CHICAGO STUDIO JOHN KNUTESON | SPRING 2013
CHICAGO STUDIO
CONTENTS 01DESIGN STUDIO
02 PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE 03 URBAN MAPPING MANUAL
5 7 9 21 27 35 51
67
DIAGRAM OF A TYPICAL PROJECT SCHEDULE
137
PROPOSAL FOR WILSON YARDS
77
PRACTITIONER INTERVIEWS INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ESSAY RESPONSE CODES & ETHICS INTERVIEW INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT ESSAY RESPONSE
145
VISION FOR UPTOWN
149
BUILDINGS, TEXTS, AND CONTEXTS ABSTRACT OUTLINE ARTICLE: JUNKLIFE
TEATRO VISTA INTRODUCTION SITE INFORMATION CONCEPT PROCESS DRAWINGS RENDERINGS
103
109
151 153 155
LECTURES
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DESIGN STUDIO TEATRO VISTA INTRODUCTION SITE INFORMATION PROCESS CONCEPT DRAWINGS RENDERINGS
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE MANUAL
INTRODUCTION This project was completed in the Spring of 2013 by architecture students in Virginia Tech’s Chicago Studio working with GREC Architects. It is part of a series of eight separate projects that attempt to understand and preserve the culture of Chicago’s Uptown through the adaptive re-use of existing buildings. Over the course of ten weeks, we engaged with the Uptown community through numerous interviews, site visits, and presentations. These investigations led us to an understanding of the strong Chicago theater community. This project specifically involves the renovation and adaptation of the existing Weinstein Funeral Home into a permanent home and theater facility for Teatro Vista, a community theater company dedicated to sharing Latino culture and bridging the gap between cultures The intent of this project is to provide Teatro Vista with a space that allows them to exercise their mission statement of cultural inclusion. The program includes a 149 seat main-stage thrust theater, a 60seat flexible black box theater, and related support spaces. In addition, the program includes a bar/ lounge and offices for full-time staff of Teatro Vista. We hope that this study will serve as a starting point for the realization of a permanent theater facility for Teatro Vista.
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DESIGN STUDIO
SITE INFORMATION The project site is the abandoned Weinstein Funeral Home located at 1300 West Devon Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. The site provides many opportunities for inspiring activity and growth in the area, as well as unifying the community and embracing the cultural diversity of the Devon Corridor.
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SITE INFORMATION
1 | Crypt 2 | Storage 3 | Reposing Room 4 | Family Room 5 | Chapel 6 | Display Room 7 | Offices 8 | Lobby 9 | Gathering Space
3
1
2
4 5
6 8 9 7
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DESIGN STUDIO
SOUTH FACADE
EAST FACADE
NORTH FACADE
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SITE INFORMATION
LOCATION
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DESIGN STUDIO
L A K E W O O D
W A Y N E
2
A V E N U E
A V E N U E
1
D E V O N
3
4
A V E N U E
1| 13,286 Sqft 2| 7,000 Sqft | 23 Parking Stalls 3| 8,000 Sqft | 24 Parking Stalls 4| 10,000 Sqft | 19 Parking Stalls 4 | $400,000 | 19 Parking Stalls 1+2+3 | $1,200,00 | 47 Parking Stalls 1+2+3+4 | $1,500,00 | 66 Parking Stalls
PROPERTY
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SITE INFORMATION
O TR A E
A ST
VI
T
SITE ACCESS Located near the active intersection of Sheridan and Broadway, the site is easily accessible by multiple bus routes, as well as the Loyola Red Line stop. Devon Avenue is characterized by heavy vehicle traffic, and with very little parking available beyond street parking itself, the property’s three parking lots represent a valuable asset for Teatro Vista.
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DESIGN STUDIO
SITE OPPORTUNITIES With a relatively close proximity to an already established theater presence in Rogers Park, Teatro Vista has the opportunity to benefit from a greater support network of other theater companies through regional season passes, shared audience base, and increased word of mouth. An abundance of restaurants along this stretch of Devon represents an incentive for audience members to spend time in the area before or after a show building a greater presence for the neighborhood.
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SITE INFORMATION
THEATERS
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DESIGN STUDIO
RESTAURANTS
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SITE INFORMATION
CULTURAL DIVERSITY The Devon corridor represents a diverse collection of cultural groups in its surrounding neighborhoods. Neighborhoods range from Russian American, Indian American, and Orthodox Jewish, to Pakistani, Hispanic, and Bangladeshi. This presents an opportunity for Teatro Vista to bridge multiple cultural perspectives through its own performance as well as an informal bar platform. The bar could be a chance for the neighborhood to share its perspective through poetry, music, storytelling, and other forms.
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DEVON AV
ENUE
BROAD WAY
CLA RK S T
REE T
DESIGN STUDIO
CLARK & BROADWAY: ACTIVITY The site is sandwiched between Clark and Broadway, two very active arteries in the City of Chicago. In contrast, this stretch of Devon lacks pedestrian activity due to multiple vacancies and open lots. Teatro Vista has the opportunity to redefine this section of Devon as the center of a Theater district and bridge the gap of activity between Clark and Broadway.
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PROCESS As a three-member group, we formulated a collaborative and iterative process of making design decisions. Most decisions were broken up in the form of schemes, explorations, or scale. Each one of these iterations was then passed off to another member of the team for further development. This created a much more productive and critical atmosphere.
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PROCESS
PRELIMINARY DIAGRAM AND PROGRAM STUDIES KNUTESON | 22
DESIGN STUDIO
SCHEMATIC ITERATIONS KNUTESON | 23
LECTURE
BAR AND LOUNGE ITERATIONS
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DESIGN STUDIO
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CONCEPT The concept for the theater itself is directly derived from the experience of the funeral home. In our analysis of the existing program, we discovered an articulated procession through the space, as the deceased is prepared and meets the attendees of the funeral service. A dramatized version of this procession can be found in theater, as the actor prepares for a performance, and meets the audience in a shared moment of mutual fantasy. The spaces leading up to the performance build anticipation and excitement, emphasize the performance itself, and afterwards, embody the memory of the performance.
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CONCEPT
CONCEPT DIAGRAM
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DESIGN STUDIO
AXONOMETRIC PROCESSION DIAGRAM
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CONCEPT
PROCESSION DIAGRAM
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DESIGN STUDIO
LIGHT DIAGRAM
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CONCEPT
FACADE
STRUCTURE
FLOOR PLANE
CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAMS
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DESIGN STUDIO
SOUND
OPENINGS
PLAN
CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAMS
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DRAWINGS
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DRAWINGS
W A Y N E A V E N U E
D E V O N
0
10
20
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40’
A V
DESIGNS STUDIO
L A K E W O O D A V E N U E
E N U E
SITE PLAN
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DRAWINGS
DRESS (Thrust) 255 sqft LOUNGE 650 sqft
DRESS (BB) 220 sqft TICKET BOOTH 80 sqft
GROUND FLOOR THRUST STAGE THEATER 148 Seats Fixed 20’x20’ Stage 5 | 5 Person Dressing Rooms
BLACK BOX THEATER 1140 sqft
BLACK BOX THEATER 16’x16’ Floor Space 59 Seats Temporary 4 | 4 Person Dressing Rooms BAR | LOUNGE 6’ x 8’ Stage 54 Seats Temporary 40’ Bar
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THRUST STAGE THEATER 2650 sqft
SCENE SHOP 320 sqft
BAR 990 sqft GREEN ROOM 170 sqft VESTIBULE 320 sqft REORIENT ROOM 250 sqft
DESIGN STUDIO
21’
16’
38’
9 8
7
30’
5
11’
6
53’
4
18’
2
3
1
50’
1 | Exterior Vestibule 2 | Re-Orientation Room 3 | Ticket Booth 4 | Bar 5 | Lounge 6 | Thrust-Stage 7 | Black Box 8 | Green Room 9 | Scene Shop
17’
45’
GROUND LEVEL
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DRAWINGS
REHEARSAL 625 sqft
SECOND FLOOR OFFICES 1 Dedicated Office 3 Work Stations
OFFICES 800 sqft
CONFERENCE
10
Seats
STORAGE 100 sqft
BLACK BOX THEATER
6’ x 12’ Lighting Booth Surrounding Balcony
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MECHANICAL 650 sqft
CONFERENCE 330 sqft
DESIGN STUDIO
20’
27’
38’
23’
1 30’
2 4
23’
3 5
15’
1 | Rehearsal Space 2 | Offices 3 | Conference 4 | Storage 5 | Mechanical
SECOND LEVEL
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DRAWINGS
Top of Screen 28’ 0” Top of Black Box 25’ 0”
Ceiling 18’ 0”
REHEARSAL Level 2 10’ 0”
0
5
10
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20’
DESIGN STUDIO
MEETING SPACE
BAR
LOUNGE
SECTION
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DRAWINGS
Top of Thrust Theater 26’ 0”
Bottom of Trusses 19’ 0”
Level 2 10’ 0”
0
5
MAIN STAGE
10
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20’
DESIGN STUDIO
OFFICES
REHEARSAL
BLACK BOX
SECTION
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DRAWINGS
Top of Thrust Theater 28’ 0”
Bottom of Trusses 19’ 0”
Level 2 10’ 0”
MAIN STAGE
0
5
10
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20’
DESIGN STUDIO
MEETING SPACE
BAR
LOUNGE
SECTION
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DRAWINGS
REHEARSAL SCENE SHOP
OFFICES
DRESS - W
0
5
10
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20’
DRESS - M
DESIGN STUDIO
Top of Black Box 25’ 0”
Bottom of Trusses 19’ 0”
Level 2 10’ 0”
BLACK BOX DRESS BLACK BOX
SECTION
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RENDERINGS A constant thread through the semester was the visualization of the design in the form of small renderings and vignettes. This mode of representation is, by its nature, sequential, and became an effective way of communicating the story of the building through procession. These, combined with more analytical section-perspectives, forced us to be critical about the adjacencies we were creating and the relation of each space to the others.
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DESIGN STUDIO
VIEW WEST OF DEVON AVENUE FROM BROADWAY
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RENDERINGS
COVERED LOTS
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DESIGN STUDIO
FACADE
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RENDERINGS
VESTIBULE
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DESIGN STUDIO
RE-ORIENTATION SPACE
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RENDERINGS
BAR
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DESIGN STUDIO
LOUNGE
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RENDERINGS
THEATER ENTRANCES
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DESIGN STUDIO
THRUST STAGE/BLACK BOX
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RENDERINGS
BACK-STAGE
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DESIGN STUDIO
EXIT INTO BAR
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PROPRACTICE MANUAL DIAGRAM OF A TYPICAL PROJECT SCHEDULE PRACTITIONER INTERVIEWS INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ESSAY RESPONSE CODES & ETHICS INTERVIEW INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT ESSAY RESPONSE LECTURES
TYPICAL PROJECT SCHEDULE
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
1PREDESIGN
2SCHEMATIC DESIGN
1-2 WEEKS
3DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 2-4 WEEKS
4BID 2-4 WEEKS
MEET WITH CLIENT DEVELOP PROGRAM SITE ANALYSIS FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS CHARRETTE DEVELOP PROJECT DESCRIPTION DEVELOP DESIGN CONCEPT SELECT MAIN SCHEME BASIC STRUCTURAL DESIGN DEVELOP PHASING PLAN LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS ESTABLISH PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS COMPILE SCHEMATIC DESIGN DOCUMENTS REFINE SCHEMATIC DESIGN SUB-CONSULTANTS BROUGHT ON MECHANICAL ELECTRICAL PLUMBING INVESTIGATE BUILDING SYSTEMS PRICING CODE EVALUATION ISSUE DOCUMENTS FOR BID BIDS SUBMITTED
CO ESTABLISH CLIENT NEEDS AND PRIORITIES, SCOPE OF WORK
CLIENT SIGNS OFF ON DESIGN
GENERATE MULTIPLE DESIGNS AND ALTERNATIVES
DETERMINE HIGHEST AND MOST ECONOMICAL USE FOR THE SITE
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER SELECTED AND CONSULTED
PROJECT NARROWED TO ONE SCHEME AND CONCEPT
ENSURE THAT CLIENT’S SUSTAINABILITY GOALS ARE BEING MET, CONSULT LEED CRITERIA
PARTICULARITIES OF STRUCTURE, ENVELOPE, AND ENCLOSURE RESOLVED
CONTRACTORS CAN BE BROUGHT ON, GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE ESTABLISHED (TIED TO CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS)
ADDITIONAL CONSULTANTS SELECTED, OUTSIDE DISCIPLINES RELIED ON HEAVILY DURING DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
TYPICAL PROJECT SCHEDULE DIAGRAM KNUTESON | 68
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE MANUAL
5CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS 1-2 WEEKS
6CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION 4-6 WEEKS
ONTRACTOR SELECTED DETAIL FINAL DESIGN DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED FOR PERMITTING EVALUATE PERFORMANCE RATINGS QUALITY CONTROL VALUE ENGINEERING SPECIFICATION WRITING PERMIT AWARDED
CONTRACTOR AND ARCHITECT COLLABORATE ON BUDGET SOLUTIONS
THERMAL, ACOUSTIC, AND FIRE RATINGS FINALIZED
IDEALLY OCCURS RIGHT BEFORE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON PROJECT
PROCESS SHOP DRAWINGS PROCESS RFI’S AND SUBMITTALS CONDUCT ON-SITE OBSERVATION SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION SUBMIT RECORD DOCUMENTS PUNCHING POST-OCCUPANCY
TIMELINE: 7 DAYS FOR RFI’S, 14 DAYS FOR SUBMITTALS
BUILDING INSPECTED AND CLEARED FOR OCCUPANCY RECORD OF SIGNIFICANT DESIGN CHANGES OR RESOLVED ISSUES
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
PRE-DESIGN 1-2 WEEKS
MEET WITH CLIENT DEVELOP PROGRAM SITE ANALYSIS FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS CHARRETTE
ESTABLISH CLIENT NEEDS AND PRIORITIES, SCOPE OF WORK
GENERATE MULTIPLE DESIGNS AND ALTERNATIVES
DETERMINE HIGHEST AND MOST ECONOMICAL USE FOR THE SITE
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PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE MANUAL
SCHEMATIC DESIGN 2-4 WEEKS
DEVELOP PROJECT DESCRIPTION DEVELOP DESIGN CONCEPT SELECT MAIN SCHEME BASIC STRUCTURAL DESIGN DEVELOP PHASING PLAN LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS ESTABLISH PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS COMPILE SCHEMATIC DESIGN DOCUMENTS
CLIENT SIGNS OFF ON DESIGN
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER SELECTED AND CONSULTED
ENSURE THAT CLIENT’S SUSTAINABILIT Y GOALS ARE BEING MET, CONSULT LEED CRITERIA
PROJECT NARROWED TO ONE SCHEME AND CONCEPT
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 2-4 WEEKS
REFINE SCHEMATIC DESIGN SUB-CONSULTANTS BROUGHT ON MECHANICAL ELECTRICAL PLUMBING INVESTIGATE BUILDING SYSTEMS PRICING CODE EVALUATION ISSUE DOCUMENTS FOR BID
PARTICULARITIES OF STRUCTURE, ENVELOPE, AND ENCLOSURE RESOLVED ADDITIONAL CONSULTANTS SELECTED, OUTSIDE DISCIPLINES RELIED ON HEAVILY DURING DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
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CONTRACTORS CAN BE BROUGHT ON, GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE ESTABLISHED (TIED TO CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS)
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE MANUAL
BID 1-2 WEEKS
ISSUE DOCUMENTS FOR BID BIDS SUBMITTED SELECTION MADE
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS 4-6 WEEKS
DETAIL FINAL DESIGN DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED FOR PERMITTING EVALUATE PERFORMANCE RATINGS QUALITY CONTROL VALUE ENGINEERING SPECIFICATION WRITING PERMIT AWARDED
CONTRACTOR AND ARCHITECT COLLABORATE ON BUDGET SOLUTIONS THERMAL, ACOUSTIC, AND FIRE RATINGS FINALIZED
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IDEALLY OCCURS RIGHT BEFORE CONSTRUCTIO N BEGINS ON PROJECT
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE MANUAL
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
PROCESS SHOP DRAWINGS PROCESS RFI’S AND SUBMITTALS CONDUCT ON-SITE OBSERVATION SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION SUBMIT RECORD DOCUMENTS PUNCHING POST-OCCUPANCY
TIMELINE: 7 DAYS FOR RFI’S, 14 DAYS FOR SUBMITTALS
BUILDING INSPECTED AND CLEARED FOR OCCUPANCY RECORD OF SIGNIFICANT DESIGN CHANGES OR RESOLVED ISSUES
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PRACTITIONER INTERVIEWS
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PRACTITIONER INTERVIEWS
ASHLEY MARSH SENIOR ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - OPEN HAND STUDIO CANNON DESIGN
“What is behind most of the successful and interesting practices that I see now...[is] a real desire to be creatively proactive.”
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PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE MANUAL
The first question I have for you is what interested you in architecture and why you chose to enter that field, and more specifically, what led you too designing for social impact? I was really good at math and I loved to draw so I decided on architecture. That was probably the first step in discovering the things I could do as an architect. I definitely grew up in a service community where we did a lot of service work, and that was something that carried through college. I did undergrad at the University of Illinois-Champaign, and did work in a struggling community-located in a flood plane. Champaign had an outreach project for that, placing workers on the ground and trying to resolve issues. That was a good start. And this was through architecture? Architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture all had a part. I think a lot of times the university has bigger service initiatives, but this was definitely built-environment based. That was a minor thing. But then I went to Washington University. My second year, they hired a new Dean (the old Dean had retired). Bruce Lindsey, before he came to Wash U had been at Auburn (which is in the rural community) basically, not too long after the Rural Studio was founded, and had a lot to do with establishing that program. So he had an inherent mentality about how architecture could impact society. I did a community studio that I worked with social work students, civil engineers, psychologists, architects and planners and we built a community development plan in my second year of grad school, so that was really exciting. Opportunities like that which definitely opened up my mind to it. it was really engaged in the community and pretty uniquely situated in a rough part of town. I think what really got me into social impact was being more concerned about the profession as a whole. I enjoyed seeing what practitioners were doing out in the world as a really viable and sustainable option for architects. What kinds of groups or organizations do you see as a good model for social impact in architecture? I saw groups like SHOP as firms that I really admire,
because they really flipped the traditional mode of practice on its head. They were really interested in trying to completely change the way that architects look at their services. They took the approach that they would become more of the builder and be more engaged in the building outcome, to the point that they were running the fabrication strategy for certain components of their buildings. As a result, they ended up completely re-writing their contracts, at this point the AIA and most architecture firms were starting to think, “We’re going to have other people do all the really hard things, architects are supposed to be managers, because we didn’t want to have too much risk on our plate. Whereas, SHOP was saying “No, we want to control all of this, because we want to have the capacity to do really cool fabrication techniques that we want to do. We want to do architecture in communities that we can’t really reach, because if they have more control, if they can do it faster and cheaper, then they can do crazy things and not have to do cutting and cost saving. So right now, the Barclay Center for example, they had one guy on SHOP’S team hired by the fabrication during construction to manage all of the fabrication panels, and generate the digital model and output for the fabricator. They’re doing high-end stuff that, usually, architects would say no to. Usually, architects would pass the drawings off to the contract to figure out, but SHOP said, “oh no, we can help do this.” And they got paid for it in the end. So that’s a really long way of saying the traditional architectural production mode is not working, and we need to think about it differently. Did you ever attempt to get involved with a firm like SHOP, that was already involved in that process, or was it a goal to start that process somewhere else? I had interned at Cannon in between grad school years, and the reason I was so attracted to an internship here in the first place is because people were really nice. People were really happy to be here, people were really proud of what they were doing here, and so when I finished grad school, they offered for me to come back. It was in a time before the economy tanked that it was super easyto get a job, so I decided to come back because of the people.
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LECTURE
How did you decide to start Open Hand Studio at Cannon and what was the process of going about doing that? I started small in the firm by doing things that connect us. I would go around and ask people, “Oh, do you think we should try this?” and let people be involved, and it ended up having a trickle-down effect in the firm with more and more people being interested and involved. I didn’t have any agenda to make this happen here, because I never would have thought it was possible. But once I started putting myself out there, the people in the firm began to learn more about Open Hand and associate me with the organization. What are the advantages of being in a large firm like Cannon, versus your own firm where you may have more freedom in the types of jobs you take on? Definitely one of the main advantages are the resources. You know, we have a whole library here that is full of resources that I can use. It doesn’t have everything, but it has a lot of information, and more importantly, this is the kind of environment where I am encouraged to explore those different kinds of things that I am interested, which was a huge part of getting Open Hand started. The people are another great resource, which is something that I think sometimes gets overlooked. So do you see other firms following suit? Is this a larger initiative within the field of architecture? There are definitely other firms looking into the same kinds of things. I know HOK also has a social design group. I don’t want to disparage other efforts, it’s really great to see this issue catching on. But I think the way a lot of firms approach social design is the kind of shock and awe approach. They want to do one or two big projects a year and say “Look at this great thing we did.” And that’s perfectly fine. I would say Open Hand is unique in attempting to really impact the community in our own backyard. There are more pro-bono movements catching on, using that shared=value model we talked about. I would love to see something start happening overseas, but obviously it’s a little difficult for us to
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get things going in the other half of the world. What are the ways in which Cannon has influenced your personal work as well as that of Open Hand Studio? Like I mentioned earlier, the trickle-down effect is a huge part of working in a large firm and was really how Open Hand Studio got started. Of course, there’s always the sharing ideas, which can be really positive and allows the work to infiltrate in the firm. That has been a great way to get the word out for Open Hand. For example, a few years ago I put together a strategic plan for Open Hand Studio that really outlined our goals, planning for the future, capital, etc. Well, Cannon recently went through a phase where we basically renewed our identity and re-adjusted our goals, and it was basically the same as the plan I had put together. I mean, I could be really offended by that, but it is actually really positive and affirming. It’s really cool to see something that you’ve done and worked on valued and come back later. I mean, it’s five years later and they saw value in that strategic plan. That’s what’s so great about Cannon is that it really is a community of people who are proud of their work and interested in design. In that way it’s awesome to see your work pop up somewhere else, because it means that what I’m doing is valued and I’m contributing. While we’re on this subject, I’m curious about your thoughts on personal ownership in architectural education. Is this something that is emphasized too much? There’s always going to be this idea of “my own work” and taking pride in that. But in reality, you are never going to have the knowledge or expertise to work on your own. Right now, I am a project lead for -- we’re doing a master plan for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, so I’m doing a bunch of different things, and I need to know who to reach out to for expertise, that’s just part of being in a large firm. This current project involves nine to ten different individuals, and they all have a part in the final product. Here’s an example -- I worked with Randy [Guillot] on a team for an eco-structures
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE MANUAL
project. It was all Randy’s design, but it was one of those crazy designs that requires a large team of people to figure out. The design won an award, and Randy (obviously) got the recognition for it, but he took the time to send each member of the team a note saying how sorry he was that their names didn’t get recognition. Well nobody was upset, because it was Randy’s design and he deserved the award for it. I want to get back to the technical side of your job a little bit -- What specifically is your position and role within the firm? First of all, the way Cannon is organized -- there are various levels of architects. There is a number associated with your title, so architect one through five, that represents a skill level. So youcan ascend through the firm based on your skill. So in that respect I’m a three. There’s another level that has to do with your level of ownership within the firm. That is the Junior, Senior, all the way through President component. So I am a Senior Associate. Right now, I am a project lead, so my time is really divided between different tasks. One day, I might spend the whole day doing conceptual design and laying out buildings, and another day I might spend hours in Excel.
different things. It’s really educational. At a certain point, it might seem like working on construction drawings, or working on schedules in Excel might be really boring, but they are all parts of the design that I get to have a hand in, and that’s exciting. Any advice for this generation of architects? Absolutely -- well one piece of advice I have is do what you know is right. You can ask forgiveness later. In the world of social impact, you know a lot of these organizations wouldn’t have been successful if they had waited around for someone to tell them it’s ok. Really charge forward and do what inspires you. And that leads me to the next piece of advice, and that is really be a thought provoker. That’s what is behind most of the successful and interesting practices that I see now, a real desire to be creatively proactive. That’s what moves the profession forward, and you guys are the next generation to take that on, so really strive for that. ■
So what is the breakdown of your time as Director of Open Hand, and what kind of tasks do you do on a day-to-day basis? Well, it’s important to remember that Open Hand Studio isn’t an actual studio. It’s a volunteer activity, but it doesn’t bring in any money. So that dictates a lot of my time. I probably spend 10-20 hours a week on Open Hand Studio. I would say that I’m at a transition point in my career where I would like to make that a higher number. Right now, I’m in the Higher Education/k-12 studio at Cannon. Like I said earlier, my time in that regard is very divided. So what would you say is your favorite part of your job? One of the best parts of my job is the variety. I think a lot of times in a larger firm it’s easy to get stuck doing the same task. I get to work on so many
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PRACTITIONER INTERVIEWS
DONALD COPPER PRINCIPAL G|R|E|C ARCHITECTS
“Architecture is all about the experience.”
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PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE MANUAL
To start, one of the things me and my peers have admired most about you is your attitude toward critiquing. How do you approach presenting your work in practice? I think it’s really important to keep a level of objectivity in criticism. My job as the reviewer is not to agree or disagree with your decisions. It is to point out what you may have overlooked in the design process. After all, that is the definition of teaching. It is to point something out to you that you may not know, and so part of that is to also pointing out the strengths of the project. I have always been of the opinion that presenting should be a conversation. At the last review, I encountered a conversation where one of the reviewers was talking to the students about a project, and saying something along the lines of “this is wrong,” or “I don’t agree with you.” And I don’t think that that’s helpful. At that point the conversation has become about the person and not about the work. Now it is then your job to take that criticism and make decisions based on the feedback you received. But arguing over the process or the product is not helpful in teaching someone how to design. So what got you interested in architecture and design in the first place? I have always been interested in creating and the creative act, so that’s what I brought into my education. First of all, and I don’t recommend doing this, but I managed to avoid a lot of the technical classes in school, so the math and structures and all those kinds of things, because I wanted to shape my education and focus more on the things I was interested in, like designing and the artistic/ conceptual side. I know you’re an artist, so in what ways has that influenced your career and work as an architect? I guess the most direct connection is through the act of representation and drawing. But over the past few years I have began to change even the way I paint in a way that is less representational and
more emotive or mood-evoking. One of the artists I really admire is Joan Mitchell -- they have one of her works on display in the modern wing of the art institute -- and standing in front of it just makes you feel like you’re standing by Lake Michigan and feeling the breeze, and I really think that was all she was trying to convey. It is about her feeling something and using painting as a way to express it. In that way I think music can relate as well. I admire the work of a lot of the French romantic composers, people like Debussy or Ravel, whose music is all about evoking a feeling. I think a lot of times we let the intellectual get in the way of how we experience art. This is why it’s a lot different to view a piece of art on your own. When there’s a group of people, you somehow feel the pressure to say or feel something profound, when in actuality the painting exists to express a feeling. It is much the same in architecture. I have long been a believer that architecture is all about the experience, and is a tool for creating a feeling -- and this is where I think your [studio] project comes close to what I’m talking about, because it is all about the space and the feeling that space conveys. Lately, I have been wondering if there is a way of making architecture the same way that I paint. That is, not concerned about traditional means of construction or traditional architectural elements like columns and stairs, but completely focused on the experience, much like a painting is focused on the experience. This may be controversial to many in my field, but I have been thinking that maybe architecture is not an art. Not to decrease architecture in any way, but it has a whole different set of parameters than art. Art is a direct expression, with the artist’s actions directly influencing the product. In our field, we have to spend so much time planning out the thing we are creating, drawing it, modeling it, putting together a set of working drawings, that it becomes something else. In what ways did your personal education and experience influence the way you look at the profession? First, I think all of us in the office constantly look to Cowgill as not just an educational model, but
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a model of how a successful practice can work. That’s why our office is set up the way it is. We can to encourage people to share ideas and interact. I think I mentioned this in a previous lecture, but I had the opportunity to study in London for a semester, and the thing that struck me most about the structure there is that everybody strove to study with these renowned architects, and all of their work looked exactly the same. I always go back to Cowgill as this sort of dynamic atmosphere that really engages the design process. I also think that architects constantly need to actively be searching for ways to broaden their horizons, and this is the way you can make the most of your education. One of the best pieces of advice I got in school -- and I have an anecdote to go along with this -- came from Donna Dunay. When I was in school, we had a lecture from a guy about inflatable architecture -- that was a trend back then. So we took a class with this guy, and it was one of those things where we were out on the duck pond walking around in these giant inflatable enclosures and that kind of thing. So as part of this class, me and about five other students developed this concept for an interactive theater production using this inflatable technology. One of the guys was a theatre major, so he wrote a script, and we rehearsed (we were all the actors). So we set the thing up in Cowgill -- where the library is now, and invited guests and reviewers. We were all inside this bubble, and as it started inflating, we started acting out the show, so it started expanding and filling the room, and it was really interesting to see the reactions. We managed to get everyone engaged, and by the end it was met with pretty positive criticism. But as we were discussing the project, Donna, who was responsible for my grade, approached me and said, “you know, now you have to present this to someone outside the field of architecture, and I’m not giving you a grade until you do.” So we did our research, and contacted a man in New York by the name of Robert Schechner, who was a leader in experimental theatre at the time, and he invited us to his office to present our project. So we packed everything up and headed up to New York -- this was an incredible opportunity because this guy was a big deal in the performance industry, and we went to his office and presented to his entire office.
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It was funny because they were much more into it than the audience in Blacksburg, most of them were interacting with the set and coming up and touching it and engaging with it. And afterwards, we sat down and Schechner reviewed the work and we had a conversation. So this is all a really long way of saying you have to find what you enjoy, really test it, and bring that knowledge back to architecture. Considering your open and multi-disciplinary approach, how does this impact the way you interact with clients who are outside of the design field? I will admit that I am not the best at client interaction, because it is something that I really have to work at. But the important thing to remember with clients is that you have to find the thing that they are interested in and gain their trust that way. So finding an angle is really important. For me, I always find that I can use my sense of humor to get the clients to open up somewhat. I may not be the funniest, but it can be a relate and show that you have some knowledge of a topic that they care about. In that sense, we need to have a really broad knowledge of a lot of different topics, and that’s where having the three of us [principals] is really beneficial, because we can each handle relationships that the others aren’t comfortable with. Can you talk a little bit about working as a group, both within GREC and in practice in general? Well, it really goes back to what I was saying earlier about reviewing. It is really important to be able to identify strengths of the team and the individuals and use them. Communication and communication of ideas is also really important. I think that’s something that I’ve been missing from the studio this year, and maybe it’s a product of the presentation format, but there seems to be a hesitation to depart from the format, and as a result it’s a little bit difficult to understand some of the projects. Part of communicating the work is opening up different ways of presenting information. It makes for a much more engaging conversation. For example, I think many of the groups could have benefitted from fewer slides and a slower pace than the given presentation format. Or there are some groups that
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could have benefitted from no slides at all. Finally, do you have any advice for the group to take into next year and the beginnings of a career? In terms of the thesis project, my advice would be to not be limited by “rules.” As I was saying, it is really important and beneficial to the profession to have outside voices and interests involved in design. So again, find something that you enjoy doing and bring that back to design. You know, this is your last year to be in school. Don’t be limited by what the project needs to be, let the project be what it can be. I think this can continue into your professional career, as well...find that thing that you really enjoy doing, for me, it’s art, it could be music, a number of things, and allow that to impact and inspire your design. ■
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CHIP VON WEISE PRINCIPAL LEAD DESIGNER VON WEISE ASSOCIATES
“Architecture -- actually everyone -- is struggling with the explosion of information.”
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When did you first become interested in architecture and consider it as a career? I didn’t become interested in architecture probably until my senior year of college. My advisor was a painter, so I was exposed to art and art history with a strong connection to architecture, so that’s when I first gained an appreciation for it. I didn’t take any science or math in college, mainly because I tested out of it, I took AP’s. Right out of college, I got involved in advertising, so I actually got some design exposure there. But really my first experience with architecture was, I had a friend renovating a loft in Bucktown, so he asked me to come help him on that. Of course I wasn’t designing a whole lot, but that was my first hands-on experience with architecture. Before that, I had always thought I wanted a job in art, in curation. At one point, I got a call from Northwestern University, to work at their gallery there, which is actually a really nice gallery. So I went and interviewed, and toured the facility, and immediately decided that’s not what I wanted to do. I wanted a job that was creative. So I decided to go to architecture school, got in, and the first year I almost quit because I thought I was wrong, because I had absolutely no experience designing. I was good at drawing. Out of my graduate class, we only had one architecture grad. I actually got an internship during grad school, and that was a great experience. Essentially all I was doing was building models, but I was creating something and I was engaged in the design process. You talked a lot in your lecture about technology and your practice. Can you describe how you handle production technology development (such as BIM) in your office? We are actually usually an early adopter of new technology. For example, we were one of the first firms to have Rhino in-house. I really appreciate the power of the computer as a tool. For a lot of people, it is a very quick way to visualize a design and get inside of it. BIM is another question, mainly because I don’t think it works with our process or our projects. We work much better with sketchup and physical models, because they give us a lot more information quickly. What BIM does is it forces you to make a lot of decisions really quickly,
and a lot of times it just ends up looking clunky. Do you know what I’m talking about? Have you ever seen a rendered BIM model? They just look clunky. They have a ton of materials just slapped on, out of scale. So for us, it doesn’t work because we don’t do everything standard. Now, in an office where you’re doing a lot of high-rise residential and commercial construction, and you need to be able to lay out a typical floor plan and have a million of them, then BIM gets to be beneficial, because it accomplishes that quickly. Architecture -- actually everyone -- is struggling with the explosion of information. It’s everywhere, the internet for example -- I can go online and find information about practically anything I want. In fact, it gives me more information than is useful. But now my lawyer tells me that I can’t use any of that and do my own research. Because if I do research, then it’s my liability. That’s the thing about BIM -- it gives me more information than is useful for design. It is useful in a production sense, because I can build the model and then cut practically any drawing I want from that same model. So we don’t have to spend as much time doing construction drawings. We still pretty much operate in AutoCAD in the office. So how do you see this translating to education? What’s interesting is that in general, education is very slow to respond. Over the last ten years even, the practice has changed drastically, but there has been almost no change in education. So there isn’t a direct relationship to what we produce and how we teach. What do you think could be improved in education and training? Right now I see a lot of group- and team-work happening in education, which can be good and bad. In practice, you’re never working on a project alone. But for example when I was in school, I never worked on a group project. All of our projects were individual. And I think that’s because it forces you to develop a wide range of skills to use in your career. When people do group work, they tend to find that thing they’re good at and do only that. And that doesn’t help you develop a broad spectrum of skills for the workplace.
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Can you talk a little bit about the firm environment? As a small firm, do you feel the need to specialize, or is every member pretty versatile in terms of work? I tend to be a generalist over a specialist. So I want to have my hand in every aspect of the design process, and that’s pretty much the way the firm operates too. I want people to have a wide range of skills because they could be jumping in on a project at any point. Now there are some disadvantages to that. If we are not experts in something, then we have to hire consultants. Either we have to hire consultants, or “brush-up” ourselves, which takes time. So there’s a cost there. That’s one of the great things about practicing in Chicago, though, is you’re surrounded by resources, probably unparalleled by anywhere else in the country. So have you only ever practiced in Chicago? No, I practiced in Boston for a little while as well. What were some of the differences? Did you find resources more difficult to find in Boston? Well it’s a very different design environment. I would say that Boston has a lot more firms like us who are smaller and interested in good design. There are also a lot of practitioners who teach. There are five architecture programs in Boston, and a lot of people with Ivy league degrees out there. So that makes a big difference in starting practice, because there are a lot more social contacts in the schools. But in Chicago, it’s a lot easier to meet people and form a client base. Can you describe what your typical day-to-day tasks are? I do a lot of e-mail. That typically takes up a huge chunk of my days, communicating with clients, contractors, vendors, businesses. Other than that, in the office I can be working on marketing keeping up the image of the firm. We just re-did our website to more of a continuous feed with updates about our work, so people can get a sense of what we’re doing and what our process is. We also have a facebook page that we keep, all of these are a
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constant effort to stay connected to our clients and keep them in the loops. Most of the jobs we acquire are by word-of-mouth, references. So we have to be...diligent about maintaining those relationships. I also spend a lot of time going around and talking to and catching up with project managers. All of the “design” typically happens after hours. Most of my time in the office is spent managing and overseeing projects. For example, I stayed up until 11:00 last night working on this elevation [reference to drawing]. Usually I don’t get the chance to sit down and draw in the office. Speaking of drawing, there seems to be an emphasis on hand-drawing in your office. I do a lot of hand drawing. I am a firm believer that the hand is smarter than the brain. Sometimes, it’s much faster to communicate by hand than the computer, because the computer wants us to think about it. It wants an exact number. When I’m drawing by hand, I can use my intuition and what I know about buildings to get a pretty close estimation. It may not be perfect, but it communicates the idea. Do many people in the office work by hand? And what is the process of then transferring the drawing to the computer. Most of where I’m involved in the process is the programming, conceptual design phase, so that’s why I draw by hand, because it doesn’t need to be completely accurate. What we’re going for is a malleable design process. The more you involve the client, the more versatile the design needs to be. If we put everything in the computer, it becomes much more difficult to go back and make changes to the design. The hand drawing allows the client to feel more involved in the actual design. Most of the time, the drawings I do will get handed off to somebody else to put in the computer. A lot of times, we’ll actually take the hand drawing and put some texture on it and dress it up, like this one [refers to drawing]. But a lot of times, it’s a quick drawing of a molding detail or something, and that will go into AutoCAD. Going back to the office environment a little bit, what are the specific skills that you look for in
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people you bring on to your team? Well first, I want people who are pretty good at a wide range of skills. We aren’t large enough to have multiple studios, so everybody has to be comfortable with working on and leading a project. That’s why the very first thing that I work on with any of the guys is process management and client communication and management. You have to be able to interact with the client and control the process. What would you say is your favorite part of your job, and what gives you satisfaction? Well, it’s all part of the process, it’s all part of the design process. Obviously, I love designing, that’s why we all want to become architects. That’s the ego/vanity side of it, the design satisfaction. The client component is simultaneously my most and least favorite part. It is a lot of work, and you have to get used to the fact that you are never smarter than the client. Even when you are smarter than the client, you are never smarter than the client. You have to remember that it is their vision that you are helping to fulfill. But there is nothing like when you get to the end of a project, and suddenly they start getting really excited about the project and the work, because you have involved them and they have had a part in the design. The tangible object has value to the client and much more than the client. That’s the real fulfillment of the profession, and unfortunately, you won’t feel that until you have built something you designed. ■
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EVAN THOMAS OWNER PHOTOGRAPHER STUDIO THOMAS
“It’s important to remember that you’re showing somebody else’s work. It’s not about that fact that they did it, it’s the fact that it to some degree represents them.”
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How did you first become interested in architecture, and what made you decide to make the switch to photography? Probably in high school. I considered engineering and architecture, and I picked architecture just because it seemed like more fun. In first year I had a professor named Jay Stokel -- I’m not sure if he’s still around -- and he made us photograph all of our projects. That was the first time I really got interested in photography and learned how to actually use it. I eventually graduated to making my own cameras in studio, pinhole and even film. I also got a job with the newspaper as a photo editor. At that point, I began just taking every photography class that I could across the University. I literally think that I took every single photography class that was available, even in other schools and majors. I really began to focus my education toward that. So I went into my thesis year, and ended up having to stay the summer. And unfortunately, but the time I was getting out of the school was right around September 11, so the job market just came to a halt. I mean I turned my project in that weekend and that same exact week was when the attack happened. I decided to come out to Chicago and started sending my resume around. I got a response and started out at Hedrich Blessing, which is a huge architectural photography firm in Chicago. So what made you decide to leave and start your own studio? Well I got married and had a kid, and at that point I decided that I couldn’t work on somebody else’s schedule any more. If you’re an assistant, you’re pretty much dependent on somebody else’s work and schedule, and I needed something much more flexible.
at weddings, because she knows exactly how to capture the emotion of the people, I mean she can get their faces exactly at the right moment. And that’s a skill you have to develop. So how do you market yourself to firms? It’s basically all word-of-mouth, with very little advertising. People begin to know you and know what to expect from your work. Most times the larger firms will have a relationship with one photographer. Eventually, you get to know their work and know how they want it photographed, what they’re trying to sell. You begin to have a steady vision that’s consistent with their work. Jumping off from that, we have talked to a lot of people about the client relationship this semester, what is it like having the architect as the client? It is definitely helpful that we share a language. What you really want to do is work to get the story from them. What is it that they want to share? Essentially, you are telling the story for them through your photographs. It’s really helpful scouting projects with the client, because you get to see exactly what their intent was and walk through the design with them. You get a real sense of how they see the design. So who are you communicating with on projects? Well it’s really dependent on the size of the firm. With a smaller firm, you may be working directly with the designer. In larger firms, you’re looking at probably working with the project architect and at least one other marketing person.
What is the model for that? Do most photographers just focus on one thing?
Do you work alone? And is this job something you can or would prefer to do alone?
I would say that most photographers just focus on one thing, because there’s a different knowledge involved in different types of photography. I do photos for friends as well, weddings, etc. But usually you would specialize specifically in events or something. I have a friend who is very successful
In terms of the shooting? For shooting, but really for all aspects of your career. I guess I can do it alone, but I prefer not to. Most
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of the time I’m going to have an assistant on site to handle details like lighting and save a lot of time, so I’m not running back and forth trying to fix minor things, and also just to have another pair of eyes on the shoot. For example, there are a lot of little details that you wouldn’t thing would matter, but make a big difference in the composition. Things like, you want to be able to see all four legs of a chair. If you don’t see four legs in the final product, it just feels unsettling. That’s something that’s a lot easier to fix in the shoot, rather than post-production, but I don’t always catch when I’m shooting.
that really focuses on sharing ideas between photographers. I’m trying to think if there are others -- National Geographic is always fun to look at, but always seem over-produced. Of course, with the internet now you can practically find anything. There are a lot of resources out there -- like Flickr, for example, where you can go and search and find photos of practically anything you want.
Does that mean that you have permanent staff, or is it a case-by-case basis?
For me, clients always respect that I work with and respect their budgets. In presenting my work, I always try to portray the highest quality that I can possibly give to a client. I try to keep everything very clean. It’s important to remember that you’re showing somebody else’s work. It’s not about that fact that they did it, it’s the fact that it to some degree represents them. So you have to be very careful to make sure that what you are producing is an accurate reflection of your client. I always try to clarify to my clients that it is about quality, not quantity. There is a big difference there.
It’s all pretty much free-lance based. I have developed a group of people that I consistently go to for jobs, though. Do assistants specialize? Do you have particular people you go to for specific projects? Assistants usually have a pretty broad knowledge of architecture. As long as you know basics of lighting and exposure, you know enough to be a good assistant. What I mainly look for is an ability to solve problems. I need somebody who I can feel confident will catch things or see things that I might miss. I need to really be able to trust them. Who do you learn from and who inspires your work? There are a lot of photographers that I look to...one I’ve been looking at recently is Esto Group out of New York City. They’re fashion photographers, so they really bring that side of photography to their architecture photographs as well, which is really exciting. I also look at a lot of portrait photographers. Are there a lot of resources out there for photographers, like there are in architecture? Well, most of it is online based. There is Aperture magazine, which is geared specifically toward photographers. There is also Magnum photo group, which is another photography agency with several members within the professional community,
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How do you set yourself apart from others and what of your work to you try to present to clients?
How is your time divided between daily tasks? I spend a lot of time talking to clients. As I said, it’s about making sure that you are providing an accurate representation of the client. I spend a lot of time making sure that the story I’m telling is the right story. With the actual photography, I spend a lot of time and I’m very meticulous when I’m shooting. It’s time consuming, but I want to make sure that everything is clean and as good as it can get on site. I try to limit post-production because that begins to paint a less accurate picture. There are sometimes when it is necessary. I can think of an example when I was working for a client that did a lot of medical work, and they wanted to photograph a new facility. We were working in the MRI room, which had a lot of vertical panels, and every time there was a door, they would dip down. From the perspective we shot, it actually distorted the space and made it look like the ceiling was moving up and down. So we had to spend a lot of time in post production fixing that, because it wasn’t the story the client was trying to tell, it didn’t represent the
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work the way they wanted people to see it. As a discipline that is consistently affected by technology, how have changes in technology influenced your practice? Well of course, there’s always the constant churn of the camera. Every 18 months or so there’s a new model or piece of equipment that is coming out. On the computer end, I have to really keep up with each new generation of software. Every time Adobe produces a new generation, I spend quite a bit of time learning how to use it and making sure I’m familiar with the capabilities. How critical do you find it to constantly be on top of post-production tools, especially since you try to limit the amount of editting you do? It’s really important to stay on top of it. Usually the differences are minimal, but it’s hard to stay relevant if you don’t know how to use them, and it adds up. The clients take notice. Where do you see yourself in five years? Well, I can tell you that I would like to be shooting a lot more than I am now. I would also like to be teaching somewhere. Whether it’s something along the lines of the workshop that I did with you guys, or actually teaching in a classroom or program somewhere. Is that something that would require you to pursue further education? You need an Master of Fine Arts to teach, so I would need to go back to school. And hopefully find a program that allows flexibility. ■
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ADAM WHIPPLE OWNER PROJECT MANAGER NEWCASTLE LIMITED REAL ESTATE
“I am not responsible when a building goes well, but I get satisfaction knowing that I have had a part in it.”
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What first got you interested in architecture? I think part of it was that I had already had relatives in architecture, so I was always exposed to it. I probably got really interested around high school. I had always been intrigued by this tectnonic component to architecture, and the broadness of it. I felt like if I went into architecture I could do almost anything with it. What happened in your education to change your mind? First, I think my suspicions were confirmed in the broadness of just the different things you are exposed to. It always struck me as odd that the design studio became the most important. It just seemed so disproportionately weighted to any other class. I mean, does that really make sense? It seemed like you had to be failing practically all of your classes to get an ‘A’ in studio. I think another part of it was just a general lack of inspiring people. When I was in grad school at Harvard I was surrounded by and took classes from a lot of people who were supposedly the most successful architects, and the classes were just so boring. Moneo was one of them, really successful, but the class was so uninspiring. That’s where I draw the difference between a successful teacher and a successful professor. I need to work in an environment with exposure to a variety of different things. Enterring practice, I got really frustrated because I found that most of the time, I was spending half of the time doing design, and half of the time doing paperwork and nonsense. Have you found that in your current line of work? Are there more inspirational people and processes? Would you still consider it architecture? Well, I think now I wouldn’t consider what I do designing, necessarily. I am constantly making design decisions, but it doesn’t all come together in one big design, that’s not the point. To that point, what are your day-to-day tasks? How much time would you say you spend “designing?”
I mean I am constantly making design decisions on projects every day. When I’m not, most of the other time is taken up by tasks like writing contracts, negotiations, follow-ups, and those sort of things that just come with the business. The beauty is that in this mode of work, we no longer have clients. We are the client. The difference is the liability. We no longer have the liability to the owner to produce the design. In a way, we are making our own work. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the typical RFI (Request for Information) process in an architecture firm, but basically what happens is the sub-contractors will submit their RFI’s to the general contractor, who then submits them to the architect, who is responsible for sending them out to the appropriate consultant. There’s just so much red tape and no one-on-one coordination. It’s an essentially flawed process. That’s where development is great because we are freed up and able to make our own decisions, because it is our own property. Looking at your background, I know you have worked for a lot of large corporate firms such as SCB and SOM, do you think your outlook would be different if you had worked for more smaller firms? Well the process is definitely different in smaller firms. You may have one person who is serving several roles on a project team. However there is still always a need to consult the client or principal. There is never a direct flow of communication. How is the actual design product different in the developer market? It’s like I said, we are not responsible to a client. We are the client. Instead, you’re designing for a specific market or demographic and meeting their needs. So in a way we still have a customer, but there’s less liability. We look to the needs of that demographic, but it is up to us to decide what the best solution for them is. There is a shift in value. I would say that I am definitely more cognizant of costs in the design process, because I am my own client, and that is our money going out the door. So all these different aspects of design that typically get overlooked become a lot more clear. That’s why it’s
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important to differentiate between somebody who appreciates design and somebody who just hires someone to throw some plans at them. We ensure that we are consistently in control of the design process. There seems to be a pretty large disconnect between developers and architects in the design world, but it also seems like some of the objectives are very similar. Where do you think this stigma originated? I think it’s really just a matter of the two groups don’t really have a firm grasp on the other group’s goals. It’s just a matter of who you’re responding to. I think the client relationship is secretly something architects really appreciate. It’s something to respond to. Without it, there wouldn’t really be any kind of limitation or restraint. We are doing the same thing, just responding to a different need and in a different way really. I think a successful developer/architecture relationship could be much more collaborative, establishing everybody’s goals and interests from the start. I am a little bit unfamiliar with development, can you briefly explain process of acquiring and designing a project? Sure, as developers we are constantly looking for assets to buy or land to develop (preferably assets to buy, because that means there is a cash-flow from the beginning to fund the design and construction). From there, we look at how we want to reposition the asset. For instance, if it’s retail, what kind of tenant do we want to attract? And that allows us to make a plan for purchase and repositioning. Out of all these aspects of the process, what gives you job satisfaction? There is definitely excitement in seeing the plan come to fruition. When it’s something you can touch and see and it is actually being used. It’s the same in architecture. You haven’t, or maybe you have, I don’t know, but the experience when something you design is actually built, there is excitement in that. For me, I’m not necessarily responsible when the building goes well, that depends on who
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is occupying it, but I know that I had a part in it and providing that service. I have a tendency to constantly look for BIG problems. I want to look for the worst buildings possible and find a solution. That is another aspect of the job, identifying what is causing the problem and correcting it. That gives me a huge amount of job satisfaction. As a business owner, did you have any previous experience in or focus any of your education on business? No, first of all, because the math you receive in architecture school is far more advanced than anything these people do. It is really just common sense. You find out how much it will cost you, how much you can spend on renovations, and that tells you how much you will profit. I always found myself intrigued by it, though, and I found myself catching on pretty quickly. In terms of starting your own business from the ground up, I really don’t believe that is something anybody can teach you. You really just have to jump in and try it yourself, and you find the people who have done it before and learn from them. Actually establishing a business is not the hard part, I mean anyone can decide they want to own a business and set it up and say they are running a company. The really difficult part is learning how do grow and move forward. While we’re on this topic, where do you see your business growing, and where do you see yourself within the next five years? Well, I can tell you exactly where I want to be in five years. Ideally, I would no longer have a day job and will be doing this full time. Matt and I still both work and have jobs during the day. This is something that I want to invest time in, securing acquisitions and capital. I can also see myself teaching in some capacity. I’m not really sure where, it might mean just continuing on with you guys sort of the way it’s set up now with Andrew. I would also like to start expanding into other arenas. For example, I have always had the desire to break into some retail sector for fixtures and furniture and things like that that we design for our residential units, and actually marketin those. I have played with the idea of somehow establishing a community of social media
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or networks within our field. Almost as a virtual marketplace for the sharing of ideas. This way, we can begin purchasing from and selling to people of a like mentality. There’s a somewhat educational aspect to that, as well. For some reason, I have always found Pinterest to be so much more interesting than Facebook, because it actually has a point. I can go on pinterest for anything I need, but it’s because I have a vested interest in learning something. Facebook just seems like a waste of time.
well as their work. For me, the driver has become less about the status and is all about my ability to relate to them and respect them. This is why it’s so important to really surround yourself with people you can admire. ■
What would you say to people who claim that the work product is the most important part of design? I have always kind of operated against that. To some people, the product is definitely the most important. It is extremely important. But you cannot convince me that all designers have crappy working environments. I think most of my discontentment has not come from the job, it’s that I didn’t enjoy the atmosphere. I came to the realization that a lot of the time, I could be working the same job and be just as happy if I had a better environment. It’s all about working with people that I actually like and respect. This is why I have no problem working with contractors, because a lot of the time we have very similar goals. It’s just my personal opinion that the field of architecture has suffered from a lack of really good ladership training, stemming from the fact that it is such an ego-driven field. It seems like you have a very unique approach to working with people in your field, do you have any personal role models? Who do you look up to? I mean, I have a friend who now works at STL architects who I really look up to. I have friends at places like Gensler who I admire. For me, it’s a very peer based group. These are the people that I have gotten to know, and i admire them on a personal basis. Matt is someone that constantly inspires me, that is why we have such a good partnership. You have to admire the people that you work with. I have spent a lot of time tailoring the group of people that I work with, because it is very important for me to be able to respect them as
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PERSONAL RESPONSE One of the true benefits of Chicago Studio is the opportunity to study architecture among successful professionals with different career perspectives. Faculty aside, there is no where else a student can reap the benefits of the diverse knowledge and interests of the profession. These interviews open a window to the many different ways architecture can be viewed and practiced. The most intriguing outcome of the interview process is how a very similar set of questions can turn morph into an entirely different conversation, depending on the interviewee. The individual interests and influences of each professional becomes manifest in each conversation. These conversations find common ground in their central focus of passion in design. The diversity of these interviews reinforces the fact that the range of interests in the design world is incredibly broad. It is never a matter of what the passion is, but its presence is critical to producing engaging and complex design. As I approach my thesis, my own passions are beginning to solidify and evidence themselves in not only my work, but the way in which I work. These interviews have provided an incredibly unique opportunity to look forward in my career and see the ways in which these personal interests can translate into a successful architectural position. I have always viewed the thesis year as an opportunity to present an architectural position as a product of four years of education. This notion ties into an important less from the semester. Defining personal goals, definitions, and aspirations is critical to a meaningful career. Beyond the success of personal endeavors, it is impossible to have a meaningful contribution to the profession without having personal interests. Each one of these professionals has clarified exactly where they stand in relation to the profesion as a whole. This studio has spoken extensively about the need to be aware of the continuum of architectural design. Without the awareness of what has come before and where the practice is headed, there is no way to affirm a stance in relation to the profession, and therefore, no way to effectively contribute to the advancement of design. This idea pulls strongly from Ashley Marsh’s view of social responsibility. Though personal interests are important, what gives them validity is their contribution to the design world and the society in which it operates. There must be a level of interest and engagement in what other designers are doing. Rather than viewing architects as competition, we need to view each other as a community of designers. In some ways, the way in which we are educated counteracts this idea. The studio environment creates an intrinsically competitive
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atmosphere in which to work. However, this competition is what drives and elevates the entire community. A healthy competition is necessary. It becomes detrimental when the competition is about the person, rather than the work. From social responsibility, to art, to relationships, every practitioner has a different lens through which to view design. Chicago Studio paints a vivid picture of how these different views can contribute to create something meaningful. The program itself is the model. Each one of these practitioners has been involved to some degree in the work of the studio, and each has had a different perspective to contribute. The result is a breadth of work with multiple influences. The life of the city speaks through the projects. This is a model that is reflected in professional practice. Each voice has something valuable to contribute to the advancement of the profession. The topic of group work is one that came up in almost every interview, and is one that is extremely relevant to the practice of architecture. My main curiosity is in the role of group work in education, and how this serves group interactions in the professional world. At this point, the idea of personal awareness begins to operate on a different scale. Rather than the entire profession, the interaction becomes focused to two or three people. Chip von Weise’s assertion that group work can actually detrimental to professional development was at first troubling to me. How can a relationship that models that of an architectural practice be counteractive to my preparation to work in that practice? This question also goes back to the idea of self awareness. In order to effectively work in a group, one has to have a grasp of the strengths of each individual in the group. Don Copper talks about this in terms of the GREC leadership. Each partner is aware of each other’s area of expertise. Sometimes, it is actually beneficial to operate outside of one’s comfort zone. Rather than thinking of skills in terms of “strength,” the notion of “comfort” suggests a tool that has not been fully developed. As students, we are all working to develop a set of tools. To consistently work with a tool that one is “comfortable” with does nothing to further educational or professional experience. Each interviewee had a very specific way of looking at the group or team relationship within the profession. This can occur on many levels: the client, a team of consultants, or a team of designers within a firm. One question that is constantly raised is the idea of ownership in a team dynamic. One interesting
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note is that none of the practitioners spoke about their architectural work personally. The individual influences that were referenced earlier all go to somehow enrich a group dynamic. It seems that a major difference between professional practice and education is the group identity. Each Chicago studio team is embedded in a practice that has an identity as a firm, not an individual. Hearing Ashley talk about the sharing of ideas was surprisingly refreshing. In practice, there is a much greater concern for the group, whether it be the firm or community, than there is for the individual designer. Again, this reinfores the notion of the architectural continuum. This continuum does not only exist in the linear dimension of time, but in the architectural community as a series of relationships. It is not enough to be aware of what has happened and what could happen. Designers must also be aware of what the design community is doing and what each member’s vested interests are. Speaking with professionals outisde of the field of architecture had the interesting effect of allowing me to see how truly related each design discipline is. Even the role of the developer, which is often disparaged among architects, has a relation to architectural design. These disciplines that often get overlooked are actually where we, as architects, should be paying more attention. They have a breadth of knowledge and expertise to offer to the design community that is highly relevant to the continuum of architecture. Without these outside disciplines, architects will have missed a significant opportunity to extend their relevance as a profession. This series of interviews has re-inforced the incredible value of the design community, and given me a target to aim for as my own professional career begins. Each of these practitioners has a unique story that adds to the richness of architectural practice. As I enter my fifth year, this experience has provided an incredible opportunity to see how my own story can impact the design community.
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CODES OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS INTERVIEW
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DREW RANIERI ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL SOLOMON, CORDWELL, BUENZ As a personal mentor and a practitioner with great experience in contracts and professional relationships, I sat down with Drew Ranieri to discuss the application of the AIA Canons of Ethics in architectural practice. The conversation covered the prevalence of the document in architectural practice, how it is enforced, the relation of the document to contractual obligations, gray areas, and consequences of its violation.
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Codes and ethics are an important aspect of any profession, yet they seem to be somewhat ambiguous in the practice of architecture. The AIA Canons of Ethics is one document that attempts to establish a standard by which architects can be held accountable. in order to clarify the significance and authority of this document, I approached the interview with the following questions:
How important is this document & its internalization to the profession? How does this relate specifically to the contractual agreement? What is a real-world instance where this code can be applied? What are the consequences of violating this code? What “gray areas’ exist in this code?
As a practitioner, Drew Ranieri has had the occasion to enforce this code. With this in mind, he was able to relate first-hand experience about the validity of the document. I was not surprised to hear that the document is actually full of gray areas. In an attempt to be all-encompassing, the Canons of Ethics have become somewhat ambiguous as to what constitutes a violation. According to Drew, the AIA Canons of Ethics is somewhat like the “golden rule.” It establishes a list of guidelines under which architects should behave in professional relationships, but as a legal document, the Canons cannot be easily enforced. A large issue is determining where the violation begins. Specifically regarding the relationship between fellow architects, it is almost impossible to determine the degree to which an idea is original or imitated. Where this violation begins can be determined by the so-called “victim,” but cannot possibly be enforced by the Canons. The code lacks specificity in defining specific instances of violation. For instance, other ethical codes lay out specific guide lines for financial ethics including clauses against collusion or set rates. The furthest the AIA document goes is to stipulate that architects conduct their business with “honesty and fairness.” The biggest matter I wanted to discuss with Drew was the legal validity of the document and its consequences. As a product of the American Institute of Architects, a violation of the Canons of Ethics does not directly constitute delicensure. The direct consequence of a violation is removal from the AIA. It is important to remember that this code outlines regulations only for members of the AIA in relation to that organization. As a professional entity, should the AIA have
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more power in governing the profession? In comparison to organizations such as the Bar Association, the AIA actually has The little authority in enforcing its codes in architectural practice. The AIA is invaluable to architects as a resouce and networking tool, but does not have the legal standing of other professional organizations. In fact, the contractual agreement between owner, architect, and contractor possesses higher legal standing than the Canons of Ethics. Many of the Canons can be covered in the terms of a contract. This is the document that truly holds the architect accountable to the client and contractor. While a violation of the Canons can lead to legal action, the document itself has no means of legal protection. The true test of the Canons of Ethics lies in the contract. If there was no Canon or Code, would the contract be able to exist? Though this document is incredibly important, it lacks the authority to enforce. Without the contract document, it holds no grounds for legal action, and does not hold the power to remove an architecture license. The Canons of Ethics must work with other documents in order to be effective. The Canons are effective in outlining issues that are important to architects and clarifying the relationship both between architects and between the architect and the public. However, until the AIA is elevated within the profession, the Canons of Ethics cannot act as an authoritative document.
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A NEW GENERATION
schematic design
strategy
technical
construction documents
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A NEW GENERATION GENSLER “A New Generation� lays the groundwork for entering practice as a young professional. This lecture focused heavily on topics such as building a professional network, interviewing for positions, and presenting personal work and qualifications. Most importantly, this lecture stressed the importance of defining a position within the profession of architecture. This is crucial in determining not only where and how you will operate, but also how you can make yourself an asset to that particular organization and contribute to the broader professional discourse. Young architects should seek to make the process of entering practice a sustainable one by ensuring that they are an asset to the profession, rather than just seeking out individual jobs.
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CRITICAL RESPONSE This lecture specifically addressed definitions and propositions as the factors that define personal direction within the field of architecture. These two words help to establish some very important elements of a career trajectory. The term “definitions” speaks specifically about one’s position as an architect. These definitions solidify not only how one sees architecture, but also the problems and issues one wants to solve. Every architect must have a reason for designing. Without this end point in mind, it can be incredibly difficult to advance career and development. The coordinate plane on the previous page provides a tool for architects to begin to pin-point their personal definitions. In order to define a set of critical issues, it is important to first define where it is within the profession that you are operating. This will begin to generate a set of concerns directly related to your particular design interests and strengths. The term “propositions” is concerned with putting these personal definitions into action. The propositions are what drive one’s career and development, and can also be viewed as goals. If definitions identify the issues and specific problems that need to be addressed, propositions identify the means of addressing them. This can have an incredible impact on the direction of a career. The studio environment and group of colleagues one chooses to work with will directly influence the trajectory in working toward these propositions. Different offices offer different resources, levels of interest and engagement, and relationships that can enhance personal development based upon specific architectural concerns and goals. Both defining personal concerns and proposing a solution for them contribute to an idea of pro-active design. According to Ashley Marsh of Cannon Design, being pro-active within the field of architecture is the only way in which the profession as a whole can move forward. It is the new generation of architects which is now charged with this direction. Beyond the personal endeavour for career advancement, finding these critical concerns and taking steps to address lends momentum to the broader architectural discourse and advances the practice.
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT BRETT TAYLOR - PROJECT MANAGER SKIDMORE, OWINGS, & MERRILL In this lecture, Brett Taylor discussed the roles and responsibilities of the Project Manager within the firm as they directly relate to the design process. The lecture introduced the stages of the project schedule, and touched on the importance of codes and ethics. Mr. Taylor particularly emphasized how integrated the role of project manager is with design, and the involvement of the Project Manager early in the design process. Particularly within a firm as large and international as SOM, the Project Manager serves a critical role in protecting the firm both legally and financially. In this sense, the Project Manager influences and dictates the project schedule and design process.
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CRITICAL RESPONSE The role of Project Manager is one schematic design that is consistently overlooked in architectural education, perhaps because it seems secondary to the creative design process. On the strategy/technical axis, most would strategy technical place “Project Manager” on the purely strategic side, removed from the design process. However, it was incredibly interesting to see how truly important construction and integrated the role of the Project documents Manager is in the design process. Specifically at SOM, no preference is given to design versus technical. Each of these realms plays a very important part in the entire design, but neither is favored in the over-all organization of the firm. This is extremely telling when assessing the place and importance of project management. This means that the Project Manager can be viewed as important or even more important than the Project Architect. This is in keeping with the notion that architecture doesn’t exist until it is built. Therefore, it is the job of the Project Manager to ensure that the project stays on schedule and within budget. In essence, the Project Manager controls the momentum and pace of the project. From Mr. Taylor’s point of view, SOM has a responsibility and a reputation of communicating with the client clearly and on time. In this sense, the Project Manager must be extremely familiar with the project schedule and its demands and limitations. Though most designers place the emphasis on the conceptual and aesthetic qualities of the architecture, there must be a recognition of architecture as a product that is being funded by the client. As an architecture student, this was an extremely valuable lesson for me. By its nature, architectural education exists largely without the presence of a client. Though in most cases the professor will serve as the client, limitations of budget and time are extremely different when dealing with a designer than with a private owner. As a result, architecture is viewed as an abstract idea rather than a product. When a building is viewed as a product, the schedule becomes a very involved aspect of the design process. As a young designer, it was very eye-opening to see exactly how the Project Manager can impact the design process. Not only does it motivate the process, it provides a completely ¬different set of limitations to be considered in the design. This lends a new layer of complexity to the architecture that is not usually introduced in the educational curriculum. In reality, the architect is just one of many voices that is necessary in a design project.
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CONSTRUCTION: BANGKOK AIRPORT
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CONSTRUCTION BANGKOK AIRPORT CARL D’SILVA JAHN ARCHITECTS In this lecture, Carl D’Silva expanded upon the previous topic of project management by considering construction as part of the design process and schedule. We were walked through limitations of budget, schedule, and location using Bangkok International Airport (Murphy/Jahn Architects) as a case study. Using this large-scale project as an example allowed us to see various conflicts throughout construction and the ways in which they were resolved. This project provided a particularly interesting view of the construction process due to its international status. The lecture also touched on the owner-designer-contractor relationship, placing project manager at the center. This continued the discussion about the role of each party in the design process from the previous lecture.
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CRITICAL RESPONSE This in-depth view of the construction process gave a very clear idea of how involved the architect should be in construction. Though the designer is not directly responsible for construction, it is the realization of the architectural design, and should be a designed aspect of the process. Viewing construction in this way means that construction decisions hold consequences for the conceptual design as well. Each decision can either enforce or degrade the concept. Being a large project, the Bangkok Airport allowed us to see how many of these problems were resolved. Perhaps one of the most interesting components of the airport is its superstructure. a series of massive columns rise to support “super-trusses” which in turn support the main terminal roof structure. Though they are an identifying symbol of the building, there was a huge issue in having these trusses fabricated and transported to the project site. A solution was engineered to hydraulically lift the super-trusses into place. This was an instance where collaboration between many different disciplines was necessary in order to design a system that could execute the architect’s vision. Another very important take-away from this lecture is the idea of sequencing in the construction process. Scheduling during construction is critical, especially in such a large-scale project as the Bangkok airport. The most direct example of this is the concourse wall and roof assembly. The intent of the design was to use an alternating stretched fabric and glass wall assembly. Because this assembly is cylindrical in section, each component of the system became dependent on the others. Each part of the construction sequence was diagrammed, beginning with the angled truss supports, followed by the glass curtain wall assembly, and ending with the stretched roof. These few examples demonstrate how thoroughly designed the construction process for this project was at multiple scales. In school, my tendency is to think that resolution and refinement ends at the drawing board. However, this project gave me a much clearer sense of the amount of design that occurs in the construction phase.
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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES ASHLEY MARSH + SARAH MALIN CANNON DESIGN The theme of this lecture was measuring the success of architecture through social impact. Ashley Marsh and Sarah Malin lead Cannon’s Open Hand Studio and the Third Teacher (respectively), both organizations that engage social issues and emphasize the end-user profit. The lecture covered how these two groups challenge the traditional designer-client relationship and use design as a way to connect to the community. This is accomplished by valuing design as a tool to effect change, rather than an elite art form. In this sense, the client or user becomes a primary player in realizing the design, rather than simply the recipient of the end product. The discussion focused on this aspect of social design, and ways in which to better understand the needs of the communities that benefit from these designs. The discussion also involved aspects of ethics in the nature of pro-bono or social work.
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“The purpose of a company will be to create shared value, where business and society achieve success together”
CRITICAL RESPONSE As architects, how do we use design to give to the communities around us, while fostering a sense of value in the design itself? For me, this was the most important question addressed in the lecture. If the user sees no monetary value attached to a project, it may be difficult for them to value the design as an asset to the community. Once this occurs, the project loses its power for positive social impact. This is where both Open Hand Studio and the Third Teacher have challenged the typical design process. Rather than viewing the architecture as a product that is handed over to the user at the end of the design process, both Open Hand and Third Teacher actively seek to understand and involve the communities that they will be impacting. This process results in a product that is valued by both the user and designer, and offers a different way of approaching the owner-designer-contractor relationship. In this case, the owner and designer work hand in hand to find a solution that is suitable and impactful for the community. It is the architect’s job to extract the design from the user’s needs, and put it into a common language. Rather than viewing the architect as the one with the knowledge, this model puts architect and user side by side in the attempt to find a solution. This common language must be established on a case-by-case basis. Sarah Malin thoroughly described this process in her talk on the Third Teacher. Through a series of community workshops and events, the design team can properly identify a problem and begin to define a way to solve that problem. I can relate to this approach in my own design process. It is much more exciting to approach a design without knowing the end result, rather than using a prescriptive process. Though I have never delved into the realm of social design, this seems to be an area where this kind of process is very appropriate and incredibly active. Design is a very powerful tool, and should be used to effect positive change. It is important to remember that social impact cannot exist without shared value of the product. This another way that architects can look at the success of their projects. If design is a service and architecture a product in the true sense of the word, both designer and user should benefit from it. The impact does not have to be global, but if we fail to adequately meet the needs of our clients and communities, then we have failed as designers.
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CONTRACTS
5
CONTRACTS DREW RANIERI SOLOMON CORDWELL BUENZ This lecture addressed the importance of contracts and agreements in the practice of architecture. The theme of the lecture surrounds the idea of perfection, an ideal that architects strive for but cannot attain. We began by identifying six main components to the contractual agreement: project scope, liability, schedule, fees, work product, and owner/architect/contractor relationship. Each of these components was then explored deeper in terms of specifics and their relation to the design process as a whole.
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CRITICAL RESPONSE Working among professionals for a full semester, I have learned how critical communication is to architects. We have to communicate clearly and efficiently not only to each other, but to clients and other disciplines as well. The contract is just one of the tools which establish this communication. It clarifies the owner/ architect/contractor relationship, and defines the terms of the project. As designers, it is often easy to slip into the mindset that everybody speaks our own language and understands the design process. I had a rude awakening to this mindset during our studio group’s first client meeting. We had spent weeks developing a complex design concept that could relate to the building’s past as a theater, and focused the meeting around the concept. As a theater company, Teatro Vista was more interested (and rightly so) in the program and the spaces that were necessary for the facility to function as a theater. We quickly learned that we were not speaking the same language as the client, and were, therefore, not efficiently communicating our design. We learned from this experience and incorporated more of Teatro Vista’s interests into the next client meeting. The experience of communicating with a client goes to enforce the importance of the contract document. The contract doesn’t answer all of the questions, but sets up a framework for collaboration and communication. A basic triangle-diagram clearly illustrates this framework. the architect, owner, and contractor are all connected, and it is important to clarify the instances when each party should be communicating with one or both of the others. I had the opportunity to further discuss contracts and ethics with Drew Ranieri through the lens of the AIA Canons of Ethics. This document sets up a very O basic but general set of guidelines for the practice of architecture. When approaching professional relationships, it is clear that the contract holds the most power as a projectspecific document. It can be intimidating to think of communication between whole disparate disciplines, but the contract brings that relationship to a person-toperson level. The issues of ethics and C A ommunication become more manageable in relation to the specific contract.
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CAREER LESSONS RANDY GUILLOT CANNON DESIGN This lecture centered around the process of becoming a professional through the lens of Randy G.’s professional experience and wisdom. This was the most specific and personal lecture in terms of advice to carry through school and the beginning of a career. The lecture provided an in-depth view of eduction and early professionalism, and clearly set up eleven points that have contributed to Randy’s success as an architect and Principle at Cannon: 1. Build meaningful relationships through hard work 2. Communication is everything 3. Have broad influences & mentors 4. Accept the reality of time management 5. Your client is your design partner 6. Listen to me & ignore me 7. Don’t expect the outcome 8. Promote your strengths & resources 9. Be kind & do things for others 10. There is always more than one right answer 11. Where you live has less to do with your happiness than what you are doing
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CRITICAL RESPONSE This lecture was one of the most refreshing and encouraging in terms of hearing the story behind a successful professional. As many students do, I have struggled with building relationships because I compare my educational experience to professional success. This attitude can be beneficial in inspiring motivation and drive, but too often hinders beneficial mentor relationships. This lecture embraced the struggle of architectural education and networking as universal. Even the most successful architects have experienced the same frustrations, the difference is how they overcame those frustrations and used them as motivators. In this sense, the point that seems the most relevant to my own experience is having broad influences and mentors. This is an area where I have struggled, and is one way in which Chicago Studio has had the biggest impact on me. It is too easy to use familiarity as a basis for a mentorship. It is another matter to seek out professionals who can broaden one’s interests and perspectives. If someone is truly invested in their work, they are usually willing to talk about it. These different perspectives are what add depth and complexity to the profession as a whole. If every architect was only interested in architecture, there would be no diversity in the body of work or professional discourse. It is our responsibility as designers to contribute to this discourse, but more importantly, it is to our own benefit. To that point, it is difficult to contribute to the profession without knowing one’s own strengths. Throughout the course of the semester, I have found that I have become more familiar with my own skills and strengths through my interactions with others, particularly in a group atmosphere. In order to be an effective contributor, each member needs to successfully communicate what their strengths and weaknesses are. In a similar way, architects have to be able to clearly talk about their strengths and weaknesses in order to effectively contribute to the profession. This goes beyond the simple matter of identifying skills and competencies, and has to do with finding a passion or inspiration within the field of architecture. Finding that passion is critical to seeking out mentors and peers who can relate to one’s work. Looking forward, this is a lesson that I will take from my Chicago experience into my thesis and career. There is an incredible opportunity to tap a broad range of interests both in the field of architecture and other design disciplines.
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7
BUILDING A PRACTICE CHIP VON WEISE VON WEISE & ASSOCIATES Due to the small size and youth of his architectural practice, Chip von Weise was able to present a very clear image of what it takes to start and maintain a firm. This lecture focused on the patience required to establish a successful architectural practice. A main point of the lecture was establishing and maintaining a client relationship, continuing the conversation from previous lectures. The lecture also covered some very practical components of architectural practice, including licensure, certification, financial responsibility, ethics, and technology. Each of these factors led to the operations of von Weise & Associates and their design strategy of facilitating and realizing the client’s vision for the project.
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“If I only spent time around other architects, this firm wouldn’t exist today.” -Chip von Weise
CRITICAL RESPONSE A theme of each of the professional practice lectures has been professional relationships and communication. This lecture particularly elaborated on the client relationship and the importance of maintaining good communication with the client. Von Weise & Associates has built client relationships stemming from their commitment to involving and engaging the client in the design process. The vision of the firm is to do high quality work over a wide range of budgets and to create a collaborative working environment with the client. This attitude toward client involvement is a surprising contrast to the way many architects seem to view the limitations imposed by their client. However, the client is the party paying for and receiving the product, and it is the job of the architect to ensure that the building meets their needs and vision. Although technical and financial limitations sometimes seem to hinder design, it is important to remember that all of this is part of the design process. In this sense, it is important to make sure that the client has a constant grasp of the design and decisions being made. The more the client can be involved with the design process, the more likely they are to be on board with the architect’s vision as well. The most interesting point of the lecture was the idea of creating a language that the client can relate to. This point harkens to the design process established by Open Hand Studio and the Third Teacher at Cannon Design, where the designer derives a common language based on the needs of the user. Von Weise accomplishes this by integrating the client even further into the actual design of the project. Although the success of a design should be determined based upon the overarching impact of the project on the broader community, the client is a very necessary player in the realization of the design and the creation of architecture. In architecture school, it is very easy to lose sight of the fact that as designers, we most often are presenting to individuals with a non-design background. This is one way in which architectural education paints an unrealistic picture of the design profession. By presenting to and critiquing people with the same background and interests, we naturally use the language that is most common and familiar. In this way, Chicago Studio has helped me grow through confrontations with multiple different disciplines and professions. These various different backgrounds have a lot to offer in the design process once one learns how to effectively communicate that process.
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GLASS ASSEMBLIES CARL D’SILVA JAHN ARCHITECTS This lecture focused on a specific building material in terms of its production and application, providing a very in-depth view of how the material begins in the manufacturing process to how it eventually becomes part of a design. As a very versatile and prevalent material, glass provided an opportunity to study various properties and how they affect aesthetic and performance. The lecture covered the physical properties of annealed, heat strengthened, heat treated, and laminated glass, in addition to coatings and the properties they contribute to glass assemblies. This was followed by a series of case studies from Jahn architects that showed how these assemblies can be deployed architecturally.
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CRITICAL RESPONSE One of the most challenging aspects of design is knowing and being familiar enough with tools to use them effectively. In education, this often comes down to questions of materials and tectonics that take a back seat to the conceptual design. However, knowledge of material, tectonics, and details is what brings complexity to the design and brings it into the realm of architecture. Without an understanding of the tools, the design cannot be realized. Even though this lecture only covered one specific material, it set up a framework for going about studying other materials by answering several basic questions:
1. How is it made? 2. Where does it come from/how is it transported? 3. What are its properties? 4. How can these properties contribute to the design? 5. How is it specified? These represent considerations when incorporating a material into a design, and in a sense they all relate. Methods of production, fabrication, treatment, and transportation all contribute properties to a material that can enhance or detract from a design. For example, ceramic frit is a tool for treating glass that can be seen in multiple different buildings. One example is the Bangkok International Airport, in which the color and lightness of the frit is adjusted to enhance the optics of the glass. However, in the MGM City Center (Jahn Architects), the frit gives the effect of a yellow haze over the building’s exterior views. This is an instance where the same tool was beneficial in one scenario, but detrimental in another. Another important take-away from this lecture is that familiarity with a material leads to innovation in its use. This can occur on an industry-wide scale, or simply a personal scale. Jahn Architects’ Merck-Serono Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland serves as an example of how a firm’s experience with a material allowed them to fit it to the needs of the design, cantilevering a series of glass shingles, rather than executing the facade with a standard system. In my own personal experience, the more time I spend with a specific material or tool, the more comfortable I am with pushing its limits. This is the mentality that gives momentum and energy to a design.
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THE BROADENED FIELD LAURA FISHER/ADAM WHIPPLE Over the course of the semester, we have heard from many professionals within the field of architecture. This lecture was geared at the possibilities for an architectural degree outside the field of architecture. As a consultant, Laura Fisher described the business side of architecture, and ways to actively pursue career options and present yourself as a professional. As a consultant, Laura has a breadth of knowledge in communicating with architects and establishing a vocabulary based on that interation. Adam Whipple expanded and spoke more about the skills we learn in architecture school, outlining a set of skills learned in architecture school that are potentially valuable to employers outside of the realm of architecture. These include: 1.Problem solving 2.Presentation & communication 3.Coorindation & teamwork 4.Complex ideas 5.Technical expertise 6.Spatial understanding 7.Broad training The emphasis in both cases was on initiative, and being able to identify individual strengths and market them, and knowing that the beginning of a successful design career may be through another discipline.
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CRITICAL RESPONSE In a profession that values the intellectual and conceptual purity of design, it is extremely easy to ignore other professions that are directly related and have so much to offer to architects. The fact is that architecture could not exist without the support and input of related disciplines. The tools and skills we learn in architecture school are much broader than we think. Architecture is often thought of as a very specialized profession with specific skills. However, design is a very broad term that encompasses a wide range of skills. There are many different professions that desire the “design mind.” This was one of the most eye-opening lectures in terms of scrutinizing the true value of architectural education. By its nature, process is an intrinsic part of design education, and this is what is valuable in broadening the possibilities of the profession itself. Adam’s list of potentially valuable skills was extremely illustrative of the versatility of our profession and education. We spend so much time tailoring our skill set and marketing ourselves to architects, that we overlook our own value to other professions, even within the design world. Personally, I have had the enriching opportunity to begin my career with an internship in a separate field. The summer of my second year, I acquired a position with a NASA center in which I worked closely with engineers and researchers to develop a design for a materials laboratory. In fact, I was the only student with any sort of design or architecture related background. Because it was so early in my education, it was a shock to experience a completely different outlook on design, but I was able to learn a great deal from my colleagues through the exchange of ideas and values. While I was more focused on process, the rest of the team was focused on pragmatism and practicality. Though the project did not result in what would be considered a beautiful or profound design, the experience was very influential to my education by giving me a glimpse into a completely different way of viewing the world. The biggest takeaway from this lecture is that architecture students often don’t see their skill set as a way to contribute to other professions. We often see the work or the product as a way to effect change, however, our skills have an even greater value. They can be a way to involve other disciplines and have an even greater impact on the world around us, as well as the profession in which we practice.
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CAREER WISDOM BRIAN LEE SKIDMORE, OWINGS , & MERRILL This lecture gave the class the opportunity to learn from Brian Lee, a design partner at SOM. Lee dispensed with the typical lecture format, and instead prompted the group for questions related to professional practice. The questions covered topics ranging from personal inspiration to SOM’s public image. The list below represents some of the main points of the lecture. - It is important to sit down and create: you can’t be a critic all the time. - Seek fullness of exploration, discovery, and refinement. - Good architects have to be very balanced people. - Being well read is very important. - Be very cautious of trends in architecture. - There is a fundamental difference between creating a drawing for people to look and and creating a drawing for people to build. - The importance of understanding the client base and audience. - The importance of getting a client engaged in the process and making the project accessible.
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CRITICAL RESPONSE As a firm that presents such a corporate face, from the outside, it is difficult to get a sense of the individual’s role in the firm. The informal format of this lecture allowed a face-to-face interaction with one of the firm’s leaders, while at the same time, providing a glimpse into one of the individual pieces that makes up the firm’s culture. As Brian Lee described it, “I’m just an architect who wants to do good work.” This is evidence of that fact that Lee wants to be thought of as a contributor to the design and work of SOM, rather than a disconnected leader or manager with little involvement in the design work. The response that most resonated with me was Lee’s assertion that good architects must be well-rounded individuals. This has been a constant of the semester, and is one of the overarching aspects of professional practice. However, Lee also made the observation that most architects take themselves too seriously. This relates the discussion back to previous lectures: architects attempt to have significant impact, but become so engrossed in the act of designing architecture that they neglect the world around them. To Lee’s point, it is important for architects to have interests and influences outside of the architectural community, so that this can influence and inform the design process. In that sense, being “well read” is not so much about the physical act of reading, although that is very important. Rather, it is about having a wide range of interests and breadth of knowledge to bring to the table and contribute to the discourse. The observation about trends in architectural practice is also interesting in relation this point about having outside interests and influences. In school, there is always an emphasis on the timeless quality of architecture, or as Lee puts it, what has “staying power.” However, from my observation within actual practice, much of this gets neglected when dealing with the client’s wishes and vision. It is interesting that SOM caters to such corporate clients, but can still bring a level of timelessness to their architecture. This is a paradox that I have struggled with in the field of architecture. As an architect, how do we know when to relinquish control over the design process and decisions to the client, especially when we have the expertise in the design process? Brian Lee’s response to this question lies in engaging the client in the process as much as possible, bringing the discussion back to the theme of the owner/architect/contractor. The relationship is very intertwined, and demands a malleable design process.
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EXPLORING THE COLLECTIVE IKER GIL MAS STUDIO Iker Gil has successfully established Mas Studio and Mas-Context as an outlet for design ideas to reach a broader audience. Interested in the large-scale interventions and impacts of design, Gil focuses on relevant contextual issues facing society and communities on an urban scale. The class was walked through several projects that outline the work of Mas, including the Chicago Pedway, Cut. Join. Play., Inside Marina City exhibit, Shanghai transforming exhibit, and a future pop-up living space installation in Millenium Park. Each of these projects established a concern for public interactions, the effect of the urban environment on its inhabitants, and vice versa. These are all means of exploring the collective, and ways in which the design world can contribute to the collective and urban environment.
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CRITICAL RESPONSE It appears that Mas Studio and Mas-Context have become so successful because they operate with vision and conviction. Though Iker Gil describes himself as an urban planner, the work of Mas Studio covers a broad range of design proposals and scales. The importance here is not on the type of work, but the impact that it attempts to have. In this sense, Mas Studio operates in a very similar way to Cannon Design’s Open Hand Studio. Though the work is not pro-bono, it seeks to analyze and measure the success of design in an atypical way. This is evidenced perfectly in the Shanghai Transforming exhibition. The genesis of this project occurred on a trip to Shanghai where Gil charged a friend with photographing the city. The work was not focused on the architecture, or even people. It was focused on the collective that makes up Shanghai and constitutes the relationship that we label “city.” This zoomed-out perspective is the world in which Mas operates. It is not about a specific work product, but designing for a higher cause and impact. Looking through the studio’s portfolio, one can recognize a breadth of projects, from large-scale city plans, to smaller-scale urban interventions. Mas studio is interested in finding the solution that is most appropriate for the context of the design, rather than specializing in a typology or sector. Their work constantly has purpose and inspiration. I have been considering how the idea of work or product success can also translate to the idea of personal success. Is our success as architects defined by the work product? And if, in fact, it is, at what point can we define that success? I think that this lecture provides a starting point for answering that question. Mas has elevated its work in a way that no longer considers separate professions or disciplines, but design as a whole. As architects, we spend much of our time worrying over the purity of “concept,” but the concept is not enough to drive a design to a successful conclusion. In the same way, the social intention is not enough to define the success of a project. According to Iker’s own selfassessment, he is much more successful now, though he has worked at larger firms for higher salaries. His personal success is derived from the initiative and its execution. As architects, we should think about the advancement of design in direct relation to our own success. If we are truly part of a continuum, then we are a very small piece of the puzzle. The whole picture comes into focus when the design community can come together and impact society for good.
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THOUGHTS ON CAREER JOHN SYVERTSEN CANNON DESIGN As the conclusion to the semester, John Syvertsen’s lecture on leadership looked forward to the thesis project as it relates to a career in the architecture field. The over-arching theme of the lecture was intention versus accident in practice. Should we try to anticipate or expect the outcomes of a project, or even career? The talk focused particularly on three aspects of the thesis that inform the career path: 1. Consult with others: use people to expand that consultation 2. Don’t over-commit too soon: be patient, and restrain from a measurable product. 3. Dive in: Do everything, and get messy. Don’t be timid about exploration. Combined with passion, these three aspects lead to connections that enrich personal work and give meaning to a career path. For Syvertsen, this connection occurred within the Brownsville, Texas project, connecting passions for public interest, higher education, and cities. This lecture ultimately charged the Chicago Studio students to identify their personal passions and interests, and never sacrifice those passions. Finding this passion has been an overwhelming theme this semester, as this will define where and how we operate within the architectural profession.
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CRITICAL RESPONSE This lecture was incredibly important for all of us to hear, especially as fourth year students. As the jumping-off point for a future career, It is crucial to have an accurate perspective going into the thesis year. John Syvertsen’s talk outlined specifically what it is important to keep in mind as we are approaching this critical year. The notion that we cannot and should not expect or anticipate outcomes in our careers as designers at first seems somewhat contradictory to the values instilled in architectural education. So much of architecture is about planning: planning a building, but also planning out the amount of time it will take to accomplish tasks, planning a set of deliverables, planning what will be necessary to represent a project well. Upon reflection, however, these two outlooks are not entirely disparate. As a professional delivering a product for a client, of course there needs to be a disciplined method of completing the product in a timely manner. However, the idea of discovery, or what syvertsen labels as “accident,” can relate to design in general and on broader terms. This is what ties the entire professional practice lecture series together. There is a fundamental difference between design and planning, the same difference that exists between passion and talent or leadership and management. Planning is a necessary skill to possess in the profession of architecture, but it does not equate to design. Design requires a much more forward-thinking and inspired vision. This is the context in which Syvertsen speaks about discovery and unexpected connections. These discoveries inform and inspire whatever the vision is that you are passionate about. During his lecture, Syvertsen spoke of his relationship with Augusta, Georgia Mayor Deke Copenhaver. This relationship is one that is inspired by a vision of social impact and renewal in places where problems seem the most intense. In the very same way Mas Studio has elevated its work by considering initiatives across the entire design world, Cannon Design has elevated its work by targeting issues that are not only relevant to society, but relevant to the entire profession. There is not an attempt to specialize, only an attempt to help. This is what is so important about a thesis. It is synthesizing four years of learning and knowledge into a project that will begin to tap into the professional discourse. The more convicted and sure we are of the things that we are passionate about, the greater affect we can have on the world around us.
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URBAN MAPPING WILSON YARDS PROPOSAL VISION FOR UPTOWN BUILDINGS, TEXTS, AND CONTEXTS
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PROPOSAL FOR WILSON YARDS
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WILSON YARDS PROPOSAL
WILSON YARDS
COLLABORATIVE ART GARDEN The Solution To The Wilson Yards “L” Station Dilemma Lies In An Activity That Will Both Keep Residents Engaged In The Space And Attract Newcomers To The Location. Community Murals And Art Projects Have Transformative Power In Suffering Neighborhoods, As Evidenced By The Work Of Organizations Such As The Chicago Public Art Group (Cpag). The Catalyst For The Project Is A Large Community Art Project That Will Be Visible From The Red Line. The Spaces Used To Create This Project Will Then Become An Evolving Creative Landscape. The Intervention Will Transform The Currently Unsafe Parking Lot Where The Station Exit Is Located, Connect It To Truman College And Broadway, And Ultimately Give A Voice To The Community.
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URBAN MAPPING
SITE CONDITIONS
DIAGRAM OF PROPOSED INTERVENTION
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WILSON YARDS PROPOSAL
Entrance to Garden, moment of pause after exiting station
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Community art project Proposed new exit east of station
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visible from redline
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Community pavilion with collaboration area and supply storage space.
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WILSON YARDS PROPOSAL
VISIBILITY OF ART PROJECT FROM REDLINE
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COMMUNITY ART PAVILION
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VISION FOR UPTOWN
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A VISION FOR UPTOWN
UPTOWN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT The revitalization of Uptown’s significant history as an entertainment hub draws from the area’s past in an effort to think ahead to its future. The proximity of several major theaters provides the opportunity for Uptown to truly serve Chicago as a cultural landmark.
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ESSANAY STUDIOS
UPTOWN THEATER
ARAGON THEATER
GREEN MILL RIVIERA
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BUILDINGS, TEXTS, AND CONTEXTS
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BUILDINGS, TEXTS, AND CONTEXTS
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URBAN MAPPING “Telescope” house on Virginia’s Eastern Shore (left) photo credit: www.redbubble.com 3/19/2013 Contemporary suburban neighborhood (right) photo credit: www.treehugger.com 3/19/2013
ABSTRACT In his essay Junkspace, Rem Koolhaas makes the argument that contemporary architecture has become nothing more than an advertisement, and, as a consequence, has condemned itself to frivolity. This justifies society’s neglect and misuse of its buildings. We no longer see meaning in our built environment, and therefore see it as a temporary amusement to be thrown away, with no consideration of what occurs before or after its initial use. The devaluation of contemporary architecture is fed by a cultural drive for instant gratification. Because technology allows us to mass-produce luxury homes and office buildings, there is no longer a sense of commitment to Architecture as a definition of self. For centuries, the Eastern Shore of Virginia has nurtured the Architecture of the “telescope house,” a typology defined by a series of additions that adapt the home to the changing needs of its inhabitant. The strong identity of these buildings as homes necessitates the adaptation and continued use of the space, and this investment becomes outwardly expressed in the architecture. Contrast this to the suburban McMansions, which are often emptied and sold in search of a home that can offer more space. This critical essay is aimed at understanding the cultural and societal differences that have led to this shift in values, and the ways in which they have evidenced themselves architecturally, such as the McMansion and telescope house. Typological analysis will be the primary instrument of study, as well as a local investigation of this phenomenon as it can be seen in Chicago. The project will consider the lifestyle component of sustainability, and examine the ways in which society either enforces or undermines this critical factor.
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JUNKLIFE
URBAN MAPPING
PROJECT OUTLINE | JOHN KNUTESON BUILDING SUBURBAN MCMANSION ARCHETYPE TEXT JUNKSPACE; REM KOOLHAAS CONTEXT CULTURAL VALUES, INSTANT GRATIFICATION, SOCIAL STATUS INTRODUCTION This project will consider the lifestyle component of sustainability, and examine the ways in which society either enforces or undermines this critical factor. -Architecture as a record of culture or of a culture -Manifestation of values in architecture I.SOCIAL CONTEXT Overview of cultural climate that feeds the McMansion archetype -Instant gratification loss of responsibility/commitment -Architecture as a status symbol -Technology and consumerism architecture viewed as a temporary amusement -Social [un]sustainability II. CONSTRUCTION Perception of architecture as impermanent -Materials Modular, dysfunctional, or “fake” i.e. vinyl siding, laminate flooring -Use of “symbols” i.e. window shutters, pilasters & columns, etc. -Construction methods III. INHABITATION Scrutinize use of home, “dissect” -Lifestyle component, “inner workings” Technology Family dynamic Room-by-room dissection McMansion identifying factors Cultural/Social contributers IV. DEATH What is left after “abuse” -Social contributors Tie in “instant gratification” concept -Neglect Architecture viewed as refuse, contributing factors -Abandonment -Architecture becomes “junkspace”
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