One perspective of our class

New York Experience

I visited New York City several time for business but did not remember much about Big Apple. I was juggling with serious business stuff and my family and did not have much chance to explore. But for the first time, I came here alone without portfolio and my heavy diaper bag.
I planed this summer in New York City for 6 years. (I know it sound strange but true) I have been struggling with motherhood and believe or not, my best textbook was “ What to expect when you’re expecting”. When I checked into the dorm room and met students from all around world, I started to shrink. How can I survive from all young, talented people? I was thinking that I came to Parson to get a confidence, not losing them.
Then first day of school, as soon as I entered the class, I was realized that I chose wrong class!!! It did not sound like colorful and fancy design course. When Laura explained about “Ethnography research” I had to open my dictionary. Eth…what? (I am sorry but I am not familiar with all these term even though my husband teaches Sociology. Who discuss with their husband about ethnography research anyway?)
Now, it’s been 2-week in New York City and my small black notebook is filled with research notes and ideas for my next art class, also for my portfolio.
As an art student who is slightly older than other student and who has a lack of imagination, this New York experience is really inspiring me . The places we went to and getting ideas from classmates is a great learning as well.
For the rest of the class, I want to keep learning and exploring as much I can. And try to be like my sons who have a lot of imagination and unlimited questions.
I hope you all have wonderful weekend and see you in class on Monday! - Sunyoung

Food Deployment Systems: From the streets to the MoMA

While visiting the MoMA, I decided to investigate how a modern art museum would approach the design of it’s restaurant. I didn’t stay to eat, but I found their ordering system quite interesting. Essentially you place your order, take a number, and place the number on your table. This negates the need for reservations and it allows servers to easily determine where the food is supposed to go.



What I find interesting is that a similar system was being used by entrepreneurial street vendors. For those of you who are unaware, every Monday night of the summer HBO puts on a movie that people are free to come and watch. Although the movie can’t begin until darkness, people fill up the park as early as 5pm. Here is a video that shows the scope of the events:





Street vendors will take peoples orders and then give them a balloon with a number on it. This makes their customers easy to spot from a distance and also allows them to sell more food. From the street to the MoMA, it’s interesting to see how effective system designs are put into action.

Keep it in the short grass,

-Brendon

friday morning

What a week! Time is flying by, and the more I see, the more I feel like I haven't seen. I think the time will come to leave, and I'll still have a list of places I want to explore!

Yesterday we went to the Museum of New York City, which was fascinating. Photos of the building of major bridges that now connect the burroughs and Manhattan were works of art, in their own right, although their original purpose had been strictly documentary. A well produced short film explained the founding of the city, from the roots of the Dutch and their New Amsterdam. It was interesting to see how progress shaped the city, more than city planners sitting in their meeting halls.

There was much more to see in the museum: an exhibit on a Broadway costumer, a history on Jews in NYC, an old toy display with a dollhouse containing miniature works of art by modern artists of the early twentieth century. The Rockefeller rooms were on the top floor of the museum, and there was an interesting exhibit on the interior of New York City, which fascinated the historian and interior designer in me.

Now we're off to a Friday of more adventure and learning!

-Whitney

NYC bicycle commuting

Research.

I just found this on youtube. From Midtown to Chelsea on a fixed gear bicycle! This is definitely not how we do it in Denmark..

//ANDERS//

Extra BIG

Concerning the project "Superhabour" I talked about wednesday.

It turns out that there are several reasons why the project is on hold. First and foremost is the fact that the connection between Denmark and Germany "The Fermen Bridge" is not being build in the near future after all. The project "Red Star Habour" though gives the impression that a similar project in Guangxi Province, China, is in the talks. Take a look yourself - www.big.dk

Here is a bio I found on Bjarke Ingels (the architect):
Having co-founded PLOT Architects in 2001, Bjarke Ingels started his own office in 2006: BIG / Bjarke Ingels Group. Through a series of award-winning design projects, Ingels has created an international reputation as a member of a new generation of architects that combine shrewd analysis, playful experimentation, social responsibility and humour. In 2004 he was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale for the Stavanger Concert House and the following year received the Forum Award for the VM houses. Recently he has been nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award as well as the International Iakov Chernikhov Prize. The work of BIG challenges the role of the architect. Through a series of projects BIG has pro-actively proposed projects that have often triggered public debate and influenced urban politics. The High Square project is a proposal for a public square in Copenhagen on top of an existing department store. In the Mountain Dwellings which are under construction, a parking block is transformed into a hillside covered by housing units. By practicing what Ingels describes as 'programmatic alchemy', BIG often mixes conventional ingredients such as living, leisure, working, parking and shopping into new forms of symbiotic architecture. These projects clearly represent BIG's efforts to free architectural imagination from habitual thinking and standard typologies in order to deal with the constantly evolving challenges of contemporary life. Bjarke Ingels has also been visiting professor at Rice University's School of Architecture and in spring 2007 Bjarke Ingels will be a visiting professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.

//ANDERS//

Day at the Museums

In the Digitally Mastered: Recent Acquisitions from the Museum's Collection at the MOMA, I notice a Magazine display stating that both the Designer and the Audience (the user) are partners in creating a product. The design should be clear, feel personable and lead us through an ever changing and growing world.

I am not sure if many of you had a chance to read or view the exhibit Project 85: Dan Perjovschi (What Happened To Us?). He played on words and drew stick figure images mocking current events. This wall of art also had a light but in your face tone. It immediately captured my attention since the images were juxtaposed and I did not know where to begin to start.

Well I just love art... so here are a few pics of what we saw this week:

-Morgan 7/12/07