Architecture Addiction, The Official Blog of

Check out Tom Dyckhoff’ article in the Times.

Architects have had a long and not terribly complex relationship with power. They like it. A bit of dictatorship always helps with the planning permission. It’s a professional hazard these days that most of the world’s money, ergo power, ergo egos, ergo construction business, is to be found in spots with a somewhat challenging relationship with polling booths and political transparency - Dubai, Moscow, Shanghai, Florida - spawning a new trend - oligarchitecture, they call it, though it’s arbitrarily applied to anyone from Russian oil magnates to over-decisive clients in Nuneaton. Let’s just say that most aren’t on Amnesty International’s Christmas card list.

I have to move!

I have to move into a really tiny place! And then, when I get my grad school acceptance letter(s), I’ve got to move again! I’m in LA…I’ve applied to schools in the Northwest, the South, and New England. So no matter where I go, I’ll be moving across the country.

I figure, it would be better ("cheaper") to sell my furniture now, rather than paying for a storage unit and then expending the extra truck and fuel costs it would take to move across the country. And then, you know, going onto Craigslist to replace the drafting table.

Hold on tight, I gotta bust out of this brown box so that I can show you some photos (I’ve got packing to do; no time to Photoshop!):

So, do you need a drafting table?

Or a 4′ x 8′ solid oak dining table?

Or an REI external frame backpack?

Or my complete collection of stained glass tools and supplies?

If you’re in Los Angeles (or feel like coming to Los Angeles) and you would like to support a worthy cause and score some awesome furniture at the same time, check out my ads on Craigslist:

Drafting Table

Oak Dining Room table

REI Backpack

Stained Glass Tools & Accessories

My 1980 Strawberry Shortcake Lunch Box

My 1981 Strawberry Shortcake Glass Canister

Lava Lamp Night Light

Wind-Up Jesus & Wind-Up Nun

Roller Skates

Skeleton Model

Glasses from The Great Muppet Caper, Pac Man, the Challenger Space Shuttle, & Northwoods Inn

Large Wall Map of San Gabriel Valley

I just started my first internship at a green development consulting company called Gaia Development.

Gaia Development is a full-service design and consulting firm, specializing in sustainable real estate development. Our experience with over 5 million square feet of project development allows us to quickly become a value-added member of your team. We will work with your architects and contractors to ensure that your building meets the criteria you’re looking for in a green building.

From solar panels to drought-tolerant landscaping, Gaia Development is dedicated to helping you achieve the highest level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) criteria, increase employee satisfaction, and lower your monthly energy bills. We will help you identify and implement the most cost-effective green building strategies, and our professional network of contacts can provide you with access to industry leaders in virtually every aspect of sustainable development.

With over thirty projects going on – and 200 about to come in over the summer – they needed someone part time help them stay organized. That’s where I come in.

So far I’ve perused their numerous research clippings and product information so that I can classify them into the different LEED credits – like Recycled Content, Onsite Renewable Energy, or Daylight & Views.

Gaia also has the LEED Reference Manuals and Study Guides so that I can study for the exam.

My goal is to become LEED accredited before I start grad school this fall so that I can get my next internship as soon as I move to wherever it is I’m moving too.