Few things are more intimidating than the blinking cursor on a blank screen. The page is waiting to become a story, report, poem, or even a manifesto. I have yet to collect my thoughts in a form that would be useful as a guide to anything for those who follow me, but I hope to start to build my thought legacy through this blog. I do not care to admit how many journals and diaries I have started over the years, with the intent to catalog my ideas and experiences. The multitude of spiral bound notebooks, sketchbooks, pads, and locked hardcovers have been stored away or even discarded as unsuccessful attempts at capturing my thoughts. My most successful writings have been notes to my parents or dear friends when I have to admit something or apologize when I have encountered times that I could not deliver my thoughts aloud. Writing has provided me with a venue to reflect and project -- with thoughtful consideration for each word at times, and at others, with genuine stream of consciousness.
Here, I will attempt to hover around that line of information and emotion as I embark on my thesis year of architecture school. I find that I learn best when I write. I am a list maker. I draw a lot of arrows to connect concepts. I use symbols to represent various information in my notes. I love timelines, charts, and tables. I collect images and fragments. I collage. I like having an agenda and knowing what comes next.
And with that consciousness, please allow me to explain myself. I am pursing my Bachelors of Architecture at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In my sixth and final year of schooling, I am asked to develop a building project, that is of particular interest to me, to research and design over the course of the academic year. The opportunity to focus on one design project for a whole year is new to me. I have concerns about holding my focus, but greater excitement to explore new ways to portray my ideas to various audiences. I have cheese-ily (more on this to follow) decided on the working title scouting for architecture, but look forward to finding the most suitable name for the collection of works I put together. The blog will be my platform to:
1. Present research in narrative forms to develop my writing skills.
2. Experiment with presentation styles.
3. Recount experiences with my "client," interactions with the building site, and study of precedents.
4. Seek feedback from anyone and everyone willing to share it.
5. Digest and reflect on criticism throughout the project.
The project I am developing is a regional urban campus for the Girl Scouts of the USA in Philadelphia (hence the cheese factor of the blog title). This building will be the center of a study of introducing civic buildings with very specific audiences to neighborhoods seeking growth opportunities. I hope to discover how such a center can promote commercial and residential development. I will also introduce sustainable practices and develop a master plan for improvements to surrounding sites that will interact with the campus' program.
I recently read an article that expressed "you are what you share."1 This can be taken both literally and metaphorically, but it is known that the opportunities to represent yourself online are growing. My thesis will reinforce and help me to uncover interests that I plan to pursue in my professional years ahead. I look forward to sharing these discovery experiences in this space that is no longer a blank page.
1 Leadbeater, Charles. "Welcome to We-think: mass innovation, not mass production." We Think. 2008. 29 July 2012. http://www.wethinkthebook.net/home.aspx.
Here, I will attempt to hover around that line of information and emotion as I embark on my thesis year of architecture school. I find that I learn best when I write. I am a list maker. I draw a lot of arrows to connect concepts. I use symbols to represent various information in my notes. I love timelines, charts, and tables. I collect images and fragments. I collage. I like having an agenda and knowing what comes next.
And with that consciousness, please allow me to explain myself. I am pursing my Bachelors of Architecture at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In my sixth and final year of schooling, I am asked to develop a building project, that is of particular interest to me, to research and design over the course of the academic year. The opportunity to focus on one design project for a whole year is new to me. I have concerns about holding my focus, but greater excitement to explore new ways to portray my ideas to various audiences. I have cheese-ily (more on this to follow) decided on the working title scouting for architecture, but look forward to finding the most suitable name for the collection of works I put together. The blog will be my platform to:
1. Present research in narrative forms to develop my writing skills.
2. Experiment with presentation styles.
3. Recount experiences with my "client," interactions with the building site, and study of precedents.
4. Seek feedback from anyone and everyone willing to share it.
5. Digest and reflect on criticism throughout the project.
The project I am developing is a regional urban campus for the Girl Scouts of the USA in Philadelphia (hence the cheese factor of the blog title). This building will be the center of a study of introducing civic buildings with very specific audiences to neighborhoods seeking growth opportunities. I hope to discover how such a center can promote commercial and residential development. I will also introduce sustainable practices and develop a master plan for improvements to surrounding sites that will interact with the campus' program.
I recently read an article that expressed "you are what you share."1 This can be taken both literally and metaphorically, but it is known that the opportunities to represent yourself online are growing. My thesis will reinforce and help me to uncover interests that I plan to pursue in my professional years ahead. I look forward to sharing these discovery experiences in this space that is no longer a blank page.
1 Leadbeater, Charles. "Welcome to We-think: mass innovation, not mass production." We Think. 2008. 29 July 2012. http://www.wethinkthebook.net/home.aspx.