Lately I've been reading ...

... my books on architecture. In addition to the ones I recommended before, I also have Architecture: Form, Space and Order, by Francis D.K. Ching. It's a black and white, softback architectural textbook, and it's a very good introduction to the basics (of form, space, and order). The concepts are relevant, and the use of many, many examples of the work of architects ties the concepts to "reality".

At the same time, I have been quite busy assembling new house designs. I have almost as many new designs as I have designs currently posted on the web site, and I feel that all of them are superior to the existing designs. I suppose that's only what would be expected. With practice we get better.

When I get some time (away from designing) I will post some of the new designs, and probably remove some of the old ones. We'll see.

On a related note, I also have another "commission". This one involves assembling a plan for a small winery showroom and manufacturing facility. Of course they plan to get a professional before they build, but I work "cheap", so I'm currently within their budget. I'm within everyone's budget, actually.

Some may view this "hobby" as both expensive (I bought a $500 program and upgraded both my computer and the video card to the tune of another $1500), and an extreme waste of time, but you should know that I studied architecture in college before switching to computer science, so I have some background and I also have the interest. And it has been quite interesting. It takes time away from writing, which is my other time-consuming hobby, making me wish I could balance them better, but when it comes to creative processes ... I only have room for one at a time. Or maybe two.

Stay tuned.