lindsay + london

h a p p y h o l i d a y s !

2009-12-24T11:00:00.006Z

warmest wishes for a merry christmas and happy 2010!

cheers from london and see you in phoenix!

AA GRADUATION | 03.JUL.2009

2009-07-16T06:50:00.006+01:00

to see some images from my graduation ceremony at the architectural association:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/Graduation?feat=directlink

Graduates included the AA's postgraduate M.Arch programs: Design Research Lab, Emerging Technologies, Landscape Urbanism, Sustainable + Environmental Design, Housing + Urbanism, Histories + Theories; as well as the B.Arch Diplomas from the undergraduate school (5th-year students). Also, the opening of the AA Projects Review Exhibition coincided with the event . . . and there was lots of champagne!

123 PROJECT BOOK

2009-07-16T05:10:00.017+01:00

one year . 360 PAGES . a comprehensive design + research project portfolio
an urban + architectural proposal for ras' al-khaimah, united arab emirates

to view [BIGGER] pages from my thesis document, click on [above] image
or go to my picture library and select "slideshow" at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/123PROJECTBOOK?feat=directlink
. . . . .

123 final jury panels | 23.JAN.2009

2009-06-16T20:00:00.016+01:00

CLICK ON IMAGE TO [ZOOM IN] ENLARGE

to view a slideshow of our flash presentation see posting further below (scroll down)
OR visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/123FinalThesisPresentation?feat=directlink
to see images from my team's project [123] : a design proposal for the UAE

AADRLv11 grad class celebration | 26.JAN.2009

2009-06-08T04:43:00.006+01:00

view pictures from the DRLv11 dinner party celebrating the completion of our M.Arch degrees at the Architectural Association!: http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/AADRLv11GradClass?feat=directlink

DRL final jury | 22-23.JAN.2009

2009-06-08T01:40:00.010+01:00

see images from the 11 Design Research Lab teams presenting M.Arch thesis work at the Architectural Association: http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/DRLThesisCandidacyJury?feat=directlink

123 final thesis presentation | 23.JAN.2009

2009-06-08T01:37:00.009+01:00

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

123 challenges the proliferation of haphazard urbanisation and incoherent architecture resulting from the accelerated globalization of the Gulf Region, via research on the algorithmic and geometric principles inherent to traditional Arabic patterns. This algorithmic approach constitutes the basis for a new scripted morphology generating variation and difference across urban fields, clusters, and architectural systems. The proposal aims to create diverse, interactive metropolitan spaces which challenge the generic and disconnected qualities of the current Dubai model by offering flexibility within a repetitive coherence . Addressing scenarios of tourism, commercial, and residential development, the project focuses on an area of three distinct peninsulas within the city of Ras' al-Khaimah and operates on a range of scales and patterns where organizational tendencies differing in distribution, density, and structure are generated. From the intersection of arabesque geometries, coded point clouds are scanned in order to establish parametric rules for defining typological difference and relationships between mat building landscape and high-rise clustering, while a structural envelope of variable thickness addresses environmental response and spatial configurations across these building forms. Transformation techniques of blending, fractalizing, disturbance, and layering are investigated to inform adaptable scenarios for future incremental growth, unpredictable development, and nodal densification.

see images from my team's project [123] at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/123FinalThesisPresentation?feat=directlink

real snow

2009-02-03T13:58:00.006Z

the last two days it actually snowed here. now, i know i may have mentioned this happening before here, but who were we kidding, those tiny little flakes weren't really enough to call "snow". BUT this week, it actually accummulated on the ground and resulted in what a true Minnesotan could finally acknowledge as SNOW!
FUN!
of course, London panicked and cancelled absolutely everything. Seriously. Can you believe that absolutely no employees could make it into the banks yesterday? no one at all, to any bank at all? give me a break. And there was no bus services all day. Really. the roads looked fine to me!
i'll put some more pictures up someday when i finish my thesis book, for for now, this is a shot of a cute snow-couple enjoying the trees outside my school. aw. i love naked snowpeople. :)

and finally . . .

2009-01-26T17:43:00.002Z

I PASSED!
i win.

i've got some sleep. now i must go drink heavily.

the BIG CRUNCH

2009-01-24T13:35:00.000Z

i survived! !!

crunchy little update

2009-01-06T22:23:00.003Z

Hi there. I realize i have been a very distant untelling blogger lately, but of course it is because i am overwhelmed with my thesis! Here are the important things to know:

over xmas and nye i was here in london and took a few days to calm down, sleep a little, and enjoy some holiday celebration with friends here. it was weird not being home with my family, and so in a way, i guess i feel like the holidays just didn't happen! but of course i got some nice gifts, ate some nice food, drank some nice drinks, and i look forward to seeing my family after i finish my course. mostly i spent time in my little flat in loads of blankets working on my laptop, and also i picked up a few extra shifts at the pub for some much needed cash.

the school is open again now and so my teammates and i have been busy making files for physical model production in the prototyping lab and also trying desperately to reach some more resolution on the development of our project. its the end of the line and the next few weeks will be the most difficult of all.

final presentations are 22-23 January. here is where we present our design research projects to the AA school and architects from around the world. this is when i will be having the final panic attacks. we present via microphones and flash/beamer presentation, along with 10 printed A0 panels and tables of models in front of a jury of esteemed architects and designers, followed by an intense verbal critique and discussion of our work.

project books are due on 06 February. after we turn in our professionally printed giant project portfolios (hundreds of pages of text, diagrams, renderings, and models) and associated DVD documentation, we are officially finished with the 16-month course. this is when i can breathe

. . . that is IF i pass . . .

and then i have to get a job. find a job. fight the mad economy. battle the job-world. OH! i really cannot wait!

i will be travelling back to the USA to visit my friends and family in Minnesota, Phoenix, and San Diego from 11 February - 25 February. Arrival and departure from Minnesota, with estimated dates in Phoenix around the 17-18, in San Diego around the 19-21, back to Phoenix around the 21st and back to MN before flying back out. My father and i are taking a road trip and i look forward to driving a car for the first time in over a year. I look forward to seeing everyone!

and hopefully i will return then to london with a new job for March and a new type of life to begin again!

cheers to the countdown. cross your fingers i survive.

2009

2009-01-01T21:14:00.004Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

term IV review

2008-12-29T23:20:00.004Z

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/TermIVReview?feat=directlink

sleigh bells

2008-12-24T17:56:00.007Z

hey, merry xmas eve!
hope everyone is having a special twinkly night!

and MERRY CHRISTMAS from LONDON!

i wish i could see you all and give you big warm xmas HUGS.

prototyping presentation

2008-11-18T14:29:00.001Z

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/PrototypingWorkshop#

studio trashbox

2008-11-17T12:02:00.002Z

hey so we had a big review last thursday, which we have spent the last weeks making "prototypes" for. Hence this mess that we call studio.

there is no candy corn!

2008-11-17T11:56:00.005Z

Happy Halloween [late]! It snowed here. Yep.
And i COULD NOT find candycorn anywhere here. WHY?!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/Halloweeeen08#

GOBAMA!

2008-11-05T04:07:00.008Z

VICTORY for AMERICRATS!

i am still up, watching the coverage of the election and wish i was there in the States to CELEBRATE this important event. This is a big deal.
I am so thankful, relieved, and excited.
This is a BIG deal.
We are ready for a new, changed nation.

amy jo, i can't believe you are there in Grant Park in Chicago right now, please scream and cry for me too! xoxo
jess, thanks for the extra cheers, i cheer for YOU and your strength my dear! xoxo

GO VOTE

2008-11-04T23:21:00.004Z

big day, my friends, get to the polls! GOBAMA!
GO!
please win

CHARGE!

2008-10-30T20:29:00.005Z

Q. How many San Diegans fit in Wembley Park Stadium?

A. 83,000.

hahhaa. Ok maybe not all those people were from San Diego. A few from New Orleans, and well, yeah, loads of non-americans, but the cool thing is this: my friend Prachi was here from SD for the Chargers vs. Saints football (american football) game. Yay!

So i got a chance to catch up with my darling friend while she was here for just a couple nights on her way to Africa . . . as everyone who seems to visit me lately . .. . anyway, it was great to see my friend and i now just hope she is safe from safari animals. :)
Big thanks to Prachi and her friends Tim and Jack for gifting me a free seat at the game in Wembley Stadium! The Chargers did lose the game - but it was close. ok. go team!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/SanDiegoCharger#

back to schooooooool, again!

2008-09-22T11:57:00.003+01:00

Hi. I'm a student again.

FINAL TERM :
September 22, 2008 - February 15, 2009
Master of Architecture + Urbanism
Architectural Association School of Architecture

repeat #2 - go vikings! | 12.SEP.2008

2008-09-21T20:17:00.011+01:00

My friend Alex was in England again for work recently and we got a chance to catch up a bit, amongst my family visits as well. As you may recall, alex is a superstar because he was my first visitor last year - and now he has visited again! way to go, Mr. Minnesota! Also we went out with his coworkers, who are super nice and from Ohio. Go go midwest!

Yay. http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/Repeat2#

mum-ma mia! | 10-17.SEP.2008

2008-09-21T11:24:00.005+01:00

my mom came here! yay for "mum"! she also visited for a week, overlapping a few days while my sister was here, and then stayed with me in my little flat after they left. i think i may have walked her halfway around london, but as is the usual induced-exhaustion of my visitors. . . .heeee. Ooops. We had lots of excitement from "tea with the queen", to the theatre, to drinking at the pub, to truffles at Harrods, and me getting my purse stolen (oops again), etc. I made her try dim sum and also indian food - and of course the usual fish and chips. I loved her visit and can't wait to see my fam again! what was your favorite thing, mom?

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/Mum#

sis + bro | 6-13.SEP.2008

2008-09-21T11:23:00.005+01:00

my favorite sister, stephanie, and her husband, wil, came to visit me in london for a week. i squeezed them into my tiny flat and we had a great time pub-crawling around the town together. it was so great to have family here for the first time! xoxoxo

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/StephWil#

since 1985 | 1.SEP.2008

2008-09-21T11:22:00.005+01:00

one of my best friends on the planet was in london a night to see me on her way back to los angeles from the summer in africa . . . (oh and she's a bigger nerd than me - doing her phD at UCLA - so 3 cheers to being a starving students again!)

we've been friends since i was 5! now that is worth celebrating over some seriously large drinks!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/FromAfricaToLosAngeles#

repeat #1 - the sarah! | 30.AUG.2008

2008-09-21T11:19:00.011+01:00

sarah visited (again!) for a couple nights. she is a superstar (as you can see her, very smiley, here with Nigel the Duck, our new friend.)
sarah is my first friend to visit 2 times! Less than one year since her last trip to London. now that is cool. extra points for the sarah! come on people, start catching up!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/Repeat1#

my own flat, finally! | 5.AUG.2008

2008-09-21T11:18:00.005+01:00

i moved. AGAIN. yes, really . . . . but to my own little tiny flat! its glorious. and superclose to my school and my studiospace. YAYayayay. Its ridiculous of course, but honestly i am so happy i can almost forget the cost! (haha, almost!)

http://maps.live.com/?v=2&where1=WC1A%201JS&encType=1

pouring pints | 7.JUL.2008 - 12.SEP.2008

2008-09-20T16:40:00.010+01:00

this summer i worked full-time at a Pub. Yep, pretty funny eh? It was more exhausting than i expected, but a good work-out and nice to be standing up, moving my body - rather than sitting staring at my laptop all day. I made some good friends and really enjoyed being 'sociable' again! fun fun. so now i am an expert 'barmaid'. ha!

i'm continuing to work on the weekends this fall to earn a little extra cash. The pub is called the Horse and Groom and owned by the small british brewery, Samuel Smith. It sells only its own beers and actually is really cheap for london prices: 2pounds/pint! 128 Great Portland Street, W1W. CHEERS!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/ThePub#

liverpuddlejumping | 16.JUL.2008

2008-09-20T16:20:00.007+01:00

i didn't take any major trips this summer, but i did take a day to liverpool. here are the images from the famous "european capital of culture": liverpool.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/Liverpuddle

123 work | 30.JUN.2008

2008-09-20T16:14:00.004+01:00

my team's proposal for ras' al-khaimah, united arab emirates . . . more description coming soon
http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/123FinalPresentation#

i'm alive, i'm living

2008-09-04T16:20:00.009+01:00

I realize that i haven't been updating the blog lately, though i don't know if anyone has noticed! :(

Anyway, i am alive, working, sleeping, etc. and will add some new posts shortly describing what i have been up to this summer, i.e. working at a pub, moving apartments again, hosting visiting friends and family, and preparing for return to thesis maddness! [yess i mean maddness with 2(d)s!]
also i would love to know what all of you are up to. Please email me. i'm not dead - just in london!

No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." — Samuel Johnson

phase I work

2008-07-08T17:19:00.008+01:00

here is a collection of images from all (11) teams in the DRL. [my team's work is labeled: 123]
go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/PhaseIWork to view the slideshow larger

www.aadrl.blogspot.com

exhibition, the fast one

2008-07-08T16:52:00.005+01:00

at the end of each year, the AA puts on a huge exhibition of all the course work during the year. Usually, 2 weeks is spent at the end of term preparing for this. Thankfully, we worked only for a few days on it, as we had requested our reviews to be pushed back due to the DRLTEN exhibition we had put on earlier in the year. Here are a couple photos. Simple. Green.

see the rest here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/ProjectsReviewExhibition

phase I final jury images

2008-07-08T16:28:00.005+01:00

Here is some "scenic" photography of our final reviews at Rove Gallery, featuring the critics (previously listed in the "info" posting). Each of the (11) teams presented and received comments, lasting about an hour each, over 2 days. (10) printed sheets of A0 were required along with the projected presentations.

My team, 123, presented last on the first day and had on the jury: Alisa Azndrasek, Frank Barkow, Dana Cuff, Winka Dubbeldam, Lars Spuybroek, Ben Van Berkel, Brett Steele, and Zaha Hadid. eee-yeah. A number of these pictures are from our review. Overall, we survived and got helpful comments. also, i finally used the laser-cutter at school and learned Flash [which also involves f'ing scripting!], with some serious help from friends, and am becoming so computer-software obsessed it is scary. I think i have forgotten how to draw. Eeh.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/DRLFinalPhaseIJury

the good news is, we "passed" and get to move onto "phase 2" next fall. of course, we have to do work this summer, but i am a bit relieved not to feel so negatively stressed. Phew.

schoooools - out - for - summer

2008-07-08T16:26:00.002+01:00

i have gotten some sleep now. It is glorious. "phase I" is over. DRL summertime has begun. and guess what, the sun does shine here . . . for a few minutes, between violent bursts of pouring rain. . . .

the beauty cake

2008-07-08T16:20:00.003+01:00

look at this cake my teammates bought for me on my birthday. It was almost too pretty to eat . . . . but it tasted even better, imagine. Ah.

DRL FINAL JURY info

2008-06-19T21:34:00.009+01:00

Design Research Lab [DRL] Phase I Final Public Jury
Monday 30 June and Tuesday 1 July, 10.00 to 6.00
Kenny Schachter ROVE Gallery, 33 Hoxton Square, London N1

Phase I students have explored urban globalisation and the diverse contingencies, constraints and opportunities of four sites located in New York, Moscow, São Paolo and Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE.
Four parallel design studio briefs by Yusuke Obuchi, Patrik Schumacher, Theodore Spyropoulos and Tom Verebes focused on the design of urban and architectural prototypical environments.

Invited critics include: Alisa Azndrasek, Frank Barkow, Dana Cuff, Winka Dubbeldam, Philippe Morel, Lars Spuybroek, Charles Jencks, Neil Spiller, Charles Walker.

[team] 1 2 3 [site] ras' al-khaimah, united arab emirates
claudia dorner [austria], sergio reyes [colombia], and myself [usa]

eleven

2008-06-19T13:37:00.004+01:00

[days til review:11] . . . is this stuff clear? No. . . . I don't think so either!

T-13 [days]

2008-06-17T23:12:00.005+01:00

bigAL, big30

2008-06-16T11:54:00.005+01:00

watch out, san diego!

H A P P Y 3 0 A L I S O N !
[insert vodka cocktail here]

photo: LITTLE SEQUOIA in her natural environment, sans theGHOSTBEAR5.

31 fathers' days

2008-06-15T11:40:00.020+01:00

to the coolest DAD in the world:
H A P P Y F A T H E R S ' D A Y
love you lots and hope you have a great day. i miss you tons!

. . . so, which toy are you going to drive today?
. . . ok, 5 seconds, what are these pictures of, exactly?

june gloom

2008-06-10T00:40:00.012+01:00

this month will probably hold few postings, as we are entering the final weeks of termIII, preparing for the big presentations June 30-July 1 [2008] of our preliminary design proposals. eeek. luckily, after July4th or so, we are technically on summer "break" which means i might be able to calm down a bit and perhaps do some laundry. :)

the sun has been shining more often here though, and i just realized that its June! time is, well, where is the time?!
hope you are all escaping any june gloom and enjoying the summer - wow, did i just say summer? Huh. That's strange.

june at the AA means people eat lunch outside . . . in the pavillion: cspacepavilion.blogspot.com/

baby's first "parametric tower"

2008-06-07T19:45:00.005+01:00

I recently attended a 4-day workshop on the parametric (rule/relationship-based) software program called Digital Project. It is a version of Catia (typically in aerospace engineering for designing spaceships or something) developed by Gehry Technologies, which is a branch of Frank O. Gehry Associates (big-wig architect, Los Angeles). They have created their own version of the software program for architecture and it is amazing.

You draw everything based on relationships to other things, and develop a set of inputs that you can control to see variations and different scenarios without having to draw 9000 versions. It is very difficult, as it took us 3 hours just to draw 3 points and 2 lines, but at day four we had completed a building envelope, a shell structure, a floor slab system, and a detailed facade with responsive components. All of which had their own set of parameters you could adjust to see different results. Each part is linked to the other parts and updates itself according to any changes made. Its really powerful. I am not using it specifically for my project yet, but hope to incorporate it a lot after this next big review. [I'll try to put up some other images soon.] Go, go, skyscrapers.

It is crazy. http://www.gtwiki.org/

boo for no more booze

2008-06-01T13:21:00.006+01:00

Yesterday was the last day of being able to legally drink on the tube and other buses and public transport in london. Boo. Thats dumb, huh.

Atleast i got to do it a few times . . . . and see, Craig: Kelley and I were legal - wuss! :) Now we are part of history!

Sad days of Londsay. Future visitors will not get this fun experience. (Though i didn't even know about it - apparently there was a huge party on the tube last night)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/boris_johnson/2060924/Carnage-during-Tube-alcohol-party.html

memorial day

2008-05-26T15:40:00.006+01:00

so apparently the brits have a "bank holiday" today too, not sure why - they have "remembrance day" at a different time of the year . . . . but i guess it just seems a good day to have a holiday, all around the world.

hope its a bit sunnier for all the festivities back in the states . . . things are a quite wet here at studio!

[midTerm]WORK

2008-05-23T14:52:00.016+01:00

our project, sited in Ras' al-Khaimah, northeast of Dubai along the coast of the Persian Gulf, explores geometries and variations associated with arabic patterns in an attempt to find contemporary formal, structural, and organizational solutions (using parametric and computational tools) for an architectural and urban proposal that maintains a link to cultural specificity while contending with the rapid globalization of the emerging city. we situate our selected site as a central node to connect three different parts of the city, bridging from seacoast across an inland estuary and toward the desert and mountains.
this work is in an intermediate stage, simply showing a production of process and ideas to be developed for our proposal presentations at the end of Term III, June 30 - July 1.

larger viewing of the files: http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/MidTermIIPresentation

sister sister

2008-05-23T14:20:00.005+01:00

hey, STEPH: happy birthday, sissy!
have a giant fishbowl drink to celebrate getting past 30!

midTERM!

2008-05-19T23:23:00.003+01:00

sooo, big review with microphones on thursday. crap!

so yeah, um, here's a site map. yep, that's all you get til after the review, then maybe i'll upload some actual pictures of the work! eh

oh, brother

2008-05-11T15:20:00.004+01:00

also as a proper dirtbag sister, i was a bit late to wish my favorite brother a HAPPY BIRTHDAY on May 4th. seems he's now scubadiving in the mexican seas or something . . . must be rough being over 30!

CHEERS WIL!

and also a small bat-sized cheers to GUINNESS

mother's day - in the USA!

2008-05-11T15:11:00.003+01:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my mom of course . . . good thing she reminded me - ooops!
. . . but atleast it looks like someone remembered to get her something - nice caddy!

GLAM3

2008-05-09T11:15:00.022+01:00

I am so spoiled, two of my bestest san diego girlfriends were here last weekend visiting me! yay. For a moment, we were 3.

I managed to fit them both inside my tiny flat and we had a great couple of days together. Now there are off in Prague, Vienna, Zurich, Florence, or Rome . . . yes, they left me behind!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/GLAM3

american invasion

2008-04-22T00:23:00.013+01:00

as you may have heard, some very dear friends of mine recently visted LONDSAY [from san di-ah-go: Craig, Kelley + Steve; and from pittsburgh: Matt + Michelle: though really all proper "midwesterners" from the start!]. of course, i forced them to eat fish and chips . . . and peas, but we didn't get the mushy ones! i was upset really :(

while i was doing some work, they managed to tour the town - in abnormally sunny and warm temperatures (perhaps following them from california) - from top to bottom, and i met up with them daily in time for beers, beers, and more beers! heee. We also went to the The-a-tre (insert funny snooty accent) and went to some really great restaurants and bars. You can view the rest of the pictures here (click on "slideshow"): http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/MidwesternersLostInLondontown

it was amazing to have them here and i only hope they enjoyed their stay as much as me! the crazies also tagged visits to other countries in with their trips, so should have been officially exhausted by the travelling madness.

T3

2008-04-14T00:13:00.005+01:00

term three of my bigwigeducation starts today. whooohoo.
yeah. vacation is so much easier. (i'm back from bellaroma . . . back, with better shoes!)

when in rome . . .

2008-04-10T18:16:00.023+01:00

its amazing here, always. i am sitting outside on the terrace of Iowa State University's College of Design in Rome, with my laptop and wireless internet, no jacket, and a nice south breeze. ahhh. mi amore.

ahlora, dove mi vino?

you can view the other photos i took on my trip at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/ROMADue

vai a roma

2008-04-10T00:39:00.011+01:00

[today] i am going back to roma - first time since 6 years ago, the infamous duemilledue! aaaaah!
can't remember how to say hardly anything in italian, ahlora! visisito mi scuola de arkitectura undergraduate-a. heheheheeee. no clue. really. crap.

UAEDRL day 5

2008-04-08T18:35:00.010+01:00

DAY 5 dubai creek, the desert, and "dune-ing"

On our last full day, i took the morning and walked from the hotel back to the "creek" and took a water-taxi across from Bur Dubai to Diera and back. The whole ride cost 1 dhiram, approximately 20cents. Its a pretty quick way to get across the water, as there is no good public transportation in the city. However, by the time i got back to my hotel a couple hours later, i was sweating profusely from my "leisurely morning stroll" in the desert heat!

Then in the afternoon, we ventured out into the Desert on an arranged Dune-excursion. Some guys with 4x4s picked us all up and drove us out into the Dunes. They are amazingly beautiful and we had a ton of fun with the crazy drivers. Next time i will try "dune-surfing" which we saw some poeple attempting down the large hills, as well as Dune-bugging - something i've always wanted to try. I did get a chance to also ride with a random guy on his ATV and that was fun as well - unfortunately he wouldn't let me take it for a spin on my own! boo.

In the evening they took us to a bbq out in some tents and we had traditional belly-dancing and other crazy entertainers. Kinda fun, but cheesy. Oh well. When we got back, some of us taxied back to the fancy Marina district and went to the Buddha Bar, which was very posh and full of equally cheesy international high-rollers. Finally, however, a decent Martini and with the exchange rate, whoohoo! :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/UAE5

UAEDRL day 4

2008-04-08T18:34:00.032+01:00

project site: Ras' al-Khaimah

DAY 4 we travelled up the coast to Ras' al-Khaimah, the northermost emirate of the UAE, where we are situating our design proposals. The city is very small, as compared with Dubai, with currently only 250,000 people - however, the population is expected to triple to 750,000 in the next 10 years - yikes!

The city itself however is relatively uninspiring. Large expanses of nothing with scattered amounts of tattered dusty low buildings. The most impressive thing about the city is the diverse landscape, as it stretches from coastal beaches on the Persian Gulf (very clear clean water) through an inland estuary or lagoon of sea-water with a curious amount of vegetated land within, across a sandy desert with a string of date-palms, to the abrupt rise of rocky hills and mountains to the north east. Ras' al-Khaimah (also referred to as RAK) is the only emirate with these mountains and they are somewhat its identity. Hoping to bring in tourism associated with these mountains, the city lies aproximately 4 kilometers from their base. Across the mountains is Oman, and the Indian Ocean. Together with Iran (across the Gulf) this small tip of peninsula land of the UAE and Oman share the entry and exit point to the Persian Gulf, making RAK (known as Julfar) one of the most important Pirate ports back in the day! Arrrrgh.

RAK is also known amongst the UAE as having retained some of its heritage, and still possessing a visable connection with its history and culture. However, we were surprised to find very little in terms of built or preserved structures beyond that of a very small museum. Now, unfortunately the city center of life seems to be that of a very ugly shopping mall, perched on the edge of the estuary. Inside its air-conditioned food courts seems the only place to find people in mass.

However, the city is sitting duck for massive development, and i fear in the grotesque way of Dubai. The immense amount of unused coastal and lagoon-side land surely makes hotel developers drool, and the new Free Trade Zone with much cheaper rates than Dubai will surely bring in multinational companies to settle there. The mountains will indeed form a beautiful backdrop for an emerging city, atleast when the sand in the air doesn't haze-out their view.

The three teams in our studio each select their own sites to work on within RAK, and we are all expected to address the topics of tourism, commerce, and housing over a 20 year span, while focusing on our own particular areas of interest. For my team specifically, the issues to deal with are related with identity and how to deal with design for both a globalized future and locally specific place. Creating space for public life and central activity is also important in the sprawling town while addressing the extreme difference in landscape conditions.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/UAE4

UAEDRL day 3

2008-04-08T18:34:00.029+01:00

DAY 3 of our trip was spent with a morning on the beaches in Dubai, seeing the sharp contrast between public and private and what resort destination Dubai is. In the afternoon we travelled along the desert coast to Abu Dhabi, the largest city in the U.A.E. with 1.8 million inhabitants currently.

The Dubai beaches were stunning and the weather was beautiful at this time of year - i can't image it in the summer with scorching temps, but in mid-March, we managed to get lobster sunburns in just a few hours, soaking up the warmth that doesn't seem to ever hit Londontown! However, the public beach was not nearly as nice, however packed with many young guys having a fun afternoon singing or listening to music. I of course was a spectacle of much attention with my blonde hair, and overheard numerous times "California" muttered with shy smiles as i passed by!

After the beach, we drove to the new Marina district, and overwhelming (and impressive) undertaking of skyscraper construction along the coast south of the city center. It is a truly dense construction of towers, perhaps much more successful in terms of urbanism than the strip-row of Sheik Zayed Road. It would be interesting to see this place again in just a year or two as people are beginning to live there.
Then was a startling and disgusting drive out to one of the off-shore islands constructed as "Palms". Some of the pictures here demonstrate how "unspecial" it really is, in contrast to the image it advertises as such a luxurious place to live. However, it is clearly expensive and exclusive, as they wouldn't even let us drive out onto the "fronds" without a pass.

We spent the afternoon and evening in the capital city of Abu Dhabi, which is about an hour and a half south of Dubai, of course along the coast as well. This city is known as the richest city in the world and is home to the wealthiest of sheiks due to its oil-rich vast expanse of desert land it controls. Some people say they aren't even sure if Abu Dhabi will ever run out of oil, as they expect to discover even more. I am not sure this is a valid expectation, with oil running out everywhere, but in contrast to Dubai which expects to run out of oil by 2020, this city has atleast another 50 years of production capacity! eeee. And so they plant a lot of green grass - because they can. Yikes.

We went to the old fort and poked around at a relatilvely dead urban core city. Here also i experience more stares from the people than in Dubai. In the evening when we went to the Grand Mosque - an incredibly gorgeous construction - but i didn't even dare get out of the car, as i was not appropriately dressed and lacking a head-covering. But it was cute to turn and find some little girls giggling outside our van, as they were trying to touch my blond hair seen through the open window behind my seat. :) It was also really interesting to see the mass of people strolling into the large mosque, some dressed in complete robes, others wearing jeans and t-shirts.

We drove back to Dubai then and went out for food in the other "old" part of the city on the southside of the Dubai Creek, known as Bur Dubai. After searching for a cheap place listed in our guidebook for an hour or so, my teammates and I finally got a recommendation from a local guy of another place to go, and had a great meal at a very active streetside restaurant, at around 11pm, for approximately 3 pounds each, including drinks and dessert. Wow! It was pretty wierd too, when we arrived and asked if we could sit outside (since the weather was so nice) the host actually kicked out some other guys sitting having beverages at a table! We told him it was unnecessary and we had no problem waiting or sitting inside, but he insisted on shooing them off and gave us the seats. The street was very busy with guys hanging out, but i actually saw very little females. This is probably due to the fact that many of the young men have come from other countries, unable to bring their families along on their visas.

You can see a larger (higher quality) version of this slideshow at: http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/UAE302

UAEDRL day 2

2008-04-08T18:34:00.017+01:00

DAY 2 of our trip took us to Dubai's neighboring city of Sharjah, a city of around 1million seen more as a blue-collar or commuter population, though home to perhaps more cultural and educational facilities. We spent part of our day at the American University Sharjah [AUS] with some students and faculty of the Architecture department there. Presentations were given both by us and them, as we shared a conversation about design in the U.A.E.

As you can see by the photos, the American University (most educational facilities are also 'imported') is a large campus with vast lawns and college buildings - much different than the AA's little house in London.
After our workshop, we travelled through the Sharjah traffic jam toward the shore for our first glimpse at the beach - sadly a dissappointly depressing destination, but still warm weather and a break from the roads.

In the evening we travelled back to Dubai and visited the Mall of the Emirates (the largest mall in the world - though i don't believe it is actually bigger than MN's Mall of America), and had our hand at late-night snowskiing at the infamous Ski Dubai - the largest (of course) indoor ski mountain. So yes, my 3rd time skiing, was in the desert at 11pm. yep, bizarre.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lindsaycarol/UAE2

UAEDRL day 1

2008-04-08T17:31:00.010+01:00

As you know, my studio group visited the United Arab Emirates last month to investigate the context surrounding our project site in the city of Ras' al-Khaimah, north of Dubai, on the Persian Gulf.

DAY 1 included first landing in Dubai and driving down Shiek Zayed Road (the infamous road with all the skyscrapers - the image of Dubai), then walking into the old city, known as Diera on the East side of Dubai Creek. Diera is home to crowded streets and a complicated maze of souks (markets).

The city is a crazy land, really, with skyscrapers popping out of nowhere, massively taking over the image and skyline of a generally sprawling city. The rate of construction is amazing, and we all know how i love super-dense high-rise cities - but Dubai has big issues, and i could write on and on about its projected problems. But for now, a brief description of DAY 1 will simply be described as visiting a place very different than anywhere i'd been before. Of course, parts of the city are very "Western" mostly, American-inspired, kinda like the BigMac - yikes - with giant roads and gas-guzzling SUVs; but also it is clearly an Arab world, and i stuck out like a sore thumb in many neighborhoods with my blonde hair and California sunglasses. My classmates said it was similar to India in many ways, especially the super-crowded market neighborhoods with tiny winding streets and large population of Pakistani and Indian merchants. Speaking English wasn't a problem at all however, as most people there are ex-patriates from other countries, so languages spoken are very diverse. My Indian classmates reckognized Hindi spoken more often than even Arabic. I just noticed lots of people staring at me. :) In many ways, i think Dubai is like Vegas: You can love it, yet you hate it.

[you can click on the slideshow above to activate controls and then to also link to my picasa photo album, which contains some captions of the photos. you can also view a much larger (higher quality) version of the slideshow through my picasa album: http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/UAE1 ]

finsbury park to fitzrovia

2008-04-07T18:02:00.010+01:00

so here are some photos of my new place, located in a really nice neighborhood called Fitzrovia, between Marlyebone (super swank) and Bloomsbury (where my school is), just on the north side of Oxford Street and Soho. Closest tube is Oxford Circus [Central (red) Line] (god help me during the summer madness and the christmas frenzy) or also Goodge Street [Northern (black) Line] on Tottenham Court Road. So yeah, i'm surrounded by high end stores selling fashion and electronics. Great, i have tons of money for that. Right. crap.

as you can see, the whole place is quite small, however it seems cosy. it is essentially a little lean-to shack on the backside of another building and in the interior of a mansion block courtyard - thus surrounded by 4-6 story old brick buildings that are probably much nicer! the cool part of being on the inside is that the outside courtyard area you see is our own. seems my roommate likes plants, and i spotted a little grill as well, so perhaps it is pleasant to sit outside once it warms up!

And so, it is very small, very dark, and so far freezing cold and damp feeling, but i love the neighborhood and am really enjoying being able to hop outside and just walk to anything! I can also grab a number of buses on Oxford street that go straight to my studio if it is too chilly or my heels are too high to walk!
i have already discovered a number of great bars/pubs/underground grottos/restaurants/bagelshops, all within 2 minutes walk, so i feel it is going to be really fun living here. yayyy

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/Fitzrovia

inside the tinyness

2008-04-07T16:51:00.034+01:00

the apartment (i'm not really sure it counts as a flat, or a house. ?) is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom place which i share with a girl named Katrine, who is from Denmark and works in advertising while also doing her master's degree - yes, i'm serious, i have my own bathroom. though it is tiny, as is my tiny closet-sized bedroom (compare with past flat in finsbury park previously posted), i have managed to fit all of my things! amazing. the two bedrooms are on opposite ends of the house, and inbetween in the living room (lounge) with dining table and then a small counter-kitchen right near my room. Its fairly run down in terms of materials on the floor and whatever, but has everything i need minus a clothing dryer of course. :( i am very happy for white walls though, and you can see some nice large mirrors to make the place appear bigger!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/Fitzrovia

torch

2008-04-07T14:28:00.009+01:00

yesterday was the passing of the Olympic Torch through London. i just happened to be out on the street in Whitechapel with a friend when it passed by. [you can see the torch in the second image with the red bus behind it - click on the image to enlarge it.]
More impressive than seeing the torch was seeing the pro-Tibet protestors boo and hiss at the Olympians against China. Apparently someone tried to steal the torch and also another person tried to extinguish the flame with a fire extinguisher! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7332942.stm
I saw an elaborately costumed group of protestors with music and microphones putting on a sort of song and dance skit impersonating the Chinese emperor and his quest for 'Power'. It was intense.

also, it is freezing cold here these last two days after a few super warm days of sun and light jackets. It even SNOWED on me yesterday, giant superflakes. wtF!

studio to crazyland

2008-03-29T18:25:00.017Z

Last week my studio went on our trip to the United Arab Emirates in the Persian [Arabian] Gulf. As a group of 10 students (working in 3 teams) under the direction of our tutor tom verebes, we based ourselves in the booming city of Dubai and also explored the desert, coast, and cities of oil-rich Abu Dhabi, less-shiny Sharjah, and Ras' al-Khaimah - a much smaller and poorer city where our project site is to be situated.

The three other studio groups in my same program are simultaneously visiting different cities around the world, as we work on a shared investigation of global urbanism. Check out the DRL blog http://aadrl.blogspot.com/ to view updates on the excursions to the UAE; + Brazil: San Paulo, Brasilia, and Rio; New York New York; and Moscow, Russia.

Click on the photos to see enlarged images. Also, you can view my interactive map via: http://maps.live.com/?v=2&cid=5B9F3C59AFAC79BB!113&encType=1

flathunting

2008-03-27T16:47:00.009Z

hiii. i found a new place to live. yes, very exciting, it is much closer to my school and my studio and in a super nice neighborhood . . . . and yes, its absolutely tiny and will barely fit me much less my shoes. :)

moving day is April 1st, so look forward to pictures!

Here is a link to the map showing my school, studio, old and new apartment locations.
LONDSAY MAP http://maps.live.com/?v=2&cid=5B9F3C59AFAC79BB!106&encType=1
you can look at aerial mode or road mode or hybrid mode, and zoom and pan and oh isn't it just gorgeously fun? heheh. shnazzy. in the center. bam.

i survived the sunshine

2008-03-24T23:37:00.007Z

help! quicksand!

haha, just kidding.
i'm back, i skiied, i dune-buggied, i was on the beach and i was on a boat all in one week. crazyness. Pictures coming soooon!

h a p p y k e l l e y

2008-03-17T10:55:00.006Z

she's 30?! (on friday)

can't wait to see you guys and celebrate kelley's birthday london-style! (which pretty much just means BIGGER pints). have a good trip to india :)

dubbbbbbbbai

2008-03-17T10:50:00.003Z

i go today. (back on sunday 23rd.)

guess i should pack . . .

. . . for 68-86 degrees F! (20-30 C)

h a p p y k i l l e r c r a i g c r a w l

2008-03-17T10:29:00.011Z

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRAIG!

can't wait to see you

looking for a leprechaun this st. patrick's day? i heard there is quite a dancing machine back in san diego . . . on his way to london so watch out!

countdown 6 5 4

2008-03-08T12:47:00.012Z

as of today i have less than one week left of term 2 - F! (here is a picture of my studiomates working hard - and sleeping hard - and also one of my teammates)

yeaaaah, presentation is on wednesday [12 march] and last day of school before break is friday [14 march]. eeeeeee!
thursday is the big DRL TEN book launch and (supposed) Pavillion opening associated with the exhibition, so it should be a fun way to end the term.

critique on wednesday will be interesting as this term has been quite strange . . . but hopefully i am super productive this weekend and we have some good potentials to discuss. yikes.

"break" (and it is in quotations for a reason of course) is until 14 April (!!!) and i have many things to do during the next weeks like:

1. go to Dubai (and Abu Dhabi, Ras' al-Khaimah, etc.) [17-23 march]
2. move into a new apartment (YES!) [23-25 march]
3. write a term paper
4. write another term paper
5. continue my studio project
6. party with craig and kelley and steve and matt and michelle while they are all here visiting me [1-6 april]
7. go to Rome to visit my old school and profs there [10-12 april]
8. go to a grocery store
9. do laundry
10. drink heavily

british mother's day

2008-03-02T13:33:00.005Z

today [in the U.K.] it is Mother's Day. So i think about my MOM lots!

. . . and Bob and Norm are are back to say hello and send happy smiles!

the earth . . . moves . . . under my feet . . .

2008-02-28T16:13:00.005Z

so it is true, exciting news in england . . . E A R T H Q U A K E . . . maybe here's not so different from california after all . . .

yep, somewhere in wales the night before last, 5.4 or something scale, but supposedly felt here in foggylondontown.
i didn't notice it, but apparently some of my classmates did (i think maybe they were drunk) :)

i guess it was the biggest earthquake in the UK in 30 years or something, and was also on the news . . . which i of course do not watch! hhahaeeeh.

don't worry, nothing fell on my head and damaged my little brain. too bad really, maybe would have knocked some sense back into me!

DRL "live" exhibition

2008-02-24T16:43:00.005Z

this is the pavillion being constructed at the AA as part of the DRL TEN exhibition. The DRL students are doing most of the construction, however there were some special guys with a big crane to install the steel structure yesterday. i, of course, have many opinions about this project and the exhibition we put on, but i am trying to remain positive about the excitement it does bring to the school. ;)

londoning

2008-02-24T16:31:00.004Z

today i took a walk outside, down oxford street (looking for a new warm hat - as i lost my other one on a bus or something - and now they don't sell the same one anymore at H&M so i am devastated), through piccadilly circus and past trafalgar square. there was a lot of people out because the weather is warming.

i ate some lunch here by the national gallery. some people were vacuuming bread and pigeons in the square with a green hoover. strange.

DRL TEN

2008-02-23T11:40:00.003Z

we have been working on putting up an exhibition and pavillion at the AA celebrating 10 years of the Design Research Lab (i'm year 11). take a look at www.aadrl.blogspot.com for recent photos of the construction. . . . . .

last night was the opening party so more pictures will come soon . . . .

v day

2008-02-14T21:37:00.013Z

roses are red

violets are blue

but londsay'd be better

if you were here too

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HAPPY VALENTINES

ooooo voo

2008-02-12T15:18:00.013Z

okay skype is nothing compared to oovoo
you can video conference w/ up to 6 people at once, and even show them what is on your screen or watch a movie together or whatever.

please sign up so i can see multiple friends at once. i miss multiple friends. [of course its FREE.]

h a p p y c h a o

2008-02-10T14:59:00.000Z

naaaaan, nanchao, holy crap - are you 30????

HAPPY F!n BIRTHDAY
do something crazy to celebrate!

h a p p y c h r i s t i e

2008-02-10T14:03:00.000Z

and another one:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTIE!!
may the beefcakes be plentiful

package of gold

2008-02-09T16:26:00.001Z

i recently received a care package from nancy chao, filled with what can only be termed "survival essentials". F!

1. orbit [team] mojito gum !
2. airborne "to keep you from germy germs" !!
3. thai noodle soup !!!
4. a CD w/ nan-ish music !!!!
5. trader joe's CHAI latte !!!!! (there can be no greater gift)
6. felt 'um' bag !!!!!! www.joshjakus.com um, HOT

thank you so much! you (and the contents of the package) are amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!

new skillz

2008-02-09T15:55:00.000Z

hi. so yeah, we are being quite nerdy over here at school, and for a recent one-week "diagram" assignment my team focused on some new research into arabic geometry patterns (which relate to our project site in the UAE) and used the workshop to develop some initial scripting skills. yeah! this one focused on designating heirarchies of intersection nodes and then eliminating certain lengths of lines. sounds kinda basic, vague, and silly, but it was an initial step into the land of computational geeking.

not sure what it will become, but alas, it is . . . something.

[this isn't actually what we turned in, i just think its 'prettier' for the website]

h a p p y l a u r a

2008-02-09T15:19:00.001Z

there are so many birthdays !

HAPPY 28 BIRTHDAY LAURA!

go to Napa

ikea: take two [rewind]

2008-02-09T14:34:00.000Z

So yeah, i went back to IKEA a week or so ago to get some additional storage items, and well, lets just say it wasn't quite as "quick and easy".

yep, after finishing my shopping, i apparently got on the wrong bus when leaving ikea - though it was the same bus stop and bus number i had taken before - and shortly found myself winding through unfamiliar streets somewhere in north london. finally, like an idiot, i asked the driver if she was going toward Tottenham Hale station, and she looked at me funny and quite rudly said just, "no."
so i got off the bus, thinking i would just catch the next one going the opposite way. of course, this was without realizing that we weren't even at a bus stop, in fact there was no bus stop or other buses to be seen! luckily, another poor ikea victim also heard me ask the driver, and had gotten off the bus behind me as well, so i was not alone.
my new friend Alex (a really nice girl from Denmark) and I then spoke breifly and decided to start walking back in the direction we'd come from to find the nearest bus stop.

well, we walked. and walked. and walked some more. no bus stops to be found. Yikes.

eventually, about 25 minutes later, we came across a small off-license were we asked the clerks where to find the nearest bus stop. they pointed us across the street and said simply "the bus stop is there." ok. cool.
except once outside, again no sign of a bus stop. so stainding there dumbly, we noticed another woman (who had apparently been in the shop behind us) signaling for us to go to the corner, just across the road. Ok.
she then signalled to us "just wait there" and so we did.
to our relief, a bus arrived about 5 minutes later, and we signalled to it and thankfully it stopped for us. apparently in north london, you just have to know where to stand, as marking the bus stops with signs is not always done. nice.
so back to ikea we went, then passing it and back to our original destination of the tube station. i finally returned home 3 hours after i had left -

not quite the nice 1 hour round-trip i was expecting - with a very sore shoulder from toting my heavy purchases through the random streets. eeee.
but the cool thing is, i met a new person, and a girl too. maybe she and i will become friends, she quite nicely gave me her number and recommended a place that might be renting rooms for cheap near my school. YAY.

and then there was sunshine

2008-02-09T13:54:00.001Z

today is gorgeous outside. blue sky in london! (i know, its a shock)

i ate lunch outside. i sat [briefly] in a park. it was warm.

[I didn't have my camera with me today on the way to school, but these pictures were taken earlier this year, on similarly nice sunny days. You can see the skyline on the Thames of course, from the Millenium Bridge, and the bus pictures are taken from the top of my bus leaving Finsbury Park station (my 'hood.)]

Mr. 63

2008-02-07T13:39:00.000Z

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

do something fun to celebrate!

love + miss you tons

Mrs. 60

2008-02-02T15:20:00.002Z

the coolest 60-year-old i know

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

i love you

i miss you

i wish i could be there for your "surprise" party

i went to IKEA!

2008-01-27T22:14:00.000Z

so after only 4 months, i finally went to IKEA. Yep on a saturday night (its open til 10pm). Yes, it actually took me four months before i could find time to make the journey to one of the megastores. ridiculous, of course, but alas i have made the pilgrimage.

i realize that this must not sound all that exciting, but when you move to another country with two suitcases and no money, this becomes your biggest fantasy! heee. i purchased two table lamps and a clothing stand - i can finally stop hanging my wet clothes on top of my desk and closet in order for them to air dry! i also got a couple other odd things, a power strip, some lightbulbs, etc. and there are a few things i want to go back and get (because i couldn't carry them all home - no car, remember?!) exciting, i know.

so yeah, it was actually super easy and hardly took very long at all. i was expecting it to take hours to travel there and back, etc. but it was really quite smooth and quick! i am fortunate to live on the tube line that goes to the Edmonton Ikea, and then there is a bus that goes straight there. It was about 5 minutes on the tube (only 2 stops) to Tottenham Hale and then 10 minutes on a bus, and some time to change or whatever, but seriously i was there in less than a half an hour! hooray. And they also give you these handy-dandy giant IKEA carrying bags to tote your things home on the public transportation system - of course i didn't realize this til at the check-out so i didn't go back and get the additional items i wanted. I'll just have to go back sometime - and reuse my bag. YAY. it was so happymaking to be there. Odd, because in San Diego i absolutely hated going to IKEA. Strange, huh?

anyway, this store was gigantic. really, even for an IKEA, it was enormous. I think its fairly new. there was like 82 restaurants inside of it, i think. (j/k)

And it was really weird to be out in the suburbs. its just like in the states really (i passed a 24hour gigantogrocery store and some movie rental places, and drive-up fast food - ew), but for some reason i was sort of surprised, i guess just because i spend all my day in central london where the buildings are bursting at the seams.

but yeah, sorry Steph, my giftcard didn't work. :( boo.

what to expect

2008-01-25T23:08:00.000Z

the past 2 days at school, Phase II DRL thesis candidacy reviews have taken place. This is basically, the final presentation of Design Research Lab students in expectation of their graduation from the M.Arch program.

This will be me, in one year's time.

As Phase I students, we have been helping the outgoing students prepare for their reviews for the past two weeks, and this has allowed me to learn a lot about what is ahead of me in terms of the expectations and possibilities of the DRL program. It is both exciting and scary at the same time, and while i saw a lot of amazing things these past two days during review, i also became a bit nervous as also seen were some, well, 'bad' projects. I think, however, i am eager in anticipation to make progress such as these teams did, but at the same time a bit apprehensive of all the work and capabilities it takes to carry out a successful project. Eeek.

But, game on, i'm a bit refreshed with a stronger drive to plunge forward, as the most impressive projects truly heralded incredible responses, from both students and professionals all around. To achieve such a response and create such an incredible catalogue of work will be valuable beyond just his next year, it is obvious. (People were actually offered jobs from world-renowned architects on the spot. Whoa.) You can really see the growth everyone has made in just 16months if you assume them as "same" to my classmates and myself when we entered this fall. I just hope i can become as sophisticated as some of them - the work was, well, impressive. Of course it is, in the typical "DRL" way, a bit overly rendered, formal, and not-so-responsive to contextual or realistic constraints, BUT the projects are so complex in other ways that you have to view them a bit differently than most work.

In other words, oh hell, i'm going to be exhausted. Once the teams were finished today, you could sort of see a blank, just wiped, expression on their faces overall. While clearly happy and proud, i don't think it has hit them yet. All they spoke of was just getting some sleep. :)

These are just a few pictures of the 11 total projects shown and critiqued over the past two days, as well as a few shots from the studio in the days prior to presentation. What was also exciting was to realize the interest generated by these reviews to the rest of the AA. THere were people knocking down doors to get in and peek - and it is not like that for all the program reviews at the school. The crazyness of the work is intriguing at the least.

foggy londsaytown

2008-01-24T00:11:00.000Z

so a few "typical" shots of Londsay. i see these streets and buildings multiple times in my day, as they are between the 'school' and the 'studio'. Ah. and yes, it is really, seriously, raining atleast once a day! its normal to me now, my "brolie" is always with me.

more happies

2008-01-21T01:13:00.002Z

birthdays. more birthdays! our little AADRL group (my classmates and i) went out on saturday to a bar - yes, actually, we left the confines of studio and went out into a real bar in actual london, near kings cross station - and celebrated some birthdays. We even waited in a queue. Impressive, i know. I got home at 4 am. So there really are bars that stay open after midnight! (12am is when the pubs all close - so by the time we normally get out of studio, they are shut. Boo.)

The pictures here show me with Matei [USA] and Tomas [Chile], (the birthday boys) and then Yevgenia [Ukraine], Ujjall, Rochana, Praneet [India], and myself taking turns wearing someone's hat.I think it is Ujjall's. They are a team of 4 also in my same studio going to Dubai with me. (Matei and Tomas are going elsewhere/doing projects with different sites, though you may remember my darling Tomas was in my team this past fall. Aw!)

so tomorrow and friday are the AADRL Phase II Final Reviews. (i.e. me in one year's time, last presentation of the program). In other words: Graduate or Die. EEeee. We have been helping them for the past week or two preparing for their critiques. Stress and Sleep Deprivation are High. Scary. In these next two days of presentations, i think i shall learn a lot about what to expect from myself in the upcoming year. There are big wigs on the reviews of course, Ben van Berkel, Caroline Bos, Karl Chu and some people from Columbia Uni, and of course some people from Zaha's, etc. Maybe there will even be model-smashing. Eee.

and of course, like a nerd, i offered to help video tape some parts - big mistake, as i have to get up at 6am to get there by 8am to set up! crap. idiot!

happy day to you . . .

2008-01-15T11:07:00.002Z

and you and you and you and you: Jen.
Jennifer Pasternak. Happy F'n Birthday . . . !

"the Sarah"

2008-01-14T15:47:00.001Z

it is true. "The Sarah" is here in London. Visiting me. Yep, YAY.

this is her, wearing an ice-suit . . . and also myself and my friend Alan, who introduced us to the chilling London Ice-Bar. Our Absolut Vodkas were served in ice-glasses and we got to wear these giant thermal blue santa outfits - very "cool"!

we have accomplished a few other "must-do-in-london"s: we went to the Theatre (the History Boys) and we drank giant beers on the street, had numerous guinnesses in several pubs, and ate late night(early morning) chinese food in chinatown after our attempts to avoid dancing. here is a picture of some hanging ducks, awaiting to be served. (in the small upper window)

also are some pictures of us out with the canadians (aka, my roommates) after a nice dinner in Islington/Angel on the "high" street (sorta near my house - though really really NOT close enough to walk home. Yet we did. Walk home. In heels. F!)

tomorrow "the Sarah" leaves for Africa. She is going on an animal search . . . to "look at some animals" . . . in other words: a safari. in Tanzania. FUN!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/TheSarah

the PIRATE coast

2008-01-14T15:02:00.000Z

NEW TERM NEW TEAM

Soooo, its a new year and for the next phase of AADRL i have new teammates: Sergio [from Columbia] and Claudia [from Austria]. We are beginning to work on our design project which should take us through til our graduation in 2009 . . . . eeee!

Our tutor is the same as i had before, and our site for the project will be in the U.A.E. [United Arab Emirates] (in the Persian Gulf), i.e. the true Pirate Coast!

We will be going to this strange "Disneyland/Dubailand" in March after the end of this term [2], visiting Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and our site in Ras Al'Khaimah. It is a very odd place really, should be incredibly interesting.

in the swing

2008-01-07T22:18:00.000Z

yep its time, today was officially the first day of Term II at the AA. While i didn't have any formal classes today, i did have two assignments due, which i had to turn in by 5pm, but officially we don't meet as a studio unit until tomorrow morning at 10am. It is from then on, that i will be officially back, back in the swing of things. EW.

(It unfortunately seems that the associated excitement and newness of going to gradschool in london has effectively worn off and now the realization that i'm still a stressed-out-student has hit. I'd much rather eat some more christmas cookies and go drinking with friends - wouldn't you?!) Aw, no. I am excited to go back, a little. Just this time i know what it is going to be like, and i know that it will be, again, confusing!

Hope all are doing well and starting to plan their london adventures for this summer/fall visits to England . . .

resolution time

2008-01-01T12:59:00.001Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008! - wow, that's crazy.

more big fireworks from lovely london - in the drizzle (but no, i didn't take these photos, i got them off bbc.)

so, what do you promise to do this year? me? no clue yet, guess i should pick something creative, though flying a plane is seeming even more challenging over here - think they fly on the wrong side too?

sparkle sparkle

2007-12-30T21:53:00.000Z

on christmas night, we shot off a big bunch of fireworks, and after about 2007 tries, i finally captured a few good ones on my hot new camera. HOT, eh?! twinkle twinkle

snowshine

2007-12-30T20:52:00.000Z

happy holidays !!
yeah. i just love this old chair, so i took pictures of it. yes, of course it's orange.

and also, neat shots of inside my dad's shop of his welder and some tractors. grrr.

here are a few pictures from the farm. YAY snow!

AND i made a snow angel. RAH.

back, back, back . . . back, in the U.S.S.A.

2007-12-20T15:12:00.000Z

i'm baaa-aack.
i'm in minnesota (and i have apparently forgotten how to spell it, because i couldn't decide if there was two 'n's or not - WTF?! ridiculous. I'm fine now, i know it. don't worry.)

there is tons of SNOW here. wow! white christmas it is, yay!
it is also COLD here. gee, surprise surprise. And i thought Paris was bad. HA. I guess this is really it, i'm not a Californian anymore!

so if you feel like calling me on a phone, i'll be at my parents' house from Saturday til Saturday the 28th. I'm not going to post the number on this wwwebsite, so just email me and i'll give you their number.

right now i'm in "the cities" staying with Pasternak. She's at work, and i'm eating all her cookies at her house. yes!

la la la, le corbusier

2007-12-16T19:21:00.000Z

i took a little excursion out of Paris, to see what is probably the most famous house in architectural history: the Villa Savoye built circa 1929 in Poissy, France by iconic architect Pierre Jeanneret - known as Le Corbusier. My classmates Pierandrea, Brandon, Rajat, Ahbishek, and Brian were with me on the little journey which took about 40 minutes from the center.

it was amazing to see, surprising even to myself (as i personally am a much bigger fan of his Chappelle Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp - which was too far and too expensive on such short notice, though of course we tried to arrange - i must visit soon)!

really, amazing. here is a slideshow so you can pretend you were there too. perhaps i can get some better pictures - i messed up my color balance somehow, oops.

i just don't get it

2007-12-16T11:32:00.000Z

France, i mean. What is up?! Just look at this picture of me sitting on a terrace overlooking the skyline with roses. Huh?

I hate to be a downer, but i'm still "London". You have to pick, there is no wishy-washing. Choose. Paris or London. Let me know your results, i'm curious why! . . . I prefer friendliness.

Though aside from the psycho-crazy-killer hotel conceirge at our second hostel (he was so mean and frightening we left the hotel - though we should have known from its cheap rates and one-star rating) the trip was pretty good. I enjoyed hanging out with my classmates and also seeing some new urban/architectural spaces as well as revisting some i've seen before. There were many things i did not see however, but it just takes time to transport and get around with so many people.

There was about 18 people from my class that went and stayed one night in the Grand Boulevard district near the Opera (and near lots of shopping) - and then i stayed on 2 more nights in the La Marias district (which is much more hip in my opinion) with the girls, Yvegenia, Anastasia, and Hang. We did a lot of walking the first two days with the class and it was COLD. holycrap. brrrr. We visited The Pompidou Center (Renzo Piano), La Defense area with a scary christmas village set up in the middle of the corporate financial world, and Parc de La Villete (Bernard Tschumi). Oh yes of course we also walked along the Seine, past the Louvre, the Opera, the Bastille, Notre Dame, etc. Bleh.

As for french food, we had savory crepes for lunch one day and sweet chocolate crepes on the street at 2am when returning from the bar one night. I did also want to have an eclair, but was frightened away by their prices: 2for20euros! whoa, just for a pastry?! Wine with dinner of course, but i found just the table wine to be a bit overpriced just because its "french". Also, the girls and I had a great dinner one night of Mussels with Roquefort and Belgian beer.

And of course, the Eurostar, ahhh, the EuroSTAR. what a beautiful lovely ride. So peaceful, so fast. I almost wish it took longer! Way to go traintravel :)

I will post a little slideshow of Paris images soon, just have to create it and get some images from other people (my camera battery is crap and kept dying).