Sacked by the "downturn", an unemployed architect touring the country in a bus...




I used to live in New York City. I designed homes for the tycoons of Wall Street; Park Avenue, Scarsdale, Greenwich. It was great fun. And, after years of saving up for a down payment, I was just about to buy my own little place in Fleetwood, half an hour north of the city, when the economy fell apart. Architects are like canaries in a coal mine when the economy slows, and true to form, there were massive layoffs in firms all over the country. Devastation of the profession. So, I decided to try to find something else to do for a while. I bought a 23' school bus and I'm on the road to see if I can figure out what that might be.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A new footrest, take III (or IV?)

I'm using a big Jet milling machine at Techshop to fabricate a new foot rest for the tall chair.  I started with a brass bar 5/8" x 7/8", and milled a 2" portion to 5/16", then I heated that patch with a blow torch, to brick red, let it cool, and bent it.  Then I milled coves into the two "wings."  Sometimes, I'm surprised at how my experience with classical architecture influences my designs.  After polishing, I'm pleased with this test sample.  I'll start to work on the full foot rest tomorrow.