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. ]]>
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-Sasenka - Retail Merchandising
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If you were, then you finally got to meet me! And if you weren't, well then, you didn't, haha. The Dean's Reception was so so so much fun! I had a blast talking and hanging out with high school seniors (and their families) who are considering the College of Design at the U of M for college next year!
First we started off with the multicultural information session which was very informative and interesting. Fredrick, the new director of the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence gave a presentation on all that MCAE has to offer. It was delightful meeting him and learning about various resources the university has to offer for multicultural students.
After that I got a chance to mingle a little and talk with different students and their families over lunch. What I loved about the Dean's Reception most was how casual it was! It made it really easy to get to know people and have some good conversation without feeling nervous or awkward.
The next thing we did was set up for major sessions! Basically, each discipline went to their section of the Design building and displayed work, etc. We heard from the Interior Design department head, Dr. Tasoulla Hadjiyanni! She was so nice and knowledgeable, it was certainly a treat hearing from her!
After major sessions, I chatted with design professionals, prospectives students and their families and answered any questions they had about their admitted programs.
If you didn't catch my drift, Saturday was super fun! If you were at the Reception, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought!
best,
Ashley
Interior Design]]>
If you've been keeping up with my blog, then you know I work in the College of Design's Student Services. At the beginning of the semester, my boss (Lucy Reile) gave me a pretty interesting assignment - plan an internship panel. Yup! Those were my instructions, the rest was up in the air! But I wasn't on my own entirely, instead I teamed up with another student worker from Career & Internship Services, Rah Riley. (FYI- She's awesome!)
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.]]>
