1st, i have learned how to build a porch. no lie. i might not be able to design one that gets past the bar but i can tell you how to build one. learning from what we have done (some call overkill) i know that i can build a porch that will out last the house. lol. no but seriously, i have learned a deal about construction not only from our own projects but my brief stints with the clemson group and there project. well maybe more about dirt from them but still constructing an erosion bank. that has to come in handy at some point. i still could learn more about how to erect monolithic concrete blocks.
2ndly, i realize that design is definitely a collaborative effort. sometimes it works out sometimes it doesnt. in my product design class one of our projects was to write our design manifesto. of course i said that i believe design is a collaborative effort that allows you to draw from a variety of people places things. well i was proven right but what i lacked in that manifesto is the patience that comes with collaboration. i work better in groups but much happier working alone where i know where my responsibilities lay. i found it extremely difficult working with some egos and people in general but it was a tremendous learning experience for me. i know (well hope) that the work environment is completely different more lax and an open forum of ideas. i have learned from law class that an open market is the best kind of market and thats why we dont restrict all kinds of speech so there can be an open exchange of ideas. i understand passion but there has to be some room for others to make suggestions. luckily i wasnt possessed with that design, megalomania, but i do need to speak up more when i know that im right regardless of how many obstacles are in front of me.
3rdly, community service was a big things for us. i'm glad that we were able to help a community. i'm still a little doubtful if they are grateful or not but i do think some of the community is. I know that Robert aka pumpkin was extremely helpful. He was a friendly voice that i looked forward to hearing at the site. many of them had experience with certain aspects of the projects and offered to help. the community had more questions then answers in the end though. people always came by to ask us questions about why we did this or why we are doing that. i dont think the signage block will answer those types of questions because most of them came from a complaining place.
4thly, stewardship. well do i feel like a steward per se? no. yes i helped a community but being part of a steward means to tend their property as they would in their stead. repeating what i said earlier about under the community section i'm not sure if we are stewards. We did our project based on what we felt they needed under the pretense of sustainability. that may not be what they wanted or needed. it reminds me of a quote from Blaine's blog..."creating a balance between what they want and what we give them" i think the latter is what we have done but i sincerely hope they come to want it.
finally, i have learned a variety of things from this studio. i'm still glad that i took it. i was apprehensive after we began our projects if this was a good call. it might not have been but i think when i look back on my time as an architecture student this will be one of the times i was glad that i had pushed myself. one of my professors once told me that i was not serious about architecture and wasting the time of others, i feel like i have shown that i'm serious about architecture because i have forfeited my spring break, bleed, stressed out three gray hairs, and sacrifice my last semester as a college student to finishing this project. i have learned that no friendship is a good friendship that cant be tested. i have learned that construction is a slow process. i have learned that designs aren't always as they are on paper in reality. i have learned that in the work world budgets are laws and can't be broken.
