ARCH1142 - Reflective Summary

Architectural Communications


Round 1 – Atlas of Colour
Round 2 – Drawing
Round 3 – Architecture in Motion

Atlas of Colour restated colour theory that I had learned in school yet placed it in the context of architecture and its effect in the built environment. The workshop introduced me to the medium of gouache paints, which was challenging as I rarely used paints even when I did study art, and while I noticed an improvement in my application of the medium during that time, it is an area which I need to develop further.

The Drawing workshop reaffirmed my naturally ‘graphic’ style of drawing and further increased my confidence and level of precision in my line work, in particular for presentation sections and elevations.

For my third workshop I was going to choose Fluid Thoughts to Actions, but Architecture in Motion was the only workshop which was not full - it also ended up being the most enjoyable workshop. It incorporated plenty of expressive drawing as well as model-making, so it ended up being the perfect fit to round out the two workshops that I had missed. I explored different drawing techniques – from graphic pen drawings, to hard and soft chalk and charcoal on blank white bond paper, trace paper, black paper, as well as building up photos. It was also completely different to the other workshops in that sequence was such an important part of the workshop - interactions with the built environment are never static, and this is a dimension that I felt was not addressed in other workshops.


As a form of communication, I have known for a long time the need for the clear expression of thoughts – “what good is a man’s thoughts to him if he cannot express them”, my teacher would say... or something along those lines.

I feel I have a good handle on a more precise and graphic style of drawing, and this does show through my drawings across all courses. I also know that there are limitations to this style of drawing, and that I need to develop areas of visual expression outside of this style.

The communications course has refined my graphic style, introduced me to new mediums and also showing me my weaknesses, as well as getting me to think of architecture in terms of the spatial experience. These skills will undoubtedly be built on constantly through the rest of my career.

ARCH1142 - Round 3 - Architecture in Motion

Architecture in Motion Workshop

chalk on black paper.

charcoal and chalk on photos.

pen with boxboard in relief.

I made this film during the midsession break, initially as 3 separate parts - the setting up of the drawing, the addition of reliefs and light beams, and the cracking and peeling back to reveal the model.

For the setting up of the drawing I utilised the graphic style that I had gained confidence in working with in the Drawing workshop. Only the light beam section appears in the final submission as I felt this was the most successful part of this film - the process for the rest of the film was important because I learned other relief techniques which I could use in future stop-motion projects.

This was my 'official' submission for the 2nd week of this workshop. I wanted to create the feel of rapid movement and the way light is perceived when doing so.

While the technique didn't work well with the concept, the drawn frames were the highlights and I eventually used the same technique on my final submission - charcoal and chalk worked onto photos of a model (the green colouring was not intentional in the beginning of this project, but it was effective in conveying the atmosphere and mood for the architecture so I continued to use this.

FINAL SUBMISSION.

While I had the techniques and styles of drawing set from the beginning of the workshop, I had to re-develop my spatial narrative, which resulted in having to redraw a lot of similar material.

Although the contents of this film could not occur in the real physical world, the greatest benefit from this workshop is that it has given me a platform to think of architecture and its experience in a more spatial manner, especially for design projects.

SPATIAL NARRATIVE:

The INTERACTION OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE and their inherently cyclical influence (the film has been made to be able to loop constantly), and LIGHT as a dynamic material, as creator of ambience, and as a suggestion of flow and direction.

The water ripples before forging a vortex; a growing light signals the end (or perhaps the beginning). Dumped into a freefall high above 4 columns, darkness envelopes you as you move towards them, yet as you round a column, a lamp has compromised the optimism of the architecture, offering instead an eeriness and a superficial refuge from the darkness. The failing light marks the end of an architectural element, yet this element gives rise to another.

OVERALL:

While I was intending on signing up for the Fluid... workshop, having now completed the Architecture in Motion workshop, I felt there was enough drawing and model-making to make up for missing out on both the Fluid... and the Model-making workshop. I definitely do not regret doing Architecture in Motion because I could use different mediums (cf. solely charcoal on white paper for example) as well as being able to digitally manipulate images. The nature of the film medium is that it constantly gets chopped and changed and I think this process is important to me because then I can't get 'attached' to ideas or images that simply do not work. Also, because a single picture may only last 1/4 of a second, it has helped me get around my tendencies to 'perfect' everything.