I don’t have all that much to talk about what happened today specifically at Corrine Jones park- It was wet and rainy most of the day, and we made progress with what we could considering the weather. We worked on digging out and grading dirt to make way for our final concrete pour- the sidewalk that connects our structure to Peachtree St. We thought that drenching rain would hold off, but after we made some decent progress digging in the rain, the weather got worse and we had to call it quits and head back to the shop, soaked clothes and all. Since today wasn’t the most exciting day, I decided to focus on something more figurative for the rest of today’s post.
Here at the CAC.C, we architecture students find some interesting ways to pass time during the small moments of pause within our busy lives and hectic schedules. It seems as if this semester’s pastimes have included eating a massive amount of wheat thins, socializing with our classmates (usually talking about architecture related things), and sometimes in Studio V, we like to make harmless jokes about each other’s modes of transportation…Tyler’s truck gets picked on for not being able to haul as much as Nick’s beast of an F-150, Joseph’s truck recently fought a losing battle with a telephone pole, and my compact hatchback couldn’t haul anything if I wanted it to…but nothing seems to get joked about more than Professor Pastre’s Grand Wagoneer; but I think there are some lessons to be learned about the Wagoneer, which has become sort of a mascot for Studio V. (I think we’re just all jealous because we don’t have Wagoneers of our own…)
I won’t bore you with a long history of Wagoneers, but they were the first “luxury 4×4” ever produced- the term ‘SUV’ hadn’t even been thought of back in 1963, when the first Wagoneer rolled off the line. They are noted for being one of the longest produced vehicles with nearly no major design changes over the course of almost 30 years- obviously the design was liked enough, and there was enough demand that there was no reason to change it. Now for the more relevant part- how the story of the Wagoneer can be tied into our project at Corinne Jones Park. I think there is a lesson to be learned about how the design of the Wagoneer was thought out enough that it stood the test of time and did not go out of style for over 30 years. As much as some of us gripe about how long the design process of our shade structure took before any groundbreaking took place, I am confident enough to say that our intense planning and design made for a final product that will stand the test of time structurally and aesthetically. It seems as if architects face a major challenge- to design what will be liked now, and will continue to be liked into the future- I would like to hope that our shade structure has done just that- providing an asset to the park and to Wagener Terrace that will be enjoyed for years to come.
And rumor has it that in 2013, Jeep might be bringing back production of the Grand Wagoneer… I wonder how the new Wagoneer would look if the side panels were clad in Meranti….just a thought.
Thanks for reading,
Keith