The project started with a hope of rethinking the home, I chose to do that because it is the first example of architecture that comes to mind, for me at least. I initially targeted the project at professional couples, that stemmed from research into the Eames, and the liking I took to them. The aspect of modularity didn’t come from my research, but rather interest. The proposal was developed based on what I would learn during the research, I stated that I wanted to implement the concepts I learnt from them, rather than re-interpret their forms. The proposal was quickly changed, to target students, something I could connect to more, something I could get better feedback on. Throughout the project I have made sure to dedicate blog posts to any big changes in the project, so it was clear for people reading including myself, what the intentions were. The action plan was not well followed. I put that down to one main reason. Right from the beginning it was not specific because at the time of writing it I did not know where this project was heading. That lack in specificity meant that I didn’t think it was a useful tool, it was vague, so I pushed it aside. Which was a huge mistake.
For this project I chose to research a variety of artists, not only architects; that was an important change from before. I did that I knew I would learn from any artists regardless of their field. The two most important artist were the Eames, which were the main driving force behind my change in approach and Louis Kahn, who informed the concepts behind the design and a lot of choices in materials and shapes. I chose to evaluate my research in a separate blog post to discuss what I took from each and the future research it would lead to. The analysis of that research is what created my own criteria. The things I took from the artists became a tick list for what needed to be present in the project. I believe the research was carried to a high standard.
The main problem solving came at the beginning. Choosing how to interpret the brief is what directed the project, a different interpretation would lead to a different outcome. The theoretical problems came later, when I was making the model on SketchUp, I now had to think how the building would interact with people and optimise the building’s design so that it was tailored to them.
Writing the proposal proved to be difficult as I hadn’t done enough research at that point to know where the project was headed. In a way the proposal dictated the research. Once written, the proposal was changed to target students, from that point forward it was easy to follow. My action plan was loose from the start, it outlined the obvious without being specific, so I didn’t use it much and changed it quite a bit throughout. The two strengths in my planning were the overarching theme and final goal, planning the theme meant I knew the lines I had to work within, the final goal meant I knew what to relate the work to. All the work had purpose. The rest of the planning wasn’t good enough, it lacked specificity therefore when I didn’t do a certain thing or did it beyond the time frame, I didn’t feel like I was failing at it, because it wasn’t clearly outlined. Not having that sense of urgency came with the cost of the project not having its intended outcome.
Throughout the project I tried to show variety, use numerous skills; modelling, photographing, drawing and Sketchup. I did that in the hopes that the variety in methods would enlist numerous interpretations, bring forth new ideas, which it did. Lockdown didn’t have an impact on my project, the changes I made were deliberate. For example, researching artists from different fields, or delaying the use of SketchUp, model more, like the Eames. I discussed those changes in the journal. The development exceeded the time limit, hindering the creation of a model but it was an enjoyable and fruitful process so it’s still a success. A strength in my practical work are the quick models a new addition to my approach, they show a level of experimentation, which allowed me to make informed decisions when it came to choosing designs. The weakness in my practical work comes in my drawings, they are rough, basic, which stops me from being to communicate ideas as well in this medium.
I made sure to critically reflect on all the work, doing so in most blog posts. In my journals I was also reflecting on the work, that reflection was a big help; it outlined the areas needing improvement. I also carried out a self-assessment early in the project where I realised, I didn’t go back to the brief enough, missed out certain things, after I made sure not to repeat the mistake. The peer assessment I got mainly from family/friends but failed to evidence it well enough. I involved my audience through a questionnaire, although I didn’t get that many responses it was still helpful. However, it being a sample group puts the validity of the data in question.
The presenting of the work was kept simple. Although I didn’t carry specific research into it, I am constantly on artist’s website, even more so during this project so I imagine I learnt from that, just not deliberately or consciously. The whole project is on a blog. But I would’ve liked to make a separate compact presentation that went over the design from idea to its end something you could present to commissioners.
Overall, I am very happy with the project, I had a blast all these weeks, I learnt and developed a lot, things that extend beyond this project. Because of that, I can only cherish this project. However, there are some bitter feelings, I didn’t complete what I had set out to do this means I fell short. It could’ve been avoided, had I planned my time better, be stricter with the hand in date for each part of the project I would’ve had the time to plan and make the model. But that is just a question of the goals I set myself. I don’t think not having a model in time will affect the project in major ways. Next time I will have a great action plan and follow it, these small things that seem so minor like the journal and action plans are invaluable.
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