MORNING EDITION

From the road I was aghast, as I walked in- breathless.


My visit to the one remaining hangar had been long overdue. "Have you been out to the hangar in Tillamook?" Brad (Cloepfil) asked. I hadn't. "It is amazing!" And so it was. After the visit, my mind and spirit raced all that day, propelled by the volume and aspiration of the structure.

May 6, 2007, the day sixty years previous that the Hindenburg went up in flames, and with it- effectively, the promise and romance of airship travel. But it was also on that day last spring, as I listened to Morning Edition on NPR, that the topic for my Masters of Architecture Thesis took form. Through the morning I had thought much about the nature of hangars and airship travel, and wondered about the legitimacy of the idea might.

That afternoon, I tested it on a studio mate just before desk crits began. I had hardly finished articulating my thoughts when he decided to give it a run by our studio professor, Christopher Patano. Chris's immediate enthusiasm (and subsequent guidance) set the course for my thesis.

This post comes at an appropriate time, as I have a moment to reflect on my last 6 months in Portland, and at Allied Works, and plan for the final 6 months of my degree. When the plane banked low over Sauvie Island, Skyline and the West Hills yesterday morning, my heart sank a bit and I worried that it may be permanently grounded in Portland, Oregon.

However, the excitement for my thesis topic, and thoughts of graduation, have mostly displaced the sinking feeling. At the moment I am feeling very fortunate to spend the next few weeks with family and for the opportunities I have had and those that lay ahead. -KD