Senior Project Reflection

1) Positive Statement

What I am most proud of in my 2 hour presentation is how fluid the process was from answer to answer, and every answer related to one another because throughout the presentation and activities I made the audience understand that a client is their number one priority when designing a structure. 

2)
a) Personally I would give myself an E because (1) I created a classroom set-up that was directly related to my research and in result enhanced the experience and involvement of the audience and made my presentation to them much more effective. The set-up will not only improve my presentation but the presentations of those who follow and use my setup, like Shannon. (2) I was an effective user of technology who in fact showcased creativity through the use of pictures, activities, and media (3) I gave the audience my perspective on architecture which in result made them see architecture through a new perspective as I did after going through senior year. The audience gradually improved in sketching, scale drawing, and understanding of 3D objects because of the tips that I gave them in every activity.

b) P- because despite the missing interviews I was still in the same position as others who also got a P the problem was that finding service learning was more important than my interviews so they weren't turned in on time. Missing the service learning check should of also not penalized me, every architect I asked would say the same thing which was that there was nothing I could possibly do for 50 hours because they have no work. I also have still worked hard with researching throughout the year despite taking 3 college classes. I have also gained a product in the end of the year despite being in the position of completing 50 hours of service learning and 30 hours of independent component in less than a month.

3) I improved in sketching, scale drawing, and understanding of 3D objects which in result will help me when I begin college because that's when I will begin to use them according to Henry Funes, student of Architecture at Cal Poly, Pomona.

4) Finding service learning in the architectural field!

5) As said earlier, Henry Funes has told me that what he is having me practice is used in his architecture classes. He had me make a cube where 1/3 of the volume was taken out in a complex way in order to understand how structure are affected with ever little modification. He also had me do Revit Auto CAD which, confirmed by Michael Powell, Project Manager, MICA, was used in the architectural industry and actually puts the designer ahead of the competition if one becomes fluent with the program.

2 hour presentation

2 hour template: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7jQM_GW0goqcW5KQWZYZW9Genc

Answer #3

• Essential Question: What is most important when designing a structure?
• Answer: Accounting for the the environment around you when designing a structure.
• Evidence: (1) The farm market at the store is self-sustainable due to its environment, the Cal Poly Pomona campus emphasizes environmental design so the farm was not an exception. (2) The theaters that you go watch your movies are accounting for the environment as one would not be able to see the movies as comfortably if there was no slope in the seating arrangements nor get the feeling of a theatrical theater without the massive features of the building. (3) The stadium for the Arizona Cardinals is closed in because the heat is absolutely horrendous, thus the architects/engineers accounted for this and designed the building to suit the environment.
• Source: "A lively Theatre"/Dr Fernandes lecture: Intro to Architecture./ "An introduction to western architecture and design".

Room Creativity

(1) First, and foremost, I plan on addressing the room creativity requirement by having my room set up in the way that most effectively enables the audience to spectate my presentation through what I read in "A lively Theater" which states that an audience crowds around what they wish to spectate and thus a circular set-up of chairs around me would be best. Secondly, I would like to prep up the desks the students will be sitting on by placing blue prints as table cloth to get them into the feel of architecture and also placing my essential question in the cloth. Last, but not least, I would like to place posters of famous buildings on the walls which would almost resemble an art museum.

(2) I plan on doing an activity for my answer #1 where I have the students learn how to take advantage of the resources around them when designing a structure. So I will have them choose between importing and grabbing materials from local markets. I will do this by color coating materials like Popsicle sticks (wood) for example. One color of this material will be more expensive due to the expense of importing and this will go on with the other types of materials like glass, shingles, doors. The students will have a certain amount of money and after they are done I will explain how important it is for an architect not to try to make everything to fancy but also think of factors like expense, efficiency, and recycling.

Answer 2

Essential Question: What is most important when designing a structure?

Answer 2: What is most important when designing a structure according to my sources so far is thinking green. This is an important aspect of architecture that must be incorporated in the new designs of buildings as the need for energy efficient buildings is increasing.

Sources"

1. My science experiment

2. The biosphere article I read about sustainibility

3. The Pomona College garden that that has been built on top of a roof which I helped plant.

Presentation 2 Rough Draft

20 Minute Lesson Plan

Prepared By: Melvin Rodriguez

House: East

Essential Question: What is most important when designing a structure?

Objectives: For my 20 minute presentation I plan to teach the class on how to properly identify the different styles of architecture that are common in the United States.

	Teacher Guide	Time
Introduction	Hello, I am Melvin Rodriguez and today I am going to teach you guys a little bit more about architecture. The objective is to have you guys learn the different styles of architecture that are common here in America. I will do so by passing on what I have learned so far through my class, research, books, and videos. The audience will then be using what they learned in order to complete my activity.	2 min	Three Important Sources 1. (Source and justification.  Minimum speaking length: 30 seconds.) 2. (Source and justification.  Minimum speaking length: 30 seconds.) 3. (Source and justification.  Minimum speaking length: 30 seconds.)
Verification (Steps to check for student understanding)	●      Beginning of Presentation: In order to really see where the class is in understanding my topic I will have to ask the question of whether they have seen a specific type of house. Then I will proceed to ask them what style they believe that house is. ●      End: Check for understanding by…having a few people answer my question of what style a certain structure is.	2 min

Body (Give and/or demonstrate necessary information)

Break down what you plan on talking about into manageable sections. ●    Literal: I have learned a lot about the styles of architecture throughout the nation but more around the city of Los Angeles. ●    Interpretive: When going around any city someone has to be able to appreciate the architecture and be able to understand where the architecture originated from. ●    Applied: This topic can help me in the future because the first thing that a student of architecture has to be able to do is know what style’s of architecture there are in order to incorporate them into their designs. This will also help my project because I will be closer to knowing what is most important when designing a structure.

●    Literal: 2 min ●    Interp: 2min ●    Applied: 2 min

Visuals (for Body of presentation) For my visual I plan to show pictures of different styles of architecture and showing the audience each one while also showing the basic sketch of these types of architecture so they could better understand how they look.

Activity (Describe the independent activity to reinforce this lesson)

●    What is the activity: The activity is that the audience will have to get into a few groups and draw a style of architecture. By being in groups the students will be able to share their understanding of what I taught them and thus help one another in sketching the right thing. ●    How it will be done: I will have the class get into an even amount of groups and then ask them to draw a style of architecture that I have showed them. Each individual in the group must complete a drawing of their chosen style and for the participation I will hand out candy as a reward.

5 min

Materials   I will bring plain paper, pencils, and candy.

Conclusion

I will depart the stage by asking the audience to tell me one thing they have learned in my presentation. I will take their answers and expand on what they said by saying how in the beginning everyone was pretty clueless on what I meant when I was talking about “styles of architecture” and how now they could not only just give me great suggestions, but how they could also differentiate the styles of architecture in our nation. I will end by saying how great of an audience they were and thank them for listening and participating.

2 min

Answer 1

1. There are many answers to "What is most important when designing a structure?" and I chose: Working with the resources that you have. This means being creative when there is a scarce amount of tools and resources that you as an architect would prefer. 
2. Evidence:

• I found this evidence from my college class which was "Introduction to Architecture" lectured by Dr. Fernandes. He would provide us with videos, books, and his personal experience of past to present architecture and how structures were designed and built until the present.One example would be when he showed us a video on the Palace of Versailles. The video showed beautiful architecture of the palace in France and appeared to have the top of the line in resources used to build. When we got to a specific room that showed what appeared to be marble columns, my professor paused the video and said that when he visited the Palace, he miraculously noticed that they were not made of marble but painted carefully to seem as if they were. This shows that they would use marble to a certain point until they ran out and then would be very creative in finding a substitute to the marble.

• Another form of evidence would be my professors story of his work experience and how he has balanced the foundation of structures by not using an advanced tool but rather just using water until it stopped leaking on a certain side.

       3. Sources that I found this answer was with:

• Introduction to Architecture lectured by Dr. Richard Fernandes, Architect AIA CSI.
• A Introduction to Western Architecture and Design "http://art-arch.com/$$$ATW/ATLAS/ATWEB/V_FRAME.HTM" by Dr. Fernandes. This is his doctorate book that talks about the history of architecture from different periods in time.
• Videos: The Homes of Frank Lloyd Wright, Nova: Building the Great Cathedrals DVD, David Macaulay: Castle DVD
• Books: A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia & Lee McAlester, Rick Steve's Europe 101: History & Art for the Traveler by Rick Steve & Gene Openshaw.

Presentation Reflection

1. The interview with Dr. Fernandes influenced my presentation in a great manner. He emphasized a lot on the concept that good architecture simply occupies space while great architecture celebrates space. This really grabbed my attention when I first heard it because it gave me a new perspective when I look at architecture.


2. What stood out in my performance is that the way I reacted when my professor brought up the difference in good and great architecture was the same way my classmates reacted when I brought the concept up to them. They were a little confused because they did not see what I meant until I explained it to them vocally and visually and finally I heard "Oh!" Which made me know that I accomplished my objective of having my classmates see architecture in a new way.


3. The most challenging thing to do in this presentation was calming my nerves and setting my mind into presenting. This was hard because I had no true type of presentation for months but luckily forgetting what I was going to say never crossed my mind. In order to have a great presentation you as an individual have to be on a roll that keeps the information coming out of your mouth flawlessly. It was hard and it took me a while to find that spark but after taking a deep breath I settled down and just talked about architecture like it was second nature.

Senior Project Presentation 1

The objective of my first presentation is to introduce my classmates to architecture so they can capture a better picture of what it really is and help them better recognize the art that is all around them.

• I will start my presentation by defining architecture and asking the class about any piece of architecture they could think of.
• I believe most people will talk about random building, even the Cal Poly Admissions Building. With this I will go on to say that the portable they are in is an actual piece of architecture.
• I predict most people will look down at this type of architecture and I will not neglect their idea of doing so but embrace it because of the idea that good architecture just occupies space and great architecture embraces it. I will emphasize this concept. 
• To check for understanding I will bring up a couple of buildings and ask a student why a building of my choosing celebrates space and why the other building of my choosing just fills in space.
• Once they answer I will explain why it is important.
• My visual will be a folder with comparison's in all types of art from like maybe a hybrid car to a Ferrari, a cubical and an Donald Trumps office and so on.
• I believe this visual will really help the students better understand what I'm trying to get into their heads and will be a great way to finish of my presentation.
• Lastly I will say "Are there any questions?" and "Never forget that good architecture _ _ _ _ _? And great architecture _ _ _ _ _? That's right!"