Self-Reflection
Studio 1 proved to be the most demanding course I’ve taken so far. Yet it was also the one that captivated me the most, the creative process behind designing a model was initially somewhat mystical to me as I didn’t really understand how to translate a thought into a structure, but later I learned how to encapsulate my ideas into art. A mesmerizing learning experience that not only showcased the creativity needed for a design, but the meticulousness and devotion required in model construction. The course was my first “real” architectural learning experience I had in my bachelor’s degree journey. It taught me the fundamentals of the architectural design process from the creative approach of design, to sharpening my model-building skills through exploration and guidance of the tutors. Although the lectures were online, it was still immersive and interactive enough to keep me engaged and focused throughout the semester. The tutors were supportive and provided vital guidance throughout all assessments. Although the online lectures were thought-provoking, I found the face-to-face crit sessions and tutorials to be more engaging as I found the real-life interactions with my tutors and classmates essential; As their opinions were helpful and valuable in helping me overcome certain obstacles in model construction and design.
TGC Reflection
Discipline-Specific knowledge
My most educational experience (and the one that I found most interesting) was during Project 2 where I had to understand and implement various kinds of joinery methods into our bamboo structure. The techniques we’ve learned were varied and we learnt multiple use cases for each joinery as well as understood how to match joinery to a specific use case.
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Lifelong learning
This course has taught me how to be somewhat self-reliant in my studies by going through various resources online and understanding which of those resources are applicable to my design and how they can help me achieve my idea.
Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills
I’ve encountered multiple problems throughout the assessments of this course. The most prominent one being the problem of how to translate emotions into the structure of the model in Project 3. My tutor then advised me to explore how different materials can convey certain emotions. From there I understood that the approach to solving a design problem may not be as straightforward as it seems but the solution may be to seek inspiration from sources that I do not necessarily expect to have a direct answer.
Communication Skills
Studio 1 helped me develop the way I convey my thoughts to other as well as the way I interpret and integrate others’ valuable input on my own designs and models.
Interpersonal Skills
Project 2 helped me understand team dynamics on a hands-on basis. I’ve got to experience how teams that have a shared goal function, from the task delegation to brainstorming and other necessary aspects that are required to accomplish the goal.
Intrapersonal Skills
Aside from the general skills of time management and self-study that I was able to grow and polish through this course, I also found that the work ethic necessary to succeed is applicable to all the other “non-academic” aspects of life.
Citizenship and Global Perspectives
There were various ways in which understanding other opinions was involved in studio 1. For example, the opinions of my team members during project 2, in which we were all encouraged to weigh into the discussion of the project; Even if it was not specific to our assigned section of the workload. We also had to consider the opinions and guidance of our tutors which was vastly helpful as they have more experience in the field and their critiques can vastly improve upon the models and work we create.
Digital Literacy
Although it was not entirely obvious to me how studio 1 was supposed to help me with digital literacy, I’ve just come to the realization that creating an e-portfolio is a great example of helping us students become more digitally literate.