reflections
Been awhile but checking back in. This past Fall in Studio V has been the most challenging project to date. The stress levels increased, not because the work load changed or pressure changed in class, but rather because we were interacting with a real client. This project was setup with Music City Baseball (www.mlbmusiccity.com), the organization behind the effort to bring a Major League Baseball team to Nashville. With the decision still looming and no certainties yet, the organization was gracious enough to allow our design studio to take on a project that may or may not be fictional. Only time will tell. This is what made this semester special. A special project requires a special team. So we formed teams, partnering with the Interior Design Program in O'More College. A team of 5 to take on a massive project. The actuality was that the project itself was the collaboration of the team. How well could we work together, design together and organize together? We had now been presented with the two most re world situations in the program to date. First, working with a team and second, a real client. How would well would we succeed. Success was not an option, only to what level. The team was made up of 3 students from the Interior Design Program and 2 students from the Architecture program.
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A little competition never hurt anyone, as the old adage says. Fortunately this is true for this event as well. A welcome interruption to a semester long project, a week long design charrette was introduced to give us a mental break. Not sure a break is what I would call it but rather a tangent into another topic for a short period. O'more College at Belmont University is a program that was founded in Franklin, TN and adopted by Belmont. Due to the move to our campus and expansion of the Architecture school, space is not our friend. The building we acquired is an old science building that went through some minor renovations to accommodate our needs temporarily. One detail that was not focused on was the entrance to the building. The entrance is all but invisible, so the challenge for the week was to imagine what a new entrance might look like with only a few parameters given and a large group of both Interior Designers and Architects ready to design. Often times this type of environment will create a heated competition and cause competitors to have a cut-eye, looking over the shoulder type attitude. Not our program, not our people. We work well together and know what our peers are doing can not only help us be better artists and but our work can help others have a vision they might not have seen before too. At the end of the day, to use another old adage, iron sharpens iron. We can make each other better by sharing and giving wanted advice if asked. Skills were put to the test and design work commenced. Using new tools and skill sets learned over the past year to achieve a complex design in a short time period were all utilized. This was our first design charrette since our 2nd year and the level of sophistication that appeared versus the first competition was prideful. I am proud of our cohort and I am excited to see what comes next from this talented group of individuals.
Along this journey we call life I have been fortunate to encounter some remarkable experiences. These memories usually are not as important in the moment as the are on our lasting memory. Each experience leaves a mark on who we are, good or bad, each mark makes us who we are today. So for that I am grateful for all my experiences whether they be adventures, failures, successes, casual conversations, chance encounters or premeditated “lets make a memory” moment.
Of these experiences, the three I talk about here specifically had an impact on leading me to architecture. Chicago - My father was born north of the city of Chicago in Evanston, IL. Because of this we made a lot trips to Chicago to visit relatives, see the city and tour his childhood. The city has extensive examples of beautiful architecture. Starting to witness this beauty at such a young age was formative but not that I realized until later in life. Trips over the last 5 years allowed me to reflect on my previous experiences there and soak in the passion of the art of architecture. This passion took me awhile to accept as reality and as a path I could eventually walk down. Once I chose to pursue this passion the life and history of Chicago has even taken on another meaningful emotion for me, awe. 6th Grade Art Class - Mrs. Pickle, my art teach for most of my grade school days became family to me. To this day I still hug her in the hallways when visiting my boys in school. This connection tends to provide pride for the work performed for that teacher. Numerous projects were memorable over the years but few had the impact that one project in 6th grade did on me. We were tasked with drawing floor plans for our dream house. I believe we were given the flexibility to draw the house, the floor plan or another choice but I chose floor plans. They were, in my eyes, a chance to shine for my teacher. I included a drawing room overlooking a bluff. I incorporated the directions of sunrise and sunset into the views of the house, especially the bedrooms. I connected the fireplaces placement with the heat proximity for another room. I was thinking well beyond my age as a 6th grader, or so I was told. The beauty of a Childs mind is you will believe anything and this belief in myself that my teacher created eventually has lead me to architecture today. Japan - As a child my dad took each of me and my siblings on solo trips together a couple times. Not being a teenager yet, I was still interested in being with my dad and creating experiences. My first trip was to London and Paris as an 10 year old. Also a formative experience but the next trip is the one I chose for this boundless and that was a trip to Japan. We focused on 2 cities, Tokyo and Kyoto with an amazing bullet train ride between. These cities were described as the new and the old. That became the theme for sure. Tokyo was to me, a Japanese New York City. Large city, densely populated with a lot of buildings and action. Kyoto was a frozen in time city of the past with preserved history and architecture from centuries ago. The pride in which Japanese communities have for their heritage and traditions is a work of art by itself. This is what has stuck with me from that trip. The architecture, but most importantly the pride for that architecture and the preserved history that will be handed down over generations through stories, teaching skills and experience. This is something I believe our country is lacking and will be something I try to implement in my life for future generations. Thanks for learning a little more about me… |
By TJWant to know more about me? you can learn more in these blogs or contact me below to grab coffee. Archives
December 2023
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