New Year's Resolutions

Over the holidays, I was allowed to clear my head and relax comfortably as I visited family and friends. I needed this, as my semester had been a tough one filled with many divergent responsibilities and academic rigor. As it is customary to make resolutions at the end of each year, I came up with a few about my academic life for my last semester of formalized education. I hope these will be the backbone of a strong academic year.

1) Blog Everyday- This is something I failed at, letting days and weeks go by between posts. This not only makes the blog stagnant, but also makes me fail at documenting my work during the semester. So my vow is too have one post every weekday this upcoming semester.

2) Lay back on classes, push forward on Thesis- Last semester was class heavy, as Design Build and Urban Studies took up a large chunk of my time. This semester is all about Thesis. Far too many times, I see students pushing thesis into the summer or even next Fall. I will not allow this too happen, as I plan to defend in May and be employed by the summer. I will take two computer courses this semester, one in Revit and one in Grasshopper (new this semester) as I put most of my energy into Thesis.

3) Sharpen Resume and Portfolio- I need to make these things better so that I can land a job that I want. They are pretty good as of now, not excellent. My fear is not that I get a job, but that I don't get the one I want. I will be focusing on large firms in the DC and Baltimore area, such as Gensler, RTKL, SOM, HKS, and HOK. I also plan to apply to Populous, formerly HOK Sport, and OMA in New York. These firms are highly competitive, so I plan on taking a few weeks on each portfolio piece and strengthening them to a level of excellence needed.

4) Build my Brand- The point in applying to well established firms is due in part to my goal of opening my own firm before I am thirty. To do this requires extreme amounts of hard work, but also creating an identity for myself that attracts clients. My love of sports and physical activity combined with my love of architecture can create a pretty compelling brand, in my opinion. I need to create graphics that start to speak to my brand as I move my portfolio online and edit my portfolio and resume. If I start building my brand now, it will pay dividends in the near future.

5) Refocus my Thesis- My midterm review went well ( I will post images soon), but I left it feeling as if my Thesis was going down a path I didn't want to be on. It is turning into a study of motion in architecture, leaving behind some of the optimizing systems I wanted to study. The point of the moving building pieces was to look at programmatic flexibility and all its benefits within a new stadium complex, with interactive and eco-friendly systems also providing the building a certain vibrancy. Before school starts on the 18th, I need to sit down and write a new focused abstract that will lead me the rest of the way.

6) Teach myself Ecotect, 3DS Max, and Photoshop- Last semester, I taught myself Rhino, Grasshopper, and GIS. This semester I need to focus on rendering skills and animation skills that will allow me to display my work in impressive fashion. I also need to start analyzing my thesis in Ecotect so I can implement ecological systems into the building.

I will post part two of my resolutions tomorrow.