Brainstorming
Experiences of Travel
Why we travel
– We travel to get away from problems
– Going on a business trip
– Visit family
– family emergencies (someone sick or dying)
– pleasure — to visit other cities around the world
– educational purposes
– honeymoons
– to find inspiration
– to create life experiences
– sightseeing
– to meet a penpal
– moving
– layover between flights – sometimes you go somewhere because it’s midway between two destinations

In each situation, people will come with different agendas and emotions

Aspects of Travel
Frustration
– luggage
– waiting in line
– getting searched
– long layovers/delays
– taking off shoes for searches / metal detectors
– find your seat
– TSA going through your luggage
– (being treated like a suspected terrorist)
– Not being allowed to take certain items out of a country
– Jet lag
– uncomfortable questions
– Everything is more expensive – pretzel for $3.36
– Being out of contact
– Being lost / feeling lost
– nothing is straight — moving from one side of airport to other
– constant anxiety among passengers especially as departure time nears
– last-minute rush to get where you have to go
– crowding
– mistreatment of minorities by authorities (some people are questioned more pointedly than others)
– getting to the airport — traffic, taxis, tolls, finding parking, etc.
– little handcarts
– lost luggage
– waiting for luggage once you arrive
– other people who are mad, angry, upset, have attitude problems

YOU ARE DESIGNING SPACES FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE ABOVE ISSUES AND PROBLEMS!

– Design a space that breaks people out of those problems, issues, and attitudes and takes them to a new emotional/physical place through an inventive use of space to find REST, RELAXATION, AND REJUVENATION

people are coming to this space feeling angry, upset, irritated, stressed-out, frustrated, uncomfortable, violated, sad

Spaces have to incorporate digital media

– what role will digital media play in the space you design?

how can you use digital media to make them feel more at home?
how can you use sensors?
how can you use ambient informatics to make people feel more at home, more connected?
create an interactive space that RESPONDS to the visitor’s mood, physical state of being, etc.
– how can your space REACT/RESPOND to the visitor in a way that relaxes him or her?

Prof. Leonhardt’s class: design a model and make drawings

My class: Two pieces of writing related to your design/space

1. Manifesto
2. Research paper

Manifesto (1-2 pages)
– explains ideas/beliefs behind arh
– expression of intentions
– Declarative and forceful expressions of the beliefs and attitudes about a given subject by a person or group
– should be very strongly written. Shock people out of their beliefs
– advocate a strong position
–
– “I combat and despise . .. . and proclaim”

your manifesto has to relate to the principles behind your design project

RESEARCH PAPERS (4-5 pages)
– write a research-based paper about the ideas, forms and cultural history behind your redesigned transit space

things you could research:
– type of technology you’ll have in the space
– history, biography, works of architects that have inspired your project
– cultural history — ex. research the history of travel and the design of travel-related spaces. ex. railroad stations, airports, etc. ex. maybe you’ll find design inspiration in the design of a 19th-century german railroad station
– not just biography — but cultural history — what *function* did that space play in society in which it was located?
– who you want to build for and what interests them — ex. building for businesspeople — include stock updates

DEADLINES
Nov. 30
– come with a paragraph written about the central idea for your space

Dec. 2
– First draft of Manifesto Due

Dec. 7
– Manifesto Due

Dec. 9
– Works Cited/Annotated Bibliography are due

Dec. 14
– Research paper is due

Your summary paragraphs should follow the following form:

TOPIC: What is the subject of the essay?
One sentence summary of essay topic.
Format: In “[Title],” a [type of writing] published in [publication info + date], [author] discusses [topic].

THESIS: What is the author’s point of view on the topic?
One sentence summary of essay thesis.
Format: [Author’s last name] argues that [thesis].

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE: how does the author support her thesis?
Include three or four supporting points in the essay and quote important phrases.

Additional Assignment (not part of the summary paragraph):
Come up with 4 or 5 key terms from essay. Use these to help you identify key concepts in the essay.

Journalism – types of writing
Article – extended story. Presumption of objectivity
Op-Ed – opinion piece by reader or public figure.
Editorial – opinion piece written by newspaper staff. Generally
unsigned. Expression of editor’s viewpoints
Review essay—review of a book or exhibition

In your college architecture classes and in your professional careers as architects, you will be required to think about space: how to contain it, how to create it, how to fill it, how to shape it.

While the practice of writing is much different than the practice of architecture, it shares some important similarities: the blank space of the page might be compared to an empty building site; an outline is a blueprint in written form; the construction of arguments with strong supporting evidence mirrors the construction of buildings with sturdy infrastructure; the inclusion of a well-shaped sentence in a piece of prose recalls the flourish of a well-placed architectural detail.

In recent years, the practice of writing and the practice of architecture have been reshaped by digital technologies. In each field, technology has altered both the processes through which work is produced and the kind of work that results.

In this course, we will think together about the ways in which both writing and architecture have changed in response to new digital environments, and the ways in which new digital environments have changed in response to both architecture and writing. As we work to improve our prose-writing skills, we will draw parallels between online writing spaces and various developments in architectural theories and principles, and we will do so in digital spaces that instantiate the very phenomena that we are considering.

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This course is part of a learning community called “Building Poetry” that includes ARCH 1140 and ARCH 1111. All three classes will encourage creative, original, and unorthodox patterns of thought that make possible new understandings of familiar forms, materials, structures, and ideas.