75% and Field Trip

Pictures of the Day] Drawings at 1/8" = 1'-0" is ridiculous. On the other hand, feeding a horse is worse.

Mood] Delirious. Spring fever.

Weather] High 68 Degrees. Sunny and clear.

Currently] In the cube.

Quote of the day: "I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way."

So we had a quick pin up for 75% which turned out to not be as big of a deal as they worked it up to be. We talked a bit about structure, and how it effected the building, but because I didn't have a solid plan really there was no conversation about structure. The structure for my building has always been very straightforward. Now I need to focus on how to think about the "skin" of the building. The "skin" is referring to the facade, the envelope, the system that sort of wraps around the building and not only gives it its outer appearance, but also enhances the relationship between the public and the private spaces. This will take research I think, and distinguishing also what important factors need to be emphasized. It could be that I focus on only all the northern facing parts of the building. It could be that I look at how two systems could work together. I am not sure yet, but that is definitely the next step. I am working toward getting a solid plan down, so hopefully I will be done with it tonight (my professor dictated that I need to be).

For my Vernacular Landscape class, I went to Wagner Farm, which is a pretty cool place. You can check out their website at wagnerfarm.org. Basically it is a farm that is now preserved by the park district of Glenview. There is an old barn, some animals like cows and horses and a even a pig (which I sadly did not see). The most important part though was the lay of the land. You can tell even now, how the land must have been used before all the developments began around it. There are flat portions for farming, a huge hill for grazing that led to a sort of draining ravine, and other pockets of space for a cloister of buildings. For the most part, it is just a nice place to bring children for some play on old tractors and educate them about the different elements of the farm. I enjoyed it. I fed a horse, which was one of the most exciting things I think I've done for a while. I was so scared it was going to bite me, that I tried to pull away at the last minute and the horse took my whole hand in its mouth. GROSS!!!!!! Then I dropped the apple slice I was trying to feed it, so I picked it up again and offered it again. The 2nd time, the horse picked it up from my palm with its lips. They were huge horses too because they were draft horses. It was neat though! I can check that off my life list.

Now it's back to work and drawing up some more diagrams to figure out where the heck I'm going with my project! The end is definitely in sight! Spring is up and lively and there is WORK to be done!

Have a fantabulous day!
~Jaye