Solar House

Hello, everyone! Today, I'll be discussing the Solar House from two classes ago. For some background, the Solar House is a building here on campus (over by Commonwealth Stadium, specifically) that was built to represent sustainability. It features a large solar panel on the roof that can adjust to absorb light from the sun. Inside, there's a bedroom space with a space office area in the corner, a bathroom, etc. I didn't get to observe the entire space due to feeling nauseated and claustrophobic.
Overall, the building is a clear representation of sustainability in the design world. It's energy source is from the sun, LED lighting systems, and the materials used include some natural sources that can withstand the elements. It's also a decent enough size that someone could live comfortably, but small enough that they'd be living "small"--meaning that they wouldn't be subject to materialism and hold on to unnecessary items. That, in itself, is a sustainable quality to have in the human mind because if people become less materialistic, they'll be less prone to stock up on junk (unnecessary items I brought up before) that'll end up just getting thrown away one day.
The only images I can supply for this visit are of the brochure, which I'll provide bellow:    

Cast Study 10

Good evening, everyone! Today, I'll be putting up a link for a video I had to create and then upload to YouTube. The video consists of my analysis of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia--which we all know already is my Case Study building. Hope you enjoy it!
Below is the link to the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZr0CTjQJ7Y&feature=em-upload_owner

Sense of Place

Hello, everyone! Today, I'll be discussing what I believe "sense of place" means in interior design and then give an example.
I believe that "sense of place" means that you can understand the what location that object, space, or building connects back to based on it's overall design and familiarity. For instance, anything with the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty on it; both of these are culturally important monuments. The Eiffel Tower is a basic representation of Paris, France, and the Statue of liberty is a representation of the US (although there's a smaller copy of it in France, but that's beside the point). Both of these objects are important to French and American culture, and they act as symbols of each country.
Below is an image of smaller representations of these monuments.

Branded Environments

Hello, again! I'm back with another post, which is going to be a discussion on the use of company branding being an important connection to interior design.
When it comes to branding, the company wants their own personal message to be portrayed--which often times has to go further than just an aesthetically pleasing logo. Any locations where this company may be doing business at should also portray the company's personal messages. For instance, the message for Nike is to make a change (as their slogan goes, "Just do it."). In London, there's a Nike store that pushes the limits through the use of design. There's a ceiling piece that's made up of white Nike's and lights to create an interesting light fixture in this retail location. Having this piece there shows that the brand chooses to be inventive and to be new, fresh, and clean. This is how design and branding come together; they find a way to visibly portray the messages that the company wants to make known to the public.
Below is an image of the London store and its URL link.

http://sneakernews.com/2010/11/09/niketown-london-largest-nike-store-in-the-world/

Anthropometrics

Hello, everyone! Today, I'll be giving my personal example of an object that I believe is successful when considering human factors (basically, anthropometrics).
Looking back at all of the locations I've had to experience throughout not only this semester but the whole school year, I've come to the conclusion that a good example of successful consideration of human factors would be the huge metal casting in Columbus, Indiana. I don't quite remember the name of it or who designed it, but what I do know is that it's not just an interesting piece of art; it's an interactive sculpture. You can walk around and under it, sit around it, touch it, capture it in pictures/videos, etc. I'd like to think that it is a successful example of anthropometrics in the real world. Although you can't climb/walk on the piece, I'd still say it goes well with the application of human factors.
Below is an image of the casting in Indiana.

Stewart Brand

Hello, again! The second post for tonight is going to be focused around Stewart Brand and his theory on the change in buildings once they're built.
As a response to Brand's statement, I'd say that his thesis makes sense. Buildings are susceptible to change, and this is due to the materials that are used. Going off of this point, there are some materials that have to either gets fixed or changed during the "lifetime" of any building, whether it's the woodwork, the application of glass pieces, brickwork, etc. There's also the matter of how some materials go along with the popular fashion of buildings during certain periods in time, such as tiles in the ancient Greek/Roman era. Sometimes certain materials and the fashion of them pass on to the coming years of change, but not always; this then results to possible changes that could be made to a building if it's seen as necessary.

Maslow

Hello, everyone! Tonight, I'll be discussing the topic of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs with an object and space; specifically with one need in particular. The need I chose is the Security Need.
The object (or just "thing," in general) that represents Security Needs is encrypted coding. Coding is highly important in modern-day society, especially because we have credit/debit cards and online accounts that contain personal information. The encrypted coding allows for people to keep their financial information private and safe.


The space that represents Security Needs is a security room. This room is located in most establishments that include shops, restaurants, hospitals, hotels, etc. This space allows for someone (such as a security guard or police officer) to watch camera footage in real-time from throughout the location. This is important because if someone is committing a felony or being harmed/needs help, someone will be able to see that through the video surveillance. Most surveillance rooms contain a lot of metal and brick/concrete, and are on the simple side when thinking of the design aesthetic.

Here are the links for the images:
http://associationsnow.com/2014/09/study-security-needs-rise-nonprofits-hiring-data-staffers/
http://guides.gamepressure.com/outlast/guide.asp?ID=21965

Unit 9 Summary

Hey, guys! Today, I'll be discussing my overall thoughts on Unit 9 and how it relates to Interior Design. I'll also include an image that helps to guide my point.
In Unit 9, the main topic revolved around representation, which has turned out to have a different definition depending on who you're talking to--which is actually kind of nice. This means that it's just one of those words that can be described in many different ways depending on how you observe it. For me, representation is that act of creating something in order to portray a specific idea or thought process. As an example, the Mike McKay exhibit in Singletary is a great portrayal of representation in my eyes. He's trying to convey a specific idea to help viewers understand and think about varying viewpoints. This, as a result, is what makes his design successful.
Below is an image from the Mike McKay exhibit.

Memorial Hall Essay

Hello, everyone! Tonight, I'll be creating a post based on the lecture from last Wednesday and the mural that's being shown in Memorial Hall on campus. For some background on the subject, it's a mural from many years ago that shows the progression of the earlier years of Lexington.
On Wednesday, the class discussed the newly uncovered mural of Lexington in Memorial Hall over on the south-side of campus. This particular mural depicts multiple images of early progression when Lexington came to be what it is today. Some of these images include forests and Native Americans while others show buildings being constructed and people occupying the town. I have heard that it was originally covered due to the fact that it included somewhat racial images, such as the one displaying a Native American observing a white woman in the woods while holding a weapon as if to bring harm to the woman. However, something that is really important about this mural is that not only does it hold a lot of history from the origins of Lexington, but it also shows the development of architecture and design throughout that time in history.
When I first looked at the mural in Memorial Hall, I was honestly just impressed with the overall craftsmanship, as well as the details in the architecture. It is a great representation of the period and the process taken in order to get to that level of sustainability. I just think it's amazing how much time truly does effect architecture and design in the sense that it is like a learning process the further you push the limits; you always learn new things and find ways to make things better the more time you spend doing the same thing.

World's Fair 2

Hello, everyone! Tonight, I'll be discussing the lecture during Wednesday's class over the world's fairs lectures and how I believe they connect back to architecture/interior design.
Something that became apparent in my eyes about the world's fairs is that it's like a giant celebration for this one specific "thing," which can be anything of large importance. These fairs could even be held in order to present something large for everyone to see and think about. For instance, there's the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis, Missouri;1904) where there's all of this beautiful, well-crafted architecture being displayed in amazing lighting that allows for more depth in these structures. Then, there's also a matter of wanting to create contrast in a display, like in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (San Francisco, California;1915) where this strip of light-colored buildings are added into this darker area of buildings. This allows for interesting images and experiences to take place.

World's Fair

Hello, everyone! Today's post is going to be my personal response to the lectures over world's fairs.
After observing these lectures, I've come to the conclusion that the world's fairs are usually a way for each country to connect through common interests--which can sometimes include architecture and interior design. From personal observation, I've seen different types of events that'll happen around the world that revolve around the same topic of interest. I guess you could say another example of this would be the Olympics since each one is held in a different location and it turns out to be a huge celebration of a sort. I may be totally wrong on this reflection if world's fairs, but that's all I've got for the moment.