sketch : photo : blog

on wednesday, we gathered in the alumni house for a special presentation linked to the honor's college FOOD FOR THOUGHT series. during that session, i presented drawings in five of my sketchbooks to students. in addition to looking at florence through my own lens, i asked fourth year students, REBECCA LADD and DANIELLE WAYE, to also share their views of the tuscan city.

rebecca's gorgeous blog and danielle's beautiful photography certainly showed all in attendance the importance of recording and remembering the places we visit.

and from the material culture world...

image from www.npr.org

maggie johnson sent me this link to a very interesting story linking food + material culture.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/01/27/145918343/rethinking-the-oreo-for-chinese-consumers

thanks, maggie, and happy eating, all... (personally i like the "bitter" cookie and over sweet "cream").

a short conversation on building models...

online this morning, i had this interchange about models in the design process with callie mitchell, 2005 grad from iarc. pay attention to the post, folks!

library projects update

image from the jackson library reading room : brian peck

proposal cover sheet for music library : anna behrendt

students in my studio class are working on new proposals for the interior of the jackson library and the music library on campus. you can follow their work through their own blogs.

anna	behrendt	http://suseannasophia.blogspot.com/
michelle	baulieu	http://designhappily.blogspot.com/
jenni	ham	http://jennicham.wordpress.com
aws	jabir	http://awsjabir.wordpress.com
jasmine	jones	http://JasmineNicolej7.blogspot.com
leslie	kanipe	http://lesliekcanipe.blogspot.com
kacie	leisure	http://kacieleisure.blogspot.com
corry	mears	http://corrymears.blogspot.com
brian	peck	http://bpeckstudio2011.wordpress.com/
faith	ramsey	http://faithoramsey.wordpress.com/
jamaan	simons	http://jsimonsdesign.blogspot.com/
phillip	snider	http://phillip013.blogspot.com
nikki	ware	http://nikkiware.blogspot.com
jessica	wilson	http://designthathelps-jessica.blogspot.com/

some words of wisdom on authenticity

[image from http://ikdkitchens.com]

The creative artist does not work in a vacuum of intuitive genius; he is grounded in the craft. His duty is to get so fine an education, to be so versed in the chosen science or craft in which he works, that Intuition and Inspiration may plant their foothold in his heart. -- Sophy Burnham

tom ford on the creative process

http://vimeo.com/33599333

my friend and fellow designer extraordinaire sent me a link to this tom ford video on the creative process and creative professions. it's worth a gander to see the story behind this fascinating designer, his life of design, and his sources of inspiration.

and while you are at it...you might check out suzanne's blog, too, for design inspiration...

learning spaces slide show

this is a copy of the slideshow i presented in late january focusing on learning spaces and the work of my third year studio. all of the images represented herein are student work or were uploaded from the web through a search on 23 january 2012 with the search terms "learning spaces."

blurry boundaries for design

here's a quick squib from the NEW YORK TIMES about one designer's ability to stay fluid in pursuing work. food for thought for all of us in the design industry: DESIGN ACROSS BOUNDARIES.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/arts/16iht-design16.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

making history active

at the end of the second week of school.....and under the leadership of their teaching assistants...students in my history and theory class hit the streets to MAKE HISTORY ACTIVE. today, students searched for circles, groves, and stacks as basic design elements using the buildings on our campus.

design manifesto

in my third year studio, students have been reading stewart brand's HOW BUILDINGS LEARN, a brilliant design manifesto. having just finished the chapter on MAGAZINE ARCHITECTURE -- a passage skewering architects and designers who pander to the public in gimmicky and flashy buildings and spaces -- our conversation turned to the manifesto as a statement of intent by a designer. i asked students to borrow a quote from brand as a starting point...and to articulate a design manifesto for themselves.

so, i began nosing around online for a few examples....and here's what i found:

A TERRIFIC MANIFESTO ON DESIGN EDUCATION
http://designcrit.com/mfa/design-education-manifesto/

THE MANIFESTO OF THE FUTURISTS FROM 1914
http://www.unknown.nu/futurism/architecture.html

and ONE ON SUSTAINABILITY
http://www.core77.com/reactor/04.07_chochinov.asp

what's my design manifesto?
MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE ONE OBJECT, ONE SPACE, ONE BUILDING, ONE PLACE AT A TIME.

what's yours?

stewart brand : how buildings learn

my students in third year studio and i are greatly enjoying the writings of STEWART BRAND. with great illustrations and salient examples, brand's HOW BUILDINGS LEARN forms part of the intellectual backdrop for a studio about LEARNING SPACES : SPACES THAT LEARN. together, we're looking at two library spaces on campus, querying the image and content for libraries in the future.