22 December 2010

How I Write

Here is a comment I made on a post on the Inside Higher Ed website:
I have been using an iPad for writing since purchasing it in June 2010. It works seamlessly with my Bluetooth Apple keyboard. Without this additional device, I would say the iPad is a terrible device for writing. With it, I'm finding it to be exceptional especially for quickly writing notes and comments in moments in time when it would be too cumbersome or obtrusive to open up a laptop.

I write quite a lot: a book in progress, blog posts, emails and other communications, etc. I don't use the iPad for image creation in general, except for quick "sketches" using a free app like Doodle Buddy.

My photography and videography generally works best through my laptop or desktop computer. I can then upload images to the web, to online file sharing sites (Dropbox, Evernote, etc.). (By the way, at this point, I still have not paid for a single app on my iPad or iPod Touch.)

I rarely take my laptop with me anymore unless I have to do hardcore serious work involving multiple applications such as Photoshop or if necessary for collaboration in real time and real space with someone with whom I'm working.

I'm getting more writing accomplished using the iPad per week than I was ever able to produce previously when I would jot down notes on paper or make notations on my iPod Touch.

The limitations of the iPad are real, lack of Flash support being the most obvious. Printing will soon be a real possibility. Right now I'd say it's pre-beta. Until the printer companies update their drivers, there are few printers that can take advantage of Apple's AirPrint. However, the ingenuity of app developers is astounding and I regularly find new apps that make my life easier.

Using my iPad is a joy and a boon to my work. Personally, I don't use it for purely consuming media beyond reading and viewing tutorials. I can't see watching a movie on it unless I were stuck in a snow-bound airport.

Photograph copyright © Andrew Raimist 2010.

18 December 2010

Priory Chapel: Mid-Century Monastery

The Priory Chapel located at the Saint Louis Abbey will be a featured building in a course I will be co-teaching with John Guenther, FAIA this spring focused on Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Saint Louis between 1930 and 1970.

View of interior with central altar and surrounding circular pews. Photograph by Andrew Raimist.
One of my recent photographs of the interior was selected as "Photo of the Week" by our public radio station KWMU. This building was one of the early projects by the relatively young Saint Louis architectural firm Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum. It brought a great deal of recognition to the firm and attention to it's lead designer Gyo Obata, FAIA.

A single vault with its own altar and sculptural crucifix. Photograph by Andrew Raimist.
The building was one of the highlights of the AIA's 1964 National Convention held in Saint Louis. More recently it was (somewhat belatedly) honored with the Twenty-Five Year Award by the Saint Louis Chapter of the AIA (American Institute of Architects).

The Chapel is set in the verdant landscape of the 150 acre campus. Photograph by Andrew Raimist.
The building is constructed of thin shell concrete formed in a series of parabolic arches. The building has a circular plan with an altar set in the center of the space below a central skylight.

The arches are arranged in three successive levels. The first series are set at ground level (the surrounding earth is bermed slightly from the landscape). A major circular structural beam of reinforced concrete joins these arches together and forms a base for the second tier of smaller arches which are aligned with those below. These vaults rise to a small ring which supports the bell tower and contains the central skylight.

The series of vaults are reflected in polished granite. Photograph by Andrew Raimist.

All photographs copyright © Andrew Raimist 2010.

02 December 2010

Raimist portfolio

Please check out this SlideShare Presentation . . .

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