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For the IOB, our lobby space will rely on both natural and artificial lighting.  Sunlight will come in through the glass doors.  To the left of the entrance, however, there will be a nook, which being surrounded by three walls, will have no sunlight in the space.  It will rely on artificial lighting.  From this area, on the upper left ceiling, there will be some spotlights shining down on the wall to lead patrons to the front desk. 

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For our group project, we have tried to convert the overall feel of the IOB from artificial and uninviting to an environment that is open and welcoming to the community.  Instead of what is there now, we are proposing a warm color scheme that will give emphasis to the unity within the space.  As for design, our group settled on a hexagonal pattern that would repeat throughout the building.  Since it is a design focused on helping with the disability of blindness, it is important that we do not become marginalized with a strictly visual design.  Hence, textures.  Our first response was to overlay various textures (wood grain, cork, chip board, etc) onto the design as it sat on the wall.  However, we ended on a thought that the actual 2d shape can be bumped either out or into the wall, making it a 3d variation. 

hye yeon nam- a portrait.

embracing disfunction- watch this, kalani!!.

When in DC, I came across a Korean artist by the name of Hye Yeon Nam.  She has done several computer-based works, in which she carries out fairly simple tasks like walking and drinking.  However, she does all of them with awkward difficulty because of her methods.  In this particular video, "Self Portrait - Eating", Nam tries to eat a plateful of cherry tomatoes with an incredibly impractical tool, a ruler.

Initially, it seems like a statement about how we, as a species, have learned to utilize only the most pragmatic of methodology.  Hye Yeon Nam is actually making a personal assertion, addressing the difficulties she faces everyday, as a Korean immigrant, trying to adapt to aspects of American culture. 

I truly believe that her work is amazing.  The content is both intriguing and genuine, but the messages behind her videos make the work all the more powerful in the end.

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My first thought for presentations was to pick an architectural aspect of one of the three exhibits that I visited and base my talk around that.  However, I realized that everyone would be doing something similar (which isn't too strange considering our major..).  I then thought about the actual paintings and works within the museum walls.  They are a huge part of what gives an exhibit life, beyond the calculated quality of architecture.  In this way, they are integral to the architecture itself.  I was the 6th speaker on presentation day, following Monica.  I felt very confident in front of the audience so most of my talk came across very natural, as if it were a one-on-one conversation.  I definitely provided the context for the pieces of art I discussed.  Unfortunately, I cut
my talk short, as I blundered to a halt without a proper conclusion.

I did not visit the Speaking Center before I spoke.  Honestly, speaking has never been an issue for me.  It's something I've had to do many times growing up.  Even the representative wasn't much use for me.  Most of the things she talked about were things that I'd picked up some place or another.  Really, one of the only things that needs major improvement is my ending.  I got excited that the end was so close, said something 'bastardized pop culture' and passed the buck to Jon.  It will be fixed by the next time.

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 I started with this image shown on the right.  I really felt that the background is too distracting, given the sculpture, so I decided to completely eliminate the treeline, sky, and grass.

After tedious lasso work, I was left me only with the focus of the original photograph: the sculpture and a couple of classmates.  With the filters, angled strokes and cross-hatching, I stylized both, creating the dynamic rendering shown below. Once I had the main subject matter done properly, I felt that scale figures in my rendering were positioned awkwardly.  I invoked artistic license, yet again, and moved the Jepperson figure off to the right, emphasizing the negative space underneath the structure.

I am a fan of the final product.

summer trip. aferca 2011.

Towards the end of this past summer, my family and I went on a trip to Africa.  We hit Uganda and then Tanzania for the last week.  But Tanzania absolutely blew my mind.  A safari generally has that effect.  One of the places we drove through was an massive valley way up in the mountains called Ngorongoro Crater.


We basically drove up through the mountains on a sickening and narrow path until getting up to the rim, nearly 12000 feet over sea level.  The fog here was incredibly thick, but whenever it was lucid, we were less than thrilled to be able to see the treacherous drop to our immediate right, while the left opened right up; you could see for some 10 miles out over sunlit plains before resting on the far edge of the rim beyond.  It was here that our descent into the valley began.

The first thing I noticed was the rapid warming of the air around me.  Temperatures shot up about 20 degrees when we reached the crater floor.  It was a welcome change.  The second was that the animals really didn't seem to care that much about us.  Turns out, they've become completely accustomed to seeing all sorts of obnoxious tourists over the years in their armored land-rovers. Now, they don't care and nothing keeps them from wandering, some times inches away from your vehicle.  This where the zebras came in.

The zebras were the first fauna we came across in the crater.  They saw our jeep approaching from a mile away but continued traveling across the road in a single file line.  Even when we stopped 10 feet away.  My sister snapped a shot of their voyage.  I found it fascinating; this could find a place in National Geographic as far as I'm concerned.  As you can see, there are several bands of color oriented in the same direction.  The mountains, the clouds immediately above them, and the dark strip of savannah below would ordinarily be nothing special.  Then this this harem of zebra comes seemingly out of nowhere, an indiscriminate point far off in the distance.  By cutting through the parallel quality of the rest of the scenery, they take makes this picture beautiful.

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The day we took the walk over to Industries of the Blind, I honestly had no idea what to expect.  Only when we rounded the bend after the bridge did I realize that this was a building I had driven by for over a year and a half.  The lettering at the time had meant nothing to me.  

 

As we got closer, I appreciated how the building seemed to funnel people under the overhang until we were ushered into an even smaller lobby space.  We then made our way up to the conference room.  On the way up, I couldn’t help but notice and abhor the assortment of plastic plants placed haphazard underneath the stairwell.  It was meant to be an area of relaxation, but at this point, everyone seemed to take the space for granted and it was as good as ignored.  

stairwell to offices.

zen area?

Upstairs in the offices, the situation got no better for me.  It was dull and sterile. Nothing stood out.  The walls were white.  The ceiling was lined by harsh ‘hospital’ lighting.  Overall, it was just another cliché office area.  In the actual conference room, the president of the company, David LoPresti took time to talk to our group.  He went over the variety of amazing products that emerge from the factory floor, from the pen that writes underwater to the official neck guard of the army that saves lives on a daily basis.    

reception area.

conference room.

 

 

factory floor.

 After a short diatribe, LoPresti began leading us through the factory floor.  For the initial portion of the journey, I was fairly distant.  That changed upon observing and meeting several of the actual workers.  Many of them were considered legally blind, but they were performing tasks on complex machines, a feat that I cannot consider anything short of amazing.  Not only that but, they were expected to perform at a high level of quality.  LoPresti picked up a pair of gym pants and told how a single string out of place was reason enough to have the garment sent back for work.  Had I been in charge, I feel that I wouldn’t be able to help but have a different attitude and more leniency towards my workers in light of their disabilities.  However, that kind of attitude can be more detrimental than anything else.  They are like anyone else and should be treated normally.

employee of the month (i forgot her name D:).

but, she will be attending a conference for her outstanding work. :D

 

the camo cutter.

As we continued our tour, we were shown through a corridor that housed a massive precision fabric cutter.  A giant roll of camo was being fished through a gap and the cutter was creating the same pattern in about every 12 feet of material.  I had a hunch that this would be going towards military flak jackets.  And once again, I was very impressed that this company was doing such important work for the soldiers out in the field.  

One of the last rooms was particularly impressive.  There were two rows of employees working on mounting the actual neck guard into fabric.  That was nothing special.  By now, I had also become accustomed to seeing disabled workers doing great things and this was no different.  That was also normal.  What blew me out of the water was the LED productivity sign.  This room was running at 150 percent!  That is amazing anywhere! 

It was a collection of all of these experiences which gave me the respect that I have for the people in this company.  They are truly beating the odds everday and in many cases, also the competition.

project placement...(WAM, IOB, or GHM)

What project do you feel you can most contribute to?
 
 I feel that I could do the most on the Industries of the Blind project.  The space has quite a bit of potential and I feel I could do a good job helping it reach that peak.

Where do you see your skills carrying into this group work?

 Initially, I feel that my quick sketching and diagramming skills will allow the group to go through many ideas in a short period of time.  Later on in the project, I believe that I also have a good sense as to what makes for a good composition.  This would come in handy when dealing with the board layout.