As of the beginning of January I will be starting work, at an architecture practice. This has been an amazing surprise for me as I only applied to the practice on Monday night. I was then interviewed on the Tuesday and was offered the job on the Wednesday morning. I really can’t believe how quickly this has sprung up. However, after a day or so, I started thinking about what this meant for the halfitect.
The main reason I began the blog was to keep my mind somewhere in the realm of architecture while being unemployed/exploring other lines of work. In past experience, practice life naturally kept me quite well-informed of internal architecture news but I still needed to find the more arts-related stories for myself. At least in this respect, the blog should carry on as normal.
Admittedly, I also used this as a design outlet for not being in practice. I’ve been spending a lot of time on my portfolio lately and haven’t done much in the way of blogging but the original intention was to publish my ideas and maybe gain feedback. I suppose I won’t need this element so much but I’ll aim to post some of my non-practice work when possible.
Thirdly, I tried to write constructively about my unemployment and my adventures trying to find work but (hopefully) this shouldn’t be an issue for a while. Instead I’ll try to post any adverts, websites etc that I found useful or discover in the coming months. I know there are lots of supercool people who helped me look for work, many of whom are still on the lookout themselves so I owe plenty of favours. Also, while it’s beyond brilliant to have found a job, I have to remind myself that the market is still rather unstable and that any minute I could be back to square one. For now though, I feel very fortunate.
I think the previous aim flows into my experiences returning to practice. I’ve been away from the office for about two and a half years so there are bound to be a few problems to overcome as I get up to speed. Obviously I won’t disclose any information about the firm on here or its projects for confidentiality reasons but I’ll keep this updated on my general progress adjusting back to practice life.
So while my viewpoint has shifted, I still hope to continue with the blog’s original intentions. Not to mention the fact that I am still not an architect… yet!
I’ve been meaning to revise my architecture resume’s images for a while.
Up until now I’ve had several images, each showing a different program or skill, but this is visually messy and not very economical – especially when you only have one sheet of A4 to impress employers. Hopefully this combination of 3ds Max, Photoshop and my sketches is a more efficient portrayal.
I hope to add an AutoCAD detail in the near future to complete the set.
This is such a beautiful experience – provided you have the bandwidth. You can play any of these twenty youtube videos at any time and the end result is (usually) gorgeous, regardless of the combination. It reminded me of Eno’s sound landscapes.
It seems a strange time for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club to be building a new stadium. However, the depths of recession clearly pale into insignificance when you’re riding high in 4th place in the Premier League.
The main opposition arrises in that the new stadium in Harringey, London would sit on 15 historically listed buildings. Spurs are arguing that their 434 new homes, club museum and adjacent hotel will more than compensate the local population but complaints have already been made by Save Britain’s Heritage who have drawn up their alternative vision of the site.
Grade II listed buildings can currently only be altered under strict planning restraints so it will be interesting to see how this scheme fares at the planning stage over the next few weeks. I can’t see it sailing through but maybe the roof’s “NAMING RIGHTS” should read “WATCH THIS SPACE”.
This short video was submitted for the end of year show and features a site model approximately ten miles across.
The location is Drancy, just north of the Paris. The existing 1930’s housing block was used as a deportation camp during the war and has itself been abused throughout its lifetime. It seems to exhibit the building equivalent of “survivor guilt”, yet little effort has been made to remedy this.
My fifth year project was to alter the facade with passive ventilation scheme. This would also provide a range of environments to encourage the residents to interact, develop a sense of community and appreciate their building in a more positive light. The scheme made use of the courtyard, the amazing views over Paris and the vast but unused roof terrace.
The original structure and facade are by Jean Prouvé.
Posted by halfitect 
