It has been really hard for me to come up with any
ideas for my thesis. I think I had fallen into the trap of thinking no
idea I had was good enough. That being said my previous idea actually wasn't
good enough. Initially I had thought that I would re-plan my hometown,
Pocatello, ID. It is an incredible poorly planned city and I have
maintained a slight obsession with urban planning since I took Wendy's Urban
Theory course. However over the summer I became disillusioned with the
project and have decided to pursue something else that would be more than just
an extended studio project.
More recently I have been trying
to list out my interests in and outside architecture. I am truly
fascinated by urban planning and cities, how they break down into independent
neighborhoods and each neighborhood has its own character. I have also
been really interested in making and craft, my cousin is an artist in LA and
has really brought the importance of valuing craft to light for me. Her
passion to support her community despite her financial restrictions speaks to
the deep connection to the process of creating she has. Through being a maker herself she has
developed new values and been brought into a tight knit community where artists
support artists.
It
reminds me of studio and how quickly friendships form when you are working side
by side on your own creations. These
relationships are so different from friendships formed outside studio; they are
quick and based around constructive criticism and a mutual respect for the time
and consideration put into every detail.
I find that in a community where everyone is aware of the real time it
takes to make they are a deeper appreciation and connection to one
another. This isn’t a new concept by any
means. Artists seek each other out and
create the most sought after neighborhoods.
I want to do more research on the formation of neighborhoods and
different histories of the most successful ones and see how that could possibly
align with artists boroughs.
In
conjunction with craft I have been evaluating the events of the Japanese
Internment during WWII. The interned Japanese people were able to cope
with their situation through their strong community and culture which was
cultivated through making and crafting. They were allowed to buy scrape
materials from the surrounding areas and they created incredible things ranging
from small bird carvings to large pieces of furniture.
I am not sure yet how I will
incorporate the ideas all together but I am excited to pursue the
research. My plans so far are to dive
into research and try to find a problem that can be answered in architectural
means. After the last class I have tried
to not apply to much pressure to find the perfect idea and to allow the trivial
to interrupt my focus and perhaps add to my thoughts.
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