^ A peripheral vision of my dorm room; my roommate probably wanted to hurt me.
When I hear the word periphery, I think of peripheral vision, or rather, the limited amount of space that can be seen at one time. For example, in the above drawing, this is all one sees when in my room: a big mess. This thought collides with the actual definition of the word “periphery”. More than once have we seen boundaries within architecture. In fact, the word “boundary” has been an opus word. Considering that I have already talked about boundaries, I will not repeat myself. I will, however, talk about figurative boundaries and how they apply to the process of design. As we have learned about this constant transition from era to era, I have noticed how different limitations have been placed on opportunities. For example, the Renaissance aimed for rebirth. They wanted to leave gothic architecture behind and create new forms based on classicism. The Renaissance was all about humanism. This practice of humanism only allowed for architecture that supported its theory: “Humanism was a philosophical view that emphasized the importance of human values, achievement, and endeavors as distinct from received religious dogma” (Roth 356). After the Renaissance, there was the Baroque period, during which sculpture, painting and architecture were combined. Baroque architecture is about “heavy embellished architecture, with its corkscrew columns and bent entablatures- as much a deviation from proper architectural norms as a twisted pearl that deviated from the spherical norm” (Roth, 398). This architecture pushed the limits of those before it, by switching from clarity to ambiguity, variety instead of uniformity, plasticity instead of planar (Roth, 398). The transition from Baroque to Roccoco was also a drastic one. Suddenly “Baroque architecture moved away from the heavy architectural decorative elements and deep colors of the early seventeenth century in favor of more slender decorative features and a much lighter palate of colors” (Roth, 429). This idea of periphery will continue to apply to the way styles change and develop. New limits are put on styles, whether it’s due to government control, social trend or religious beliefs. This is why it is so emphasized in our classes to go beyond the boundaries. In all of our projects we are asked to go above and beyond, because this is the way that we will be able to explore different possibilities. The more ideas that we are exposed to, the more trends and styles that will be available. This variety is also important so that if we are meeting with a client, we can offer many different possibilities, Instead of just one.
Portfolio: a set of pieces of creative work collected to be shown to potential customers or employers; "the artist had put together a portfolio of his work"; "every actor has a portfolio of photographs"
As designers, we are required to have a portfolio available at the blink of an eye. A designer’s portfolio contains all of her work throughout her “explorations” as a designer. This includes work from her first year as an undergraduate student up to her work in grad school and outside of school in the real world. This opus blog that I am writing on serves as an electronic portfolio for many architecture students at UNCG. Our sketchbooks also serve as a portfolio of our work, not only in drawing, but also in history. Sure, it’s not entirely professional, since we are just beginning our years as interior architecture students, but it does contain a good chunk of the work we have already done. I know that as we climb the professional ladder in college, we will develop more professional blogs which will serve the purpose of showcasing our final projects, as well as solid observations and critiques that occur.Beginning with the Renaissance, we read about many architects who wrote treatises. These treatises act, in a way, like a portfolio because they explain the way designs came about and what principles were followed, etc. For example, “Sir Henry Wotton espoused his ideas in a publication of 1624 entitled Elements of Architecture. This was not a pattern book but a down-to-earth building guide” (Blakemore, 130). The suggestions in this book influenced much of the English Renaissance.
For midterms in drafting, we are asked to put together a portfolio with all the work we have done throughout the semester. These pieces include both drafts and finish products of projects. Why include drafts? Drafts show process and difference between the draft and the final project. It is important to note what has been changed or corrected in order for the teachers to acknowledge that the student is progressing. It is even more important to have a portfolio when you work with a firm or other design business because a portfolio shows style. When you get a client, it is important that you show them your portfolio. This way, they can decide whether or not your style is what they’re looking for. By seeing your previous work, clients can judge whether or not they want to work with you. Hopefully, your portfolio is enough to reel them in.
^ An anonymous peer in the PROCESS of creating her opus PORTFOLIO
Process: a series of actions directed towards a desired result
“The end must direct the operation.” This saying is true for design. When a designer is given a project, he or she takes the prompt and must come up with a concept for the end product. This is the first step. Only after creating a concept and image of the desired product can a designer find the process it will take to get there.
Last semester I participated in the 7 to 7 Salvation Army Charette, and in order for us to begin, we first had to create a solid idea of what we wanted the end product to look like and how we wanted it to function. We decided that we wanted it to be organized into different sections for categories of merchandise. We wanted the customers to feel calm and invited by this store. Most of all, we wanted to create significant interactions between the customer and the space itself. After coming up with all these goals, we were able to start designing graphics, laying out the space, and organizing the products. After twelve hours of process, we finally finished and met our goals in our design. Process takes much effort and extensive thought, but it’s all about being able to make connections between important aspects of design.
The first half of second semester in environmental design was a process. This process had some order to it, though. It began with something as small and “unimportant-seeming” as a fairytale. I would never have guessed that something as simple as a fairytale could develop into something as complex as a portal. The process was so extraordinary in that each project took a little bit of the previous. Our artifact came from our fairytale, and our passageway from our artifact, and then a door from our passageway. This is what leads me to the conclusion that almost anything can be linked in one way or another, not only in design, but in life.
History of Design is also a process: the process of a constant change in design. Design periods overlap with one another, allowing for much mixture between two or more styles. So far we have learned about process in the foundations unit. This process was the passing on of architecture from one culture to the next through trade and proximity of countries. In the alternatives unit, we're learning about the process of expansion. Architecture in different regions are reflective of one another, and though their goals (rebirth, baroque, roccoco) are the same, the outcomes are different. We will soon be learning about how this spread of architecture influences present day architecture, and how architecture will continue to develop in the future.
Perspective: The science of painting and drawing so that objects represented have an apparent depth and distance
^ Church of Saint Ignazio
Perspective was used frequently, beginning during the Italian Renaissance when frescoes became a popular wall decoration. Artists painted perspectives on the walls or ceiling to extend the space, or make it seem larger. This illusion is called “trompe l’oeil” (mistake of the eye). Though the transitions from Renaissance to Baroque to Rococco were all in hopes of changing architecture, the use of illusionism did not. “In Baroque architecture, the line between three-dimensional reality and mystical illusion was increasingly blurred” (Roth 404). In the church of Saint Ignazio in Rome, “the vaults were painted by Padre Andrea Pozzo in 1691-1694 and show the glory of Saint Ignatious, in an illusion of architectural elements extending into the open sky, with clouds and angelic figures accompanying the figure of Saint Ignatius” (Roth, 404). Pietro de Cortona, originally a painter, was known for the frescoes he painted for the Barberini family. “For their palace, he painted the Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power. This, his most famous painting, is a triumph of Illusionism for the centre of the ceiling appears open to the sky and the figures seen from below appear to come down into the room as well as soar out of it” (Blakemore, 154). This use of fresco in wall décor actually decreased as architecture moved into Rococco, and I am predicting that it will fade to be very rare and eventually disappear.In drafting, we are beginning to learn about perspective and how to make a perspective sketch without using drafting tools. The concept is very complex but interesting at the same time. Depending on the type of perspective being drawn, all lines go back to one vanishing point, or two, or three, etc. Perspectives can be drawn in many different ways. They can be drawn professionally using drafting tools, drawn as a conceptual sketch with sensible lines, or drawn as a regular sketch, guessing where the lines go to and in what directions they go. In the first semester, we created perspective drawings using our drafting tools and pictures of buildings. In A few weeks ago we were asked to draw perspectives of our selected buildings; however, these drawings were freehand. Perspectives aren’t only used to draw the insides of buildings, but also the exteriors. They don’t just make an outline, they also touch on the details such as windows and doors. Everything is connected through lines, which fascinates me.
Professional: of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession
The word “professional” is thrown around. Some people believe that in order for someone to be a “professional” he or she must obtain a degree from college and be working in the field for which they got that degree. However, others might believe that if someone has spent a certain length of time doing one thing, he can be a professional, despite whether or not he has a degree. Some people became professional during the Baroque period through training, whether it was by apprenticing or education. Others just felt that their ideas were fit for architecture. “Borromini felt his training as an architect was appropriate for his commissions, while Bernini (with no training in architecture) considered his knowledge of sculpture and painting equally fitting for architectural work” (Blakemore, 155). This ability for Bernini to switch over to architecture was do to the new theme of the Baroque Era: “The autonomy of architecture is here eliminated, becoming now an armature for sculpture and painting meant to impress upon the viewer a mystical experience. Architecture as an independent, rational, structural frame is transformed into a unity or fusion of the visual arts as propoganda. Architecture has become but one constituent part in what was ‘a total work of art’” (Roth, 404). During the Baroque period, architecture, sculpture and painting were combined into one form of art.
The interior architecture program is designed to give us a unique education that will make it easier for us to become professionals. When we graduate, there’s a high possibility that we will not only have a higher knowledge of interior designs, but also building structures. This will help us get more successful jobs with major architecture firms, rather than small design companies. This is why it is important for us to keep all of our work. When we graduate, we will be able to bring our portfolios to job interviews. This way, the interviewers will look at our work, and instantly be able to see the knowledge that we have developed throughout our education at UNCG.
All five of these words pertain to the outside world, or post-graduation. Periphery pertains in that we will have new limits to our design that will be created either by the firm we work with, the client, or the task at hand. Like I have already said, in order to get jobs, we will need to have a portfolio at hand, ready to be shown. A process is important because it shows progression towards the desired goal. As I wrote in my essay comparing design to a story, the process of design means multiple attempts, multiple critiques, and alot of the time, multiple mistakes. Perspective is incorporated in design in that it is required that the designer has a correct perspective of what needs to be done. The perspective of the client is also important when a designer is coming up with a concept. A design needs to accommodate the client, and his or her needs. Finally, professional comes into part in that someone who is professional in design is more likely to get a job over someone who is not. In other words, being that we, as interior architecture students, will graduate with a degree in interior architecture, we will be at an advantage over those who come into the field through other degrees.
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