The big week has finally arrived everyone, and it's already half over! I can hardly believe it - only a few days left of regularly scheduled classes before my last round of final exams... and then commencement on May 18th at Mariucci Arena (due to Northrop Construction). As I sit here and think about it all, it seems surreal. However, my week up to this point has been rather chaotic as I've been scrambling to get everything finished up before the end of the week - multiple group projects, a giant timeline poster, a thirtysomething-page final research and analysis paper, an internship report and subsequent presentation, and a few other things that need final touches. It really is all coming down to this next few days, but I'm so close to the end of it all that the stress is of little concern at this point. Thinking back on it all, I should have expected this level of madness to ensue, taking a full course load, working two part-time student jobs and interning several days per week. All in all though, I'm glad I put in the hard work and powered through to the end - the whole experience has been the hardest I've never worked for something this hard in my twenty-two years of existence and it will feel quite gratifying to walk across that stage and earn my Bachelor of Science in just a matter of days.

As all of this aforementioned ridiculousness was in full swing this past few weeks, I've been completely at a loss for freetime, which I had originally planned on using to do a bit of job searching. That's what I got this degree for, right? Well, I have taken a very limited number of brief homework/working/eating/sleeping breaks to fill out a few job applications which struck my interest, but if there's one thing I've learned as a jobseeker its that finding a job is a full-time job. On the bright side, it is evident that there are definitely jobs out there for housing students and I will fearlessly continue the job hunt until my work pays off.

Life is happening!!!

Jesse LaMaack
B.S. Housing Studies

Today I gave a commemorative speech to my public speaking class honoring the mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak - a great man and true go-getter. He's been our faithful mayor since 2001 and is currently serving his third consecutive term in office. Rybak is definitely one of my local heros, and most of us here in Minneapolis were sad to hear that he will not be seeking re-election for 2014.

R.T. Rybak has been progressive from the start, and is most known for his initiatives which have visibly reduced crime rates in the city, created a flow of new jobs, and assisted in the creation of affordable housing units for low-income households and families. He's also gained national attention as an activist and beloved local leader. While his popularity was thought by many to land him a role in higher political office, he stated in an interview in 2011 that "local government is the last standing functional form of government in America and possibly the world." He's also a genuinely great guy to be around - probably the only mayor who has crowd surfed at a major public event (Trampled by Turtles at First Avenue in 2004).

Have a great week everyone!

Jesse LaMaack
Housing Studies, B.S.

Here in the College of Design, there are many skills a typical housing studies student will develop by means of repetition - and the creation and presentation of large-format posters are definitely one that we all have in common. As you can see, I've made my fair share of posters over the years. Regardless of one's chosen thematic concentration or minor field of study, poster projects are an academic endeavor which can be expected nearly every semester in the housing program. Posters in housing studies classes and allied coursework (such as architecture, public policy and environmental sustainability), are usually the end product of a directed research topic - a visually appealing layout of images and data, combining personal research and course materials.

Personally, I view poster assignments as a fun and gratifying way of using my creative talent to communicate thought-provoking ideas or information. A completed poster is a visual display of the hard work, research and intellect I put forth on a particular project - and a statement of my personality and creative abilities. While the housing studies program is mostly considered to be a less design-intensive major (relative to the other College of Design programs), posters are one of the design elements that most housing students become very familiar with during their time in the program.

From coursework integration and directed research to creation and presentation, the acquired skills we gain from poster assignments are valuable not only to our academic portfolios, but also to our future careers.

That's all I have for this week, stay tuned for upcoming graduation-related posts - commencement is just a few short weeks away!

- Jesse LaMaack
Housing Studies, B.S.

With only one month of school left in my undergraduate career, time sure is flying by quickly. That being said, I am keeping plenty busy and there's no time for the senior slump. With a robust variety of classes this semester as I finish up my final requirements, I've been doing all sorts of schoolwork lately. In Design in the Digital Age, my classmates and I are learning various methods of digital modeling like SketchUp, Revit, and Kerkythea. I'm not use to these sorts of courses being a housing studies student, but I'm finally starting to get the hang of it (for the most part). The whole experience has definitely given me a different perspective on housing design, and I'm glad to have learned how to use these various technologies.

Outside of my design-intensive courses, I'm also taking a public speaking course to fulfill my communications requirement. Being in a class of mostly freshmen and sophomores, the housing knowledge I've gained over the years has been used in almost all of my speeches. Although it's a relatively small class, I feel like I've educated my peers on the various dimensions of housing and communities - which I hope they can take with them and use in a positive way moving forward with the rest of their education here at the U.

Happy Spring!

Jesse LaMaack
Housing Studies, B.S.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've spent the past few months interning for a Minneapolis-based nonprofit tenant advocacy organization called HOME Line. I mostly answer incoming phone calls from Minnesota renters and provide them housing-related legal advice under supervision of a licensed attorney specializing in state landlord-tenant law. I'll admit that it took some time to become familiar with all of the cases and statutes that govern our rental housing arena, but I eventually became a fluent speaker in the language of tenants rights. Most of what I use at work is outlined in the book "How to be the Smartest Renter on Your Block," which was written and published by HOME Line attorneys.

Best of all, I'm applying my housing knowledge and communication skills to help others who are often in urgent need of legal help. I get the opportunity to speak directly with so many different people from all walks of life and hear their stories, which are always at least moderately interesting. I feel that my experiences at this particular internship will definitely benefit me professionally one day, especially if I end up taking work at a nonprofit housing agency or property management company - just in time for graduation next month!

Hope all is well with you and your housing,

Jesse L.
Housing Studies, B.S.

Pic:http://www.homelinemn.org/wp-content/uploads/book/book-72dpi(web).png

Despite being enrolled in only one housing studies course this semester as I finish up my architecture minor and thematic technology coursework in the School of Architecture, I've been learning about, designing, studying, and researching a variety of other various housing-related topics in these courses.
Besides being relevant to my major and interests, I'm also getting the opportunity to apply my design and creative skills in a much different setting and approach, which has me learning all kinds of new technological tools ranging from light Adobe Illustrator work to complex modeling programs that continue to occupy a relatively sizable chunk of my time. Although it took a while to get a hang of things, I'm now a fairly competent user of SketchUp and steadily improving.

Overall, this semester has been a lot less time hitting the books at a library and more time in the Rapson or McNeal Computer Labs. However, recent assignments and final project details in my Architecture Since 1750 course has brought our small focus group together in a way that puts aside our discussuions on the design of the huge timeline we've been thoughtfully piecing together - the new information that we uncover both in class and in our case study examples seem to strengthen yet further complicate the our final thesis. It will be interesting to see what happens in upcoming weeks as we move into the modernist era of the course.

Take care and happy April everyone!

Jesse LaMaack
- Housing Studies, B.S,

Spring Break has passed and the final stretch of the semester has arrived at last. With school back in full swing, tomorrow is the time to make one of the assigned personal field trips for my Architecture Since 1750 course. This trip will be an essential part of an important group project my peers and I have been working on since week two of the class.

By the end of the semester, each small group of students will have created a detailed timeline outlining the evolution of a specific type of architecture over the past few centuries. Per my request, I was placed in the group researching historic residential architecture - we're all working together surprisingly given our busy schedules.

Anyways, tomorrow afternoon I will be trekking over to the Stevens Square Neighborhood of Minneapolis to check out a pair of late 19th century mansions which have been more recently converted into private event spaces for weddings and other sorts of lavish get-togethers. The first will be Semple Mansion, a boastful Beaux-Arts style residential structure completed in 1901. The second will be the Van Dusen Mansion just down the street. The Van Dusen Mansion is probably my favorite large home in the Twin Cities - it is completely cladded with Pink Sioux Quartzite which gleams in the sunlight. Overall, two very impressive structures.

I'm only required to visit one site for the assignment, but I figure I'll go above and beyond this time since the two mansions happen to be less than a block away from one another. Senioritis has not overcome me just yet!

Jesse LaMaack
- Housing Studies, B.S.

pics: http://studio306.com/semple-mansion-birthday-celebration/
http://rivertowninn.wordpress.com/2010/07/11/rivertown-inn-welcomes-new-sister-property-the-van-dusen-mansion/

Because of the small and personal nature of the housing studies program, there are a lot of unique advantages offered to students who want to get the most out of their education. One of my personal favorites are the consistently small and interactive classroom settings. After a few years of primarily housing studies courses, my current lineup of mostly larger lecture hall courses outside of the department has was a bit of a shock at first.
I am taking one housing class this semester, though - Rural Housing Issues with Dr. Ann Ziebarth. Because there's only a handful of students enrolled in the course, we've gotten to do a lot of neat activities together as a class. One day we met at the HGA Gallery in Rapson Hall for a guided tour of the Rural Design exhibit by Dewey Thorbeck, and on different day received a guest lecture from representatives of the Housing Assistance Council via Skype.
Lately, classes have been more of an interactive discussion about the course material. Personally, I feel like it is a more enlightening and in-depth way of learning opposed to other more formal classroom settings. Below is one of the mind mapping activities we created together recently to collect key points of a book we've been reading about rural housing in Great Britain.

Hope you all are enjoying the lovely weather.

Jesse
B.S. Housing Studies

Happy Wednesday everyone! As the Spring 2013 academic term continues on at a steady pace, I though this week would be a good one to share with you all what a typical Weekday is like in my shoes. I would describe my weekly schedule as "action-packed" and Wednesdays are no exception.

On busy days like these I usually try to wake up around 6:30am to get ready for the day, check my planner, and drink 2 cups of coffee before getting on the bus going westbound to the East Bank of the Minneapolis Campus. After the short bus ride, I brave a 4-minute walk outdoors (it's been quite cold lately) and arrive at my first daily destination - Rapson Hall, room 100 for a course called Design in the Digital Age. Without getting into too much detail, it's an architecture course focused on designing with the latest technology which we will likely use again one day in the "real world." I recently made the image below for a short assignment in the class using SketchUp software.  

After Design in the Digital Age, I quite literally sprint out of Rapson to the nearest Campus Connector bus stop and hopefully make it to my Rural Housing Issues class in McNeal Hall on the St. Paul Campus in around twenty minutes. I probably should have planned that out better during registration, but I usually make it on time. After Rural Housing Issues, I grab a quick bite to eat and hop back on the Campus Connector en route back to the West Bank Minneapolis Campus!

While my class schedule is empty for several hours at this point in the day (around noon), I'm still in a slight rush upon arrival at the West Bank because the bus to my internship isn't going to catch itself! I take MetroTransit Route 22 to 35th Avenue & Cedar Avenue in South Minneapolis and walk a block or two to the HOME Line office (a statewide nonprofit tenant advocacy organization). My time there consists of speaking with Minnesota renters who have legal questions about their housing. Usually, I'm always being of help to someone, which is a nice feeling.

Then back to East Bank Campus for a quick dinner and my one-day-a-week Intro to Public Speaking class from 6:00 - 9:00pm in Ford Hall. Pretty self-explanatory what happens in that class, but I will say that our lecturer is amazing and I'm actually learning a lot about how I present myself to the public (former Gopher Tour Guide here). After speech class, I usually go straight home and watch Netflix in my bed. Wednesdays are my day off of serious homework endeavors for obvious reasons.

Well, time to start my day. Cheers everyone!

Jesse LaMaack
- Housing Studies, B.S.

Although student housing isn't necessarily my area of expertise, I've had a variety of different experience as a tenant of Minneapolis student housing. This week, I thought it would be fun to briefly share them all with you all.

My current residence is a little farther away from campus on Talmage Avenue Southeast in the Southeast Como Neighborhood. Our big group of five decided it was best to split up to avoid the unmanageable nature of five-bedroom places, which led us to choose a lovely 1970s duplex on the railroad tracks. The trains can be loud at times, but I'm mostly use to it by now and the apartment is quite nice. It is also conveniently situated on MetroTransit's Route 3 bus line which drops stops on East and West Banks of the Minneapolis Campus going westbound, and St. Paul Campus going eastbound - perfect for my trips to and from school!

Have a good week everyone!

- Jesse LaMaack
Housing Studies, B.S.

Greetings readers! Hopefully February has been treating you well. It has been a crazy busy past few weeks as the semester kicks into full speed alongside my work and internship obligations - but busy is good! This week I'd like to share with you all my recent research and learning experiences in the area of rural design. Rural design is something you may not have heard of before, largely because it is considered an emerging design discipline focused on addressing issues in rural areas by means of research-based design principles. Basically, rural design seeks to pursue an equitable balance between the human uses or rural lands and the natural ecosystems that exist in the area - a "best fit" between human use and natural functions. Coming from a rural area, I personally find this emerging area of design to be both challenging and environmentally responsible.

Luckily for my fellow students and me, our very own College of Design in partnership with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences is at the forefront of this research-driven design discipline and is home to the Center for Rural Design (CRD) - "CRD is an award winning, multi-disciplinary research and design studio that empowers communities to find innovative solutions to problems in rural Minnesota, the Midwest, and globally."

I've been doing a lot of research and related work on rural design as I am currently taking a course called Rural Housing Issues taught by housing studies professor and CRD faculty member Dr. Ann Ziebarth, who provides our class with a wealth of knowledge and insight on the topic. Very interesting stuff!

Hope you all go out and learn something new today!

- Jesse LaMaack
Housing Studies, B.S.

Thinking back to the very start of our new housing construction craze around the U of M campus, it seems like just yesterday that the large fenced-off mud pit on 15th Avenue & 4th Street Southeast rose from the subsurface and became Sidney Hall - the big, fancy, modernesque new apartment building that boastfully became the pinnacle of elite living in Dinkytown. Sydney Hall was a huge hit and the units filled up faster than most expected. From that point on, the rest is pretty much a blur of new off-campus apartment buildings going up everywhere...and I mean everywhere.

It shocks me to say with almost absolute certainty that since the Sydney Hall project was labeled a huge success, the development and construction of new off-campus student housing has not stopped - not even for a week or two between projects. Developers flocked to the area to buy up any undeveloped or distressed land close to campus...and have rather quickly added added hundreds, possibly thousands of brand new apartment units for students willing to pay for a little extra amenity.

Today, the development frenzy continues at full strength and seems to now be extending into all marketable student neighborhoods around the U, and developers seem to be getting stronger with every new multi-million dollar building they complete. I'm a housing studies student and I literally cannot keep track of them anymore...it almost seems out of control. Students are talking a lot about it too, and each person seems to have their own opinions on the impact it will have on the area. Truth be told, it's impossible to tell at this point whether a "housing bubble" is about to burst before our eyes or if the new units will assimilate in a positive and equitable way.

Regardless, the nature of the whole situation is simply unprecedented and the U of M area is being redesigned and redeveloped - both on on off campus - at a faster rate than anywhere else in the metro area. I personally like the new and changing scenery, it's exciting to be a housing student and watch these massive structures go up in passing every day from start to finish.

Wishing you all a fantastic first week of February - we've sure been having perfect weather for long and productive library sessions! ❄

Jesse LaMaack
› Housing Studies B.S.

Life has been busy this past week as I've been getting acclimated to my new school and work schedule, and getting trained in at my new internship at HOME Line, a statewide nonprofit tenant advocacy organization headquartered in Minneapolis. Soon, I will be speaking directly with tenants and offering legal advice (under the watchful eyes of several attorneys on staff) regarding various rental housing issues. Although this is a volunteer position, I will receive course internship credits which will count towards my housing studies degree, and a great deal of experience as well. I'm excited to get going and use my skills to help others!

This past Saturday, the upcoming HOME Line interns/volunteers (mostly law students) and I attended a day-long training session at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. The organization's attorneys took turns guiding us through the basics and specifics of Minnesota landlord and tenant law from the application to move out/eviction procedures. It was both interesting and enlightening, and it was a good way to get to know the attorneys we will be working under. I also got to know a few new people, which is always nice.

Stay posted for updates!

- Jesse LaMaack
Housing Studies, B.S.

The Spring 2013 academic term has arrived and the Twin Cities Campus is once again bustling with activity as I join the masses for my final semester as an undergraduate. Despite the mildly uncomfortable and persistent sub-zero [ºF] temps, campus life has returned from winter break as tens of thousands of U of M students and faculty made their way back to campus. The start of my semester coursework began this morning with my only Tuesday class, Architectural History Since 1750 at the Bell Museum Auditorium on the East Bank of the Minneapolis Campus. Tomorrow's agenda isn't so leisurely - starting in the early morning with Design in the Digital Age on East Bank and Rural Housing Issues on the St.   Paul Campus, and ending with Intro to Public Speaking on the West Bank that night. I'm sure it will be quite the adventure.

Many of us students, especially in the College of Design, tend to cover a lot of ground in one day getting from place to place on our vast campus , and beating the cold is a foundational part of foot traffic for those who get to know the Gopher Way. The Gopher Way is an extensive network of tunnels and skyways that link campus buildings and parking structures. While some of the tunnels/skyways are simple yet efficient human transport corridors, other more heavily trafficked parts of the Gopher Way are somewhat airport-like in layout - wide pedestrian concourses lined with coffee cafes, effectively linking entire areas of campus. 

Getting to know the layout and design of the whole thing can be tricky at first, but well worth the effort on absurdly chilly days like today - and taking to the tunnels is very much in the Golden Gopher spirit!

- Jesse LaMaack
Housing Studies, B.S.

pic: https://www.facebook.com/Atmosphere?fref=ts

With less than a week of break left before spring courses begin, I've been trying to use at least some of my free time productively. My first move was scheduling an advising appointment with Wanda, my wonderful academic adviser. Throughout the past few years in the College of Design, advising appointments with Wanda have always been enlightening. Not only am I advised on the various ways of approaching my degree program, but also introduced to the impressive variety of campus resources available to me. As graduation draws near, here are a few adviser-certified career resources I've been either exploring or revisiting lately:

Career and Internship Services is the primary career preparation and exploration resource for housing studies students, and provides detailed information on career possibilities/trajectories based on data provided by housing studies alumni. Some of the information includes alumni job titles & career profiles, salary & employment statistics of housing graduates, words of advice from alumni, past internship sites, and more. Aside from all of the online information Career and Internship Services provides us, they also have knowledgeable career counselors available by appointment at their conveniently located offices in McNeal Hall.

GoldPASS is another useful job searching tool available to all U of M students and recent grads. Simply put, "GoldPASS is the U of M's online database to help connect students and alumni with employers, volunteer organizations, and internships across the country." While I've used GoldPASS in the past to search for internships and part-time student positions, I'm now taking a closer look at potential entry-level professional openings to begin my career with. Fingers crossed!

Jesse LaMaack | Housing Studies, B.S.

Ahhh, winter break feels great. I've been getting out of the house and office as much as possible to enjoy the city and the company of my friends. In many ways, this is my favorite time of year. While summer breaks for many students take a lot of planning, moving, and other somewhat intense lifestyle changes - winter break is pretty much the opposite. After the immediate cultural holiday celebrations, new year begins and working folks get back on with their regular lives. For U of M students, however, the end of the holidays still leaves us with three weeks of relative freedom before starting back up with a fresh new academic term of new courses and new daily pattern of life.

As exciting as that sounds, I'm very much enjoying the added rest and freetime winter break has brought me. Outside of work, I now have more time to not only relax and socialize, but also get back in the loop with my personal interests. As I hadn't had much time during the school year to keep up with my favorite group of musical artists, the Pretty Lights Music record label - I've been busy enjoying their artist's most recent albums and singles, which they graciously provide us fans free of charge on their website. Listening to their new beats for the first time always puts me in an upbeat mood and will eventually become the background music of spring semester study sessions. Gramatik and Michal Menert (album artwork below) are my favorite artists in the label to listen to while studying, and their newest albums did not fail to disappoint.

With these bits of my life being the most exciting events of my winter break so far here in Minneapolis, I'm quite content with a few more weeks of similar activity.

- Jesse L.
Housing Studies, B.S.

Ready or not, 2013 has finally arrived. While starting a new year is always an exciting and often refreshing experience as a college student, 2013 will definitely be unlike any other. For roughly 5,000 U of M students including myself, this is the year - we are the Class of 2013. The "M" formation on the right is our freshman class during Welcome Week 2009! Seems like just yesterday we were all meeting each other for the very first time. For those of us graduating in exactly four years, there's only one semester left before commencement ceremonies begin in late May. Regardless of the many possible paths I may choose to take following my final semester here in the College of Design, 2013 is sure to be a year of final chapters and new beginnings. It sure will be a rollercoaster ride of a year, but I'm excited nonetheless.

While new years has figuratively served as the beginning of the end of college, so to speak, my favorite part about this time of year is the relaxation that is had during winter break. Sure, I take in about twice as many hours at my campus job, but thats pretty much the biggest stressor in my life right now which is fine with me. School is great, don't get me wrong, but winter break feels like bliss after several solid weeks of final exams and term projects.

And on a final note, have you all heard about Gopher Hockey in the news recently? Just a few days ago the Gopher Hockey men's team hosted the Mariucci Classic and defeated Boston College (BC), the nation's top-ranked college hockey team. The best part about the game wasn't just the victory itself, but also the fact that we dominated the rink with the final score being 8-1, Gopher victory - bumping us up from fourth to number one in the nation. So at the present moment in time, BOTH the men's AND women's Gopher Hockey teams are ranked first in the nation. I am so glad that my dad got me season student tickets this year! Go Gophers!

Best wishes for the new year everyone!

- Jesse L
Housing Studies, B.S.

Pic (hockey): https://www.facebook.com/GopherAthletics

I am pleased to announce that I am completely finished with my fall semester coursework and Winter Break is finally here! Although the work started piling up at the end as it always seems to, I powered through it and am very satisfied with my hard work. I definitely underestimated how much research I had compiled for my final projects until it was all laying in a pile on my floor - it was a tad overwhelming but somewhat organized (to me at least). The final thing submitted marking the end of my semester was a brief yet concise summary explaining the formation, hazards, and mitigation of ice dams that form on rooftops during the winter season, caused by unwanted heat rising through attic ceilings and melting the snow on the exterior. Ice dams have potential to cause major damage to the house and also can become a source of mold and mildew which is no good! Preventing them can save a lot of potential problems. Thankfully, I was able to refer back to a handy little diagram I drew a few years back in my Systems Approach to Residential Construction class, and was able to get my final assignment submitted quickly and painlessly.

Outside of my exciting end-of-semester news, I am continuing to work for the next few days at our new office on the East Bank Campus that CBS Student Services recently moved to (which I mentioned a few weeks back). It is freshly renovated and in a convenient spot on campus, so I already love the change in scenery. At the end of the weekend I will be heading back home to southwestern Minnesota and spend a week or two with my family and relaxing. Hope you are all staying warm, it's getting cold out there!

Jesse L. - Housing Studies, B.S.

It's a big week for students here at the U as final exams begin and social lives are put on hold. Aside from a few finals early next week, I've been spending most of my time on a term paper and group research project in my Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) course. MY group mates and I are working hard assessing, modeling, and comparing the life cycles and carbon/greenhouse gas emissions of two different commercial roofing materials/treatments: a PVC-laminated poly membrane called Dura-Last made from recycled post-industrial waste, and modular LiveRoof "living" green roof system. Some of our inventory modeling work is shown below - as you can see, things are starting to get complicated. Although it can be frustrating at times, the application of course material to a group project l is where we really start to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for LCA and its allied sciences. Hopefully, I'll be able to apply it in the real world one day.

Outside of the school craziness, the weather must've been feeling wild and threw us all a deceivingly beautiful "welcome to MinneSnowta" snowstorm. Although the outdoor conditions throughout remained mostly calm and picturesque (large fluffy snowflakes gently falling and now wind), the precipitation went steady and strong for longer than most people realized. After what seemed like days of constant snowfall, the temperatures dipped into the low teens - turning roads into ice skating rinks overnight. Traffic was absolute mayhem for a good part of Monday morning (not exaggerating) before city workers were able to melt the ice on main roads. The whole thing was a pretty dramatic seasonal transition for all of us, but the first big snowfall is always a fun time for us Minnesotans, assuming your car didn't get towed during a Snow Emergency.

On a final note, I am pleased to announce that I was recently offered an internship at HOME Line, a Minneapolis based nonprofit tenant advocacy organization - offering free legal advice to renters across Minnesota. Much of my position there will be focused on their tenant hotline helping renters with tenant problems and legal issues. I'm super excited about the opportunity and feel that it will be a great way to broaden my housing policy knowledge and use it to empower others. Although it is an unpaid internship, I will be receiving required course internship credits for my time there and working at my regular campus job on the side. I start this coming January, stay posted for future updates!

Jesse LaMaack - Housing Studies, B.S.

I feel that I can speak for most U of M undergrads when describing this week as a true challenge in the area of time management - finals are right around the corner and most of us have other projects and deadlines to take care of first. In other words, it's crunch time. There's no doubt I've succumb to the mechanically operating work-school-study-sleep-repeat routine that get caught up in at this time of the year. While it may not be the most balanced or wholesome means of existence, a structured and productive daily agenda is to be expected when cruising through the home stretch of academic term - there is an end in sight!

The recent cold snap that sent all of us for a loop yesterday brought less than favorable outdoor conditions, so instead of traveling to campus and back for our scheduled library session, my friend Sean (senior, School of Journalism & Mass Communications) and I set up a makeshift study nook at my place and were able to remain studious for several hours (not usually the case for me when studying in a college residential environment). While I seldom study at my house (or friends' places) because of the numerous distractions that tend to present themselves, I will note that our current home in the SE Como Neighborhood is a far more favorable study environment than some of our previous residences - my freshman residence hall (Pioneer Hall) being a good comparative example. Pioneer was great - loved every minute of it - but it was in no way an ideal place to get serious homework done, which was okay since the Biomedical Library was in the tunnel system just across the street and open late.

In other news, the office I work at part-time (College of Biological Sciences Student Services) will soon be moving from Snyder Hall on the St. Paul Campus to Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) on the East Bank of the Minneapolis Campus! I'm pretty excited for the move; it will work perfectly with my schedule for the upcoming Spring 2013 academic term. It will also be convenient for CBS students who don't spend much of their time on the St. Paul Campus, and overall easier to locate with MCB being on Washington Avenue (the main drag of East Bank, light rail coming soon!). I also have an internship interview coming up next week for the upcoming Spring term, fingers crossed!

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

pic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MCB_Minnesota_6.jpg

Hello again everyone, hopefully you all had a terrific Thanksgiving! As winter break looms, its getting to be that time of the semester where group projects are taking over and we are beginning to apply our skills we've learned so far this semester. Balancing three group projects at a time can be trying at times, but a few key pieces of technology provided to my by the U of M has been making my academic life a bit more manageable. First and foremost on my list of helpful technologies came about just a few years ago when our student email server "GopherMail" was integrated with Gmail from Google. If you aren't familiar with Gmail, Google Drive/Docs, and Google's other programs - I can assure you that it makes life as a college student a lot easier. It can be used as a regular email inbox, a much more secure substitute for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel - and most of all, it provides us students with file sharing capabilities (below) so group projects can be worked on by everyone involved live from our own computers. That way, all group members can be connected and conversing without having to butcher our schedules by all having to meet in one place (often a hassle for many of us College of Design students who are always back and forth between Minneapolis and St. Paul).

Another technical tool that has come in handy is the Excel-based GREET Life Cycle Analysis modeling and calculation program one of my professors recently provided us with. I know, boring, I would have agreed just a few weeks ago - but, it has proven to save our group a lot of time when it came time to conduct our own LCA, so it is much appreciated. Another technology I've been revising recently from last year's map design course is ArcGIS, which is essentially geographic information software which turns data and metadata into maps. It's a good skill to have learned because sometimes certain projects or findings could be better explained visually as a map, and ArcGIS allows me to make my own maps to convey the data that I choose. So yay for technology! It is making my week go by a whole lot smoother.

Tomorrow marks the day of my final round of course registration before graduation! It feels like just yesterday that I registered for the very first time at freshman orientation, and here I am today planning out my final semester as an undergraduate. While I have usually felt overwhelmed with tons course options during registration season, I'm now left with a fairly structured list of classes to take to complete my degree. Together, they fulfill the remainder of my housing technology concentration and architecture minor, plus intro to public speaking, which is one of those courses I've been putting off for a while. Here is the tentative list of course I plan to register for:

- COMM 1101: Introduction to Public Speaking
- HSG 5484: Rural Housing Issues
- ARCH 3412: Architectural History since 1750
- ARCH 4150-005: Multifamily Net-Zero Seminar
- ARCH 5550-002: Multifamily Net-Zero Studio Module

I'm most excited for the Multifamily Net-Zero Seminar & Studio Module. Together, they are a special pair of courses for upper-level students and will essentially be the capstone courses of my academic career - combining the most important elements my degree - housing, residential technology, architecture, and sustainability.

The 2011 Princeton Net-Zero project and the 2012 Northside Net-Zero project (above) are some of the past studios that have come from this course. It will be quite a bit of work, but it will ensure that I get the very most out of the little time that I have left in the College of Design. Saving the best for last.

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

renderings: http://habitat.energyandarchitecture.org/, http://www.energyandarchitecture.org/NSNZ/

Last night was a big night for the housing studies program! Our annual Housing Alumni Gathering served as a social hour before a the feature event - "On Equal Terms" which was a lecture by author, electrician, artist and poet Susan Eisenberg followed by a Q&A Panel with four women in the construction trade. For many years, Ms. Eisenberg was one of the only women in the construction industry and therefore faced many challenges along the way. Although gender discrimination had long been banned prior to her time of employment, the construction trade was (and largely still is) dominated by males. It was really interesting to hear Ms. Eisenberg's personal accounts accompanied by poetry and an enlightening ladder demonstration.

The Housing Alumni Gathering/social hour beforehand was also a great time! It was great to meet a few new faces as well as catch up with old housing friends and professors. The event was also catered by Kafé 421, so good food was plentiful (and free!). All in all, a good night.

Have a great weekend!

- Jesse LaMaack - Housing Studies, B.S.

Hello all! As the title states, I have had quite the busy week so far. After wrapping up my final midterm yesterday in my Environmental Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) course, I have been back and forth between Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses taking care of my other courses that I've been neglecting in preparation for the LCA exam. The edited Google Maps screenshot above is the midpoint area of my commute between the two campuses, and also shows the interesting land use dynamic at the border of the Twin Cities (although they don't look very much like twins to me!). After my exam was over, I took an hour or so to unwind and visited the Goldstein Museum of Design in McNeal Hall. We have lots of museums right here on campus that are free for students, highly recommended!

One course I've really been trying to stay on top of is my microeconomics course on the West Bank of the Minneapolis Campus. Although the concepts of the class are not new to me, interpreting them graphically is definitely not my strongest suit. It's my first huge class (most of my classes are quite small with under 30 students), so I really have to take the initiative to seek out the help I need to do well - so for one of the first times in my life, I am a regular at my TA's office hours. Needless to say, I'm finally starting to get over my lifelong fear of mathematics and graphs - it's really not that bad when it comes down to it. Old habits die hard, but I think I'm in the midst of conquering this one. Outside of school, I'd say the highlight of recent days has been my first Gopher hockey game of the season! Not a huge crowd because we were playing the national under-18 team (why, I do not know), but it was still a fun time. >

Also, Happy Halloween! I did the whole costume thing last weekend so I'm not technically "celebrating" it today, but regardless, I will be gorging myself with candy later on.

- Jesse
Housing Studies, B.S.

It can hardly be argued that we the Millennial Generation are products of the digital age - exponential advancements in high technology have been a powerful feature of our childhood and formative years, with still no end in sight as we become adults. We grew up knowing that as a society we are capable of solving complex issues with technological solutions. Yet, over a decade into the twenty-first century, we still are in the grips of an environmental and ecological crisis. By now it is old news that humans are causing irreparable damages to our earth and its finite resources - yet we knowingly continue to burn fossil fuels as a main source of energy knowing full well that there are other, cleaner ways of supplying energy to our nation's power grid.

In 2009, about 22% of all energy use in the U.S. was linked directly to the homes we live in. That's A LOT of energy - meaning a lot of coal burnt up to make electricity and a lot of CO₂ released into our atmosphere. As the environmental movement towards sustainability grows stronger and consumers become more aware of available alternative energy sources, more and more Americans are investing in housing technologies to lessen their reliance on public utility. Some common examples in today's market are photovoltaic solar panels, geothermal pumps, and high-performance construction materials, methods, and mechanical systems. While building or retrofitting one's home to remove it from "the grid" is possible in almost any residential setting, doing so without major lifestyle changes would require a complex system of newly available housing technologies.

While it is disappointing that we as a nation overwhelmingly rely on (and by doing so, inadvertently support) the continuation of fossil fuels, the aforementioned housing technologies and energy sources are finally coming into the mainstream. And of course, I'm personally excited that I chose housing technology as my thematic concentration within housing studies - it's already a growing market and there will be only a handful of upcoming grads with such specialized credentials. Opportunity awaits!

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful fall weather!

- Jesse

Housing Studies, B.S.

icons courtesy of The Noun Project

Ready or not, midterm season is in full swing at the U of M and shall continue to reign in the back of our minds until the last of them are turned in a few weeks from now. Midterm season is usually more spread out than other peak exam seasons, which allows more prep time but also tends to drag on from start to finish. I like to refer to my midterm exams as "middys" to alleviate negative connotations associated with the stress midterm season can bring. It makes them sound kind of fun, which is often an over exaggeration but a positive outlook never hurts. Over the past few years at the U of M, my study habits for these said middys have evolved through what I now recognize as a trial and error process and have developed into a positive and productive relationship with the St. Paul Campus and it's many wonderful places to study.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Minneapolis Campus. It pretty much serves as the center of my academic life whether or not I'm attending class there at the time. It is compact, convenient, and is truly the epicenter of the U's civic life and culture. However, I'm one of those who are very easily distracted by people, places, and things in general - and while the Minneapolis Campus has plenty of quiet libraries and study nooks to take refuge in during study season, my friends and I mostly venture on over to the St. Paul Campus to when homework is the top priority. It also fits perfectly with our new housing situation on Southeast Como, served by MetroTransit's Route 3 which quickly connects the Minneapolis and St. Paul Campuses.

It's a completely different atmosphere over in St. Paul and tends to have immediate calming properties upon arrival - especially this time of the year when the hundreds of autumn trees are literally gleaming maroon and gold - a truly unrivaled tribute to gopher spirit! In addition to a calming outdoor ambiance, buildings on the St. Paul Campus full of what I would claim to be ideal study conditions.

One of my favorites is the "treehouse" in McNeal Hall, the College of Design's St. Paul facilities where my major is housed. The treehouse is a common study tucked into a large skyway link between historic and modern structures that together form a part of the McNeal Hall design facilities. It even has access to an outdoor balcony overlooking the newly paved courtyard.

A few other notable mentions on my list of St. Paul study enclaves are the Magrath Library and the former Forestry Library. The Magrath Library is St. Paul Campus' largest library and definitely my go-to place if I ever need to get some serious work done. The building's unique natural lighting flowing into open spaces allow people within the building to experience natural lighting cycles within a climate-controlled environment, so a lot of study areas are in an open atrium setting instead of amongst rows of bookshelves. And finally, the former Forestry Library, though quite self-explanatory, is a newly reopened common study space in the Hill Area of the St. Paul Campus. Although I appreciated the quaintness and charm of what was the forestry library (circa 2010) the consolidation of its periodicals really opened up the space and I've been frequenting it since it opened its doors this fall.

Back to work!

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

It has been a busy and exciting week as I have just recently started my new job here on campus as an Office Assistant for the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) Student Services. Each College at the U of M has a student services team of office assistants like me, student services specialists, outreach coordinators, and of course, academic advisers. Like the College of Design, CBS is one of the smaller undergraduate schools at the U of M, so my position is fairly flexible I get the chance to interact with students and staff.

Although my position within CBS Student Services isn't directly related to housing, I am gaining valuable professional experience in an office setting - which is a must in the application process for many jobs that I may apply to in the future. Front desk experience is a valuable skill to have mastered in a professional setting, they are often referred to by employers as the "directors of first impressions." My new position is also an on-campus job (St. Paul Campus), which is perfect for my busy schedule. After a few years at the U, I have come to learn that employment here on campus is a great option for full-time students who are trying to balance work, school, and social activities.

After an unsettling performance in recent years, America's housing market appears to be showing positive signs of growth and consumer activity. Many major news outlets in recent weeks have covered this recent housing recovery, citing increased home sales and lower mortgage rates in major cities. This is good news for America's economy, but also good news for the housing job market. While jobs in housing will exist regardless of our economic climate, a strong housing economy fuels the growth of housing development in cities, which could make a fun and interesting career in the private sector.

Towards the end of the year we will get the opportunity to see how the jobs market has fared for our housing alumni at the annual career panel. The career panel of one of the various events thrown by our HOUS (Housing Organization for University Students) student group here on campus. I will be stepping up as President of the group this year and we are just beginning to get things going now that October has arrived. I'm excited to get us all together again and looking forward to some fun events this year!

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

One of my favorite things about the College of Design is the seemingly limitless opportunities for student involvement. Whatever interests one may have, there are tons projects, programs, and groups that design students can become a part of. Recently, the University's UMore Park Development group mailed me a copy of their most recent publication that I was involved in, The Sustainability Summary. The focus of this summary was largely based on the UMore Park Sustainability Workshop that I professionally audited last year. The workshop brought together various community members of the Rosemount area and was a sort of organized think tank, largely focusing on how residents of the area would like to see UMore Park develop in the context of the local community. After getting a first-hand view of the area's community fabric and culture from locals, the workshop then went on to explore how these features could be applied to the sustainable principles that will serve as a framework for the development of UMore Park. If you are new to my blog or would like to further explore the details of the UMore Park development project, visit their website or one of my previous posts about my involvements with UMore Park as a housing student.

Not only did my participation at the UMore Park Sustainability Workshop strengthen my academic and community ties, it also gave me the remarkable opportunity to work directly with Bioregional, a world-renowned sustainable development group. Based out of the UK, Bioregional is most famous for creating the famous BedZED sustainable housing community outside of London. Their work with UMore Park has been a tremendous learning experience for both myself and others involved, and I feel so lucky to have been a part of their work.

On another note, it's about that time of the semester to get going on planning activities for the housing studies student group, HOUS (Housing Organization for University Students). The former president of the group recently graduated, so the presidential torch has been passed to me! I am excited to get started and I am looking forward to some fun and engaging activities with my fellow housing students! I will definitely keep you all posted as we get things going! Hope you all are having a fantastic week!

Jesse
Housing Studies, B.S.

While there certainly isn't a lack of interesting construction projects happening on and around campus these days, the Central Corridor light rail project is definitely the one everyone is talking about. Once completed, the Central Corridor will connect Downtown Minneapolis to Downtown St. Paul via light rail rapid transit. More importantly (from the perspective of a U of M student), the Central Corridor will connect the East Bank and West Bank of our Minneapolis Campus. It's a pretty big deal. The campus portion of the project runs along Washington Avenue, which was once the busiest area of campus - like super busy, I'm talking tens of thousands of people circulating through that area each day. Washington Avenue was a well oiled machine of people, coffee shops, and rapid transit. It was truly a change in lifestyle for a lot of us when the road was closed and underwent some pretty serious excavation. Bus lines were re-routed and life went on, and now the Central Corridor is about half way completed.

As the skeletons of new transit stations are beginning to appear next to the newly laid tracks, local housing developers are already predicting a rise in students wanting to live near this new public amenity. The Stadium Village area is the most notable example, where a handful of new, relatively upscale student apartment complexes are under construction or newly opened near the light rail project. I'm going to go ahead and guess that once the Central Corridor is complete and operating, Stadium Village will be the new hot neighborhood for off-campus living. Trust me, having a light rail within a few blocks of your apartment would be better than owning a car if you have classes on the West Bank. I'm jealous of the future students who will be the ones actually using it!

- Jesse
Housing Studies, B.S.

pics: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/04/20/centcorridor1-delays/, http://dorancompanies.com/the-edge-on-oak/

The overall theme of this semester is to dig deeper into my required multidisciplinary work outside of the housing program - courses in economics, historic preservation, and environmental science make up the bulk of my school schedule. Although we are only in our second week of classes, I am already beginning to see how all of these courses (which are outside of the housing department) tie into today's major housing-related issues. As I've said before, the scope of housing studies is surprisingly broad and there are many different ways of digging deeper into your specific area of concentration. Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:

Historic Preservation, taught by the Department of Architecture, introduces us to a practice which has just recently become mainstream in the past few decades. We will learn the basic concepts of the preservation, restoration, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and stabilization of historic properties. Quite often, these properties are houses, housing complexes, or historic residential districts (there is a plethora of local examples right here in the Twin Cities). It is quite likely that housing graduates working in residential development will deal directly with preservation-related projects, whether it be in the nonprofit or for-profit sector. Historic preservation is a completely different ball game than building renovation and remodeling, and I feel that the knowledge I gain in this course will somehow be applicable in my future profession.

I am also taking a course offered by the Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management, called Environmental Life Cycle Analysis, which teaches us the cradle-to-grave approach of products and industrial processes. An Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) essentially quantifies the environmental impacts of a product's full life - examining impacts from all stages, such as extraction of raw materials, production and distribution of energy, product use, reuse, and final disposal. It's actually pretty difficult to wrap your mind around just how much goes into any single manufactured product, and how it affects the Earth's delicate ecologies. In this new era of environmental awareness and sustainability, learning LCA is important for housing students like me who are interested in residential building products, materials, processes, and emerging technologies. Knowledge of LCA gives us the skills to professionally assist in the purchasing of building products, selecting materials, and identifying alternative methods to make a project more environmentally friendly.

I hope this was at least semi-enlightening to you all! Feel free to direct any questions or comments in the section below. There really is a lot to learn when it comes to housing!

Hopefully September is off to a good start for you all!

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

Pictures: http://the651.com/historic-holidays-at-the-hill-house-and-ramsey-house, http://pgbeautyscience.com/breakthroughs-xix.php

Fall semester classes have begun and it's back to the grind. I started the term off with my Tuesday schedule consisting of three classes starting at 1:30 and ending at around 7:20. It was mostly introductory stuff for the first day as usual, nothing to surprising. So far it looks like it's going to be an interesting and challenging semester, I'm excited to get started. And now that the academic year has started, I will be blogging weekly updates of my life as a housing student at the U of M.

Oh, and also on the topic of back to school, I was recently featured in a Star Tribune article regarding my favorable study habits in this new age of technological distractions. Check it out.

As for the rest of my life outside of school, I'm just starting to get settled in at our new place in the Southeast Como neighborhood. Moving out of the old place and into the new was, as usual, super stressful and unorganized. There was stuff everywhere for about 18 hours. My roomies and I all pulled through, though, and we love the new place. Our new backyard borders the train tracks, which definitely gives it some character.

To a new semester!

Jesse
Housing Studies, B.S.

After a random and eventful summer away from metropolitan life, it feels great to be back in Minneapolis for the conclusion of break. My roommates and I are keeping pretty busy in this calm before the storm that is late August. Lots and lots of packing, cleaning, organizing, internship hunting, and preparing for the start of classes. Amongst all of this bustle, my friends and I have taken some time to go on some scenic walks nearby (such as the Stone Arch Bridge, below) and also a bit of frolfing in St. Paul as well. I also paid a visit to the East Bank Campus on Sunday; the Northrop Auditorium was just as beautiful as always despite the major renovation work going on inside.

On a different note - A friend and I had a discussion recently that got me thinking (in hypothetical terms) about my own housing preference if I were to buy a home (for myself) right now. No, I'm definitely not in an active pursuit of homeownership now or in the very near future - but if that were to be the case (and maybe will be in a few years), I would most likely choose a one-bedroom condo in in the recently renovated Midtown Exchange Building. This massive building on the corner of Chicago Avenue & Lake Street in Minneapolis built in 1928, owned by retail giant Sears Roebuck until it was vacated in 1994 and sat empty for over a decade. Even today, the Midtown Exchange is the second-largest building in Minnesota in terms of leasable space (Mall of America took the top spot 20 years ago). After a pig push for investment and funding from major civic leaders, the building was renovated into the Midtown global Market on the bottom floor and has residential units on the upper floors. The immediate surrounding neighborhood is observed to be an "up-and-coming" area of Minneapolis, and is in close proximity to the city's major business and commercial centers. The condos are also super affordable now as the housing market recovers, especially considering they are almost new and a part of a local historic landmark. Maybe some day...

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rich0661/architecture/2006/09/post.html, http://www.ryancompanies.com/projects/midtown-exchange/

I hope all of your summer breaks were both fun and memorable...almost time to bust out that fall jacket!

- Jesse

Housing Studies, B.S.

August has arrived and so far it has been a lot of fun. I've left my perch in Sioux Falls indefinitely to spend some quality time with my family before heading back to the Twin Cities to prepare for my last year of school. A few days ago, my parents hosted our annual croquet tournament at our lake home. Although my croquet skills were subpar at best, it was great fun catching up with family and old friends.

Right now, I'm Jefferson, South Dakota visiting my Memeré and Peperé (Grandma and Grandpa). Jefferson is a tiny little town of about 500 people near Sioux City, Iowa. It's definitely an interesting place to visit, as it is a good example of the issues we learn in school about rural housing. While on a walk around town, I took a picture of the St. Peter's Catholic Church, which is the oldest Catholic Church in South Dakota.

Other than those bits of news, I'm excited to get back to Minneapolis in a few weeks to reconnect with my friends and prepare our move from our place in Dinkytown to our new house in the Southeast Como neighborhood. Time sure is flying by!

- Jesse
Housing Studies

With my senior year approaching, I've been thinking a lot lately not only what sorts of jobs to look for after graduation, but also where I plan to live. While I very well may stay close to my roots in Minneapolis, there's always a chance that I'll take on a larger city such as Chicago. Regardless, I have decided that beyond my days of living in the off-campus neighborhoods of Dinkytown and Southeast Como, I will likely choose to live in a higher density housing complex.

While apartment/condo living isn't considered by many to be the most "ideal" living situation, I would debate that there are many different ways of looking at it. Well designed and constructed multifamily housing complexes mixed development complexes go in line with the smart growth urban planning and transportation theory. Smart growth essentially aims to create "compact communities" that create a more practical, sustainable, active, and convenient civic life for inhabitants. By increasing density in both housing and commercial structures, along with other land use and design considerations (the UMore Park Project is a good example), it has been observed by many as a way to make the city universally accessible and pleasing to all, while preserving civic culture and reducing the effects of suburban sprawl.

Current version of UMore Park's Concept Master Plan, adhering to several key concepts of smart growth Cobalt Condos in Northeast Minneapolis.

Hope you all are staying cool in the heat.

Jesse
Housing Studies

I've been doing a lot of leisure reading so far this summer, like a lot compared to other summer breaks. I think that most of it has to do with the extreme heat we (and the rest of America) have been having weather-wise. Air conditioning for the win.

Anyways, here are a few good books that I've enjoyed so far this summer:

Nature and the Idea of a Man-Made World by Norman Crowe is actually kind of a re-read from a previous design theory class, but it has a lot of interesting housing-related material that we didn't cover in class. It's actually an interesting and intellectual book that would be good for any prospective students out there looking to get a head start!

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivy has recently become one of my favorite novels. It's loosely based on an old Russian folk tale and takes place in the 1920s Alaskan frontier. An older couple without children move north to the Alaskan wilderness to start a new life, when they start seeing a little girl in the snowy forest outside their home...it makes me miss the snow so much. I'm pretty much ready for winter to come.

And obviously, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I'm probably the last person I know who hadn't read this book. Regardless, it was a good read and also a pretty decent movie.

Any of you all read any good books this summer?

- Jesse
Housing Studies, B.S.

After a few weeks of leisurely lake life back at home in Southwest Minnesota, my lack of productivity was beginning to make me antsy. As a person who really likes keeping busy, I felt compelled to find real employment of some sort rather than spend the summer working for my parents and picking rocks out of the fields (i.e., rock picking). During my three-year hiatus from rural farm life, I had nearly forgotten that finding a job worthy of being put of my résumé is hard to come by in Minnesota's prairie hinterlands. After putting forth a solid effort to find decent work off the farm, my search yielded few possibilities.

In the midst of this situation, a good buddy of mine from high school now living in (Sioux Falls, SD) was having a crisis of his own after his roommate at the time packed up and left, without finding anyone to pay rent in her place. With Sioux Falls being only an hour or so away from my hometown, I saw this as a window of opportunity to get a job and get back on the grind. After staying in Sioux Falls for a few days, I landed a sales position at Best Buy. Now I'm spending my summer working, enjoying civic life once again, and making new friends. I also joined a beach volleyball team!

Because I'm a housing major, I obviously can't help but subconsciously analyze the housing around these parts and thought I'd share a few of my observations with you all. Starting with my own housing situation in Sioux Falls, I live in an apartment building that was once a hotel. It has been completely renovated and expanded to places of residence, and was well executed, but it still gives off hotel vibes (pool and hot tub on the main floor, among other typical hotel amenities), which is interesting.

My other housing observation/experience was when a friend took us on a weekend retreat to her family's house in rural South Dakota. As you can see in the picture, they live in the middle of a wind farm. The house's surrounding landscape was grass, crops, and wind turbines as far as the eye could see, which was also pretty interesting.

I'll check back in with you all in a few weeks!

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

With senior year around the corner, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the many different areas of the housing market I would consider entering to start my career after graduation. With my housing technology concentration and architecture minor, my ideal
position would probably be in the development or construction industries. My fellow students and I have had considerable exposure to both industries in our housing courses and have interacted with local professionals.

One thing about housing is that it is a basic necessity for modern living, and there are always housing jobs around. With just a few housing undergraduates completing the program each year, there's a wide range of options to choose from and just a few of us. I'm looking forward to visiting our wonderful Career Services this fall to further discuss my future career options and hearing about what other housing students have done after school!

Hope you all are having a great summer!

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

Last night, I returned to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport from a week-long vacation visiting an old friend in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was great to get away for a while, and I must say that Virginia is quite beautiful (I'd never been there before). We spent a lot of time traversing the Blue Ridge Mountains outside of town and seeing Charlottesville's historic sites. It does feel good to be back in Minnesota though - the extreme humidity of Virginia made it feel like I was in Florida!

Charlottesville is also home to the University of Virginia (UVA), founded in 1819 by former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. I visited the campus a few times while I was in the area, it's really quite beautiful. I also picked up a book while I was on campus, written by a professor called Sustainable Affordable Prefab. The book loosely follows the Solar Decathlon housing project in Washington DC, a competition which the U of M also participates in. I finished the book in just three days, and it gave a lot of ideas and insight for possible UROP research projects next spring!

Have a great week!

Jesse LaMaack - Housing Studies, B.S.

Summer is finally here! After an intense week of final exams, the spring semester is over and my hard work has paid off. I've been spending most of my free time with my friends, enjoying all of the great summer amenities Minneapolis has to offer. Lake Calhoun and the Sculpture Garden have been two of my favorite outdoor activities.

I have also spent some time doing stuff that I hadn't had much time for during the busy academic term - like spending time with my older sister (who recently graduated from the U of M) and visiting the Mill City Ruins near downtown Minneapolis.

While I have spent all of my college summer breaks thus far here in Minneapolis, I have decided to spend my final summer before senior year back at home in Southwest Minnesota with my parents. After three years of summer work and paying the bills myself, moving to an air-conditioned lake home with free room and board sounds great to me! I will be blogging periodically throughout the summer to share my thoughts and keep in touch as I try to land an internship for the fall when I return to Minneapolis.

Also...I have nearly forgotten that in the midst of the end-of-semester craziness, I registered for fall semester classes. Much of the coursework will be fulfilling my housing technology concentration and architecture minor - they add up to 16 credits total:

HSG 3482: Sustainable Housing - Community and Environmental Technology

ECON 1101: Principles of Microeconomics

Hope you're having a great summer so far!

Jesse LaMaack - Housing Studies, B.S.

Finals week here at the U of M is in full swing, and so far so good (for me at least). As much as I'd love to share all of my pre-exam stress drama with all of you, I figured it would be a good week to instead give you all a few reasons why I'm proud to be a housing studies major - a course of study that is often overlooked by prospective students.

It's a Real-World Major.

Because of the various housing classes I have taken this past few years, I have a full understanding of the housing market and its special relationship to our nation's economy. With housing being such a powerful economic asset, having an in-depth understanding of housing in America in the form of a B.S. degree will also be a pretty strong asset next year at graduation. The way I see it, Our major is pretty much job security because housing in this country is not going anywhere - and the demand for experts and researchers is only increasing as our housing market becomes increasingly complex. If there was an award for the major most relevant to the daily functions of our society, I would personally vote housing studies. I may sound a little bias in that statement, but housing is just that important. It's a (very expensive and complex) basic human need.

The People

Long story short, 75% of my housing studies classes have around 15 students (there's one larger class of about 40). The nature of housing studies courses encourage us all to work together and help each other out - whether we are doing a group project or individual work. There's only a handful of us in the program (roughly 12 undergrad housing majors, 26 students total counting those earning a housing minor). Note that this is not a typical program size at the U of M. We're all pretty much on a first-name basis and have likely had between 3 and 8 required classes together by graduation. I have made quite a few school friends so far and we're always helping each other out in some way or another with our studies - being competitive in the housing major would be counterproductive to the overall goal of our coursework.

Our professors, aside from being extremely knowledgeable, have devoted their careers to housing and are a huge resource to us students. They know our names, our interests, and tell us of any internship or job opportunities they've been informed of. After putting in the extra-mile into my housing coursework the past few years, the professors are more than willing to help you out with a letter of recommendation or serve as a professional reference. Our professors are also very involved in our HOUS student group events (often showing up with pizza), and will often give us opportunities to attend seminars and events with professionals.

I was asked by a professor to help represent the housing program on President Kaler's first visit to our department last year!

Well, I could go on all night but this blog is getting a bit long and I have a study tomorrow morning that I should be studying for! I'll save the last bit I had planned to share for next week. In the meantime, feel free to shoot me an email if any prospective students out there want any additional insight on what it's like to be a housing major! America needs more people like us out there who know housing like we do!

Jesse LaMaack - Housing Studies, B.S.

Lama0058@umn.edu

The final project in our map design class has given me the opportunity to further research some previous work from last year's course 'Housing and Community Development.' Focusing on the southern Minneapolis neighborhood Nokomis East Neighborhoods of Morris Park, Keewaydin, Wenonah, and Minnehaha, my fellow students and I conducted on-site neighborhood housing analyses - later coming together and compiling a detailed housing report on each individual neighborhood.

For my current class, I am making several maps of the neighborhood's housing characteristics from available GIS data. While I'm still in the process of finalizing the final poster and map designs, it's been interesting so far to see certain trends within the neighborhood groups when comparing parcel data. The final poster is due tomorrow so I better get back to work!

Jesse, Housing Studies major

The way my classes worked out this semester initially took me by surprise when I at last discovered that none of my classes involved any sort of paper-writing assignment. While I will say it has been a nice change in pace, my academic workload hasn't seemed to decrease as I had expected it would. Then what is taking up most of my time outside of class readings you ask? The answer is projects, some more projects, and final projects.

Overall, I would give preference to project assignments over writing papers, but it didn't take long to realize most project assignments often take a significantly higher degree of effort and planning. As classes are beginning to rap up for the semester, this week has quite the list of final project deadlines. I'll be honest and say that I could have better prepared myself for them, but so far, so good. I'm taking two housing studies courses and two architecture courses this semester, so a typical 'project' usually entails a good bit of research and learning followed by a poster presentation in front of the class. I'm pretty confident in saying that I've become quite the pro at poster design after a few years in the College of Design.

I was lucky enough to have my good friend Lauren in my Architecture and Ecology class this semester, and finally finished up our final group project last night just in time to present to the class this morning. Above is one of the posters we made, along with a picture taken right after the final poster was made (I would describe us as a mixture of happy, relieved, and very tired). One project down, two more to go until I allow myself to start getting excited for summer break!

While home foreclosures have historically been a national issue to both the public and private sector, recent economic conditions have turned this issue into a full-blown crisis. Widespread foreclosures have been observed in American cities throughout the last decade, dramatically increasing with the burst of the housing bubble in 2009. Minneapolis is no exception to this trend.

While many corporate and media analysts point fingers as to who or what caused this mess, much of our coursework in housing studies has been aimed at understanding, preventing, and mitigating this housing crisis. From an economic perspective, leaving foreclosure issues unaddressed is damaging to the local economy and property values. From a social perspective, the widespread foreclosures are causing families to lose their homes and destroying the fabric of some communities. Something needs to be done, and I hope one day I can use what I'm learning here to get out there and tackle these issues.

Jesse, Housing Studies

As I've mentioned in previous entries, the housing major's flexibility encourages us to venture out and try our hand at other related disciplines to fulfill one of the five areas of concentration. In pursuit of the housing technology focus and subsequent architecture minor, my work this semester has been dramatically different than what I've been use to in housing - forcing me to step out of my comfort zone and apply my design thinking skills. While transitioning from the "People, Place, Policy" framework of most housing courses was a bit confusing at first, my architecture classes are teaching me a different approach of looking at things (literally) - I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Project 3 in ARCH 1281, Design Fundamentals 1, has kept me quite busy this week and the end product would probably confuse a casual onlooker who happened to see it. A running theme of the course so far has challenged us to look at everyday objects in a way that nobody else has. For Project 3, my fellow students and I were told to select an inexpensive and plentiful material of our choice, and three simple hand tools one could find around the house. We then were instructed to manipulate the material with said tools in whatever ways we could imagine - the only rule being that we aren't allowed to use the tool in the way in which it was designed to be used. Twelve prototypes of new (and mostly unrecognizable) material manipulations are due tomorrow morning, and I will tell you that it's not as easy as it may seem! Behind every good design is a long sequence of trial and error, and now I see why!

Enjoy your week!

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

Facilities are an important factor to many prospective design students when choosing their future school. They are places where students tend to spend a lot of time - attending class, working in the studios, researching, studying, doing group projects, etc. One unique feature of the College of Design at the U of M is our facilities, and how they further enable us to think creatively.

Being one of the smallest colleges at the U of M, the College of Design is geographically separated into two entities - McNeal Hall on the St. Paul Campus for students in DHA (Design, Housing, and Apparel), and Rapson Hall on the East Bank of the Minneapolis Campus for students in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. While it is debated to this day whether the geographic separation should continue, most students would say they like the small and friendly atmosphere at their respective location and wouldn't have it any other way.

McNeal Hall has been my "home base" for most things school-related in the beginning years of the housing program. Spending time on the St. Paul Campus is great - a completely different world compared to the Minneapolis Campus and just a short bus ride away (via Campus Connector). These days, I've been spending more time in Rapson Hall as I'm currently working on my Architecture minor. Personally, I think both are great - you can check them out for yourself if you come on a campus visit!

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

Today was a big day for us housing students as we just finished up our annual Housing Alumni Career Panel. Planned and coordinated by the HOUS (Housing Organization for University Students) group, we all had a great opportunity to connect with those who came before us and have established a variety of different careers in the diverse housing sector. Some graduated from the housing program as long ago as 1980, and some more recently in 2008. Their wide range of careers included positions such as Deputy Executive Director of a county housing authority to a specialist in manufactured cooperative housing communities.

It was great to do some casual networking while gaining insight about future endeavors, say hello to current and past professors, and hang out with my housing friends (we're a pretty small, tight-knit group). I feel that it was a great success and I learned some valuable things that will stay with me for years to come.

ALSO, our major was featured in the Minnesota Daily (the U of M's school newspaper) - highlighting how awesome our major is, click here to check it out.

Hope all is well!

Jesse - Housing Studies, B.S.

Midterm exam week has arrived here at the U of M and it seems that mother nature has given us with a day of lovely spring weather as a reward for all of our hard work. Temps are up in the mid-50s (t-shirt and shorts weather for Minnesotans) and everyone is loving it! It feels great being outdoors and taking in the warm weather during such a busy and hectic time of year - it's been a while since I've walked under the West Bank skyways instead of inside of them!

I snapped few photos of the Weisman Art Museum (my favorite building ever) on the East Bank Campus while avoiding indoor environments today, thought I'd share a few.

Aside from the amazing weather and repeated midterm cram sessions, I'm looking forward to a relaxing and well deserved spring break next week. So close, yet so many things to do before then. My compulsive note-taking is beginning to backfire. I best get back to work!

- Jesse LaMaack - Housing Studies, B.S.

As a term project for my Architecture and Ecology course (a requirement for the architecture minor), our class was assigned to work in pairs and conduct a comprehensive energy investigation on a building of our choice - the only limitation was that it had to be one which designed and built using strategic sustainable and energy-saving strategies.

My team partner and I looked no farther than across the lawn from our classroom in Rapson Hall, to the Civil Engineering Building less than ten meters away. After some initial research and a stroll in and around the building itself, we quickly learned that the Civil Engineering was no ordinary structure and that it still stands as a revolutionary landmark in underground design implementation .

Constructed in response to the 1970s OPEC Energy Crisis, the Civil Engineering Building used the most modern technologies and engineering practices of its day to produce a building that descended seven stories (110 feet) underground. Aside from these revolutionary geological engineering feats, the building's design itself also brought about a whole new method of spatial design for its users inside.

Solar technologies were used to beam natural light to the depths of the building whose exterior features comprise of about 5% of the building itself. It is almost entirely underground, but many places within the building are still naturally lit using these unique design practices.

During my research I found a great book in the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library was written by two U of M alum who set up the Underground Space Research Center in the bottom floor of the Civil Engineering Building in the 1980s and studied its space alongside worldwide examples that existed at the time. Very interesting! It's amazing how subsurface buildings are so dramatically different in so many ways than conventional structures, and we have a famous example right on campus!

Have a good week!

Jesse LaMack - Housing Studies, B.S.

This semester, my busy schedule has finally given me the opportunity to enroll in an optional course that I've heard quite a bit about from other housing students: HSG 5464 - Understanding Housing: Assessment and Analysis. Led by Professor Jeff Crump, we get the opportunity use available housing and community data to create maps with ArcGIS (Geographic Information System software). Not only does ArcGIS bring about a new, interactive approach to analyzing and assessing various forms of housing data - it also gives us an understanding of the ArcGIS program, a valuable skill that is often sought by our future employers. Here are some of the projects I have worked on so far this semester:

The course also has a strong design focus as well. We learn all about the colors, patterns, and other symbology used in map-making and how it influences the reader's perception of the mapped data. One of our textbooks is called How to Lie with Maps, combining design and "cartographic literacy."

ArcGIS makes it possible to visually lay out almost any kind of spatial data related to housing, the possibilities are nearly endless. And better yet, our we get to choose the topic of our term project. I have about a thousand ideas so far, I'll keep you all updated as it all comes together!

In other news, we're finally getting some regular Minnesota winter weather! Here is a shot of a seasonal fountain behind McNeal Hall, the College of Design building on the St. Paul Campus.

Looking forward to meeting some of you at the Dean's Reception this Saturday!

Jesse LaMaack - Housing Studies, B.S.