Category Archives for Cal Poly Architecture

Cal Poly Acceptance!

I have officially been accepted early decision at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo! I will be studying architecture there next fall. It is so rewarding to see my hard work in high school pay off and get me into my dream school. Can’t wait to share with you the exciting architectural projects to come.
If walls could dream… they’d get into their dream schools too!

Visiting Cornell University: My Top 4 Things To Do

This past weekend, I visited Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. I had a wonderful time exploring the beautiful campus and learning more about their architecture program.

Here are a few tips for your own tour:

1. Visit the Johnson Museum of Art


The museum has a patio, a light-up roof, and a viewing tower.
Whether you’re more of an art-observer or an architecture-oogler…

Architectural detail of a two story floor-to-ceiling window.
you’ll love the view from the top! (And did I mention it’s free?)
Beautiful panoramic views of campus, Ithaca, and the lake.
2. Explore Ithaca!

Ithaca is a rural town in the finger lakes region of New York. Cornell University is located on a hill to the northeast of town. Campus itself is divided into central campus (where all of the academic buildings are), north campus (north of the river, where freshman housing is), and west campus (down the hill on the western edge of campus, where upperclassmen housing is).
Below are two of my favorite “downtown” type places in Ithaca.

Collegetown is directly south of campus and has many great places to eat. I’d totally recommend Collegetown Bagels. Their chocolate chai blew my mind!

Collegetown
The Commons, under construction during my visit, has many more great places to eat. My favorite restaurant there was Waffle Frolic. Yes, just as the name implies, it is indeed an entire restaurant dedicated to the most delicious and inventive waffles ever.
Ithaca Commons
3. See Some Natural Beauty

To work off all the extra bagel and waffle-related calories you’ll be consuming while in Ithaca, take a walk to some waterfalls. If a “walk” in the cold New York weather sounds daunting, don’t worry. Triphammer falls can be seen from your car as well as from a footbridge literally on top of it. To get the true Cascadilla experience requires climbing stairs down into the gorge, but it’s SO worth it!
There are so many beautiful waterfalls in Ithaca, but these two are right on campus (see map above).
The top part of Triphammer Falls.

Cascadilla Falls

Cascadilla Falls
4. Get in the Classroom
Last but not least, it is important to really investigate what it means to be a student at this university. For me, that meant attending an AAP (College of Architecture, Art, and Planning) Information Session and visiting studio. The information session gave me an opportunity to ask architecture-specific questions to an admissions person and get to know the requirements and expectations of studying architecture at Cornell. Visiting studio was one of the highlights of my visit at Cornell because, as an architecture student, I will be spending the majority of my time in studio. First of all, I loved how Milstein Hall being one giant room encourages so much collaboration and community between architecture students. Second, I got to sit in on a critique and really see how intellectually Cornell approaches design.

If walls could dream… they’d dream about art, food, and waterfalls.

Map of Architecture Colleges

As all “visual people” would know, the NAAB (National Architecture Accreditation Board) list of architecture colleges is not very helpful in understanding where these schools actually are, so I created this interactive Google Maps map of all of the accredited BArch programs in the US. Now we all can easily visualize the locations of the schools as well as start to learn about the climate and the town around them to help simplify our college search.

Happy National Architecture Week!

It’s National Architecture Week, the perfect time to take a moment to appreciate the architects and architecture around us! The built environment often blends so naturally with our experience of it that we barely even know it’s there, but “the details are not the details, they make the design” as Charles Eames once said. So this week I’m going to put extra effort into looking for the magnificent little details of design.

My TED Talk: Personal, Timeless, Everywhere

The wait’s over! The video of my TED talk is finally up!

Photos by Cassie Triplett and Isaac Cook

I spoke at TEDxYouth@GrassValley a few weeks ago on the topic of architecture and how it influences our lives.

I used the ideas of it being personal, timeless, and everywhere to guide my talk. I also shared some principles of design that help us understand architecture, and then introduced the idea of great design disappearing and just letting life happen.

So what are you waiting for?!? Go watch the video!!

Architecture is…

I’ve been blogging about architecture for almost four years now, and asked a lot of walls why they’re dreaming, but I haven’t really stopped to ask myself why architecture is so important to us as a society. I think it boils down to three main points; that architecture is personal, timeless, and everywhere.

Architecture creates unique and memorable experiences for us all. We all live in a house, in architecture. And it has a huge effect on our lives. It serves as the background, the setting, where life takes place. Architecture is unique to every one of us, but it’s universal to everyone. It creates community.

Architecture connects us to our past and will propel us into our future. Styles may change over time. By understanding these styles, we get to know life in that time period a little more. Frank Gehry once said that “Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.”

Architecture is in every place and every detail. No matter where you go in the world, in any climate and any culture, you’ll find architecture. But the success of architecture lies in its details. It’s the details (the materials, the lines, the shapes, the use of light, etc.) that make or break the experience of a building.

And to me, architecture is everything. It’s all about problem solving and critical thinking, yet it’s also creative and tangible and inspiring. It’s the perfect mix of math and engineering with art and design. It has the power to change the world. I feel so lucky that I’ve found this passion for architecture and I love to tell people about it! In fact, this Saturday I’ll be speaking about architecture and some of the principles I’ve shared above at TEDxYouth@GrassValley. Wish me luck! And I’ll keep you updated on how it goes and post the video of my talk as soon as it’s published!

Throwback Thursday: Meet the RAs

This Thursday, I’m throwing it back to just about a week ago, introducing you guys to the last two RAs from Cal Poly’s Summer Architecture Workshop, Kristin and Ryan!

Ryan was first introduced to architecture in fourth grade when he did a project on Frank Lloyd Wright. Similarly, Kristin was introduced to architecture in fifth grade when she did a project to design and build a house. They both did the workshop when they were in high school. Kristin’s favorite project in the workshop was a playground area she designed. Ryan said the workshop was his first taste of what being an architect really was. And he obviously loved it, because he’s going into his fourth year here at Cal Poly and will be studying abroad in Copenhagen. Kristin is going into her fifth and final year here at Cal Poly and will be working on her thesis project all year. They are both interested in digital fabrication. Ryan says that digital fabrication gives you an advantage when looking for a job because you’re familiar with all the newest technology. Kristin chose to be an RA for the workshop because it’s nice to watch us become “little designers,” all nervous at the beginning and doing amazing work by the end. She loves being in studio with us and wants to be a TA once she graduates. The family environment with the staff is really nice too. She often tells us that she’s practicing her parenting skills on us. Ryan had such a good experience in the workshop when he was in high school, that he felt almost obligated to help other students discover their passion for architecture and see how much fun it is to study at Cal Poly. And he definitely does, always playing games and making everyone laugh. He also loves to go hiking and take landscape photography in his free time. Because there are so many things you can do in architecture, Ryan advises future students to find what you really enjoy and dive into that. Kristin’s advice to future architectural students would be to follow your intuition. Your professor will set rules and boundaries for your projects but it’s up to you to determine your education so find your voice and let your intuition drive your projects and choices.
sketch of house

Final Project

I can hardly believe that it’s already been a month and that my time at Cal Poly’s Summer Architecture Career Workshop is over! But I learned so much and met so many wonderful people!
So without any further ado, here’s a full description of my final project!
We each made up clients for our house and were given a site on a large cardboard landscape. My clients are an elderly couple, moving to California to be closer to their children. The wife loves to garden and the husband loves to read and barbeque. It’s important that their space can serve many functions because they love to host large parties as well as small family gatherings.
My site is up on a hill on the far end of the landscape so it has great views with lots of privacy too.
I started by making some quick sketch models out of cardboard and hot glue.
My first model, just trying to figure out the walls and floors before I get to the interior.
Then I cut out windows and added a few more details, along with a more dramatic roof.
The room on the left is the private master suite which has warm morning light as well as sunset views. The second story on the right is the main living space and is very open to the deck. The first floor is a transitional space that can be an open entertaining space or can be closed off as a large guest bedroom for the grandkids. The multiple decks connect all the spaces and make the most of the amazing views.

 

Loving the high windows along the roofline and overhead trellis on the first floor.
There’s another really interesting moment under the deck with a lookout space.
Enclosed in glass, this space can easily transition as well, from an elegant gathering space to have a glass of wine, to an exciting yet safe play space for the grandkids.
The angles in the roofline and the tiered decks give the project lots of personality and help to connect it to the jagged mountains around the site.
A sketch I did of the house one night, trying to decide on colors.

The next day, we got to work on the final model, working really hard to make it look clean and finished.

I made my walls out of wooden sticks sandwiched by chipboard and white cardstock. To keep the craft clean, I used only white glue.

 

The roof has wood beams that extend beyond the roofline and a large wraparound window just below, framed in white paper.

 

This is the interior stairwell I made. There’s a large window on the second floor and light spills through the open stairwell to the first floor.

 

Just checking that it fits on the site!

 

Heading to bed late after a long day of working on it.

 

And then finishing up the railings bright and early in the morning. Oh the life of an architect!

 

The lookout space under the deck

 

Openings in the roof that are mimicked by the garden boxes below

 

And then attaching it to the site!

 

The eastmost wall

 

The entry path to the house

 

View through the deck to the opposite mountains.

 

The westmost wall

 

Shadows through the roof openings onto the garden

 

Afternoon shadows on the house

The layering of multiuse spaces in this house really help to make it cozy for two people but comfortable for a large group as well. The wife has space to garden, and the husband has space to barbeque and read. The angles and visual interest of the house work with the site to create a unique home that is perfect for the clients.

Although I’ll miss the workshop like crazy, I made so many wonderful memories and I’ll take all the lessons I’ve learned here and just keep dreaming!

Final Project Sneak Peek

Hello everyone!
I can’t believe it’s already the end of the architecture workshop here at Cal Poly. I’ve met some wonderful people, done amazing work, and learned so much about how to think and see like an architect. Over the past couple days, we’ve been working really hard on our final projects that we’ll display at the gallery tomorrow. But for now, here’s a little hint as to what we’re doing…

Good luck trying to figure it out! Check back in soon to see the photos of my completed final project and the gallery!

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