Architect In Training

I love it when hip hop has days like this. I would have given up my car to be in that room listening to this live and in person. And to have Eminem come through and just totally rip the cypher at the end was amazing. Made me even more proud to be from Michigan and the Metro Detroit area. If you missed it, I got it right here for you. Enjoy it. I know I did.



Thomas Bowman Out.

I miss Goodie Mob.  I been hearing rumblings of a re-union. But Cool Breeze was the homie when I heard this. This is pre-Outkast for me! Almost my introduction to down-south hip hop.



Thomas Bowman Out.

Peep this project out that's going to hopefully happen in Detroit. IceHouse Detroit is project that will hopefully happen this winter. The project is being done be Gregory Holm, a photographer, and Matthew Radune, an architect, in the city of Detroit [obviously] and is referencing the current 'freeze' in the housing market.  Detroit is leading the nation is foreclosures and this project takes one of the 80,000 abandoned houses in the city to make a statement about the current situation.

Wow. 80,000 abandoned homes in one city.  That is truly a sobering number.  I mean I knew my city was having hard times but that is a staggering number.  Anyway, the project still needs supporters and donations to happen so please donate to this if you have the money.  If you go to their website you will find all the necessary information to make an informed decision.

Thomas Bowman Out.

So I was surfing the net and found some new kicks that I need to put in the mix.  Apparently, I'm a little late on this one but who cares.  There still isn't a place in Michigan for me to get these so the internet will be my best friend.  So here are some of the kicks that peaked my interest of Radii's website.  They kind of remind me of TK's Supras but with a few variations in material, style, and technique.  Definitely something that needs to be copped in the winter months.

I think my favorite color is black.  All black everything.  I guess it's the architect coming out of me.  It's accentuates so well!

Thomas Bowman Out.

Who has two thumbs and loves Alicia Keys and her music?  This guy.  Peep her new video.  And Alicia let me share this with you.  If your intelligence matches or surpasses your beauty, let's make this thing happen.  I won't leave you lonely. Lol.




Thomas Bowman Out.

So I was perusing the internet and came across this article on Inside Higher Ed about the changing landscape of architecture schools.  I'm sure all the architecture students that come across my blog can cosign for me about my next statement but I will solely speak for myself.  Architecture school is demanding, alienating, frustrating, and finally physically, mentally, and emotionally draining.  I don't know many other majors that have students who brag on how many all-nighters they have spent in the same space working on a project.  I don't know how many college students who could endure pouring hours upon hours on what could be torn apart in an instant by a professor.  I know my motto was, 'I'm not done with this project until I bleed on the model.'  And that not a metaphorical bleeding of the soul or anything, I literally mean I bleed on the model.

Now with all that said, this article I just finished reading speaks about a new 'blueprint' for Archies everywhere in which I agree with.  More and more, architecture is not what some call an 'artsy-fartsy' degree.  Like everything else in this world that makes money, Architecture is a business and it needs to be addressed as such.  Spending limitless hours on designs, buildings and details upon details is a great skill to have, but it shouldn't be the only skill set acquired in Architecture of school. 

For me, there was little to no inclusion of how to put together a full set of construction documents, how to estimate costs, what spec sheets should consist of, and a multitude of other things that are REALLY necessary to be successful in obtaining work in the beginning of one's profession.  Another thing that I found to be odd is the fact that there are little to no psychology or sociology classes required in order to graduate.  Our profession deals with people on both a very basic and complicated level.  Some of those classes in the aforementioned fields would help us aspiring architects out a great deal. 

With all that being said, I applaud said schools that are trying to make their students more ready for what is going to actually be out in the real world.  And for those that haven't totally adapted yet, I hope you start soon because you'll be doing your students a disservice to not help them in every way possible.  I mean we are paying tuition to invest in you to assist us invest in ourselves.  Help us (by us, I mean architecture students) out! 

Thomas Bowman Out.

What can I say?  I think there is a parallel between the two and obviously, someone else sees it as well.  I also find this to be a little bit comical because of the brand that chose to do this line of tee shirts.  Good ole Prada.  I don't know about everyone else, but the school that I went to was filled with it.  Everywhere you looked, either a teacher or a student had Prada shoes, glasses, etc on their body.  And what was the color of choice?  The architect's official unofficial color of choice: black on black with black splahsed in there. 

I find these tee shirts ironic because the tees are not black.  Of course, with Epicenters designed by architectural firms such as Herzog & de Muron and Rem Koolhaus, the blueprints are not your regular, run-of-the-mill lines and stripes.  Trust I will be wearing one because I have been a fan of colors since before my architecture training.  Peep them out.  Pretty dope.

So today and this week have been a whole mess of Cudi, B.O.B and Michigan Hip Hop artists Slum Village, Royce Da 5'9 and my man Octane.  I know everybody knows about Slum Village.  But if you don't, I think this laid back track right here is a great introduction.  Song is called 'Call Me.'  Maybe not the best lyrically that Slum can do, but I always base my 'like' of a track on how it rides in the car and this one is oh so smooth.  I don't really ride with anybody in the whip, calm and cool is usually how I role.  Shout to you Dwele for putting down some awesome vocals.

Next on the list is Cudi's Hyer.  I don't know if I can post that up so I'm not but you all should cop that Cudi and go to track 14 and ride.  Subject matter may not be something everyone can relate to, but the rhythm and beat are SO COLD. 

And then there's my man Royce Da 5'9.  Now I been messing with Royce for some time now and I'm glad to see the man getting some love out here in the world.  Shout out to the Slaughterhouse crew and Detroit as well.



This one is kind of late but I still think this man needs to get more credit so I'm doing my share.  Some can't get down with B.O.B aka (Bobby Ray) but whichever name you call him, dude got his own style that I like.  It's something.



And last but definitely not least, is my boy Octane.  Some of you may have heard him on 98 wjlb's Mountain Dew unsigned hype.  Everytime I hear this song, I call in and tell them to play it more and you should too!  Here's the video.  Peep the city behind him.  That's where I'm from as well.



Thomas Bowman out.

I found myself on the floor laughing when I saw this commercial.  Whoever invented this bunny, he/she deserves a raise.


Seriously love this commercial.  Kudos

So apparently not enough people liked the covers I designed.  I didn't make the final cut of cover art entries.  To see them, go to Burn Rubber's website and click the featured post link and see what they have chosen.  Kinda sucks but as a designer, it's what happens.  Only takes one person to say they like your stuff for it to be recognized.  I'm still searching for that one person.  When I do find them, I'm sending them out into the world to hype me up.

You know lately I been trying to keep myself upbeat in this down economy and you know what I found?  I pick up talents fairly easily.  I find myself wanting to be great at one thing but I've been thinking:  What if I'm great at being 'good' at a lot of things?

What has me thinking that you ask?  I went my Architecture School's conference on the future of design and a young woman from YouTube by the name of Margaret Stewart put a lot of my life into perspective with her lecture.  She used the analogy of elephant and frog babies (crazy, I know but bear with me).  Elephants put all their hope and prayers in a small number of babies while frogs just kind of lay a whole bunch of eggs and hope for a couple to amount to a frogs.  Through nature, natural selection, chance, fate, or whatever you want to call it, the right number of both species make it, and as such, life and the species continue to procreate.

Lately, I been realizing that I have been looking at my education and subsequently my life in an elephant type of way.  Trying to fit into this one field, in one way, with one goal and I'm starting to think I should go at it in the frog type of way.  I mean I'm already great at being 'good' at a lot of different things.  Why not just keep doing that until one of them pans out more than the others?  Make sense?  It's starting to make more and more sense to me.

Thomas Bowman Out.

This is freaking awesome!  To get the full article about Evolver, click the name and go to the site or you can watch their video here.



Overall, I am feeling this design and execution.  It was done by a group of 2nd year students at an architecture school in Switzerland by the name of  ALICE Studio at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).  I think it's really impressive what a group of students can come up with and construct.  Oh, and peep the program they're using, Rhinoceros 4.0! It look like they got TSplines as well in there.  I was really happy to see someone other than U of M using that program because I was starting to think I learned all that for nothing.

I also really like at the end of the video where the camera is inside and going through the the space and the voided space goes around volume.  Wow, that sounds like it doesn't make sense but in my mind, it does.  If you don't understand what I'm saying, watch the movie again.  You'll understand what I'm saying soon.

Good design makes me happy.  And the site doesn't hurt either.  The mountain scenery is amazing and I wish I could see it. 

Thomas Bowman Out.

So I been watching as many James Bond movies as I can get my hands on and without a doubt, the best intro and song to me is to Goldeneye.  I mean come on.  It's got Tina Turner for Pete's sake!  And the video introduction to the movie is amazing.  Little fyi, Bono and The Edge from U2 wrote the song, but Tina did that bad boy justice.  Don't agree?  Watch this and then tell me otherwise.  If you still disagree, well then there's something seriously wrong with you and I can't be held accountable for your views or opinions.  Ok, enough of my talking.  Here's the video:


Tina Turner. Thank you.

Thomas Bowman. Out.

 Just thought I would let everyone know about these wonderful Spiz'ikes that are out.  I usually dress in all black or close to it so these are a definite purchase.  These will be my first pair of Jordans ever so I am excited.  Soon to be followed by some Jordan 4, 8, and 9's.  I'll let you know how I feel when I buy these.  Probably will do a movie about it.

So like everybody else, I had planned on trying to get through with the LEED exam before the testing style changed but to no avail.  Silly old me went to Spain for two months and couldn't get to it.  I had registered for it and everything but I didn't end up taking it.

Now I'm back in America and I'm looking at the requirements and all I can say is eeeeffffgggghhh!  What happened?!?  There are so many requirements that I have to go through just to make myself a LEED AP.  Not to mention more money and more time.  And as we all know, time is money.  I am kicking myself in the butt for not taking this test earlier but more so, I find myself wondering:  "Are the people who are LEED AP prepped for what is going on in this world right now?" 

I know a few people who took the test simply to have the title LEED AP with no architectureal background and now there is a requirement to have experience.  Granted, the new crop (including me) will have better experience and knowledge, who really cares now?  The system seemed to be broken and now we are trying to fix it but there are cracks in the foundation already. 

So what do we do?  I don't know but I don't think making two exams and making me pay more money is the correct answer.  Geez.  This is going to take some time now.  Just my thoughts though.


Thomas Bowman Out.

And welcome to the first installment of "Architecture Real Talk".  I got this bright idea while sitting at home talking to some of my friends who are aspiring to work in the architecture field and having trouble.

Today's Topic:  The Catch-22 (Education vs. Experience)
So for the past four and a half years, I have been working and slaying.  Spending long nights in studio, bleeding on models, crying over renderings, selling my thoughts and ideas and ultimately coming out with the skills I need to succeed in this career right?  Well, after a lot of money and time spent, my answer is 'not necessarily. 

After everything is done and over with, I don't know if the education I have now provided me with the  experience I need in order to make it in this profession.  I'm not saying that school is supposed to totally prepped you for everything you will encounter in the working world, but I expected more than what I have. 

And now I find myself in what everyone calls the 'Catch-22'.  I have all this education but not a lot of experience when people nowadays want the most bang for their buck.  Which leaves me saying 'wtf am I doing?!'  I don't like being caught in this situation and I'm trying to find a way out of it as soon as possible.  So to all you firms, principals, developers, and whoever else would like to deal in the architecture field, please give us new people a shot.  It's hard enough out here for us.   

Thomas Bowman Out.

Love this song.  Love this girl.  Love this video. Love the sweat pants.