RACHEL YE WON CHOI
THEMATIC LINKS.
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AND THEORY
Apart from the dense context in which I grew up, architecture was exposed to me in the form of history that recognises the development of the built structure overtime. Various factors to history and theory interest me such as monumental architecture or even movements like modern architecture, but personally, architects who were influential in their time come across the most appealing.
Those who are memorable to this day such as Frank Lloyd Wright or Le Corbusier who blended their ideas and interests into the built world, brought about the reality of architecture and made a difference in people’s lives. The way in which they executed their works is one of the main reasons why I was interested in architecture in the first place - gaining the legitimate power to improve the quality of people’s lives whilst maintaining that creative and innovative quality in my thought process.
SOFTWARE TECHNIQUES AND MODELLING
Ever since the beginning of my degree, I’ve been introduced to the world of 3D modelling, both digitally and by hand. Through a major exposure to the digital modelling process, I’ve developed a deep understanding in articulating my thoughts and ideas into volumetric forms directly which worked as a big advantage to me as someone who doesn’t feel that confident in hand drawings.
The process of digital modelling came as a strong appeal to me as it involved a proper method or technique in order to build the design that I wanted. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of learning specific commands and tools to configure my idea digitally and to work to see my design evolve on the screen. This clear and systematic approach to design further developed my interest in architecture as a whole, but also in the iterative process of modelling. As a personal exploration, I've taught myself how to use other programs besides Rhino such as Revit, AutoCAD, Sketchup and V-Ray to further my exploration in various regions of programming and developing the narrative of my projects further.
CREATIVE STIMULATION
Being in a design-based field, I constantly find the need to stimulate the creative side of my brain in order to be inspired regularly and to trigger new ideas. Throughout my project processes, I found out a new quality of myself which is that I am a visual learner when it comes to architecture where the more I’m exposed to different designs and works, I’m able to bring about that inspiration forth into my works. Prior to commencing my degree, I considered myself to be the generic average student and I couldn’t recognise a particular area of study in which I excelled in. However, in the overall picture, I’ve found to enjoy the level of freedom that we’re given in creative fields of study such as design or in my previous experience of theatre in high school.
Apart from architecture, creative stimulation plays a significant role in everyone’s lives as creativity provides a different outlook and an innovative solution to problems. Unlike logic, creativity is limitless and immeasurable, and so there is always room for growth and improvement in the world of design which provides an encouraging long-term goal for designers.
REFLECTION ON THE COURSE OF EPSILON
Starting off with a precedent study to understand the role and functionality behind communal housing to designing for a final communal housing project, this capstone subject tackled the depths of spatial organisation in regards to fully illustrating the core concept. The main ambition my project was to vary one's spatial experience by arguing for spaces that can generically be seen to be 'useless', thus coming to the idea of nooks. From my understanding of learning about architecture throughout my bachelor's degree, apart from building for necessity and ensuring structural integrity, architecture inherently controls one's lifestyle and how they experience a space on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, by designing nooks throughout my project, I was able to explore the grey area in which that doesn't abide to a certain function, allowing users to determine the spaces' function and outlook for themselves. This project brought about my intentions as an aspiring architect in designing for spaces that can impact the way you live.
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Reflecting on all previous projects within Epsilon, moving forward, I'll be focusing further on the narrative of my illustrations in regards to conveying my projects and its concept. By delivering a concise depiction of my project, this will strengthen the motives in which my design aims to achieve.