Theory 5...A Whole New Mind

A Whole New Mind

For our final theory reading, we read exerts from Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind. In his book, Daniel Pink emphasized the importance of the six senses and tapping more into our R-mode side of the brain--which makes us more aware and sensitive creatures.

Design

The author recommends not just to function but to design.

Story

Instead of providing an argument which could elicit counter-arguments, tell a story which brings us in touch with our primal activity of story -telling.

Symphony

Analysis alone does not allow us to see the whole picture; instead, symphony creates more of an understanding.

Empathy

Use empathy instead of logic. It will create more meaning relationships.

Play

It is very important not to take everything very seriously, playing is an important part of the human experience.

Meaning

The meaning of life and design are more important than collecting artifacts.

In his book, Daniel Pink recommends to have a holistic relationship with design. In order to accomplish this task, one must experience the environment by visiting, reviewing, looking, watching, and thinking about design.

The three design journals I would recommend are:

• Architectural Digest: It provides many useful information for the design professionals as well as the general public.
• Design Intelligence: Is a newsletter dealing with the business and strategic aspects for the design professional.
• Web-Architecture: It is a web-based publication for architects, students, and other design professionals. The web access makes it convenient for professionals in the field to gather information faster.

Lastly, it is important to have a holistic approach to design and incorporate information from other sources in order to be more successful.

Sources:

A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink, pages 65-99.

http://www.architectstore.com/magazine.html

Theory 4... A Pattern Language

FUNDAMENTAL GRADIENTS

For our fourth theory reading, the focus was on the importance of gradients in a space and the importance of implementing pattern language when designing any type of space.

The challenge in respect to designing a Writer's Retreat will be to successfully incorporate the theories into the space which has both a very public and a private component.

Intimacy gradient:

The intimacy gradient is very important when designing a space. As a designer, it is important to define the public entrance, semi-public, and the private areas of the space. The public area needs to be at the center of the space.It also needs to be accessible within a straight path. In the design of my writer's retreat, I have placed the public area on the South side, the kitchen functions as a semi-public space, and the sleeping space as a very private area. The public area and the kitchen areas are easily accessible via a South-North axis however, the sleeping space requires a different orientation to access it in order to provide an intimacy gradient.

Indoor sunlight

According to our theory reading, the most important rooms needs to be oriented toward the South because it is the the room with the most amount of natural light. The rest of the building needs to be spread out along the East-West axis. For my writer's retreat, I placed the public reading area to the South which captures the most amount of natural sunlight and the rest of the other spaces radiate from the main gathering area.

Common areas at the heart

The common areas of a space need to be centrally located. If the visitors or residents who are using the space need to walk a long distance or it is difficult to get to the common area, it will not be well utilized and could hinder conversations and interactions. The placement of my common area which is the public reading space is centrally locally, along the East-West axis.

Entrance room

Entrance rooms are easily an overlooked part of the space. The entrance needs several considerations. First, the entrance needs to have windows in order to be able to see who is standing in front of the door. In addition, the entrance needs to provide some kind of shelter for the person standing outside from rain, cold, heat etc. From the inside of space, the entrance needs to provide a measure of privacy by not allowing a direct view into the common area or the private spaces. Also, the inside of the entrance needs to provide an area for storage such as coats, umbrellas, gadgets. For the Writer's Retreat, I created an entrance with partial walls to provide privacy and an easy orientation to the public area.

Flow through the rooms

The flow from room to room is very important. In the design of my Writer's Retreat, I avoided creating long and narrow passageways in order to enhance circulation in the space.

Short passages

The challenge with the passages is to create spaces which feel alive compared to passages which are not alive. In order to enhance human interaction, the passages need to be short, preferably have some furniture or carpet to make it part of the living area. In the design of the Writer's Retreat, I incorporated short passages with furniture to make it more intimate and conducive to conversation.

Staircase as a stage

In order to make a staircase more successful, it is important to have the bottom of the staircase flare out. Majority of the time, if people sit on a staircase, it is the first five steps. If staircases is available, it is important to consider the view of the person sitting on the stairs.

Zen View

According to our theory reading, the Zen view was an interesting consideration. I believed that if a space provides a spectacular view, why not maximize the usage by having constant access to the view? I learned that by placing a path that provides glimpses or occasional view is more useful than having constant direct view. If the view is more obvious, it will fade away, however, if the view is indirect, it will keep it's novelty. In the Writer's Retreat, I designed the spaces in such a way that it provide limited and at times full view of the garden.

Tapestry of light and dark

Human beings are photo tropic and will always gravitate toward sun light. It is very important to design spaces which provide an abundance of natural sunlight in order to enhance conversation. In contrast, darker rooms hinder the intimacy gradient. For the Writer's Retreat, I created spaces which allow maximum sunlight into the space. The Southern part of the retreat has a lot of natural sunlight and I added additional windows on the North side to allow more light to come into the darker areas.

Overall, the theory reading provided a road map for the design of the Writer's Retreat. I was able to incorporate most of the elements of the Patten Language to make my space more functional and pleasing to its users.

Source:

A Pattern Language, Alexander/Ishikawa/Silverstein/Jacobson/King/Angel, pages ix-xliv and 609-646

Eradicating Hunger Day...

Dining Space

Plan Oblique/Plan View

For our mid-term project, we designed a dining space to host a biannual event around the world to eradicate hunger. The paremeters of the project was to design a dining space, dining table, and a sideboard. I used a carpet as an inspiration and placed my dining space in SE Florida. I used many windows to keep my space open and bring in natural light. The biannual event took place during the summer and winter solstices and hence, light was an important consideration in the design of my space.

To control the light during the summer solstice, I used natural wood blind, glass block and for the winter solstice, the open space concept would allow light to come in during the darker winter solstice.

In addition, we had to provide a venue for social networking to be part of the dining experience. I created a projection screen in order to allow my diners to interact with other diners around the world via skying.

Theory 3...Personal Space

The behavioral basis of design

For our theory reading three, we read excerpts from Robert Sommer's Small Group Ecology. It was interesting how much design influences conversation, the lack of conversation, cooperation, competitiveness to name a few influences of design.

According to Robert Sommer, the presence of others improves performance aka. "social increment"and the absence of others decreased performance. In his book, Sommer points out that unless there is a specific function or activity, a table for 8-10 people is unnecessary and would prevent conversation.

People tend to have conversation in smaller spaces and sit across from each other. Those sitting next to each other tend not to speak as much and report that they would prefer to sit across from each other. In addition, most conversations take place between 2 people. If a strong leader is at the table, the participants tend to talk to those sitting next to them and when there is a weaker leader, they conversationalist tend to talk to those sitting across from them. Usually, most people tend to sit across from each other, or at the corners of a rectangular dining table.

As I am designing my table, I need to keep in mind the size of the table, the size of the room, and orientation of the furniture. People do not tend to talk in large areas such a lobby as much. I would like to create and a dining space for 6 people and make sure that my guests are comfortable.

Lastly, designing spaces and maintaining functional relationship is very important in the development human interactions.

Source:

Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, Robert Sommer, pages 58-73

Eradicating Hunger Day

The United Nations passed a resolution that mandates the observance of Eradicating Hunger Day and it has been adopted by all nations. Through the use of social media, every celebration for the dining experience needs to include guests from other parts of the world--another continent. This biannual celebration also need to coincide with the Winter and Summer Solstice.

My role as a student designer is to design a dining space to commemorate this important event. The challenge for me will be to create a single space, which needs to accommodate a Winter and a Summer Solstice dining experience. Other considerations during my design process will include the lighting, the temperature, the availability of natural resources without being wasteful. It is very important for me not to waste resources while creating the dining space.

My vision for the my dining space is open, minimal, and incorporates natural elements. My minimalistic concept for my dining space is to preserve as much natural resources as possible to eradicate hunger. My space will accommodate six diners. It will also house a sideboard which will be used to display food and as a serving station.

My own cultural background will also be incorporated into my design scheme. I will incorporate the use of naturally hand-made Turkish carpet, tall windows which can be closed off for the Winter Solstice to preserve energy and opened for the Summer Solstice. The sources for my lighting will be outside natural light, candles, and one chandelier. My table is a rectangular shape in order to provide a measure formality to the event.

My diners are family members who will be flying in from England, Germany, Greece, and Turkey. The food will be Turkish fusion cuisine influenced by the location of my family member. The food will be hand delivered to provide another measure of formality and comfort to the diners.

Lastly, the dining space will have a monitor to facilitate the use of social media, Skype. I also want to make sure that my diners are not interrupted while they are eating in order to communicate with other family members.

Dining Space Precedents

Dining Space

Social Space

New World Center, Miami

Ritual Space

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxaqtY3jtZ9oV-HohPs88_ORDJ78K1doutTUsIl2p6uyz07kc6SBIC48PPhmI9i0bJrezjSegxcMaPW8PUwbVs0UNbu0ktOMgYsr87I-uO3LWTaKE384P2gvADH8TvTMMbArvzLlVF57c/s1600/franck-ghery_new_world_symphony.jpg

http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00080/t2s80_files/TopkapiPrayerRug.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBsrYwFz3MyOTkejw4BaAM0ClOYim1FjnmqUoCKlyIQx7dzJ-xXxLtZxSDJpk8bRG8PQwqRtVRwsrg3pTX4fJ8-RgvFJCVGiPtOmpgaryyBM8o-MZDkWTJOKjNbEiW9XK-GsgQmysUj8/s800/commune+design+los+feliz+home+courtyard+mosaic+tile+outdoor+living+dining.JPG

Social networking...

Parti for the interior product

For our studio class, we had to a design an interior product which would enhance and support social networking. My vision for the product was futuristic. I used material which I believed represented clean curvatures and lines. My contact lens projects the images onto screens and can be controlled by individual preferences.

I wanted to ensure individual worldwide accessibility and personal control to social networking media. I designed a contact lens which is affordable, does not require existing infrastructure, and cannot be controlled by government entities. Also, worldwide accessibility of my device was very important because I wanted to make sure people from poor countries could access social networking media to enhance their lives; their ability to connect to the world should not be prevent by their socioeconomic background. Lastly, I wanted to design a product which could not be controlled or shut down by totalitarian governments and individual consumers have the ultimate control to access social networking media.

Theory 2...Dining Experience

Babette's Feast vs Turkish Dining

Ba

bette's Feast

Turkish Dinning

Last week, we watched a movie in class about a dining experience in 19th century Denmark. The protagonists were two sisters--Filipa and Martine who are the devout protestant daughters of the village minister.

The movie setting was a remote isolated seaside village of Jutland, in the nordic state of Denmark and was only accessible by boats. The life of the two adult sisters was very predictable, minimalist, puritan, and almost cultish.

The small house of the two daughters was dark and only lit by candles. Their meals were mostly made of locally caught fresh fish from the sea and old crusty bread soak in beer. The majority of the days were spent in prayer with very limited contact to the outside world.

This mundane life was interrupted with the arrival of Babette who was a French refugee. Babette spent many years working as a live-in cook/maid and performed the same ritual of cooking and cleaning for many years. One day, Babette came into some good fortune and won 10 000 F in the lottery.

The devout daughters decided to host a dinner party for the village in honor of their father's 100th birthday. Babette used the money she won in the lottery to prepare an extravagant French dinner for the birthday celebration. The guest list included the villagers and a general with his wealthy mother.

Babette prepares and executes every detail of the dining experience with precision. The dining preparations starts with the import of very fresh exotic ingredients such as turtle from France. The table is set with ironed white table cloth, white dishes, silver cutlery, crystal glasses, and candelabras. Each course is hand delivered by a young villager. Cherry, champagne, different wines were offered with each course; water and coffee were served at the end of the dining affair. The isolated villagers had no appreciation for the magical culinary creation by the maid. The general explained each course as he was savoring every bite since the villagers did not know what they were eating. The formal dining experience cost Babette the entire amount she won in the lottery. At the end of the movie, Babette turned out to be the female head chef of the famed restaurant Cafi Anglais in Paris.

As I was watching the movie, I could not stopping thinking how different cultures influence dining experiences. In my own Turkish culture, our dining experience has some similarities but many differences compared to Babette's French culinary masterpiece.

In Turkey, food is a very important part of the Turkish culture. In my Turkish family, meal time was not a dining experience but rather a ritual to fulfill a biological need. The socializing in my family took during tea time. The family meal was always prepared and served by the experienced female family members. Interestingly, outside the home, the wait staff in restaurants and bars is male dominated. The conversation around our meal table would be about taste, the freshness of the ingredients, and sharing of information about our day. Some of the dishes were communal and we did not get individual place settings. The table was not set elaborately and most of the dishes, utensils, and glassware were more functional than aesthetically pleasing.

Tea is very important in my country of origin and in my family it was brewed after the meal to ensure freshness. In Turkey, we use very small tea glasses to serve tea which requires many refills. Again, the refilling of the tea is done by the female members of the family. Most of our socializing took place when we were consuming tea served with nuts, dates, dried apricots and raisins. In my family, our dining experience was different when guests were invited to dinner. For a dinner party, my mother and sister-in-laws would make very time consuming regional Anatolian (region in Turkey) dishes to honor the guests. It was not acceptable to make simple dishes for dinner since it would be considered rude. The expectation was when guests were invited to dinner, the meals had to be appropriately abundant, time consuming, and freshly made. In my family, the table setting, decor, and lighting were not overly emphasized.

One of the biggest differences between my Turkish dining experience and French cuisine is the serving of Alcohol. Turkey is a democratic society with Islam as its main religion. Unlike in many islamic middle eastern countries, in Turkey, alcohol is readily available and people are not judged for consuming alcohol publicly. Certain alcoholic beverages like Raki, anise flavored spirit, is consumed mostly by men. Traditionally, during meal times, Turks drink mostly water, juice, sodas, or ayran, diluted yogurt beverage. Turkey is a wine producer and it is common to drink Efes Turkish beer and wines with dinner while dining in a restaurant.

In my family, our main beverage with our meals was water followed by brewed tea after dinner.

In my country, the consumption of exotic animals like turtle or snails is almost non-existent. The mediterranean diet of olive oils, nuts, fresh vegetables and fruits, lamb, chicken, beef are the dietary norms. Pork is also available in certain hotels in Turkey for foreign nationals and is not consumed by the Turkish population; it is against the preachings of Islam. Also, the process of eating in Turkish families and in restaurants is not as emphasized as the quality and taste of the food. In the French culinary experience, the rituals appears to be as important as the food itself.

In conclusion, I believe there is great difference between eating and a dinning experience. The dining experience is driven by cultural norms as well as socioeconomic background of the individuals. I also believe, the types of rituals dictates the degree of the formality of the dining experience.

http://www.turkishlanguage.co.uk/pics/mezze01.jpg

http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/babettes_feast.jpg

Theory 1...My Design Manifesto

Be on time

It is important to be on time. It shows that you take your work seriously and will help you in your professional life.

Ask lots of questions

Do not be embarrassed or shy about asking lots of questions! This is your chance to get your questions answered. You will be expected to know in your upper classes and in the professional world.

Be Relaxed

It is OK not to take everything very seriously. Sometimes, being relaxed helps you become more creative.

Look at the work of your classmates

It is important to look at other's work to have an idea where you might be or where you might want to go. It's like a barometer.

Be prepared

Ahh, the most important aspect. In life, school, and professional work, if you are not prepared, it shows and it influences other's views about you...it might not be flattering.

Have a studio space at home

If you are able to have a studio space at home, more power to you. If you get stuck in your studio space on campus, you have another place to escape to...

Do not worry about what everyone else is doing

As tempting as it may be, do not worry what everyone else is doing. This is your time to be in design school and discover what your design style is--not to imitate others

Be mindful of the end

Design can go into infinity and it is important to cut loose at some point...otherwise, it will take forever.

Source:

Designerly Ways of Knowing, Nigel Cross, pages 49-58: "Natural and Artificial Intelligence in Design"

What Designers Know, Bryan Lawson, pages 31-63: "Drawings and Types of Design Knowledge"

Social Network Space...chronology

http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html

Color week...

Two colors and its middle.

Two colors and its middle.

Three colors and its middle.

Four colors mixed with grey & their middle.

Color palette

Spring, summer, fall, and winter with the

color palette.

Social Network Space...Belgium

Overview

• Capital: Brussels, also capital of EU (European Union)
• Population: 10.4 million
• Ethnic groups: 58% Fleming, 31% Walloon, and 11% mixed/other
• Language: 60% Dutch and 40% French, and some German
• Became an independent state from the Netherlands in 1830
• Is a modern, technologically advanced European state, and member of NATO & EU

Economy and Communication

• GDP/capita $37,900
• Internet Users: 8.1 million
• Cellular Lines: 12.4 million
• Broadcast Media: 90% of households connected to cable

Belgium is a democratic western European country with a GDP/capita of $37000. Hence, it was not surprising to find a very high internet, mobile device, and social network media usage.

During my research, I found out that most Belgians use email and IM as their primary sources for communicating with their friends and colleagues and social media is used to make informal connections with peers.

All generations, young and old, have knowledge of cell phone, iphone, blackberry, and Netbook to access social media network while on the move. Internet access via mobile devices increased social media usage.

Another reason Belgium has high social media usage is because, access is provided in all their three official languages (Dutch, French, and German). Facebook and twitter are usually accessed in English.

Social networking in Belgium is used for socializing, business endeavors, and government conversations. The government uses social network media as a platform for communications. The government’s main focus is to increase transparency for its population and create conversation about political issues.

Most popular Social Network sites in Belgium are:

• Manoeuvre
• Zattevrienden
• Asfaltkonijn
• Blogtendances

I was not surprised about the social network usage statistics in Belgium. It appears that social media is used to enhance personal and public life.

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/europe/european-union/belgium

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/be.html

http://publicintelligence.net/ufouo-u-s-state-department-media-landscape-belgium/

Illuminated Box...

My assignment was to make a five sided corrugated box with one side open for viewing. The interior of the box is white and the overall dimensions are 12"x12"x18". I left one of the 12"x12' side open for viewing.

I made several openings into the box to accommodate a remote light source which divides the interior planes into four spaces. I experimented with linear, round, and floral shaped openings to achieve four distinct spaces via the remote light source. I finally settled on three linear cuts on the top plane of the box to successfully achieve my objective of four spaces. My four spaces are the dark spaces separated by the three light spaces. I also used bamboo skewers to delineate my interior planes further and enhance my four spaces.