die schweiz

Cafe Fortuna | Basel, Switzerland

After seeing some high caliber quality architecture I've noticed that composition makes everything. It is not a technique or strategy emphasized only during the modern period but a regulation that helps control the small and large scale.

This is one of the many "caffeine" sketches. I was hoping to upload 2 napkin sketches as the first Swiss post but I think I may have accidentally misplaced them on the wet cobblestones of Geneva's old city.

thanks to R.Petrie -the Stillman Birn sketchbook is great! I'm guessing they had to use coils cause of the papers thickness. Having filleted corners and flat binding would be easier but the quality of the paper is pretty top notch.

geneve

I've sketched lots. I might wait till Hamburg where I may or may not find decent scanners to help publish the sketches. But for now, images may be best to describe a decent experience in Geneva so far. 3 of the most exciting places...

SANAA |Rolex Learning Center, Lausanne

This sleek white pavilion is quite the trek from Lausanne's train station.

An amazing characteristic of this "one room" building is that the gentle sectional changes adequately separates the different programs where ten meters from a bustling cafe is a quiet and lovely nap time area. As gentle and clean as the building seems, there is a lack of consistent language on the interior... Ramps are shoved into the curved floor plates to allow for wheel chairs to pass through... figural kiosks break the experience of the visual clarity.

L.Corbusier |Rue de Saint Laurent 2

They say that there is a Corb building in Geneva and when I accidentally strolled by this guy, I instantly noticed the massive thresholds similar to the Carpenter Center's. This residential/office building doesn't appear to be fully a Corb work because of the marble veneer, choice of dark steel and heavy shutter machinery.

Eglise de Protestant? |Rue de Madeleine

I snuck into the bell tower and attic space above the vaulted ceilings. It was thrilling.

note taking

It has been awhile since I've placed the nib down on paper but now that design studio's final is over, there should be a lot more ink/color/graphite/various stains on paper. I flipped through my sketchbook today after having a very enjoyable lunch with R. Petrie and realized some notes in between drawing pages. -Thanks for the cookies and sketchbook by the way.

I've also been urged to post something new...

This is an angry page. I'm not often flushed with anger but the process of taking a wet brush over the inked surface is actually quite therapeutic and helps with relaxing the source of anger.

A quick and simple coffee research done in Ambienta Cafe, Tsawwassen.

An example of my father's brush work in my sketchbook. This is my original name in mandarin (ma-duo-zen) that my grandfather came up with. Every character was delicately selected and juxtaposed beside each other because they pose multiple meanings. Great emphasis was placed into understanding the number and direction of strokes as they form a type of reading into the possible personality of the person which is a belief that comes from an integrated traditional Chinese and Buddhist view.

symphony

Civic Center: Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. I forgot my sketchbook but I conveniently found some napkins by the bar.

-Last show of this season featuring conductor Joann Falletta and guitarist Eliot Fisk.

For the last couple weeks, I've thought more about my education and I've decided that Architecture schools scares me. Maybe its just the school that I'm in but there is such a strong sense of false pride and arrogance in what we do and who we are. We've overlooked the most important part of our education, the part that should be the easiest to master without the help of an educator with a Harvard GSD degree. We don't think critically about anything.

-Why is it that Syracuse is ranked number 2?

-Why do firms such as REX (who we are all so in love with) claim that they strive to "do" and not "represent"? Could it be a way to charm a naive generation of students and clients?

-What is the difference between a "designer" who makes beautiful images and an educated architect who actually makes intelligent propositions?

It is scary to think about being a part of a superficial realm where thinking is guided by the latest and most poorly informed trends or the most seductive and pointless rendered images.

siracusa

Syracuse was extremely wealthy at one point because of a dense transportation system comprised mostly of trains and boats. But even in its current deteriorating condition, there is a lot to study and enjoy in the layers of history.

Station SW of Armory Square.
An engine sitting and waiting on a beautiful day.

denver omelet

Located on Larimer Street, The Market is a cute place to eat, coffee and shop.

View towards the entrance drawn last week. Entry through a welcoming bar before steps lead up to the groceries and seating.

Part of the interior seating/shelving area drawn in January

cambridge

Carpenter Center| Harvard, Cambridge

-Charles-Edouard Jeanneret's only built work in N.America

“There is a part of our world that is playing on abundance, on glitz and glamour and there is another part that is concentrated on refinement, and basically making beautiful objects.”

-Patrick Thomas, Hermes chief executive who is now trying to hold off the monstrous LVMH from purchasing family operated Hermes.

Architects aren't that different from fashion designers. In the world of architecture, there are numerous architects who act as prostitutes. The willingness to compromise design ideas/morals and disregard context just to ensure a project is built and sold for maximum profit is shit.

Cafe Pamploma | Harvard Square, Cambridge

-Cute little cafe

Delicious coffee served in a tiny basement with a ceiling height of 5' -11". Floor plan is roughly a square of maybe 18' by 22' packed with many super duper smart Harvard undergrads. Ha.