PennDesign Review Fall ‘012

Greetings Arch-Perspectivo’s

It’s high time I wrote about something with an architectural twist.. how about a reflection on this past semester — a top ten if you will (plus one) — of studying Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.

10+1 – the Making Space Symposium at the beginning of the semester. If ever I saw a design exposition that received nowhere near as many accolades as it deserved, this was it.

10 – Giant Nyan-Cats

9 – Making a model of the Barnes Foundation. It’s a beautiful building and making a 3/16″ = 1′-0″ scale section model made me appreciate TWBTA‘s intricacies all the more.

8 – Food Trucks. That is all. Salt and Pepper, I’m looking at you.

7 – Tiny glue bottles from PLAZA (actually, from back when it was Lance’s). DAAPers know what’s up. Some marketing genius decided that slapping a mechanical pencil top onto a plastic eye-dropper bottle could be sold for 5 bucks to arts students. And boy, were they right! Model-makers know that tiny glue bottles are the best way to model anything with SOBO.

6 – ASUS laptops. They’re pretty great — way better, in fact, than I first gave them credit for (although carrying around an ASUS 17-inch is comparable to giving a toddler a sempeternal piggy-back ride (although probably with less screaming and puking involved).

grasshopper sold separately, batteries not included

5 – the Hammitt Hammock in Simon’s Studio

4 – “Annyong” and all its many spin-offs. 안녕하세요! including this beauti-doodle of Dr. Dave:

3 – PennDesign Super Happy Hour. I never would have guessed that the Lower Gallery could be transformed into a space somewhere between National Mechanics and an Alpha Rho Chi Rabirius dance party.
2 – Ivory soap

identity obscured to protect the uninitiated

And the number one best thing about studying architecture at the University of Pennsylvania…

1 – Squirrel Cannons

So this comes just as a new semester is about to begin. Who knows what the next few months will bring? Hopefully more Ivory Soap.