Read signs before entering!

"I hope she doesn't choose me to dance."
Originally uploaded by powkey

"I hope she doesn't choose me to dance." Said Nick Allen to me after the two of us and a friend ended up in a Turkish restaurant on the night they had Oriental Dancers (missed that sign on the door!).

20 seconds after he mentions this line to me, she grabs him by the hands and pulls him to his feet. Startled, he reverts to his instincts; Irish-Jig, Riverdance, and involuntary spasms of the legs. Then he catches the rhythm and the tempo of his partially undressed professional dance partner. Before one can realize what is happening, Nick starts leading the dance. He even starts dancing away from her, towards the rest of the restaurant. The crowd really gets into it. Being the pro that she is, she somehow manages to tame Nick and force him to sit down. Finishing one of the most action packed 5-7 seconds I have had in Paris .
Needless to say, this made me very excited for my upcoming trip to Istanbul (since I can't have turkey I am going to Turkey[ok... that was lame]).

Eating in the Kitchen... basically.

Eating in the Kitchen... basically.
Originally uploaded by powkey

Its incredible that after living here for 4 months I still find amazing quarters and areas that I had no idea existed. Perfect example being Rue Saint Anne... incredible Japanese restaurants. Not sushi, but more noodles and tempura. This restaurant had 10-12 seats and a line of about 20 outside to get in. The windows in front of the restaurant are covered in condensation from the hot soups. Passers-by don't look at a menu but instead just peer through the windows to see what people are eating and if it looks good.

I will be in America 1 month from now..

Brussels

Maybe the weirdest thing ever.
Originally uploaded by powkey

After completeing my first project for Ateliers Jean Nouvel, I was given a week off so I traveled to Brussels. It was great getting time out of Paris and I loved that they spoke English pretty much as a second language. That way, I could speak French when I wanted to, but English when I needed to.

Fête des Vendanges

Fête des Vendanges
Originally uploaded by powkey

A KU alumus hosted us for dinner at his place, cooked by his French wife. It was absolutely delicious and I felt very much the same as a duck being prepared for foie gras.
The same night as the dinner party was also the Fête des Vendanges, the festival in Montmarte to signal the start of the wine harvest. We watched an incredible fireworks display from the top of a building next to our hosts apartment. Made the city feel more magical again, after a tough 2 weeks straight of work.

Atelier Jean Nouvel

Atelier Jean Nouvel
Originally uploaded by powkey

For my first day, I went in thinking I was going to just meet some people, but they sat me down at a computer and I immediately started work. 12 hours later I left. At some point during work I actually spotted the Jean Nouvel roaming the building. So begins my work...

"Head in the Clouds"

"Head in the Clouds"
Originally uploaded by powkey

This is the culmination of a 5-day workshop at the École Speciale d'Architecture. My teammates were Michele Aldrich and Edouard Grignon.
The project we proposed was building a nursery for children above an old Parisian block located next to the Centre Pompidou.
The idea behind the project was to take the traditional arrangement of a preschool, kids go do an activity then return back to the room, and make it a linear path. In order to make this possible we devised a tram that would carry the essential equipment a teacher would need. This tram would travel down this path stop and various location along the way. The kids could do various activities unique to being above buildings. They could slide down roofs and climb up climbing walls in other parts.

ESA Workshop DONE!

ESA Workshop
Originally uploaded by powkey

Workshop in Paris

This is an elevation of a block of buildings across from

the Centre Pompidou. The studio I am in at Ecole Spéciale

d'Architecture is doing a workshop involving

building above this historic block.

Villa Savoye

Villa Savoye
Originally uploaded by powkey

In the town of Poissy, 40min train ride from Paris, the famous Le Corbusier built his most well-known house, Villa Savoye (1930). One of the top five, if not the most, influential house of the 20th century. More importantly, the most incredible house I have ever been in.

La Petite Chambre

La Petite Chambre
Originally uploaded by powkey

We were told that our new place would be apartments with private sleeping quarters. You can imagine our disappointment when we walked into this (my desk on the right). My dorm room had more storage space, though we do have a bathroom and a stove!

Lawrence-Paris

Lawrence-Paris
Originally uploaded by powkey

It is so hard to grasp the size of Paris. It feels huge because the density, but really it is almost the same size as Lawrence, KS.

WEEK 1 -The Journey Begins - My Time in Paris from tim williams on Vimeo.

I want to touch

I want to touch
Originally uploaded by powkey

During my second visit to the Institute du Monde d'Arabe, I realized one of the panels were open and of course I had to touch it. This building is by Jean Nouvel, the architect I will be working for in a week. I would not mind if they made me design something like this for three months. Actually, I would love that.

a little something

a little something
Originally uploaded by powkey

After lunch I decided to grab a little something. Tartelette Frais....delicious. Just ahead of us there is the Cimetiere Montparnasse. The second most famous cemetery in Paris. It includes the graves of Man Ray, Brancusi, and André Citroën.

Pique-nique

Pique-nique
Originally uploaded by powkey

Picnic in Parc des Buttes Chaumont which we were invited to by our incredibly nice French friends, Karine and Romain. The typically french 7 hour picnic in the park with wine and cheese was followed by, the seemingly very american, Rock Band on XBOX 360 at their apartment.

the crew

the crew
Originally uploaded by powkey

The group and I found a fun Italian restaurant with food to go. We then proceeded to stuff our mouth's like true Americans.

You can follow more photos of Tims Fantastic Voyage to France by following the photos posted on flickr here.

Opera Garnier

Opera Garnier
Originally uploaded by powkey

Bypassing beauty is a common occurrence in Paris and the Opera Garnier was a perfect example. Only stopping long enough to steal a photo and then we were off yet again.

Cité Internationale

The French are so rude. They make me stay in this place. Cité Internationale is located in the south of Paris. It was created post WWI in an attempt to unite students from around the world (therefore preventing war?).

Despite me losing my bags for several days, I am enjoying Paris.

D(eparture) Day minus 1

"Come hope, come despair, come what may, sweet serendipity - a life of chance in the bustling city; let me be sorrowful, let me be merry, while I risk all to be extraordinary!"

-Roman Payne

Crepuscule

Tomorrow I leave to Paris.

60% Excitement

30% Terror

10% Clueless

EDIT MAY 6, 2012: Learned the image above is partially faked. American and British commanders wanted a "whites only" liberation of Paris. Link to the article here.

Chicago Trip 2009

I just returned from my quick trip to Chicago where I used the new camera I recently bought. Once I returned home, the discovery was made that I recorded every video on the lowest quality setting. Atleast the problem has been caught now. Heres most of the footage I slapped together anyway.

Summer "the calm before the storm"

1 Month until I leave to go to Paris for 5 months. I have been hitting the Rosetta Stone more often, trying to learn atleast the basics of French. When I am not doing that I am trying to learn Rhinoscript and brush up on my Grasshopper skills (image).
Other than that this has been a very boring summer. I think I am actually ready to get back to work now?!

...more posts to come once I actually do something worth posting.

Wire Reproduction

I moved out of my apartment where I had lived for the last 2 years. When cleaning the closet, for what probably was the first time, I found that there were over 100 empty hangers. It seemed as though every single hanger was unlike its  neighbor. Somehow over the years they had managed to mate and reproduce over and over.  The conditions in my dark, slightly damp, closet must have been similar to those in the upper regions of the atmosphere because it created hangers that were just as unique as snowflakes.  

Final Presentation Boards

DONE!

I had to take a break from posting while I finished up my studio project. I had enough 5 hour enegy's to power a small town. 

and now... I sleep