And so begins my life as a chômeuse...

Welcome to my blog! Most of you know me as Daniela, a recent alum of Brown University who has been living in New York City for the past year. I moved here in June 2008 to begin a job as an architectural intern in a mid-sized planning and institutional firm in Chelsea. I thanked my lucky stars when I realized that, though the economy was crumbling before my eyes, I still had somehow managed to keep my job, even in spite of the state of the architectural industry as a whole. However, as of today, my luck has run out. I am now yet another victim of the infamous economic recession of 2009.

Not one to be put off by unexpected curveballs, I am beginning this blog in order to do better what I came to New York City to do in the first place-- to explore the urban fabric, the material culture-- more specifically, to experience the architecture. I am still determining an approach-- here are some of my ideas.

1. Choose a typology and discuss various buildings within this typology for a month each-- these could include skyscrapers, bridges, theaters and performance halls, civic buildings, or my personal favorites, ecclesiastic buildings.

2. Wander into some of the works in construction around Manhattan-- especially those projects put on hold. I have a list from New York Magazine of buildings that have been put on hold since the beginning of the Great Recession of 2008. It would be interesting to document some of these lost projects.

3. Go neighborhood by neighborhood-- and borough by borough-- and find new/ quirky/ interesting/ historic/ endangered properties and document them.

4. Lastly, and most likely-- a smattering of all of the above.

For the next week or so, I will be busy sorting out my life and finishing a few projects, so you can expect my first post in a week or so.

Until then, dear reader, enjoy your city!