Chicago, Il

I've got just over a week left before I leave. I've been sending emails to contacts at various ecoles to see if anyone is interested in helping out with the project. I'm also sending out feelers for architecture competitions going on in Paris. In talking with Ed Ford about how I can turn this research into a thesis, he suggested looking for actual competitions going on in Paris. The only one is for a new courthouse, which I think is going to be too much program for what I'm looking for.

I've also been working on tracking down a few maps. I have some historic maps being scanned for me, such as the Turgot Plan and various other maps from the 1750's.

My topic is being clearly re-defined. I'm going to be looking at contemporary architecture, and how it relates to the historicity and density of the Parisien fabric. I'll be looking through multiple lenses, such as materiality, quality of light, acess to the street, etc. I also want to look at a few early-20th century examples (early modernism, such as Corbusier and Prouve) to get a better feel for how design sensibilities have changed in the last 100 years. If anyone has suggestions for buildings old or new to look at, I'm all ears until July 11.