2016 has been a remarkable year for me, yet I have posted
very little, and I’ll endeavor to fill in the blanks before the year is out!
As I write this, I am now in the second half of my first
semester of a Masters of Architecture program at California College of the Arts
in San Francisco. It is the proverbial “drinking
from a fire hose” situation, like the first year of medical school I suspect. Relentless, exhausting, and wonderful.
The CCA first semester is beautifully laid out, as each of
my three classes – Studio 1, Design Media, and Materials + Methods – are
coordinated. Studio 1, for example,
takes the lead, in which we immerse ourselves in a design concept while also
learning about materials. The past eight
weeks involved four such concepts and projects, each two-weeks in duration and
each resulting in a 10”x10”x16” high “cube”.
First: solid/void was manifested
in concrete, the foundation of the project; yes, I learned to make and pour
concrete into a perforated form I had constructed! Second: part/whole in which we had to
assemble at least 200 identical wood pieces into a structure; this involved the
wood shop and a lot of gluing. Third: frame/mass
involved a metal framework – metal shop and welding! – and a mass of hard wood,
with some black string thrown in as filigree for good measure. Fourth: surface/depth in which we were given
free rein to explore materials for enclosure; I utilized clear acrylic onto
which I sandblasted patterns on both sides and then backed with an additional layer of cut black
acrylic. The whole thing was
precariously piled up onto itself but looked pretty stunning by the end, as did
those of the 21 other students. Now we
will endeavor to make this into a “real” habitable tower at ¼” scale by adding
pathways, stairs, and an elevator.
Pretty wild.
Every once in a while, I catch myself at my studio table and
mentally step outside myself to my own astonishment, “Wow, I am really doing
this!” Even as overwhelming as it all
is, I am so grateful for this opportunity to engage in a field that has always
interested me and so happy to be a part of a creative community with shared
interests and goals.
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