studio work continues

headed toward spring break...but the students continue to press forward in teams of three as they work on JENGA 3.0. kara koy + cassie bradfield gather around their physical model, squaring up their ideas...

coordinating fashion + design

blakeni, one of the terrific students in my second year studio this semester, sports fashion that echoes color selection in her JEGNA 2.0 unit. who says coral can't be both the color of clothing and of a kit of parts within?

teamwork : anna will climb anywhere

anna (in blue, right), justin + faith gathered as a group in studio this week to marry their JENGA 2.0 schemes into a two story building...the fun continues as students start stacking their work.

means of egress

what i learned in studio today : a swimming pool is NOT a means of egress...even when your concept is leap.

http://www.cypruspaphosvillas.com/Marilena_Sunset_Villa_No-1/images/61l.jpg

who says teamwork can't be fun? cassandra brunson, left, phillip snider, middle, and nikki ware demonstrate the importance of "setting your goals" (the message on phillips' shirt).

feng shui cube : new york times

the sleeping space doubles as a night-time lantern.

during the day, mr. liu occupies the top of the cube. PHOTO CREDITS: joe fletcher, new york times

it's always nice when a project similar to the one you're teaching in studio appears in the NEW YORK TIMES...and that was the case today, with this terrific office/sleeping cube for a new york loft apartment. read more about it in the times.

sausage a-fryin'

i've always liked teaching studio in the morning slot...just seems more right somehow. but add to that prospect a great big opportunity for breakfast, and you've just about sealed the deal. in building community this year, students in section 01 of second year studio have planned monthly breakfasts. cassandra brought sausage and fried it on a hotplate right on the spot. you should have seen the inquisitive noses around the building peeking into our studio space. fortunately the students brought a bounteous feast, so there was plenty for everyone who ventured by.

jenga 1.0

austin's work deals with the a of GROOVE. this axonometric demonstrates how the two objects he design work together to manifest the concept.


kacie's board (the second of two) pulls together the various drawing elements + deliverables to tell us about the concept, WELL UP....a beautiful, cohesive presentation.



anna shows success with the first of three models due. students have been taking advantage of our woodshop, their own skills at their drawing boards, and our digital making facility, CAMstudio.

based on the classic board game, jenga, my section of this year's second year studio works toward designing very small residential units (300-500SF)....with some great success. check out the work of kacie leisure, anna berendt, and austin loman on their blogs.

kit of parts

for studio this week, students presented their proposals for the KIT OF PARTS project....JENGA 1.0, in which they elaborated three kits in three spaces. claire and i reviewed, along with the class, 36 projects on friday....36 more to come on monday.

because iar202 is a writing intensive course, students have been working on their WRITING as part of the design process. read corry's post and abigail's to get some sense of the work they are doing in this regard. claire and i selected their work to feature downstairs near the faculty offices...

the implications of inspiration AND imitation

http://eliinbar.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/la-tourette-eliinbar-sketches-20100002.jpg

today in history/theory class, we talked about some of the first efforts by humans to make objects, spaces, buildings, and places and the commonalities one can see from a review of sites worldwide. later, i received a link about influence by CORBUSIER on the work of other designers. this link leads you to a visually interesting and thought provoking blog. any thoughts about implications of inspiration AND imitation? where do we draw the line?

where do good ideas come from?

nosing around online during this snow day led me to the work of STEVEN JOHNSON...he has written a couple of books about thinking and design and creativity. claire and i looked through a couple of his postings on youtube. clearly he's a brilliant sketcher and idea man...check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU&feature=related

check out his blog here.

the semester begins, second year studio

[in the photo, our "middle" pragmatists are raising hands...one a bit tentatively, those to the left represent the conservers while those standing right assume the role of originators.]

under the organizing principle whole > sum of its parts, the second year studio began this morning with an assessment of strengths for the students via the change style indicator. this rubric helps groups of people to learn who are originators, conservers, and pragmatists. for designers, this is an imperative lesson to learn. as teams assemble, one wants to be sure to balance the boat in the studio. the results from our class? MANY MORE originators than conservers, in a proportion of 3:1. of the 24 students and two teachers, only five people stood to the left of the pragmatists. i'm way at the originator end, while my erstwhile teaching assistant, claire keane stands to the right (third in the photo) in the line up.

originators value NOT following the rules + bucking the system....i'm not quite sure what this holds as far as the semester.