Archiculture

I thought I would take a moment to thank a few people that have been very supportive along the way.

John Cary is the co-founder of archvoices and the Executive Director of Public Architecture, which is a non-profit organization that “puts the resources of architecture in the service of the public interest.” The organization was originally founded by John Peterson the principal of Peterson Architects in San Francisco CA.  John Cary who recently assumed the roll of Executive Director also received the Rolland Rome Prize in design for his pro bono service with Public Architecture.  In addition to all of this he has proven to be an extremely valuable resource for us and has connected us to many of our most elegant interviews.

Dennis Schofield is a friend from San Francisco and an Associate at BCJ Architects.  Dennis and I mostly knew each other through adult day care (happy hour), but have since stayed in touch through the film project.  He has gone far out of his way to assist in fundraising for the film.  His efforts have lead us to develop an “office liaison” position to help raise funds in architectural offices.

Pat Marchetta is a practicing architect, a Pratt Alum, and father of one of the recent Pratt graduates.  He has been extremely supportive of the project since the day we met him.  Pat would frequently drive from New Jersey late at night to drop off pizza to many of the kids who were working in the studio.  He has provided us with a lot of great information and advice throughout production.
I realize there are a lot of people that we need to thank and will do so in time.

It has been over three weeks since students have been around the School of Architecture and the mice have noticed. This is an old city and a very old building, but when your office turns into the “party like its 1999″ spot for all the mice around it is time to mosey along. This happened also over the winter break when all the studios were impressively cleaned out by the staff here and nothing but our crumbs where to offer. They have resorted to eating anything they can… tea, string, vellum paper, plastic bags! We are pretty clean people and keep all our foods in plastic tubs with weights on them to stop their barrage of forces. I mean really, what type of animal can eat, shit and piss all at the same time and same spot! So we are happily movin’ on up to the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. Yep, that is right folks. Archiculture is moving its home base to another location. Many of you have checked out our war room/home/office over the past 4 months on the flycam. It is now time to close a chapter of this project’s life and start a new one. We will wait to share details of the new space but are extremely excited for its potential and new energy it shall inject into our lives.

1:30AM Get home from server training, asleep by 2AM.

5:30AM Awake to phone alarm ringing from the dorm floor. It is dark outside.

6:00AM Leave with pre-packed equipment from office, no 6:15Am once we eat a toasted bagel each and check all equipment groggily.

6:45AM Walk in rain to subway in Brooklyn and arrive at Penn Station.

6:55AM Wait in the now heavy pouring rain for Bolt Bus.

10:00AM Sit/Sleep on Bus for 3 hours, stop once for pee, buy least fatty snack option of crackers and a pack of gum for stale sleep breadth.

11:30AM Awake at South Station in Downtown Boston to our first feeling of hot/humid weather this year, it is 84 degrees.

12:00PM Have a half hour to kill, so we grab food in Chinatown.

12:15PM Pick up our Zipcar from nearby garage.

1:00PM Arrive at Autodesk’s offices 17 miles outside of Boston. Pay $2.50 in tolls at $1.25 increments. Shoot a few minutes of the next archicast.

2:00PM Set up interview and discuss project with head PR guy.

3:00PM Interview Phil Bernstein who is the Vice Present of ACE at Autodesk and a professor at Yale. Key person to discuss the past/current/future use of technology within the studio and profession.

3:45PM Drive back 17miles to return Zipcar to parking lot a few blocks from South Station.

4:00PM Get stuck in torrential down pour in doorway to protect equipment.

4:15PM Arrive at South Station with an hour to kill before bus takes off. Finally find cheap non-fried food at Cajun, Cajun Restaurant in a side of Red Beans and Rice for $2.19. Sit next to doorway to train platforms watching Suited professionals run awkwardly to their commute. Discuss fundraising and lack of support.

5:30PM Back on the Bolt Bus at Gate 21.

10:00PM Arrive at Penn Station to a dry NYC after sleeping for 2 hours, writing, trying to sleep for another hour, studying new job’s menu and sketching concepts for a potential website/video gig.

11:00PM Arrive back at office from 17 hour day all for 30 minutes of interview which may end up being 30 seconds of the film and spending $140.

1:00AM post blog about it….

That’s right, I’m writing this post from the road. Free WiFi on the new Greyhound service between NYC and DC called the BoltBus makes it all possible. We got a little too busy meeting, interviewing and seeing a few old friends while we were in DC to post. So I thought it might be interesting to take advantage of this amazing mobile internet feature and write from the road. I’m somewhat obsessed with this new bus service and would strongly recommend it to anyone who is used to the Chinatown buses for their East Coast journeys. The buses are brand new, offer electrical sockets per seat, have wireless internet and a ticket could be bought for a dollar if purchased far enough in advance. We ended up spending $55 for two round trip tickets but the woman we waited in line with spent $2. That is insanely cheap! We discussed instead of looking for office space to rent for the project, turning the Bolt into our extremely inexpensive mobile-office for a few months… $2/day x 31days/month x 2 people = $124 dollars for monthly rent for a 2 person office space. It is as if the $4 per gallon gas price has not made it to Greyhound Corporate yet. Just another massive advantage of working along the East Coast is the extremely inexpensive and frequent options for distant transit.

Other commentary on the DC trip will be posted shortly along with other details of our Archiculture Campaign Tour.

In the process of any creative endeavor there are ultimately highs and lows… This is a low. Can’t really put into words my depth or breadth of frustration but it needs to be posted/shared. I’m exhausted and too angry to connect the thoughts in my head.

Many of the students over the past month have expressed interest in using their architectural education for things other than practicing traditional architecture. I am not sure whether or not they have informed their parents of this matter, but their interest have ranged from jewelry making to stage design. I thought I would take the opportunity to share a few design related means of inspiration.

I came across the group Rebar when I was working in California. This San Francisco based collective is a collaborative group of artists, activists, and designers who create socially engaging projects. Perhaps one of their best known projects is called Parking day, which is an annual event where metered parking spots are converted into small parks. This simple yet playful idea has been adopted worldwide by cities both small and large. I think this is a wonderful example of how we as designers can creatively educate and inspire the general public.

Parking Day : Farmlab

Another great source of inspiration is internationally renowned sculptor David Best. I first heard of Best through some friends of mine that frequent Burning Man. He uses recycled and reclaimed material to construct large temple-like structures. David’s work is very architectural and has been used as gallery installations and street art.

David Best: Biznik

The most impressive to me is Daniel Dociu the Art Director for ArenaNet. Daniel is a pioneer in architectural game design which derives from his background in industrial design. His digital landscapes are fantasy based, yet they possess some contemporary elements of our built environment. I must restate my the fascination and interest in what the gaming industry is creating.

Daniel Docui: GuildWars

- from Entro_py via Flickr.com

After sleeping thirteen hours last night and recouping from the last week of sleepless production, the focus has immediately shifted to two grant deadlines this week. One is the From the Heart Production’s Roy W. Dean New York City Video Grant and the other is the New York State Council for the Arts (NYSCA) Individual Artist Grant for Film, Media and New Technology Production. We have very high chances on both of them but on the other hand when do you ever have a good chance at getting a grant? Throughout our experience of fundraising and filmmaking on this project we have come across many other filmmakers and shared war stories. The ups and downs of attempting to have your vision made. Who to turn to for answers, help or support. We have also slowly come to the realization that we are making this film on the “fast track.” Meaning it will have taken us about 3 years from starting pre-production, to having a final cut. That is lights speed for a lot of documentary project. Most take closer to 5+ years to complete giving them larger windows for fundraising and the ability re-apply to denied grants which usually run on an annual cycle specific to your phase of production. Many grants require you to apply multiply times before they warm up to you and are awarded funds. The financial coffers for the arts are limited, especially for our little know subject matter of the architecture studio, and are only going to get more competitive as the economy swoons. The fearful aspect is that if we do not land a couple of these select grants which have interest in our subject matter and our medium of documentary, then we are in critical shape for meeting our budget. No time to worry, have to get the project’s work sample description down to 2000 characters. Hopefully all the work will pay off at some point.

Should be pretty easy to find the answer to this question in a studio full of architecture thesis students, right? I have asked this question on a continuous basis for the past 4 months. I have asked professors, I have asked students, and I have asked those completely unrelated to the field. I have probably asked the question 50 times and have yet to receive the same answer. Some say it is a profession, to others it is an object, some say it is space, and others a way of thinking. So how do you clearly define something that has no common definition? If those who create/conceptualize/practice architecture can’t explain it, how can the general public understand it?

Despite the multitude of answers and the repetitive “deer in the headlight” response, I think we now have the content and footage needed to answer this question. The only way to understand architecture is to experience the many facets that construct it, and what better way to do this than the medium of film.

780 days down
280 to go

-Paradise Deli & Grocery at Lafayette and Grand Ave in Brooklyn

The sobering reality has begun to settle in about life after production. No more picking up a camera at 3AM to capture that essential moment of a group of students running to the Bodega for coffee and cigarettes. No more balancing the demands of coordinating every facet of production along with following a dozen individuals in depth throughout their daily adventures. Like the students, a major change is about to take place in our lives. We will no longer be filming daily for Archiculture. In a sense the film is done. Our story has been captured. The students are gone. A part of myself feels as if it is about to leave forever. This experience with these people has been deeply rewarding and creative, but normalcy is around the corner. This has definitely broadened the horizon of personal expression, knowledge and potential. For the first time since I left college, the feeling of professional unknown awaits. One thing I do know is that, David and I, will turn into Archiculture missionaries for the rest of 2008. We will spread our message of design through film to anyone who will listen to us. I only hope this provides the funds to give this film the finish product it deserves, and the impact our culture needs. If not, do you know of anyone hiring?