Last week I made my way over to Mt. Auburn Cemetery, which is located in Cambridge MA right near Harvard. I dragged a friend a long who was not very pleased about spending a brilliant sunny spring day in a cemetery, but when we got there she quickly changed her mind. What you have to understand is that Mt Auburn is not like other cemeteries. It’s settled on all original landscaped and incredibly well groomed. This cemetery is host to the elite of historic Boston. All the gravestones are some sort of unique marker dedicated to that family; Mausoleums, Sphinxes, statues, sarcophagi, obelisques, and a bunch of other crazy stuff scattered all over this incredible landscape. On the highest hill there is a tower open to the public that looks like a cheese piece. Climbing up the spiral stair gives you a spectacular 360 views. There is also the grave of our school’s founder Arioch Wentworth.

Site Plan

For this project we had to design a building (which included offices, studio’s, galleries, and classrooms) on a decrepit park in Cambridge known as Magazine Beach. The big idea behind my scheme is to encourage people to interact with the park, landscape, architecture, and public amenities. I achieved this though the use of path, program, and follies. The path pules of from the sidewalk and interacts with different elements of the site (soccer fields, river edge, building, wetlands, pool). Large program elements and sculptural follies encourage circulation though the space. The ability for people to flow though the entire park system will revitalize the space making it a safer and more inviting place to be.

Path Sections

Building Sections

Second Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

Every year the Wentworth Architecture Club host’s a trip over spring break. This year we went to NYC. It was an amazing trip filled with architecture and adventure. Some of the highlights included a private tour of the Freedom Tower (we got to the 93rd floor), the Brooklyn  Botanical Gardens, and the FDR Memorial.

Here are some photo’s I took Friday night and Saturday afternoon. What a great storm! Boston got about 2′ total. There was a parking ban from Friday afternoon to Saturday. The city was eerily quiet. People brave enough to venture out into the blizzard filled the streets. When the snow stopped falling students were out playing, building snow men, skiing (hard to believe but true), sledding, playing football, and getting in all sorts of shenanigans. It’s been a awesome weekend of vegging out and shooting in the nor’easter of 2013.

One of my school projects involved mapping and observing Hall’s Pond Sanctuary in Brookline. This gave me the opportunity to get off campus and explore a part of the city the I have only been to a few times. Brookline is a very nice neighborhood 20 minutes(walking) north of Wentworth. Technically, it is not part of Boston proper, but it’s so close it might as well be. It’s mainly  residential area with a lot of nice apartments and gorgeous homes. Brookline is home to a diverse population of young professionals. here are some photos of my explorations:

I am writing this post 7 hours into the big blizzard of 2013. The weather this spring semester has been very crazy, unpredictable, variable, and typical for New England. Soon after we got back to school the weather got extremely cold. It was down to 5˚ a few nights with wind chill in the negatives. After about a week in sub-arctic temperatures we got a reprieve form winter. We had a few really nice days, and it even hit 60˚ one sunny afternoon. But it was only a tease, a few days later we got some snow. Not a-lot of snow, just enough to cover the ground. But then it snowed again a few days later. And a few days after that. Until it got to the point where every time I looked out of my window it was lightly snowing outside. On one of those nights the snow looked particular picturesque and I decided to go for a short walk. The snowflakes were in unbelievable conditions. Each one a unique crystalline pattern; pure, whole, perfect, and real. I saw some students shaping the snow on the MFA’s baby head sculptures, they make some great alterations.

Now I’m sitting in my room during one of Wentworth’s few official snow days. I’m watching the snow build up outside my window, and the plows trying to maintain the chaos. Good luck to them. Good thing I have nowhere to go this weekend, because it looks like we are going to be snowed in. Can’t wait to experience Boston under 2 feet of snow, hopefully I’ll get some amazing pictures.

Fort Point Station

A Gem on the Harbor Walk

It’s no longer about the journey; it’s about the destination

Fort Point Station is a destination on the Harbor Walk that extends out from the Old Northern Ave Bridge to the water. The old bridge was built in 1904 in the rigorous industrial style. It now connects the Financial District with South Boston by means of the Harbor Walk; a public walkway along the waterfront. Nothing like it will ever be built again, therefore its essence must be preserved. Fort Point Station interacts with the bridge and Harbor Walk in a fun yet graceful way. Ramps extend out from four areas of the truss that are large enough to walk through. They crisscross and overlap to create the main program diamond and the docks. Thus the core of the station is offset from the bridge (reminiscent of the old control house) allowing the station and bridge to coexist in harmony. By means a smooth transition from old to new travelers are invited to explore this landmark. One can rest in the outdoor seating area, which gently slopes towards the water and overlooks the bustling harbor. They can make their way up to the café to grab a snack or a drink. With a unique of view the city from the water, it makes a great place to hang out both day and night. Fort Point Station is an exciting new destination on Harbor Walk.

The new Point of Fort Point Channel

Last week, out W@W event was a LEGO building competition. Each team of four battles it out to see who could build the best Boston landmark out of Legos. Each team was given a box of Legos, and two hours to recreate their favorite city landmark. Some where better than others, but in the end a model of the T, the U.S..S Constitution (Old Iron Sides), and the Citgo sign were n the top 3. The model of the T was the chosen winner of 50$ for each team member.

For those of you who have seen my blog before, you know that I love to just walk around Boston. Exploring new stuff and revisiting some of the old is how I like to spend these beautiful Fall days in Boston:

Over the Semester I have been working on my culinary skills. I’ve become something of a pro at making stir-fry and other dishes make through the process of throwing a bunch of stuff in a pot and cooking it all up together. Here is one of my recipes, and some photos of my delicious creations:

Spicy Peanut Satay Stir Fry

-       1 green peper

-       1 red pepper

-       8 (est.) baby carrots cut the long way

-       1 ear of corn chopped

-       4oz of Thai Kitchen Peanut Satay Sauce

-       1/8 cup (est.) of Wishbone Italian dressing

-       1/3 cup (est.) of House of Tsang Szechuan Spicy Stir Fry Sauce

-        A dash of: crushed red pepper, salt, pepper Cajun spice season, turmeric, cayenne pepper, sunflower seeds, crushed almonds

-       2 pounds (est.) of meat chopped up into >1/2 in cubes

Sauté all together

-       1 cup of Quinoa

Feeds 2-4