Between Silence + Light

The term that measures a quality of work on an object or put into a design, used a lot in our own studio class itself is known as craft. Good craft is the essence of a successful and understandable design when presenting a body of work to someone else who may or may not know the project as well as the designer. In studio, good craft is a must when presenting everything from iterations to the final presentation. The first image is an example of bad craft because of the rough edges and pencil lines present on the iteration from the third skin project. The second image, also the final product, represents good craft in woodshop with smooth, intentional edges and clean planes that do not distract the viewer from the idea of the project or what it is ‘saying’. “C.F.A Voysey (1857-1941) was an architect of the next generation who designed houses and their interiors with the Arts and Crafts regard for the vernacular and honest workmanship, and extended his interest to designing wallpapers, textiles, carpets, and furniture for his schemes.” [Massey 17] Voysey’s dedication to his designs with everything from the walls to the floors to the things within his houses exhibits a big level of craft in everything he does in order to make his design more successful.

When talking about design and architecture there are two main categories when talking about how people interact with a space, these genres are known as commercial and residential but can also be called public and private. Commercial buildings such as shopping mall and corporation buildings are a good example of public places because people frequent in and out of the space, though doors are present as a more private element it still does not deter from the fact that there are frequent meeting of people together in general areas throughout the space to have meetings or socialize. And example of a more private building would be someone’s home or to go even farther magnified, a person’s own personal room. Residential homes do have guests that can frequent in and out of rooms as well as the people living there but there still is a private aspect of the structure that has the air of a sort of sacred place for the people who actually live there. “ Much of Wright’s early career as an independent designer was devoted to houses in and around Chicago, described as ‘prairie houses’ because of their proximity to and sympathy with the huge, flat expanses of land in the Midwest.” [Massey 50] An example of a residential (private) designer would by Frank Lloyd Wright and his prairie style homes that he built in his early years. Within these homes Wright designed everything the family would need to make the home completely personal and private to the individuals themselves. Arts and Crafts was a big implement in the design to be more homely rather then seem public and machine made. “In Mains Street Mackintosh created an intimate atmosphere in his dining room with the somber brown of the walls, which were covered with coarse wrapping paper.” [ Massey 53] The designer Mackintosh used color to implement the idea of a more intimate and private setting in a residential dining room.

The element that makes a design unique depending upon the architect or designer is the technique used in implementing a design or constructing something. Everyone has a specific technique or trick used to create a signature piece or to create a design in general, whether it be a way to use adhesive into your design rather then just use it to stick things together or it be a signature design used in all your designs techniques just make everything unique. “ The style [of the Belgium and French] is characterized by the asymmetric whiplash line that gives a sense of dynamic movement wherever it is applied: to furniture, wallpapers, stain glass and metalwork.” [Massey 32] The art of forming designs out of the new material, metal, needs a certain technique that at this time only the French and those from Belgium had mastered because of their experimenting. When rendering artwork, everyone has their own techniques they use to make something successful. In Suzanne's class I used Prisma markers to emphasis my design changes to Illiana's room design such as with the fireplace and the dark colored walls.

Language is a description for a method of communication between two or more people when trying to convey a message or idea. The process of conveying architecture and design is a language all its own that goes beyond the barriers of verbal languages like French, Japanese, and English. Vocabulary terms such as juxtaposition and vernacular are just a couple examples of the elaborate language used by designers to describe an idea or design to a person or client trying to understand. Each designer/architect has their own way of using this intricate language, as unique as the techniques they use to create their designs even.

The existence of something without actual being there is known as the term called virtual. When I think of the word virtual I automatically think of a virtual reality video game where it feels like you are actually inside the game play for the character when really your just wearing a helmet that projects visuals to make your brain think your actually there when your actually in a regular room. On our trip to Falling Water in Bear Run, Pa; Frank Lloyd Wright achieved this idea of virtual with all the glass panes that littered the walls of the structure, making it seem like you were actually outside because of the lack of solid walls when you actually have a barrier from the outside and protected from the elements. “He [Gaudi] designed complete interiors with organic or flowing, lava-like forms.” [Massey 46] Though this is a short quote, it give a snip of the idea of something virtual, the swirling forms as Gaudi’s Casa Batllo are virtually lava-like in appearance without the presence of actual lava. Anything that can be mimicked from nature by a designer can be described as virtual because the actual item of inspiration isn’t actually there.

::Sources::
Interior Design Since 1900 by Anne Massey
Drawings and Photos by Me