9.30.2009

U2!

Well, no surprise I've been delinquent again. Sadly, I still haven't seen much of DC since pretty much all I do is school work, but after spending another weekend really sick and in bed, I rallied last night to go see U2 at the FedEx field in Maryland (home to the Redskins).

I am kind of becoming a concert regular, as this is my third time seeing them, but as per usual, they didn't fail to impress - such a great lineup, featuring great range of their entire catalogue (and poor Eddie, Lindsay and Anne who had to listened to me "sing" every line...). I have to add, I have a new-found appreciation for The Edge after seeing the documentary It Might Get Loud this past summer with him, Jimmy Page and Jack White - if I ever find some free time, I'd really like to take up the guitar. Muse opened the concert as well, so it was all in all an awesome night. If only I didn't have that ridiculous history exam today...

Some eighty-thousand people, Anne and I trying to keep warm before they took the stage.

360 degree stage, which although I wasn't able to capture it, had an amazing screen installation that actually extended all the way down to just hovering over the band.

9.14.2009

One More Thing...

I got a bike! It's a vintage Schwinn Traveler and fixed up really well. I just need to pick up a lock this week, and I'll be using it as my main transportation to school (well, until the snow starts falling).


I also think I might have to get this adorable basket from Design House Stockholm:

9.13.2009

Architect Inspiration

My Friday studio ended early as we were invited to join another studio's lecture by local architect Mark McInturff. While I have never really considered myself to be interested in residential design, within minutes I was captivated by Mark's presentation and his thoughts on approaching architecture. He also has done several projects in Georgetown, so of course I was sitting there trying to locate the homes from my memory of the outlying residences.

Firstly, I was reminded of my summer 504 studio, in which we each had to design a form with one of four concepts: rotation, shift, extension and intersection. Similarly, Mark has his own set of conceptual words such as separating, sizing, stacking and sleaving - but what he does is use these words to integrate the old (house) with the new (additions). It was pretty incredible to see his process as often times he's taking a historic row house that's almost 100 years old, and fusing it with something extremely contemporary. His design approach definitely underlines the importance of reuse, and I think my heart fluttered when he said his favorite thing to do was design something tiny (now if only he could impart some of that wisdom on the residents of Orange County - a few of my parents' neighbors come to mind...).

I came home completely inspired and had to peruse his website so I could take another look at some of his projects - which I have now "borrowed" to show one of my favorites...

The house is literally steps from Georgetown's campus, above the Exxon station on M St. and the "Exorcist Stairs."

The remodel led to an amazing view of the Key Bridge stretching over the Potomac.

You would never know this house looked like this from the front - it's a row house that blends in with all the others on the block (okay, I also think it has a more contemporary paint palette, but still...).

Mark McInturff is a visiting professor at Catholic, and apparently he, in conjunction with another professor at school, teaches an advanced studio in the fall that has a week-long "field trip" to another country to study historical architecture and how it has been incorporated into the modernized city. Definitely a course I'll be hoping to take while here.

9.07.2009

A little bit homesick

I've been back in DC for a week now, and I have to admit, I'm not getting settled too quickly or too easily. Part of it is the mountain of homework I already have piled up that makes necessary errands, like going grocery shopping, or even exercising (wait, let me reduce that even further - getting some daily fresh air) seem like indulgences. But, I'm determined to have a pseudo-normal life this semester unlike the summer - I just need to make some friends.

I spent Saturday morning trying to track down a specific binder type for school (who knew I was this finicky?), which lead me to Silver Spring, MD. I had to park several blocks away from the Office Depot because they had a whole street shut down. Well, of course I had to go see what it was due to, and low and behold, I came across a weekend Farmer's Market. I wandered aimlessly around it for a while, missing the Wednesday Santa Monica one Jodi and I used to go to on our lunch breaks at Design360, and later the weekend "sceney" version Sara and I would hit up on Main Street. Although, it also made me realize that there are some things here that overlap with my interests/old routines at home - I just need to seek them out and make time to do them. Hopefully then DC will start to feel more like home. In the meantime, I have my Dad's Facebook status to update me on what's going on in California - like the Street Fair in the Orange Circle this weekend - ahh, an oldie but a goodie.

Anyways, I'm probably being overly sensitive right now as I caught a nice hacking cough from someone at school and have spent most of the weekend trying to deny being sick so I can get my work done. With that, I'm definitely glad it happened to be a three-day weekend. Alright, back to the books for now...