Spacial Alignment

Crystal Lake, IL
///September 2013

This is a look back at the entry level and the transit level of one of my old architecture studio projects for the city of Chicago. This was the transit oriented development at the cross streets of Milwaukee and California on Chicago's north side.

What I find interesting is how certain ideas and principles stay with us, and how they tend to translate through our designs and merge into our lives. Basically its interesting how looking at a set of plans can speak into the life or thinking of the designer. However feasible or not a plan is, the juxtapositioning of solid/voids and the alignment of these spaces is congruent in my drawings and even the very layout of my home studio.

On spacial alignment - (the self-promoted OCD architect) - I fall victim to this just as many of my peers, however, it is my believe that this disorder is pumped into our blood throughout our training. Whether you claim spacial alignment or not, the lack of proposed spacial alignment is just as much of an alignment as the latter. Void of any programatic elements, environmental factors, etc the elements broken down into simple shapes, when asked to organize or place the shapes in a relationship with one another, our immediate response is the understand the commonalities or differences between the two shapes before we can come to a decision of there spatiality in relation to each shape. At this point our preconceived ideas of what is 'right' step in. Do we separate ourselves from these preconceived ideas and roll the shapes like dice in hopes of an aesthetically pleasing outcome, or painfully/comfortably align the characteristics of the shapes. I would say that most designers understand the mental confrontation of walking the line between pain and comfort.

Producing something devoid of context and external factors is something I have not yet been able to do, however for some designers this may be their strength, and passion. It is my belief that neither is right or wrong, there ought to be a fusion of sorts that strengthens the idea of the project.

(my thoughts for today - if you care to discuss comment below)

entry level - orange suggesting 'el' stop station
(click to view large)

platform level - orange suggesting platform
(click to view large)

Eupatorus - Gracilicornis

Crystal Lake, IL
///September 2013

Entomology - the study of bugs

Ontology -the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations.

Take, for example, the Eupatorus Gracilicornis or the Rhinoceros Beetle and force a decay into a pre-determined plot or grid. The merger between the spacial reality, 'the grid', and the once living specie of nature are now forced to interact unlike they would in their previous state of being. The two drawings below depict this forced interaction and as a result a new contextual outcome can develop. The third element would be the existence of space as a result of the previous. Open to interpretation the existence of such space offers a look as to what may become. Partially void of previous scalar or typological boundaries a new experience arises.

ink on watercolor paper - 12x18
(click image to enlarge)

ink on watercolor paper - 12x18
(click image to enlarge)

Into the real world

Crystal Lake, IL
///May 2013

Urban farming Aquaponic Bay #502

Machine Rendering - SKP - Octane - Photoshop

(*click on the image to view in full)

It has been two weeks since the last post, however this rendering was done last week. I am currently working on one for next week. 

Thanks to Chipman Design Architecture, I am no longer job hunting. I was hired about two weeks ago by CDA as a production architect, working under the Noodles and Company team. I titled this blog post "Into the real world" because the transition from my last job to this one is night and day. Architecturally speaking, my new job is not that different "drawings wise", the difference is in the level of professionalism and general atmosphere. Aside from "Causal Friday" I have/and the rest of the office looks like what you would expect from an architecture studio. At my previous job, dress code was jeans and a nice shirt...if you traveled, throw on a sport coat. I really enjoy ‘dressing the part’ each day, it really does feel good to dress well. There have been so many moments these past two weeks that I have just smiled because CDA really knows how to do things the right way, something that I have previously not too often experienced. These kinds of things are little things...for example proper file storage, procedure for sending/receiving drawings, and a code book library! We have had two lunch/learns the past two weeks, of which I was one of maybe 30  people that showed up for the lunch, previous experiences with L/Ls I was one of two or three awkward people explaining to the presenter that I am really interested, even though I know we will never use anything they are offering. 

Literally I feel refreshed with this new experience. This is one of those times where you remind yourself not to take things for granted. 

I have to be honest, my previous job offered me an experience that most will never experience right out of school. I was truly blessed, a little strangely professionally reserved, but blessed by the experience. 

Dragonfly Domus - Drawing

Elgin, IL

///Spring 2013

Dragonfly Domus

Pen/ink/colored pencil on watercolor paper

(*click on the image to view in full)

This past semester I had taken a drawing class, this is one of my drawing submissions for the semester. I have been exploring the idea of deconstructing elements of nature (a dragonfly in the case) and setting them within a context such as a site plan. The idea behind off of this is that of an HDR (high dynamic range) photo. We use HDR photos to see what we can't see our our cameras cannot pick up. Same goes with drawing, by deconstructing nature, we can breakdown what is there and in turn transform these elements into something that might have similar attributes to built architecture. I will post later my last drawing for the spring class, that gives a better understanding of this concept I was running with. 

Toronto, CA Vertical Farm Toronto

///Spring 2013

///lobby rendering

*click to view full image

This weekend I spent a little bit of time working on one of my graduate projects, the Toronto Vertical Farm. I never produced a lobby rendering during grad school, so here is a look at it now. I think I will attempt to produce a render a week, and post the images here. The last two weeks I produced the two Geneva Library Images that are posted below, so I guess this is week 3. 

This week I am continuing job hunting, finishing building my home offices' pallet wall (pictures soon), and another secret side project. 

Geneva Public Library

Geneva, IL Public Library

///fall08 - updated 13'

///rendering of backside
[top] 
///rendering of entrance facade
[bottom]
*click on images to view full size

I have been combing though my old project files lately and re-rendering out old images. Here is the latest, it is of my undergrad 3rd year Library Project in Geneva Illinois. 


I am currently job hunting and with that goes updating my resume and my portfolio of work. It is long past due, and for the first time in about 3.5 years, since I began with CSG (my previous employer), I now feel like I have the time to get all of my work together. I began working at a firm right out of undergrad, and before I could put together a portfolio, the mountain of unsorted undergraduate work got shelved in hopes that a rainy day would come and I would get back to cleaning it all up. Well that day has finally come, only know I have two more shelves full of work, professional and graduate. 

///Catch up

:Bring you up to speed (if you care)

-Intern position with CSG (church solutions group) may2010

-Offered a full time position with CSG june2010

-Graduated with my BA in architecture from Judson University Elgin IL may2011

-Began Graduate school of architecture at Judson University Elgin IL june2011

-Bought a Condo 2012

-Married the greatest girl in the world July 28 2012

:Graduate Update, I am spreading out my graduate year to two years so that in the meantime I can work full time with CSG. I have already completed my Graduate design classes two semesters worth of design. I will post about these projects later. Sneak peak at my Behance page below. 

http://www.behance.net/ChristopherStrasser

If all goes as planned, I will graduate with my masters of architecture July 2013 after the summer semester closes.