Studio and Beyond

Architecture studio has ended. I'm filled with mixed feelings actually. It was an awesome experience for sure. But there were times when I looked forward to the end, to a time when I could sit and think about absolutely nothing for a while. now it's over, and i can't stop thinking about architecture, reading blogs, and looking at pictures. it's odd.

I was stoked from the start of the session to make things. studio didn't disappoint. yet I never expected to feel a kind of anxiety when creating, this feeling of knowing what to do, but not how to do it. To add on to the confusion, the TA would often look at my models or drawings and essentially say that they sucked, sending me on a 180 degree turn. The results of these projects were not as good as I would have liked, but I learned a lot from the overall experience.

Which brings up the question, am I really cut out for this sort of thing? It's one thing to continually learn from past projects and failures in studio. But eventually I'd have to succeed in the real world, to win the bid, and build the building that people will enjoy. Am I creative "enough" for that? Not now...

I believe I have potential. I can definitely see myself improving my ability to come up with ideas and working on them. Needless to say, this will take a huge time commitment. Should I pursue a career in architecture, I’d be taking the high road.

So what am I willing to sacrifice? Would I have time for a family? How much money is this gonna cost me? the questions keep rolling in.

I’ll do what I can to plan things out. The future's uncertain, but I do need a general sense of where I want to be 10 years, maybe even 20 years from now.

If there's any certainty in all this, it's that whatever career I choose to pursue, engineering or architecture, I’ll have to pursue it with little hesitation and a ginormous amount of passion. The time I’ve spent in studio can certainly attest that architecture is a struggle that I’ve got to put all my energy in to overcome, a struggle that is both frustrating and attractive. after these six weeks, I can already tell that going into architecture would be one helluva road trip.

should i take it?

"The Architect"

So one day in architecture studio, my friend's iPod is playing on the speakers. Billy Joel's "Piano Man" starts playing with the line "It's nine o' clock on a Saturday...The regular crowd shuffles in..." Eventually, the song sounds like it's about studio ("if I could get out of this place...") and the idea hits me. So in a few late nights, I modified the "Piano Man" lyrics to make them about summer studio. I didn't have to change various lines because they fit studio life so perfectly.

Here it is, "The Architect" sung in the tune of Billy Joel's "Piano Man"

It’s nine o’clock on a saturday

the Students are sitting on their stools

There’s a young teen sitting next to me

Gettin' really intimate with tools

He says, man, can you lend me those calipers

I can't get this thickness down

It's these lines

and these sections

They're so far from perfection

And then he left for the dorm lounge

La la la, de de da La la, de de da da da

Chorus:

Build us a cube, you’re the architect

Build us six more tonight

Well, I want them all to be exquisite

And you’ve got to go at it alright

Now Ethan across from me is a friend of mine

He sings me melodies for free

And he’s quick with a song but not for long

Till a TA comes in to see.

He says, Dan, I believe this is killing me.

As the smile ran away from his face

Well I’m sure I could be a great starchitect

If I could get out of this place

Oh, la la la, de de daLa la, de de da da da

Now Won is a true man of his craft

He cuts neatly with his Olfa knife

And he’s talkin’ with Gretchen who’s still tonin' and sketchin'

And probably will be for life

And rooms get filled from head to toe

As some insomniacs slowly get stoned

Yes, they’re sharing a drink they call studio

But it’s better than drinkin’ alone

Chorus

It’s a pretty good crowd for a saturday

And the professor gives me a smile

’cause he knows we're confused

on what the hell we should do

We forget about life for a while

And the studio, it sounds like a carnival

And the air smells pretty weird (It's the fixatif)

As we sit at our desks and put heads down for more rests

We say, man, what am I doin’ here?

Oh, la la la, de de daLa la, de de da da da

It is still a work in progress, so feel free to suggest changes.