definition - pertaining to distance or measurement - a system of related measures that facilitates the quantification of some particular characteristic (dictionary.com)
This past week, we used the word metric in various ways throughout studio classes.
In Design Studio, we were to use specific metric measurements on our models that we were creating for the black and white project. We were to craft the model in a scale of either 1/16'':1' , 1'8'':1' , 1/4'':1' , or 1/2'':1'. For my black and white final model, I wished to achieve a building structure that was massive and if a standard person (6') were to walk through the structure, the two-story-high building would be intense and overwhelming. However, the person would also feel somewhat relieved in a spiritual way with the light shining through the top and complete openness all around them. By using literal metric sources, the scale figures give a sense of life-like ability as it becomes easier for the viewer to visualize themselves in the space.
We also used metric in drafting. Our assignment was to create a plan of the critique room in studio (room 401) measuring every wall, overhang ceiling, window, door, and column. Every measurement was translated from feet and inches into a 3/8'':1' scale on paper. I found the hardest part of this project finding the exact measurements of the room. It seemed like everyone had different measurements and I had to measure everything a few times each before I got correct metric numbers!
A more abstract example of how metric came about in my classes this week was during a morning exercise in Design Drawing. The assignment was to draw, from memory, what our dormroom looked like when we left it. Believe it or not, this drawing technique was challenging as it forced you to measure your memory.
[PRECEDENT]
definition - any act, decision, or case that serves as a guide or justification for subsequent situations ; PRECEDING (coming after) (dictionary.com)
From the beginning of the semester, with all of our projects, we use precedents to base our designs around. Precedents in design act as a fueling agent for ideas and help viewers relate designs to real life objects. Anything can act as a precedent for most any design, from a building design to an interior architecture project.
From this past week alone, we created multiple models and drawings that qualify as precedents for each other, meaning that each step helped the process of the following assignment. One example of this black and white project progression through elements of precedents was from five drawing that we created, to making 3 three dimensional models based upon the drawings and a story that we read. I used the drawings for inspiration in the models. Also for this step of the black and white project, we were each assigned three words. Each word had to resemble on model and served as precedents.
From these drawings.....
and these three words.....
....I created these three models:
In Design Theory & History, we completed our first step of a semester-long assignment called the Precedent Analysis project. For the project, we were to choose any building structure of our choice from the twentieth century and there will be multiple steps to come. After researching, I decided to choose the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. I made this my final decision because I found it the most interesting and saw great potential in the structure as a whole comparing it to the list Patrick provided as hints/reminders. The house serves as a tool for later steps in completing my project. For the Sydney Opera House itself, there are precedents that formed the design. For example, "the rising shells suggested sails in the harbor, and the undulating ceilings of the auditoria not only recalled the surrounding water but also suggested sound waves" (Roth, 554).
[PRESENCE]
definition - the place in which one is present; the part of space within one's ken, call, influence, etc. (dictionary.com)
The way that you feel when you are around something is describing the way its presence effects you. Somethings presence can make you feel either overwhelmed, happy, confused, curious....the list goes on. Connecting the word to matters that have been disgusted in classes this past week, presence is a great word that can be used to describe the impact of a building or structure. Presence can go hand-in-hand with hierarchy in a sense of how we talked about tall structures giving off a important vibe for anyone who is physically present with an object (or "in the presence of a structure"). A example of a powerful structure that we studied in Design Theory & History was the overwhelming effect of wu-wu's. They are massive structures extending towards the sky, used as a land marker and symbolizes how much empire one had according to its size. The structures are very masculine that shaped the environment in which they were in making them important to many males of ancient times.
The wu-wu I decided to illustrate was the statue of Don Pedro IV located in the New Rozio plaza in Lisbon, Portugal. This statue serves as a wu-wu for Don Pedro IV, who became king of Portugal in 1826. It is a massive 75ft tall marble pillar topped with a bronze statue of Pedro IV in the "heart" of Lisbon at the open, main intersection. My drawing combines two different drawing techniques: contour and blind contour, which was one of our drawing class exercises this week. It also includes watercolor which we have continued to improve upon.
[MOMENTS]
The way that you feel when you are around something is describing the way its presence effects you. Somethings presence can make you feel either overwhelmed, happy, confused, curious....the list goes on. Connecting the word to matters that have been disgusted in classes this past week, presence is a great word that can be used to describe the impact of a building or structure. Presence can go hand-in-hand with hierarchy in a sense of how we talked about tall structures giving off a important vibe for anyone who is physically present with an object (or "in the presence of a structure"). A example of a powerful structure that we studied in Design Theory & History was the overwhelming effect of wu-wu's. They are massive structures extending towards the sky, used as a land marker and symbolizes how much empire one had according to its size. The structures are very masculine that shaped the environment in which they were in making them important to many males of ancient times.
The wu-wu I decided to illustrate was the statue of Don Pedro IV located in the New Rozio plaza in Lisbon, Portugal. This statue serves as a wu-wu for Don Pedro IV, who became king of Portugal in 1826. It is a massive 75ft tall marble pillar topped with a bronze statue of Pedro IV in the "heart" of Lisbon at the open, main intersection. My drawing combines two different drawing techniques: contour and blind contour, which was one of our drawing class exercises this week. It also includes watercolor which we have continued to improve upon.
[MOMENTS]
definition - a particular period of importance, influence, or significance in a series of events or developments ; a brief, indefinite interval of time (dictionary.com)
Moments can be seen in many mediums: sculptures, drawings, photographs, written letters, and so on. In particular to my studio classes, any drawing is a moment captured in time. From this past week, the best examples of 5 different moments that I created were drawings of the Ferguson building. People create moments. So in my drawings, I create a moment for the figures. Each moment was set in a different place, either in a hallway, stairwell, or outside, each is unique and can form its own story.
In Design Theory & History, we referred to the Greek Baths and their architecture. Specifically, we referred to the Baths of the Diocletian of 289 A.D. and how they were more than just washing; they were a combination of a "modern health club with that of a public library and school" (Roth, 267). The bath was a massive structure as it occupied "32 acres of changing rooms, gymnasiums, libraries, meeting rooms, theaters, concert halls, sculpture gardens, vast basins for hot, lukewarm and cold plunges, as well as mosaic floors and marble facades" (Patrick, sheet). All of these activities created moments in a personal aspect while associating with others, but moments were also created in baths figuratively by the architecture of the building and where each activity was placed. The design of the baths had rooms sectioned off for certain functions creating individual "moments".
[DUALITY]
definition - a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses (dictionary.com)
Many things can have two sides, literally or figuratively. A piece of paper has two sides, one side could have writing on it while the other side is blank. Or there could be two views to a situation, such as this new year, there were opposing sides to who should become the next president of the united states. From the world to my classes, duality has also taken form to the meaning of my black and white project. From the first to the last model, the overall theme that I successfully conveyed was carried down through each design. The story that I based my designs upon was from "the Juniper Tree" and I used the black material as evil, the white as the good force and the gold symbolizing greed between both good and bad. The duality in these designs is the good vs. evil aspect where in the end, good wins the dual and triumphs evil.
first project design
last project design
[IN SUMMARY] ...I felt that each of the five words this week worked well together. Metric, precedent, presence, moments, and duality all relate to buildings, architecture and drafting. All buildings/pieces of architecture are to a certain metric scale, can serve as a precedent for something else, have their own distinct presence, create moments, and can serve dual purposes. These words offer a variety of meanings and examples as I portrayed in my description making them interesting to study.
No comments:
Post a Comment