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.