New York...AGAIN!

One of our very own AIAS members who participated in the New York summer studio recently had the chance to go back!  Veronica Acosta shared a some information with us about her awesome experience:

This summer, Clemson University's architecture program had its first ever New York Summer Studio.  With the guidance of professor Dave Lee, 17 students worked closely with the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation in Brooklyn to do a rezoning of the entire neighborhood.  Each individual student also designed an Environmental Science Park and Research Center for the neighborhood.

Saturday, October 2nd, GreenHomeNYC hosted a block party in Gowanus to display the latest education, products, and visions for a greener New York City.  Clemson University contributed by presenting the research and proposals generated by the students this summer and received lots of positive feedback.

Clemson is doing great things! For more info on getting involved with fun things like this, contact AIAS at aiasclemson@gmail.com.

Starting September Off Right...

September has been a great month for AIAS!  The firm crawl went smoothly and we had great participation, even from the underclassmen!  Our new tradition, AIAS Night Out, began this month as well.  A local pizza place gave a great deal on their buffet to all AIAS members who showed up.  It was fun eating and socializing--thanks to everyone who came out!

Thanks to CAF, we have also received funding! Thanks for your continued support!

Get ready for more great news and events in September! To get involved with AIAS, contact our president Stephen Parker at stephenparker23@gmail.com or come see a senior in studio!

CULTURE in the courtyard

FIRM CRAWL

The Clemson AIAS and AIA Greenville are hosting a Firm Crawl on Wednesday, September 8th in downtown Greenville from roughly 1:30-5:30. Come tour these local firms and get to know their policies, work, and staff:

McMillan Pazdan Smith
DP3
Craig Gaulden Davis
Neal Prince Architects
Freeman & Major Architects

Batson Architects

Design Strategies

The theme is "getREAL" and the tour will feature question/answer time on a variety of topics.  Many of these firms employ Clemson graduates, so this is a great opportunity to learn about the real world of architecture in our area!  The first 60 AIAS members to sign up by 10pm Wednesday, September 1st will be accepted.  If you're not an AIAS member yet, see someone in the senior studio Wednesday to sign up! If you're already a member email aiasclemson@gmail.com with your name, year level, and major.  See you there!

Studio Secret -- IN DEPTH

A recent post featured a few of the Studio Secrets from the past school year...now we have even more info to let you know about! Daniel Hutcherson, our studio culture chair, has compiled all of the statistics of last year's project into one giant PDF. I bet you didn't know that there were 107 cards submitted on 150 topics!

42% of people had something to say about studio! Here's the breakdown:

In addition to studio, participants also submitted cards about the building, health, professors, AIAS, technology, and more! Each of these topics were broken down into subtopics just like the graph above...so much awesome information!

Here are a few more of the secrets and some great studio culture photos:

Click on any of the images for a larger view...Daniel has compiled an entire book containing all of this information and more so email dehutch@clemson.edu for more information!

Grassroots 2010

From July 22-25, a group of Clemson AIAS cabinet members journeyed to our nation's capital to participate in the 2010 AIAS Grassroots Leadership Conference.  The students had a blast while also gaining new knowledge to bring back to our chapter, school, and state.  Below is a short reflection from Clemson AIAS President Stephen Parker as well as a few shapshots from the conference taken by Stephen, Lindsay Yarborough, and Daniel Hutcherson. Enjoy!

 the students with the architect of our nation's capitol building

The 2010 AIAS Grassroots Leadership Conference. Quite a mouthful, right?  That was my thought a year ago when I attended for the first time in 2009.  Grassroots, as it is lovingly called by those who have attended, is much more than a leadership conference.  We encountered the other AIAS chapters from across the nation and even farther abroad such as Canada and Kuwait.  Some were rival schools, some we'd never heard of, but we all came together as AIAS members.  We kicked off the conference with an awesome tour of the Capitol Building with none other than the architect himself, Stephen T. Ayers, AIA.  We heard great speakers such as Michael Roykind, whose work seems out of this world--literally!  Who builds an orange bubble of a building??

But most of all, the other AIAS chapters were awesome.  We hung out and saw how each chapter was different and what they were up to.  With nearly 200 chapter leaders attending, talking shop with the kids from LSU or chilling with the Canadian kids from Ryerson University is what results.  All these students have been in studio and know that the life of an architecture student is a sleep-deprived, exacto-wielding, CAD-ing world like no other. We bond over line weights and drinks, show off our chapter's t-shirt, and play practical jokes during roll call (sleep? that's for engineers!).  Each morning we'd blast the other chapters with an amazingly loud Clemson cadence count, while Detroit Mercy sings in three-part harmony and that kid from FLW Taliesen West puts Sinatra to shame.  At night we roved up and down DC, taking in the nightlife that such a city has to offer.  To say we had a good time wouldn't do the photos justice.  Those of us at Grassroots say: What happens at Grassroots...

the girls at the freedom by design build day-they built a table for a low income home!

 

 they got a chance to see how it feels to be disabled and take a tour of the city

For more info on Grassroots and how to get involved with AIAS visit http://www.aias.org/grassroots/ or contact Stephen Parker at stephenparker23@gmail.com

WHAT IS THE AIAS?

The American Institute of Architecture Students is an independent, 501c3 non-profit and student-run organization that is more than just a club. This grassroots association is a cooperative between thousands of students in North America (of all ages and academic degrees) committed to helping each other. It provides a sense of community and a forum to share differing views. The AIAS is also a professional organization that is the official voice of architecture students. (Taken from http://aias.org/) 


WHAT DOES CLEMSON'S CHAPTER OFFER?

Leadership Opportunities.

With several executive positions, committees, and by-grade level groups, AIAS offers leadership opportunities to all grade levels. The AIAS alsooffers a Grassroots Leadership Conference every July. This year, we are creating a leadership mentoring program that will allow underclassmen to develop their leadership skills into executive positions with the chapter. In this way, we plan to create a strong, unified chapter from day one.





Professional Development.

As the official voice of architecture students at the national level, the AIAS begins your professional career at the beginning of your education. The AIAS holds conferences at the International level, including FORUM and SouthQuad. Clemson’s chapter offers workshops, lectures, and firm crawls thatinvite students to develop their skills and learn more about the profession.






A Voice.

Our chapter is currently involved with writing the Studio Culture document,which is a student’s bill of rights within the school. Class-run committees allow students to bring up issues and suggestions to the professors about the way our school works. Our chapter is also beginning a newsletter, *Charrette*, which will allow students to write about everything that is Clemson Architecture.






Service Opportunities.

Freedom by Design is a community service program run by the AIAS that allows architecture students to work within the community to build solutions for those in need by “improving the safety, dignity, and comfort of our neighbors.” For more info on FBD at Clemson, join the Facebook group Freedom by Design-Clemson University.







Peer-to-Peer Learning

As design students, we can learn as much from each other as we can from our professors. We also host many student-run workshops on various subjects,such as AutoCAD, the Adobe Suite, modeling software, accreditation, and joining the profession. Combined with networking and our leadership mentoring program, we hope to blend the lines between the years to promote a collaborative environment between years in the studios.





Networking

Through workshops, conferences, firm crawls, and the mentoring program, the AIAS helps you meet other students, professors, and professionals that will help you form lifelong friendships and connections that will help you through your professional career.








Social Activities

Every year, we host the Beaux Arts Ball, a social event that connects all grade levels outside of the classroom to enjoy our friendships. Over the next year, we hope to increase social activities to include movie nights and study breaks to help lessen the stresses of studio work.






For more information on joining Clemson AIAS, contact Allender Stewart, Membership VP for the 2010-2011 School Year at allends@clemson.edu

shhhh...it's a secret!

Last fall, everyone in studio had the chance to participate in a fun activity called Studio Secret. Similar to the nationwide "Post Secret" project, Studio Secret allows students to create an anonymous card about an aspect of studio culture.  These cards turned out to be exciting, hilarious, and true...here are a few examples:

Charleston Spring 2010

The kids down in Charleston this past spring (and well into the summer) have been doing some awesome work! Check out their bike station:

Just another example of some outstanding studio work...thanks to Daniel Hutcherson for the pictures!

Spring Semester 2010

Wondering what people have been up to this past semester?

Students from both the architecture and landscape architecture programs participated in programs in Charleston, Genoa, Barcelona, and Turkey!  In the fall, students will be returning to Clemson to implement their new knowledge and younger students will be embarking on these journeys for the first time! Here's a glimpse of the groups in their homes away from Clemson:

Maymester students in Turkey...

Spring semester Genoa students visiting Rome...

This is what happens when you study abroad in Barcelona...

And for the Charleston students, I don't think they had time to stop and take a picture...

Freedom By Design

If you haven't heard already, there will be a Freedom By Design chapter starting at Clemson this semester!  It is a great way to get involved in architecture outside of studio!

What FBD is all about:

  Take studio to the people who really need it. Improving the safety, dignity, and comfort of our neighbors. Resolve accessibility issues while simultaneously being provided with the real world experience of working with a client, with mentorship from a local architect and constructor, and an understanding of the practical impact of architecture and design.

To get involved, contact Veronica Acosta at macosta@g.clemson.edu

AIAS Skype Meeting

Tonight a few AIAS officers had a meeting over Skype about all of the exciting new things that will start this fall!  Here is a glimpse of what is to come:

-more social events!!!
-workshops--rendering, drawing, firm crawls, etc.
-freshman involvement (letters will be going out to the freshmen soon with some info on AIAS and the architecture program)
-FREEDOM BY DESIGN...get involved!


These are just a few of the awesome things that are starting up! Email me at cstelli@clemson.edu or post on the Facebook page if you have any ideas or questions!