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.
In progress…