The Space of Zero Gravity

Gravity, being the most fundamental force on earth, affects the way we perceive our surroundings. I often think what life would be like without gravity. How it would feel, how we would move, how we perceive the basic elements of daily life, like up and down: left and right.

Few people feel and experience that sense and with the federal funded space program closing, there will be even fewer Americans traveling in Space. People are obsessed with Space; whether you’re a Star Trek or Star Wars fan (there is a little of either in everyone) the notion of Space is beyond our grasps, and it is so amazing we can help but fantasize about it.

Dr. Nicholas Patrick an Astronaut at NASA came to speak at the Ted x USC event in March. Logging over 680 hours in space Dr. Patrick certainly understands the complexities of space in Space. Everything changes in Space; as earth bound creatures we take gravity for granted. Imagine eating in Space, or rather squirting goo in your mouth with the hopes it just doest float away.

Nothing in Space has a direction; there is no up or down, no floor or ceiling. Imagine a 30,60,90 triangle and there is something you want to get at the very tip, a gravity oriented person would take long way traveling along each straight line (the ground and the wall). When you realize you have other options in Space, you take the hypotenuse, straight through the space the shortest route. Patrick said that realizing this phenomenon was freedom, letting go of what you understand as space with gravity, and understanding your body with out it.

The spacecrafts are all so designed with these concepts in mind. All of the controls can be read in any direction. The International Space Station itself is color-coded, this allows you to orient yourself so you don’t end up in Russia, when you meant to go to Japan.

Without great explorers like Dr. Patrick how will we as Americans understand Space? We do get incredible images from the Hubble telescope which teach us all about the cosmos, but nothing can replace, or is greater than, the human experience.

Shakespeare in the Park: The power of outdoor theater

With summer upon us I can’t help but get excited for my favorite cultural event, outdoor Shakespeare festivals. Attending them religiously for the last few years I never sat down to truly understand why I love them so much more than a traditional theatre setting.

There is certain power and energy that being surrounded by nature gives a performance, especially for Shakespeare plays. Most of his plays reference nature, and there are several that are emerge completely in it. The audience can be more connected to the show when nature is referenced if in fact they are outside, enhancing their imagination and transporting them to a different place and time.

Every year more and more Shakespeare theaters are adding outdoor performances, and there have been some ongoing classics, like Shakespeare in the Park at Central Park in NYC, which started in 1957. Theaters are going back to their roots and basing the production around the theater of Dionysus, which was an amphitheatre that was on the water. This position was not a coincidence; it was in fact very well planned. With the water behind the players the wind pushed the air and sound to the audience creating a natural amplifier. Tahoe Shakes has a similar design and is perfect for shows that revolve around water like The Tempest or The Comedy of Errors. When seeing a show like Midsummer, which takes place completely within nature, one can smell the cool air, see the moon, feel the darkness and really be involved with characters- lost in dark woods and transported to a magical place.

The physical involvement with the show is much different when outside as well. Most of the time you are closer to the performers and on the same level as them, with this you are able to project yourself into the scenes, and it is easier for the performers to involve the audience with a much more relaxed setting. An interesting theater company that reinvents scene change, audience involvement and movement within the shows is the Gorilla Repertory Theater in Brooklyn. As the scenes change the audience moves with the performers through the park, using the landscape, benches, tress and even people walking their dogs as a set.

Outdoor theater is a great way to get people out of the stuffy theaters and into nature, and the best part about it - you are aloud to drink wine.

Battle of the Billboards

Urban Sustainable Awareness

iPhong City

The Master of the Nets Garden

VINAYAK BHARNE

April 7, 2010
115 Harris Hall
12pm

Guest presenter: Vinayak Bharne

Los Angeles, Chlorofilia, 2106

This is the year of 2106, welcome to the city of Chlorofilia.

FARMLAB

April 2, 2010
Students visiting Farmlab 
Metabolic Studio - 1745 N. Spring Street #4 - Los Angeles
12pm

High Line

Disaster-proofing your home may be the new thing to do...

Real Grass vs. Artificial Grass: Which is greener?

Make Money by Driving Your Electric Car

Cross Urban Creativity

On Wednesday February 24 USC’s Visions and Voices program along with the School of Architecture hosted a panel of planning department heads from cities around the world. The purpose of the lecture was to explore cross cultural urbanism and the effects of globalization on cities growth.

TULANE CITY CENTER

March 5, 2010
115 Harris Hall
12pm

Guest presenter: Alan Lewis

Are the green walls as "Green" as they look?

Joshua DeMonte Art?

Artist Joshua DeMonte has a portfolio filled with architecturally inspired jewelry which allows consumers to adorn themselves with their favorite building elements.

How Many Billboards?

In the months of February and March this year the boulevard drivers of Los Angeles might notice something a bit peculiar during their daily commute.

Green Space in Los Angeles: A new oxymoron?

From living handbag to moving landscape

Exposition Light Rail: Connection or Barrier

The implementation of a rail system along Exposition Blvd could mean a greater connection for USC students and locals to the city of Los Angeles, and it is possibly a significant piece of infrastructure that will help shape the city in many ways.

WATTS HOUSE PROJECT

February 24, 2010
Students visiting the Watts House Project
12:30pm

Be Purposeful

Myvonwynn Hopton

Trinkets, Jewelry, Medals

Is Los Angeles The Next New York?

Umbrella City: LA perspectives

Nicole Friend, + Davina Mashian+ Fortino Reyes + Tuoya Wulan

JEFFREY INABA

February 03, 2010
115 Harris Hall
12pm

Guest presenter: Jeffrey Inaba

Automating the Civilization

Fabricated Fields: Agriculture in the City

Myvonwynn Hopton + Jennifer Regnier + Adrian Suzuki

BRENDAN MUHA

January 27, 2010
115 Harris Hall
12pm

Guest presenter: Brendan Muha

Flash Communities

Jeff Nordberg

BROOKE HODGE

January 22, 2010
Watt Hall Room 115
12pm

Guest presenter: Brooke Hodge, curator and writer talks about architecture, fashion, car design and what it means to curate exhibitions in the 21st century.

CHRISTOPHER JAMES ALEXANDER

January 15, 2010
Watt Hall Room 115
12pm

Guest presenter: Christopher James Alexander, architecture and design curator at the Getty Research Institute, talks about his job and the challenge of reaching a broader audience.

YOUR ENGAGEMENT HAS CONSEQUENCES.

Following the recent earthquake in Haiti, the devastation of Port-au-Prince has been at the forefront of international news. The Christian Science Monitor reported,
“An estimated 3 million people may have been affected by the quake and that it would take a day or two for a clear picture of the scope of the destruction to emerge. Thousands of structures – from government and United Nations buildings to the millions of shacks that line the streets of the impoverished nation's capital have been reduced to rubble.”
To what extent does the global community hold a moral responsibility to prevent such massive human destruction? In the context of this tragedy and as part of the course introduction, delivered January 13, 2010, a day after the disaster, students reflected on the idea of civic engagement. Whether in the form of governance, policy or activism the question above provokes inquiry into the well being of all world citizens. Drawing from Qingyun Ma’s, “Dean’s Message: Honoring the Past • Inventing the Future”, published on the university website, students are asked to write a brief statement analyzing and evaluating the potential for civic engagement at USC’s School of Architecture.