Unit 4 summary

As we ended our final unit four of reflections, we turned in our autobiography essays and pinned our pictures up in class. We took one image from each person’s autobiography that reflected them most and pinned them up altogether in the hallway. I pinned my autobiography cards up in a way that made sense to me and my story. I started with where I was from (Wrightsville Beach image) then proceeded to pin up my current life (UK campus and Newtown Crossing). We noticed that not many people put materials, which showed that buildings (places and spaces) were of most importance to them. For this unit, we mainly focused on the chair card exam and finishing up the autobiography. After we were tested on 25 chairs and designers, we did a final in-class project with our neighbor. We were given a piece of paper with twenty-five buildings on University of Kentucky’s campus and had to determine the political, cultural, and social issues connected to each. The collection of buildings related to what we value as an educational institution. I found that the University of Kentucky seems to value diversity and variety in style and design. As a southern school, we have a value for genuine people and southern hospitality. We also value close relationships on a teacher-student basis. We divided the buildings up into different categories of dorms, classrooms, offices, main event places, and libraries.

            Today in class, it was our last meeting time of the semester and we wrote down what we learned about ourselves in the course and what we learned about the history of design. The title of unit four as “reflections” is fitting to what we did today. We reflected over the last few months on what we learned about design itself and ourselves. I learned a lot about new designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames, Palladio, Alvar Aalto, and many others. This in-class reflection allowed me to think about all of these designers and their accomplishments to design I have been learning about all semester. It important to understand the new and old uses of materials from each century when thinking about the history of design. In economic crises and recessions, one would probably choose less expensive materials such as concrete as it is one of the least expensive paving materials. I also learned a lot about myself in the course. I learned that although I am not artistically inclined, I am able to point out specific building designs and who designed them outside of class now. I did not let my artistic abilities limit my desire to learn and become immersed in the world of design. I hope to take more interior design courses in the future now that I have reflected how much I have enjoyed Interior Design 162. For my image to sum up the unit, I typed in autobiography into google. I found the image “What’s your story?” Since our autobiography was a major part of the unit, I decided to ask my viewers this question. What is your story? How does it relate to you? This is a question we have been asked all throughout this unit and I think the image is one that it reflects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

dec 13 post

In my autobiography, I learned how diverse and unique I am to the state of Kentucky and the University of Kentucky. My place, material, object, space, and building all reflect that I have learned what is important to me and where I spend most of my time. Wrightsville Beach describes my place where I grew up. The Eames chair is an object I chose that we studied throughout the course of Interior Design. My cashmere gloves are my material because I wear them constantly in the freezing winters in Kentucky. Newtown Crossing is my space because it is my first experience living in an apartment and while attending the University of Kentucky as a sophomore. The whitehall classroom building is what I chose for my building because it is where the majority of my classes are as well as this class, Interior Design 162. I become most educated in this building than any others on campus.

dec 12 post

We discussed 25 buildings in class today and went over the political, social, and cultural conditions of them. We went into great detail about Whitehall classroom which is the building of my choice for this post. The political designs from the past influence the present. The building was created at a time when studying classics was important in the early century of design. The building symbolizes this early century design of the 19th and 20th century. It was built as a result from the late 60s to early 70s strife. Whitehall was created as a lock-down building that is internalized, with the rooms having no windows. The concrete blocking makes it impermeable in response to the Kent State shooting. When the shooting occurred, UK wanted a way to protect students and therefore built Whitehall the way it stands today. The concrete use is most important because had the architects and designers used bricks, they could have been used to throw at people, like Professor Lucas mentioned in class. In a social aspect, this is were classes are taught and students go daily to learn and become educated in a series of material. My personal experience in Whitehall has been in this Interior Design 162 course throughout this semester. I have gained knowledge in this building far beyond what I came into it knowing. My level of understanding of designs and designers has greatly increased.

Italy place- dec 5 post

In the beginning of Interior Design, we talked a lot about the romantic city of Italy. We first discussed Rome, a centrality of ultimate authority. We also drew a diagram to bring all of our ideas of centrality together. One diagram is three rectangular horizontal boxes and then four vertical boxes perpendicular. The other is a circle (centrality) with a line going down the middle and another line going across to divide the circle. The city of Pompeii, Italy was buried by lava from Mount Vesuvius. The House of Vettii in Pompeii is a luxurious residence (domus) preserved like the rest of the Roman city. We also talked about several basilicas in Venice, Italy such as the Basilica San Marco which has evolved since the 10th century and the Basilica of il redentore by Andrea Palladio. The reason that Italy is the place I chose and is important to me and my place through design is my own experience traveling to the country itself. I visited Italy when I was very young so I was not able to comprehend all of the complex basilicas and history of Pompeii. Now that we have explored the preservation and history of Pompeii and Venice I hope to be able to return one day and take in the immaculate architecture and styles of European design. Since I have visited this place, I find it extremely important to my place in the world of design.

building- dec 5 post

We utilized and discussed the Secession building towards the end of Unit 3 following the completion of the month of October in Interior Design. This building symbolizes moving in a new direction during secession movement. The building was designed by Josef Olbrich in Vienna, Austria. He was known for his naturalistic styles in design. He designed the building in 1897 and wanted it to be associated with the art nouveau style. This building describes me and my place in the world of design through the importance of architecture to me in the course.

space- dec 5 post

On September 26th, 2013 in class we discussed the University of Virginia space. The university was founded by Thomas Jefferson in Richmond, Virginia in 1817/1819. The U.S. President, Jefferson was the main designer of the architecture of the school and continued his interest in architecture and education during his busy presidential years. In 1805, writing a letter to a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Jefferson proposes that a university “should not be a house but a village.” He is known as the “Father of the University of Virginia” for his huge accomplishments and successes toward the founding of the school.

material- plywood dec 5 post

The Eames DCW molded plywood chair we also drew. The material that the chair is made of, plywood, is made to help prevent deforestation. I chose this material and would use it for my autobiography because of how sustainable it is. This plywood material describes me and my place in the world through design because if I was an architect or designer I would choose plywood for my wood panels when building a house or constructing a project.

object- blog post dec 5

The first object I have chosen is the Eames chair. I chose this because of the high regard the Eames’s work has and how much we discuss their work in class. We have drawn this chair and will have to memorize it for the exam. This image links with the Whitehall classroom building and University of Kentucky because it is where I first learned about the Eames’s work. This chair describes my place in the world through design by increasing my knowledge of designers and the objects they have created. Before taking this class, I had no prior knowledge of names of specific chairs or their designers, which have improved my perception of interior design altogether.

unit 3 summary

Sarah Wallace

UK ID: 910874148

Patrick Lucas

November 22nd, 2013

                                                                       Unit 3 Summary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we ended our third unit of explorations, we were reminded to discuss the actual meaning of explorations. An exploration refers to a discovery to seek information or resources. In this Unit we explored worlds fairs for multiple class periods. The worlds fairs of the 19^th century focused on reform and the concept of surface versuses substance. We discussed the reformation of worlds fairs from a global history of architecture perspective. The first fair we explored was the 1933 Chicago word’s fair as well as the NY world’s fair in 1939. Both of these fairs were political activities centered around deep political events. The government formed a bureau of international exhibitions whose purpose was to show off art and culture in world’s fairs. The image below is of the Chicago world’s fair. I chose this image to incorporate into Unit 3 because we discussed world’s fair for a lot of the class time focused on this unit. The Chicago world’s fair was the most important and significant because it was the last fair that looked to the past backwards of the 19^th century. Cracker jacks, Aunt Jamima, and Wrigley’s gum are all part of the Chicago fair¾products of which are professor Patrick’s favorite. We discussed the world’s fairs as being celebratory events that reflect hopes and fears of people. These fairs are about looking forward and backward at the same time and tend to be temporary. There were a total of 191 fairs in the world, 64 of which are US fairs.

In 1904, the St. Louis fair focused on lighting and the presence of electricity. Louis Sullivan explains where tall buildings came from. He says, “Tall commercial buildings arose from pressure of land prices.” Sullivan designed the Auditorium building and developed his own system of order in buildings, going back to nature. He also designed the guaranty building in Buffalo, NY. He used terra-cotta material for decorative purposes. He also designed the Wainright building in St. Louis, MO and used narrow windows in his design. We discussed Frank Lloyd Wright who worked for Sullivan. We mentioned Wright’s home and studio and the Ward-Willets house where the chimney was the hearth. Wright also created Falling water in Bear Run, PA in 1934. We did an in class activity featuring two different bungalow homes. We compared and contrast the differences of the layout and interior as featured in the arts and crafts Bungalow magazine. We covered the topic of the Bungalow meeting classical revival. The classical revival of world fame was featured in the Paris opera by Charles Garnier and was said to “see and be seen.”

In unit 3, we also discussed the Secession building in Vienna. It symbolizes moving in a new direction during the secession movement by Josef Olbricht. Another designer, Le Corbusier was known as the Raven and it was said that “when he was born, there was no modern architecture, when he died there was little else.” Corbusier created the huge Villa Stein building in France and Unite d’ habitacion. Another building by Lloyd Wright was the Guggenheim museum in NY. The floor of the museum was slanted and had curved walls which presented a hanging issue we discussed would be unstable although unique. We wrapped the unit up with designers Louis Kahn and Roche and Dinkeloo. Kahn designed the Richard’s medical research building that led to an organization of towers. It softened international style with the use of brick. Roche and dinkeloo were involved in the Knights of Columbus headquarters and the college life insurance building. The insurance building we looked at was a clear representation of pyramids about afterlife. 

Nov 27 post- snout house

The snout house is all garage with a muscled front facade. The image link I have attached shows an actual snout house and the garage formation that takes place on the front of the house. We have explored design forays in class that have one aspect of a house or building that usually takes over one part. Usually, it will be a patio, greenhouse or garden in houses we recently explored that take over the house. The garage on the snout house takes up much of the street and making it hard to fit through the front door. This style of house can be seen in the layout of single family houses, multi family homes, and duplexes. http://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-about-union-and-first.html?m=1