Was at a fashion show last night in New York, for Salento Italian Excellence, a fashion show featuring the work of 9 designers hailing from Italy's "heel," the Salento region. Eugena walked in this show, and was pretty fabulous. My friend PJ who invited me to the show took pictures, I will try and get them and post them up here. She has a heart tattoo on her butt, just fyi. :)

You could call me an activist of sorts... after our discussion at studio about how politics affects our lives, it got me thinking - How does politics affect our lives? The repercussions of everything that goes on in Washington affects us, on many different scales. Being involved in the student government here at Michigan has been so influential to me, as it has let me reevaluate my career path. I feel my studies in architecture have helped me to understand so much more about what is out there in the world and particularly what policy makers do to

[more to come...]

Constructed Ground 2
The Diag

I chose the Diag as my second constructed ground because of its quaint similariities and differences that relate it to my first constructed ground of Olson Park, a park sitting adjacent to the busy freeway of US-23. This new site is like a park, but doesn't fit in that specific typology. It's more of a site, like the park, which goes through situations that are dependent on the overlying conditions that contribute to the overall experience of the site.

At this time of year, Olson Park is completely devoid of human interaction. There are several parts of the site, such as the dock and the playground, that remain unused because of the seasonal conditions. It seems that the only part of the site utilized is the path, which becomes inhabited by bikers, walkers, and joggers, and to be more general - humans and canines. Like the park, the Diag experiences much of the same thing.

The Diag is a large space that is inhabited both heavily and sparsely throughout different times of the year. The analysis of usage can be further subgrouped in order to looking at the human interaction on the Diag at different times of the month, the week, and the day. In the colder months, students gather on the Diag only out of necessity, usually to raise funds or petition for student groups. However, in the warmer months students the space becomes multi-use, and people can be found on the Diag 'programming' the site in their own way: participating in activities that include but are not limited to socializing, studying, playing a sport, promoting a cause or organization, relaxing, and sleeping. Due to its size and versatility, the Diag has become of gathering for both students and community members of all different social groups.

As situational contexts, the experiences created on the Diag seem to be more important than the setting of the Diag itself. When asked to talk about the Diag, most students will concentrate on the gatherings and activities that take place there, not the composition of trees, grass, and concrete that create the setting. However, the setting of the Diag is necessary for the ritual to exist. The space is essentially a courtyard framed by major University buildings, a combination of concrete/brick paved paths and grassy areas sparsely populated by trees. Situated at the heart of the University of Michigan’s Central Campus, the Diag links Central Campus with the downtown Ann Arbor area, and is heavily trafficked by students and other pedestrians. Being wide open and very large, the Diag dominates one’s senses as they pass through it. For example, in order to enter the Diag space, one must walk along a concrete walkway that runs between at least two of the buildings that form the space of the Diag. Walking between two large buildings gives the viewer the sense of being compressed in a smaller space, yet upon entrance to the Diag there is an extreme explosion of space and many different paths of procession begin to intersect. It is at this point of intersection that the setting and the ritual come together.

In the Diag, there exists a concept of slowing down at moments of mass intersection. This concept can be found in many different settings outside the Diag; for instance, imagine the common situation of an interchange amongst multiple major highways. During rush hour traffic, the highway is certain to be backed up at these points of "intersection" as cars change from one freeway to another. The Diag operates under the same circumstances. Having a central point in which four major pathways for foot traffic intersect, students are forced to slow down and at times, even pause for a moment and engage in the activities taking place on the Diag.

While using the Diag as a space of gathering and social activity is a practice which is steeped in tradition, it hasn’t been around since the conception of the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. Not all of the buildings which enclose the Diag and define it as a space had been erected at that singular point in time. Over time, as the University of Michigan grew and added more buildings to the perimeter of the Diag, the space has become more articulated and has come into use as a place of gathering and social exchange.

"Great architecture is only gonna come from your passion. And even that won't assure you a job. Louis Kahn died in a mens room in Penn Station... and for days no one claimed the body.



Look at that. Is that beautiful? The money men did not weep... because the great ones are impossible to deal with. They're a pain in the ass... because they know that if they do their jobs properly... if they just this once get it right... they can actually lift the human spirit... take it to a higher place. What is this?

(A brick.)

Louis Kahn said even a brick wants to be something. A brick wants to be something. It aspires. Even a common, ordinary brick... wants to be something more than it is. It wants to be something better than it is. That is what we must be."

This quote comes from a movie that I found over the weekend while flipping channels (and doing structures homework). It's a movie you wouldn't expect this from... but it's from "Indecent Proposal," that 1993 Razzie Award nominated movie that starred Demi Moore, Robert Redford, and Woody Harrelson. In any case, I found the script online and the text to this specific scene seemed really special, especially this last . That's it, I guess. :)

Oh yeah... and Razzie awards are for BAD movies. Heh!

Last night I attended part of the NOMAS (Nat'l Org for Minority Arch Students) keynote lecture, made by University of Louisiana professor Hector LaSala. The first half of his presentation was very interesting - he talked about quite a bit of philosophical aesthetic stuff that we've been discussing in studio now and brought up a few articles/reading that I've looked into to add to my growing list of books to read. I went to the library last night and checked out eight books! I need to keep in mind trying to find a couple works by Paul Virilio that are checked out at the library... [the title of this post is from the lecture - that's what we architects are 'responsible' for!]

So... as part of our studio, we have a type of media to follow throughout the semester. I chose a website I frequent called "Gothamist," a blog looking at NY, US, and World events but from a NY perspective. I've posted a few articles from the past week, and here they are again with a little blurb as to why I've posted them, and their relevance to my work in studio.

Just as a little clarification about my studio to any readers: This years' studio is the Wallenberg Competition, where all of the final semester undergrads participate in a theme semester, this year dealing with 'nature and artifice.' My specific studio is entitled "Believers + Cheaters: Politics, the Media, Fear + the Commodification of Architecture." A lot of our focus is analyzing social critics that contribute to the current architectural discourse. As pointed in our syllabus, "we will not design objects or projects but ideas in response to current culture that strongly influences the Nature of Artifice: the Constructed Landscape, or the site in which we work and contribute as architects."

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/01/15/new_york_school.php
"New York Schools Still Divided By Race"
So apparently, New York public schools are among the most segregated in the country. According to the article: "...segregation in education has a lot to do with segregation in housing-- in New York, many neighborhoods are split along color lines, and that produces schools that are divided the same way. Until we integrate our neighborhoods, there isn't much chance of integrating our school districts." We can't help but think that this is something brought on partly by the political system... Also in the comments section, someone brings up Jonathan Kozol - he visited the university recently to give a talk - someone to read up on, maybe?

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/01/17/map_of_the_day_12.php
"Starbucks Insanity"
This posting was fun - a map of all of the Starbucks on Manhattan. And there's quite a bit. It's almost as if there's an 'unworldly gravitational pull' towards an area in midtown where there's the most concentration of Starbucks (starbuckses?) Relevance to studio? Well, there's the brand name, and the fear that it'll take over all the smaller coffee businesses. Oh.. and the irony that a Seattle based company took over the coffee market on the east coast. Interesting? I think so.

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/01/17/map_of_the_day_12.php
"That Is One Big Wave"
La Palma Island, off the coast of Northern Africa could very well collapse into the ocean from landslides, etc. - 'natural events' so to speak (but you can't help but think that this erosion was the fault of people and some type of scientific thing that deals with people making bad decisions, causing this... etc.) - and a huge tidal wave will come across the ocean decimating New York City. Fear? yes. Very much so. Media? So many disaster flicks - "The Day After Tomorrow" comes to mind, so yes.

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/01/19/todays_subway_d.php
"Today's Subway Delay Question"
This is kind of sad - apparently there are more subway deaths in the NYC subways than people would think. It not uncommon - and something may have happened yesterday to cause some delays in the NY subway system. Fear? yes. Media? they report these tragic events, and sometimes exaggerate them like crazy...

More to come... :)

Three years ago I left livejournal... and now, I'm back. But this time around, this livejournal will be used for educational purposes, because as part of my architecture studio this semester, I am required to keep up an electronic journal for this semester. You'll see lots of different types of media, and commentaries on some of the subjects I've been working on in school. So stay tuned for future posts.... :)


-Jim


PS - apologies to all my lj-friends - I had to delete everyone so that everything was clean! Hopefully you keep me on your lists though, and can be updated with what's going on in my life.

So, I've been pulled in by the cult of Xanga-users. This place will still exist, just I won't update here anymore. Go to http://www.xanga.com/jimbobwaay.

But hey, thank God it's snowing, not raining, or else my hair would be messed up and I would not be a happy camper.

Second semester is going by pretty well. It seems like 20 credits is overkill, but I'm managing quite fine with it. The drawing class I'm taking takes a lot of time, but it's worth it, I'm having fun.

Had a good last couple of weekends with Supercotillion, Bounce @ the Necto w/ Komposit, and other parties... goin' to Mike and Sittie's Superbowl party this weekend, and catching up with reading. Bubble Island is my new hotspot, and tied for favorite drinks are Turtle Tea w/ Bubbles, and the manufactured Starbucks Vanilla Frapuccinos in their own little pop-up lid bottles. Photohunt is my favorite pastime, and thanks to the PCrew and Jo Leong, we've gotten #1 in two instances, though sadly, we have been displaced in the last couple of days. I swear, I've really bonded with all my FASA peeps these past two weeks, and that has been SOOOOO worthwhile for me. I love 'em all!! (BTW, I did know the movie theatre was there!)

Reading this new book I got, 1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies. I read about it on CNN.com, and so I got the book, and I've really gotten into it. It's big, but it's very interesting.

Gotta go now, have to finish writing English critiques, and class starts in 2 hours. Yikes!

So there you have it. My update. Happy now, Nina and Ed?

It's so not cool to have to walk underneath trees filled with creepy black crows hovering right over you. The area on the Diag near Haven Hall and the grad Library is so disgusting because of all the bird shit. Whatever you do if you're near there after dark... RUN. Run for your life. Or better yet, run for the sake of a clean head of hair.

-Jim

Well, it's an eye with a twitch and gunk. Describe it, you're asking....the twitch and gunk is easily to be Chemistry, and to some degree Calculus. I've always detested Chemistry, and so I can't wait to get rid of the freakin' class. And Calculus and I have always been at odds with each other, so I'm ready to end my affinity to it. Thank god.

Registration for me happened on Monday. I've asked people if they think I'm crazy to be taking 20 credits. Yeah, it's a lot, and I'll have to pay more, but that's what I'll have to do if I'm going on the path that I want to go on - towards degrees in Architecture (BS) and Theatre (BA). I'm taking Ling 211, Musicology 341, Theatre 211, Arch 201, Arch 212, and English 124. Hopefully I'll survive - and if I can't after the 3rd week, I'm surely going to drop something.

So I go home in 10 days. I'm freakin' happy about that. I miss my friends SOOOO much right now. And I miss my old bed...

Ah... 10 days, and then peace. And then back to A2. But I still love it up here, it can't get any better than this.