Saturday, February 21, 2009

final 4

final 8

final 16

set of 32 and final 32





set of 8




what i have learned thus far.....




















"Work Smarter, Not Harder"-simple commonsense but genius, why did this just begin to make sense now?...

This semester has been more of an eye opener to me. I am more focused on defining myself as a designer.
The first charette taught me the benefits of working in a group and how sometimes collaborative efforts have there ups and downs.
The first project with our group in rm. 204 really helped me to step up and focus on becoming an effective leader and organizer. Something I usually put off because I love being the out of the box, conceptual thinking, and living in my own little world where rules and requirements are up for debate.
The reading, at first, I was not happy about. It wasn't until I looked at the book as something that maybe I wasn't supposed to understand exactly they way it was written. It also, is up for interpretation. It has broadened my outlook and stretched my brain out beyond its container. A poets head may be out there but somehow it all makes sense.
This last charette however, I am still confused by. The most useful aspect I have gained from it is that design can form out of anything. Whether it is a picture or an object. It works really great if you have designer's block. Free drawing can take form and become something interesting because it releases our minds from the square room with no personality.

looking back/5th grade

Favorite teacher:  Miss. Garner-5th grade

Miss. Garner was new to the teaching world when she first entered our 5th grade classroom.  Being that we were her first class, she spoiled us.  This is the reason she stood out to me most throughout my time in school.  She would always begin and end the class with a fun activity such as thumbs down, charades, or storytelling.  She had a great personality and was always compassionate and patient with each student.  She knew how to have fun but be stern when she needed to be.  I remember her throwing a pool party for us at the end of the year at her house.  It was so much fun because it gave all the students a chance to interact together in a different setting without so much pressure.  We became a very tight group throughout middle school because of this.  
I remember another time she took a group of girls, including myself, to the mall.  We just hung out for the afternoon and at the end of the trip she took us to a kiosk that sold jewelry.  She bought us each a small 1 kt. gold bracelet which I still own today.  This was so impressive to me that a teacher put so much  time and effort into her students.  I had so many better memories of elementary school because of her.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Knowledge, intimacy, and freedom







drawers, chest, and wardrobes

drawers-"ready-made garments"

our mind has drawers, these drawers contain knowledge, they are pre-catergorized and ready to be used at any second. Memories are not contained in these drawers. They can not be placed into something so objective, because they float in the subjective world. The organized chaotic world in which we open often but never in the same form as these ready-made garments.

"Wardrobes with their shelves, desks with their drawers, and chests with their false bottoms are veritable organs of the secret psychological life."

"Does there exist a single dreamer of words who does not respond to the word wardrobe?..."

wardrobe-"intimate space"

Each of us has this. We have things in our lives that we don't open up with just anyone. Whether it is feelings or experiences, we lock these spaces up inside of wardrobes.
Whereas the drawers may contain our knowledge, the wardrobe contains our memories.

chests-"may be opened"

These are the objects we contain that we have complete mastery, and have the ability to be opened.

"We shall never reach the bottom of the casket."
-Jean-Pierre Richard

"....the initmacy of man and the intimacy of matter....."
"there is only one place for the superlative element of what is hidden.""To enter into the domain of the superlative, we must leave the positive for imaginary. We must listen to poets'

House and Universe

A house that stands in my heart
My cathedral of silence
Every morning recaptured in dream
Every evening abandoned
A house covered with dawn
Open to the winds of my youth.

The idea I took from this passage in Bachelard is that when you love a space so much, it takes on this form in your mind that continues to shape itself and remain constant throughout your dreams and memory.

"a room that grew buoyant and, little by little, expanded into the vast stretches of travel"
-Jean Laroche

Is a house just an object or something more? It has depth, personality, purpose, strength, compassion, protection, among many other qualities. At what point can an object expand past its form and function to become a part of our being?

"I never saw this strange dwelling again. Indeed, as I see it now, the way it appeared to my child's eye, it is not a building, but is quite dissolved and distributed inside me: here one room, there another, and here a bit of corridor which, however, does not connect the two rooms, but is conserved in me in fragmentary form. Thus the whole thing is scattered about inside me, the rooms, the stairs that descended with such ceremonious slowness, others, narrow cages that mounted in a spiral movement, in the darkness of which we advanced like the blood in our veins."

Another passage I found interesting was the relationship between size and function. According to Bachelard, "to sleep well we do not ned to sleep in a large room, and to work well we do not have to work in a den. But to dream of a poem, then write it, we need both.

Is this true of design? Some of my best work comes from meditating of the space itself. Silently contemplating and moving throughout the space in my mind. Having the ability to mold and shape walls, alter color, and move furniture in one second. I don't need a certain area to do this in, it can happen anywhere. But does this really relate to Bachelard's passage? What was he really try to say here?

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The use of louvered doors along the window walls helps the room control lighting and heating while at the same time provide a projection space when closed.


Axon of Rm. 204

This image displays how the classroom would
be set up for presenations by using only the seats.

Calculas Analysis




Wednesday, February 4, 2009

#2 Proposed Lectern

This model is a podium stand with a built in ILS computer. It will be able to function as the lighting controls/projector/and elmo system. It will also extend a shelf to display models during presentations.

Conceptual Lectern

After viewing different lecterns online, I came across the ILS Intelligent Lectern. This system is a touch screen, which enables the speaker to have complete access to the lighting in the room, the projector, and microphone at the same time. The computer is built in and can also access the speaker to their own notes at the same time they are projector their presentation. This prevents the clutter and stress of note cards. Another important aspect is to have the lectern be adjustable to all different heights so that even those in a wheelchair may access it. A feature that we also need to think about is making a place for models to sit while being presented. This will help make the presentation more cohesive with everything in one spot.