Architecture 101

Laura Seymour

Learning Portfolio Instructor Jerry Lum

Spring 2015

Table of Contents

Week 1 Malevitch Reinterpreted

Pages 3 - 5

Week 2 Representation

Pages 6 - 9

Week 3 Language//Narrative//Layered Emphasis

Pages 11 - 14

Week 4 Form//Scale//Proportions//Beauty

Pages 15 - 18

Week 5 Experiential Space//Sequential Experiences

Pages 19 - 30

Week 6 Truth//Frame Expressions//Structure

Pages 30 - 31

Week 7 Surface Expressions//Nature//Precedence

Pages 32 -35

Week 8 In Conclusion

Page 35

WEEK ONE Malevich Reinterpreted into Tectonic This first week of work centered on a select portion of abstract art entitled: Suprematist Composition 2, a Lithograph by Kazimir Malevich. I chose to narrow in on the area of his work that I believe represents the most dynamic, bold and strong moment of the whole composition.

I wanted to build in space- not form, but instead communicate these bold lines as pathways existing between forms in negative space. I have found in other areas of my work / design / life that I am often most inspired by the spaces in-between, the dynamic space that is created and defined by forms composed within a thoughtful assemblage of line and art. This is what I set out to do.

Upon first reflection, I was overwhelmed by the discovery that I had not given way to a creative design process. I had such a focused idea in mind from the very start, that the forms themselves were neglected, where no due process was given. In doing so, I realized I had shut the door on any creative possibility or even a new way of thinking.

Specifically, this section is where the thickest, darkest and longest lines come crashing together, near the center of the lithograph. To communicate the dynamic boldness of my selected area, I decided to work in voids.

Bound and determined to create this image of a bold but beautiful negative space I had somehow *gasp* created something a bit banal, sort of boring! How did this happen?

I succeeded in designing pathways that would draw you in and then split apart in an exciting way, where the negative space possessed the same footprint as my selected area of the Malevich composition. The addition of a few small details like the inset cove on the right side leading you back, and the corresponding line (on the same plane) that protrudes and leads left is evidence of the beginnings of a relationship between the two forms, and the start of a design language. However, the overall feeling I had for this work was that it lacked spice; it needed more variation and excitement. What design choices would I make to address this and how could these

necessary infusions be achieved in my next model? Working my way through the materials provided by my instructor, the following three questions presented as particularly relevant to my cause.

1. What is the value of repetition in design? What are the types of repetition?

The value of repetition in design is essential to our understanding of a piece of work. Repetition constitutes the beginning of a design language, as it applies order to a composition, and this order is essential in developing the relationships that exist between the forms and spaces that compose a piece of design. Examples of repetition might be a line of the same thickness, at the same angle, and spaced evenly apart, like the columns of a cathedral. Other common forms of repetition in architecture are right angles/repeating angles, color, and symmetry. This assignment of order through repetition as perceived by others lays the foundation and informs our understanding of the resulting relationships within a design.

The complete Malevitch artwork

“Suprematist Composition 2”

2. What makes a composition of arranged objects static or dynamic in nature?

Static objects are the absence of irregularity or the absence of opposing forces. Static objects communicate a perceived value of solid, unmovable objects. Dynamic forms and spaces are created by the tension that occurs when this irregularity, this rebellion of one form is placed against another. Dynamic objects challenge our base assumptions and go against the grain of our preconceived notions. Yet at the same time dynamic objects are still in a sense bound by a language, which is the fundamental understanding of our very existence as it relates to the greater universe.

3. What relationship(s) are created between the arranged objects and the space around and between them?

AH-HA! Relationships. Thinking and reflecting on this yielded a better understanding as to what and why I appreciate dynamic space, and what was so lacking in my model. It’s not about just the space itself being beautiful, but rather the relationship(s) that is created between form and space. It is this relationship that is dynamic, as one cannot exist without the other. My creation was boring because I had not thoughtfully composed the forms or given much consideration to the relationship. Somehow I expected to just create dynamic space from a footprint! Hints of a relationship were beginning to show in my model, but at this stage it was still grossly underdeveloped.

WEEK TWO Representation//Design Elements and Principles//Drawn Representation Following up on our first journey into the study of tectonics in architecture, the task at hand was to continue to develop the ideas represented in Iteration one, applying what was learned through our reflections of the previous week. This meant:

• Identifying and addressing emerging strengths and weaknesses.

• Containing the new work within the scope of our original “Malevich Reinterpreted” for Iteration 2.

• Learning to draw and photograph with purpose, demonstrating design ideas for iteration 3 and 4(the drawings).

Informed by my previous design reflections, I set out this time to create a dynamic form, with an applied sensitivity to the relationship, or how the two primary lines would join, in hopes that these intentions would also result in dynamic space. As my process emerged, I aspired to inject a higher level of interest into my work by playing with different proportions, angles and connections.

Here you can see the Malevich “pathways” of my first Iteration developed as two triangular forms that almost seem to grow

together, the secondary form leaning into and resting on the more upright and dominant triangle form. At the point where these two intersect, a much smaller and more linear triangle pierces them both, binding them together. This penetration by the smaller tertiary form could also be viewed as an opposing force, at it’s edge a pointed opening, like the beginnings of a tear in the fabric of the surface material, the sliver driving the two apart.

Whether you view the two main forms as bound together, or you see them as slowly drifting apart, the conclusion is the same. A relationship exists here that has meaning, value and even tells us a story. I had successfully completed the objectives of Iteration 2 with a design I far preferred over my first attempt. In reflection, a deeper understanding for my work was revealed as I started to grasp at the definition of architectonics. My new awareness for relationships and static vs. dynamic elements of design informed me that architecture is in fact a representational art. Things are happening here, and we can apply reason, logic, and our fundamental understanding of the universe (what it means to be human) to support these representational conclusions. Therefore, our design choices must (and do) convey meaning. The power of design!

I loved the relationship that was created between the objects in my last design. The feeling of two forms colliding inspired me. In particular, my interest was in the space where the two came together and the realization formed that a new and unique shape (different from it’s parents and yet also similar) would be born and could be defined. In a way, I sought to create a tectonic Venn diagram of sorts for my third iteration.

To represent this new idea I chose to take two square forms and overlap them. Where they overlapped, I cut away. I then repeated this form to create the top and bottom horizontal planes of my model, then slightly misaligned them. I also played with cutting through sections and slotted in two asymmetrical pillars. My intention behind the addition of clear plastic tubing (straws) was to create an element of beauty through juxtaposition of the two materials. I also wanted the model to have an open and airy feeling to it, which the translucent material helped me to achieve.

The shadows cast help to illuminate the voids, and provide a new view of how the elements of the model work together.

The process of drawing and photographing the third construction was informative. The drawings and photos provided a new perspective, a therefore new edge in analyzing and critiquing my work, which aided my emerging infant design process.

Perhaps more importantly, however, was the opportunity to visualize and emphasize through my drawings what I saw as the essential forms of this model. Although line itself is not actually present in the photograph, executing a line drawing can aid in defining what you see. On a couple of the photos, the shadows that were cast were too incredible not to represent with some gradient half tones as shown below.

Furthermore, the design gestures developed here in our drawings provide a lens that can aid us in discovering and promoting the best elements, or editing out the worst qualities of our design.

WEEK 3 Narrative//Language//Scale//Layered Emphasis Now the gears were really turning. By applying reason and logic from the standpoint of the universal human experience, we could comprehend representation in architecture. We could understand that all of these design choices had meaning, and that these choices built upon one another like sentences in a book. Architecture was telling us a story. This meant that it possessed a way of communicating, a language. Thinking introspectively, I began to wonder how would I tell my story? What words could I use that would begin to describe the (often) ambiguous feelings I had? It seemed to me that emotions and feelings were by definition meant to be felt, not to be trapped inside a word to be dissected and discussed. I have to admit that I resisted the process of developing my narrative at first. It made me uncomfortable. It felt foreign to describe in words what I was only beginning to understand. None-the-less, this was the challenge and the direction of my study, with three main objectives:

• Develop a narrative that relates to my design in terms of purpose, intention and environment.

• Identify specific qualities of space. • Recognize the emotional impact of our

environment.

For my fourth construction, I wanted to promote and combine the strongest elements of my previous two models while achieving the new objectives. This meant re-conceptualizing the two intersecting triangular forms from Iteration two, and the overlapping squares from Iteration three. I also knew that I wanted my creation to speak boldly, simply, and powerfully, like the Malevich section had spoken to me.

Armed with the design criteria and my own intentions, the concept of creating an imagined but percievable form in space was emerging. This time, instead of ovelapping two-dimensional squares, I created 3-D cubes with cut outs. These cut outs could have joined the two cubes together, but instead of joining I chose to pull them apart. By emboding this idea of doing the unexpected with these two simple forms, I hoped to create bold, dynamic interest, and a resulting percivable (rectalinear) form in space.

The relationship between the pulled-apart cubes was furtherd when I placed one above the other on my colliding triangles. This action created a hierarchy that both the cubes and the triangles possessed. Layered emphasis through scale, relationship and form was achieved. Happy with what I had created, I then set to the difficult task of putting it into words. My concept (sedign-wise) had been to basically say as much as I could, boldly, and with as few words as possible, the architectural eqivalent of poetry.

Here was my first attempt at verbalizing a narrative: Creating an imaginary space, wherein lies the voice. It is seen but not heard, experienced by the converging of recognizable forms that come together and pull apart without ever moving. Light and shadow highlight the pure forms to create a profound sensory experience. It became clear after critique that in my narrative I had written mostly about what I had made, and not at all about the emotions evoked through different spatial experiences. I hadn’t crafted a journey like an architect does. Herein, I saw that my past artistic pursuits were informing my concepts and desires; I was still thinking like a fine artist or a floral designer. I wanted my audience to stand back from my work and experience it as a whole. To craft the entire journey was a new way of thinking for me. I wonder- do architects have God complexes? No matter, I now had a more clear understanding of the practice and objective to promote an improved next draft narrative.

With my follow-up design, I focused on a simple but clearly communicated journey. This journey would have three different spatial experiences: an entrance, a midsection, and an exit.

I liked the open and airy quality this design had to it. It was simple, and I liked it that way. The entrance point was clearly on the right hand side, where an arm of the rectilinear box opened and invited you in. The pathway marked the trail into the space and leads you beyond its threshold. Now at the center point of the composition, the pathway breaks apart. This denotes a static moment, the point at which all of the elements visually come together. From here, the viewer will experience all of the objects as they were intended to be seen. Once absorbed, one could pick up on the pathway leading out, the other arm of the frame shielding you and directing you away.

Week 4 Form//Scale//Proportions//Beauty This week’s work was to explore proportions and scale to develop beauty. Alongside the lesson was thinking critically about the golden section and how it is evidenced in architecture. What is the value of injecting harmonic, golden, or Fibonacci/Modular proportions into my design? I was also focused on crafting a journey that would evoke emotional responses. In this way, I knew I could draw out a solid narrative.

Overview The entrance ramp

Threshold Emerging from below

Looking up The back exit

I had succeeded in a second draft narrative, and found it much easier to write this time because I had thoughtfully composed a journey while crafting my model. It reads as follows: The ramp extends outwards and away from the structure, signaling an entrance to all adventurers. You follow and approaching the threshold up the ramp, curiosity and suspense build for what lies beyond. Is there a treasure inside? Passing through the entrance feels unfamiliar, tense and a bit unnerving. Now inside that ramp continues up, giving you the acute perception that the ceiling is closing in on you. With great relief, you see the light ahead denoting an opening to the space above. Emerging, you feel the relief and happiness of sunlight on your face and wind blowing through, hearing the faint whistle as the breeze moves over and through the tubing above. There is treasure here. It is the discovery and connection you feel to nature. It is the appreciation for the tremendous view above. It is the delight you feel noticing the sunlight through the glass as it bends and refracts to cast rainbow shades that bounce all around you.

For my second model, I thought about how to refine the journey and also achieve more beauty. Despite applying “nature’s ratio” to the main body of my last iteration (where I placed the second level in relationship to the top and ground plane) the overall aesthetic result was too heavy and cumbersome- not what I was trying to achieve. Furthermore, the beginning of the journey was not exactly hitting the note I desired either. So I reduced the model back to the frame, thought about openness, transitions, balance and developing some intricacy.

I was very pleased with the evolution of this model. I had removed the clunky, unpleasant weight of the last model and replaced it with lightness on multiple levels. It’s design aesthetic, physical material, and emotional experience all worked together now to achieve my desired

goal and the overall effect this had was my other achievement: more beauty!

So then, what is to be gained by injecting “nature’s ratio” into design? In a word: Beauty. When we utilize these proven proportions, we emulate the universal truth all around us, and access memories inherent to all human experience, elevating and filling the heart and mind.

The stairs here appear almost weightless, impossibly floating in space, like walking on water. Ethereal, alien, magical, & excitement describe our emotions.

WEEK 5 Space//Experiential Space//Sequential Experience The application of week five was to develop a storyboard to intensify my Narrative and focus my design. I was specifically thinking about how to shape space to simulate the senses and evoke memories that create experiences. The objectives for this week’s activity were to:

• Interpret the words from our narrative into images on a storyboard.

• Develop images that evoke intended experiences in others.

• Identify essential elements and their composition that trigger intended spatial experiences in humans

• Relate perceptions with emotional responses.

The approach is almost exactly similar to its predecessor in this model. I was happy with the emotional journey I had created, and so that section remained mostly unchanged. However I did remove the southwest pillar of the structure entirely. I wanted a large-scale feeling of openness as well as an unobstructed view outwards from the multiple observational standpoints in my model.

You will also notice the advance I made to the first platorm. I thought long and hard about the words I had chosen in my narrative and the direction this was all taking me. The design changes I made here were:

• Increase the platform size. • Transorm it into a round shape to

promote it’s relationship to the second platform (creating a hierarchy) and to communicate it’s message as a whole (togetherness).

• Create a shetered, enclosed area with a bench seat providing a direct line of vision towards the climax moment.

I also conseptualized the exit more thoughtfully with this model. I intentionally shielded the stairs from the approacing (eastern) side so that visitors here would not concieve of these as a way into the structure, I wanted them to be directed to the entrance steps and not confused by the exit. From the approach, they look like giant blocks with the visual appeal of an anchor, fortifing the precepice steps. I loved the way these giant blocks provided juxtuposition to the open, airy feeling of the approch, but furthermore I wanted the exit to feel sheltered and protected. I had just provided a thought-provoking experience above and therefore the decent should be safe and secure for anyone who might be lost in thought.

Here a look back at the model, after exiting. While creating the slotted back stairwell I played with this simple form of connection that did not require any glue. I liked leaving one side of the stairwell open with the stair planks jutting out, exposeing truths of their construction and design.

From above you can observe how the primamry forms are all working together. For exaple, the way the square sky opeining sits inside the rectangle, with a repeating rectangle offcenter below containing water. Notice also the smallest circle platform in the center of the square, and how it realtes to the larger circular middle platform with a third circle repeating at the ground level, like planets in the galaxy or a lunar chart.

My narrative was also developing, and I finally understood how to write about what I was emotionally crafting with my model. This time it was fun to think about the journey in someone else’s shoes! From the park entrance a wide grassy expanse opens before you with a tree line far beyond. Before the trees you encounter a large and curious but pleasing structure. As you approach from the east, the giant predominately rectilinear composition emerges in greater detail. Its skyline is punctuated by large glass tubes, which hang almost like icicles from the skylight above. Below and outside of the main structure are large concrete tiles with simple rectangular formations suitable for sitting on creating a convex semicircle before the entrance to the building. Reminiscent of Stonehenge, this arrangement denotes an observational moment for pause as you ponder the structure and the relationships created within the space. A sense of cold, reverence and mystery is evoked as you stand in the omnipresence of this dominating, alien-like figure, it’s highly-crafted exterior a stark contrast to it’s natural surroundings. Curiosity and a desire to be closer to the mystery contained within drive you forward along the ascending steps. Now passing through the frame threshold, anxiety heightens our awareness as the path, supported like many small suspension bridges leads upward. Swaying slightly underfoot you look down to fully realize you are above a pool of water contained at the base of the structure. Feeling bewildered and slightly

nervous you continue on, hoping to find more sturdy ground ahead.

Now before you, pleasant and inviting, you are rewarded with a modest but stable open area platform. Here feeling the extension of time you are welcome to linger, reading, as you move around the platform. The informational pedestals offer key and sobering facts about climate change and the alteration of wind patterns. For the first time since entering the sculpture you become aware of a faint, low hum, then another, and another as the sounds layer over one another a moment of clarity emerges. The sounds (you

realize) are emitting from the chandelier above, created by the natural occurrence of wind moving through them. Relief, understanding, and delight combine. An intense if inexplicable sense of togetherness, connectedness, and oneness with nature reverberates through you as you experience wind and nature in a new way. Wow!

Filled with a new awareness and understanding for the sculpture and within yourself, you eagerly continue to the path, excited and desirous for a closer examination and proximity to the beauty

above. Ascending the last steps upwards, you enter a small, circular space hosting only 2 or 3 people at a time. Occupying the space at the dead center of the building, you are now directly underneath the amplifier.

Looking up, the pipes draw you to the sky, clouds floating through. The unique perspective here combined with the ephemeral humming of the wind all around you fills you, feeds you, as you remain there drinking it all in. Feeling whole and inspired, you peacefully commence to the path as it continues, now in a downward fashion away from the circular space.

Descending, the steps lead you through two parallel walls of quietly cascading water. The close proximity of the water walls suddenly surrounding you breaks the trance-like connection you just experienced above. You feel awakened and enlivened: a call to action! Spurred by these emotions, some may circle back to the seating semicircle to reflect on their experience, while others leave excited or in sober reverence to share what happened here with friends.

The remaining portion of the assignment was to draw my storyboards. To do this, I took my avatar figure (3/4 of an inch tall representational human figure) and walked him through the structure as I read my Narrative. The figure helped immensely to understand the scale, and made it possible for me to view the structure from his perspective. I have never drawn a storyboard before and while I was happy with my drawings, I realized after that I had left out a key element - the people! This would have communicated, without any ambiguity, exactly what I was trying to promote with my drawings and scale. However, the drawings do communicate a journey and relay a cohesive image of the journey. When accompanied by the narrative, the perspective is clear for each moment and spatial experience within. I am particularly focused on each of these moments as I work and reflect on my focus question: “How do you shape space to stimulate the senses and evoke memories to create experiences?” Here in drawing one, we are approaching from the park entrance. The whole edifice looms before you, grassy expanse stretching out on either side. Excerpt from the narrative:

From the park entrance a wide grassy expanse opens before you with a tree line far beyond. Before the trees you encounter a large and curious but pleasing structure

As you approach from the east, the giant predominately rectilinear composition emerges in greater detail. Its skyline is punctuated by large glass tubes, which hang like icicles from the skylight above.

The first step, first contact.

Curiosity and a desire to be closer to the mystery contained within drive you forward along the ascending steps. Now passing through the frame threshold, anxiety heightens your awareness as the path, supported like many small suspension bridges leads upward. Swaying slightly underfoot...

The ascension, climbing upwards towards the first platform.

Feeling bewildered and slightly nervous you continue on, hoping to find more sturdy ground ahead. There, you see it, to the left. Pleasant and inviting, you are rewarded with a modest but stable open area platform.

The pinnacle. From the first platform, you turn to see the last step up to the final destination. It appears almost alter-like from here as the amount of occupy-able space comes to a point.

Filled with a new awareness, you turn again to continue to the path, excited and desirous for a closer examination and proximity to the beauty above. Ascending the last step upwards, you enter a small, circular space hosting only 2 or 3 people at a time. Occupying the space at the dead center of the building, you are now directly underneath the amplifier.

Look up!

Looking up, the pipes draw you to the sky, clouds floating through. The unique perspective here combined with the ephemeral humming of the wind all around you fills you, feeds you, as you remain there drinking it all in.

The decent, looking back. Here our character has exited the structure, and is looking back, reflecting over what happened there.

Descending, the steps lead you through two parallel walls of quietly cascading water. The close proximity of the water walls suddenly surrounding you breaks the trance-like connection you just experienced above. You feel awakened and enlivened: a call to action! Spurred by these emotions, some may circle back to the seating semicircle to reflect on their experience, while

others leave excited or in sober reverence to share what happened here with friends.

God’s eye view. This is an impossible view, one that the small avatar (human figure) will never get to see, but it belongs in the storyboard because it gives the audience a way to better understand the pinnacle moment with a moment of reminiscence at the end.

…Others leave excited or in sober reverence to share what happened here with friends.

In reflection, I realize that to understand how to shape space to stimulate senses and evoke memories, we first must identify and comprehend how we as humans experience space. We must also recognize that these experiences, emotions and memories are a product of our environment- and are profoundly cultural, a human construct. As the architect of these experiences, you are the conduit, taking these cultural understandings and bringing them to life from your own unique perspective and experience. We do this by identifying what the cultural and / or universal experience is, how that is perceived by us, and then as a designer we emulate the desired experience through our design choices. Want to make a haunted house? Cover up all the windows, or better yet have no windows at all! Make a doorway that is so small you have to crouch through it, lead your audience down a dark sloping hall with lots of twists and turns, this sort of thing. Good architects have a strong understanding and ability to execute this principle while also applying their unique spin to it. With this new pair of glasses on, I see that design choices and our own personal design choices for life are all around us. We are a thread in our cultural quilt- as creators we have the gift and opportunity to influence and shape our world driving and influencing the cultural zeitgeist!

WEEK 6 Truth - Frame Expressions//Structure Thinking about truth and how it manifests itself in architecture, I was challenged this week to reinterpret my design as a frame expression. Objectives were to:

• Investigate how structure resists imposed forces.

• Relate the essential structure and evaluate its impact to the overall form and form of spaces.

• Develop visible hierarchical layers of structure, form and spaces.

In an effort to focus in on the most essential forms of my design, I took the climax moment at the center of my piece and then designed and built away from the center. I loved how clean and fluid it seemed to work in this format. I also appreciated how quickly my ideas came together. Working in this way allowed for more freedom to imagine surfaces and how the basic form might morph and twist to create new shapes. In frame only form, it took on a very machinist aesthetic. Because of this I was inspired to see what the form would look like transposed into a natural setting. The shadow play on the sand and the way the

structure interacted here informed my later work on organic shapes and surface. However the biggest achievement here was developing a hierarchical relationship within the structure. The outside structure was made with thick wood skewers (the first time using this material). As I went to create the inner framing, I intuitively felt that it needed a lighter hand. Toothpicks meet this need and provided the expression, relationship and form I was looking for.

It was easy to see here how truth manifests itself in architecture. With the frame alone, there is nowhere to hide your design choices; the content is there in plain view.

WEEK 7 Nature//Precedence//Responses to Natural Forces This week’s focus was on organic form and meaning in our designs, discovering how frames and surfaces might respond to natural forces other than gravity, just like animals and plants take their forms in accordance to morphogenetic principles.

One of my early designs.

Wikipedia correctly defines the approach to Ikebana as:

More than simply putting flowers in a container, ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Contrary to the idea of floral arrangement as a collection of parti-colored or multicolored arrangement of blooms, ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and draws emphasis toward shape, line, form. Though ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece's color combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the usually implied meaning of the arrangement.

Reading through the concept intro, I was increasingly excited to realize how similar this idea was to another passion of mine: Ikebana. Ikebana is the Japanese art of floral arrangement, which literally translates to “living flowers” or the “way of flowers” with a third translation considered “giving life to flowers”.

Another aspect present in ikebana is its employment of minimalism. That is, an arrangement may consist of only a minimal number of blooms interspersed among stalks and leaves. The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle, delineated by three main points, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth, and man, and in others sun, moon, and earth.

My first class with the Bay Area Chapter of the Sogetsu school of Ikebana was over seven years ago, and I have been practicing and employing these principles in my work as a floral designer ever since. I felt immediately connected to the study of Ikebana, as the process and ideals represented were everything I had come to value in my own work and life. Taking all of this into consideration, I wondered where to start with my eleventh iteration. There seemed an infinite amount of possibility and I wanted to pursue many directions. Finally I settled on a basic and straightforward approach- I would literally create an Ikebana arrangement inside my model to discover how the frame ideas I had developed with my previous design would respond and relate with the Ikebana elements and principles. Working with the frame first, I created the three basic lines of an Ikebana formation, naturally bringing to form the space in between these three points, creating an “invisible” scalene triangle.

Recalling the rectilinear frame that contained the catwalk to the “nature amplifier” of my last model, I reinterpreted the shape of the top section to also possess an asymmetrical triangle with defined points connected by wood skewers, sitting below and inside the Ikebana “arrangement”. Here, the pipes of my nature amplifier are re-imagined as if growing up from the ground and towards the sun, and the “catwalk” has morphed into an organic bundling up of sticks taking the shape of a broad leaf, connecting and weaving through the structure. The flat leaf running along the

ground plane is stretching out, seeking the light while also providing essential support to the opposing leaf, which contradicts his partner and (enabled by better positioning to the sunlight) branches up and away in a dramatic curving fashion.

I absolutely loved this assignment, and became so caught up in the framing of line and space, that the surfacing of this model got lost in the aftermath. I look forward to exploring these ideas further and diving deeper into the fantasy world that is organic shapes and natural forms.

In response to my focus question, I prefer to think of this mode as ‘design with nature’ as opposed to ‘design to resemble nature’. The latter conveys the feeling that the designer knows best, and will resemble nature how he sees fit. Alternatively, design with nature communicates a better and more holistic understanding that we cannot posses and command nature, it commands (is a part of) all of us. The best we can do is to work with it or along side it, integrating its divine truths into our everyday lives in an effort to live a more beautiful and meaningful existence.

WEEK 8 In Conclusion Spending the last week looking back over my work and compiling all of my data to one place, it is affirming to see the formation; construction and refinement of my ideas come together. I am surprised, remembering how alien it felt to perform some of these initial learning activities whereas now, it all makes sense. I can now fully appreciate the fluidity of the assignments, as one principle or idea built upon the next. I enjoyed the journey and look forward to what is to come.