August 2 and 3 - going, going, gone, and glaciers.

Friday morning brought a brief but heavy rain. Then the skies cleared, temperatures rose, and the students were off enjoying the last few hours of London or Oxford or where ever they wanted to go.

Except for the few students staying on to meet with family or friends, class 393 began leaving the Thistle Barbican throughout the morning. The flight from Heathrow was filled with the normal adventures and security protocols. The view for some on the way home was amazing...

August 1 - We did it and did it very well

Presenters had to be at our client at 9 am to make sure the audio/visual worked. The rest of the class at 9:30. It was hot again. Some walked to avoid the heat and human crush on the tube. Others rode bikes. Some took cabs. All arrived warmer than they wanted. The presentation was at 10 AM with 5 members of the Buro Happold team in attendace. The presentation went very well. The client was very pleased. Class ended officially at approximately 12:30 sharing celebratory beverages at a local pub with our client. The exhibition we designed is slated to go up this Autumn. Pictures are promised to come when the exhibition is up. Mr. Andrew Cromer, our primary contact at Buro put in writing what we heard from all parties after the presentation: "Eric, it has been a pleasure to host the CU team for the past three weeks - as always. Thanks to you and Ron for making the exercise so professional, useful and fun. And thanks to the students who, as ever, have been bright, creative and so polite (please quote me in commending them personally and to their parents!)."

Everyone then headed their separate ways for our remaining 36 hours to soak up as much London and surrounding areas as possible before we fly for home.

There will be one or two more posts after this... Stay tuned.

July 31 - tired to the point of silliness

We had hoped to be done at around lunch time on Wednesday. As it so often happens things went a bit longer than hoped. The exhibition portables had to be refined and unified. The presentation had to be refined and unified. The final files and construction drawings had to be finished. Many students worked long and hard. There were moments of intense busyness and then waiting for others do finish their bit, and then intense busyness.

Finally, it was time to break for the night and get some food and rest for the BIG presentation tomorrow.

July 30 - pushing on into the night

Today we hit the wall, to borrow a term from long distance runners, so much to do, so many loose ends, additional edits, "helpful" feedback from the client, re-writing, re-drawing, and corrections. Students are tired, professors are tired, but the job must be done. It must be done well, it must be done right, it must be done on time. The students worked hard from 8:45 to 12. From 1:30 to 5:45. From 7:30 and still working at the time of this post.

Don't worry, good eats, were to be had. The weather was also perfect for staying inside.

July 29 - Three, Two, One...

Monday began at 9 AM with the knowledge (and pressure) of knowing that we have 3 days left. We worked in two places, Buro Happold in the morning, Thistle Barbican in the afternoon. We have one mission, to finish the project by Thursday morning.

We broke at about 6 PM for the evening. All went off in various directions to enjoy food, entertainment, and the finally cooler weather with a bit of rain as night fell.

Weekend round up

This weekend saw the students and professors taking advantage of the beautiful weather and the time a few days off allow to go exploring. Trips were taken to Dover, Bath, the Cotswolds, Harrods, Buckingham Palace, Theatre productions, the Tower of London, Hyde Park, Camden Market, Notting Hill, Primrose Hill, and Oxford to name most of them. See what else you can spy in pictures. Even with a bit of rain, spirits and adventure could not be dampened. Monday would come soon enough.

July 26 - Presentation no. 4

Today was the 4th of 5 presentations. We had to be at the clients at 9:30 am to set up for the presentation. We began at slightly after 10 with Mr. Robert Moyser from Buro Happold giving the critical feedback the students needed as we headed into the final week. The student presenters did great, as the client asked questions of the students it was nice to see some of those who are more shy step up and answer - giving impromtu presentations - to the client. Way to go Kiera!

After the presentations and general Q&A Robert talked with a group interested in his opinion on the exit wall take away item. He also met with the group working on the interactive panels on the pedestals.

Buro again provided lots of pizza, fruit, crisps, and juice for lunch. With that the work week was at an end. The students all were making plans and looking forward to discovering more of London and the surrounding areas.

July 25 - two-by-two, inch by inch

Thursday we were back at the client's working hard to meet the presentation expectation deadlines. The students collaborated in small groups and then alone and then back together, and then alone. Creative decisions were made, then refined, then presented, then refined a bit more.

By 5 pm the rough version of the presentation was ready. As we approach our fourth week of presenting to the client it is great to report that the students as a whole are getting much better on their own of crafting the presentation to professional standards. The 4 presenters continued to work after work to refine and get ready for the 10 am presentation.

Everyone left the office by 6ish to find some dinner. The professors made a trip to Gordon's Wine Bar for an afterwork adult beverage. Then on to the Sherlock Holmes Pub for traditional faire which included a Yorkshire Pudding edible plate of Bangers and Mash.

July 24 - cooler and closing in

Today the students and teachers arrived at Buro's London office in a variety of ways. Some walked, some rode bikes, some took the tube, and some took a taxi. The work was fast, methodical, and frenzied at times. The weather was cooler with highs only reaching about 80. All facets of the job moved forward with copy being written, graphic styles being decided, graphics being finalized, meetings with clients, meetings with student groups and student leaders, edits, and compromises. We ended in a good place for the final push on Thursday for Friday's presentation.

Today many of us enjoyed the local brew from No. 26, a coffee shop near the Buro Happold office. The Cappuccino in the morning and the Afrigado in the afternoon were tasty and invigorating. After class all went their way to enjoy dinner and the city.

July 23 - HOT with a bit of rain

Today we met and worked in our clients office. The morning tube ride was hot, humid, and soaked in humanity. The professors chose to take bikes to avoid the underground crowds and heat. However, lugging all our stuff in on our backs to the client while pedaling a bike in the morning rush hour mix of cars, buses, scooters, and other cyclists, made for just as hot and sweaty an arrival. The students were broken up into new and different teams. The project moved forward. New teams were formed. The project moved forward. Type and graphics were printed out, checked, and reassessed. Brain banger sessions happened and the project moved forward again. It was a very busy day.

London and England are often accused of not having good food. Every year I hear from friends, colleagues, and acquaintances about how they don't think London has good food. I would beg to disagree. Every year, and this is the third time I've traveled to London, the food has been very good. I'm not sure were the nay sayers eat, but if you eat in the right places, from pubs to finer fare, you can and will have delicious food.

July 22 - hot half day and a eerily beautiful graveyard

Today we began at 8:30 armed with the feedback from our client. It was time to refine everything we had presented on friday and make it better, tighter, cleaner, and clearer. The students were broken up into teams of two and all assigned the same section of the project. The best from each team was then presented and all ideas voted on by all teams. The winner was the design execution we would go with. Then the teams changed and a new part of the exhibition was assigned. Finally each student worked solo to execute on the computer the entry wall graphics. These were presented on screen, and voted for in elimination style until one winner emerged.

We broke for lunch and a trip to the design museum. The students traveled by tube while the professors rode on "boris bikes." Everyone met at 2 pm and enjoyed the exhibitions on good design and serendipitously, future cities. The museum is located over by the tower bridge with cool narrow streets, restaurants, and a lovely view of the river Thames.

As the professors were biking there way over to the museum they passed an amazing looking cemetery. We vowed to stop on the way back only to discover, when we did, that it was Bunhill. According to the sign when the cemetery was closed in 1854 it had been an active burial ground for 1000 years! It is estimated that 123,000 bodies are buried there. William Blake is buried there as is Daniel Dafoe. We looked at grave markers so old all the writing was worn off. We looked at grave markers that talked about someone's beloved wife who died in 1671. It was an amazing find and neat to see.

Tomorrow we work at the client's office. Rain is scheduled, we start at 9am. We have to leave no later than 8:15 to get their on time...

Weekend Wrap Up

The students report having a great weekend. With visits to the Portabello Market, Buckingham Palace, Victroria & Albert Museum, Harrod's, Duke of York Court, Camden Town, Queens Chapel, Piccadilly Circus, Black Friars Pier, Speakers Corner, Liberty of London, multiple street fairs, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Rapha Bike shop. Of course multiple eateries and pubs were visited. Below are some pictures from Professor Chimenti's outing, visiting Saint Paul's Cathedral and enjoying the afternoon service followed by an organ recital, taking the crowded and hot tube to Sloan Square to walk through the lovely neighborhoods of Pimlico to eat a traditional English Sunday Roast with Yorkshire Pudding (and maybe a pizza) at The Orange, a wonderful gastro pub.

July 19 - Success and on to the summer palace

All gathered to leave the Hotel at 9:15. Dressed in our best we were ready to brave the tube, hoping for Friday light traffic - which would mean less crowds and less heat, our hopes were dashed at the Bank tube station where the tube was overflowing with humanity. We managed to push our way on making it to our destination on time, albeit sweaty. The waiting refreshments and biscuits (cookies) were much appreciated.

Our presentation was pushed back, while we waited for a member of Buro Happold's team whose train was delayed. At 11 AM the students presented to 5 members of Buro's extended team. It went very well and the client was pleased. After the formal part of our morning was over, Buro provided pizza, fruit, and more beverages for lunch.

We made our way back to our hotel to change into comfy clothes so we could head out to Hampton Palace. To get there we had to travel to the Waterloo tube stop and train station, buy our train tickets, catch our train to Hampton, on the way some took a much needed nap in the gently rocking car.

Hampton Palace is a gorgeous place to visit. The grounds and buildings are impressive and were a great break after a long week of primarily working inside.

The rest of the evening and weekend was open for the students to explore and have fun. On Monday I will give a larger report on where all folks went and what they saw. On Friday evening some returned to London anxious to try the restaurant FIFTEEN located very close to our hotel. If any of you watch Food TV, then you will have heard of Jamie Oliver, and FIFTEEN is one of his eateries in London. You order from the daily menu tapas style where everyone at the table orders several small plates and then all share in the vast taste experience. Only two dishes are shown here, the light was to low to take pictures that would do it justice. The food was phenomenal, the prices reasonable, the service excellent. Many thanks to Caroline our server, who made a great meal even better. We will return before we leave.

July 18 - pushing toward the big presentation

Sorry for the delay in posting. The days are so full of activity and the evenings so full of exploration that time slips away. On the Thursday the students worked hard to create and edit the assets they would need to make the presentation and pitch to our client. The conference room was appropriately "messy" physically showing the flurry of activity going on. As always power needs for our equipment is never ending. The outlets always are full with adapters and the floor a jumble of cords and tish.

Dinner came late as the presentations had to be rehearsed and perfected. The workday ended at about 8:30. Everyone went off to mentally and physically prepare.

For those of you who are foodies, some enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner around the corner from our hotel called De Santis. The owner, Enzo, was intrigued by what we were doing in London and came to our table to chat after we had finished eating while we enjoyed cool refreshing Limoncello.

July 17 - honing in and operation BEANS

This morning saw the 3 groups back at it, working to hone and refine what they began on Tuesday. Overnight the client had emailed and added a new "wrinkle" to the story we've been asked to tell. The teams worked hard and then presented their labor in the late morning during brain bangers.

After lunch Amanda and Taylor accompanied Professor Leland across town to have a meeting with the client and then do a bit more measuring. The remaining students pushed forward on furthering the work from this morning. Some groups became smaller while other combined as they endeavored to meet the deadline for Friday. By mid afternoon all were back and shortly thereafter one more presentation/brain banger occurred.

One of the students turned 21 today. Plans were made and the entire class went to a local pub where we dined on good food outdoors in the beer garden to celebrate. Then some chose to take the tube to the London Eye and enjoy the amazing view of the city. Many pictures were taken but on the pre-determined code phrase "BEANS" a group picture was to be taken - however this also was the signal to break out into a glorious round of "Happy Birthday" to Ms. Valerie Rustad. She was both pleased and embarrassed. The plan worked perfectly.