20 weeks + Me
These past 20 weeks have been hard. Here’s some things I’ve learned and some stuff I haven’t figured out yet.
People
I don’t know if it’s because of college or life in general, but I’ve quickly become more and more of a people person.You have to be to design a working building for people.
Billie Tsien’s Logan Center for Arts was the first building that I could truly feel was designed with the highest regard for people. Around every corner I felt like each nook and cranny was designed just for me. Experiencing each space was an exciting adventure, and it seemed like it was being used exactly how she intended. It was surreal. I have no idea how she did it, but I know that one day I want to answer that question.
I think with Link, Alexis and I were just able to start to capture and understand that essence. It was hard, but we wanted each interior space to have a high degree of intentionality. Looking back, I’m so glad I was partnered with someone that values and understands the importance of intimacy in architecture. I’m also really thankful I was paired up with someone that I could work so well with. Collaboration is hard, but a quote from Frank Gehry always keeps my selfishness in check. When you realize how much more you can think of and do with someone by your side, working with a partner becomes less about compromise and combining.
"We wanted to make something that none of us would have done alone. That is the essence of collaboration. "
Places
Let me start by saying that High Tech High is absolutely insane — in the best way possible. It’s filled with so much life and so much energy, it scares me. But it also excites me. It was like peering into an ant colony with all these students running around. The whole time I just kept thinking “I hope one day I can design a place as vibrant as this.” Throughout the first ten weeks I began exploring what exactly was the secret ingredient for a school like High Tech High. It’s easy to think that if you give a kid a classroom with a bunch of windows, they’ll instantly love school. Realistically it’s a combination of pedagogy, social surroundings and environment. For the first I quarter, I really got caught up on the first two elements, and I don’t think I fully understood the last (arguably the one thing that I should have been focusing on) until Chicago.
During both of the Perkins + Will and Gensler presentations I felt strange. I felt like my mind was being read. In just a few pamphlets and presentations they answered all of my questions I had been running around for ten weeks. They had already typified my first quarter ideas into an “academic incubator”. These spaces needed resources, sticky space and a degree of “hackability”. With the last ten weeks, Alexis and I were determined to focus on these to let them guide our building.
Looking back, I think an area that Link could have improved in was it’s degree of customization. Maybe because we put most of our attention into the larger scale elements like the makerspaces and breakout spots, we only glossed instances a space can be personalized. I think if we had continued with our concept of pods, and expanded it past the radio station, we could have opened up that door a little further. It also makes me wonder, what other large scale solutions can exist? How can a space be transformed without relying on furniture?
Things
A question I have struggled with for a while (and still struggle with) is, how open is too open? How undefined is too undefined? And how transparent is too transparent? In every instance, the border to these conditions changes and the answer is unique. This is the first time I began to really got to explore those boundaries, but I know there’s much more for me to understand. I’d also like to push those limits. The idea of a space that is just on the verge of exhibitionist uncomfortableness excites me!
Another concept that I’d like to further explore is accessibility. I think a lot of Architects and students (myself included) tend to gloss over the subject because 1). stairs are sexy and 2). it’s really hard. But designing a building or space that can be used and enjoyed by all kinds of people is really important to me. And I don’t think an Architect should make a marginalized group of people feel further excluded from society because of a few design decisions. If given more time, I would have loved to explore how a building like the Link could adapt for someone with a physical or mental disability. Learning and cognitive disabilities are rarely talked about in relation to Higher Education, but I think it’s a valid conversation, especially in Architecture.
Me, Myself and I
These past two quarters have been filled with so many fond memories and lessons learned from different people, places and things I’ve been surrounded by. I have discovered so much about Architecture and even more about myself (I found out that wall sections are kinda exciting but also still confusing?!). I’ve grown so much but I know that there’s still so much more to do.
As I look forward to the next two years, I question if there’s enough time for me to explore all the problems I want to tackle. I can hardly wait to begin to answer these questions in a few months in Washington D.C.