Studio Process: Future City_02_Falling in love with the city

Downtown Houston

The past week we have been documenting and collecting data about how we use our city. Houston is a commuter city. You (almost) have to have a car to get around this city because everything is so spread out. Sure, there are adequate means of transportation services within the city, but for a lot of us that live 'outside of the loop' [Loop 6-10] there isn't much of a choice other than to use a park and ride. The problem with a park and ride is it turns a thirty-minute car ride into a three-plus hour transportation waiting nightmare to get to a specific location.

Step one: Document our route home

Beginning route through downtown. A city for parking

Ending route home. Sorry about the uncleaned windshield

The first part was to document our route to or from the studio to our home with a series of photos. It felt like any other day. I was driving home seeing the same thing I always see. I usually take a route right through downtown, because I would rather get stuck in traffic watching people than on an overpass looking at other cars. I figure at least the people walking are getting somewhere. Yeah, it was a pretty normal day -- there wasn't much going on other than trying to figure out interesting points to document through photos while trying to drive.

So, an interesting point here is that I am documenting the process from inside a car. The environment inside my car is constant. Meaning, my comfort level is pretty much the same other than the stress from driving. I am able to control the conditioned air, my field of view isn't changing and I am experiencing the city from a specific point that doesn't move (car seat). It almost feels like I am watching TV.

But, I do get some value from the exercise. I usually am aware of my surroundings, but I never payed too much attention to the changes in density throughout the route. The urbanscape (urbanscape meaning everything but the traffic of cars and people. Like the buildings and developments) density starts high and tapers to less dense areas. Then, density gets less dense and more dense and less dense aaaannnnd a little more dense.

Step two: Visit and document the site

My focus is site 1

On the map above are the areas of Houston our studio is using for our project. We visited all three locations and walked the majority of each site. The difference between walking through an area and driving through an area are completely different. Walking is a much more dynamic activity than driving and you're able to be more aware of your surroundings. *Side note* Even though we walked through all three sites, I will mostly talk about site one.

Look at that section! Photo taken off of Main street in front of Greyhound bus station.

First off, It was a GORGEOUS day! It really was perfect weather for anything outdoors. When you're walking, you're actually there -- you're not in a car, you're on the sidewalk experiencing the sidewalk environment. Meaning, moving through different elevations, feeling different textures, smelling different scents, interacting on some level with different people and hearing much more sounds than just being in your car. It doesn't matter if any of that I described is enjoyable or not, because it is about the experience. Its like when I go to a bar. I hate the smell of people smoking, but I don't mind it at all when I am at a hole-in-the-wall bar. Why? Because that is just part of the experience that makes that place unique.

You're able to have a sense of being vulnerable. I think being able to have a sense of vulnerability or a sense of the fear of the unknown is like a shot of tequila! It just opens-up your awareness and gives you the most bang for your buck to take in your surroundings. You try walking through a group of some sketchy lookin folks with an exposed camera you've saved up for and don't think about holding that thing a little tighter #IJudge. But, that is the beauty of the environment! There is a mix of all different sorts of people. You interact with the homeless person next to the businessman next to the student running for the train to make their job. You see the faces of struggle trying to make it through the day from the pan handler and from the person with the $5 coffee that couldn't wait to get off of work. You see the mother with child taking the metro just wanting to get home. The small group people hanging outside a convenience store because they 'aint got no' place to go or just want to catch up with their buddies. You see a grungy-lookin' fella looking like he is having a bad day instantly smile like a kid on Christmas morning when he walks past a beautiful woman. All of this within a city block. To hell with reality TV, give me a highly dense urban block at 5 o'clock! You cant replicate that experience by driving through an area in the safety of your car. You need that slower, more 'in your bubble' experience to appreciate your city. As designers, we do much more than just design buildings. If you notice, I didn't describe much of any building. We design environments for a better society.

Granted, Houston being Houston, we still have a long way to go to have a decent downtown environment. Nearly a third of downtown is just parking, the underground tunnels close at 5-ish along with the rest of downtown, downtown isn't really designed for people to live and support the are and it isn't pleasurable walking next to hugely massive scaled buildings with nearly zero street interaction. But, there's a gem in there. You just have to walk around to find it.

Maker busy

Old workspace

It always happens. I lay down to sleep and right when I get all cozy I get a thought in my head that I cant get out. "That would be cool..." That is how it starts. Next thing I know is I am up and at my workstation sketching out and cutting materials to figure out how I build this object. It is a blessing and a curse. I'm one of those people that is most comfortable making things. Whenever I have some downtime I am always fiddling with something to keep busy. There is such a satisfying feeling walking out of the wood shop at four in the morning covered in sawdust. I suppose working with high revolution sharp metal isn't the wisest thing to do when you should be asleep.

I digress. Designing and making objects It is high addictive. I guess it is the equivalent to playing video games and trying to get to the next level. There is somethings so fulfilling and deeply meditative once you immerse yourself in a craft. You don't even realize how quickly time has passed. It is an instant gratification kind of thing. You get instant feedback if something is working out or if the item you're making matches what you have designed. Making stuff does not just limit itself to objects, but also everyday tasks like cooking and other things I cant think of at the moment because I am too sleepy. The second best thing about making something are the screw-ups. I know that sounds weird to say, but a screw-up is a direct result of what you did. Its better to have a result of something you made rather than no result because you didn't try. Studio professors always tell us, "The worst thing you can do is nothing at all."and "the more you have, the more we can discuss." Of course the best thing is when you have a finished, tangible object that you put in so much love and time. Something that has gone on a journey with you and has turned into a quality object with a great story. I guess at the end of the day we are all out to surround ourselves with the stories we made.

For now, I will take a little rest. I hope everyone has an eventful Monday and gets to work-in some time to do something that brings you joy.

Studio Process: Future City_01_Architecture as the Infrastructure

Very dense morning fog. It was so eerie seeing people walking in the distance. They were like ghosts.

It is good to be back! There is always a certain energy in the building at the beginning of the semester, but just give it a week or two. As expected, It is the start of a new project and we're thrown right into the 'process'. Thankfully, it feels right on beat and very much of a smooth transition back into studio culture.

This semester the studio project has to deal with future cities. Future cities? Contemporary cities dealing with density and how these densely urban areas function, grow and impact our society. It is very much a visionary project with a goal being to re-think the city -- to imagine how the architecture of a bunch of individual structures begin to become so dense that their spatial overlaps begins to blur the line between being architecture and urban infrastructure.

Example:  Rome v. Las Vegas

Figure ground drawing of Rome

If we look at Rome, we notice how dense the city is and how the buildings are creating space. From the drawing you really cannot tell the front from the back. The pedestrians get more of an experience from the city because the city is literally having more to offer.

Figure ground drawing of Las Vegas

Now, look at Las Vegas. It doesn't take an architect (or an architecture major) to see Vegas is all about the strip. The infrastructure is making the city rather than the city making the infrastructure.

I think It will be beneficial for me to document my process. It allows me to recall and reinforce important topics discussed and It gives the you guys (the readers) my 'perspective' of a future city.  

"As the global population increases, out cities grow larger. This growth is accompanied by population and demographic changes, skyrocketing real-estate costs, sprawl, encroachment of green space, increased air and sound pollution, traffic standstills, and inadequate housing. Are our cities as efficient as they could be? There exists inefficiencies in spatial usage and spatial qualities within the urban fabric from abandoned buildings and lots to buildings that are empty for more than 12 hours a day. What if a city could adapt quickly to turn those inefficiencies into opportunities and find a new ideal state?"
-Winy Mas, The Why Factory

CAD or hand drafting?

 

Frank Lloyd Wright drafting

A new semester is about to start and a certain topic that always comes-up is about rendering software or how we did the images on the last project. Once you get past first-year, a lot of the students are struggling to decide between hand drawings or doing work on a CAD software. As students progress through the program, there tends to be a lot less hand drawings and a lot more computer work. I mean, It is kind of understood that most (if not all) drawings used on final presentations are going to be CAD generated. Sadly, that is just how it usually goes down. I love, love hand drawings and I often do a hybrid of computer work and hand drawings in projects. After asking around, most students tend to fall back on what they know, especially during crunch time and the deadline quickly approaching. I can't really blame them. It all comes down to turning-in work you know you can produce or risk turning-in something you may not complete.
  
I am not here to say you should use hand drawings rather than CAD -- that's not the point. I do feel hand drawing isn't utilized as much these days and is a very important communication tool to learn and use. But, I also feel the evolution of architecture is dependent on technology and the software is nothing more than just another tool in the bag to use as a conduit to best express an idea. I know a lot of older professors curse the use of computers in architecture. I am sure the majority of us wouldn't want to visit a doctor if the doctor was taught and practices the same medical practice used in the 1950's, right?

Why do we always speak of hand sketching with such nostalgia? First, hand sketching is such a romantic notion. We see technology everywhere and seeing a hand drawing reminds us of bringing things back to basics. Hand sketching will always play an important role in design. It is the designer's go-to when we need to get an idea out and just 'play around' with, but that is usually where it stops. The designer has to make a decision early on that they are going to use hand drawings on their final board. Why? Because hand drawings take time and it is very difficult to fix a mistake (especially when working with drafting pens or colored pencils). CAD has a built-in 'F-it' button that we love to press because it makes our mistakes go bye-bye with a press of the button. But, CAD drawings aren't necessarily much faster either. I can easily spend five hours working on details on a drawing and most people couldn't notice much of a difference than five hours before. 

Both hand-drawing and CAD drawings take time and require layers on layers of detail. You can easily spend just as much time on one style as you can on another. Deciding which style to use is just a matter of considering how much time you can allow and how the style will work with other drawings if there are others.

"You are God..."

I believe we're all familiar with the Architect from The Matrix.

"You are god. You are able to create something from nothing..."

I have heard at least three different versions of this statement throughout my architectural education. I have even listened to one of my professors compare us (god) to the architect in The Matrix and how Neo (Neo - new) is the latest iteration in the design process. It is in our name: Archi- first, original, archetype; Tect- technician. Ultimately, at our core we are creators. We are able to sit at a desk with a piece of paper and a lead holder and just design. Then, we take what is sketched and create. To create something from nothing does seem 'god-like'. 

I digress. This evening I spent two and a half hours making turkey noodle soup (I am feeling pretty ill and really wanted soup!). I took the time to make fresh noodles, broth and the little turkey meatballs. By the end of it all I didn't realize how much time I spent preparing soup. After I was able to reflect on how much I had done and the time spent making soup I said to myself, "I created something from nothing." So, I view this whole "You are god" ego-petting speech as just a romantic notion. I mean, doctors were able to bring an uncle of mine back from being dead. Granted he didn't last much longer, but surely that is a hell of a lot more god-like than creating something from nothing? Women push a living person out of themselves! WTF?! Just saying that is insane to me! I consider that a lot more 'god-like'! But, that also is creating something from nothing. Well, maybe not nooothing. There was a little somethin'-somethin' for that to happen...


I digress. What I really wanted this post to be about it is that were are all our own god/master architect. Each person is able to create and design our own universe how we want. This all comes down to design and creating. Some results may take longer, but every move is a direct result of a design decision we have made. Nothing is ever perfect the first time around. Neo was not the first design of the architect in The Matrix. Well, the first time he was, but the Neo we all know and love was the sixth design. As designers, we take our iterations and learn about what works and what doesn't and make a new (Neo) design. I think If you can take a good/bad situation and learn about about what and why (all data) something happened, then that is just being more the wiser.

Did we just design ourselves into a dependent bubble?

Kids these days with their mobile tel-lee-phone and their tweeters with their gimme-gimme-gimme-now-now-now. Lazy-spoiled brats! Back in my day...  

It is difficult to go anywhere without noticing someone on some kind of electronic device. Hell, I am on one now. I kind of need to be using an electronic device to communicate with anyone these days. I need a computer to check important personal accounts and to do my work. Even an amount of my leisure time is spent on YouTube or looking through Pinterest. We have advanced so much with technology that we're starting to not design libraries in schools (That is kind of scary to say). My most recent educational project was designing a high school. We were shut down at the hint of mentioning a library in the program. The director pulled out his smartphone saying "This is my library. I have the world at my fingertips!" Also, three to four years ago my own high school announced they were renovating the library into.... a cafe... I spent many, many minutes in that library and now it is a cafe?! The books in the library were so random and seldom relevant to anything I needed to research, but that is a tangent I should probably refrain from going towards.

(Video is of Louis C.K on Conan O'Brian talking about his plane experience )

I get it! We get information so much faster, with more choices and with great quality. Wait a couple of years and it will get even better! We also start becoming impatient because we are accustomed to instant gratification. Does instant gratification contribute to anxiety? I think so. You could make a drinking game on how many times a person refreshes a page when you're next to someone checking their Facebook on a slow connection. Any little notification 'ping' or highlight and the person is right back on the screen. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people are on their phone or pad during a meal. It is fine if you're by yourself, but at least have enough respect to give your company your attention (little rant, sorry). A lot of people just don't know how to be alone with themselves. That is a pretty tough pill to swallow when you can't stand being alone with yourself. It is almost comical that if you have done something wrong in jail they put you alone with yourself as a punishment.

I suppose today would be one of the worst days to try to be independent from technology because it is the start of the work week and everyone is trying to get back into the routine. I am not saying be totally independent, but just a having little alone time throughout the day dedicated to something that makes you happy.

Pursuit of perfection

Jiro Ono, sushi master

I was suppose to be in bed three hours ago. Three and a half hours of cleaning a turkey, making a brine and preparing stock.The kitchen was freezing and there was a warm bed next to a cozy fireplace waiting for me. Could have all of that waited until morning? Of course it could. It is nearing 4 am and I am exhausted. For those three and a half hours nothing mattered and I was just focusing on achieving perfection. I never notice how I get into this meditation-like 'zone', but I know it well. It is the same unawareness I get when I am building, designing or shooting. The pursuit of perfection is what gets me up at 3:30 in the morning to get to the studio and what keeps me up hours after I was suppose to be sleeping. It is a dedication to craft and the pursuit of perfection.

Kyudo.

It is all about perfection for me. How can I do one-something as perfectly as I possibly can? Will I ever reach perfection? No, I do not believe I will ever reach perfection in anything. I could shoot an arrow everyday for the rest of my life and will probably never attain an absolute perfection. I do not believe perfection is ever meant to be attained. It feels like reaching up and trying to grab the moon. So, why bother if you can't attain perfection? I believe it is the discipline, commitment to the craft and pure pleasure that drives people to put aside their comfort to reach a higher level of meditation. It is not about doing something as quickly as you can to finish a goal, but more about having the pride to perform each individual task as perfectly as you possibly can to accumulate towards a goal. It is really easy to notice how much someone takes pride in their craft. I know I may feel (and look) like crap after, but emotionally and spiritually I feel content. This pursuit of perfection will always make me strive for better. I feel there would be nothing more to advance if I ever reach perfection. With the weekend approaching, I hope everyone gets to set aside some time to immerse yourself in something that brings your great pride and joy.

Real estate and infrastructure

By now you have probably heard me talking about begin ruined by design. It is a simple case of  'ignorance is bliss'. I can no longer walk into a space and not look-up and check out the ceiling or notice the layout of furniture. Designers are a totally different breed. Our brains are rewired differently and we all look at the world completely different from normal people -- we have to. So, for this post when I mention a term like 'real estate', I am not really talking about a piece of land. I am referring to spaces like my room, my desk, my studio or even the interior of my car. Those spaces are valuable real estate to me. I think of these spaces like they are spaces in a retail shop. In retail, if a certain product is not selling or has enough demand, then the product gets taken out or/and replaced. I believe the items in my spaces that I control should add to the quality in my life.

This is where the infrastructure part comes into view. A couple of examples of infrastructure in a city are the utilities and the streets. Infrastructure gives a city the basic needs to function as a society. The items/infrastructure I am referring to are usually tools and sentimental items. My camera, books, colored pencils, computer, sketchbook, coffee, photos of love ones -- these are the basic items in my daily life that give me inspiration, bring more joy to working and contribute to my overall efficiency. At the end of the day it is about surrounding myself with items that contribute to my quality of my life. I can't necessarily control what is outside my my walls, but I can control what is on the inside.

Behind the Design: Logo

There is now a logo! It was overdue. The logo allows for more of an identity to the blog. I am really happy with the outcome. It is simple, straight forward, no fluff and legible. There is a literal sense of a section drawing and a little play with positive/negative space. I decided not to go with a literal perspective view on the word 'Perspective' because putting more graphics on the word looked really cluttered. There is a little bit of minor tweaking that needs to happen, but for now it is pretty good and I am content.

So, what when into the making a logo?

It all starts with bringing things back to basics. Simple quick sketches will get you a long way to just getting ideas out. They don't have to be perfect (as you'll see below), they just have to be something.






















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There is nothing buttoned-up here! It is just quick sketching to get out ideas. You have a checklist of what you want to accomplish and you work off of the needs. All of the sketches probably took no longer than eight minutes at the most. I guess I feel I should clarify that it isn't about the speed that I am emphasizing, but about the content and design process and working off tangents to clarify a direction I wanted to be guided. Ooo! **Important ramble** I feel good design is seldom about designer. The designer should act as a conduit to listen, interpret and facilitate the design process. Once you get into a zone you'll find that the design will begin to design itself. The designers roll is not to fuck screw it up with their ego (a little ego is fine as long as ego isn't the primary driver for the design).

If you noticed the process -- I began to detail the composition. There are positive spaces and negative spaces. There is also that same design 'language' with the words. Notice the word 'Section' is displayed like a section drawing cutting through a ground. I began to hatch the background of the word 'Section', but opted for more of a hatched look.

Once you have the general direction, you can begin to bring the idea into the computer and begin to refine the idea. This is where it can begin to get fun. What is shown above is the same direction -- just minor little details are being tweaked like line thicknesses, sizes, fonts, hierarchy, adding more detail, taking away details so the overall composition doesn't become cluttered. Each iteration is slightly different from the others and gives me more of a range of direction I would like to take. I think I should address the colors shown are used as guidelines for putting a perspective view on 'Perspective'. How it is designed looks very simple, but it allows me flexibility to add playful versions of the logo throughout the year to help highlight special events or days.

One of the "tweaks" I need to perform is a printed test of the logo. As designers, we all know that what is on our screen is never what gets plotted...Ever! As for now, I hope you enjoyed my rant and process.

Order and clarity

Happy new year, everyone! I hope everyone had a very fun, eventful and safe start to their new year. I'm sure all of you guys that made resolutions are off to a great start. Picking right-up where we left off in the 'restraint' post. I couldn't help but notice how much I was cleaning my bedroom and studio. Now, I am not a messy person....unlesss.... It is my personal area behind closed doors. Common areas I use are always as clean and ordered as I can make them -- I just think that is being courteous to other people. Howeeeever, my bedroom and home studio are always messy. I always seem to just save items I think I could use and seldom ever touch again. I also have a bad habit of just throwing my clothes in a corner or on top of the dresser when I get home. Anyway, I could not help reflecting on how much cumulative time I have wasted throughout the year cleaning and getting things in order.

Yeah, sure we have all heard the "put it away now so you won't have to later." speech (which never gets my attention), but It is more about being and becoming efficient. Maybe, we just need a different perspective on how all the little things add-up. Efficiency gets me out of bed and gets my attention. Efficiency, to me, sounds like I am becoming better than the competition. Wait, what competition? Where did that come into the picture? Competition is the best way to make sure your stuff gets done. Maybe it is just in my nature to be competitive, but you can't tell me next time you go into your job and your boss brings-in someone to 'help' you that you are not thinking you are getting replaced. Betcha you are going to work a little harder and shine a little brighter that day, no?

Getting to the point, becoming efficient is a way to bring order and clarity back into the elements of your daily life. If you stay ready, you ain't gotta get ready and you can go on with your life rather than wasting the extra time it takes to clean-up the cleanup. Daily life shouldn't be about having big moments of wasting time doing what should have been done.Now my room and studio are clean, everything (most of everything) is easily accessible and back in order. Which means I can be more efficient and spend more time and energy on what I want to spend more time doing.