"Nostalgic Memories Awakened: A Journey Back to the Classroom"
After a five-year hiatus, I recently returned to a familiar classroom and was overwhelmed with emotions. Despite feeling tired from the excitement of it all, I woke up early and made my way to the bus station, reminiscing about my first day in college.
The bus ride was shorter than I expected, but my thoughts were occupied with memories of my past experiences.
When I arrived, I was warmly greeted by some of my classmates and as I stepped into the classroom, I felt like I was transported back in time.
The room was filled with architectural models that brought back many memories.
During the introduction by our course leader, Belinda, I began to feel tired, but I tried my best to focus on what she was saying. After the introductions, our faculty, Oren, recited a verse from 
Jane Bennett's book "Vibrant Matter". The verse was about a girl walking on the shore, observing various objects as she went. A young girl walks towards a pier on the seaside with the sun shining on her face. She passes by a beagle shop and notices floating pollen in the air, but her gaze shifts to a rubber glove in the mud next to the pier. Next to it, she discovers a plastic bottle cap. Her eyes then fall upon a decaying rat and then move to the next item on the ground, a sleek stick.
We were then tasked to create a basic design, inspired by the verse and incorporating Sir Louis Sullivan's principle of "Form Follows Function".
I was inspired by the five senses and created a design depicting the girl's experiences in the verse. Once I completed my work, I felt like I was seeing through the girl's eyes and experiencing what she felt.
This day was a reminder of why I chose this field and it reignited my passion for design and architecture. The experience was a journey back in time, filled with memories and inspiration that will stay with me forever.
.jpeg)
A good first blog post. Exploring memory and experiences contained in the body. Be careful with Louis Sullivan - we didn't mention him - work work is the anthesis to the work of Jane Bennett. Why do you think that is? What is the difference between their approaches?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your valuable response. Louis Sullivan and Jane Bennett are both noted figures in different fields. Louis Sullivan was an American architect who is widely considered as the "father of skyscrapers" and a pioneer of modernism in architecture. He is known for his influential designs and theories of architecture, particularly the concept of "form follows function" which was the idea adapted for the design project executed above.
DeleteJane Bennett, on the other hand, is an American political philosopher and cultural critic. She is best known for her work in the field of political ecology and new materialism, which emphasises the agency and vitality of matter. Bennett's works focus on the relationships between politics, nature, and technology and examine the ways in which these relationships shape our experiences and understanding of the world.
In summary, Louis Sullivan was an architect who influenced modern architecture and Jane Bennett is a political philosopher and cultural critic who studies the relationships between politics, nature, and technology.
How do they think about materials differently? When you think through materials and the work of Louis Sullivan how do materials function? Spatially? How do materials perform when you think through Bennett? So, how does functionalist thinking inform Sullivan's work? And how does Bennett's work inform your thinking today?
ReplyDeleteSullivan believed that materials should be used not for decoration, but for their intrinsic properties, such as strength and durability. According to Sullivan, materials play an important role in determining a role of a building. He believed that the "structure" as such would lead to a better understanding of a building than its purpose.
ReplyDeleteBut in Jane Bennett's view, materials have their own identity, behaviour and vitality, which may or may not play a significant part in shaping society. For example, I use a lot of planter boxes and water bodies in my design, so as to awake a sense of warmth and comfort which will influence the way people connect with the spaces I design.
When I got to thinking, Sullivan and Bennett are the two sides of a coin. Sullivan's perspective of functionality and Bennett's consideration of materials are equally important. By incorporating both ideologies, we can create more functional and meaningful spaces in the future.