magicbeans. nothing if not awkward.

skipped the statics review class this morning to walk downtown and pick up some books on henry purcell from the public library. it was already getting really hot today by nine in the morning.

and i don't think that it was entirely because of the heat, but i was having these flashbacks of hong kong and austin. i would smell something (usually, or maybe hear a sound) and briefly, for less then a second, maybe for no actual time at all, i would be there, back in time. i say it's not because of the heat, because i've noticed it a fair amount recently, as if this point in time is an epicenter that in some non-linear fashion touches a number of other points in my life. or possibly it's just something about the way that memory works.

the first two finalists for the risd central block project were here for interviews today. and part of their scheduled visit was to meet with a select group of about forty students, faculty, staff, and trustees. and i was invited. so i got to meet rafael moneo and rem koolhaas this afternoon.

rafael moneo came with a young associate (who's name i don't remember) who had gone to brown. he had taken studios at risd, and was asking me about my studio critic. "ah, andrew burges from australia, no? we know andrew; he's come to visit us in madrid."

moneo himself, although he's about 60, seems at times like a little kid. sitting on the edge of his chair, rocking back and forth. which is always nice to see.

i wasn't as impressed with rem koolhaas. i'm not sure i can say why, exactly. i could see traces of a big ego (he did just win the pritzker and all), but he also seemed somehow shy. does that sound familiar, shy and big self-image? but, maybe it was just that he's sort of "the next big thing" in architecture, and i was only having an anti-mainstream reaction.