Architecture Modeling J-Term

 We started with the building of the day presentations from Aya and Ambika. Aya discussed the Hagia Sophia or Aya Sophia Mosque in Istanbul. They also told us about the deep history of the building and how it had been a cathedral, a mosque, a museum, and many other roles. Aya chose this building because this is what her parents named her after.  Ambika presented about Las Lajas, a Church in Colombia. She also told us about a myth regarding an orphan and a painting in the church.  After we completed the presentations, everyone got to sketching and working on their mini-models. Whilst we are sketching, we put on a show about architecture in the background. The show was titled Sparks's, How Did They Build That?, which discusses how different structures around the world were built. Before long, it was time for lunch!  After lunch, we joined a Zoom call and had a meeting with Ambika's uncle, Florian Oberhuber. Mr. Oberhuber is one of two co-founders of UEArchitecturie, an...

Today is the final day! To end the term, we had Kamilla present on the Budapest Parliment in Hungary for her building of the day. She gave us the history and the use of the building. After the presentation, Dr. Salem made a list on the board where we looked at the overview of the term. The questions that were proposed were: what did we set out to do?, what went well?, how well did we achieve what we set out to do?, what could be improved, and should Post Oak offer this course again? After we made a list, the rest of the day we worked on our final models!

 Today was our first experience with architectural modeling. Our first intro to this architectural skill came in the form of the humble cardstock sheet, which was the primary material used for constructing our conceptual buildings (note: cardstock is not used in the construction of actual buildings). The process we followed in the construction of our ideas firstly involved us sketching a front, back, and top-down sketch of our building, and then we followed up by cutting out the walls, floor, and ceiling of our building with an exacto knife, before taping the pieces together. While rough, our models helped us gauge and appreciate how complicated and well-practiced the modeling skills of architects truly are. 

We began our day by listening to the Building of the Day presentations featuring Alex and Kien. Building of the Day Presentations-  Following the captivating presentations, we headed to the bus to drive to the Bayou Bend Collection to attempt a tour of the large Hogg House. "Attempt" was the correct word choice because we decided against the tour and instead headed to River Oaks to explore high-end residential architecture. Although it was brisk, the walk was fun, and we spotted many different types of homes. After this, he drove into Montrose to explore early 1900s residential buildings.  Homes in River Oaks We explored for a good 15 minutes, but soon headed to the Post food hall near downtown for lunch. Sitting at a communal table, we dined on warm dishes amid the cold weather. After eating, we went onto the roof for a group photo with the Houston Skyline.  Group Photo at the Post. W arrived back at school with only 2 hours left in the day. After going over the expectat...

 We started our morning with a presentation from Jonah on his building of the day, which was about the Reichstag building, and it was very insightful! Then, we had time to work on our mini models out of cardstock while watching videos of how buildings are designed. Everyone designed a building while thinking about the 5 principles of architecture, along with placement and the style that the house would be built in. I made a desert house with an open concept ground floor, a giant greenhouse, and a “floating” second and third floor. We presented all of our buildings to each other before going to lunch. Jonah's presentation about the Reichstag Building Me, working on my desert house! After lunch, we took a trip over to Rice to look at the architecture on campus. We got to see the in side of a beautiful church, as well as the very modern design of the Local Foods! Before we returned to school, we took a scenic route around Bissonnet’s neighborhood and saw a lot of beautiful houses in a...

                    Group Picture Standing at Buffalo Bayou Park           The second day of the Architectural Modeling J-term allowed us to build on the knowledge we acquired from yesterday's research. It took us on an exploration of global inspirations and the local skyline, creating an abundance of inspiration to draw from.     We started the morning with our routine Building of the Day presentation by Eleanor, who told us about the architecture of Jaipur, India. This area is often called "The Pink City" in reference to its iconic bright coral infrastructure. The extravagant and meticulously decorated entrance gates are a key landmark of the city, and explore the connection between culture, religion, and art. The Group Observing the Detailed Stone Carvings on the Houston City Hall         With our new perspective and appreciation for the ...

    Today was the beginning of the Architectural Models J-term! We started off the morning by reviewing our itinerary and mapping out our activities for the day. Our first activity was researching on architectural styles that interested us and sharing back to the group! Students had the decision to work alone or in pairs and had complete creative freedom in which style they researched and what information they chose to present. Some styles we learned about from our peers included Islamic architecture, eco-brutalism, Bauhaus architecture, and baroque architecture. We did half of the presentations before lunch and half of the presentations after lunch. After this activity was over, we spent 10 minutes deciding who was going to write blogs, take photos, and present their building-of-the-day for the rest of the term.  Alex's presentation on organic architecture Jonah presenting on semi-detatched houses      Finally, it was time to make use of the inspiration we...