        1011 antunez1011 Exit ReflectionAnnie McCarthy One With the distance I realize why we did much of what we did. I can understand how one exercise, or even homework assignment, builds on the previous one. Nothing can be forgotten because everything builds on the previous work. Often when doing the assignment I wondered why we had to do one thing or another, but looking back I understand what role that played in the assignment as a whole. In myself I see an amount of confidence building up, and this confidence comes from everything I learned through out the semester. Having learned so much helps me to feel a certain confidence in my work. I now understand that the purpose of making a model is not to represent an object as it is, but to simplify it so that it is more easily understood. For me the process of formulating ideas was the most difficult to understand, but having had 1011 I now feel much better about my formulating process. It is about pin pointing an aspect and going with it. A skill which I have picked up between both 1060 and 1011 is that making rules will make my life much easier. Making rules helps me to understand what my idea is and where I am going with it. I have also come to understand that designing is not a matter of pulling any random idea out of a hat, but that it comes with much synthesizing. Designing comes from answering a problem. Two Looking back, I realize how much we have learned in studio this semester; we acquired so many skills which will be carried on throughout our career. One skill in particular which I found myself struggling with was the new way of seeing which many of the assignments required me to use. I had never looked at things in such a thorough and detailed manner, and since this is what troubled me the most, I feel that I have taken the most away from 1011 in this area. It was difficult for me to look at an egg slicer as more than a functional object. Who knew I would develop a park from an egg slicer? Coming into 1011, I had little to no experience in the area of seeing the world for more than its surface appearance. I feel that this skill is the one which I will make greatest use of in 1012. In 1012 I plan to pay special attention to furthering this skill because I feel that it is essential to understanding the DBE. I have improved upon this skill of seeing, but there is still much, much more room for building upon it. This skill is one that I think a thorough understanding of will go a long way. Three The role of the instructor is to impart her wide range of knowledge upon the students. The role of the handout is to inform the student about the work which she is going to be completing. It is given out in the hopes that the students will not only complete the work understand why they are doing what they are doing and why they are doing it in such a manner. The role of the pinup and final jury is to give the students the opportunity to receive constructive criticism, and the reviewer helps the students to learn even more about the subject. It is also important in building presenting skills. The role of the inquiry book is to get the students thinking about what they have done and the process which brought them to a certain understanding. Having fellow students around to discuss my work was essential. They often provided a view which my instructor and I didn’t consider. The studio space is awesome. It provides a community of students who are willing to help each other and offer their experiences and advice to others. It is a community which is essential to the learning experience of the CFY. The studio learning experience is completely different from any experience I have ever had. It provides a much better learning environment than a classroom because students can work alone or in groups and discuss the work with members of their class and also members of other classes. Four The first exercise was getting us used to the new materials and studio in general, but it also asked us to see in a different way than many of us have ever looked at anything. It asked us to see a person as the forces which make him up, to see a drape not as a drape but as a series of tones. This new way of seeing led us directly into exercise two. Exercise two asked us to recall the drawing skills we learned and to further the seeing skills which we learned. It was essential that we begin to see our object not only as an object but as an object which has specific functions and parts which facilitate that function. Exercise two required us to see our object as the many aspects which make it up and allow it to function. We had to consider the human interaction, other interface, the interaction between object parts, the relationship between the human body and the ratios in the object and many more. Having us come to a full understanding of this object through our looking skills, led us into exercise three. Exercise three asked us to take our developed understanding of the object and determine a focal point which we would keep constant, DNA, and this DNA determined our riffings. We learned how to make rules and change other aspects while keeping these rules the same, and applying these rules was the determining factor of our final proposal. This is one of the most important things we learned, how to make rules and apply them. My favorite exercise was exercise two because I feel that I learned the most in exercise two. It was difficult for me to understand this object on such a detailed level, and since this was so difficult for me in the beginning, I feel that I came out with much more knowledge than I did when I went in. I even began to enjoy discovering more and more about my object. One: To study architecture was a last minute decision I made in my journey and preparation for my college experience. I considered studying something easy, something general so that I would succeed easily, but the regret of not giving myself the chance to follow a passion would be too big. Every time I mentioned that I was going into architecture people would give me this look of “why would you do that to yourself?” As I have studied during this first semester I have grown as not only a student, but as a person. I found out that it was possible to succeed during the first semester of CFY. Following the patterns of each exercise, how they grew and built upon one another helped to increase the understanding of my education. I always found it amazing how at the end of each one I could recognize the reasoning behind earlier projects and tasks. Even more important, is the growth of strength to be able to discuss personal work in front of a group of people who are basically there to judge and help you improve. I definitely have become more confident in my ability to continue with architecture, and not regret my choice in majors. Two: The most amazing way of learning developed in 1011 was learning how to think and see. Instead of seeing a picture or object as one whole piece, I learned how to break down my vision into details of importance, things that I would not have recognized or paid attention to before. Beyond seeing, I discovered how to ask questions and how to investigate the subject I am studying. What I will carry into 1012 is this inquisitive nature that I have received, and pay attention to detail. Three: The instructor is there not only to guide you in your discoveries, but to motivate you so that you want to make more investigations. If my instructor had not been interested in the success of her students, then I may of not been able to motivate myself to try all the random things that we had to try during exercise three. The handout gave a general direction of where the process of each exercise was going, however, because all instructors treated the exercises differently, it was there as a mild reference. The review process was there as an intense learning tool. The process of pinning up made us develop our own opinions about the exercise to share with the reviewer, and allowed the students to get beneficial feed-back about how he or she can improve their investigative habits. The inquiry book was developed to keep a record of work and progress. This book can help us see the change in our work overtime, as well as help to develop portfolios for future internships or job opportunities. I mentioned before in previous exercise reflections that my greatest tool was often my peers. I found that my way of thinking grew and developed when I listened to others. Not only did their opinions help me advance my thinking skills, but my collaborative skills as well. Working in groups for exercise two was a beneficial aspect of my peers because it was a different type of group work. While it is great to have large desks available full of other learning first year students, I found that the studio space was not always beneficial to my own discoveries, and I often found it distracting. It is there to serve as a home for all of our work, but my best ideas developed when I took a break from the room that we have class in. Four: The first exercise seemed to serve as a way in which students could get to know themselves as an artist. Knowing our abilities, as well as the basics for drawing and sketching would aid us in the continuation of the semester. The second exercise was most helpful in changing our way of thinking and discovering. While having to work with partners, time management and organization also played a key role during this process. Lastly was the third exercise which developed our ability to be creative. This was the first exercise that we were allowed to develop something on our own terms, and while it was frustrating at some times, the freedom was the reason why it was my favorite exercise. Erica Schweiger I think it is quite interesting how well the exercises developed on each other. It was nice to see how we moved from the simple "exercises" and skill development to a more abstract process oriented investigation. Each exercises slowly built. The patter was like any learning pattern, introduction, development, and then implementation. I felt that I learned a lot this semester. I came to studio with some art background, but it was fun to finally put the skills into practice. I think the exercises helped me develop a better appreciation for the "process". So often I want to just create, just make, just do. This class forced me to work step by step through things evaluating possibilities that I would have never even considered. TWO I will carry my strong looking and representation skills forward to 1012. I will also bring with me my curiosity for possibility. I want to get more feedback next semester, I want to develop a stronger ability to communicate my ideas through a more universal graphic language. THREE Instructor: helps us understand the process, gives us the questions to move forward and creates structure that encourages learning and accomplishment. Project: the projects introduced us to new concepts developed new skills. The hand out made the exercises as clear and objective as possible. review process: gave us feedback. The inquiry book: helped us sum up what we had accomplished and gave us a broader prospective. The fellow students: also gave us feedback and helped us understand what was going on. They provided another prospective outside the teachers. Studio space: gave us the place to work on our work. Also created a community that helped us get through our work. Studio is wonderful. Unlike most learning environments, you actually get to do! However, unlike a job, there is not the added pressure of creating something perfect or even something that is supposed to provide you your income. Instead it is a place of exploration and personal development. FOUR Exercise one gave us tools and presented the different medias in which to draw and depict the world around us. Exercise 2 really developed our investigation and representation skills. Exercise 3 helped developed a more abstract way of looking at the world and way of creating. I like the first exercises because I love to draw. Exercise 3 was fun too because it was more challenging. I liked 3 the best because we were creating with purpose: a competition. Merica May Jensen 1) The type of learning that was evident in each of the three exercises was careful seeing and looking. In the first exercise, we were introduced to the seeing and looking. In the second exercise, we applied that seeing and looking into a single project and used those tools to discover other aspects and details about objects. In the third exercise, we were pushed to use the tools that we have learned to individually see and look to produce a nice finished product. I feel that I have learned a lot throughout the semester and it was nice to have each exercise build off of each other so we could improve and refine our skills. After taking my first semester of COA 1011, I now look at objects in a much different light. I used to not think about objects that I use everyday very often. Now that I have experimented with careful seeing and looking, I find myself carefully seeing and looking all the time now. I also have developed a more in-depth sense of how to think about my ideas and apply them. With the help of my instructor and fellow students, my eyes have been opened to new ways to approach and solve problems and projects. Because of the new knowledge that I posses I feel that I can be a much more efficient and effective critic of my work because I feel that I have a broader range of views to look at my work from. 2) I will definitely carry the careful seeing and looking learning that I acquired in COA 1011 into 1012. It has helped my first semester in the college of architecture be quite successful and I would like that to continue next semester so I won’t stray away from what has made me feel successful. I plan to pay close attention to the key elements or goals of the second semester course so I can make it a very successful and accomplished semester. 3) The instructor’s role was to guide each of the students in the ways of architecture. They are much more knowledgeable about architecture than any of the students so they were a great resource to have. The role of the handouts was to familiarize the students with the exercises and help them get an idea of what they were working towards or how they were going to work toward an end. The review process’ role was to provide the students with objective criticism for their work. The reviewer’s provided much more unique criticism because your instructor and fellow students are familiar with your work while the reviewer is not. The inquiry book’s role is to help reflect on the work that we have done through the semester and see how they connect and how we have progressed throughout our time in COA 1011. Your fellow students are in the same boat as you in your first year as an architecture student. Their role is to provide you with their views about the projects and exercises and it helps you look at your work in a different way than you would before. The studio space itself is our home. We work, live and play there. It is a place where we can all gather and bask in the glory of architecture. The studio environment is unique to all other types of learning environments. You become close to all of your studio-mates because of all the time that you spend together. You do not get to spend the amount of time with your classmates in other environments and you do not get to learn the most about them there as well. 4) Again the first exercise was to introduce the students with a new way of looking and seeing the world and the objects that exist within it. The second exercise was an applied exercise with those tools on a certain object so we could discover different things within those specific objects. The third exercise was a wrap up of the first two exercises. We were required to used the tools that we attained in the first two exercises to individually look and see an object and determine a finished product from those observations. I really enjoyed the final exercise of the semester. I liked how we were free to approach the problem in many different ways and come up with a solution or proposal all by ourselves. Greg Kowalski One Re-reading my, and others, exercise responses I was struck by how much we have learned and been taught this semester. Coming into studio I was not sure what to expect, and looking back I am amazed at how much I have grown. The pattern I discern in the learning for each exercise was thinking I know what the exercise was trying to teach us, what I would learn, but in end learning, or realizing, we were being taught something different. I do discern a cumulative growth in learning in myself. Before this semester I was much less confident in my abilities to draw and manipulate the media available to me. The change from pre 1011 to post 1011 for me has been: a) representing perceived reality to representing actual reality b) having to have a set plan and goal in order to explore and formulate my ideas to being open and willing to work without a goal or set plan c) analyzing and inquiring in terms of what looks good to analyzing and inquiring in terms of what can communicate what I have learned the best and simplest way d) designing mainly by what looks good to me to designing more for people who will view the designs, what they will find interesting and well designed. Two The "learning" in 1011 that I think will play the most active part in 1012 is representing true reality and working without a specific goal and plan. I plan to pay special attention to ways 1012 will enhance, and add to, these two specifics aspects of the 1011 "learning" I think I will carry forward. Three I think the role of the: Instructor is to guide students toward new discoveries, creative projects, and insightful explorations Project handout is to give students a brief explanation of the purpose, and way to think about, a given exercise Review process is to see the "bigger picture" of exercises, compare personal work in relation to other’s, and get opinions of people not constantly in touch with our work Inquiry book is to explore exercise successes and failures, in other words to look back on, and contemplate, the exercises Fellow students is to aid in the process of collaboration, and leaning, about other’s areas of experiences, expertise, and weaknesses. Studio space is to serve as an area, a "beaker," an environment, a launch pad, etc...for different types of new discovery/learning I would describe the studio learning experience compared to other spaces as much more intense, deep, and critical. Four I think the exercises progressed in such a way that the previous exercise served as the base for the following exercises. First our seeing was adjusted/changed, second we used this new way of seeing to investigate in a more critical and better way, finally we explored with a critical eye and the knowledge gained from the investigations. In the end my favorite was the third exercise. It helped me see what I think is a more typical process of working in DBE, the process of development toward an unseen goal using a common interest. Joseph Newman Federico Holgado ONE Something worth mentioning is just how new the whole "world" of studio was, and how much more experienced I feel now after just one semester. I feel like I am much more in the mindset of an aspiring designer. A clear pattern is of course the continuous nature of the exercises, and how each builds on prior knowledge. I believe that I have gained many skills in how to represent ideas successfully, which is key to being a good designer. The change in perception of drawings and models went from being just lines and pretty shades to a representation of an idea, concept, or object. The formulation of ideas before were always without a strong foundation, and after the first semester, became well grounded. Analysis is more thorough and detailed, with better information gathered from it. After seriously designing my first proposal, my ideas are now based on facts which create more solid and purposeful designs. TWO I think that the most important skill that will carry over to 1012 is the way of looking at the built environment as a designer instead of as a "regular" person. That skill will enable me to see things and their purpose, and to come up with more ideas that have that skill or purpose behind them. I plan on paying special attention to the guidelines and instructions imposed by the instructor. I believe that the best way to successfully learn is by following the precise instructions that were devised with a purpose in mind, and that is to most efficiently pass on knowledge. THREE The role of the instructor is to guide us through each exercise and help us focus on the areas we need help in. The handout states the rules and goals that each exercise provides. The review process gives you insight on the way other designers view your work, and is a key part of the learning process. The inquiry book allows us to display our information in a clear way, and allows us to collectively see our work to analyze the relationships between exercises. My fellow students are like a gauge of what we need to be doing and at what level we need to be performing at. Sometimes, they serve as a wake-up call to remind us that we need to work hard. The studio is a place where knowledge is gained through the interaction with the people within it. The studio learning experience is unlike anything I have endured. It is a challenging environment, but by interacting with the students and instructors within the studio, a new way of learning is achieved. FOUR The first exercise was all about changing our point of view from a human inhabiting in the built environment to a designer that closely analyzes and understands that built environment. Exercise one also gave us the foundations to represent ourselves through different media. Exercise two was all about the investigation of an object, and how far we could take that investigation to come up with new concepts and ideas. Exercise three was all about the design of a proposal, which required us to both see the world through different eyes, and investigate our ideas to further develop them. My favorite exercise was Exercise two because it gave me insight on how much of a wealth of information is embedded within common household objects. 1011 Exit Reflections ONE One of the biggest things to note for me is that following the directions and working hard will pay off. I have a tendency to doubt whether or not I can do things, then I look back and say, “Well, it wasn’t that bad.” In general, seeing, discovering, and documenting/displaying are all very important. In every exercise we started by doing specific things to lay a foundation for what we would be doing. In Exercise 1 we did blind contours which prepared us to draw what is there, not what we think is there. Similarly, at the beginning of Exercise 2 we did several types of precise drawings that required detailed looking. Finally, for Exercise 3 we spent time evaluating what pictures/concepts interested us in order to prepare us to start riffing. A second pattern I observed was that we pinned up when we needed to discuss one another’s work and get ideas for our next step. I absolutely do see a cumulative growth in myself. At the beginning I felt overwhelmed and clueless as to how I was ever going to be able to manage studio. I have learned to work efficiently and to work with my classmates to formulate ideas and address problems. I have changed in that now I feel like I have the abilities and the tools to see and represent my discoveries. Exercise 1 was especially challenging because all the drawing concepts were foreign to me, but now I use those concepts to help me accomplish other exercises. I feel more comfortable with thinking abstractly and talking about my ideas in front of others. I also think I have refined my presentation skills by doing reviews. TWO Much of the learning we did in 1011 will carry over into 1012. A lot of the media we learned how to use will be helpful, but more importantly, the way we look at things and ask questions/make connections. I plan on paying close attention to the directions of the instructor in 1012. I also plan on paying attention to what we are supposed to learn in each exercise instead of just doing the work with no real understanding of the purpose behind it. THREE The instructor’s job is to explain what needs to be done and when. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make sure everyone knows what is expected of them. The exercise brief exists as a “hard copy” of what is expected of us. It lays the groundwork for each exercise, even though each instructor might do things differently. The review is a process in which students get feedback on their work from an outside source (someone who is not in the studio section). The reviews and pin-ups help us to learn how to present and discuss our work. The inquiry book serves as a record about what each student has done. It is also useful if you are able to reuse a drawing instead making a whole new one. My fellow students are in studio to learn, but we also help one another and critique what we’ve done and get ideas. The studio space provides a place for students to work in a space that is well suited for drawing. The tables and computers allow students to do their work in studio instead of somewhere else. It helps everyone work together because we can all work in the same space. The learning process in 1011 is quite unique. First of all, it is much more time-consuming than other classes. Second, it is much easier to get to know the instructor because there aren’t tons and tons of people in each section. Third, there are no tests/quizzes. Instead we have reviews which involve more skills because you have to know what you’re talking about, and you have to be able to present it. Finally, studio is different because it is not so much about memorizing as it is about seeing, thinking, questioning, and displaying. There are some things you simply have to memorize, but once you know the concepts it is all about putting them into practice. In other words, studio is a much more “hands on” approach to learning. FOUR Exercise 1 was primarily about developing documentation skills. We used pencil and charcoal to replicate things. This was important because in Exercise 2 we needed to “unpack” our object and display our findings. Many of our results required us to draw something we the knowledge we gained for the second exercise. To conclude the semester we choose things that interested us from Exercise 2 to begin riffing. Without our work from the second exercise, we would not have been able to do Exercise 3. Exercise 2 was my favorite because there were a variety of things we needed to do. Exercise 1 was pretty much drawing things that already existed and Exercise 3 seemed kind of repetitive. In Exercise 2 we had to use the same object over and over again, but we were constantly being asked to investigate it in new ways. Jonathan Weidman ONE As I reread what I’ve written earlier this semester, it strikes me as worth noting that we have covered a wide range of topics and that my learning in each of these seems almost endless. I feel like I can most definitely apply all that I’ve learned this semester for the rest of my career. The patterns that I can discern from this semester are that each exercise is an introduction to the next, that it’d be hard to complete one exercise without the knowledge given by the one before it. I can also discern a cumulative growth in learning in myself. With all of the reflections, it becomes very easy to be a witness to the change within me. I now understand drawings and modeling to be more efficient tools and that there are ways to create and illustrate that go beyond simply looking pretty. Formulating and exploring ideas take on a whole new meaning in that tons more is involved in it that what I had initially believed, analysis went from describing an object, to incorporating every aspect that can/may does embody the object and designing change from making something look better to making something look, work, function and describe it better. TWO I believe that the ‘learning’ in 1011 that I will carry forward to 1012 include looking beyond the simple definition given to things and ideas that I thought described them to begin with. In 1012, I plan on paying special attention to each lecture as an introduction to something brand knew. Rather than disregarding most of them as something familiar, I will attempt to “start from scratch” and redefine the subject that they are speaking on. THREE I believe that the role of the instructor is to guide us through each project and help us to design and discover for ourselves without interfering with the natural process of learning. The role of the projects and exercises is to facilitate the learning process and provide us with a template to follow. The review process is designed to put us in that professional atmosphere and ready us for the “real world”. The inquiry book’s role is to help us organize and manage our work into a portfolio for future reference. The role our fellow students play is to provide many different outlooks and solutions to some of the same problems and the studio space provides us with an area to make magic happen. I would describe the many different learning situations and experiences that a student undergoes as complimentary. Each experience helps and guides the other. FOUR We began with exercise one to introduce new media and new ways of seeing. This set the groundwork for we must understand what we have to work with before attempting to work with it. Exercise two challenged us to fully describe and interpret an everyday object using those methods taught in exercise one. The third exercise took the second exercise a step further in challenging us to design based on the rules and regulations set up by the object in exercise two. Exercise three was my favorite exercise by far because it was the least guided and we were free to do pretty much whatever we wanted. The freedom in exercise three proved to produce many interesting works of design. Grayson Byrd At the beginning of the semester I was very unconfident in my work and felt I may not be good in this major but now I have an idea of how things work and I feel I may be successful in the future. I have definitely grown in confidence and skill and understanding, particularly in my drawings. The learning I will carry forward to 1012 is the ability to think abstractly, draw accurately, see deeply, and the techniques learned in photoshop, illustrator, and sketch-up. I plan to pay special attention to making sure I understand exercises better. The role of The instructor is to be a guide for us and to help us to discover the best way to think about what we are doing The exercise handout is to be a secondary guide to refer to when we are lost The reviews is to give us an idea of our progress and to get the thoughts of those around us The inquiry book is to let us see in full all the work we’ve don so we can reflect on everything The fellow students is to have more opinions and criticism on our work and to be there to keep us sane The studio space is to be a place to gather and work on assignments with fellow classmates The studio learning experience is much better than the typical classroom or lab because we are free to discuss with our classmates and have a good time where as in other settings it’s either no talking or limited discussion. Being free to socialize to me is very important in learning especially since you can get opinions from others that you may not think yourself. The exercises were unfolded in this order because the first one taught different drawing techniques, the second introduced concepts in architecture, bc, and id, and the third introduced ways of thinking outside the box. My favorite exercise turned out to be the third one. At first I was so worried about this one and had no clue what I was doing but now looking back it was a good experience to challenge my own thinking and I feel I really accomplished something. Ashley Grande ONE After re-reading my reflection postings for exercises 1 and 2 there are definitely some changes that have taken place that are worth noting. In the beginning of the year, I only saw objects as how they were as a whole. I never thought about the different layers that an object is composed of. In the first drawing of the year, I wasn’t concerned with the point of the exercise but I was more concerned with how my drawing came out. After a year of 1011, I have now come to realize that everything we do has a purpose. Those first blind contours were meant to show us that before we came to Georgia Tech, we drew what we thought we saw instead of drawing what our eyes actually see. I can also see that there are patterns in all the exercises we did. We first started out with the basic ideas and then progressed to the detailed and more defined drawings. An example of this is in exercise 1, we began with basic drawing skills and how to use charcoal, and by the end we were drawing drapes and light reflections in charcoal. Also, in exercise 2, we began the exercise with the basic drawings of our object, and finished with a descriptive analysis of the object. I can also see a cumulative learning growth in myself over the year. In the beginning of the year I wasn’t very confident with my work, but by the end I was as confident as anyone else in the class. Prior to take 1011, the only types of pictures I drew were for my own benefit. After taking the class, I have learned the value of drawing to describe and object to make it clear for other viewers. Another thing I had never done before this class was using a structured method to formulate and explore ideas. My views on analysis and designing have drastically changed due to the recognition of different layers in an object. Before, I thought that object were just one single thing, but now I see them as composed of many different parts. TWO As I transition from 1011 to 1012, I will bring with me all the different things I have learned over the year. This basically falls into two categories: use of media and how I think about an object. I will bring with me the skills I acquired in Photoshop, Illustrator, pencil drawings, charcoal, and technical drawings. I will also carry over the descriptive skills I learned in the analysis of objects. There are many different ways to view something, and I think this is an important skill to have. In 1012, I plan to pay special attention to the detail of objects. There is so much going on in one simple item, that it is important to pay attention to everything that is happening. THREE The instructor is there to provide support to the students. Without a good instructor, there would be no stability in the class. While most of the thinking is done by the students, the instructor starts the thinking process by providing instructions on how to start. The handout is there as something we can always look back on if we are confused about the project. Much like the instructor, the handout is there to provide a beginning to the exercise while the student acquires the abstracts on his own. The review process is used as a way to express our ideas to the outside world. After graduation, architecture is all about selling your beliefs. By having a review, we are given practice is selling our ideas to other people who haven’t yet seen them. The inquiry book is used not only as a portfolio, but also as a means to show the progress we have made over the year. It shows the cumulative work from the beginning of the year to the end. Our fellow students are there provide not only support but also ideas. In exercise 3, it was the other students who provided the ideas for me, a collaborative effort known as ‘studio-culture’. I think of the studio space itself as our workplace, while the atrium is where we show the produced results. Inside the studio is where all the hard work takes place, and when it comes out it is pinned up in the atrium. The studio learning experience is definitely different than any other class I’ve been in. There is so much hands-on work going on in there compared to a normal lecture hall where you sit in a desk and listen to somebody talk for an hour. I think this is analogous to a workplace after graduation. Architects are providing hands-on results, while other occupations are stuck in a cubicle doing busy work. FOUR There was a sequence that made the exercises necessary to be completed in the order they were. Exercise 1 was an introductory exercise; it taught us the different uses of media, and the proper way to draw and see an object. This was vital to exercise 2 where we were required to unpack an object, and analyze the object. Without the proper sighting techniques, exercise 2 would have been much more difficult. Exercise 3 built upon exercise 2 because of the riffings. We used drawings from exercise 2 to produce all our work in exercise 3. It seemed that exercise was a continuation of exercise 2, but then going more in depth and making our own design at the end. Exercise 2 was my favorite because of the unpacking that occurred. It was interesting to see all the different processes that went into our object (a spray bottle). Prior to this exercise, I had never studied an object this in depth, and I realized that a spray bottle is more than just how it seems, there are so many different layers that compose the bottle. Tyler Collins 1011 Exit Reflection One Each exercise provided a different way of thinking, but they all had the same process of building towards the final goal of the exercise. The exercises would build on themselves in a way where I was required to use past thinking methods, but also I had to develop a new method of thinking in the current problem at hand. It was a constant balance of learning new methods while also relying on the past. At first I was not very comfortable with the new techniques because I found them very odd and abstract. They took me out of a comfort zone when it came to drawing. As, I have progressed through the semester I have felt that I have become more confident in my work, skills, and understanding of the material because I have developed a new understanding of a different language and method of thinking. From the beginning to the end of the semester, I have learned that drawings and models are not just around to look good. At times they be very abstract and I now realize that there is a purpose behind why something looks the way it does. By attempting to understand abstract ideas and models, I have allowed myself to venture into avenues of discovery that I probably could not reach on my own. Finally, the analytical and design process is something that I would have never imagined. It very multi-layered/ stepped and requires an understanding of a new understanding that removes the mind from preconceptions of reality. Two The learning in 1011 was not something that was drilled into our mind as “one size fits all”. It did not force us to accept one correct way of doing something. We were forced to not accept what we believe, and to discover a new path that lead to discovery and innovation. It was a new way of thinking and problem solving. There was not one way to design, but many ways in which all are right. With this in mind for 1012, I plan to pay special attention to the process behind the exercise. With a sound understanding of this, I believe I can become an effective designer for future years at Tech and in the professional world. Three • The Instructor: A voice of experience that we, as newcomers to the design world, can rely on as a guide to understand the process and the purpose of what we are doing in each exercise. They have lived the years that we are about to face, and have words of experience that we can rely on for our future success. • Handout: The rules that we were restricted to. Without having any restrictions, anything is possible. Reality does have its restriction, and we must learn to abide by them now. • Review process: A time where we are able to see not only our work, but everyone’s work as a whole. It allows for us to reflect on what we did in order to get a true understanding of the process and purpose of what we did in each exercise. • The inquiry book: It is similar to a review in the sense that it is a collection of our work. By seeing it as a whole, we get an understanding to the process and purpose through reflection and analysis. • Fellow students: People that I can bounce ideas off of to see if the stick or not. The design process is collaborative, and it is an ideal that is good to instill in the learning process. • Studio Space: A space that is conducive to this idea of collaboration. Most of the time is loud and people can mingle to talk about the work. Nothing is very secretive, but you can have your own space to work to yourself to think about the project at hand. It is the anti-library because it encourages people to talk and work together. Four The exercises built on each other in way that it required past methods of thinking to complete the exercise at hand. It started by teaching us the basic ways to think. Then, in exercise 2 we applied these skills to understand the design of an object. Finally in exercise 3, we took the principles of the design of our object in exercise 2 to design our own piece of the built environment. They built on each other but each had its own purpose towards thinking a certain way. Chris Paris This semester was filled with a variety of exercises that were all very important. Each touched on its own thing, yet all revolved around a new set of learning and investagatory techniques that could be used for almost anything. At firs exploring with different media was the hardest part. I love pencils, and it was truly difficult to use charcoal to express my findings. Drawings and modeling are different now, because I can see many new types, and also know haw to do different drawings, for example topographic drawings. Ideas are now just the beginning, before an idea would be all there was, but now with the idea you must set rules for investigating and exploring, and use them to create new ideas. Analyzing and inquiring are two new concepts. Analyzing can be done on so many different levels, and inquiring can be useful on finding how a person was thinking. The learning that I have gained is that one should be very open minded and follow the directions to a T and not always look into what it needs to be, but what it currently is. In 1012 I want to pay close attention on improving and revising and learning, not just getting it done. Studio is an interesting process that I am just getting accustomed to. I believe that the role of the instructor is to give the students knowledge and a small background into the subject matter without giving to much away and allowing an enriched learning process. The juries are to challenge the minds of the students. To get them used to critical review, and to allow them the opportunity to present something and learn how to answer crucial questions on the fly. The inquiry book allows us to look back on the work the procedures what we did right, and ultimately what we were able to learn in the process, and catch leanings we did not have on are own. Fellow students are a vital role. We are there to help examine all are peers work, to inquire on why they did it the way they did, it shows competition. Peers are also good to help analyze the assignment and find out what we need to get out of it. The studio space is helpful. It is nice to have another class going on right there with different methods and different challenges. It is good to have all of that room and to be able to go out side and pin up and see where we are in comparison to are own class and to the others. The studio gets us used to a busy open environment with all of the resources there. The class was ordered in three assignments the first of which was to get us to see and understand furan ideas, the second got us to explore actually using them, and the third got us to do it backwards and design something ourselves. Cynthia Ayash ONE Something that strikes me as worth commenting on is the development that I have experienced from the beginning of the semester to the end. I can tell that the three exercises and the process we went through continued to build upon the earlier parts as we went. Yes, I can definitely see a personal growth in all the areas of confidence, skill, and understanding as well as others. I would characterize the change that has occurred through 1011 in my drawings and models as an altogether greater understanding of technique and composition. In terms of the process of formulating and exploring ideas, I believe that I have developed a better understanding of this process through my experiences in studio. My ability to analyze and question have also improved and this has been aided by the work we have done picking apart our objects for each assignment. Finally, my understanding of design has expanded greatly; the final assignment was my first exposure to design on this level and it allowed me to delve into the complexity of it. TWO The learning that I have experienced in 1011 has been on a multitude of issues, ranging from techniques of drawing and what they express to the importance of composition and diptychs in a presentation. The many areas that I have increased my understanding of in 1011 will carry over into 1012. In 1012, I plan to pay special attention to the processes of the different assignments and I will try to carry these processes out to increase my understanding. THREE The role of the instructor was to guide us through the assignments and offer insight and criticism. The project handout gave us a guideline to work within, but allowed us our own freedoms as to which way we took the project. The review summed up our efforts for the different projects. Through sharing with these efforts with others, we got a better understanding ourselves. The inquiry books summarized our work and tied it together. My fellow students offered constructive criticism and shared ideas and insights. The studio space created an environment that allowed all of this to take place and function. The studio learning experience was hands on and allowed me to make discoveries at my own pace and with my section as a group. This is much better than the typical style that most classes have. FOUR I believe that the three exercises have a fairly clear progression. The first exercise laid the groundwork of analysis that we would be using throughout the semester. The second exercise offered us a situation to apply these processes and ideas onto specific objects. The third exercise gave us an opportunity to create our own designs and objects from the discoveries that we made. I believe this sequence let us learn these specific things together and let them build off each other. My favorite exercise was the first exercise. While the assignments of the first exercise were sometimes overwhelming, they exposed me to a variety of techniques that I could apply to many other fields. Cameron Beck ONE I find now, at the end of the semester, that everything that I may have thought to be stupid at the actually had some purpose in the grand scheme of things. Everything works together to allow me to produce complete projects like we did in exercise 3. I suppose I am more confident now in my ability to analyze and then later present my analysis, however I think my confidence is pretty much completely tempered by constantly being humbled by my classmates. A) as far as representations go, I definitely have increased the breadth of my knowledge. Before studio I would never have been able to express the abstract ideas that I did through models and such. B) before 1011 ideas about design were very linear and only saw the obvious C) it definitely became easier to visualize both what my classmates were doing or describing but also the goals that I was ultimately pursuing with each individual project. D) As new elements, methods, and techniques were introduced I felt like whole new options were opened to me in designing. And its not like I was totally dependent on what was fed to me, but with each new exercise I was inspired to go on off on a million new tangents that somehow related back to that one event or whatever. TWO The learning that I felt was key to everything that I did in was that everything takes patience and everything takes practice. But more specifically, the ability to “unpack” an object or concept, and break it down into fundamental components. This is fundamental to understanding anything. I suppose I should pay special attention hand drafting, because apparently I am going to be doing a lot of that in sophomore studio. However I would like to start deciding between industrial design and architecture so I should also start differentiating between the two. THREE the instructor: through all of the exercises I’ve always seen the instructor as more an experienced supervisor whose main job was just to make sure we understood the project, keep us on track, and to offer advice when needed. the project or exercise brief/handout: this outlined the project and stated the skills that the teacher thought we should know, although it may not necessarily outline everything. the review process (pinup, final jury) this was great to see how a completely outside viewer sees one’s work which is really important because in the real world this is what is going to happen all the time. This feedback is key to refining our presentation technique. the inquiry book I suppose it helps as the student is forced to review and curate their own works, which is an important process of review and growth. your fellow students I found my classmates to be a constant source of inspiration, without them I can only come up with so much, but seeing other peoples’ works I get new ideas myself. the studio space itself its just a space, but I suppose there is some community atmosphere to it. I like the informal atmosphere of studio, compared to the more rigid ones of lecture halls. Student interaction is not only encouraged but required. Also, I enjoyed how the instructors weren’t really “experts,” but rather other students who could only offer their own opinion, but were not really the final word. In a way every student was a teacher, as we all explored different avenues of thought or experimentation. FOUR Ex. 1: I think the main goal was to open eyes to how to really “see.” This of course various types of seeing such as tone, and continuous line, etc. Also, the basic of illustration and other types of drawing were obviously taught. Ex. 2: I think that this was probably an attempt to get us thinking and analyzing at a more critical and fundamental level. We learned many criteria for analysis, and also improved our means and mediums of proficiency through which we could explain our findings. Ex. 3: This exercise, I feel, was meant as an introduction to competitions as a whole, but more importantly it was meant to introduce to us many ways of more abstractly thinking about objects or things, and perhaps understanding their essence more. Also a good introduction to presentation aesthetics. My favorite was exercise 3 by far, mostly because I really enjoyed competition element of it all; it really pushed me to go beyond anything I had ever done before. As to the project itself, I found that it very interesting, and the freedom we had was definitely very…intoxicating. I’m sure it will be hard to go back to a more structured environment on our next project. Donovan Henneberg-Verity 1011 Exit Reflection: ONE As I reread what I’ve written earlier this semester, it is worth noting the extent of learning that has taken place. Each exercise has broadened my mind, allowing me to critique work and talk about my work in an intelligent and knowing manner. The learning stems from each exercise and we can apply what we learned from the preceding exercise in the next exercise. I now know the procedures and the different styles of drawing and which work best for what I am trying to achieve. I know better how to observe intently rather than just look. Things are no longer just pretty. Now I look for function and necessity as well as design quality. The best part is that through each exercise, my skills in creating my work, as well as my confidence in my decisions have increased dramatically. Before this studio class, I though drawings were drawings, but now I know that different materials and styles of drawing can give off a different vibe and mean a different thing. I put a lot more time into thinking about what I am trying to achieve and how I will now than I did before. Designing takes a lot more into consideration than I thought. TWO The learning in 1011 that I will carry with me into 1012 includes looking past the surface and going in deeper to find the inner leaning. In 1012 I plan to pay special attention to the process that we go through and to each exercise as a new lesson to learn that I can then carry with me to my future architecture classes and eventually my career. I will keep an open mind and instead of thinking to just do what is to be done, I will find the purpose behind each exercise and strive to achieve that. THREE The role of the instructor is to be a guide and a reference of experience to help us through each project and to help us learn our strengths and work on our weaknesses. The role of the projects and exercises is to create the experience in which we will learn what we will need in our future careers through hands on experience. The review process is I necessary for us to learn the importance of being able to sell our work and receive constructive criticism that will help us better ourselves and our work. It gives us an outsider’s opinion or our work. The inquiry book’s role is to help us organize and manage our work into a portfolio for future reference. The role our fellow students play is to give us a supportive environment of people going through the same things as we are, as well as help and ideas when we are stuck. We can bounce ideas off each other so as to get someone else’s opinion on our work while doing it rather than in the end during the review. The studio space provides us with a place to work that is the optimal condition for getting our work done alongside others working on the same project. All these go hand in hand. Without one, our experience would not be as complete as it is now. FOUR Exercise One was a tutorial on many of the things we would need for future exercises. This exercise introduced us to the different types of media and how to render our work based on what we want our work to express. We also learned the importance of careful seeing and observing rather than just the looking we did before. Exercise Two worked off of this information. We had to intently observe one object and different aspects of it and portray our work to as to help that audience see what we saw. We used the methods of expressing our vision with different media in our “Sustained Lookings”. Without exercise two, we would not have been able to move onto exercise three. Exercise Three challenged us to design based on the rules we acquired about our object during the second exercise. Exercise one was my favorite. I loved working with different materials and practicing to improve my skills. This exercise proved imperative for the future exercises, because without exercise one, I would not be able to show what I wanted to show. Farzeen Tejani Link to this Page
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