Rewind: Year 2 – Intro to Design

Second year of architecture school had me feeling like the real deal. We were introduced to site analysis, construction types, and we were finally putting our designs out there. I’ve said before that looking back at my old projects, all I see are the things I did wrong and could do better if I had to do them again. Even so, I am still proud of how much I have grown throughout my education.

Quick recap of the projects I worked on:

Construction class meant learning about materials and methods of construction. We replicated a light wood frame model of a small house:

 

Meanwhile, I was dipping my toes into the world of watercolor. I wanted to learn to  create realistic art through this media. (It’s harder than I thought).  I have a hard time finishing the paintings. Maybe I’ll post more about my struggles with watercolor later on. I still want to keep at it and maybe even get ‘good’ at it eventually.

 

Finally, the biggest part of my year was taken over by my studio projects. First semester the project was an environmental center with a garden and caretaker house component. and the project for my second semester was a proposal of a barn for Morton Hill House in Benton Harbor, MI, that would function as exhibit and event space, with a curating and storage area. Even though there are so many things I would change, I am still really proud of the work that I did (for a second year student) so here it is:

First Semester: Intro to Design Studio

Preliminary Site Analysis

Initial Site Plan

Garden Plan

*The second sheet is missing the topographical model that was affixed in place at the top

Second Semester: Architecture as Craft

and the Corner Eave model:

 

Looking back, I’m so proud of this! All the crazy late nights and the struggle were so worth it. I’m excited for what the future brings and I look behind and glow because I did this ❤

xo,

Steph

At Home in the Studio

Yesterday I arrived at the architecture studio a little after 5 a.m. I spent the entire day working on my project submission for that afternoon and attending my regular classes. Fast-forward to 7 p.m. and I hadn’t left the building once.

Tweet courtesy of my friend Christian

This is a recurring thing with most architecture students (as I’ve heard). There are crazy folk stories of past students who tried to sleep in the studio or hide and escape campus safety officers to stay in and work through the night (which isn’t allowed at our school for some reason).

We Make it Home

Since many of us spend so much of our time in studio, we slowly begin to make it our home. With Christmas lights, plants, toys, extra furniture, food, and many other random knick-knacks,  we turn our spaces into representations of ourselves (and our struggle).

It’s interesting to see the way our personalities shine through our spaces.

I love my studio space, even with all my layers of trace paper, pens everywhere, books, and even my studio slippers on the floor. I thrive in my messy environment. I know where everything is even though it may look chaotic.

Others, like my friend Christy, cannot work until their space is organized and cleaned (and I mean completely disinfected).

Some build furniture in the wood shop (like coat hangers and shelves), many have a coffee station by their desk (a must!), and others have a blank space with no personal items.

No matter what our desks look like it’s fun to appreciate our differences and learn from each other and the things that inspire us.

Aldeana

Elijah

Christy

Andres