Reflective Statement
Overall I am very satisfied with how my initial ideas and concepts developed over time, and I can see how my growth as a designer and what I’ve learnt the past 3 years has been shown throughout this project. I can safely say my interest in photography and design had influenced my design choices, all the way to the end. I felt that I had a very clear direction from the beginning, and I personally felt that I had heavily considered how the concept of a folly can become a piece of architecture that is a response to Tamaki Makaurau, our city, our home.
I had attempted to incorporate what I had also learnt in my minor, Urban Practices. I felt that due to my education in my minor, as well as the current pandemic, my design decisions took into consideration of how I could give local artists and businesses a platform during this time. I wanted my design to give a platform to these issues, as well as making the process as easy as possible to show up and express your practice.
What could I do better next time?
If I were to go back and improve my project, I would show more visual detail into how this design is constructed. Although I have a clear idea on how this would be constructed, I felt that I did not show this very well in my presentation.
I would also invest more time (as well as research) into presentation layouts. I had a lot of trouble deciding on how to present my design, as well as trying to juggle how to clearly show all aspects (and levels) of my design, and still trying to maintain the page count. I am also aware that the sizing of my renders may look too big & crowded, but I felt that this had to be compromised due to this presentation being seen on a computer screen.
Another critique I have about my renders is that I initially wanted to create a small diagram of my follies, and create a line path that correlates with my renders. But I was unable to make it clear and make it fit well on my page, so I opted to use captions instead.
I also feel that I may have lacked atmosphere in the surrounding site. For example, I had intentionally left the existing buildings white to simplify the renders and to make my design stand out, but I could see how someone may interpret this design choice as laziness. I could probably play with the colour palette to work around this.
Whats next?
After gaining the skills of design development and CAD programs, I want to revisit some previous projects and improve on them for my portfolio. I will be looking for internships and work experience before considering a masters degree in either Spatial Design or Architecture.
For future updates and more works, you can follow me at @debpictions on Instagram, and on my design website that is currently in progress.
Thank you!
I want to thank all my peers and lecturers in Spatial Design for helping me along this journey, especially during online learning where I was constantly getting feedback for my projects (special thanks to Jenna, Jordana, Joyce, Georgia, and Antonia for our weekly studio meetings). I will never forget the friendships, advice, and skills I have gained the past 3 years, and I hope I will get to see you all again in the near future.
AUT Spatial Design 