        Mullininx, Megan : AssignmentsEdit Mullininx, Megan : Assignments here.Megan Mullininx Assignment 10.28 10.10 Some of the most important constructs mentioned in Ellen Dunham-Jones’ lecture on architecture include Sustainability and Ecological Literacy, Urban Design and Policy, and Digital Manufacturing and Technology integration. The most important construct mention has to be the idea of an architect expressing his beliefs through architecture. This is so important because it affects the people who use, live, or work around or in the building because it can be a symbol of what they believe in terms of government and culture. Sustainability and Ecological Literary – ecological means “the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms.” (dictionary.com) which means to be environmentally friendly. Literacy means the state of being literate (in this case being familiar and using sustainable and ecological concepts in architectural design.) Urban Design and Policy - “Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space” (dictionary.com) and I already understood what urban policy generally meant. Digital Manufacturing and Technology Integration – though these words are not hard in themselves I was not sure exactly what was involved in digital manufacturing. According to http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=9682461&siteID=123112 it seems similar to digital prototyping. Digital prototyping gives manufacturers the ability to virtually explore a complete product before it is built—so they can create, validate, optimize, and manage designs from the conceptual design phase through the manufacturing process. By using a digital prototype, manufacturers can visualize and simulate real-world performance of the design with less reliance on costly physical prototypes. The primary disciplinary issues for architecture are to use both sides of the brain, to separate architecture from a building and to express intentional, meaningful expression with their work. The primary professional issues for architecture is to define public verses private activities and spaces and to make the building in the terms of sustainability, and ecological while staying in the limits of urban design and policy. A question that can be asked from this lecture is “If the architect’s ability to express himself if so important, how often do they get to build what they want? They still have to build for the client and what the client wants to say about his place he is having built so are they ever able to design a building or a location like Versailles or the University of Virginia where they have a lot of influence of the plan? 10.15 Some of the most important terms that Dr. Roozbeh Kangari discussed in his lecture about building construction are urban planning and regulatory agencies, integration and automation, and the master builder. The master builder which I was not sure exactly what was meant by it at first is evidently the person who oversees the entire building process and making sure all different aspects of it work together. Urban Planning - urban planning means “determining and drawing up plans for the future physical arrangement and condition of a community” (dictionary.com) which I did not realize how much went into urban planning. Integration and automation - though I know what integration means I was unsure about what was being integrated, in this case he was discussing combining all the different branches that are involved in building construction in order to work more efficiently. Automation means “the act of implementing the control of equipment with advanced technology; usually involving electronic hardware; "automation replaces human workers by machines"” (dictionary.com) this was important to his discussion because he was talking again about how to increase productivity. Master Builder – I was thinking that a master builder was the person in charge of just making sure that the building aspects of the job went correctly. Dictionary.com defines it as “a person skilled in the art of building; architect” but in reality he is much more. According to Mr. Kangari he is the leader with a holistic view of a project who takes responsibility for integration all aspects. Some of the primary disciplinary issues for building construction are planning, time management, quality management, law and real estate, and people management. Some of the primary professional issues for building construction are what are listed before as well as coming up with ways to work more efficiently as well as trying to integrate all the different aspects that go into building construction. A question that can be asked from this lecture is “what are the barriers to integration and productivity? I heard lots of good ways that improve efficiency so what is preventing it?” 10.22 Some of the important constructs that Mr. Abir Mullick talked about in his lecture are people centered, manufactured driven and supportive of the environment and community. To have the designs people centered is very important to industrial design. Not only does this make the products more appealing to use but also they have a very useful function that gives someone a reason to use it. Humanization of technologies – this means to take what is designed and make it so it is easy and appealing for a human to use, it doesn’t mean in this sense to make it more human like (dictionary.com) Manufactured driven – though these words are not hard separately I was not sure exactly what it meant to be manufactured driven. According to Mr. Kangari it serves as a catalyst for production meaning it’s a thing that precipitates an event or change. Empowerment of People – when I thought of empowerment I always thought of giving authority to someone like civil rights or something along those lines so I was a bit unsure exactly what was meant when products empower people. According to Mr. Kangari, it empowers them to do something they couldn’t do before but in terms of physical limitations instead of civil. Some of the primary disciplinary issues that industrial design has is to be creative and to think new items and how to reinvent already made items in a new, better, more efficient, and user friendly way. Some of the primary professional issues of industrial design is to work through a problem given in a unique way, to design a product while keeping it people centered as well as environmental and community supportive. A question that can be asked from this lecture is “Looking back over the previous programs, it seems they are much more restrictive on what you can actually make despite all the ideas you may have; you can only do what the client wants. Is the same true for industrial design or can someone have a great idea and just make it without necessarily having a client to fund it?” Megan Mullininx Bibliography ECSCO Allweil, Yael. "Shrinking cities: like a slow-motion Katrina." Places v.19, n.1(2007): 91-93. Karrie, Jacobs. "Drop in the bucket: the number of housing initiatives currently under way in New Orleans is impressive, but without active federal involvement they fall well short of the urgent need." Metropolis v.26, n.6(2007): 50, 52. Martin, Colin. "After the flood: the US pavilion at the 2006 Venice Biennale addressed the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina." Landscape architecture Australia n. 113(2007): 29-30. Rosan, Richard M.. "The path to rebuilding: one year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, New Orleans still lacks a coordinated plan for action." Urban land v.65, n.9(2006): 58, 60, 62-63. Russell, James S.. "Can New Orleans and the Gulf Coast face the hard questions?." Architectural record v.194, n.6(2006): 130-132, 134, 136, 138. Shawn, Kennedy, and James Murdock. "Remaking New Orleans, without losing its past." Architectural record v.195, n.6(2007): 85-88, 226. GIL Universal Catalog Blueprint for Gulf renewal: the Katrina crisis and a community agenda for action / Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, Institute for Southern Studies, Southern exposure. Durham, NC: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, Institute for Southern Studies, 2007. Brunsma, David L., David Overfelt, and J. Steven Picou. The sociology of Katrina : perspectives on a modern catastrophe . Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. Kirk-Duggan, Cheryl A.. The sky is crying : race, class, and natural disaster. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006. Reed, Betsy, and Adolph Reed (introduction). Unnatural disaster : the nation on Hurricane Katrina. New York, NY: Nation Books, 2006. Troutt, David Dante. After the storm : Black intellectuals explore the meaning of Hurricane Katrina. New York : New Press, 2006. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hurricane Katrina [microform] : recommendations for reform : hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, March 8, 2006. Washington : U.S. G.P.O. , 2007. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita [microform] : outstanding need, slow progress : hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, field hearing in New Orleans, Louisiana, January 29, 2007. Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : , 2007. ProQuest Carl F Weems, Sarah E Watts, Monica A Marsee, Leslie K Taylor, et al. "The psychosocial impact of Hurricane Katrina: Contextual differences in psychological symptoms, social support, and discrimination. " Behaviour Research and Therapy 45.10 (2007): 2295. Research Library. ProQuest. 11 Oct. 2007 Carolyn J Lukensmeyer. "Large-Scale Citizen Engagement and the Rebuilding of New Orleans: A Case Study. " National Civic Review 96.3 (2007): 3. Research Library. ProQuest. 11 Oct. 2007 Emily Chamlee-Wright. "The Long Road Back: Signal Noise in the Post-Katrina Context. " The Independent Review 12.2 (2007): 235-259. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. 11 Oct. 2007 Henry A Giroux. "Reading Hurricane Katrina: Race, Class, and the Biopolitics of Disposability. " College Literature 33.3 (2006): 171-VIII. Research Library. ProQuest. 11 Oct. 2007 Jenna M Loyd. "Katrina: A Racist Disaster. " Rev. of: title_of_work_reviewed_in_italics, clarifying_information. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism 18.3 (2007): 122-129,134. Research Library. ProQuest. 11 Oct. 2007 Robbie Ethridge. "Bearing Witness: Assumptions, Realities, and the Otherizing of Katrina. " American Anthropologist 108.4 (2006): 799-813. Research Library. ProQuest. 11 Oct. 2007 R W Kates, C E Colten, S Laska, S P Leatherman. "Reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina: A research perspective. " Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103.40 (2006): 14653. Research Library. ProQuest. 11 Oct. 2007 Tram Nguyen. "A GAME OF MONOPOLY. " Current 495 (2007): 26. Research Library. ProQuest. 11 Oct. 2007 LexisNexis Horne, Jed. "A City's Tragedy, a Nation's Shame; A cultural critic argues that New Orleans's catastrophe reeked of racism." Book World 12 Feb 2006: T06. Nossiter, Adam. "New Orleans of Future May Stay Half Its Old Size." The New York Times 21 Jan 2007: 1. Ward, Andrew. "Film - City of sunken dreams Hurricane Katrina called for documentary analysis rather than the gloss of Hollywood." FT Weekend Magazine 27 Jan 2007: 44. Ward, Andrew. "Katrina rhetoric does little to calm growing storm among poor blacks Andrew Ward reports on increasing social divisions in New Orleans following the hurricane." Financial Times 23 Aug 2006: 7. Young, Cathy. "Katrina's Racial Paranoia." The Boston Globe 16 Jan 2006: A13. Google Scholar Briggs, Xavier de Souza. "After Katrina: Rebuilding Places and Lives." City & Community 5 (2)(2006): 119-128. Dyson, Michael Eric. Come Hell Or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster. Basic Civitas Books, 2006. Greenbaum, Susan. "Comments on Katrina." City & Community 5 (2)(2006): 109-113. Henkel, Kristin E., John F. Dovidio, and Samuel L. Gaertner. "Institutional Discrimination, Individual Racism, and Hurrincane Katrina." Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy v.6, n.1(2006): 99-124(26). Megan Mullininx Assignment 09.30 Lecture 09.17 In this lecture Mr. Zimring discussed how culture and architecture affect each other and how the resulting architecture can affect people’s behavior. He accomplished this by first giving an example from a well know source to support his argument, then by describing the trends in America’s culture and how the present architecture promotes these problems. He then offered a solution by giving examples of small changes that can be made in the setup of the building. Some important terms and concepts that he went over are environment and behavior, hybrid physical activity, and organizational factors. These concepts when examined closely show how the words can mean different things based on their context. The concept of environment and behavior means, in this lecture, how our surroundings in terms of buildings and the like can affect our behavior. In other context it can mean how the environment in terms of nature behaves or how people behave in response to nature. Its significance to the issues in this lecture is that people would take stairs more often if the building’s environment encouraged them to take the stairs as opposed to the elevator. The concept of hybrid physical activity really confused me when I first heard it. I was thinking hybrid as the car and I also knew that hybrid meant a combination of some kind but did not understand what he meant in terms of this lecture. When he explained it further he meant the combination of both intentional and incidental reasons for people to do some sort of physical activity. Other meanings of hybrid usually have to do with some sort of crossbreeding with plants, animals or people [dictionary.com]. The last concept of organizational factors means factors that affect organization. Those words themselves are pretty vague in what they mean even if the factors are positive or negative. It could refer to anything that someone organizes but in this case it refers to the organization of building. The organization of the building was a important part of this lecture because based on where key elements are placed inside a building will affect peoples behavior, for example whether to take the stairs or the elevator. Some questions that this lecture raises have to deal with curriculum and pedagogy, the disciplines, the professions, and systems of organization and economic production. In curriculum and pedagogy, it raises the question is if this subject is a new topic to be studied because of the recent increase of concern for people’s health or has it been around for awhile. Also, is it a subject that is usually addressed when teaching students architecture? In the disciplines, it raises a challenge to architects and industrial designers to create an environment so that physical activity becomes a more common part of life by making those aspects appealing and convenient while still designing for the client. In the professions it raises the question, are clients and architects paying more attention to have more physically active building designs? Also, is this an issue only being looked into the corporate world or is it also in pubic areas like the library, museums, and malls, and residential homes? Finally for the systems of organization and economic production I had heard of a company that changed its look so it was very employee friendly with a gym, daycare/school and other convinces provided for the employees and the company’s productivity went up and layovers went down bringing me to the question of it this also true of other buildings that are more physically active? Lecture 09.19 In this lecture Mrs. Dusseault discussed the tearing down of Atlantic Steel and the building of Atlantic Station. She accomplished this by first showing us the deconstruction of Atlantic Steel and then the building of Atlantic Station. Some important term and concepts that she went over include industrialism, redevelopment, and modernism. Industrialism means to me something that has to do with mass production. It means literally an economic organization of society built largely on mechanized industry [dictionary.com] but has many applications. In this lecture she used it to refer to an industrial style of architecture. Redevelopment to me means to make something again with a purpose for improvement. It can also mean to develop something again or to restore a building [dictionary.com]. In the context of this lecture it meant to make something else in the place of where something different was before. Modernism means to me something that is recent and new. It means something that is not traditional and can be in reference to religion and buildings [dictionary.com]. Here she was referring to modernism both as a concept of tearing something down for something perceived as better. Some questions that this lecture raises have to deal with curriculum and pedagogy, the disciplines, the professions, and systems of organization and economic production. In curriculum and pedagogy it raises the question of what is the importance of learning and teaching the history of a location. In the disciplines it raises the question of how can the history of the site be preserved while still using new designs. In the professions it raises the question of whose decision is it to change a design as the construction process is taking place. Finally in systems of organization and economic production it raises the question of is it a lack of organization that design plans change. Lecture 09.26 In this lecture Mr. Bafna discussed the influence and importance that the architect Palladio had. He accomplished this by discussing what made Palladio so unique and inspiring in his time. Some important terms and concepts that he went over include the amount of blank space that Palladio used, how his building were geometrically organized and how the location of his buildings play a huge effect on their overall feel and look. The blank space that Palladio uses easy to understand vocabulary but it was a very important concept to his overall look. This blank space was not just emptiness but gave a fresh clean look to his designs that was very important. This is different from what I expected because blank space is usually seen as unfinished space to me. Geometric organization is a bit more confusing because of how he used not just square and right angles but used pentagons and triangles as well. When I first heard this I was thinking that he was talking more about math and not architecture but in fact math plays a big role in designing that I did not notice there before this lecture. Location is once again a very easy vocabulary term but was very important to Palladio’s design. Before this lecture I did not think about location having that much influence of how the building would look overall but it does once again play a huge role, not only in cultural influence but on how one appreciates the building. As Mr. Bafna said, these buildings would not be as marvelous in New York City even if they were exactly the same in every aspect besides location. Some questions that this lecture raises have to deal with curriculum and pedagogy, the disciplines, the professions, and systems of organization and economic production. In curriculum and pedagogy it raises the question of is it common to study Palladio still or is studying his work a more specialized course. In the disciplines it raises the question of is Palladio’s inspiration used just for architecture or do the other coa courses use lessons from him too. In the professions it raises the question of do people still copy his building almost exactly today or use him for inspiration. Finally in the systems of organization and economic production it raises the question of since Palladio’s designs seem so basic to us now, is they still used as a system or a foundation for design today? Megan Mullininx Assignment 09.16 Lecture 1 In this lecture, Mr. Sprigle focuses on disability research and how to design a product that is independent of disability. He accomplished this by defining disability and assistive technology, then by going through the steps it takes to design independent of disability and for disability. Some important terms and concepts that he went over include what standard really is, the usability of the product, and independent of disability. These terms, in my mind, would give me false impressions of what they really mean. I thought that standard would be what we consider standard; the everyday common place things to me. In reality it can mean a number of things something considered by an authority or by general consent as a basis of comparison; a rule or principle that is used as a basis for judgment; an average or normal requirement, quality, etc., and can even mean the grade of beef immediately below good or a flag indicating the presence of a sovereign, public official, or a rallying point of an army or fleet. Standard, the way that it was used in the lecture, is the standard size or quality in terms of wattage output and other factors that can vary greatly all over the world and must be kept in mind when designing. Another concept is that of usability. Generally I would take usability to mean how well can the mechanics function or how well someone can use the product. Usability can mean many different but similar definitions including capable of being used, available or convenient for use, the quality of being able to provide good service, and probably the closest to how it was used in the lecture, the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which users can achieve tasks in a particular environment of a product. High usability means a system is easy to learn and remember, efficient, visually pleasing and fun to use; and quick to recover from errors. When one is designing for people with disabilities it is very important to remember not just how well someone without a disability can use a product but how well people with various degrees of disability can use the product. Finally, the concept of designing independent of disability would mean in my mind that one does not take disability into account when they design a product because I think independent meaning separated or apart from something else. In reality it can mean not relying on another or others for aid or support, which is what I thought of, an independent person or thing, a small, privately owned business, or irrespective of, regardless of. In the lecture it means designing for both people with disabilities and without disabilities in the same product so that both can easily use it without hassle. Some questions that this lecture raises are in teaching/learning, disciplines, professions, and systems of organization and economic production. In teaching/learning, it raises the question what are the obstacles to people with disabilities to learning and how can we get rid of those barriers by designing independent of disability. In the disciplines it raises the question will designing independent of disability greatly increase money cost so it is not reasonable to have it in all institutions because it would take up too much of the budget? In the professions it raises the question how can the product be designed so it over comes the environmental barriers present to people with disabilities, meets their needs, is not too much hassle to use and it is easy to use. Finally it raises, in systems of organization and economic production, the question on how can it be designed so that it performs its function without becoming too expensive that it would be unreasonable for a lot of people to get. Lecture 2 In this lecture, the author discussed the construction industry and different aspects and attributes of it. He accomplishes this by giving us ten specific characteristics, both good and bad, of the construction industry and telling us how these can be improved. Some of the important concepts that he goes over are research and development, separation of design from construction, and ephemeral project teams. These three concepts have a lot of meaning behind them and have a great amount to do with the construction industry. I when I think of research and development I always thought of people working away in labs and studying information in books, and as they completed research they would build what they had been researching. Research can mean scholarly or scientific investigation or inquiry, or to search or search for again and development can mean, the act or process of developing; growth; progress, a large group of private houses or of apartment houses, or a significant consequence or event. Used in different contexts research and development can mean many different things but as it is pertaining to the lecture it means to study with the intent to expand the frontiers of knowledge and to make something out of that knowledge. Another concept is that of design being separated from construction. While these words are pretty straight forward with their meaning, the concept is not what I expected. I figured that the designer and the construction were both really involved not only with the client but also working with each other. In the construction industry though, the two will mainly only work with their client. Finally, ephemeral project teams are teams that last for only one building project together. Ephemeral means lasting a very short time or a markedly short-lived thing. This can pertain to a flower or insect lasting a short time or to the construction industry that the teams that work together on a project only work together for that one project. Some questions that this lecture raises are in teaching and learning, disciplines, professions, and systems of organization and economic production. In teaching and learning it raises the challenge of getting groups of workers together in such a way that the team can stay together and learn from past mistakes. In the disciplines it raises the question what can be done to make research and development a larger and more involved part of the construction industry. In the professions, it raises the question what are the benefits of having the design and construction aspects working together and not just with their client. Finally for the systems of organization and economic production, it raises the question what can be done to decrease time spent on construction and why is so much money spent on residential building and not nearly as much on civil, is there just not as many buyers for civil development? Lecture 3 In this lecture Mr. French discussed geographic information systems which show what is going on in a certain area where one wants to build or buy. He accomplished this by going over different types of maps and systems that display different information in different ways. Some important concepts that are used in GIS are sensors, project future conditions, and visualize development alternatives. These three concepts undefined would leave me wondering what they really meant. Sensors could be a number of things. To me I would think of a radar or motion sensor but it means a device, such as a photoelectric cell, that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. Therefore a sensor can be a huge number of things depending on what it is used for and why it was made. The concept of project future conditions means to me that using the data from maps and other information to try to figure out how future conditions will be. To propose, contemplate, or plan; something that is contemplated; or to set forth or calculate (some future thing) can all be definitions of project so the meanings are similar but still the difference must be noted and understood because it does change the meaning depending on the context. In the lecture it does mean using information from the past and present information gathered from sensors and maps to predict what future conditions could be like. I think that visualize development alternatives would mean that one uses different methods in order to see new ways to approach a project. Visualize can mean to make visual or visible, to form a mental image, or view the outline of by means of an X-ray. All these definitions help understand what the word means more completely than just understanding what it means in that context. In the lecture it was used in a way to mean using maps and other diagrams to make easier to understand building plans and concepts to the general public therefore increases acceptance and helps with negotiation. Some questions that this lecture raises are in teaching and learning, disciplines, professions, and systems of organization and economic production. In teaching and learning, it raises the challenge of presenting the information is such a way that it is easy to understand for the general public and not just for people familiar with the industry. In disciplines it raises the challenge of using the equipment to acquire comprehensive and relevant information for the survey being done. In professions it raises the challenge of gathering the right type of information and using it in such a way that the company can use it effectively in their decisions. Finally in systems of organization and economic production the challenge presented is keeping the information gathered organized and displaying it effectively so it is easy for everybody to understand and if need be can be used to predict future conditions. Megan Mullininx Classical Design Lecture In this lecture, the authors focused on the different aspects of classical design in a modern world. They discussed where their inspiration comes from, and the processes behind designing a building in a classical design. They did this by reviewing over what makes a building “classical” and by giving examples of the classical architecture where they drew their inspiration. Some important concepts are how one learns from the past and why regardless of what branch of architecture one is moving towards, it is important to study classical architecture. Studying classical architecture is so important not only because it is a growing field of interest but because it is the foundation from which all architecture grew. By studying it, one gets the basics of architecture because classical architecture is very well proportioned and beautiful in its design. Also, by knowing the past mistakes and success of architecture and learning from them, one can then branch out and try to make new designs because one knows what works and what does not. This lecture raises a few questions about the disciplinary, professional and the pedagogical aspects of the design and build environment. One of the questions is where did the ancient people who came up with the architecture that is now referred to as classical draw their inspiration from? Who taught them? Another question I had is, since I do like the look of classical architecture, can and how would I use its look and style in industrial design? Finally, I was also wondering if one works for a classical architecture company, is that all one can do or is it more diverse. Solar Decathlon Lecture In this lecture, the author focuses on the potential that exists in solar power to be an effective and affordable way to power an everyday household. He does this by showing his team’s plan to win the contest and other contestants ideas from previous years. Some important terms that he stressed are eco-friendly and integration. These terms, eco-friendly and integration, are more like concepts that he kept in mind while he was helping to design the Solar Decathlon Project. Eco-friendly was important because that was the motivation for having the contest. They wanted to find a way to energize the entire house by using solar power, and not harming the environment. In this way, the project was “off the grid” meaning that they were not hooked up to any electrical lines to power the house. Another important term he used was integration. Another goal his team had was to not add on the environmentally friendly machines and appliances to the house, but to have them as part of the house. So in order to succeed in this, they hid the wiring and other machine parts that a normal house owner would not want to see. This lecture raises a few questions about the pedagogical, disciplinary, and the professional aspects of the design and build environment. One of these questions is, how many designs did they choose from and how did they test them to see which one would be most cost efficient or environmentally friendly? Another question I had was did the architect play a huge role in the research that was involved to design an eco-friendly home, or was he just asked to design the house? Finally I was also wondering if there were any companies presently building homes that would have the eco-friendly machines integrated into it, and if it still is outrageously expensive to have a home built that way. Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing Lecture In this article, the author focuses on the use of computer software to design 3-D models on the computer and what one needs to keep in mind when designing a product. He does this by reviewing over questions that one should be asking while they are designing, like “how will this material react to production?” and “how will it be assembled?” Some of the important concepts are combinatorics and the process from designing to manufacturing. These concepts play a major role in the design and build process no matter what one is doing. Combinatorics is the idea that one can have an infinite number of design options which is made possible by using computer software to design a product. And the concept of the design and manufacturing process is very important in that one must always keep in mind if what they are designing is even plausible to make. Also how one must be willing to adjust their design ideas in order to make the manufacturing process plausible. This lecture raises a few questions about the pedagogical, disciplinary, and the professional aspects of the design and build environment. One of these questions is, when one designs something on the computer, does it first come from a hand sketch? Is it a different learning experience to learn how to draw on the computer or is it a lot of the same concepts of hand drawing? Also, is it more common in this modern era to have designs by a company done by computer, or is hand drawing still most common way to express your design ideas? By using computer software is it easier to work and adapt to other team member ideas? Finally, is computer software consider the best way to show to others your design ideas and if so is it still the best way in all aspects of design from architecture to industrial design? Megan Mullininx Installment One Installment one is made of flat pieces of plastic that are connected to one another by little metal screws. The structure starts with many pieces of plastic piled right on top of each other then slowly moves out into a very slight, defined wave. Here, there is thickness to the structure because there is plastic on the sides of the wave as well as on the bottom and the top. It also has a lot of screws holding everything in place here so I got the impression that it was a very rigid and set shape of a standard wave. From there, the structure curves around a column and the waves grow thin, wispy, and spread out. It gives a more carefree and less rigid and set movement. The only screws here are the ones to connect two pieces of plastic together to complete a curve or a twist so you see much more plastic and much less metal confining the structure. As the structure arches up the waves thin out and merge into an almost flat but wide line going over the concrete bar near the ceiling. The structure’s overall shape gave me an impression of a diamond from the side and more like a triangle standing underneath where it goes over the concrete bar. From the beginning of the structure the waves seem to have a set and predictable pattern of the same wave length and height. That soon changes as the thick waves turn to thin waves which seem to go as high up, low down, or as straight as they wanted to, but there still seems to be a patterned of generally the same heights and movements of the waves overall. The structure can easily be moved in a slight up and down fashion but will not budge when moving from side to side. Changing light also plays off the curves and bends of the structure making some curves very prominent and others completely translucent. I think that the different issues that motivated the building of this structure were the students’ interest in the contours of the building and how perspective can give completely different outlooks on how an object looks. The questions I think are being explored are how the same lines can give different perceptions from where one is looking and how curves of a structure can play off and beautify very harsh and straight lines. The structure seems to somewhat follow the contours of the building from beginning between the lines of the cement floor to curving around the column then spreading out in the wide area between the columns to finally arching over the cement bar and even turning off the wall at the top of the structure. It seems to me that it is imitating water. Water can flow in a very rigid set and flat pattern, to growing, curving and rushing any where it has room to then calming back down, flatting over the bar and reflecting off the wall. I would name this structure Water in Motion because I can truly see this structure as water. It is transparent in thin parts, easier to see when it is thicker, light makes it glow and enhances it curves and bends, and it flows in a way water would. I imagine its secret life would be that it really does flow all over the building, hugging the building’s curves, and flowing wherever it has room to go. Megan Mullininx Installment Two Installment two is made of long, thin pieces of wood that are thicker on their sides than from the front. The boards are cut straight or with bends and curves and are connected to one another with either metal poles running through them or with metal plates. The wood has a few chips in it and is rougher on the thin side than on the thick side. From a straight on approach, the structure seems rectangular in shape, but the frontal view also gives a unique look at the structure. From this view it is very translucent and one can see clearly to the other side. Different from that view is when it is viewed from the side. From a side view the structure can take many different shapes from going from wide, to thin, to wide, like an hour glass or doing just the opposite. The structure starts off from the first floor making a bench and shooting up straight. Then on the second floor the structure has two curves balanced by two indents right beside them. Finally the structure straightens out up over the third floor and bends back down to end by forming a second bench. This bench though does not have a uniform width like the one on the second floor but moves from thin to thick. To the touch the structure does not move up and down but can wiggle back and forth. Also the incoming light bounces off the curves of the structure making the curves brighter and the indents darker, enhancing not only the shape of the structure but also the contrast between the curves and indents. The issues and questions I think motivate this installment are how does one’s perception or view point of how the structure looks change despite looking at the same object and how the stiff lines of the building can be used to enhance the curves of the structure. I think the design process that was used in this installment was a consideration of the contours of the building and the geometry of the structure to keep it balanced and symmetrical. This installment reminds me of a waterfall. I can see the third floor being the end of the river where it falls off the ledge and between canyon walls, the ledges on either side. Then the water bounces off the rocks underneath it forming the curves of the second floor and the bends and holes on the ground floor section. I imagine that its secret life is that it is constantly changing, moving, flowing so when someone looks at the first time they think they see a certain shape or curve, but when they look again they see something different from what they saw before. Link to this Page
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