Manufactured landscapes are something of the past? No i dont think so manufactured landscapes are around me right now most of a city is with its roads, buildings, manicured lawns, bridges, and many other obtrosoties. Most of these landscapes have very little intent of being something important other than serving its own personal preference or idea.
For instance as a small child i remember going out to Kisatchie National Forest to the kisatchie bayou camp grounds and going there to swim and play out in the water. Now although this was a nice natural landscape it was shaped and a little manicured for human needs. of course there were gravel and paved roads leading up to the camp grounds. The interesting thing though is that there was a little creek that ran down the bayou and all this stones that were placed along the side and i can remember all these people coming along and through the stones in the path of the stream. Eventually these stones began to make like a little damn and although this was in a natural unkept landscape it started to become manufactured by the slight interference of us humans enjoying the day there.

Ethical Standards

Ethical Standards what is this? what are they?
Are there standards we should follow as people? designers? Architects?
As design students there are certain types of criteria that we have to meet for studio projects. However, we are not limited to the criteria of these projects their are other standards we should meet. In return I think a lot of the projects that we are doing now in studio have to deal more with people and less about creating something cool. If anything the skills we own/ possess in school help to prepare us for future years in the profession. One standard all of us can follow is simple the golden rule "just treat others as one would like to be treated". I think this is simple enough for everyone to understand. With this we can help others out. There won't be people trying to sabotage someones project. If anything is impossible theirs a way to make it possible as designers we just haven't got to that point yet. I believe we obligated to push our ideas ourselves. Rightfully its your ideas about design and only you yourself that can push it forward. Afterall we have to not mislead people as to what we are doing. I think we are obligated to help our professors understand what we are talking about designing. Also I think its their obligation to give us feedback on what we can improve on the design or let us know when something isn't working. Most importantly though i think our projects have to become realistic in some sense. With the intent to design we have the ability to shape our world around us, only with the clearance of the client though. So out of everything i think one of the most important things that we need to possess while in school is how to clearly represent our ideas on a project or architectural design in general. Its important to represent our ideas clearly cause if we dont then we are reaching no one. If we don't reach anyone then whats the point of it all. On that note then architecture is just like my favorite quote "Just cause its a monkey doesn't mean it has to dance!"

hale not hell

studio-home away from home office/workspace, cubicle

Woke up this morning, got ready for class and head for the door. I tell my roommate I'm going to studio. Before I get out of there he says, " Aye dog you a rapper or sumthin? You always be going to studio."
Going To Studio is a chance for success or failure or joy and pain. Studio is the home away from home and the place where our architectural design thought process is created and sometimes torn apart for lack of rigor. The moments i remember in studio most are the all nighters when everyone is trying to finish their projects and all of the jokes ,puns, and the delirousness that takes place from the absence of sleep that ultimately is needed to get the job done. It is in these moments that are hard to recreate.
In particular I remember the most recent case of this it was last quarter. I was scheduling what i would have to each day and trying to follow that schedule. So I decided to pull 2 all nighters back to back I was acting like a crazy man on a mission. I remember people saying man get some rest. I got one good night of rest then back to work again. Once i sleep i felt so much better I could think straight and I felt at ease, pacing myself just to finish on time. Since i felt rested i thought maybe I'll finish early. So fast forward to the day final projects are due Its 3 oclock p.m., Im tired after staying up all night working on my layout trying to get everything on there. At this point I feel awful and my face has no expression, my battery on the computer is low and even to go and plug it in is a challenge. The thought that i won't finish crosses my mind a hundred times I probably said it about 20. Okay now its 4:45 p.m. almost done just have to flatten the layers on the poster and im done. I can see the moment of completion near. Okay done now just to transfer the file to the flash drive. Finally done all work is over no more can be done. Only the feeling of being complete but incomplete is on my mind. One thing everyone who is an arch student remembers is not finishing early. For me when a project is due I try not to cut it close. I just know that next time when its final week that this won't happen again.
But hey thats part of studio.

When I think of home I am reminded of Louisianas hot summer days and the mild, occasional winter frosts. Though mostly I think of Cloutierville, Louisiana, located 20 miles south of Natchitoches LA. Its a small town of about 2000 people mostly a farming community and its here where I've lived all my life.

My home was always unique to the community not for its style of architecture but mainly for its peachy pink color.

There were plenty of summer days spent in Cloutierville one in particular that I remember is when my Grandmother was getting some a new bedroom furniture. Now she was planning on just throwing away the old bed she had but my mother told her no don't she would keep it. So once we had the bed you know i just thought it was an old bed. I had no idea that this bed was a family heirloom that my great grandparents had. It was something that had been in the family for a long time and now passed on to us. Now it was a part of our home and honestly probably one of the most comfortable beds to sleep in.

But enough about beds and sleeping not that its not part of home it is. You know to some a porch is just the entrance to house or the little covered area to protect you from the rain, however in particular my family our porch is where I remember spending sundays visiting with all our family after church. At my grandma's on her porch was this old lime green couch with black striping. It was not in to good of shape but it did its job. As a kid I remember we used to jump on this couch just to hear the springs sqeak in it. Suprisingly as old as it was it never occured to us is this thing comfortable no we just jumped on it.

Theirs one moment that I'll never forget growing up. You know ordinary fall day, playing outside at my cousin's house. It was me, Archie, Alex, and Juliena, outside just doing what kids do. So we saw this pile of leaves that my uncle was burning and we decided to run through it. All of us zoomed through the fire except for Juliena. Now it was her turn, she approached the fire then stopped and just stood there in this burning pile of leaves. Now no harm was done to her none at all other than the foam flip flops she had on had melted. Of course all of us had on regular shoes except for her. Its funny how home can shape who we are today.

I guess thats why i dont wear flip flops today because of something that happened on ordinary day.