UNLV Charrette

One of the main reasons the studio went to Las Vegas was to participate in a design charette with graduate architecture students from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  Within 6 hours mixed teams of students from Toronto and Las Vegas integrated biomimetic principles in the design of small research stations in two different climatic zones.

It began bright and early at UNLV...

Then the students were briefed and organized into their teams...

Then groups began collaborating and exchanging information about their respective biomimetic research work and their vernacular building strategies...

And then there was a "break" for lunch...

The charette ended with a notable review panel of guests from Lucchesi Galati, UNLV, and UW.

There of course was an opportunity for a group photo in UNLV's beautiful architecture library.

The day concluded rather fittingly with a dinner buffet on Fremont where the winning team was effectively given a free dinner.

Penn & Teller

Went to see Penn & Teller at the Rio last night...
(Just some pictures for now. Maybe some text later...)

A few nights ago we went to see Cirque du Soleil's "O". It was fantastic. We're all considering dropping out of Architecture school to become circus performers. Really? Really.

Then we made a new friend at the Cosmopolitan. He and Vince were BFF's in no time.

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada!

The beginning of our studio week in vegas...


















Scale is already overwhelming and it's only the airport...

















Diurnal cycle and retail at its finest.















Our "home away from home"





















New York New York
















Daytime....
















Nightime...!



















Jeff at the Desert Springs Reserve educating us about biomimicry and the Yucca plant


















more to come!

Yesterday:

Taking a closer look at how scale is being used as a critical design tool...

...analysing the cladding at city centre...

...and just some things that made us "Ooooooh" and "Aaaaaah"

Today:

An educational/awesome trip to the Springs Preserve...

... a whole new understanding of the desert...

... and of course, the making of a music video. (Just kidding.)

Missed Opportunities

Spent most of today wandering the strip with our Project 3 topics in mind. Though not specifically part of any of the questions we were given, we noted some missed opportunities in Luxor after taking the diagonal elevator up to the 16th floor.

1) Looking down at the flat roofs of the exhibition/restaurant/etc spaces below is really unattractive and has the potential to be put to better use... If even just for advertising?

2) There is no showcasing of the diagonal elevators... they are completely encased in concrete. Why not make a spectacle of it?

Also - The elevators made Tricia really dizzy.

day one: France & Italy

The day started off with a healthy breakfast in Paris...


...followed by a lovely stroll through Venice.


Tomorrow: New York, Bora Bora, Egypt....