ARCH 132//R. BROCKETT//CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, SAN LUIS OBISPO
WINTER 2015 PORTFOLIO
DAV I D A M I N I
“THE INDIVIDUAL HAS A LW A Y S HAD TO STRUGGLE TO KEEP FROM BEING OV E RW H E L M E D BY T H E T R I B E . I F YO U T R Y I T , Y O U W I L L B E L O N E LY O F T E N , A N D SOMETIMES FRIGHTENED. BUT NO PRICE I S T O O H I G H T O P AY F O R T H E P R I V I L E G E O F O W N I N G YO U R S E L F.” -NIETZSCHE
[CONTENTS] about [01] slipCASE [02] sloSCOPE [03] paraSITE [00] totem
BIO
//BORN IN THE SHADOWS OF WASHINGTON, DC //MULTICULTURAL //BILINGUAL //MOTOR VEHICLE ENTHUSIAST //OUTDOORSMAN //DESIGNER (IN TRAINING)
[01] slipCASE
REFLECTION THIS PROJECT HELPED TO SHARPEN MY SPATIAL SKILLS IN A VERY POWERFUL WAY. AFTER 3 DESTROYED BOOKS, AN OBSCENE AMOUNT OF BURNT AND CUT PAPER, AND A COUPLE CUTS, I HAD A FINISHED PRODUCT THAT WAS THE CULMINATION OF MANY EXPLORATIONS INTO EXCAVATIO N, SMALL WOODWORKING, AND THE BASICS OF PIVOTAL MOTION. IT WAS INTERESTING TO EXPLORE THE BOOK AS A MASS RATHER THAN A COLLECTION OF INFINITESIMALLY THIN PAGES.
[02] sloSCOPE
REFLECTION THIS EXERCISE HELPED IMPROVE MANY OF MY ABI LITIES. ASIDE FROM THE SIMPLE ABILITY OF SLEUTHING AND URBAN E XPLORATION, I LEARNED HOW TO TRULY EXAMINE THE ELEMENTS OF SPACE IN A REAL-WORLD CONTEXT. IT TOOK A COUPLE HOURS OF WALKING AROUND THE SAME AREA TO FIND A SPACE WHICH MET THE PARAMETERS OF THE PROJECT. I FOUND A SITE WHICH, AT THE SURFACE, HAD TRULY NO PURPOSE AND SEEMED TO BE A GAP BETWEEN TWO CAREFULLY PLANNED OUT BUILDINGS . WHILE PORTRAYING THE SPACE IN PERSPECTIVE WAS SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT, I THINK I GAINED A LOT OF ABILITY IN THAT FIELD. IT WAS ALSO INTERESTING TO FOCUS ON THE “SCOPE” PORTION AND WORK ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BODY AND AN OBJECT.
[03] paraSITE
REFLECTION paraSITE was truly an undertaking of grand proportion. It was my first time dealing with large-scale work, as well as metal fabrication and welding. I had an opportunity to learn on many different levels, including real-world creation techniques and hardware but also honed my craft as well as my drafting skills. Our final product was definitely outside the norm of most of t h e p a ra S I T ES t h at d ay, n ot o n ly i n i t s double-sided nature but in the form that it took, being made of mostly steel and the rusted patina. I think that it was a successful exercise, and fulfilled the purpose of capitalizing on a site and bringing out/framing certain elements while blending in with its surroundings at the same time.
TOTEM
FINAL THOUGHTS T H I S Q U A R T E R W A S S I M U LT A N E O U S LY T H E BEST AND WORST TIME OF MY LIFE. I CAN S AY W I T H C O N F I D E N C E T H AT I H AV E N E V E R WORKED HARDER OR LEARNED MORE IN ANY OTHER PERIOD OF MY EXISTENCE. I HONED MY SKILLS AS A DESIGNER AND A L S O D E V E LO P E D P R A C T I C A L FA B R I C AT I O N S K I L L S T H A T I K N O W W I L L A P P LY L A T E R I N L I F E . T H A N K F U L LY , A S M Y F I R S T Y E A R I S S L O W LY D R A W I N G T O A C L O S E , I A M S T I L L CONFIDENT IN MY CHOICE TO PURSUE A R C H I T E C T U R E . A LT H O U G H I T C O M E S A T T H E E X P E N S E O F L E A D I N G A “ N O R M A L” L I F E , M Y P A S S I O N A LW A Y S S E E M S T O OVERSHADOW ALL ELSE. AFTER ALL, WHY W O U L D A N Y O N E W I L L I N G LY S T A Y U P A L L N I G H T S P R AY I N G V I N E G A R O N S T E E L M U LT I P L E T I M E S U N L E S S T H E Y W A N T E D T O ? BRING ON THE NEXT CHALLENGE.
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