this is architecture.

            The author of This is Not Architecture raises the idea that “the value is no longer in the hardware.” The idea behind this statement is that architecture has evolved from being a structure to protect those inside to a building that envelops a certain feeling. The author compares this to the decoration on a can of Pepsi compared to the decoration on a can of Coke. Both cans serve the same purpose as far as the hardware goes, but the design and articulation of the label differentiates one from the other. Just as the cans use decoration to differentiate on from another, we use design and decoration to differentiate one building from another.

            I agree with the idea that the value is no longer in the hardware. I believe that architecture has taken on a new meaning. We don’t see a frame with a roof over the top as architecture; we see it as a shelter. Our eyes have begun to only translate a building as architecture when there’s an experience related to the design of the building. The design of the building has become more important than the simple aspect of the structure. The people who walk through a building should have an immediate reaction to the decoration and design of the building. The building should embody a certain feeling and give off an aura that no one can ignore. This is architecture.

            Creating a feeling in a space can be done through many aspects of design. Whether it is color, shape, or texture, all must be carefully chosen to give of the correct atmosphere that the architect is wishing to accomplish. Color alone can immediately affect how a person will feel about a space. Generally warm colors give off a more friendly and comforting space. Cool colors can be seen as relaxing but also give a literal cold feeling of sadness. Shapes aren’t as simple to dissect, but one immediately feels different if there is a dome over their heads rather than a simplistic drop ceiling. Texture through materials can also have a strong effect on how a person will feel regarding a building and space. Rougher materials can cause a more harsh feeling while smoother materials can relay a calmer feeling. However, regardless of the general assumptions related with color, shape or texture, all can be perceived completely different based on the person and their experiences. That’s what I see as architecture.

            True architecture is bringing in every aspect of design to create an atmosphere that completely embodies a person when they walk into the space. The architecture should create an overwhelming feeling within a person and it’s completely okay if every person feels differently about the space. Architecture is not only meant to keep someone out of the rain, cold, or heat, but to provide an experience. The hardware is important to the building, because the hardware makes it a building. However, the value is in the design, and that’s what makes a building architecture. Bringing design to a building is what makes an architect, and architect.

Progress Report

Over the past week we've been making tons of progress on our library remodel. While last Friday was a little shaky, Hannah and I stepped up our progress for Monday's mini presentations and I'm beginning to become more and more comfortable with our design and where we're going with our final addition. We are struggling a little bit since we're not accustomed to working in Revit, but we're moving along just fine and getting help where we need it. The tutorial over modeling in Revit (on Wednesday) was really helpful and I hope that we're able to translate all that into our model and make even more progress with those tips. We have a long way to go as far as refining the model in Revit and cleaning up our design, but I'm confident in what we've come up with. I'm excited to continue articulating our building and revising the addition to come up with the best solution to their current problems.

give CAD to the consumers

At the beginning of the century, industrialized economies were on mass production, mass distribution, mass marketing and mass media. Now, with advances in information and technology there’s a new frontier that is allowing more and more “mass-customization” to be available to consumers at mass-production prices. How will mass customization and co-design effect the architectural design process?  Will consumers be able to have a greater say and input? How much more of a building can be economically designed-to-order rather than right off the shelf? These questions are the few that are plaguing this new idea of mass customization and are important to the students involved in architecture today as we begin to transform the architectural process.

I believe that mass customization will open a variety of doors for the architectural industry and will allow the consumers to be more involved in the design. I feel like this is the window to take the clients and give them a portion of the control, which will make them feel more comfortable in every step when designing and fabricating a building. Some products can be tailored or customized at the retail outlet or dealer, which would be considered post-production customization. Other products may adapt to the user, as for example, the intelligent systems, increasingly available in cars that adapt to your style of driving, which is considered adaptive customization. However, along with these ‘post-production’ forms of customization, it is also possible for the consumer to interact with the design and the manufacturing process to modify the design of the primary product. For many products it will be possible to offer infinite choice. One of the most important distinctions running through all the different senses of mass customization is at what point the consumer becomes involved (design, fabrication, assembly, or post-production) and to what extent does the collaboration begin and end. Everything that encompasses this new idea of customization is becoming increasingly more apparent as it is beginning to be practiced. The consumers are becoming co-designers and the architect is providing more choices that are readily available to the consumer, which in turn, creates an even better relationship between architect and client.

With all these new technologies, I think the real frontier will be putting the computer programs in the hands of the consumers and allowing them to actually be apart of the design process in a way they never could before. Computerization has greatly impacted all aspects of design. Not only has is transformed design processes; it has transformed the kind of the products that can be created. CAD allows multiple designers and other professionals to collaborate in new ways, to visualize different solutions and try out different options, to keep options open longer and design different alternatives in parallel and pick up problems sooner. The design software that designers use has moved from being a tool to being an intelligent environment that can guide and inform the design process. These technologies can be put, with adjustments, in the hands of non-designers, including consumers, to allow them to co-design products by interacting directly with highly flexible manufacturing systems. Instead of designing for consumers, CAD systems will enable design by consumers. This will not only enable the consumer to be apart of every moment in the production of the product, but will also put the mass-customization process in their hands.