YEAR-IN-REVIEW / 2
ALBERS APPLIED
The following images have been created by Josef Albers, an American artist of the twentieth century who was known for abstract painting and his studies of color.
In this first series, a black rectangle with a grey centered square is placed next to a white rectangle with a grey centered square. The two grey squares are shown below this image and they are visibly different shades. Albers is able to make two different colors look the same because of the surrounding/dominating color. In the second series, a purple rectangle and a brown rectangle seem to have centered squares that are the same color of the other rectangle. It appears that the brown rectangle has a purple square and the purple square has a brown square. However, the squares are actually the same color. Albers demonstrates how one color can actually look like two. |
In Albers' various studies of color and composition, he was able to show how different objects seem similar and similar objects seem different in contrasting contexts. In connection to my experiences on co-op and in my academic studios, I have found parallels between Albers' work and my experiences in the design field. On co-op, I have engaged in the practice of architecture - where design intentions are forced to negotiate with client wishes and budget and time constraints. In studio, I have been encouraged to explore the potential of architecture, where even gravity is occasionally ignored.
I experienced my first co-op this spring semester (Jan - May 2014) at NBBJ Design in Columbus, OH. NBBJ is a large international firm with 10 locations around the world. During my co-op, I was involved with the Kuwait Police Hospital project. (documented in my portfolio here : http://issuu.com/kellyjlin/docs/portfolio). The client was the Kuwait Ministry of Public Works, with the end user being the Kuwait police force. This hospital was to be the first police servicing hospital in Kuwait, and NBBJ was tasked with creating an iconic building. I began working at NBBJ right when the project began, so I was lucky enough to experience the pre-design phase from the very beginning until the end in Aprik. Our client requested three different schemes from the design phase, which were divided between the Columbus, Boston, and San Francisco offices. As a co-op, I was given many responsibilities and treated as an equal employee. I participated in all team meetings for the project and and our design critiques. I was also encouraged to present my own ideas and was engaged by everyone on my project team. In short, it was a great experience and I feel blessed to have had it.
While working at the office, or my "professional studio", I was reminded again of how important it is in a design scheme to have a concept, or narrative. Without one, all the details and program forms, no matter how interesting they might be spatially and visually, have no connection. They can be picked apart without a main idea to build upon.It is essential to have one for any successful project. However, after working on my first building project in the fall and on co-op in the spring, I've realized how difficult it can be to create something seemingly simplistic and how easy it is to overlook it when generating ideas. In relation to Albers' concepts of field relationships, this process is like the second series above; the essential ideas of the design approach are the same regardless of whether it is for studio work or the professional field; however, they may seem different when placed in their given contexts. When real variables such as budget, time and client wishes are factored in, the importance of having that strong guiding idea in a design scheme may seem less important, or appear to be less "bright" as compared to the emphasis placed in studio work. However, I've learned that as an aspiring architect it should always be carefully constructed. Coming to this realization over the past months while experiencing two different design environments has really helped me to refine my approach to design this semester as I work on my studio project, a urban timber facility.
A passion that I identified on co-op was an interest in computational design. I was exposed to it while working on the Kuwait Police Hospital project as one of the team members was a computational designer. I was impressed with the ability to quickly iterate given set constraints and controls. It was exciting to see how many possibilities could be generated by a computer program that would have been impossible to do efficiently if every option was generated by building it piece by piece digitally. These outputs could be further analyzed by other software programs to access the effect of environmental factors on a building. I think that this use of technology is especially appealing to my generation of designers as we grew up and live in a very tech-centered society, where it is instinctive for us to turn to our screens and reply on the capabilities of tiny machines. However, I think it is also important to recognize that there are many things that a computer cannot do efficiently or where it does not have the tangible benefits like model building or hand drawing. As I continue in my studies, I hope that I can utilize both digital and manual means of working. I am currently pursuing this passion for computational design as I apply it to studio, mostly as additive components to software that I am already comfortable with. My introduction to these methods has involved a lot of research on online forums and websites and tutorial websites. The open source culture of computational design has made it extremely accessible and approachable.
As I complete this semester of studies and search for my next co-op in the fall, I hope that I can still welcome other interests even though I am narrowing my focus on architecture. This spring, I entered the UC Invents Competition with my friend and we won third place with our idea, Free Spot, a website/app resource to track free events on UC's campus. FreeSpot had been taking root inside my head for a while, growing from a wish that we could utilize a tool to help us effectively take advantage of all the free events and resources on campus. When I heard about the competition, I approached my friend to discuss the merits of the idea. With her encouragement and help refining the concept, we entered the competition together and won a grant. Now, we are working with campus leaders and software/app developers and designers to help bring this idea to fruition. Although this project has no direct relationship to my academic studies, I am very excited about it and glad that this opportunity has happened. I never would have imagined that right now, I am learning how to code and create digital spaces as well as physical ones. I hope that I will continue to pursue side projects and interests, regardless of whether or not they seem meaningful to my career. I think that any experiences I have will ultimately influence how I think and what I choose to do, even if they don't seem to be directly correlated. I hope that FreeSpot will continue to move towards reality and that a prototype can be developed within the next year. I think that it would be a great resource for everyone in the UC community.
If you'd like to learn more about the FreeSpot project, please feel free to read the project statement here : FREESPOT.
I experienced my first co-op this spring semester (Jan - May 2014) at NBBJ Design in Columbus, OH. NBBJ is a large international firm with 10 locations around the world. During my co-op, I was involved with the Kuwait Police Hospital project. (documented in my portfolio here : http://issuu.com/kellyjlin/docs/portfolio). The client was the Kuwait Ministry of Public Works, with the end user being the Kuwait police force. This hospital was to be the first police servicing hospital in Kuwait, and NBBJ was tasked with creating an iconic building. I began working at NBBJ right when the project began, so I was lucky enough to experience the pre-design phase from the very beginning until the end in Aprik. Our client requested three different schemes from the design phase, which were divided between the Columbus, Boston, and San Francisco offices. As a co-op, I was given many responsibilities and treated as an equal employee. I participated in all team meetings for the project and and our design critiques. I was also encouraged to present my own ideas and was engaged by everyone on my project team. In short, it was a great experience and I feel blessed to have had it.
While working at the office, or my "professional studio", I was reminded again of how important it is in a design scheme to have a concept, or narrative. Without one, all the details and program forms, no matter how interesting they might be spatially and visually, have no connection. They can be picked apart without a main idea to build upon.It is essential to have one for any successful project. However, after working on my first building project in the fall and on co-op in the spring, I've realized how difficult it can be to create something seemingly simplistic and how easy it is to overlook it when generating ideas. In relation to Albers' concepts of field relationships, this process is like the second series above; the essential ideas of the design approach are the same regardless of whether it is for studio work or the professional field; however, they may seem different when placed in their given contexts. When real variables such as budget, time and client wishes are factored in, the importance of having that strong guiding idea in a design scheme may seem less important, or appear to be less "bright" as compared to the emphasis placed in studio work. However, I've learned that as an aspiring architect it should always be carefully constructed. Coming to this realization over the past months while experiencing two different design environments has really helped me to refine my approach to design this semester as I work on my studio project, a urban timber facility.
A passion that I identified on co-op was an interest in computational design. I was exposed to it while working on the Kuwait Police Hospital project as one of the team members was a computational designer. I was impressed with the ability to quickly iterate given set constraints and controls. It was exciting to see how many possibilities could be generated by a computer program that would have been impossible to do efficiently if every option was generated by building it piece by piece digitally. These outputs could be further analyzed by other software programs to access the effect of environmental factors on a building. I think that this use of technology is especially appealing to my generation of designers as we grew up and live in a very tech-centered society, where it is instinctive for us to turn to our screens and reply on the capabilities of tiny machines. However, I think it is also important to recognize that there are many things that a computer cannot do efficiently or where it does not have the tangible benefits like model building or hand drawing. As I continue in my studies, I hope that I can utilize both digital and manual means of working. I am currently pursuing this passion for computational design as I apply it to studio, mostly as additive components to software that I am already comfortable with. My introduction to these methods has involved a lot of research on online forums and websites and tutorial websites. The open source culture of computational design has made it extremely accessible and approachable.
As I complete this semester of studies and search for my next co-op in the fall, I hope that I can still welcome other interests even though I am narrowing my focus on architecture. This spring, I entered the UC Invents Competition with my friend and we won third place with our idea, Free Spot, a website/app resource to track free events on UC's campus. FreeSpot had been taking root inside my head for a while, growing from a wish that we could utilize a tool to help us effectively take advantage of all the free events and resources on campus. When I heard about the competition, I approached my friend to discuss the merits of the idea. With her encouragement and help refining the concept, we entered the competition together and won a grant. Now, we are working with campus leaders and software/app developers and designers to help bring this idea to fruition. Although this project has no direct relationship to my academic studies, I am very excited about it and glad that this opportunity has happened. I never would have imagined that right now, I am learning how to code and create digital spaces as well as physical ones. I hope that I will continue to pursue side projects and interests, regardless of whether or not they seem meaningful to my career. I think that any experiences I have will ultimately influence how I think and what I choose to do, even if they don't seem to be directly correlated. I hope that FreeSpot will continue to move towards reality and that a prototype can be developed within the next year. I think that it would be a great resource for everyone in the UC community.
If you'd like to learn more about the FreeSpot project, please feel free to read the project statement here : FREESPOT.