baltimore has been named as the retail consultant. An Architect of Record remains unannounced.
Hopefully this new arrangement will produce some results for the high-profile project, as there has been little headway for several years apart from Santiago Calatrava's planned WTC Transit Hub and the newly-opened 7 World Trade Center. This arrangement has the potential to deliver a great result despite the 3 month planning period and complicated maze of functional and legal requirements. Each architect is undisputidly a world-class contemporary architect, and they will be expected to produce world-class buildings.

Nothing much, really

So I got into a car accident on Saturday. Minor fender bender, with no one hurt, and no damage to my truck. Still, there is nothing else so shocking or unmotivating. I don't think I have driven anywhere since it happened. And it's not like I'm doing much anyway. Don't get me wrong, the change of pace is nice, and I have gotten more sleep in the past week than I did all last month, but I am getting pretty bored. I'm just packing and getting ready to leave for Philmont. Hopefully this summer I will be able to climb some fourteeners in Colorado or try something I have never done before, to make it a little more exciting. Not like last summer was boring or anything, but this summer has the potential to be so much more. Okay. Get in touch with me if you're bored too. Being bored alone is no fun, but somehow being bored in groups is better. You feel as if you're actually accomplishing something.

Hail to the Chief

As I'm sure you all know, Mr. Bush is giving the commencement speech at 10 am today. It's a good thing that he came here, since he'll have plenty of people worshiping him INSTEAD of celebrating our graduates, who put in 4 to 8 years of hard work to be able to graduate today. Congradulations Mr. President, today OSU revolves around you!

On a totally unrelated note, today is also Sigmund Freud's 150th birthday. Happy Birthday Mr. Freud!

Finals Week

Yuk... what a week. Correction: what a last two weeks! With our Architcture project due last friday, and studying, finals and moving all this week, I just can't wait for school to be over, so I can relax a little bit. Just a little, that's all I'm asking.

For those of you reading this who aren't familiar with the world of Architecture, last week's post was about Charette. While this is the French noun for a small cart, it also refers to the final intense push by Architecture or Design students to finish their projects. Here's a fun fact: it's origin was the Ecole de Beaux Arts, a kind of 19th century arts and architecture college or boarding school in Paris. When a project was due, the school would send a cart [la charrette] to collect projects from the students' studios or ataliers, and sometimes a student would jump in the cart to apply finishing touches to his drawings or models. Hence, when we are working our asses off trying to finish a project, we are reffered to as being "on charrette." Cool huh? Fine. You don't have to think so, but I'm still writing it.

Robert moved out today, officially disolving the "fantastic four." I'm going to miss these guys... [but probably not untill next year.]