this is school work
the experience of hotels
rethinking it and trying to reinterpret
what this user group really needs

nomadic workers
always on the go

what i've observed is that
new york is known to be a place
where one can practially get anything at anytime
but
that's only if you know where to go
and who to find

not everybody knows new york
and especially those who travel there
for business or for a short couple of days
neither do they usually have the time
to find out more about the city before they go

what i found interesting is that
my critical comment during my thesis is that
there are already so many hotels
in manhattan
why add another one

maybe my answer can be simple
although this thesis will be a book long
it's because this is not your chain or boutique
there's a need
for the reinterpretation of the verticality
in midtown manhattan

the selection of a site is by fluke
however it proves to be interesting
being completely surrounded by hotels
it may be the densest block of hotels in the world
beside behind in front
all sandwiched by hotels
is the site that i have selected

this is interesting
it made me realize that there is definitely a need
for a different hotel
i went in and up most of them
because i can
we can all go in and up a hotel if we wanted
if the entrance and reception isn't too intimidating
as i've discovered myself
some are welcoming

however
there is no need for me or you to go inside a hotel
unless we're meeting someone in some room
or to go to a restaurant or function inside
the public doesn't wanter up the hotel
without a specific destination or plan

tall vertical hotels are like skyscrapers
and residential towers
however only hotels can be easily accessed
without having to swipe a key card...
questioned by security and turned away

but there is little reason for me and you to go in
there is nothing to do there

nothing at the top of the 40th storey
where the view is great
repetitive corridors and floor plates
from 2-40th floor
none of these corridors are plesant at all
one feeble attempted to make it more pleasant
today i saw that in a hotel corridor
there were vending machines covered with tall
wooden doors with stainless steel handles
a table and chairs were set up in front of them
to be used by guests
nice try.
nothing else i've seen
has given though to this stale and bland corridor
there is no reason for guests who live in the hotel
to go to a different floor
unless it is to eat or go to the bar or swimming pool
which is typically all on the same floor

as a traveler
or...i imagined myself being this nomadic worker
who visits an unknown city
how would i feel
there's definitely anxiety and intimidation
being overwhelmed is another
and lost

where do i go to find specific items?
how do i get to where i need to
easily enough one could ask
wouldn't it be easier if one didn't have to ask?

what if within the hotel envelope
one had what one needed
wouldn't that more convenient

i've read that many business travelers
don't enjoy what they do
like most people in the world

they don't like to be away from home 300
days of the year
but it's their job
and somebody's got to do it

they say they feel lonely
they say they work is their life
they say they don't know where they are when they wake up
they say they don't have a social life

trapped in the hotel

is it possible to bridge
the locals with these travelers
to bring social activity into their lives?

is it possible to let them encounter
others in their daily routine doing everyday things
within the hotel?

i think so

why not bring public functions into the hotel
with the most public being at the top

reason to go in
reason to go up
reason for the nomadic workers to leave their
room when they have the time

this provides chance for interation
chance for meeting
chance meetings

more later...

agony

just as i felt the term ending

THESIS DRAFT REPORT DUE!!!

the agony!
i'm sitting here
pulling my hair out
trying to summerize
what i've been doing
for three months...

all these floating thoughts
now need to be caught and thrown
through a printer

all need to be neatly formated
into a strict thesis document...

augh...

in two months

been two months eh

it's been so long...
so long.

not that i forgot that i need to write
it's that life was getting bleak
with little improvement
and increased chaos

close once again to the finish line
of yet another term

this one seemingly longer than most
probably because through most of it
i haven't been well.

you pray for patience
you will be given an opportunity
to gain more patience

you pray for courage
you will be given an opportunity
to test that courage

i am thankful for those who have
been so thoughtful
who have lightened up dark days
where i couldn't focus and think clearly

i walked down streets
thinking
will i ever get better from this
it was bad.

i've seen many doctors
i couldn't get a clear answer
a clear diagnosis
i would get a small part from one
then some other information from another

it was like putting a puzzle together
i was trying too hard to fit pieces together
and further worsened my own cause.

stressed at being stressed.
worry that had no end.
chainlinked snowballing thoughts.

now led to brighter days
where i have the opportunity to
understand how awful it can be
with long lasting symptoms that severely affect
one to live day to day life.

i've been given the opportunity
to face the challenges of the real world
with real world experiences.
not the most pleasant of all
with many logistical issues.

i've been given the opportunity
to escape the world of reality
through a theoretical design thesis
where anything can go
though still...must back it up
with reason and justification

i thought i couldn't surpass last year
and the year before.
things that happen seem more significant
year after year.
is it because they actually are?
or is it just with age?

thesis is tireless
leaving me feeling thoroughly insufficient
with my inability to argue
my lack of knowledge
my lack of creativity
all brought out in front of
a keen audience
who know more
have seen more

it's funny when i just read
'five years in a design program,
at a sufficiently respectable design school
will bleed most of the colour
out of this person's palette
and leave them crushed and vulnerable
enough to fully engage the profession.'

it's just that.

a discussion and lecture on ethics in architecture.
i mean
how many of us
fortunate enough
really get to practice what we preach
in the real world.
first thing out of school
we're taken by the strong hold of economics.
our theory and values so quickly forgotten

that hit home.
the questions always come.
what will you do after you graduate?
where will you be?
who will you work for?

i can only say
i need a break
i'm taking time off.
but the industry is booming
there is plenty of work
i want to get my 9 licencing exams
out of the way
and i do want to complete the rest of my
unfinished 5000 internship hours.
i also want to live.
i can't stand still.

i need to be friends
with the ones i still have.
friendships seem to hang by threads
easily cut
easily gone
with some there is more holding it together
than mere threads.
it's obvious that
you miss something more when it's not there.
when it's there,
there's nothing to miss.

i'm no longer as afraid of deadlines
as i was before
i use less time to do my work
i try to sleep more instead
i've learned

i'm very thankful for support
near and far.