"P": WEEK---"Opus"

Periphery. Portfolio . Process. Professional. Perspective. 

This is a picture of my groups portal project. It displays periphery because the structure draws your eyes away from from the actual boundaries of the door. 

Periphery

Periphery can be defined as the external  boundary or surface of a body distinguished  boundaries from observing the center. "Illusionistic devices were rendered in compartmentalize arrangements, in continuous friezes, and on entire walls." ( Blakemore, pg. 98) This quote I feel does a great job of showing periphery. Especially when it mentions "illusionistic devices." To me periphery is something that draws you eye to something and then you eye keeps traveling outward from that point. The Italians' especially did this with their villas. Because they made their entertainment room really extravagant, so their guest new exactly were to go because their would have been murals and great artwork leading up to the entertainment room. Also the idea of periphery, deals with the idea of reaching heavenward. Designers of this time really wanted to achieve this quality. So they would do that with periphery taking you from level to level of the house reaching higher and higher. " Visual enlargement of space through trompe l'oeil painting was achieved by Baldassarre Peruzzi in the Villa Farnesina built in Rome, Italy." (Blakemore, pg. 99) This is another quote that incorporates periphery in design planning. It discusses "visual enlargement." This is key to reaching heavenward also. If a designer wants to achieve that affect then enlarging something visually is a smart design choice. This affect was achieved by the temple facade on majority of the villas themselves. If we understand that the temple was a design template of the past and its meaning of deity, then we should understand  why the large facade was used for these villas. In my studio class we used periphery by using visual enlargement. We did this by creating a structural piece that kept creating boundaries away from the door frame so your eye ventured towards the ceiling.   

This is an image I drew of my very own portfolio. 

Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of pieces of any sort of media that best display a person's skills at best. Generally, a portfolio displayed or put together in a folder or protector of some sort. It is important to keep a portfolio in order to have a progression of your work over the years 

not only for your employer, but so that you can have something to assess you improvement over a period of time. In IARC we keep a portfolio so that we can use it to attain a career. I personally feel that portfolio are a great way to keep up with all of your work. Also the blog site is a great we to keep a collection of all of your work. You will always have this to turn back to and display your work to others. 

This is a picture I drew of the design process.  It begins with a lot of ideas hitting you all at once. Then you begin to go through the journey of simplifying your ideas, and then all of a sudden you have an "ahh-hah" moment, that gives you your major concept. 

Process

Designers use process a lot in order to create truly great concepts. One main process that I am familiar with is the design process. Process is definitely crucial in design. I know that from personal experience that practicing my ideas by drawing or making my ideas allows me to take from everything I have done to create my main project. For example, in studio, for all of our projects we do drawings, sketch models, then more models, so that we can tweak our ideas to get a great piece of work.

This is an image that I sketched of Patrick in class one day. To me he is a professional because he offers a great historic perspective to his class. He is a great history teacher because he is specialized in history and he really knows all about history of architecture and design and other parts of history.   

Professional

A professional is connected to a profession, just like Patrick is a history teacher. Also a professional is an expert engaged in skills that they have learned and mastered. " Frescoes frequently required two painters with different specialities; one proficient in perspective and the orders the other expert in figure painting."(Blakemore, pg.98)  I like to compare this quote to how legible Patrick is in his field of expertise, similar to how the frescoes from the Italian Renaissance period took to fields of expertise. Like the quote explained one expert was needed for his perspective, and another one was needed for his expertise in figure painting. They were professional in different regards to the same field. " The treatise by Virtruvious inspired Leon Bartista Alberti to write the first architectural treatise of the Renaissance...Alberti recommended the use of architectural elements such as the column, pilaster, and architecture, which he often employed decoratively, not structureally as an advocate of classical antiquity his interest was reinforced on a visit to Florence in 1428.(Blakemore, pg. 91) This quotes exudes professionalism by discussing how Alberti was the first to actually write these books. Which obviously designates him to being an expert in his field "architectural elements." Then it proceeds to give examples of what he prefers to use in his designs like the pilasters and columns. Therefore, him having a great deal of knowledge for his book put him in regard to being of professional of his field. 

This is a perspective drawing of a modern building that I did in first semester of drawing. 

This is a perspective drawing involving shadows of shapes. 

This is a quick one-point perspective sketch I did to show perspective. 

Perspective

Perspective in drawing gives the visual experience of depth.  It shows you more that just the surface of a building or object. These drawings can be very informational, as far as telling you about the building or object. Perspective as far as views or opinions on design and issues will always vary. However, these different views allow you to gather inspiration or think under a new light. " Humanism permeated the Renaissance; in contrast to medieval concept of world order, the importance of man as the highest form of creation was stressed." ( Blakemore, pg. 93) This quote displays a view of Renaissance design compared to that of Medieval design. It discusses how Humanism was how design was hugely apart of the Renaissance time period. That is just how people devised ideas through inspiration of humanism. Whereas, Medieval designers used the perspective of order in the world. They were trying to efface chaos, however, in the midst of trying to nullify chaos they actually created more of it. They also really stressed social order in their design showing how men were dominant in their society. " Whereas the medieval period emphasized verticality and the ephemeral nature of man, it seemed more important to designers of Renaissance that emphasis should be given to symmetry and horizontality. ( Blakemore, pg 93) This is another perspective of design. The Medieval designers wanted things to be as they were in nature towards that of a man. They had more superficial designs, as compared to Renaissance designers who were more obsessed with man. 

Overview

Periphery, portfolio, process, professional, and perspective are all words that as a collaborative effort can well describe design periods. They allow us to better understand the history of design and architecture. These words all describe how to enhance our designs and concepts, and how important the actual importance of the design process is to a designer. To me all of these words show us how to simplify not only our ideas but our minds for design. After all simple is best in most situations. The words also shed light on new architecture such as villas, and chateaus.