User:Joshherber

=Freshman Seminar=

Always Wanted To Schedule

 * Topic

I'm going to design my own building.
 * Research Component

I will research famous architects, trends around the world for building designs, Eco friendly architecture, and popular materials to use for the building.
 * week 1

Start researching famous architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright.
 * week 2

Research International trends in building architecture. Start small idea sketches.
 * week 3

Look into Eco-friendly architecture. Solar power and "Green" materials etc.
 * week 4

Research popular and common materials used in architecture.
 * week 5

Think of rough design ideas for the building while taking into affect International trends.
 * week 6

Start rough sketches.
 * week 7

Sketch (continued).
 * week 8

Sketch (continued).

Midterm Assignment 1: Taste & Aesthetics
The piece that I chose for this project was Schubert Sonata by Mark di Suvero. When I first saw this piece in the Olympic Sculpture Park, I didn’t really like it all that much. After researching the artist I found out that he used to work construction and was injured in a freight elevator accident. While in rehabilitation he learned how to use an arc welder and started to make sculptures out of huge pieces of leftover metal. After learning this and looking at some of his other sculptures I actually started to like Schubert Sonata more than I did before. It doesn’t really feel different to do this process. There’s almost nothing that I don’t like as a whole, I always find something in everything that I like and then it turns into researching that particular object to find out why it is the way it is. At first I didn’t really like the rusted texture of the piece but when I learned more about the artists background I came to appreciate it more because the whole piece, in a way, describes who the artist is and where he came from.

In the end, for myself at least, I can appreciate almost anything visually, in any art form. To want to learn more about things comes natural to me, and also in finding out why an artist made something the way that they did. It doesn’t necessarily feel any different to know that I can manipulate my mind because I’ve always done that, but to actually think about how that makes me feel is a hard question to answer. I guess it feels pretty good that I can be that open minded about things. I’ve learned to not make any harsh decisions too quick because I might end up liking whatever it is that I’m critiquing.

Midterm Assignment 3: Always Wanted To Progress Report (100 words or so)
My progress on the “I’ve always wanted to” project is going very well. I’ve learned a lot about different architects and what’s coming next in the architecture world. There are a lot of good environmental friendly materials that are possible to use now in up and coming architecture. I will also try to learn new and different ways to use solar energy that haven’t been used very much before. I have thought of some rather good ideas on how the building could look, now all I have to do is try to get them on the paper the way that they are in my mind.

Final Presentation

 * Topic (10%)

< > Attempt to design my own building.


 * Research (20%)

<>


 * 1) Internet site: "Frank Lloyd Wright; biography." CMG Worldwide. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. .

Architecture Design for Architects | Architectural Record. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. .
 * 2) Book: Ghirardo, Diane Yvonne. Architecture after modernism. New York, N.Y: Thames and Hudson, 1996.

Smith, Elizabeth A. T. Techno Architecture (4x4 series). London: Thames & Hudson, 2000.
 * 3) Scholarly Journal: Ng, Ho-Yin. "10 Hills Place: Amanda Levete Architects." Architects' Journal 230.8 (2009): 34-35. Print.
 * 4) Other (interview, TV show,etc): An interview by CNN with architect Ken Yeang on his inspiration for buildings and where the future is going with architecture(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1P1kkcEzWM&feature=related.)


 * Your accomplishment (20%)

<> I managed to reach my goal, but not in the way that I would have liked. I kind of wanted to come up with a more in depth design that had to do with the interior as well as the exterior. I found out that it wasn't as relaxing as I thought it would be. With other designs that I've done, usually the whole idea just comes to me. For me with designing a building there was too much to think about in regards to material, texture and safety. I couldn't make a clear choice on what I wanted to do with my design. I have a lot more fun coming up with ideas for light fixtures or furniture than I did with trying to design a building. I feel a lot more confident when I know everything about my idea, when I can create the whole thing and not need to get outside help on it, like I would with designing a building


 * Project Review (50%)
 * 1)What went well - I really thought that all the research went really well and I learned a lot from other architects and their inspiration for all of their ideas. Mostly the whole project went ok, I did manage to design a building, which was my goal in the first place.
 * 2)What went poorly - The whole outcome of the final design of the building, I thought, went poorly. When I come up with an idea for a lighting fixture or piece of furniture, I know exactly what material I want to use and how I'm going to make it along with everyother detail you could think of. A building is just another story, because to feel absolutely sure about it I would have to know everything that has to go in the building like plumbing, heating and cooling etc. I would have to simultaneously think about everything that has to fit together, and how everything would attach to each other. It's not an impossible task, just something that I would have to work at and learn how to just let some things go and let someone else worry about it.
 * 3)Future strategies - I might try next time to not have as high of expectations of myself. If I want to try to design another building, I'll try to just focus on the overall shape of the exterior of the building and try not to figure out every little thing that has to be accounted for(plumbing etc.) I might also want to define my goal better, so I know exactly what I should and shouldn't worry about so I don't waste time with something that might not matter in the end.

Self-Assessment
To be perfectly honest I didn't really learn anything in this class that I didn't already know before. I bet that the class was very beneficial to other people in the class because the things that were covered are things that I use in my everyday life. I'm not pretending that I know everything, so I know that I have a lot left to learn just about everything in general. I think that I did alright on all the assignments, but I could have probably done a whole lot better on the "I've always wanted to" project and presentation. I felt that there was a large room for improvement on that whole project on my part. I feel confidently prepared to further my studies just through knowing that I was already aware of how to think in such a way that would benefit my everyday life that was taught in this class. I really don't think that I contributed all that much to the experiences of other students in the class because I'm really shy and I don't really think that most people would want to hear what I have to say, which I have learned through past experiences in my life.