Arch 101: Portfolio
Instructor: Jerry Lum
Matthew Lujan - Midterm
Collage
Week 1 of 7 Reflection What I had learned in the first week of Arch 101 was very crucial to figuring out who I was as a designer and it helped me touch base with what interests me the most. After doing somewhat of a different collage than what was asked, I found myself drawing and creating my collage from scratch. I found that I thought it would be easier and more individually rewarding in the end for myself. Which in the end it was. Doing this exercise the first week of Arch 101 was very important to me because I had no idea what to expect or how I was even going to learn how to design, but yet with such a simple task I found myself in the designer state of mind and from there I was more allured into this classroom. I found that the best three words that describe who I am as a person are Mysterious, Adventurous, and Spontaneous and I do believe in the work that I have developed throughout the first half of this semester that the three words are revealed in my designs.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: My strengths in creating a collage would have to be that I have in my opinion always been more of a hands on kind of person, meaning that I would rather draw something out to explain and express my emotions and meanings towards something. So I would say that my strengths definitely laid within the advantages of being able to draw and create something so quick. Weakness: My weakness starting off on my first assignment would have to be that I did not know my potential or the potential I would have doing design. In other words lack of confidence. Opportunities: I had an opportunity to explore who I was as a designer and also get back in touch with my creative side. Threats: Coming into this assignment I had noticed that a lot of other people in the class had been studying for a little while longer in the field than I have and I thought that I was not going to be any good at designing or even being creative and meeting expectations, but that has changed since I have proceeded with the class.
Week 2 of 7
What’s Your Sign? Make Your Life Adventuro us Left Side: Back Right Side: Front
Reflection This was my first “designer� piece of work that I have done for any architecture or design class and I was more than happy to stand by my work during this critique. I had spent all night cutting the foam core to fit just how I wanted it to and I spent a good chunk of time accumulating the supplies for this project. Some places on this sign I have actually been to and some other things are what I enjoy doing and I was happy that I was able to incorporate everything that I am in not only words but able to put it into a design. Looking back on this project if someone had asked me to make a design based off of who I was I know that I would not have been able to come up with this right away. I feel like this was the launching off point for my design process and from here on out it has only gotten better.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: My strengths during this project was the creative spark that I had managed to carry from my collage, without my collage I would not have been able to design such a sign. Weakness: My weakness was definitely time, although I was able to get the right dimensions of the sign that I wanted it did lack a support system to be sustainable horizontally on a wall. Opportunities: An opportunity that I had gained from this project was the ability to be able to design a sign that not only speaks who I am but the chance to create signs for all of my work. Threats: I did have a lack of confidence walking into the classroom that day knowing that I did not have a strong support system for my sign, but when I had seen what people had brought in I knew I was not the only one.
Week 3 of 7 What’s Your Sign? Pt. 2
Reflection I started to experiment more with a support system for my second sign more than the actual design process. I had gotten the rubber band suspension idea from when I had hosted a friends birthday and we were all putting up the happy birthday banner. I figured it was worth a try if it was connected to a strong and sturdy support system as well. Sure enough I had thought of a memory wind chime idea to convey who I am more as a person and that I was not just all talk but had the adventurous pictures to prove it. If I had to redo my sign I would definitely look more into designing my box sign with a rubber band suspension system so that it could bounce and move with the wind to give it more character and to blend more with my three words of choice.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: My strength in my design would definitely have to be that I managed to actually support a sign horizontally using only tied rubber bands. Being resourceful in design is a big skill in my opinion. Weakness: My weakness with my design would be that my foam core dimensions could be a lot more improved and more repaired. Opportunities: The opportunity that I gained from this would be the use of being resourceful. Threat: On my second sign I was starting to feel a little more unaccomplished because I know I could have put a little more time into making my design structure better.
A Journey of discovering a local place of wonder The Outer Sunset District Week 4 of 7
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Reflection As I journeyed through the Outer Sunset District I was actually happy to get out of the classroom and not only that but my house. I had not been out and about in to long since I moved to San Francisco in August, so the city is still foreign to me. Having to reflect now on the photos that I had taken and the experiences as well I do see now the potential in each photo taken. There is so much to see and gain from each picture taken. There are nodes, color blending, integrations of spaces and how they are used, also how the urban environment blends in with each structure and how it would be different anywhere else. Also the biggest thing that I did take from this assignment was the use of taking photographs with an actual camera and editing them to fit my desired needs.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: My strengths would be that my girlfriend is a photography major and I actually had the resources of a good cannon camera to capture these pictures on my own. Also with the help of auto focusing. Weakness: I have never really edited photos before in my life nor have I ever photo shopped anything so getting use to picture editing definitely took a good chunk of my time out of this project. Opportunities: I definitely gained a lot of beneficial experiences through this assignment not only for school but for myself as well, I found a great beach burrito at Judahlicious. Threat: I did feel a little intimidated going into a photography state of mind due to the fact that I have never actually been out and about with such a high quality camera snapping all of these shots.
Week 5 of 7 First Wall
Reflection What I had experienced in my first model attempt was the way a path and walls combined can create such an amazing experience when you really take the time to appreciate why it was put there in the first place. I had integrated a set of stairs combined with a platform to help the flow of someone ascending these stairs to also slowdown when they reach the platform so that they can be aware of there surroundings. When they reach the top of the ascended staircase they will then be greeted with a node like pathway experience complimented with an enclaved ceiling and penetrated walls. It gives you the notion of something that had taken place here, a battle, a fight, a simple misunderstanding? It gives you the mysterious factor of trying to get to the bottom of it, and therefore maybe the reason or why lays at the end of this pathway.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: I didn’t have any design strengths walking into this but my creative mind was definitely put into the project. More spiritually and reality based, meaning I imagined myself going through this experience and this is what I felt. Weakness: I had never built a model like design before so the whole project was very foreign to me. Opportunities: as I progressed through the design I became more involved within the model itself and I feel that helped me through the next alliteration's of models. Threat: I knew that I could not be the only one in the beginner stages of model making, but I was also intimidated by those who had more of a broader creative design mind.
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Week 6 of 7 #1 Experience looking down the pathway #2 View of the extent of the pathway
Reflection Since I was already portraying elevation with
S.W.O.T Analysis
the long staircase at the entrance, I wanted to
Strengths: My strength in designing my second piece to the mystery of this model would have to be the accumulated resources that I had already had and fortunate that they were lengthy enough to create an addition to the pathway.
continue more of the pathway and more of the story that is based behind the model. I wanted to create a mysterious but yet safe creative imagination for the visualizer to envision themselves being their and continuing on this long pathway to see what is at the end of the road. Although it appears there is nothing at the end of the pathway doesn’t mean that there is always “nothing�.
Weakness: I did not have enough of the material that I needed to actually enclose the long path way more than I anticipated but I feel like it came along well with what I had. Opportunities: this gave me the opportunity to reflect on how I could improve my model for a third addition and I did not know exactly how to do that yet but I knew it could not keep pressing forward, it needed to move upward now. Threats: This point in time I was starting to feel a little self conscious because people were already expressing more in their model than I was, but I still stand by my work no matter what.
Week 7 of 7
Picture to the left is the final ascend to the top of the structure and the end of the pathway.
Picture to the right is the peak of the ascended path. Complimented with a vista point.
S.W.O.T Analysis
Reflection My overall conclusion of my three piece model assignment was that I learned about how to elevate, the use of nodes, spacial and curvilinear spaces, and a way to portray and experience through each one of these abilities. I learned how giving certain extensions to each piece created a continuous experience if not multiple experiences in every transition. Therefore design is endless and you can create unlimited experiences within a structure or space. I feel like it just depends on the person.
Strengths: I definitely gained some skills within the past 7 weeks of these model making assignments. First off I learned how to even design a model and use design to create experiences. I feel like this will be key for my future portfolio work. Weakness: My weaknesses are that I need to expand more on my materials and see how they work in different shapes and forms in order to generate more experiences and design process’s. Opportunities: I had the chance to actual design something that maybe one day I can design into reality. Threats: I still feel threated by some people in the class due to their ability to use diverse materials to their benefit, and I definitely want to compete with that.
The Story Behind it all I tried to create a melancholy and nostalgic experience through incorporating what I hope is a successful transition of moments we have all experienced in some way shape or form. As you make your way up the wide and depthly flight of stairs you will realize this is not the ordinary flight of stairs that you are going to dread continuing forward, but you are actually entering a meditative experience due to the alluring mystery that is connected to these stairs that lays at the summit. As you make your effortless lunging up these stairs you will come to an open tunnel like structure, but as you peer down this unusual hallway like tunnel you will notice that it’s like any other you have experienced before, it has an openness but a safe ambiance feel about it. The walls look like they have been penetrated with piercing bullets leaving behind a coincidence message that is only truly first visualized through shadows as the sun burrows its way through the empty spaces of the holes. The message reveals a very ironic word for this particular experience, the word “Peace” is then envisioned as the sun illuminates through the wall and is complimented with an open roof like structure that is slowly starting to sink in overtime. You can’t help but wonder what had occurred here, a war, a battle, a simple misunderstanding? But as you wonder what still lies down the path you will realize that the path then shrinks to a very narrow path but yet this time it is more open. As you continue onward you will notice that it was indeed once a structure covered with walls and a ceiling, but since time has not been so kind and whatever had occurred in this place you can understand that this is what makes it still mysterious, this is what makes you want to experience something like this for the first time in your life, it’s one of those moments you can’t wait to tell someone about. You will also notice that you are not at ground level anymore due to the openness that give you the feeling of being more elevated into the air. Yes, the air is more crisp up here, it is more fresh as from when you first started your ascend on this journey, you can feel it in your nostrils all the way down to your lungs as you exhale slowly. What appears at the end of this path is yes indeed a “light at the end of the tunnel” but as you approach the end you feel like their possibly can’t be anymore left to this journey but once you exit the long narrow pathway you will notice a windy stair case leading to an overlook watchtower above. As you ascend up yet another set of stairs you get different perspectives of elevation from when you first started. As you approach the overlook you can’t help but feel at peace as you gaze over the magnificent view that lies ahead of
“There is Beauty to be found in everyday, its just up to you to find it”.