the art of drawing

i recently took an advanced drawing class and although it was poorly instructed and really didnt teach me anything about drawing, it did force me to pick up a pencil and see what i could do. what i got completed actually made me feel quite satisfied as i realized that i really do have a love for drawing. ive always enjoyed it but never really had the passion to devote the time to doing my best work. here are a few of the drawings ive done that i submitted in class. hopefully i can save some time throughout my busy weeks to do some more drawing. not only is it vital in the profession but its also very relaxing and a good sort of therapy for me too

p.s. i have more photos but i cannot seem to find them right now. they might have been lost in my transferring of hard drive material because i recently had my computer washed out. luckily i still have the original copies in reno so next time i go home i will put them up, sorry bout it.

first three

ive been going to architecture school for a full year now and i know for certain that this is the career for me. architecture challenges me to be creative and yet realistic with elements in the always changing built environment. whether its becoming more green or keeping a project in a certain price range, i am challenged day in and day out.

the three major projects that i have completed in school introduced the concept of invoking emotion in people to work and live at their full potential. my first project was to build a reading room on top of NewSchool that would hold a famous manuscript of the great architect, Le Corbusier. the building had to stay on one roof of the school and we also had to create a design for the roof as well. i built my room entirely out of concrete in recognition of Corbusier's great use of the material throughout his career. my building was intended to be seen from the street as to catch the eye of a pedestrian or tourist that was walking on the nearby streets. therefore, i hung the room off the edge of the school to make the statement that the room was larger than its dimensions and that the manuscript wanted to be shared with the entire city.




my second completed project was to build a single unit studio room in an open field in San Diego. we were to build off of 12 pre-existing concrete columns. i chose to use wood as my only other material in adding onto these columns. i felt that wood had a great contrast to the concrete and was well established in the context the room was placed. i have realized that i have this great desire in using "shifting planes" in most of my early designs. i love the way the planes are simple and create a sense of motion.




my third and final major project that i completed in my first year of architecture school was a student housing project located in downtown San Diego. a hypothetical situation was created that utilized a pre-existing vacant site in downtown SD and a program to build 5 student housing apartments. the site was divided into 5 equal lots of 50' x 100'. using ccdc.com we were given our city limits/building restrictions and were off and running. each of the 5 students was to design an apartment building that would house (1) proctor unit with family, (2) married student units with children, and (4) single student units. below are pictures of my individual unit and the site as a whole.

the beginning

hello everyone. so im normally against the whole blog thing just because i think its a little cheesy and i didnt think i would be very good at updating it on a regular basis. however ive already been suckered into doing one with my girlfriend and its not as hard as i thought it would be (plus she usually does all of the work). we have a blog called matt and margaret project which follows our quest in completing a list of fun activities before summer's end. go check it out! anyway, ive decided to create my own blog to showcase my architecture work that i am completing in school. it will allow me to show my friends and family what i am working on and to hopefully be a good tool for getting a job later down the road. ill try and update it as much as possible with studio projects, sketches, ideas, and just anything that i might be thinking while trying to complete a project. i hope this site can help give people the chance to also give me feedback on my work which would be very helpful. thanks and enjoy