FreeGreen Who's Next Competition

This is Ben & my entry for the competition. Please take a minute to follow the link and comment/vote if you can. The winner is determined 50% by public vote and 50% by jury!

Highline New York + Ideas for Tacoma

New York is not a place for the timid or the weary. It is a city which seems as though it has the entire world revolving around it, and those who live within the metropolis are often imaginitive and creative. They take hold of the environment in which they live and mold it to be what they see as their singular vision. A wonderful by-product of this is the dynamic nature of the city and the trendsetting which occurs because of it. Each resident seems to be vying for the next great idea to set them apart from the crowd. It's amazing, energizing, and inspiring.

I took the opportunity three years ago to live and work there and while it was perhaps one of the more difficult episodes of my adult life it is also something I will always be thankful for having the opportunity of doing.

One of the many events held each year is Open House New York. An incredible opportunity to tour parts of the built environment which you often only get to walk past/under/or in to the lobby if you even know they exist in the first place.

Lucky Lisa and I managed to get a spot on the Highline Tour a couple of years ago while the project was under construction. Having read about this project over the years and having heard Diller Scofidio + Renfro discuss the project at one of their lectures we were very excited to experience the city from a completely different vantage point and see if we too could imagine their vision.











Needless to say it was pretty amazing walking along this structure which had played such a significant role in Manhattan's early history.

Now, a portion of the Highline has been completed. I'm adding it to my list of places to visit when I head back for a vacation. If you head to New York, make sure you take a walk along the completed portion. To see images of the completed work and gather your enthusiasm take a look at this article on the Dwell website.

Which brings me to Tacoma. Perhaps you know about the old railroad tracks running through downtown. They cross through the University of Washington Tacoma campus, past Tollefson Plaza and the Tacoma Art Museum, and head down to the waterfront. There is a community group working on including the old tracks in to a county wide trail system. The opportunity for assisting in creating a new experience for residents and visitors of Tacoma is enticing and begs to be explored. As part of Jon and my submission for the Tacoma Art Museum Plaza Redesign (see last post), we're proposing TAM takes "ownership" of a portion of the trail to assist in some of the issues with their existing site but also to extend the fingers of the museum via a sculpture garden - or rather walk.

Enjoy the journey!

Tacoma Art Museum

I'm not sure how many of you know but the Tacoma Art Museum has released a Request for Proposals for a redesign of the plaza at Pacific Avenue and their parking area. They've a few issues they'd like to have addressed and are requesting a very easy submission for the RFP. Thankfully, they're not requiring you be a licensed Architect and have left the competition open to all. An excellent opportunity for people like me who are starting a design firm, are not licensed but would love the opportunity to give back to their community and get some work in the process (note to self, quit volunteering your time away!).

The submissions are due today by 5:00 p.m.

I've been working with a friend - Jon Denton - on this submission. It's been an interesting experience and I do believe we're both a better for it. I've loaded the image and after 5:00 p.m. will add the design description. It's the first piece of work I'll be putting up and it's very exciting.

Chat soon.

ChaOs Hyperbole (hye-PER-buh-lee)

I'm making a commitment to update this blog regularly from this point forward. Much of it initially may be about the journey of starting my design firm. Heading out on my own has been sitting in the back of my mind for many years, this economy has provided the impetus. I'm excited and somewhat nervous but I think those are feelings all new business owners experience. You know you can do it, your gut is telling you it's time, it's getting the paying clients that seem to be the hardest part!

For those who don't know, I'll be focusing on set design for the theater, exhibit design, interior design, and furniture design. Once I get my license (the goal is within the next 12 months), I'll venture out in to the world of architecture. Until the point where I can actually call myself and Architect, I must stay with projects under 5,000 square feet.

I'm leaning towards the artistic realm for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, my mind works that way. I'm a concept designer, which means that I don't design just because something "looks good," my designs are based on a unique concept developed from the desires of the client and the context of the project. Decisions are made on how they reinforce that concept. It makes the design process smoother, cleaner and faster. Secondly it's because of the inspiration of the incredible artists I've had the opportunity to meet over the years and the belief in their craft. So many have the same attitude I have - nothing is impossible, you need only figure out how to do it. You ply your craft because you believe in the value it can bring to others who experience it.

Which brings me to the name of my design firm. Why ChaOs Hyperbole? Doesn't that seem like it might scare people off? Make them think the process or the product is going to be chaotic? What I'm actually saying with the name of the firm and trying to reinforce via the logo (an early version of it sits here with the post) is that life is chaotic, the built environment is chaotic, but it's a controlled chaos which should be embraced. The hyperbole is also a reinforcement that "chaos" is often an exaggeration, which is a fun play on the theme as a whole.

So I hope to keep you informed on this journey of starting a design firm and perhaps we can grow our aesthetics and experiences together.

If you'd like to stay posted please subscribe or follow me on Twitter @CarolineOLeary where I'll let you know when I update the blog.

Ciao