peer reviewed!!

well, I must say, basking in the glory that someone other than myself reads this thing my mind has now exploded with ideas.... which I think I'll bait and hang on the line for this weekend. They stem from a suggestion from Nate and I'd like to collect my thoughts before I push them out into the river at 11 pm... I certainly dont want this to become some sort of pity party, so I'm reflecting on Nate's advice as I push forward.

however, I have found a couple of nice links and and thought I'd share


the state of architects websites is pretty sub par.. all flash (literally) and no substance...read on

though if you are traveling to Athens, London or Paris.. you must go here (I think I've posted this before.. but the site is kick-ass and everything one would want...

a little mental stimulation

and some of my own images





I see this sign every day, (twice to be exact) and it always makes me chuckle. You see it right as you emerge onto the roof at the parking deck in Lowell. The goal of the sign seems suspect. I'm sure that even the most astute driver cant prepare for a car to fall from the sky... or from time... (not sure which direction/dimension they intend to reference)





I took the train out to Brookline to meet my new eye doctor today. It was a nice ride and a nice opportunity to get out of the office during the day. I've come to enjoy the green line. Even though it seems to enjoy ending service at government center for some reason the train conductors seem the happiest on this line. Or maybe its just the old world trolley feel one gets as the screeching coaches come lumbering up the track. The red line has definitely been the bane of my existence thus far in Boston. it simply is never on time and or some train is always broken down and affecting the route.

where does this train go?

­So I’d thought I’d take some time to reflect on a few things on my time in Boston so far. This, in my slow attempt to move this blog to something a bit more professional… or at least substantive. Though I’m sure at times I move further away. Oh well… its all a process.

Over the last few weeks I’ve had a litany of opportunities to meet up with people that I haven’t seen since college, or even high school. Some of these meeting have been by chance. Randomly running into people while on a lunch break in Chinatown, while the majority were planned. I found myself in one such engagement last night. Sharing drinks with someone that I haven’t seen (or spoken to) in almost ten years. Outside of the obvious “what the hell have you been up to” questions it evolved into a sort of cat and mouse game of rediscovery. I’ve found that in these recent re-meetings I have figured out a lot more about myself than I otherwise knew, or acknowledged.

With what probably resembles the efficiency of speed dating one is forced to come up with concise answers that otherwise float around in my head for days. The example of what do I see myself doing with architecture entails roughly a couple hours of explanation, but I’ve found can be summarized in a few seconds. And I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

Having to describe who you are, to someone who once knew you is a very odd experience. Immediately one (or perhaps just I) compares their past and present life. It affords you the opportunity to accept, or discharge your personal qualities. For example, often when around people you’ve known for a while you behave as well… you always would. Even if that’s not necessarily you, or maybe just that it is you, but doesn’t seem noteworthy.

I’m not suggesting that since I’m in a new city I’ll become some new person or suddenly change. But its certainly provides a very nice framework in which to establish (or at least become aware) of what qualities of life I’ve come to enjoy and those that I haven’t. These meetings have really highlighted the changes that I’ve gone through and how much I’ve changed, and stayed the same over the years.

So my time in Boston so far has given me the time to finally slow down a bit, and through the establishment of a normal work routine and meeting these old friends figure out how I want to spend my time here.

I’ve also discovered (ironically considering my previous statement) that I cant stand slow people. Their lives just don’t make sense to me. Those that walk slowly down the subway platform or sidewalk, the slow drivers in the left lane… People often tell me life is about the journey, but I would disagree, life happens at specific locations, events, places. And I want to be there when it does, so get out of my way.

I also thought I’d take the time to outline (mostly to myself) a few of the projects I’d like to get started on.

Submitting my thesis work to the BSA student competition. This will require a fair amount of work to get the project to the quality I’m sure they are looking for and fulfill the requirements but I think it would be fun to try and would certainly get the ball rolling in terms of working on my book again and getting it ready to make printed copies.

Rebuilding my portfolio of work… and organizing it into a respectable website. I feel like I have a decent amount of work and I want to come up with a better way of showcasing it.. this requires a fair bit of planning and help…..

Getting my laptop stand idea to a point where it can be legitimately shot down or not as a viable project

Slowly buy Surely....

With every passing week I'm growing more and more comfortable with being home (the weather sure has helped). The office in Boston is great. I'm enjoying my time there and everyone is very nice and very helpful in getting me orientated. Presently the office is mainly focused on Baltimore, we were getting the design development drawing set as well as an associated presentation out last week. I was working on a couple interior perspective shots for materials and such as well as classroom perspectives.
These are really quite basic, going into sketchup and creating the space quickly and then using photoshop to place some materials and things. Initially I was finding it a bit difficultot get into these. Its similar to the perspectives I struggled with for the competitions but now they want to have a bit more precision as well as realistic representations of color and materials. So there is a bit more than just leaving it sketchy. But eventually I got the hang of it and I'm getting better (or I would like to think so) with the whole thing.
At the end of the week I started working on a seating plan for a large auditorium in the building. Trying to figure out how many seats we can fit in and what the spacing will be depending on the types of seats used.
Over the weekend I relaxed, which was great. No running around. I did go to Dover/Portsmouth for Saturday which was nice. Went out to drinks with Maura (who I hadn't really seen in a very, very long time) as well as going to my sister's swim meet at phillips exeter. I poked around the library there in hopes of getting in but I think they were on spring break so no dice. But now that I'm in the area permanently perhaps I'll make a swing by when it will be open. It would be nice to get inside and appreciate the space.
I also found a place in Boston, which is a great load off my mind. Its a nice place in Cambridge that I'm sharing with 3 other roommates. It has off-street parking, short bike commute into the office and is located close to the metro. I think it will be a nice place to get used to Boston City living. I'm looking forward to getting my 4 hours a day I'm loosing to my commute. I think I'll start running again once I get situated there, it will be good to pick up and lord knows I need to get back in shape... But its getting late, so off to bed for me.

first couple weeks

some pictures of my weekend at Killington here


So its been a few weeks since I came back to the states and I've slowly been adjusting to life in Boston. The office is great and its been a nice transition. The commute in from Concord is long, but living with the two Chris's has given me a nice base to call home as I get situated and look for a new place in Boston. We learned that the office in Stuttgart recently won a large project in the city which is great news for the firm.

Also learned that we won the urban design project we were consultants on in Singapore. That is especially nice given that I spent so much time on that project while in Stuttgart. It will be interesting to see what the project turns into and what our role in it will be. Well I have a long weekend of meeting friends and getting to know the city (and some office work) so thats all for now...

as usual I hope to add more as I have more time, which I slowly seem to have more of... its a nice feeling...

back in the U.S.A

hello all!!!

I made it back. the flight home wasnt bad at all. My friend Johnannes gave me a life to the airport with was a big help, as it would have sucked to have dragged my 100+ pounds of stuff to the S-bahn station at 5m on Sunday. Once at the airport I discovered that my flight to London had been cancelled. They put us on a Lufthansa flight that left a bit earlier and there was no problems. Went through security once there (keep count of this for later). The german border police took a bit longer that the others with my passport but didn't say anything and didn't ask any questions. So it would seem I have no problems there. Once in London I transfered to to Terminal 5 and went through security again, full pat down (possibly due to me forgetting I had my watch on... or maybe I just looked weird... who knows.. I waited around in the terminal for a bit, I got my tax refund on the few items I had the receipts for and then made my way to the gate for my flight to Boston. Once there we had to go through additional screening at the gate. (third time).

This took forever, between this and possibly a stacking of planes we didnt leave London till around 12 noon (supposed to be 11). Though somehow we managed to get into Boston around 15 min ahead of schedule... speedy. The flight was good, I slept a bit, watched some tv, tried to read and then slept some more. I got 20 questions from the border patrol guy here.. why I was there so long and how I had so much vacation with my job. through some fancy wording of travel arrangements and (mostly) true statements he sent me on my way. So we'll see if my passport is good the next time I need to go someplace...

I spent the rest of the day at Salt Hill enjoying some music and then moving stuff into my new place in Bow with the two Chris's. It will be a nice place to hang my hat while I search for a reasonable place closer to the city.

The boston office is a complete change from stuttgart. Just on a completely different set of priorities. Its a bit hard to get used to and its definitely going to take me a while to adjust my brain to how this office works. But its nice to come at it from this end than to go the other way. I am working on the Baltimore Law Center project and helping the rest of the office with the drawing sets that are going out.

Well thats all for now... bed is calling after a long first day...