it is extremely difficult working in an environment where no one cares about the work that you are doing other than yourself. weeks of apathy become defeating. i am alone in this project, aside from help by rachel, but her travels to tanzania have made consversations short and spaced. i think that the worst part of this whole project is knowing ( Read more... )

i am getting into the concept phases for the birth center, and i am finding great difficulty in determining which areas of the center need to be "sanitary" or "sterile." i question this because of the "lack" of it in rural villages and the midwife huts or buildings in these areas.. i don't even know if this is an issue that i may be able to resolve ( Read more... )

i have spent the past few days trying to compensate for weeks of missed work. this semester is beyond overwhelming! my research has led me into so many different branches of design; building structure, natural forms, nomadic architecture, material studies. i can't seem to organize the breadth of information i've collected.


( Read more... )

mambo!

yes, you assumed correctly, i do know swahili :X

okay, i lied. but rachel does, and she says "what's up?" from breathtaking tanzania! her photographs are astonishing, and she has only been there two weeks or so. her journey has already taken her from dar es salaam, the [unofficial] industrious capital of tanzania, to arusha to continue ( Read more... )

i had the opportunity to meet with luke and rachel over our politically correct "winter break" in pittsburgh. museum visits and an excellent indian restaurant were the backdrops for our revived dialogue about the birth center. this past semester has been quite difficult for me, since i was forced into doing a "filler thesis" for a variety of ( Read more... )

i have not confirmed yet whether or not i am going to dedicate next semester wholly to this project or not. gollini offered me the opportunity to use the INT class as an independent study for the project, rather than working on the retail assignment done by Miller-Zell. i think it would be beneficial for me to take IS for two reasons: maximum ( Read more... )

research links

+ http://www.playpumps.org/
a playground "merry-go-round" serves as a man-pumped water source.

+ http://www.hydraform.com/Read more... )

rachel journeyed from pittsburgh to cleveland this weekend and we were able to meet at arabica's for a quick chat about progress. she brought with her a friend, larkyn, a sophmore in the nursing program at CWRU. they were introduced to each other during their studies in brazil by a mutual professor. larkyn had spent a semester abroad as a midwife ( Read more... )

small problem, but i really mean small..

rachel has postponed her travels to tanzania by a semester. this doesn't jeopardize the project at all since i already determined i could not finish it in one semester and use it as my thesis. however, it does make the finalization stage a bit cramped as far as time is concerned. although she travels to ( Read more... )

+ waiting facilities ( Read more... )