Jabez Ho ARCH 1142

Thursday, October 29, 2009

REFLECTION

This course - ARCH 1142 Architectural Communications has been an exciting and interesting journey. It serves as a good continuation from BENV 1080 Enabling Skills which I took in the previous academic semseter. The course was conducted in a comprehensive manner - delving into the areas of model-making, colour, animation and black and white drawing generally as some of the communicative modes and representational methods.

The first workshop that I did was concerning the use of charcoal and black ink drawings to constitute ideas of space and movement. The use of these two mediums which are new to me, was a delightful experience for me. I have learned to be more bold and confident, honest in translating the visual experience onto drawing, perceiving the qualities of light intensity, and improve my drawing skills. The tasks done also kept me in deep thoughts about the things which I want to represent in my drawings and the results are 14 drawings compilated in black foam core tied with brown jute string.

The second workshop that I participated in was to do with the concept of drawing and scanning drawn images to form an animation storyboard. I wanted to revisit the idea of space which I did in the previous workshop and also insert the idea of time in my animation. The focus was on Red Centre, and in my drawings, I attempted to describe how time pass as the camera view gradually turns from the East wing of the building to the West wing of the building, and how the connection is made with architectural students doing their work in a certain area inside the Red Centre. While I contrast the vastness of space outside Red Centre with the limited working space inside Red Centre, I also gave an account of the changing time mainly by the interplay of light and shadows. I also wanted to record the idea that the work time passes very fast, and the subsequent party time was a much prolonged one. This is to impose the idea that students usually remember the after effects after assignments are done and don't get to remember the process as well. I am satisfied with the product, and I hope to be able to take and apply knowledge that I have learned from this workshop.

Atlas of Colour was the final workshop that I took. I chose this workshop because I am naturally inclined to colour production since young. The workshop was a good eye opener for me to realize that there are many ways of presenting ideas which is certainly an advantage for me in the future. There is a need to be aware of all these creative and explorative techniques of generating presentations like collage and face mapping. I enjoyed this subject to a great degree because of the new and challenging ideas and knowledge that were contained in the syllabus.

I feel extremely optimistic after attending the aforementioned three workshops as they were all beneficial and meaningful. I hope that this course would be maintained and refined from time to time to be a good and effective arena for many.

Workshop 2: Atlas of Colour

The purpose of this workshop was to establish a basic understanding of colour and to stimulate the interest of students to develop their ideas of colour in several different yet complementary area of studies.

Given the theme color of apple green and instructions, I was keen to explore how this colour relates to my given tasks, its relation with other hues, and how it is used to construct my atlas as a balanced whole.

Below are images of my final production:

Selective contents from my produced atlas

Top view of the atlas. Atlas uses accordion-styled binding.

Side view of the atlas

The tunnel section of the atlas

I enjoyed all the sections of this atlas and I believe that they evoke their own uniqueness and establish a link between themselves and the other sections. The most significant thing that was impressed upon me when I took off with this assignment was the notion of symmetry, balance, simplicity, and elegance as featured in Herzog and de Meuron's book Natural History. The precedent book became a vital source of inspiration for my atlas production.

Indeed, colour is a very important element in design and I will take from whatever I have studied for the four weeks and implement those ideas into my designs in the days to come.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Workshop 3: Architecture in Motion

Friday, August 21, 2009

Reflective of Worshop 4

In my opinion, the whole idea of Workshop 4 “Fluid Thoughts and Movement to Actions” was to draw out the creativity, intuition and observational skills of students as well as enhancing students’ drawing interest using different techniques with two main mediums – charcoal and ink.

There are three benefits that I can identify throughout my four week progress.
Firstly, this workshop helps me to see more vividly the link between art and architecture. By learning how to observe and draw lines of different tones, intensity and forming light and shadows with ink and charcoal, I am able to express architecture through art. Masters of architecture like Alvar Aalto, Glenn Murcutt and Alex Popov are but some examples of architects who create architecture through art. This workshop elevates my appreciation for art – in particular hand drawings.

Secondly, I have learned the importance of observational drawing. One part of the worksheet states that “The camera is a tool for idlers, who use a machine to do their seeing for them. To draw oneself, to trace the lines, handle the volumes, organize the surface…all this means first to look, ad then to observe and finally perhaps to discover…and it is then that inspiration might come”, and this reminds me of the good feeling I have when I draw on site instead of looking at photos that I have taken.

Thirdly, I learned the need to be honest, spontaneous and confident in any drawing process. I produce what I see when I do a change in position or a change in space in my drawings, and when I do that, the results are not superficial. I used to be very careful in my drawings, and my tutors encouraged me to produce drawings with speed and spontaneously. Now, I am more confident with my ink brush and charcoal. I never thought that I would be using those two mediums to such an extent and this workshop has challenged me to reach greater heights in the world of drawings.

My appreciation goes to Anton and Chrissie, my tutors, and friends who have helped me along this workshop.

Workshop 4: Fluid Thoughts and Movement to Actions

I endeavour to make a folio that can be opened and closed like a book and one that can stand on ground for display. Hence, I have chosen foam core which is light and tough, with the only disadvantage compared to MDF board/plywood - pricey.

My folio is mainly made up of black and white foam cores, with the intention of maintaining the same style as what my drawings mainly consist of - black and white spaces and lines created by charcoal and ink. Besides having fourteen foam core bases for my drawings, I have added two additional foam cores as the front and back cover.

I have added frames along the A2 foam core bases to create a nice visual effect for the sides of the drawings. The whole process of cutting and gluing up the foam cores took more than 15 hours. It was a strenuous task but the results were great. The foam cores were then punched with two holes at the left sides respectively and tied together with strings.