I was so excited when the home exam for admission into The Cooper Union School of Architecture arrived in February 1980. In addition to a portfolio, one had to present solutions to the following problems. Here are mine:

A. Choose a tool and show, in a single drawing, why its form is derived from the way it is used. Your explanation must be shown by the drawing itself. (No writing is allowed.)

C. Present your design for a non-utilitarian object. (An object of no use). Use a series of drawings and/or images as well as notes to describe your design. Explain, if necessary, why you consider it to be of no use. (A broken object will not be considered a solution to this problem.)

D. This problem is designed to help us judge your ability to compose 3-dimensional objects.

We want you to select particular objects found where you live and to arrange these objects in a composition which you will then draw. We are not concerned with the labels, colors and textures of the actual object. You may draw this composition making the objects any texture or tone you wish. You may use shading and shadow.

The elements of the composition are a SPHERE, CYLINDER, CUBE, RECTANGLE, AND A LINE. You must have at least one of each element in the composition but you are limited to a maximum of 12 objects total.

Arrange these objects into a composition. Give consideration to how you may change the scale of the objects by the point of view that you take. No color is to be used.