Architecture is often talked about as being an ancient form to be studied. But who's to say what the future holds? Architecture is as diverse in area as the ocean is in species. We gain Insight from nature and learn what systems work and which don't. A great example of this is climate farming and help. The future of our industry solely relies on our ability to construct with the environment in mind.
The ocean has landed a hand in creating vertical farming or Mariculture. "Think of it as 3D farming that uses the entire water column to grow a variety of species" Says Bren Smith, an ocean farmer on the East Coast. Although the ocean is typically looked at as being the last Wild Land , we will need it and our future 2 help us sustain life on Earth. Smith has organically grown hundreds of species of oysters mussels and kelp which are actually reversing the effects of global warming." Kelp soaks up huge amounts of carbon and can be easily turn into biofuel organic fertilizer... it also pulls 5 times more CO2 from the air than land plants do." He goes on to state that if we planted kelp with the same square footage as mean you could replace oil in the US. If using the ocean to reduce our carbon footprint and produce food for the world , how can architecture shift to align with these values. Although using biomimicry to create a material that photosynthesizes and produces food would be nice, how can we produce buildings and cities that are self sustainable economical and don't just work with the environment but actually produce a safer one. If we are going to need to start working with the ocean in order for life to exist what sorts of buildings need to be created? Will it be enough to erect structures which use the waves for energy or have Aqua Gardens growing on the structure? These sorts of Innovations are what excites me about the world of interior design and architecture. We're not simply Lego builders or decorum enthusiasts. We're innovators. Constantly challenging the current research and other fields to incorporate better systems for us to live in and with.
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City planning has been left to the collaborative efforts of city and county officials, architects, designers, urban planners and activists. However, today’s quickly-developed cities, such as Beijing, China, are struggling to counterbalance the eruption of non-collaborative development. Movements to organize cities more efficiently have been promoted in the past. Examples include “City Beautiful” and “Garden City Movements” both which failed due to a lack of positive user experience. These ideas were developed from top-down without enlisting alternate perspectives. Within the profession, a designer must think about usability in relation to pre-existing space in addition to gaining as many perspectives as possible. Often, while meandering along city streets, we forget that everything has been diligently designed. The height of the buildings, the use of the shops, the direction of traffic, landscaping, nothing is by accident. Governments put their money into what they most value. In the movie “Urbanized” the mayor of Bogota, Columbia believes in “…investing in the people.” He does this by investing in public transit, devoting a lane on all roads for only bus use. He also updates all cycling paths, therefore elevating the status of cyclists, saying that they are as important as the cars. Mayor Enrique Penalosa believes that cars are not important in cities, and therefore he discourages use of them by limiting parking and increasing width of sidewalks and improving bike lanes. His present thinking is relatable to many cities internationally, increasing ease of access by public transit and cycling, and decreasing parking. Bogota is a great example of positive collaboration within the government to produce ethical changes for the masses. How does designing a home, for instance, fit into city planning? Let’s pretend: You’ve just been hired by the government to design 40 single-family home-units for the impoverished in a prime lot in the most expensive part of the city. This lot was selected because of it’s proximity to buses and jobs and it’s function, to keep people out of the slums. Since 1/3rd of the world’s population live in slums, controlling the migration to the city (urbanization) into housing is essential. As you’re designing the homes, you have to design for functionality, usability and upkeep costs. These decisions all funnel into city planning. You are thinking about the user, and the relation of the city climate. You must figure out how to keep costs down, while presenting a finished design that supports the user. Perhaps even presenting options to the user, such as installing a water heater or a bath tub, is important. (For the Barechena Project in Chile, user pointed out that they would prefer a bathtub as they couldn’t afford to pay for the gas to heat the water.) Without collaborative efforts housing would not be possible. Not only would housing change without collaborative efforts, but public spaces might feel refracted, distant and uninviting. Zoning comes into play in the instance of NYC’s Highline Project by Diller and Scofidio. An disheveled, elevated, train track in downtown was on the brink of being torn down. However, during a public meeting two strangers shared an idea: to rezone and redesign the track into a public park, bringing community together. This idea ultimately prevailed, moving through new zoning, urban planning, committee meetings and public funding. The task at hand took an enormous amount of effort, but ultimately has become a community space where people feel comfortable, work-out in, meet-up, and hold concerts. The biggest idea to take is to understand that design is more about relationships than the physicality of what you’re creating. When you’re designing interiors for a public library in Seattle, you need to look at the social and economic environment and history of the space, not simply design and drop in a building. Design is about collaboration from different disciplines with different perspectives and needs. Collaboration infuses individual plans with creativity and dreams. Without these dreams we can’t move forward into more functional societies. “As a species we need things to power our imagination, that can get our passions going… It is not a brick, it is not a pipe, it’s an idea. That’s what drives cities forward.” (Edgar Pieterse) At the beginning of the semester I enrolled in a watercolor illustration class. Nervous as I was, I took the challange full-heartedly and dove into the blurry world of paint application. Beginning slowly, learning technique, history and application, I began to feel better versed with a brush in my hand. Similarly to speaking another language, with practice and patience one can improve. Moving forward, I am excited to announce that I feel as though watercolor is a simple, quick and effective way to communicate feelings to another person. Next year I'll be a senior and I very much look forward to being able to incorporate both analog and digital communication methods through my final projects. Below is a selection of some of my more recent watercolor work. "New York City During the Night" "Kindness"Inspired by "Kindness" by Naomi Shihab Nye "Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. You must wake up with sorrow. You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth. " "Partners"A piece dedicated to the delicacies of love. How it can be faceless and endearing; tender and subtle.
Seems silly to glorify a computer program, but when I was introduced to Podium a year ago, I felt that Photoshop could render a photo derived from SketchUp as well if not better than what Podium could do. Boy was I wrong. In one simple click my hard, black, lined furniture, and sketchy, extremely primitive geometric model is transformed into a photo-realistic place. One that actually exists. The model becomes tangible, as if I can taste the cookies which are baking in the oven and smell the shampoo and soap from the bathroom and hear the laundry drying. Below are Podium derived photos of my current project where I am designing an on site permanent research lab in the south of Spain. The researchers are living in Europe's largest private bird reserve which is also the world's only naturally sustained fish hatchery. The design used the flamingo's foot as inspiration for the shape, and the concepts of how the fish move throughout the space as inspiration for circulation. The hallway texture is derived from the ripples of the water, and helps to instigate movement through the space, similarly to how the fish are moved through the troughs into the larger ponds, or, living space. The users will feel the compression and release through the 2 ft ceiling height difference from the hallways to the living spaces, as well as be effected by the contrast in colors. Nature offers answers and understanding. Enjoy. Looking down the hallway from the entryThe entry hallwayLooking right down a passageway into the office |
AuthorAs a student at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle WA I entertain a variety of factors while designing space. Archives
August 2017
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