Sketches of Frank Gehry

This video was a lot more interesting than i thought it would be. I had never really seen Frank Gehry's work, let alone anything like it. His work was very inspirational, mending together two forms of design, art and architecture, and making beautiful buildings that look like works of art. His shapes were inspirational in how he used them, and it was very interesting to see his creative process, his chicken scratch sketches and then turning them into different sizes of models. I also found his relationship with the customer intriguing, how the customer let him do his own thing and then waited almost until the construction of the building itself.

Star Signs Field Trip

This past Thursday we traveled to Star Signs, my favorite field trip that we've had so far. I wasn't sure what to expect from this field trip, but I was very pleasantly surprised.
- I learned that they make any kind of sign, from signs for malls to posters inside of Arrowhead Stadium.
- They make signs for almost anyone, ranging from restaurants, malls, theaters, casinos, museums, stadiums, schools, universities, office buildings, etc.
- They mostly use steel, aluminum, plexiglass, PVC, styrofoam, woods, and acrylics.
- They Use grinders, sanding, and a photo polymer process to form their products.
- To cut their materials they use a CNC router.
- They weld, bolt, and glue their materials together.
- To finish their products, they use a car sized oven, automotive grade paint, and a flatbed printer to print their products.

Reuter Organ Field Trip

This field trip to Reuter Organ company was much more interesting than I thought it would have turned out. There was a lot more to the construction and design of the organs that surprised me, the design of the organs themselves being the most fascinating of the aspects. Just the fact that they custom design every organ to fit each location is pretty special, and the fact that most of the organ isn't visible really caught my attention.
- We learned that the company only makes about 5-10 new instruments a year, costing about $450,000 to $500,000 each, containing about 2,000 pipes, depending on the size of the setting
- They make most of their organs for Churches, and also schools, theaters, and private residences.
- They mostly use zinc, copper, and lots of poplar wood, along with other types of wood. They also use goat and sheep skin for some of the parts inside the organ itself.
- Some of the Forming technologies that they used were casting their own metal for their pipes, which consisted of 50% lead and 50% tin.
- They used a CNC router machine to cut the wood for intricate designs.
- Mortis and tending were some of the ways they joined their parts for the organs.
- The last thing that I learned was that they go to the buyer's setting for the organ and have to construct the organ itself inside that place, which could take weeks.