The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/architecture/page/5/)
An elegant woman takes the seat in front of me to talk to a man. She is sharply dressed, the dark combination of her clothing offset by a perfectly coiled blonde bun, red lipstick, light skin and the sharpness of her cheekbones.
“Why are you sitting all the way back here?” the man asks her.
“I am just here until I dance,” she answers.
This story was originally published on March 18.
The dragon lives on, as this year’s annual celebration of Dragon Day culminated in the burning of a symbolic nest, instead of the usual destruction of the first-year architects’ creation. Endowed with moving wings, claws and heads, this year’s dragon was instead able to escape the fire, finding refuge in Rand Hall instead.
In honor of the 108-year old tradition, the dragon journeyed across Central Campus on Friday, just as Spring Break began. Starting at Rand Hall, the dragon traveled up University Ave, down East Ave, and then made a right onto Campus Rd. As the fiery red dragon passed the Engineering Quad, the engineers unveiled their creation, a bright yellow phoenix. Finally, the dragon made its way to the Arts Quad.
As the architecture students prepare to emerge from Rand Hall, possibly for the first time since January, they will be bringing with them a large unwieldy beast. Dragon Day, the historic day when first year architects parade a mystical creature of their creation around campus, will commence as most students prepare to depart for the break.
You may have seen the publicity around campus — silver eggs being handed out on Ho Plaza, mysterious semi-naked individuals running through your classes covered in green paint and a line of butts up against the Fish Bowl earlier this week. That’s right, this year’s crop of first year architects, body parts and all, have run wild with the recent and historic traditions associated with Dragon Day.
Eyes of the Flaneuse: Women Photographers of New York City
Johnson Museum of Art
Thursday Mar. 12, 5:15 p.m.
In conclusion of the Johnson’s exhibit “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History,” Prof. Mary Woods, a professor from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning will be speaking about a series of female photographers from the early 20th century. Woods’ brings a critical eye towards the stereotypical understanding of architecture and urbanism through her interest in photography, film and other representations of American culture. Give this timely union of art and feminism a spin; it’s Women’s History Month, after all. — A.L.
Haudenosaunee Project
Ithaca Ink Shop
Mar. 6 – Mar. 27
A self-confessed “music nerd”, Adrianne Ngam ’13 loves to find humor in every little thing she does, be it playing doo-wop beats on the cello or designing a soaring skyscraper, and considers music more personal than professional. Sitting across a table in The Green Dragon, every architect’s favorite hangout spot, this winner of the fifth annual Cornell Concerto Competition and guest performer at the Cornell Symphony Orchestra’s recent concert talks about her passion, her profession and their confluence.
Sun: What was it about the cello that attracted you?
After students protested earlier this week over the lack of transparency within the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, students, faculty and administrators gathered yesterday in Sibley Hall to discuss concerns regarding the future path of the college.
Issues raised included the selection process of a new architecture department chair, the lack of tenured faculty, the relationship between permanent and visiting faculty, the transparency of the administration and the morale of the college.
The meeting came just several days after architecture students plastered signs inside and outside Sibley Hall criticizing the College for insufficient communication.
On Wednesday, Feb 19, The Sun sat down with Peter Eisenman ’55, who was in town for a week as the Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of ’58 Professor. The perenially hard-to-define architect spoke about everything from football in Arizona to why the media loves him.
The Sun: Your work has sometimes been criticized for being hostile to its viewers, while other people see your work breaking open new spaces of possibility. I was wondering: do you design buildings for people?
World-renowned architectural provocateur Peter Eisenman ’55 gave his inaugural lecture in Sage Chapel on Tuesday as the new Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of ’58 Professor, a position which brings top scholars or practitioners in various fields to reside at Cornell for one week of intense activity. Eisenman, who also teaches at Yale, used recent projects undertaken by his firm to reflect on the inherently politicized nature of public memorials.
At some point in the midst of last semester’s finals heyday, fifth-year architecture majors Andre Abrahamian and Sheyen Ikeda started to ask themselves if their studio projects, visually represented and described in architectural standards and building form conventions, could take on other meanings and interpretations. They had spent significant amounts of time staring at computer screens and condensing their concepts into three-dimensional, experiential forms and spaces in virtual and physical models — yet outside of models, these constructions could only take two-dimensional drawing and rendered forms. Even in photographs, spaces become flattened and performativity limited and up to the interpretation of the viewer.
When Peter Eisenman ’55 (Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of ’56 professor) attended Cornell, he moonlighted as our sports mascot the Big Red Bear. For a man whose post-graduation work has been revered as changing the field of architecture, it’s a pretty big surprise that when Eisenman attended C.U. he wasn’t always a studious architect, living in Rand Hall. Rather, there was a side to him that was about big lights and game night. Current students now have the opportunity to see Eisenman, live in performance, when he visits this week.