selophane.blog

I took a day trip up to Old Town Winchester, VA on Saturday. Winchester is what I would call a village, but i guess in Virginia’s terms it s a city. Old Town has a 3 block long area that is closed off as a pedestrian mall, which seems like it is the tourist focus for the whole city. The oldest buildings there probably date to the middle of the 19th century, with many of them having unfortunate 1950’s ground floor storefront renovations. But if you look to the second story you’ll be surprised by some of the wonderful architectural details.

The thing that I found as completely odd was that we arrived around 3 on Saturday of Labor Day weekend and most of the stores and restaurants were closed. In addition, there was a large number of vacant storefronts. There was quite a few people walking up and down the strip, but with only a handful of boutiques and two open restaurants there was a general feeling of disappointment. The strangest part about this was that as we drove away from downtown we started finding more and more open stores and restaurants.

I’ve gone down to Atlanta for an extended weekend. While I’m here I’m just planning on relaxing, and maybe getting a little studying done for my Building Systems exam. In addition, I figured I’d see what the Job market looks like down here, not that I’m seriously thinking of relocating, but hey, I can’t argue with the housing prices. I could like in midtown in a 2 bedroom 2 bath for less than my month condo payments.

While I’m here, is there any new architecture that I should check out, besides the aquarium of course? In the same vein, is there any good mid-century modern developments in the Atlanta area?

I take the structural systems exam on Thursday and I am scared! I have no idea how to do earthquake or wind loading and just barely grasp the basic concepts, plus I’m still not sure how many formulas I’ll need memorized. My only real consolation is that the vignette seems really easy.

Add to all this that I haven’t gotten either of my previous tests results back, so I’m still in the dark as to how I’ve been doing.

On a side note, I’ve been busy working on freelance work trying to get new jobs. So maybe I’ll be able to pay my mortgage when my unemployment runs out in August. Here’s hoping.

Two colleagues of mine were let go a few weeks ago. Since then, the three of us have decided to pool our collective architectural resources and work towards developing a client base and a freelance design business. This sounds much easier than it actually is. The time it takes to find people to write or call is enormous, add that to my weekly writings for DC Metrocentric and my studying for my ARE exams, I am finding that I am busier than when I was working full time, or maybe it just feels that way.

I have been searching for an inexpensive way to visit my family in New York, and the express buses seem to be the best option. I haven’t taken Megabus yet, just Bolt (primarily for the use of wifi and outlets). So I have now taken three trips between NY and DC on the Bolt bus and while that is not a huge sample set, I have to say i have a 33% satisfaction rate. The first trip (from NY to DC) was great, it went fine and it wasn’t completely full (this is in my best interest, but not Bolt’s). The second trip (DC to NY) was packed and the air wasn’t working, but at least the bus stopped at a rest area for us to get food. Yesterday I took the bus (back from NY to DC) and it was again a mixed trip. I ended up alone in my row, but we didn’t make any rest area stop and the bus took almost 5 hours to make the trip. I have to say that as far as performance its been fine. I’ve gotten to my destination on time, I just haven’t been comfortable. There is just a huge difference in comfort between taking the train, plane, and taking the bus.

As far as waiting for the bus is concerned, the DC side has the NYC side beat. The Grand Hyatt at Metrocenter provides a convenient Starbucks and bathroom while you wait, and the parking lot with the sun-shaded “green walk” removes you from the general traffic. In NYC, there is a Sbarro, but the bathrooms are tiny and dirty, and they have a 30 minute eating/waiting policy. There’s always the Penn Station, but the bathrooms there are even shadier, and while there are lots of food options its really removed from the bus stop. Once you are outside you have to wait on the sidewalk in front of either the Sbarro or an adult bookstore; not the most comfortable options.

Financially, this is a vast improvement over the train. If I get a $25 bolt ticket plus $4 metro fare and $9 LIRR fate, it takes me less than $40 each way to visit my family. If I took Amtrak I would have the same metro/LIRR expenses but the ticket would be at least $90. On the other hand, if I can find air fare under $50 to NY from IAD the bus might not be such a good deal. The bus takes me about 8 hours of travel time, while an airplane would be around 3 (including my waiting in the airport). Of course it beats driving, which would cost me at least $30 in tolls not to mention gas.

So my new plan is to cash out my safety net and spend the next few months studying for my ARE’s as a full time job and spend 1-2 hours a day doing job hunting. If I get any freelance work it can be like a part time job. But my real job is getting licensed. Once I am there seem to be more opportunities for licensed architects than interns right now. Plus i can always strike out on my own and hang my own shingle so to speak.

The only real hitch is I cannot fail any exams. If i do i will need to wait 6 months to re-test.

So, look forward to a lot more ARE based posts.

[Siftables via Archipreneur.]

This would be such a great desk toy, not to mention the clinical and educational uses. I have to wonder about the obviously necessary computer interface required to change the content on the tiles. If this could interact with the new Microsoft Surface, then i could really see it gaining a foot hold in the high end lounge market.

These remind me of a bunch of content aware manipulative devices. There was a dynamic music device like this i remember seeing on Gizmodo a while ago, and there are all of those cube toys where you have pets and people that interact when they are stacked. Of course, this is different from all of those because, like the art.lebedev optimus maximums keyboard it can be any of those things.

I just read the headline that Foster + Partners will lay off 25% of their staff this follows on the heels of layoffs by SOM, Perkins Eastmen, and countless large and small firms around the country and the world. News articles talk about “hunkering down” and riding the depression/recession out and compare this architectural bloodbath to the job market during the recession of the 1990’s. Projects across the world are on hold, and the mega development of Dubai has virtually ground to a standstill.

All that I can think of in regards to all of this is Douglas Adam’s The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the lost planet of Magrathea; this planet could be a parable for Dubai and Las Vegas. This was where custom worlds were created when the galactic economy was in a major boom cycle and there was plenty of cash to spare. Once the economy dried up, the planet shut down and went to sleep, literally. Everyone went into suspended animation/cold storage until the galactic stock market index rose high enough that their services would be affordable again.

I almost have to wonder if the practice of architecture and the current avant garde design trends will suffer a similar fate: I don’t think It will be as extreme as a shut down, but a transition to a non-built culture. These architects may not be able to find the kind of clients/patrons willing and able to pay for their brand of architectural exploration, instead they may need to move back towards a Learning from Las Vegas design culture, where architectural thought will occur within the confines of academia and the printed/pixellated page. If this is the case, we may be looking at the gestalt that causes architects to search yet again for more purity in form and less architecture of fancy and ornament; we may be looking at the pre-dawn of a new style of architecture.

A great website was brought to my attention today, Stairway to Architecture. The author of this site is a licensed architect and practitioner of over 30 years and is concerned with the state of the internships and architectural licensing in the US today. He raises questions that everyone should be asking and which in any other professionally regulated field are easily obtainable, yet in architecture they are obfuscated under layers of bureaucratic records. The diagrams he has created showing architecture schools and the relationship between new admissions admissions to graduates and ARE pass rates are staggering. I feel lucky to have gone to a Torch Institution instead of a Pennant or Funnel. In addition he has a great plea for the better treatment and education of intern-architects by their employers. His rally against Headphones in the work place is something to be read and digested. I can understand the need to block out co-workers who do not know how to work in a communal environment or the need to listen to something while performing a rote task such as copying shop drawing comments, but I tend to agree with him that headphones isolate the wearer and help to create a lack of unity and camaraderie amongst the office staff.

If you read this site without knowing the background of its author, it could easily be mistaken for the idealist ranting of an young architect struggling along the path to licensing. But, with his experience there is a legitimacy to his arguments. Much like this letter on BUILD Blog which really responds to the issues a young architect faces when the set out on their own, I hope that all Architects licensed and otherwise read Stairway to Architecture to better understand the view from the still idealistic and ambitious un-licensed masses.

The AIA has chosen their 8 recipients of the 2009 Young Architects Awards.