On the Ground

AROUND TOWN or MIXED NUTS or ECHOES IN THE HALL or BUSH-YAMMERING or HEAR/SAY

We have a new 4th floor Advanced Studio receptionist! He will be signing in visitors, taking messages, and letting you in if you forget your card. Please join us in welcoming NICOLAS KEMPER (M.Arch ‘16) to the administration!

PEPE GOMEZ-ACEBO (B.A. ‘17) toured Venice, Split and Dubrovnik with the Harvey Geiger Winter Travel Fellowship. Of particular interest was the palace of Diocletian, now the core of the city of Split, whose original 4th century fragments are incorporated into many new constructions.

KIRK HENDERSON (M.Arch ‘16, SOM ‘16) revealed that he is a certified Yoga Instructor and has graciously offered to teach us a flow or two. We’ll be asking him to show us exciting new positions – keep your eyes peeled for ‘Yoga In The Pit!’

1/13: EUGENE TAN (M.Arch‘16) reflects on his time working for newly Pritzker-ed Alejandro Aravena this past summer: “I received an education on how to be a better human being within the architecture profession — not in the well-worn sense of sustainability or ethics, but in the execution of a successful practice motivated by family and other important things in life.” PATRIK SCHUMACHER did not agree with the decision according to an FB post: “The PC takeover of architecture is complete: the Pritzker Prize mutates into a prize for humanitarian work.”

1/12: The Taking Down Buildings event at Storefront for Art & Architecture discussed erasure. Among the speakers that stood out was YSoA’s own KELLER EASTERLING; specifically her comments on the interplay of economics, value systems, and subtraction as creative and violent acts. With obsolescence there is opportunity.

1/14: ‘If an architect is constrained then his work will be constrained,’ posited WOLF PRIX in his Thursday lec**ture, “The Himmelb(l)au Project.” He had the room in fits of laughter with slides like “What is architecture? YES” but provoked gasps when in the Q&A he responded “Vitruvio and Palladio? Very bad architects, I have to say.”**

1/18: A video circulating on Facebook captures the advanced studio stampede to claim their home away from home for the next 5 months. Every semester, students get more “advanced” in their ways of hacking desk arrangements. Is there a better way? Or is this race an important warm-up for the marathon that follows? #6moreinches  

1/18: Paprika! catches the scent of war brewing between the GEHRY and KOLLHOFF studios over the space adjacent to the 4th floor printers. Proponents of Team Gehry argue it has traditionally been used by the studio on their side of the pit, while a delegate from Kollhoffmannschaft parry by pointing out that the rulebooks say nothing of the sort. One student compares it to the epic struggle of Godzilla against Mechagodzilla — we’ll let you figure out who’s who.

EVERYBODY’S A WINNER

1/14: Lottery fever hit the YSoA hard last week. Of course, there was unavoidable POWERBALL hysteria; despite the success of our Kickstarter campaign, we wondered if we too, should invest for another century of Paprika!**. Unfortunately, to the best of our knowledge, neither we nor anybody else within Rudolph Hall snatched any toothsome portion of the 1.5 billion. (We were emailed by someone claiming a win, but we need proof!) PAUL RASMUSSEN (M. Arch’17) calculated that with just 19.5 million we could pay off all our student loans. We know he would do that if he had won. There was one real winner though– Paprika’s own ELAINA BERKOWITZ (M. Arch‘17) won $4! Congratulations are in order for her and her family. Third-year students tried their luck again in another draw — the YSoA’s advanced studio lottery which promised pedagogical riches rather than dollar bills. What was everybody betting for? Find out below.**

As usual, competition for studio spots was fierce. While not quite 1-in-175 million (being struck by lightning while riding a shark), getting a spot in the GEHRY or JACOB+GRIFFITHS studio was most difficult (being struck by a stray elbow while riding the Yale Shuttle?).

“Maybe music is liquid architecture” offered FRANK GEHRY as a reply to JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE (M.Arch 1772) during the introduction to a travel-packed (NY-PARIS-BERLIN-MUNICH-LA) studio. First assignment? Build someone else’s concert hall, ⅛ scale, by today.

“These things you can’t sketch on a napkin,” concluded PATRIK SCHUMACHER, who did almost all the talking in the introduction to ZAHA HADID’s studio, a cluster of interweaving towers (though it could just be one big tower) to contradict London’s “ad-hoc” skyline. DEAN ROBERT STERN pointed out that last time around they hired everyone in the studio. But it’s no shoo-in – rebutted Hadid: “not everyone.”

B(l)au, Blau, Bau — what is Coop Himmelb(l)au? WOLF PRIX illuminates: “When people ask me what that means, I say I have no idea, but it sounds good.” The internet tells us ‘Himmelblau’ is German for sky-blue, azure.

Gospel from the church of PIER VITTORIO AURELI: “Housing is not a right. It is a commodity.” And later, “Form has agency. It is how political forces are made apparent.”

HANS KOLLHOFF spoke to students from abroad via video, instructing students to be wary of “clumsy boxes” lest Berlin become the “city of the parking lot.” KYLE DUGDALE, the studio co-lead, acknowledges a pot, stirred: “At some point [Kollhoff] has probably said something to offend most people sitting behind me.” To conclude, DEAN ROBERT STERN does his best Oprah: “Every student gets a tower, just like in the real world.”

He’s on a roll — DEAN STERN continues to impress us with the many hats he wears. This time, that of the officiant. When a student wonders how KERSTEN GEERS and CAITLIN TAYLOR were paired together to teach a studio, Stern interjects: “I did it. I married them. I’m good at it.” “But divorced!” returned MARK FOSTER GAGE without missing a beat.

“Sean and Sam seem to have weathered a tragic divorce – seems to be the theme of the day” said the Dean as he introduced FAT post-FAT- their first assignment? 100 lines. Or in the case of MADELYNN RINGO (M.Arch ‘16), 100 strands of red hair.

“A kind of Heart of Darkness trip to the heart of Amazon,” promised GREG LYNN of his travel week – to Kentucky – for his 16th studio at YSoA, a fulfillment center for Amazon.com, Inc. Inspirations include Cedric Price, the UK, and Detroit. As a way to integrate the working methods of humans and robots, the studio is considering a crowdsourcing simulation for design.

YSoA GOES SHOPPING

1/15: The opening meeting of CARTER WISEMAN’S seminar “Writing on Architecture” covered everything from critical insights on American eclecticism to Donald Trump’s tasteless modernism. In the coming weeks, the class will welcome prominent (and even Pulitzer-winning) guest speakers, while delving into creative writing assignments.

1/15: ANTHONY VIDLER began “The Architectural Surface” by quoting VINCENT SCULLY on Rudolph’s abrasive concrete –  the same he used at the beginning of his seminar, lecture course, and lecture last year. The repetition of content left some students wondering if the class would go deeper than the surface, while others found the Vidler’s dedication to his topics in architecture refreshing, however familiar.

1/15: “”I think -isms become -wasims,” judges DEAN ROBERT STERN during “Parallel Moderns”, sinking MoMA founder Alfred Barr’s “torpedo” diagram that traces the development of modern art. He was equally grossed out by the mid-century: “The 50s were so boring architecturally. If I see one more mid-century modern interior in Dwell magazine I’ll puke.” Finally, perhaps referencing PETER EISENMAN on the lack of architectural authority today: “I feel sorry for you.” We think we’ll be just fine, Bob.

Contributors: Elaina Berkowitz (M.Arch ‘17), Abena Bonna (M.Arch ‘18), Michelle Gonzalez (M.Arch ‘16), Wes Hiatt (MArch ‘17), Pearl Ho (M.Arch ‘16), Nicolas Kemper (M.Arch ‘16), David Langdon (M.Arch ‘18), Daniel Marty (M.Arch ‘17), Madelynn Ringo (M.Arch ‘16), Andy Sternad (M.Arch ‘16), Edward Wang (B.A. ‘16)

The views expressed in Paprika! do not represent those of the Yale School of Architecture. Please send all comments and corrections to paprika.ysoa@gmail.com. To read Paprika! online, please visit our website, yalepaprika.com
Paprika! receives no funding from the School of Architecture. We thank GPSS and the Yale University Art Gallery for their support.