damn i wish...

i was a chicago public school teacher right about now. cuz, the Museum of Contemporary art is sponsoring a paid summer institute for chicago public school teachers focused on green architecture/renewable resources. wtf. timing is a bitch.

The Institute will introduce teachers to the ideas presented in the MCA’s upcoming exhibition Massive Change: The Future of Global Design. The exhibition asks, “Now that we can do anything, what will we do?” Design affects all aspects of our lives and holds the possibility of changing the very nature of human life itself. Massive Change is a celebration of the human capacity to change the world and a call to recognize both the power and the responsibility of design. The exhibition addresses the fundamental role of design in all aspects of human life including providing shelter for all, bringing energy to the entire world, eliminating the need for raw material and banishing all waste, and eradicating poverty.

Institute participants will explore these ideas through cross-disciplinary field trips, speakers and hands- on activities. The whole metropolitan area will be our classroom. Possible components include meeting the curator of Massive Change, Bruce Mau, touring City Hall’s roof top garden, visiting a newly constructed green home, learning about contemporary artists working with ideas of change, riding a Segway and experiencing its radical design, and visiting a planned community. The goal is for teachers to be ready to return to their schools to inspire their students to become agents of change by starting an after school Change Makers Club and by infusing these ideas into their curriculum. We welcome teachers from all disciplines and the formats of the clubs can reflect the students’ interests and the teacher’s specialties. A Change Makers Club could look like an art club or a science club. The only requirement is a focus on the potential for change in designing our world.

The Institute will be limited to 20 Chicago Public High School teachers from any discipline. Participants are eligible for 3 hours of Lane credit and CPDU’s.
Participants will be paid a stipend of $350 for participating in and completing the two week Institute. Lunch and transportation to all sites will be provided each day of the Institute. Participants may be eligible to receive up to $1000 dollars in in-kind resources and materials from the Department of the Environment for their after school club projects. email education_consultant_1@mcachicago.org or call 312-397- 4067 for info. the app is due tomorrow. WEDNESDAY.

Civic Blueprint

I discovered the Civic Blueprint today. sounds like an awesome idea/org. i think i'm going to try to set up informational interviews with folks like this to inform my next steps following graduation (which is...eeek...2 weeks away).

"you should call yourself an 'artitect' or something"

this is a quote from one of my thesis interviews.

it pops up in my mind #1 cuz i'm feverishly writing the conclusions to my thesis and #2 because as i consider my future employment it seems like a poignant consideration. so for financial reasons i pretty much need to start working immediately following graduation. but the thing is i have pretty much found it absolutely nerve wracking to work on finishing my thesis AND look for a job (which involves also working feverishly on my portfolio). so mid-june FT employment? yeah...not going to happen. in the mean time, i am going to spend the summer being an "artitect" of sorts. I'll be the lead artist on a project with the chicago park district (humbolt park in particular) working with a group of teens in an investigation of tectonic sculptural renewable energy proposals inspired by wind turbines. I'm excited to see where this goes. I'm hoping to take this project outside the park and do some wind activated "interventions" in the built environment.


"however comma" (as my sis would say) what happens after that? i had an interview last week and one this next week. i've sent some stuff out to a few firms who's ethics and philosophies i really believe in like landon bone baker who is so actively involved in archi-treasures and the highschool architecture curriculum (which i also really believe in) but by and large i am finding it a little hard to find firms that i really want to work for...i'm also not doing an exhaustive search either. i mean there are a number of boutique architecture firms who's work i really enjoy aesthetically...and there are several others that do affordable housing stuff but i am sort of looking for something in the middle i guess...or something else all together. there's always joining the carpenter apprenticeship program and learning how to become a contractor...there is a community driven construction company (humbolt construction company owned by bickerdike redevelopment corporation) around the neighborhood that i might try to get up with.

google + sketchup = beautiful...

more here

stuff i saw this weekend

Hyde Park Art Center

their new building designed by doug garafolo right around the corner from one of my old higschools. he has a special interest in incorporating digital technology and architecture. i went for the open house but didnt get to see the "LED" facade thingy pictured. nice mix of design innovation with a down to earth community building. i wonder how the multifamily residential bldg accross the street feels about the LED but i assume its not that bright. despite the fact that it was an open house...the bldg was a ways from finished so...i'll have to take a trip back when its really done.

i also drove by and checked out this bldg. for the southshore drill team by john ronan (who's work i recently discovered and rather like)

have to go back with my camera and get a picture of the real bldg to post and also the context to see how wild it is to see a bldg like this where it is.

imagine living right next door...


my mom used to own a single family rehab project across the street from here. sounds odd right...the opposite side of the street is all single family homes. but the strip is really industrial with a lot of commercial bldgs. the bldg is exciting no doubt. again for a community bldg to be innovative always a plus. i don't like its treatment of the main street though...there aren't many windows at eyelevel and its a humongus wall. but props for taking risks and doing something different in the 'hood.