Final Project

I have used this class as a way of further exploring, analyzing, and reflecting on my architectural experiences during my undergraduate collegiate career at Ohio State.  Some of the micro projects have led me to portray a little about my time in Knowlton Hall.  These have provided me the opportunity to show some slanted views into the "studio culture" and what it is like being an architecture student.  However, these views do not really represent the core element of architectural education: studio.
Most of my time outside of class is spent at my studio desk in the wee hours of the morning working on projects.  Lots of students, like myself, spend countless hours outside of class just working on studio design projects.  I felt that it would be important to portray the process of collection/trash buildup that occurs every quarter as a studio progresses and students get more and more tired.
I wanted to try to attempt a cartoon version of drawing that I have never had the opportunity to do before.  I got the idea from my initial cartoon making exercise in the super power micro project.

These images show a cartooned version of myself at my desk, working on projects at all hours of the night.  The trash buildup is exponentially increasing in every image as I and other students get more exhausted as the quarter goes on and care less and less to pick things up.  Coffee cups are strewn about the floor in an attempt to demonstrate how tired I am.  The images on the little computer screen are actually images of projects I have worked on throughout my collegiate career.  They appear chronologically, tracing my development through school in a weird representation.  While making these images I had the opportunity to reflect on all my experiences in those wee hours of the morning as well as poke fun at myself more living in and participating in this messy, insane environment.  The situation is slightly exaggerated but I felt it necessary to demonstrate the idea I was trying to get across.
I enjoyed trying to make a cartoon out of everything that normally exists around me in studio, giving it a more lighthearted appearance than it actually appears.  The only "real" things are  the images of my projects, but again these were also fabricated so in a way they are cartoons as well.  Looking back on this now, I wish I had made one more image of myself working on this project.  Due to my final reviews for studio, I was stuck making most of this project in the late night hours when I could find the time. 

Final Project Brainstorming

In a similar vein as a lot of my other projects for this class, I want to use this final project as an opportunity to explore my undergraduate experience as an architecture student.  For my narrative, I am interested in portraying a typical cycle of studio. In this narrative, I want to portray how I (like many other students) stay up all hours of the night producing work for class, only to have an instructor bash the idea or suggest an alternate direction for a project.  I plan to show some of the projects I have completed during my 3 + years at Ohio State, which maybe will give me a chance to reflect back on those of experiences.  When working on the super power mini-project, I developed an interest in cartooning and I plan to explore that here, albeit I am interested in attempting a slightly more illustrated style.

I found this picture while scouring the internet and found it really interesting, sad, and inspirational all at the same time.

Cathedral

I enjoyed this narrative and was very interested in each little twist from the start.  I typically have problems with people who are intolerant and don't except others, so from the beginning I was at odds with the narrator.  Perhaps that made the reading more interesting for me though.  I did appreciate how the narrator slowly started to makes attempts at grasping an understanding of the blind man's world and began to become somewhat sympathetic to his situation.
This article raised a really interesting idea for me.  I have always been a visual person.  My architectural education over the last three and a half years have led me to be even further rooted in the appearance of things visually.  Often times the best student projects in our studio portray a thesis or suggestion simply through imagery.  Words tend to weaken an argument and so we strive to eliminate the need for verbal explanation in our presentations.  The story about the blind man reminded me that such a form of communication is not the only way of demonstrating an idea.  Other forms of art that introduce smells, sounds, etc. begin to explore this.  The blind man, despite being very aware of his surroundings as described by the narrator, required more detailed descriptions of the world around him or needed to feel things rather than see them with his eyes.  I think I would greatly struggle in a world where I could not see things with my eyes, but then I guess there are other ways of "seeing" the world.

Microproject 5

My friends always make fun of me for having way too many cards for various things in my wallet.  My wallet is usually pretty fat haha.  But whenever I look at them, I can justify keeping all of them.  Most of them are frequent user cards for food or grocery establishments and art supplies stores where I buy things for my architecture classes. The top image shows them all laid out.  The next image shows them all in a stack.  While I do not actually keep all of them in my wallet at once, when they are all stacked up they measure almost 1". 
That does seem to be way too much to be carrying around my back pocket.

So in order to apply my assigned actions of: to collect or to simplify, I would love to smash or squash or the cards in my wallet down.  Essentially this would simplify the process of searching through my wallet for the card I need and to collect them all into once spot.  The last image shows my idea for a card in the future that, similar to a driver's license, shows your face, but instead of showing identification info, all of my cards are displayed to define who I am.  In a way this is more descriptive of my life than listing off my height, weight, eye color, etc. like a normal license or identification card.  The last image shows the cards I probably use most often, simplifying the number of cards I have as well.

My entry for a 24 hour design competition held in Knowlton Hall

Pixelated

I could not decide on a typical superpower so I took a slightly different take on the assignment.  So much of what I do in terms of presenting my studio projects deals with broad ideas down small details or some some cases photoshop pixels.  Renderings and other imagery I have produced for in my undergraduate career have required the use of photoshop to nitpick details and pixels in order to properly convey a project thesis.  Taking this in mind, along with the fact that architecture consumes most of my life and "free time", I decided to experiment with the idea of pixelating myself into architecture.  The two images shown above are attempts at this process, one taking a inspiration from Andy Warhol and the other attempting to look like a comic book. If I had to relate this to the idea of a superpower, I guess I would say that in my world everything is pixelated and by being pixelated or dematerialized, I could use architectural buildings and monuments (such as the Bean in Chicago) to travel the world. It took me awhile to find the exact effect I was looking for but now that I have finished this one, I am interested in showing myself in other places around the world

An early rendering of my current studio project

Placeless Book

My Studio Desk

Lecture Hall

Classroom Desk

Studio Atmosphere

Architecture Library

Initially, I planned to make some sort of architecture book monument on my studio desk in Knowlton Hall to demonstrate my undergraduate education.  However, I soon realized that there was no set of books or one particular place in which to best describe my experiences.  If you were to ask any other student or professor in the school, they would most likely have selected a different set of publications and places.  I decided that a field like architecture is too vast to sum up in some assorted collection of books.  Instead of making a "statue" in a single place, I chose to create a placeless book that is impressionable by its surroundings.  The images shown were all photographed in locations around the Knowlton School of Architecture that are significant to me.  This book, without an established environment, changes its contents in each location based on what I have personally learned or experienced there.  So, in a way, the book is demonstrating my personal undergraduate education at Ohio State's architecture program and the ways in which I have perceived it.

Photography Scavenger Hunt

1) Asymmetrical

2) Symmetrical

3) Radial

4) Person and their surrounding space

5) Person up close

6) POV of an Ant

 7) POV of a Bird

8) Stable

9) Unstable

 

Identity Items

 

1)  The first item is my Ipod.  I use my Ipod constantly whether I am driving in my car, working out at the gym, walking to class, or working on studio.  I usually think of it as a type of mental release and escape, but due to my use of it, I guess it is more of  my way of transitioning from one place to another.  - Flowing Transition


2)  I try to take care of my body and keep myself in shape.  This dumbbell is one of the set I keep in my room.  I use these when I cannot find the time to make it to the gym.  Working out provides me a physical release of tension. - Physical Release






3)  This item has two meanings for me.  It is a soccer ball and soccer is my favorite sport. It is also a signed Manchester United ball, my favorite team.  Soccer was the main sport I played growing up and I still follow it avidly. - Beautiful Game





4)  These are several of the architecture books I have accumulated over my collegiate career.  They vary in focus and length but each have taught me a small part of the architectural universe.  I hope to continue to explore the field of architecture by reading more academic books on the subject. - Growing Passion

5)  This is the study Bible I received after I finished my confirmation class in 8th grade.  To me it represents the only true word and rules in the universe.  My knowledge of the Bible is very limited but I hope to become better versed in the scripture as my life continues. - Love/Law










6)  My Xbox has provided countless hours of video game and Netflix entertainment in my downtime.  I grew up playing video games with my friends. Although I don't have as much time as I used to, I still enjoy the occasional chance to kick back and escape from reality for a little bit. - Virtual Escape

7)  My collection of buckeye nuts represents my obsession with Ohio State.  I have supported the Buckeyes since I was in elementary school and absolutely love the university.  I have collected buckeye nuts for years and use them as decoration in my room, even if it is a bit corny. - Crazy Nut

 8)  To accompany my Xbox, I have a pretty large collection of video games.  These are just a few of my favorites.  My interests in genre of games is pretty diverse but I always enjoy a good game of FIFA soccer or Mario Kart.  I really enjoy kicking back with friends on a weekend and playing a few of our favorite games. - Fun with Friends

9)  This is my current sketchbook.  I primarily use it for my architecture studio classes, but I have also used it for Art Edu 252 and history classes to take notes.  It is extremely useful whenever I have a new idea and want to explore it on a page or even just to remember a particular thought I have had. - Inked Memories

10)  I would be dead without my laptop.  I don't think more than a day or two has gone by, since I first got my laptop in the summer of 2008, that I have not used it.  My most frequent  uses for it include socializing, homework, and communications.  - My Life

     This composition is an interpretation of my life as I view it now.  Much of my life is spent on my laptop.  I complete schoolwork, send emails, play games, connect socially, etc.  It feels as though my laptop is consuming my life. To me this image is supposed to portray that my laptop (technology) is absorbing or has absorbed all the important aspects of my life.  In a way, I am trying to make a social commentary on the trends of people in today's society.  People are consumed by their gadgets and gizmos, spending as much time in a fabricated, virtual reality, as they do in the actual world.  The words are intentionally made somewhat obscure to attempt to portray that these ideas and images are being consumed by my laptop or are meant to be read as projections of my life.
     I feel that this composition might be difficult to understand as it is difficult to read the words and some of the items are more difficult to interpret due to distortion and blurring.  The composition may seem to be trying to connect seemingly unrelated items.  However, all aspects of this image, from interests in soccer and exercise to architecture and religion, represent parts of who I am, with my laptop as the center of my universe.

Perceiving the Unnoticed

This map and series of images are meant to convey the opposite of that which I normally perceive on a typical walk to class.  I have lived in a house on West Norwich Avenue for the past 2 1/2 years of my life and my walk usually takes me from down the alley onto Lane and meanders through the business college until I reached Knowlton Hall.  This quarter, having class in the Shoe, my walk takes me just a bit further on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  However, despite this subtle change, I did not perceive anything different in my surroundings. 

This assignment first made me think of all the things I typically see and/or have noticed for over the past 2 years.  I originally planned the call these things out in a series of images, highlighting what I most commonly perceive almost everyday of my life.  However, upon further investigation, I noticed a more interesting pattern.  By being forced to stop on my route to take photographs, rather than just walk along with my headphones on listening to the latest Jack's Mannequin or Snow Patrol song, I began to notice things I usually ignore.  Things, such as various signage across campus, that have disappeared into my surroundings over time, day after day.

I started to count the number of signs that I found in the pictures that I had taken, intending to capture something else.  I was astounded by the number of signs I picked out ranging from building labels to parking signs to traffic warnings to dumpster graffiti.  I chose to call out these newly perceived objects in my environment by slightly obscuring my surroundings and highlighting the various signs, pulling them out of obscurity and into focus.


I also just finished applying to graduate schools a couple of days ago.  It's been a rather long process but it feels good finally be done with it.  I'm slowly beginning to upload my work to the web.  A digital copy of my undergraduate portfolio is accessible by clicking on the Issuu link.  I am working on a more extended profile for Archinect as well.

Messing with Photoshop in class

The Accidental Masterpiece...Shared Sentiments

I found that I could easily relate to the content of this article, like some of the others before it.  I keep finding myself drawing parallels between the thoughts regarding the contemporary art scene and the academic field of architecture I am investigating at the Knowlton School.  This discourse between Stephen Metcalf and Michael Kimmelman explores and wrestles with some of the issues that frustrate me when it comes to design related subjects.  Metcalf touches on the subject almost immediately.  From my understanding, a common opinion existing in the world today is that art is only meant to be understood by a select few and that many people feel they lack the qualifications to interpret it.  The result is that art has become the lifestyle for the rich and over-educated, when even they might not understand it.  The result is that many people, who don't "get it" from their initial encounter with a design piece, simply shrug their shoulders (both figuratively and literally) and choose to turn away instead of attempting to understand what is sitting in front of them.  They treat things objectively rather than subjectively, as Metcalf states, and base their decisions on what a "higher" authority tells them.  Kimmelman echoes my sentiments saying that people who exist outside of the art world just assume that it isn't meant for them.

I found it interesting that Kimmelman notes that more people visit art museums than ballgames.  I never would have thought this to be true based on my experience with other people's reactions towards art or architecture they do not understand.  But maybe he is correct in that these people are looking for something from art but do not know what they are looking for.  I enjoyed this back and forth discussion but did not know many of the references that Kimmelman and Metcalf were relating to so I could not delve any deeper into what they were discussing.

 I have found that these two buildings, the Knowlton School of Architecture and the Wexner Center, are not understood by the general student body and therefore are underappreciated for what they offer the university.