Emily Stanker Process Book — Design 1 Fall 2021

Process Book December 2021

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Emily Stanker Prof. Michelle Lopez Design 1 Fall 2021

Project 1: Site Specific Intervention In this project, Emily S., Jenna S., and Tommy R. collaborated to emphasize something that all students share — insecurities that plague them. The objective of The Insecurity Tree was to establish a place where the insecurities of Jefferson students can be written down on a post-it note hanging from the tree to fall away in the upcoming fall season. The falling of the post-it notes, similar to that of a leaf, will serve as a release from their insecurities initiating a fresh start in the new season.

Students will be visually and physically guided through one of three string walkways beginning from either corner of the triangular-shaped lawn to the tree.

Multiple pens are provided on the trunk of the tree for passing students in this common area of campus to anonymously write their insecurities.

Project 2: Topological Transformations

In this project, four replicas of a converse shoe were constructed. Three of the four models were constructed using cardboard: one where the layers of corrugated cardboard were placed horizontally, another vertically, and one “egg crate” model. The fourth shoe, or shell/skin model, was constructed using a material of choice—burlap. To begin analyzing the converse before the models, six real-scale drawings of the shoe were done. To construct the burlap shoe, tin foil was wrapped around the converse, then it was wrapped in burlap held in place with push pins, and painted with a thick layer of Modge Podge. To complete the project, multiple photographs were taken of part of the project. Overall, constructing each model was a difficult yet rewarding project. It forced one to truly understand their selected object and designing in general when it comes to designing buildings and spaces.

Project 3: Creating Pattern, Color, and Texture

In this project, the task was to create three boards that all tie together through their pattern, color, and texture. Board 1 demonstrates the use of the same pattern composed in three different ways: detached, touching, and overlapping. The stamp was hand-carved on an Art Gum eraser and hand-pressed onto 6”x6” pieces of paper. Board 2 demonstrates the use of a color wheel and the colors utilized include three “primary” colors and three “secondary” colors. The selected colors celebrate the fall season. The middle 6”x6” paper is a woven plaid including all six colors with a few white squares to make the main colors pop.

The third paper is utilizing both the selected colors and the first stamp pattern showing a change from the black and white one. Lastly on Board 3, the task was to create texture through the folding of 3 pieces of paper and applying color to the unfolded model (the color study) and the final fold.

Project 4: Visual Hierarchy: Using Global Textiles as a Resource

In this project, the Kuba Cloth, made by the Kuba people of central Africa, was deeply explored and analyzed through various different methods. The task was to create at least six 2-D diagrams demonstrating the essential aspects of the textile that make it what it is. Next, a 2-D model was made using the aspects created in the diagrams while a 3-D model was then constructed to fully demonstrate the hierarchy of the textile using the diagrams, as well. All six elevations of the 3-D model were drawn and an axonometric drawing was completed with shade and shadow. Lastly, to tie the project together, the six 2-D diagrams were paired with a 3-D diagram. This emphasized how the ordering systems in the textile were used to create the 3-D spatial interpretation of the weave.

Project 5: Bend.Cut.Fold

For this project, there was the task of selecting a painting on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The painting selected here is Pepper Pot: A Scene from the Philadelphia Market by John Lewis Krimmel in 1811. After visiting the painting and researching it, five 18” x 14.3” 2-D diagrams were drawn to explore the important aspects of the painting.

These five diagrams were then layered and combined on an 18” x 14.3” piece of vellum for a final diagram.

Project 5: Bend.Cut.Fold After studying the final diagram, the next job was to create a 3-D representation of the space created by the painting. This was done by bending, cutting, and folding an 18” x 18” piece of vellum to create a Bas Relief model showing off the final diagram’s visual hierarchy. Then, an instructional ‘map’ of the bend/cut/fold actions was made to indicate where each action was done. Additionally, black and white photos with west, south, and east light sources were taken of the Bas Relief model. Along with these, a 4” x 4” detail area was drawn enlarged on 18”x 18” vellum from the Bas Relief with the same three light sources used for pictures of this detail area. The west light source photos are shown.

Project 5: Bend.Cut.Fold Two section drawings were made vertically and horizontally to assist with the last few steps of project 5. Looking at these and the 18” x 18” detail drawing, the task was to build a 3-D site model. This model used multiple different types/colors of wood to show the shadowing of the Bas Relief model. Certain pieces of the model were angled upward to make certain details of the diagrams stand out while plexi was utilized to show another aspect. Lastly photos with the same three light sources were taken.

Project 6: Making Space In project 6, spatial complexities, human scale, and the relationship between ideas and space were explored. The task was to select and analyze a city from the book, Invisible Cities. The city specific to this project is Euphemia. It's the city where merchants of seven nations gather every equinox and solstice to trade goods during the day but most importantly gather at night to trade their connected memories around bonfires.

Four principal aspects of the city were pulled from the book’s description and represented through diagramming. Following the aspects from the diagrams, an embassy of space was constructed onto the site model made in Project 5. A final design of Euphemia was selected after numerous study models and design development. The site, scale person, and embassy of space were measured using 3/8”= 1’-0” and so were the various final drawings of the whole project.

Project 6: Making Space

Project 6: Making Space

Project 01: Significant Artists For this presentation, Emily S. and Tommy R. researched the land artist, Maya Lin. She is an Asian American architect and sculptor focused on environmental themes. She is most famous for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. which remembers the lives of brave Americans who passed away during the Vietnam War or were missing in action.

As an undergraduate at Yale University only 21 years of age, she won the competition for the design to be used for this memorial beating out over 1,400 other competitors. She said that the walls of the memorial cutting into the earth creating an “opening” represent an “initial violence and pain that in time would heal.” Other famous works of Lin’s include the The Civil Rights Memorial, Groundswell, What is Missing?, Women’s Table, The Langston Hughes Library, The Storm King Wavefield, and The Confluence Project.

Project 02: Crafting Cubes and Cylinders

Throughout the semester, there was the exploration of craft, model making, jointery, drawing, line weight, photographing, material use, and design decisions. All of these were performed in making each week’s 4” x 4” cube and/or cylinder using various materials. This included everything from chipboard to concrete and each of the 7 required materials had their specific advantages and disadvantages. This required careful attention when working towards good craft of the cubes and cylinders. Such a simple task each week taught numerous different lessons to new students in the field of architecture.

Semester Reflections

The Fall 2021 semester in Design 1 has been fruitful in a handful of ways. Valuable lessons that will carry me through my career in architecture and even in life have been absorbed and understood. I am under no circumstances a master at this point, but the immense growth and the vast knowledge gained in simply one semester is incredible. Coming into this course, I ventured into the unknown believing I would excel immediately and right away begin designing buildings. I could not have been more wrong. I took all the critiques given to me on my abstract projects that required critical thought to heart. I had a difficult time understanding that you should not fall in love with your first design. At the start of project 4, this was very prominent since I was set in the belief that my first go at the 3-D textile model was great. When it got critiqued, I didn’t handle it well mentally considering so much more could have been done to the model. Gradually, I learned that perfection was actually unattainable. There is always room for growth and improvement and that one must have thick skin in the world of architecture. All clients will do is critique one’s designs, so I recognize now that instead of dwelling on it, I just need to keep designing and further push my work. By the time I was in the design development phase of Project 6: Creating Space for my invisible city, I was not hurt by the critiques. Rather, I allowed them to guide my designs further to reach the final design.

Common threads that wove through my semester’s work were simply improvement and working diligently to produce the best work I could. Crafting Cubes and Cylinders greatly assisted in the development of these threads. The valuable lessons learned (as discussed on the Project 02 page) through the repressive crafting of mostly cubes each week carried over into each project we did. I was able to construct neat, well-crafted models, complete drawings with proper lettering and line weight, and take excellent photographs of my work. Additionally, my presentation skills in general improved immensely through the presentations I would give at the end of each project. I understand how to speak clearly and confidently to an audience and how to properly walk the audience through each aspect of all my projects.

Moreover, vital lessons in Design 1 have been learned and are proved to have been learned through my work as displayed in this process book. These lessons will not fade from my mind but rather will carry on into future design classes and into my future architecture career. Each project displayed here I have put literal blood, sweat, and tears into. I am proud of the work completed but still recognize there is always room for improvement. I will be able to improve even further in upcoming design classes and other classes related to architecture. This semester has been challenging without a doubt, but I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.