Life updates

So the fall semester came and went relatively uneventfully as far as school goes. I will post a few of those projects soon. Leah and I have decided on a place for the wedding venue and reception as well. Check out our wedding webpage by clicking here.

I've been working since January with professors Sung Ho Kim and Heather Woofter on a project for their firm, Axi:Ome llc. They have a book that is to be published this spring, by the Korean publisher Damdi. I have been working on helping them finish a few projects and pull together information for the book. Again, images to be posted at a later date!

I've figured out that I'm going to be in San Diego for the summer, taking the capstone course for my Master's in Urban Design. I'll then be able to finish up my Master's in Architecture in the fall! This means, if all works out, I'll be graduated with all 3 degrees (MBA is already completed) by December and then Leah and I can move back home to Cleveland by January!

More to come later!

Safe and Sound in St. Louis

Well after a long flight back to the states, I've finally made it back safely. We made it into the Newark airport and I was treated with my first taste of InBev brewed Budweiser. It was 200 times better than any type of beer that I had in Spain, so I was greatful!

Leah and her parents were able to make it up to my parents house on Sunday for a little celebratory BBQ. It was really great to be able to spend so much time with them. Justin who was in town for the weekend was able to stop by as was my uncle Keith towards the end of the night.

We left Cleveland at about 4pm on Tuesday and met up with Champ and his fiancee Lisa in columbus on the way back out to St. Louis. It was great to see the two of them. After we left Columbus we had a long night's drive ahead of us and ended up making it out here at about 3AM Central time.

Since then, it's been a lot of resting, trying to get the house in order and unpacking! I hope this finds everyone well. I hope to upload more pictures this weekend of our last few days in Barcelona...keep posted for that!

Last Day in Barcelona

Well, the time has finally come for me to start packing everything up and prepare to head back to the comfort of the states. However, over the past week a lot of things have happened that I think that I'll update you on.

Last Friday Leah arrived, finally after quite a bit of airline trouble. She says that she has never flet so famous as when she arrived at the airport. Apparently, a little crowd and it all goes to her head! "It was Amaaaazing"...yeah, right ;-) She and I then spent some time around the city and went back to studio for studio clean-out.

After that we took the Metro to Placa Espanya and walked up to and through Montjuic. We found a nice little clearing that overlooked the entire city and the sea, about half way up the way to the castle. I then smoothly (if I do say so myself) asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. Suprisingly she said yes! :) This picture is really amazing primarily due to the fact that about one one hundredth of a second after this picture she had the "super suprised face" Let's just say THAT would have made for an interesting picture!

We have spent most of the rest of the week viewing a lot of the interesting parts of Barcelona (sagrada familia, parc guell, the beach, casa mila, the apartment watching american tv, etc etc.) One of the hightlights however was when we went to the "Ice Bar" which is literally a bar completely made out of ice. More pictures will follow, but after a day at the beach (in which some fair skinned people got toasted) nothing felt better than spending about half an hour in a parka and hat with matching mittens in a cooler at -7 degrees celsius.

As today is our last full day in the city, we have lots to do and see (the beach, the beach, and the beach)...I'm definately looking forward being stateside and enjoying some food that I can actually order. One dozen boneless hot wings and a dortmunder!

I hope this finds everyone well and the next time I write, hopefully I'll be stateside!

Final Project

So, final review is done. I've been done for 24 hours now and thought that I'd post some images from the final review.

Coming down to crunch time

Just thought that I'd post a little bit of the work I've been doing. Click it to enlarge...so you can see it better. This is essentially my project. It's suppose to be a "Cultural and Research Activity Center". Kinda a place for the arts, with workshops and exhibition space. Anyways, these are the plans, sections, and elevations. I will post some renderings (the pretty pictures) in a few days when they're done along with some photos of my model.

Hope all is well!

Let's get ready to rock!

So last night, I was working at school and got a phone call from my buddy, Bloom who called to invite us to this little bar that has become a regular Monday night event. There's a bar in Placa Reial called Sidecar and on Monday night, it turns into this weird mix between kareoke and rock concert. The people who get on stage are literally living out the fantasy of being a rock star. There's a basement full of people, packed in like sardines, cheering, singing along, and even starting a mosh pit when deemed appropriate. So Bloom, Mark, Sam, Neil, Javier, Tina (Sam's gf), Jesse, Leslie, Andrea, and I all went over at about 11:30. I would have to say that it was one of the most interesting bar experiences that I've had since being here in Barcelona. I will have to take my camera and take videos and photos...cause it won't do the place justice, but it will atleast give you a sense of the madness. Kareoke stopped at about 1, but we stayed til 2:30 jumping, dancing, singing songs of the 80's. All in all a pretty good night.

Work Work Work

This week has just been full of work here in studio. We have 12 days til final review, so it's time to put the head down and crank! Today's been a decent day so far. I got into studio at 9:30 and was suprised and happy to see that I got an email from my dad...apparently the first of his life. I got to talk to Welsh this morning (Lord knows why he was up at 4AM Eastern) and wish him a happy birthday. A few hours later, I was suprised to get an IM from Megs who is in NYC for a few weeks studying acting. Tonight we're going to see our professor Elana and her partner's work in Tibidabo which overlooks the entire city. It should be a good little break.

Earlier in the week I got a chance to go to the German Pavilion by Mies Van de Rohe for the 1929 International Expo. I've posted some of those pictures as well as some of Leah and my apartment back in St. Louis.

Hope this post finds everyone well!