50 % Midterm Review

Pictures of the Day] My set of drawings for Midterm Review. They were okay. :/ Very unorganized.

Mood] Highly stressed.

Weather] High 50 Degrees

Currently] In my room.

Quote of the day: "Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else."

It is really difficult for me sometimes to feel as though what I'm not doing is work. I enjoy a lot of what I do, but it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There always seems to be something more to do and with that, comes a lot of stress. I guess I just have to keep reminding myself that there's a reason why I enjoy doing this, why I see that what I am doing is important. I have to look back a lot of the times at the accomplishments of those before me and feel that same awe like when you're a child and you inhabit a place for the first time, experience the amazement that proportion/scale can bring, and enjoy the beauty that light has in a space. So many of these elements are taken for granted, and I really wish that I could be more conscious of them all the time.

The 50% review was difficult. I was the first to go, and I have never gone first in any presentation before, so I really had a hard time getting started. I am not normally too nervous of a speaker. Once I get going, then I find a way to keep moving, but I kept on getting tripped up by words. Words are something that I also think people take for granted. We use words so differently now than we did before. In architecture, as in any other practice, the use of words is very important to really communicate exactly what you mean to say. We also have a completely different set of vocabulary words that parallels words typical to every day conversation, but have totally different meanings. Homophones if you will. Usually they are adjectives. I would give an example now, but I am very tired and my brain is overtaxed! So sorry. Just trust me though. It's true.

Back to the 50% review. I received a decent response. Some of the condensed comments/suggestions that I received are:

1> Can the circulation inside & outside relate to one another?
2> Form a hierarchy
3> Can interaction spaces vary in size based on the program?
4> What is the relationship between the two communal areas (garden and multi-purpose room)
5> Is the rigidity obstructive?
6> Is there another axis that can be developed?
7> Think beyond the classrooms. Like the small components of the classrooms, can you apply to a larger scale?
8> Can classrooms vary based on program?
9> What is a garden?
10> How do you collect light and diffuse it?
11> What is the public/private relationship?
12> Does the axis mirror materiality or vice versa?
13> Find depth in layering organization
14> Beware visual relationships of diagrams on the layout
15> Clean, clear diagrams are essential. Reduce reduce reduce.
16> Test size of images & lineweight
17> Always edit the story. Constantly revise the drawings.
18> Use colour accordingly
19> For sections, cut through the organization spaces
20>Always keep reviewers in mind
21> BEWARE! Misinterpretation of ideas!

Certainly a lot to think about, eh? I will be going back and revising my whole concept I think based on a new view. For now, sleeeep.

Overworked and underpaid,
~Jaye

P.S. Watched Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day during spring break. AMAZING. A slightly different style than the first, and of course, the actors were 10 years older and LOOK IT, but still very entertaining.