Get busy living, or get busy dying -Andy Dufresne

Architecture isn’t just any profession. It requires you to visualize spaces and create space within your mind. Thinking like an architect is thinking about everything going on in building design all at once. Thinking like an architect is making a plan and having a set goal for the final product. Thinking like an architect is figuring out every minute detail to progress in the design and construction of a structure.  When I began to think about examples of ‘thinking like an architect’ in today’s media or society, I found myself thinking about Shawshank Redemption and Andy’s incredible escape.

            When I think about this movie I become highly intrigued with Andy's thought process. I think about how much he planned each and every detail to be sure that everything went exactly as planned. In Shawshank Redemption, Andy is locked up in a state penitentiary for two life sentences after being wrongly accused for a crime. In the end, we find out that since the day he got there, he was planning his escape. Over the course of almost twenty years, Andy has worked out a plan that would be set into motion on one stormy night. The way Andy thinks through each and every detail, and how he builds his story over the course of many years, allowed him to make a grand escape with no way of tracking his whereabouts. I believe that Andy was ‘thinking like an architect.’ No, he didn’t create a building, but the way he thought through the details is exactly what an architect is after. Paying attention to the small things and having a plan for every circumstance is what architects do. They need to be aware of each and every possible thing that can go wrong and plan for it. It also will take some time to get everything figured out. While it doesn’t take 20 years, it may take that long to really grasp everything about being an architect and you’ll still learn more in the years after that.

          

            During this movie I became captivated by the idea that someone began their plan so far in advance that they had time to detail every step of the scheme. However, in reality, that’s exactly what I should be learning to do in my classes at this very moment. I should be preparing myself for the projects to come and become familiar with every step in between to present the best product. Thinking like an architect is something that we learn, something that takes time, and something that will give us a plan. Planning for everything is thinking like an architect.

over the weeks..

Over the past couple of weeks, Hannah and I have begun to explore Revit more and increase our skills in the program. We've found that working in Revit can be difficult at times because we're just not familiar with most of the functions. However, we've gotten lots of help from our peers and from youtube tutorials, and I think everything is coming together pretty well.

Last week, we had the chance to present our project to a couple guest reviewers. While we were somewhat nervous about the whole thing, it ended up being a great and very beneficial experience. Not only were we able to produce some really good 'final-looking' images, we were also able to get some great feedback on our design. I felt that the reviewers really brought a new light to our project and were able to point out some areas that need some improvements.
We need to revise our amphitheater and be aware of how each individual would fee in the space. We also need to clean up our floor plan and give a clear circulation path that could be highlighted through the half barrel vault. Our entry to the children's area also needs improvements, which we were completely aware of. The reviewers gave us some great ideas for the entry and how to tie it into the existing building and our already successful design.

Overall, I'm getting very excited as we enter our last month of design and revisions and I've already got some great ideas to improve our boards and make them clearly present our design.