Angelica Flores Arch 101 Studio Class 2016
1st Project Prep: Collage
Problems in uploading photo of collage into portfolio: solution in progress
Reflection This f irst assignment w as hard for me because I generally don’t like to get personal. I’ m a private person and I felt like the things I say about myself might clash w ith how people perceive me to be. Then it became a question of how much do I w ant to reveal about myse lf. Should I incorporate only the good? I ended up choosing qu alities of myse lf that are positive and I w as able to f ind pictu res to match. When it came down to the arrangeme nt of e lements I tried to make su re that everything is balanced to the eye. I didn't want things to seem top heavy or bottom heavy. I did it on an application on my parents laptop called pages and now my dile mma is that it wont show on my lap top and therefore missing from my le arning portfolio. I’ve tried emailing it to myself and putting it on a usb and then saving it to my laptop but it refuses to show up.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I feel like I was able to at least balance all the photos so that the fit togethe r as a composition. Also, all the pictu res are somewhat self explanatory so its easy to understand bu t I also chose some that are more on the abstract side to cre ate interest.
Weaknesses:
An obvious we akness is my understanding of technology. So now my learning portfolio is suffering becau se the image of my collage is missing.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to understand that’s its ok to say good things about yourself as long as you can back it up. Sometimes saying good things about you rse lf or describing yourself can be weird becau se you don’t w ant to seem boastful w hen re ally its not a bad thing to have confidence as long as its in the right amount.
Threats: Since we started
the semester on a Tuesday it really messed me up and I got my classes mixed up. I got my MW class mixed up with my TTR class. So on the day that the collage was due I didn't have it with me.
1st Project: What is Your Sign? Assignment: Construct and design a sign that shows who you are as a person
Rough sketches of my plans of tackling this project
Reflection I struggled a lot with this project mostly because my ambition did not mee t my current capabilitie s in construction. I also didn't’ t have the time to try ambitious design and yet even aware of the fact I still tried too execute it anyway. This is why throughout my construction the design kept changing. My initial design was meant to have layers and produce a 3D effect so that I would have a lot of shadows and even shadow patte rns from my cutou ts. However I struggled with the mate rial, and my cutouts tu rned out to skinny than I had originally planned. In the e nd I could not produce the 3D effect that I wanted, and with consideration to the weight I could not add layering walls. In terms of conveying who I am as a person, because parts of my design were let go, so was the depiction of my self. In the classroom as I saw it hung I realized how much I found it hard to open up about who I am. My piece was so abstract that I became unreadable.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: I don’t have a lot of strengths except for my will to keep trying to fix my design.
Weaknesses: My ability
to perceive consequences and solutions to my problems. In actuality there is this gapping hole on one side covered from the foam board. The hold was from my first attempt in trying to make it hold to the wall.
Opportunities: Even with a lot of
downfalls I took the opportunity in pursuing an ambitious design. Maybe if I was better in model making it would have turned out better.
Threats: I ended up losing
a lot of sleep just trying to make sure I had something to turn in the following day.
What is Your Sign?: 2nd iteration Front:
Back:
Reflection This time around I feel that I have conveyed more clearly the kind of pe rson I am. I was also able to incorporate a 3D effect by using 3D stickers and e levating some printou ts by adding foam board to it before attaching to the sign. On the front side of my sign it tells of the kind of person I am by what's in my heart. The depiction of the jar with a little light f rom inside the heart is suppose to rep resent the little fire inside me and then everything spilling out of the jar are aspects of my life that are important to me such as love, family, friends, and my talent for drawing. The back side represents my goals in life and how different aspects of my life affect those goals. Afte r I re alized the need to open up about myse lf it was no longe r scary to incorporate myself into my design.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I was able to convey myself more clearly in a more clear design.
Weaknesses:
A weakness of my design is its reliance to the material to convey the message and create interest in my design.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to analyze my abilities so that I won’ t overwhe lm myself like what happened with the f irst sign. I also took the opportunity of conveying different messages for the front and back
Threats:
A thre at to my design is its dependence on the material.
2nd Project: A Journey of Discovery Place: Japanese Tea Garden The different pathways -The game of hide and reveal, the way the pathways blend themselves into the surrounding nature creates a sense of tranquility, peace, and overall calmness
A Journey of Discovery: Japanese Tea Garden The importance in attention to detail Left: Attention to detail manipulation in use of material to create authenticity in simulating Japan. Right: Attention to detail in the extras. Play on reality, where the statues resemble live birds because of their pose. Element of surprise in the discovery that its not real, and in is placement hidden under the shade of trees. Bottom Right: Arch to create suspense. Element of surprise and reward in the discovery of a platform on the other side Bottom Right: Small structures placed along or on intersections between paths to act as markers to direct people
Reflection In a p lace whe re I thought there would be nothing much to do I found myself surprised with my experience. I enjoyed my visit to the Japanese Tea Garden in the little things. I realized that in a c alming and peaceful environment, the architecture prov ided things to do. For example in the pathways a lot of it winds and splits, and so the destinations are by choices made from the person. Then when we look into the detail put into the structu res, we find bits of exaggeration that account for the ou t of the ordinary. For example the Moon Bridge, is slopped at such an awkward angle that it become s a bridge to climb. It’s a challenge and when a person f inally re aches the top they feel accomplished and rew arded with a topical view of the garden. I concluded that the place was not as big as it seemed but because everything abou t this place prolonged the journey, from the pathways, to the nodes of re st, and feel for the unfamiliar in exaggerated proportions, it felt like such a vast area with a lot to see. Even if it was a journey that brings you back to where you started.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
In analyzing the area I was able to understand how certain experiences are made because of the architec ture. I also feel like I’ve taken good picture s that show the feel of the garden.
Weaknesses:
I feel like there could be some points of the garden that I may have missed and could have incorporated into my project because I couldn't’t stay long.
Opportunities: I don’t get to go out that often to
explore places and so this project gave me an opportunity to visit a place I’ve wanted to see.
Threats: I could to a better job in presenting
findings when it comes to speaking up and eye contact.
my
3rd Project: Creating a wall
Reflection When I first heard of the project in my head I alre ady envisioned it to be a wall of a c afé or a p lace where people can hang ou t or study while getting a bite to eat. I drew insp iration from the Japane se Tea Garden as a designed the wall. I wanted the book shelf to reminiscent of branches but in a symmetrical play of space and shadow. Symme try usually is more calming with the danger of creating boredom. However, I wasn’ t able to make it symmetrical on Sketch Up and so it was constructed in a random fashion that I feel, in the end added interest to my design. Then to evoke the unfamiliar I wanted the books to rest at awkward angles created by the intersections. The circular window s was out of curiosity when I imagined what the Japane se Tea Garden may look like at night. I thought of the moon creating light and shadow over the place. In my design I wanted to mimic the cycles of the moon as someone slides open or closed the three circular windows c reating different patte rns on the f loor e ach time. However on Sketch Up the patterns did not show.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I was able to design based on a story I formulated in my head and it was because of the story that I was able to give the wall a purpose.
Weaknesses:
My wall doesn’t do enough to evoke wonder or pu sh the e nvelope in terms of design. Also in execution, a lot of it are mistakes. In using the push pull tool I forgot to p ress control and so I lost the whole back side until I pulled it back.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity in u sing Sketch Up to explore my design. By using Sketch Up I found out that I could find pictures on the interne t of textures and upload for use in Sketch Up.
Threats: In class
I realized that I didn’t save it in Version 8 and so I had to do it in the lab. It took time and in the end I didn't get the chance to show it to the class. I realized the one I saved in Version 8 was on my desktop in my laptop at home.
4th Project: Two Parallel Walls My Plans on Google Sketch Up:
Actual Model:
Reflection Before starting my model I used Google Sketch Up to plan ou t my design. I stuck with my original concept of a café or cool place to hang out f rom my first wall. I thought of places to sit that c an be calming and different from the u sual experience with tables and chairs. This is how I came up with the idea of sitting by the window. I also thought abou t how cool it would be to walk through a window into a natu re setting or to go fu rther inside the build ing. Then for the second wall I thought about incorporating a top f loor, so that just like the Japane se Tea Garden I can provide many different view points. What I failed to re alize abou t my design is that togethe r as a composition it was not enough to be unique. I designed f rom gene ralitie s of a random thought process from bits and pieces of different ideas. I thought of the sun’s path and how it arches so I designed an arch. Then I wanted a cool calming experience for a moment of p ause to sit so I came up with the w indow benche s. I also w anted to try hide and reveal so I created a top f loor hidden from the view outside of the window walls. Anothe r downfall to my design that I realized is my dependence on decoration. Once I realized my downfalls I wanted to improve and told my self come next project its time to focus on form.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I used Google Sketch Up as a way to set up my design.
Weaknesses:
I struggled with construc tion and it show s in my mode l. I also failed to step back and check my design
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to absorb the critique of my design and now with the lessons I learned I can come up with a better design for my next project
Threats:
Since I struggled so much with construction it took up so much time that I didn't get that much sleep. I was running out of materials and time that I voted to leave some parts out because I didn’t want to deal with bringing it to school and it collapsing before I can p resent it. However, if the re is anything I’ve learned in c lass today is that the re is always a way to make things work and that failing once shou ldn't stop me from trying to excel.
Parallel Wall Iteration Drafts of designs:
Parallel Wall Iteration Final Model:
Reflection Afte r my previou s model I began to zoom in on my thought p rocess to f ind a unif ied concept instead of scattered ideas. My de sign has gone through a lot of changes and iterations before I reached a f inal model. I envisioned this to be a place for pause in a busy are a surrounded by buildings. My final design is based on the idea of a landsc ape with the land in the foreground and the sky in the background or second wall. The serie s of arche s and circular forms in the second are meant to encapsu late the path of the sun as it rises and se ts. I captu red different moments of time in the sun’s path all in one structu re. Then for the f irst w all it is to repre sent the land, uneven at different elevated heights. I made it into a seating area to allow for human inte raction. S o that we have the sky the unreachable that can be viewed from my metaphorical land, the touchable part that allows for human activity.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: I was able to find a unified concept after taking a moment to be aware of my thought process.
Weaknesses: I still
have problems with construction because I’m still getting use to making models.
Opportunities: I took the opportunity to use Google Sketch Up to explore quick models.
Threats: My model doesn't match to my desired human scale. I only had one cut out as a human scale and during my construction of my model, I realized to late that its scaled down from my original intent with size.
Study Models Studying Light Patterns:
Study Models Studying shadow, light, and patterns:
Study Models Studying orientation and manipulation of form:
Reflection The hard thing abou t doing study mode ls is wanting the study models to be “perfect” even if the primary function of study models is a way to quickly observe ideas. I originally had this paper I cut a patte rn on. I got the patte rn from observ ing my water bottle. The patte rn goe s from big to small and repeats for the positive sp aces and the negative spaces go f rom small to big. Af ter c lass I got the idea to try and manipu late the piece of paper I had many different ways. I surprised myse lf with how a simple piece of paper can be made into all these unique forms and becau se I photographed them on a su nny day I was able to capture a rich shadow quality. I learned that ideas can re ally come f rom anywhere. In this case I became fascinated with a water bottle, its unique shadow, ref lection, and light because of the water inside.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I took what I learned in class and applied it to my own model. My photos are able to demonstrate my intent of showing shadow quality.
Weaknesses:
Some of my photos had my hand peeping from the corners becau se I had to hold up the model due to the wind.
Opportunities:
By observing an ord inary object I was able to le arn and explore concepts learned in class. I took the opportunity during my break between classe s to u tilize my mode l with its surroundings from the sun providing shadow, to my seat p roviding a ground, to the background of far off trees and people.
Threats:
I was almost hesitant to proceed with my exploration because I didn’t want to see m weird photographing a water bottle. Then I re alized the re is nothing wrong with me developing a keen eye in obse rvation, so much so that I was able to see potential design in a water bottle.