Rivassippi

Dual Purpose

2010-12-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

It's really convenient when anything at any given point in time can be used in more than one way. I think that is what made the volunteer fire station in Newbern, AL so interesting. While housing the two emergency vehicles for this part of the county, there is also space above the vehicles that acts as the town hall. This project was completed by some a group of four fifth year thesis students involved in the Rural Studio. It took over two years to complete the building of this fairly large (relative to some of the other projects we saw). One interesting stipulation about the thesis year at the Rural Studio is that the students are required to live in Newbern until they complete their project. It's very nice to see a group of students so in love with their work that they gave up a year of their time to leave behind this wonderful building for the town to benefit from.

Time Flies When You Learn You Cannot

2010-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

I cannot excuse why I never followed up with my promises of uploading all the pictures from the Rural Studio, but I will, eventually. Hopefully sooner than later. Anyway, I recently learned that we as humans are not meant to take flight. I learned this by leaping off of some scaffolding some 12 feet above the ground as one of the other students working with me here unsecured a metal roofing panel and began sliding down the roof in my direction.

Stupidly or instinctively, I still am unable to distinguish which, I jumped without looking. I came crashing down on to a metal fence of some sort, which I think helped, along with my ankles to break my fall. We were able to find some crutches and I tried to avoid taking a trip to the hospital nearby, but after two days and some strange colored bruises, I decided it was in my best interest to at least have my left ankle, which absorbed most of my weight from the fall, x-rayed. Somehow, I managed to only severely sprain my ankle, which I have been nursing for the last two weeks.

Since the fall, I have been delegated to finalizing our construction documents for the house we have been designing and working on putting together a book. Below are a few of the drawings going into the book, and should provide for more of an idea of what the house will look like.

Where The Secrets Go (And Stay)

2010-11-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting to all the Rural Studio projects we visited over two weeks ago. Of the half a dozen projects we saw my favorite was "Subrosa". I'm not sure if it was my favorite because of the backstory of the project, or the use of concrete, but it is something that really has to be seen. Designed by Samuel Mockbee before he passed away, it was later built by his daughter in 2003. It serves as a meditation chamber, and as a place to share secrets. It is described in much more detail and with all the prerequisite knowledge necessary to understand many of the nuances of the project here. And for more of the symbology of the rose and secrets you can read this brief little thing here.

Remembering to Laugh

2010-11-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

On the rainy days, we are unable to work on site, so we are forced back into the studio, and usually in front of our computer screens for long periods of time. Those stretches can be taxing on one, especially when you have grown accustomed to turning around and catching glimpses of the Gulf as you work outside.
In response to those days, we found a way to amuse ourselves. We call it, the Humiliation Vest.

An Unexpected Twist

2010-11-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week since returning from our road trip, and is why I have not posted in nearly a weeks time. We ran into a great deal of legal issues regarding the placement of Ms. Dang's house, which consequently pushed the start date of building her house from this week until January. As such, we have turned our building efforts back to finishing the house for the Green's, which was started by the group last spring and construction began in the summer. We spent the large part of last week preparing the roof for the metal panels which we have began installing this week. (Pictures will follow in a day or two).

However, I have finally been able to sit down and start going through some of the pictures taken on the previously mentioned trip. Our first stop was to Auburn University's Rural Studio, in the heart of Alabama. The Rural Studio is a design/build not unlike what I am taking part in here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but over the last few years it has grown to the point that the focus has been split. The second year students learn what it takes to realize a building by working on a house, and the fifth year students who return develop and build a community based project for Hale County, AL.

Anyway, as we were making our way to what we thought was our destination, we were struck by a building left vacant for what looked like the better part of three decades. It begged us to stop, so we obliged its request.

The more time I spend in the built environment around us, the more I enjoy scenes like this. As much as we try to control nature, in the end, we will never win.

P.S. The Rural Studio projects will follow in several posts detailing each project that we stopped to visit.

Flannel Was My Camouflage

2010-11-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

So there we were. Finally. And under the cover of the night.

Talladega.

After a lengthy detour for educational purposes we reached our destination. It was impossible to understand exactly the scale of our new landscape. But there we were, in the midst of it. Hungry. For food and adventure, but appetite for food took hold. We decided that after setting up the tent we would eat and make it an early night and reserve ourselves for the next day.

As the sun woke so did we. To the sound of a generator roaring next to our heads fueling the party needs of some of those around us, and off in the distance, you could make out the sound of cars humming past this barbaric scene. The air also held the smell of the fires that raged the night before keeping those around them warm. Once we opened the door to the tent, we were confronted with the enormity of everything around us; everything the night tried to hide from us.

This photo does little to describe the conditions to which we awoke, the sun burned off the fog and a breeze blew from the north to help clear the air, but it does begin to show what we inserted ourselves into. As Saturday continued on, and the hours since my last shower grew greater, we did what our instincts directed us to, eat. The festivities during the day were only there as a placeholder for what was to come that night.

Sunday was the main draw for most of those in attendance, but Saturday night had to pass first. It tried relentlessly to not let Sunday morning arrive, but the fatigue from the work week before and the partying that day eventually washed over the masses.

Sunday morning came in much like Saturday. The same noises and smells as the previous morning. But Sunday also brought with it more. More people. More traffic. Just more. But it was why we were there, wasn't it? NASCAR. And where else to better experience it than in the heart of the South? I couldn't think of a better place so there we were. Despite the energy expelled the night before, the air still rang with energy. Or was that ringing still the generators? Either way the morning was buzzing, along with my head.

So I began my day of observation by recording that panoramic above of our campsite. It stretched nearly a mile and a half from end to end. And as I would come to find out that afternoon, the smart ones had left earlier in the morning. But around us were still people and sights worth noticing. Many buses converted into RVs or something of that nature, but used primarily for partying, I assume both on the way to an event like this and of course throughout the durration of their stay.

And the people. It's hard to find the words to describe them, and I don't mean that in an insulting way. It's just that there isn't a single type of person there. Sure, most of them are probably drinking, heavily, but there is more to it. They work hard throughout the entire year, and this is their vacation. I guess what sets it apart from a family vacation to a more scenic area (say a beach, or something more people would consider "normal") is just the location. Modest.

To Hold You Over

2010-11-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of one of the more awesome sights we stumbled across driving through the Alabama countryside this past weekend on our way to Talladega. It was about three quarters of a mile off the road with no real easy access so this was the best I could get, but it was basically a house built over top of a silo sitting in a field.

My Hiatus

2010-10-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry for that. Things have been happening at a slower pace in the studio due to many issues regarding land; though that is just making short of a very long list of difficulties we have just recently run into with some state agencies, but that may be a rainy day post.

On a personal note, I took another trip to New Orleans this past weekend and experienced the night life of the city (read: Burbon Street or La Rue Burbon.) I would personally rather just leave that to the tourists and travel more through the city, but in the same breath it is also something that needs to be seen to even begin to comprehend. The air is full of a hurried excitement as throngs of people rush to lose all inhibitions and a stink that I cannot begin to detail the origins of.

Also worth mentioning, Tray, Julius, and myself will be traveling through Alabama and paying a visit to many of the projects done by Auburn University's Rural Studio on our way to Talladega Superspeedway. And I am certain there will be at least three posts about our journey there and back.

Revisiting

2010-10-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

It's something that I have done a lot more this semester than I have in semesters past. Be it a place or idea, it's a practice I always saw I needed to do but for one reason or another I have not, until now. Maybe it is the dynamics of working with a group that demand a constant observation to maintain a clear focus with original ideas intact or constant communication with others keeps the ideas coming a head. This week was another revisiting of a place though.
Last time we were there it was very impromptu, and without knowing when we went, Leah had kindly arranged for us a tour of the museum in Biloxi, MS that Frank Gehry's firm is currently working on, with the help of a local firm. That local firm, whose name escapes me now, was kind enough to walk us through the project again, while looking at some of the points from a more technical standpoint. I think the one thing that stood out to me was just how much control Gehry's office maintains after they "give," so to speak, the project over to the local firm. If ANYTHING moves more than just 3 inches Gehry has to give his approval before it can continue. Anyway, here are some more pictures, mostly from the two structures that are not going to be completed for another year or so; those being what are referred to as the "Pods" and where a Ceramics studio will be housed.

And my favorite:

Design Developments

2010-10-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

We are working diligently the past few weeks on detail drawings for the construction set, which can cause ones soul to grow restless when staring at CAD details for hours and hours on end. I've broken these times up by revisiting some earlier design documents and adding newer details. We're also beginning work on our book to document the process from the early work to the built product.
We've recently run into a problem with one of the grant agencies over an address dispute which has put a halt on our moving forward with the building phase, but we're hopeful that we will have all that cleared up soon.
I hope to post more drawings from earlier as well as some of the more interesting details as we work through them.

More Information (But Not What You May Think)

2010-10-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

As it has become evident, the water towers have caught my attention for many reasons unbeknownst to myself. But the more I have looked at them, the more they tell me about the area under and around.

Iconography

2010-10-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't know what it was otherwise.

Infatuated

2010-10-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

(Re)Constructing Gehry

2010-10-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

That was what Frank Gehry's Ohr- O'Keefe Museum of Art looked like 5 years ago. That is a casino barge that washed over top and eventually settled on the building leaving very little behind. Today the museum is nearing it's (re)opening of three of the five buildings on the campus with the other two slated for completion sometime next year. One of the curators of the museum, greeted us outside the main building in which the offices are located and told us kindly that the building wasn't open, but once we explained to her our story, she was more than happy to guide us around and explain all the work that has been happening post-Katrina. It may have also helped that she once taught a little at Virginia Tech, but that's only a minute detail.

Learning by Seeing [or possibly Seeing by Learning]

2010-10-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

It's getting to a point on our project that is kind of scary, soon it will be built. And with that looming over us we must work through many, many details to make all parts look thought out rather than a serious of details that were overlooked and solved, unthought, on site. With that understanding, we went to look at projects by the Gulf Coast Design Studio as I previously mentioned. A few members of the studio were kind enough to attend our last pinup and invited to give their observe their work and how they mitigated many of the same issues we are currently addressing in our house for Ms Dang.

Some of the trouble for us has been in the fact that the house must be 18' above sea level, which at our site is about 12' above ground level. The first thing that has to be figured out is how one moves from the ground to the house and additionally, how one would do so without getting wet. Another problem we have to address revolves around something called Smart Code, which while well intentioned, many parts do not make sense in practice here in Pass Christian. The code calls for almost 50% screening of the underside of the house viewable from the road. There are screens in town that are just pasted to the side of the houses, so we are trying to achieve a screen that is more thoughtful and engages the underside of the house when viewed from the road.

For every example of a more correct way of accomplishing anything there is a wrong too, and we made sure to take note of those as well.

Lessons In Material

2010-10-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

Today, as a studio, we traveled east to Biloxi, Ms to look at the work of the Gulf Coast Community Design Center to look at how other designers have dealt with some of the more challenging aspects of working in the region post Katrina. While looking around we came across a recently finished project by Marlon Blackwell that was done for Architecture for Humanity.

The project is interesting because of the material usage. The materials are all off the shelf, but used in ways that are out of the norm, something that Jim constantly talked about with us last year.

The siding on the building is that which is typically used on steel buildings everyday but with out much thought. But my favorite detail on the whole building is on what is the back of the house. The porch, which is an element of the region, is viewed as a key element of many of the homes here. In this project, the porch is shaded by a screen which is hung on garage door tracks allowing them to drop down to a vertical plane and shade from the harsh western sun in the evening, but be put up on a horizontal plane to protect from the during the day when the porch is being used.

You Again

2010-09-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

Rolling Canvases

2010-09-27T16:21:00.001-07:00

Lessons Learned

2010-09-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today we met with our client for the second time, and the first since we've had a "house" to talk about. It was a great pleasure to see her again, and I feel like she put more energy into the project than we had when the day started, and it was wonderful to put a face back with the project and know ultimately that she and her family will be living here when we are finished.
In meeting with her today, I became conscious of the fact that she is probably going to be one of, if not the greatest clients I will ever have the chance to work for, and her gratitude alone is all the remuneration I need to continue working.

She also had some gifts to share with us today. In addition to her sage advice, she also taught Tray and I how to fillet a fish. While doing so, she also told us about the cultural differences is preparing fish in this country, versus what is customary in Vietnam. There, it is typical of them to leave all the meat on the fish and cook it whole after cleaning, picking through the bones because it yields the most meat.

I cannot completely express how fortunate I am to be here right now, but I am so thankful for everything that has led me here.

If This Isn't Nice, I Don't Know What Is.

2010-09-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

It's A Lie

2010-09-21T19:52:00.001-07:00

Everywhere You Look

2010-09-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

A Picture A Day

2010-09-19T11:54:00.001-07:00

I'm going to try and do this.

Community

2010-09-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

This last week I've actually been able to sit down and watch the local news. I'll admit that television is no place to really rely on to receive information for anything, but it does provide a means by which I can observe how the people of the area live and work. While watching the various newscasts, I heard one word used again and again, "community".

Is everything a community?

The people here are more than happy to help their neighbors, and are very grateful when others from outside of the area come to help rebuild the region. The communities I am more accustomed to back in southeastern Virginia are smaller and their concerns seem to only lie where the members of their "community" (church, etc.), and occasionally will fall outside that group when something catastrophic occurs. Here the community is much more broad and that may have a lot to do with the fact that many people have left the area and not returned, making those who have (either by choice or no other alternative) remained a closer group who all have the same interest; returning the coast to what it was prior to Katrina.

It is certainly refreshing to see so many people caring for each other in these times of self-obsession, and I hope that I can take some of the spirit of this area with me when I leave.

Current Watch

Current Listen

Current Read

Progress

2010-09-16T13:08:00.001-07:00

It's not Hanoi, but hopefully it will feel like home.

Thanks for the picture Tray.

oPEN (empty) SHoP

2010-09-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

I'll assume many of you are not familiar with the New York based architecture firm SHoP, so feel free to click their name and learn a bit about them, because this post is about their work just a few miles north of where I am staying this semester.

It seems the concept of the building was to create a community front porch that would be filled with the patrons of the businesses residing inside, and I love the idea. Often when I think of living in the south I think of porches, both small and large, and it is very interesting to see another take on the porch, but at the scale of a community. Unfortunately, the building has never really been able to keep tenants, outside of the non-profit organization that it was originally designed around. Yet anytime I have visited this building, and it has been many times now, it sits just as it is in the picture above; uninhabited. No real signs of life, just a porch with furniture anticipating the day it will be used to its' potential.

Only having been here a few weeks now, I cannot fairly say why this building sits unused, but I think I can make some fair guesses. Throughout the entire state of Mississippi, there are no real urban elements, so a car is almost mandatory if you wish to go anywhere; and as such, I think it's a little hard to ask people to leave the comfort of their own porch to be on display to any passersby. Maybe, more simply, no one is on the porch because there is no business under the porch, which could also be a result of the turbulent economy that we are in. But even still, directly behind this building sits a smaller building housing a laundromat, where on more than one occasion I've seen people using, but they insist sitting beside the noisy machines with their paper or book rather than walking the thirty steps it takes to sit outside in comfortable conditions.

I would say that most would agree that this building is well-designed, but ultimately, and maybe just for this small moment, it is unsuccessful. Which to me raises the question, "Can unsuccessful architecture still be good architecture?" Please feel free to respond with your answers to the question.

And now the porn.

Current Watch

Current Listen

Current Read

Sunset On The Bayou

2010-09-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

I think I'm really going to like it here.

And I think I'll go fishing tomorrow.

A Taste of Things to Come

2010-09-09T21:03:00.001-07:00

With a pin up looming a few days away, here is a preview of things to come.

Things to know:

- SIPs

- BFE (base flood elevation) for our site, 11ft above ground level, 18ft total

- 900 sq ft

- 3 people will be living here

I've managed to find a large format scanner at an engineered lumber company a few miles away, and one of the managers there was more than happy to share it with us. So hopefully within the next few weeks I can manage to scan the drawings and sketches we've been working on and post them. Back to work, I guess.

New Orleans: A City of Life and Death

2010-09-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

The other day Tray and I ventured into New Orleans, a first for each of us. Neither of us knew much about the city or where we were going and just decided to let it come to us. When we got off the highway into the city the first thing we noticed were these tombs in the middle of the city, A stark contrast to any burial ground I have seen before, especially inside a city.

A City For the Dead

The proximity of this cemetery to the Interstate and it level of upkeep left a memorable impression. It made me wonder about the people who were residing here for eternity, however long that is. Apparently there are more of these throughout New Orleans, but this was the one Tray and I explored. I also can't help but think about the interaction of these people in their new homes, as compared to their old ones, and the reception one receives when they move in.

The City For the Living

From here Tray and I explored a more lively part of the city of New Orleans. Being only an hour away, and planing on returning, we decided to stick mainly to one neighborhood for the day, and because of where we ended up parking the car for the day that happened to be the French Quarter. Although cars were driving down many of the streets we walked, it felt as though they were trespassing. There was an undeniable energy filling the streets as people walked by. We sat down to watch a family of musicians play for tips in the middle of a street, and sat alongside some of the homeless in the city to maybe see it from their perspective.

As we sat here watching, I couldn't help but think a bit about what Kahn says about the street as a community room.

"A long street is a succession of rooms given their distinction, room for room, by their meeting of crossing streets. The intersecting street brings from afar its own developed nature which infiltrates any opening it meets. One block can be more preferred because of its particular life."

Of the blocks we walked, it seemed that each one had a character of its own, and a type of person suited for that particular block.

The people we came across were the best part of the day for me. I guess it was quite obvious Tray and I were walking around with no clue as to where exactly we were heading, and many locals stopped us and asked if we needed anything, which was quite surprising to me. Towards the end of our day, Tray and I began a small Banksy hunt to find two pieces were relatively close to us that day. While searching, a younger man with his children asked us how we were doing and noticing our cameras, asked us to take a "family portrait".

He later asked if we were looking for "the pretty pictures". Assuming he was talking about Banksy, we said that we had been, and he told us about the one right next to his house. I guess he had noticed in the two years since it had been there a number of people taking pictures of it and he also told us the location of more of the "pretty pictures" throughout the city. I hope to be able to give this picture to this man and his children if we pass by his house again.

Oh, and Banksy:

More That I've Seen

2010-08-30T21:41:00.001-07:00

It's now been two weeks that I've been in the Pass, and it hasalready been quite an experience. It's been a rainy week, and it was tough to find time to go take some pictures, but I managed to get a few that I consider to be of quality to share.

I am really enjoying life by the beach. It's so relaxing to wake up and drive or ride my bike by the shore and smell the salt in the air. The sunsets here are amazing, and I've heard that the sunrises are even better, but I have yet to find it in myself to wake up early enough to capture one of those.

This vault is all that remains from a bank in Bay St. Louis, MS. The door has rusted completely in the five years or so it has been exposed to the air. It was quite an impressive sight along the coast, a last remain of sorts.

This is the backside of the vault. I love seeing nature reclaim the ruins in this area, and I have to believe that it is more beautiful this way than it was before Hurricane Katrina ravaged this area. It is quite a bizarre experience to walk on slabs that are still covered in tiles and think that it once housed businesses or people.

And lastly for now, some work we have done around the studio. We were working to increase seating around the fire pit the last group had left for us. The night after we had set the two posts that will hold up a section of the seating, this giant branch from a pecan tree fell onto it. At least now we don't have to worry about finding firewood.

Remnants Of The Pass

2010-08-22T13:32:00.001-07:00