Big Dig House

The Big Dig House, by Single Speed Design in Cambridge, MA takes advantage of over 600,000lbs of reused materials, such as structural steel and road panels from the Big Dig Project. Because of the load-bearing capability of these materials, a rooftop garden was implemented into the design as well as a rainwater harvesting system. In true prefab style, the construction time was reduced immensely with the entire structural frame being built in under 2 days. The open 3,400 square foot house features an exposed structure and an abundance of natural light. For more information, check out http://www.ssdarchitecture.com/works/residential/big-dig-house/. (image from Single Speed Design website)

Studio Withdrawals

It has been 15 days since graduation, and 15 days of glory it has been. Being sucked into the 5-year "jail sentence" that architecture school is makes me appreciate every relaxing moment, every day of sleep, every minute just doing nothing that I have. I feel like I am finally about to start my life and get around to the things that I have been putting off for five years.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Colorado for a friend's wedding, which was basically the first time for relaxation that I had after school, finishing thesis, and moving to New Jersey. Even though I am embarking upon a scary new chapter in my life in becoming a "true" adult and finding a career, I feel like a tremendous burden has been lifted. That is an amazing feeling, to live life without that constant retractable "leash" of architecture school, in which would let me wander during the summers, but always "yank" me back around August 27th of the last five years.

I can't wait to design! Today I think I started to have my first "studio withdrawal". We were driving around the residential area in Princeton looking at all the houses. I began my architectural career when I was about eight years old, designing houses. I had no training in architecture, just my ideas and the floor plan books of houses that my parents had bought for me. With all the larger scale projects that I have designed in school, I have not had a chance to remember how I started. My favorite project was the prefabricated residential house design in which I was able to focus on materials and customize every aspect of the design. The larger projects that I have designed have not allowed for this level of design and I wish to get into this once again. After my 15 days of freedom (which has also included getting my resume and portfolio ready for the treacherous job search), I think I might be ready to get back into it, even after all those late nights in the studio, with little sleep in which I was about to give up and quit to become a business major. I could never do anything else. As much as I have said I wanted to get out, I could never actually do it. The architectural "leash" will always lure me back, and I'm okay with that.