Architecture . Explorations http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/ en Copyright 2009 Sun, 10 Dec 2006 17:43:28 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.25 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Gershenfeld and Kahn The FAB reading by Gershenfeld is definately my favorite reading all year. Not only was the idea of the personal fabricator interesting but what some of the people ended up making was just amazing, especially since some of them had never had any training in engineering and electronics before. If I was able to by an alarm clock that made me use a series of lights and responses to turn it off I would definately buy one. Turning of my alarm clock is way to simple! Overall Gershenfeld talks about how none of the students felt a need to design for others but purely for themselves. No one wanted to make a prototype they wanted to express themselves and show how innovative they could be in creating something they needed or wanted.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/12/gershenfeld_and_kahn.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/12/gershenfeld_and_kahn.html Sun, 10 Dec 2006 17:43:28 +0000 Technopolies After reading Neil Postman's article on Technopoly I realize the monopolizing affects technology has on us every day. The world of technology has created everything we use today. I am grateful for the "simple" techologies we have today such as a bed, shoes, coat, hat, gloves etc. These things are now considered necessities but they all evolved over time and became more and more attainable. These are not the technologies that concern me but it is the new "necessities" that have created this technopoly that concern me.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/11/technopolies.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/11/technopolies.html Wed, 29 Nov 2006 23:02:05 +0000 Design & Mathematics Mathematics makes designs become reality. Most noteably you can see this through the designs of Frank Gehry.

dm1.gif

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/11/design_mathematics.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/11/design_mathematics.html Mon, 06 Nov 2006 17:56:32 +0000 Oppositions Oppositions are all around us. It might be the weather on our way to class or how a particular building opposes gravity. Being surrounded by oppositions, there is one opposition that sticks out to me. I don't have a car so a major opposition for me is man traveling on the metro transit system efficiently.

There are places that I would like to go that by car are only ten to twelve minutes away but according to metrotransit.com are 35 or 40 minutes away. For a college student that has to balance classes, homework, work, friends, sleep, and other commitments 40 minutes is a long time to spend one way on a bus. If I need to go to say Target I'm going to spend 70-80 minutes getting there? No Thanks.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/10/oppositions.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/10/oppositions.html Wed, 25 Oct 2006 03:59:18 +0000 Phenomena A phenomena that I witnessed three summers ago while backpacking on Isle Royale in Lake Superior was the Moose. The Moose is a large animal standing on average about 6.2 ft tall and waying about 1,100 lbs. The males have antlers spanning up to 64 inches across. They have a rough, furry coat and feed off of leaves of willow and birch trees or fallen nuts in the winter. Even though they are massive animals they can reach speeds of 55 km/h when they need to and can swim at a speed of 10 km/h for up to 2 hours.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/10/phenomena.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/10/phenomena.html Wed, 11 Oct 2006 02:17:35 +0000 Mount Baldy Mount Baldy: Cimarron, New Mexico; Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains; elevation 12,441 ft.

baldy1.jpg

Several summers ago I took a nine day backpacking trip. The highlight of the trip, the place everyone else who had ever been there always talked about, Mount Baldy.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/10/mount_baldy.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/10/mount_baldy.html Tue, 03 Oct 2006 22:34:06 +0000 Social Design Issue A major social design issue that I have noticed since moving up to the Twin Cities from a small town is homelessness. I came from a town of 25,000 people. I’m sure we had a few people that were homeless and we had people who lived in run down houses and apartments but nothing like the cities.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/09/social_design_issue.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/09/social_design_issue.html Wed, 27 Sep 2006 06:07:44 +0000 Midtown Market Today I visited the Midtown Market on Lake St. in Minneapolis. It was cold so outside the market not much was going on, just people hurrying to get into the building. As soon as I stepped inside I could feel energy-- defined by Microsoft Word as liveliness or forcefulness--a definition I thought fit well to define energy in a place as busy as the Midtown Market.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/09/midtown_market_1.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/joh03048/architecture/2006/09/midtown_market_1.html Tue, 19 Sep 2006 14:21:05 +0000