Land Shark Siting

Candy gram.

Described as a "cunning urban predator" Land Shark is indeed the "cleverest of all the sharks".

This one was sited in the existing building, waiting silently in the hallway outside the new Dean's suite.

C'mon, who doesn't remember "Land Shark", the character from the glory days of Saturday Night Live? Season One?

Guess I am that old.

A Chemical Peel

The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection - roughly 13,000 items - was for decades kept in a tighly packed storage space in the existing building. The storage room was on the south side of the building, windows covered with wallboard to prevent sunlight and help keep the environment at a consistent level.

As part of the existing building rennovation, the walls of the old storage room have been taken down and the windows are uncovered - and we get a glimpse of the paint colors through the years, before the windows were boarded. This photo is of a very large sheet of paint (about 6-8") that literally peeled off the walls of room 333.

The new storage space for the textile collection is greatly expanded, will have state-of-the art controls to manage the environment within the storage area and - here's the kicker - more space!

I, for one, am looking forward to the renewed and refreshed spaces.

And the Oscar goes to...

(Elevator) Shaft
Perhaps we can have the theme from "Shaft" as elevator music...that's one bad motha' -- can you dig it?

Okay, that was an easy one. I couldn't resist!

The New Phone Books are Here!

Does anyone remember the Steve Martin movie, "The Jerk"? One scene came back to me last week...when he gets the new phone book and is so delighted to see his name in print he runs around shouting "the new phone books are here, the new phone books are here".

Well my "new phone book" has arrived - the skylights and I am super excited!!

Look at the image to the right to see what the fifth floor looked like in October 2010....





And to the left, the new openings for skylights will open the space and bring in much needed daylight. With the walls down and the skylights moved to the north, Plenary Hall (the old fourth floor) is transforming before my eyes.


Can you imagine what this room will look like when complete? No?

Take a look at a photo-realistic rendering of Plenary Hall...The new skylights are here! The new skylights are here!

One Man's Trash, Another Man's Treasure

Just about a year to the day I wrote a post titled "One Man's Trash" - it was March 8, 2010. The story was about the amount of material recycled and harvested out of the existing Human Ecology building when all units and functions had finished relocating. The results of an organized effort by Human Ecology staff, faculty and students to purge responsibly kept tons of trash out of landfills and gave new life to items, thanks to the good folks from Habitat for Humanity.

A year later we have a different set of information to share with you about the construction phase of our project. The project recycling goal is 95% and as of the end of January our "project to date" rate is 93.4%. These numbers play a crucial role in LEED certification as well as just being the right thing to do.

According to data from the State of Wisconsin, the amount of material (including asphalt, cardboard, concrete, metal and wood) that's been diverted is more than 3,800 tons.

I'd say that's a treasure fit for a king.

Color

The February 17 daily strip of the popular cartoon "Dilbert" featured one of the characters, Tina, presenting new space plans to the staff. In the first panel she tells them "Your new cubicles will be a color called 'Death Eater Gray", and in the second panel she explains "The fabric is a soul sponge that will absorb your happiness if you stand near it".

Over the past three - now going on four - years I've learned a whole new vocabulary. I always thought I was sitting on a desk chair but now understand it's a "task chair". There are "reveals", "unforseen conditions", "membranes" and my personal favorite, "gestures".

But nothing prepared me for the complexity and importance of selecting the right colors. I understand why the Preschool flooring is not "Lace Vine" or "Golden Glow". It makes sense that the carpet color/pattern being considered for Plenary Hall is not "Wood Pulp" or "Organic Matter" but may be "Electroplated". Colors that are cool have a different impact than warm, and how it relates to the furniture, flooring and even how much natural light comes into the room is critical information to consider.

Three years ago I would have recommended colors that make me look tall and thin, but this project is about creating the best environment for the whole Human Ecology community. Which calls for an entirely different mindset - so I just need to get over myself and stick to dressing in dark colors with vertical lines...that's slimming, right?

I promise there is no "Death Eater Gray" anywhere in the building.

Studio for Graduate Students

The program for the new building was deliberate in its intent to create spaces to support graduate students; and one of those areas is a dedicated studio. This space is intended to inspire collaboration and support connections among graduate students in Design Studies.

The new studio space is on second floor of the existing building in the east wing. Space formerly occupied by faculty and staff are now combined into a single, open studio with windows on three sides, filling the studio with natural light. The finish will be "raw", with an exposed ceiling and stained/sealed concrete floor.

One of the many inspirations for design elements in the new building came from the first Human Ecology trip to China, led by Design Studies Professor Wei Dong. There visitors saw innovative ideas for flexible exhibition space and as you see in the photo below, studio for graduate students.

For the past several years Professor Dong has taught a study-abroad course, "Global Experience in Design: Chinese Culture, Arts and Design" at Peking University, and has been instrumental in creating the Center for Sustainable Development in Arts and Design with UW-Madison and Tsing Hua University.

Like Terra Cotta Warriors

The other day I had the chance to walk around the new addition. Lori Ushman, who works in Design Studies and is the most talented photographer, graciously trekked along with me. We spent close to 2 hours in the existing building, around the site, in the parking garage and eventually we made our way to the addition.

Climbing up a ladder to the first floor - home to the new Design Gallery - we began our journey. I am understanding space in a whole new way - for 3 years we've been dreaming, drawing and planning on paper but nothing prepares you for what it means to stand right there.

With encouragement (well, it felt more like a challenge) Lori and I climbed three floors of scaffolding stairs on the outside of the structure...and were greeted with the sight of hundreds of wood "soldiers", standing row upon row whose only job is to support the structure while the concrete cures:

My first thought was these hundreds of supports, which are invisible by the webcam, reminded me of the terra cotta soldiers of the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Sure a bit of a reach, but the sight of hundreds of uniform supports, row upon row, is striking.

Just don't tell our architects that the First Emperior of China was so proud of his tomb that he murdered its creators.