Midterm Learning Portfolio

In efforts to analyze and document my struggles, questionings, explorations, and discoveries…

to further inspire and develop my learning .

Justin AgustinArch 21 Fall 2009

Breaking the IceAfter a summer break of play, relaxation, and rest, I was eager to dive right into the course – although I had no inkling of what was in store for me.

The Icebreaker allowed me to get my feet wet in taking my first steps in expressing and developing my creativity in design.

First of all we had to select an abstract piece to drawing influences and inspiration from to drive our designed construction that was only restricted to a 10x10x10 inch cube.

Ready. Set. GO!!!After choosing one of

Robert Motherwell’s artworks, I began to brainstorm, coming up with several possibilities to begin with. These concepts as far as ideas, form, style, material were not set in stone as I began to actually work toward my first iteration. What could I do by folding, cutting, cropping, bending, copying, twisting, resizing, extruding, and repeating different elements of the abstract artworks? With loose sketches I worked toward what I envisioned it to become.

1st model Going through my first iteration, It

became increasingly frustrating that I wasn’t able to build my ‘ideal’ construction. I was fixated in creating what I imagined it to be in my head.

I soon realized I would not completely create my initial vision. I started to challenged myself to not limit my design to just my preconceived notions of what my designed cube should be. But the problem was not solved just yet. I soon struggled through exploration and experimentation, which later led me to rewarding discoveries.

I also didn’t realize the amount of time and effort that the project, and the course, would demand from me. This set the tone for how much work I would devote to my following iterations.

Iteration 2.The material, gravity, and little commitment to craftsmanship presented problems in my second iteration (which I later come to realize as opportunities to further explore other possibilities).

Through the actual construction I also gained a stronger understanding of the characteristics of the materials being used, and how the characteristic of the material present opportunities and guidance for my design. Granted I changed my choice of material due to lack of immediate resources available, as the iterations went on I took my previous experiences and applied them to future iterations.

Iteration 3.I have applied several design concept brought up in class and discussion with other students into my works, especially my final iteration. First of all, I incorporated a primary secondary and tertiary aspect into my pieces. I also used rhythm in groups of two or more in several sections of my design. I used rhythm to make my work more dynamics and cohesive, I did this with repeating forms and intentional changes to help the viewer move their eyes throughout the piece. I’ve also looked at my piece from different points of view, changing its orientation to judge whether or not it is interesting all around.

InspirationIn my recent iterations with my pieces I’ve drawn influences from the elemental characteristics of water, which is what I see in Motherwells’ abstract piece.

Trying to be more sensitive and aware, I took a moment to study some water inside of a plastics bottle – looking at form, movement, texture, etc. It came to me and only lasted for a second, but a second was enough for me to form a snap shot of the moment when a drop of water splash onto another body of water.

The complexities of tensions, releasing of tensions, densities, and motion became the inspiration that drove my final iteration.

Final IterationIn my final iteration I decide to use the influences of splashing water concentrated on the lowest space in a container, paying some attention the negative space (air). While still in the 10x10x10 cube, not all sides and corners are recognizable through my designed object, but one corner is highlighted and identifiable.

Craftsmanship and ownership were also some things I wanted to focus on fine tune for the final iteration (and all that follows). This allows our design to maximize its potential in clear, concise, and detailed. It also asks you to physically form concrete opinions and positions within you design – not just in your head.

Onwards and upwards…I’ve become more conscious to be sensitive to opportunities that present themselves as we work to achieve better design. I more often than before look at ‘speed bumps’ as chances to explore other possibilities to achieve the same goal, or even discover something better. For example, I first thought that the need to reference a 10x10x10 cube was much of a barrier to let our “creative juices” flow. I’ve recently found myself using the 10x10x10 cube as an aid or a tool to personally improve my design abilities. When you are limited in a certain way, your forced to find new ways of achieving what you’re looking for. Only when you are challenge can you make greater strides.

Notions of homeA home is a place of dwelling where one has protection from the elements, weather, and public invasion (but I believe there is more to it). It’s a more permanent place of living – a place of rest. The home also has a greater degree of comfort, memories, and personal experiences. It is a place where one lives with his/her family. It’s the pictures on the wall, the home cooked meals, and distinct scents that make it what I call home.

In its most basic form, the space in a home is defined by its walls, floor, and roof. The fact that our home is enclosed in a ‘box’ defines a space in which we can call our own. In my notion of home, I am accustomed to home being small to average in size. I would say that a smaller space feels more like home than a mansion would ever be. This is because of the proximity of objects, furniture and people.

Home analysisThe first thing I noticed when looking at my floor pans, I saw that my proportions were off in my freehand (from memory) floor plan. The hierarchy of spaces, in terms of value to me, dictate the size of the area I assigned to it. For example, I made the living room a lot larger that it is in reality. You can see in my free hand that the living room is bigger than the dining room, but in reality they’re about equal in area. It is the place I find most enjoyable. I spend a lot of my time here. The value I put on it makes me think the area is bigger than any other room. The room also has great open space and great lighting that allows natural light to flow through, most of the day.

Why study our home? How do we apply this to the rest of our endeavors?

To take our home, an everyday place, and look 2 the differences and relationships between our memories and actuality, to explore what physical characteristic create spatial significance. With this we can have some degree of background when we begin research on paths and nodes, and approach our sketch models of place-making.

As I began carefully analyzing my home I began to ask more questions. With our notions of home, we could be explore our notions of space. I took it a step further, asking how we can change our perceptions of space by changing other factors besides its physical dimensions? How can we use and manipulate placement, arrangement, proximity, lighting, color, texture, and proportions to affect our perception of size.

I came to the conclusion that lighting and color are huge factors in our perception of spaces. With natural light flowing and reflecting through a room, light can be a key element to open up space. Light colors mimic characteristics of light (being bright, reflective, airy and less dense), bright colors can make a room look bigger.

Further Exploration

As Far as Presenting…In class, I received great tips on visual and oral presenting that led me to establish some key points to address.

•Present with less text by:•Editing•Using keywords•Organization

•More visuals

•Introduce and idea, explain, then integrate to other parts of your presentation.

•Collect data, but make sure to draw conclusions and ask new questions.

•Use your storytelling to inspire your work, design, and presentations.

By doing this I feel I was more effective and clear in my presentation of path in nodes than I was with the home analysis.

Define them.

Paths• Used for circulation• Provides a transition from A to B• Ex: stairways, tunnels, bridges, streets,

and hallways• Directional element• Has terminal points (nodes)

Nodes• Place of dwelling• Where we choose to linger• Strategic focuses• Have implied centers• Ex: statues, fountains, gardens, and parks• Intersections, junctions of paths• Places to pause

Discoveries…• Paths and nodes are

interchangeable depending on its context.

• All spaces are paths or nodes, but of different magnitudes.

• Nodes can give relief to tensions of a path (and vice-versa).

• Paths exist in the space between two walls.

• Paths also create boundaries, dividing and defining different nodes.

• The space between node A and node B create a space defined by path C.

• Curved paths can encourage people to slow down, creating curiosity and intrigue.

What do I do now!? Things to investigate in my

sketch models…

Like a photographer, how can I frame views to define what is supposed to be experienced in a path and/or node?

I decided to investigate the impacts of nodes and paths through repetition? What are the values of constant, progressive, and graduated repetitions? How do they alter our perception of given paths and nodes?

Sketch ModelsThe first sketch model iteration were more literal - based on my notions of paths and nodes. Using my previous questions to investigate, I succeed and failed in different ways. I was able to use repeating paths to an extent, but a node wasn’t readable or non-existent. All I had were a bunch of paths.

In my second iteration, I was more fixated on characteristics of ordinary buildings. I struggled to pull away from my preconceived notions of buildings within my first few iterations. A positive, was that in my second iteration I was able to better balance the ratio of paths to nodes.

*The rest of the pages will present key concepts that I looked to apply into all my later iterations.

Defining SpaceI put a great deal and time into concentrating on form of space (not solid forms and sculpture). One of our first tasks was to DEFINE SPACE. At times I confused this with creating narratives in my head, sort of like the idea of “imagine if you will.” Defining space can be done by framing layers of experiences in spatial form (which will further evolve our tectonic language). With varying levels of detail and complexities, we can create a conversation between the different elements in our design. Shaping space also alters direction, speed, and time which one circulates paths and nodes. In the larger scales we are emphasizing and framing ordered, simple spaces; in smaller scales were dealing with complex, detailed spaces.

emotionsIn my third iteration, I began

attempting to express emotive adjectives and adverbs into my design such as: awe, monumentality, grandeur, excitement, wonder, welcome, allure, and curiosity.

Here I was challenged, as still am today, to stay away from generalities. It is my goal to be more specific in my design, narrative, speech, and explanations, everyday. Just like defining space, I found it difficult to define emotive qualities in a space without creating the narrative in my head and not presenting it to the class verbally. We must leave nothing arbitrary and in a state of “imagine if you will.”

Narrative developing my…Upon sight of the place, we see the predominate shape of a cylinder. The cylinder is long, tall and narrow to greater stress the verticality of the building. To enter the place, we encounter a possibility of 4 pathways (2 stairs, 2 ramps). Three of these are adjacent to one another, suggesting the front entrance. Every path starts out at least 20 feet wide, all slowly decreasing, converging in size into a single center point on the circular base. The paths start out wide curving to its left to give a sense of welcome, but curiosity as well. The motion and speed as we go through either pathway comes from a more relaxed state – gradually increasing tension – unconsciously slowing down as we approach the center of the first floor lobby. So far, we’ve made a transition from the complete open outside world to a semi-private area, still open to both the interior and exterior.

Here in front of us we have another set of stairs (this time with only one choice). The direction the stairs take help us to look up and see the complex/multiple layers hidden within. We take a moment, but only a moment – with our heads tilted back, we are given a sense of awe, wonder, stability, permanence, and monumentality. The complexities of the isolated nodes, connected by curvilinear paths subtly create a counter clockwise spiral of movements from the bottom-up.

Continuing on up, approaching the next elevation floor we are now enclosed in an interior at the exact center (laterally and vertically). Here we are experiencing the place of highest tension. Instinctively, we mostly move away from here. From our previous experience, momentum encourages one to continue moving forward and upwards. While the intervals are not varying, they are emphasized. Every change in strata/elevation also continues on this counter-clock-wise motion, increasing in size horizontally & opening up gradually releasing tension. With this we again become more and more connected with the exterior realm. Ascending, we are separated from the earth (yet still grounded), becoming more intimate with the sky and the worlds beyond the physical…

As we approach the last spaces of dwelling we are exposed in all 6 directions. We are uplifted, as if we are finally separated from the earth, flying. Only here are we able to experience pure serenity, bliss, and at peace.

For my 4th and 5th iterations I began to work with foam board, which help my model structurally. It also gave clean lines and depth to my vertical walls that the poster paper was not able to do. I decided to stay with the overall cylindrical shape that’s filled with layers of complexities of paths and nodes. This iteration did not stress the vertical as much as I want it to because of the height to width ration, so for my next iteration I will elongate the cylinder, and use the individual levels in the interior and exterior to also help emphasize this. I think verticality and also be achieve through stratifying the bottom floor above ground level.

PositionsDuring the course, I struggled with

the idea of taking a specific position on something because it can be seen and interpreted uniquely by different people. Here’s what I took away from our in class discussion about positions:

Positions are not necessarily laws, they are not etched in stone. They are more like informed opinions; experimental explorations; driving forces to further guide journeys into even more specific (or different) positions. I see now that they can evoke a set of experiments as we define our own unique tectonic languages, with the freedom to name these positions as we see them come, and then challenge them.

I believe there are endless variations of context in a position, changing its dynamics relative to the unique identity of its place, position, and orientation. As an architect, it is my challenge to evoke a certain set of experiences, and through our design increase that probability of what we want experienced to be experienced. Because each will trigger different experiences in different people, our objective is to guide them toward our visions and ideas. The first step in doing this would be to take on a set of specific positions then challenge and/or support them with other aspects of my tectonic language (something I feel I’ve already started to do as frequently as possible).

bonesWe’ve recently started concentrating on the bones of our sketch models. I first began to wonder how concentrating on the skeletal frame of our construction would develop our tectonic language?

Through the construction of my 6th and 7th iterations, conversations with my peers, and discussions in class, this was eventually and multiply answered. As I began constructing my 6th model, I began to realize that my development in a framework led to a better communication of a sense of order, logic, and organization in my works. Aspects of my piece became welcoming and more tangible in the scale I was working with. Speaking with my peers, we’ve also come to conclusion that the bones and structure can be seen as another layer of composition to further expand our tectonic language. Especially in my 7th iteration, where I began stripping of the floors and walls, I could see a higher level of continuity, cohesiveness, and unity in my design. Dividing, sectioning, delineating, and emphasizing spaces help to develop clarity and visual hierarchy in my sketch models. In class, I also took away from it that the backbone of a piece becomes very much like a main street to a road map, a point of reference. I’ve also noticed that the emphasis on bones has help people veer away from sculpting and build solid forms, not forms of space.

From Here On OutI feel that in this class, you can only get out of it as much as you put into it. The strides I see myself already making tell me that sticking through these long hours of hard work, frustration, and brain stretching have all been worth it.

Questions to maybe ponder as we move on to our 2nd half of the course…

In what other ways can we trigger physical qualities to trigger emotional ones? In what other ways will/can we develop our tectonic language, syntax, and semantics that’s we have not yet studied?

How will I balance my life with work, education, and ‘me-time’ to live and experience a fuller life?

Will I be able to remember ALL of this by memory to apply it to my works from here on out?Probably not, but it’s a good thing I have this to look back on.

Second half… HERE WE COME!!!