Stevie'sLittleSweetheart

The group whose original idea it was to have the desk (and ended up with the playbook) did an incredible job in relating their work to the designed environment. They focused on the problems that ACES was having, and used slight changes to the designed environment as the solutions to these problems. It seemed as though they did an incredible amount of research, and did a wonderful job with relating their ideas and resolutions to the class. Their conlusions included changes in the lighting, arrangement of desks and tables, and wall colors and textures. They focued in directly on the physical surroundings of the ACES program, and determined how best to manipulate them for the betterment of the organization.

Posted by Brita Mickevicius at 5:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There are many similarities between the articles by Kahn and Gershenfeld. Each talks in a way about reactions to reality. Gershenfeld elaborates on inventions and how they need to be focused on the individual, while Kahn describes “man’s desire to express.� Both men have the idea that creation of art and fabrications should be focused inward, on the individual wants, desires, inhibitions of the individual person, rather than to the masses, or the common.

Gershenfeld speaks ill of the direction technology has been taking. He insists that technology can’t possibly be pleasing or useful to the individual, since it was made to be useful for masses. There is no uniqueness, no personality in this kind of technology. Inventions in today’s world don’t reflect personal feeling; they’re being made not for personal pleasure or self-fulfillment, but to make money. Gershenfeld feels that concentration on design needs to be felt by the person, without any regard for others’ opinions. Motivation needs to express feelings and desires; it needs to prompt technologies that could not possibly be mass-produced. These inventions would be so personalized that they wouldn’t be useful to anyone other than the person who made it. The joy brought to the creator can’t possibly be felt by any one other person since it was designed so intimately for the maker. Focus needs to be turned inward; motivation for expression more personally felt.

Kahn also elaborates on the idea of individuality of expression and design. He states, many different times and ways, that “desire brings the new need.� The “needs� that we have today are for money, profit, gain, and fame. We “make� only out of greed, when we should be focusing on how to express ourselves in a way that completely ignores the attitudes and judgments of others. We have to hold ourselves responsible for being true to our intuitions. We have to be in touch with our true desires to express our thoughts and feelings and learn to accept that as the only option for manifesting our ideas. We need to take into consideration that which is pure (without greed or blemish), our genuine individuality, and convince ourselves that the only way to express ourselves is to embrace that which is ours. We must allow our personalities and desires to shape the form.

Technology is headed down an ugly road, void of personality and filled with greed and “common-ness.� The only way to change this path is to accept and welcome the desires of the individual. We must not let go of that which makes us unique, the ability to express, rather than conform.

Posted by Brita Mickevicius at 6:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

According to Neil Postman, technopolies are when technologies, machines or otherwise, take over a culture’s entire way of thinking. When new inventions redesign our thoughts about religion, education, and knowledge, a monopoly is formed. A technology no longer does only what it was designed to do, but it takes control of the way we function, so that instead of us using it only as a tool, we become so dependant on it that it takes control of our way of thinking.

Technology is just something that we, as humans, naturally do. By nature, are inquisitive and creative. This leads to new ways of expressing ourselves and communicating; new technologies. We are also lazy by nature, so the new technologies are allowed to do our work for us. We, instead of using the invention to support and develop our natural abilities, use it so that we don’t have to work at all. We make it so that we aren’t using the tool; the tool is working in our place, dictating the way our society develops.

Technology is destroying nature; not nature as in trees and animals, nature as in what we were given by God; the talents and abilities and privileges he gave us. By nature we communicate verbally. We were given vocal chords and instead we’re communicating electronically. We’re losing the ability to use what God gave to us through nature. We were given the capacity for free though, but now technology interferes with even that. This is exactly how Neil Postman describes technolopies; as forms of distraction from what should really be important to us; the natural world that God gave to us.

Posted by Brita Mickevicius at 8:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Winterheart
The following image is an example of how a simple (or maybe not so simple…) mathematical function can be used as a design. This is just two logarithmic spirals on the same graph, and together, they form a beautiful design that also serves as a logo for the Winterheart company.

Vortex
The shape below is an example of how mathematics, in particular, geometry, can use angles, circles and lines to make a design that is pleasing to the eye. This is supposed to be a representation of what a vortex would look like in form.

Math face
The image below takes the example of the vortex to the next design level incorporating an organic shape along with the geometric ones.

Diamond
This is another example of how to take geometric principles and turn them into a design. This shows the connection between mathematics and a real designed object.

Green sphere
This takes mathematic principles and uses a computer to turn them into “real� designs. Using formulas (more complicated than I can possibly imagine, I’m sure) you’re able to make pictures out of numbers and symbols.

3D pretzel
This image takes the principles from the previous picture (yet again) and builds even more on them. Instead of just a sphere, this is a pretzel-like shape that twists around itself in all three dimensions. You can even see the formulas on the left-hand side of the image that the person used in order to create it.

3D bird
This is actually supposed to be a moving image, but only the still frame is visible. Again, this is another way to build on the previous picture. It takes a three dimensional picture and adds movement, using computers to make the math possible to design virtual images.

Posted by Brita Mickevicius at 5:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One opposition that I’ve noticed a lot of lately, especially since it’s been getting colder, is that of man against nature. I see dozens of people every single day wandering the campus asking for money for food, or sitting in the Washington Avenue Bridge because it’s the only warm place they have to go. I came from a really small town where everyone knew each other and helped in times of need, but here it’s exactly the opposite. These people have no warm place to go to spend the night away from the cruelties of nature. They have nowhere to call “home,� so their only choice is to wander around the campus and hope that someone will give them enough money to buy something to eat.

The difference between my hometown and the Twin Cities is astounding. In Raymond, WI, when there was someone in trouble, we held fundraisers and all pulled together doing whatever we could to get this person or family back on their feet. Here, it seems that since the problem of homelessness is so vast, that people think that what little they could contribute wouldn’t help solve anything. The problem is too big to be fixed, so the general consensus seems to be, “ignore it.�

It could be that there are select few people whose situation is solely their fault; that they chose to use some kind of illegal drug or alcohol and then ran out of money, but I’d venture to say that most are just the victims of a series of unfortunate circumstances. They need help just as much as anyone else whose problem we might consider “worthwhile.�

I’m not going to claim that I’m familiar at all with the Twin Cities area, or even with the entire campus for that matter, but it would seem to me that we’re in need of a homeless shelter, or if we do have one, obviously, a second. There are a lot of people that I see wandering up and down the bridge day in and day out, knowing that it’s the only place they can go to get away from nature for a little while.

I don’t know that everyone would agree that a location on the campus would be a good one for a homeless shelter, but I can think of an ideal place near to us. One might say that since we’re in the middle of downtown Minneapolis, that there’s no geographical room for a big new building. (The building would clearly have to be big in order to be able to accommodate all the homeless in the area.) We practically live on the Mississippi River, but have you noticed that there’s a gigantic amount of area over the water that’s very open? If bridges can be built over the river, don’t you think that you could make a building crossing it? I’m not an engineer, and I have no idea if it’s actually possible, but I feel that it would be a perfect place.

It could be a huge, extra wide bridge with rooms and rooms full of beds for these people to sleep in and kitchens where they could go to have a hot meal. This turns into more than just an issue of man against nature. It brings money into it, which is an architectural opposition all its own. We can dream up these ideal solutions to problems, but we don’t have a way to pay for them. It becomes man against man in fighting over how it gets paid for. This, fortunately, isn’t the opposition I’m addressing; it’s far more difficult and would take infinite amounts of work to solve.

Homelessness is a problem that needs immediate attention. I realize that my idea may not be the best one out there, but it’s my view on how the situation could be fixed.

Posted by Brita Mickevicius at 5:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

PHENOMENA
Brain Freeze

CLOCKWORKS
-the period of time that a certain amount of cold
matter has to be eaten in in order to get one
-the period of time that it lasts
-the rate of blood flow in the brain

FRAMEWORKS
-vascular mechanisms in the brain
-possibility only exists on a hot day
-people prone to migraines are more prone to
brain freeze

THINGS
-ice cream cones
-slushees
-slurpees
-frozen yogurt
-ice cubes
-roof of your mouth
-brain

Posted by Brita Mickevicius at 4:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My favorite place is a little community park in Greendale, Wisconsin. There are tennis and basketball courts, a baseball diamond, and most importantly, a playground. About two years ago when I started going out with my boyfriend, we were invited to his grandma’s house for dinner with his extended family, (quite the adventure!) and after dinner, Steve decided to take me for a walk. We meandered through his grandparents’ subdivision and came across the little park in the middle of nowhere. He suggested swinging on the tire swing and I thought it was a great idea; I loved spinning! He pushed me around for a little while and then kissed me for the first time.

The park, physically, wasn’t really anything special. During the day, I’m sure there’s lots of life and energy with the kids running around, but at night everything was very still and silent. The weather was really crisp; pretty chilly. There wasn’t any wind, it was just cold. The air smelled like a mixture of old leaves that had been sitting on the damp ground for a few weeks and leaves that had just been burned. At the time I thought the weather that night was unpleasant, but I’ve now come to realize that it was perfect.

The quantitative qualities of the place were nothing to marvel at, but the genius loci I found there was amazing. It’s like the difference between a house and a home. A house is just any old building, but a home is what you call your own – finding comfort in the place that you’re in. A house stays in one place, but the home moves with you. You find “home� in many different places.

I bring this place with me wherever I go. When I think about that park, I find myself not thinking about its physical aspects. I remember the feelings that I had when I was there and the memories that were made. Whenever I see a tire swing, I think of that special place. Whenever it’s that same, cold but not windy temperature, or when I smell the leaves of late fall, I get a nostalgic feeling associated with its genius loci. The atmosphere that I felt at that park was breathtaking. It didn’t have anything to do with the layout, but with the feelings associated with it.

Posted by Brita Mickevicius at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s hard to believe it’s only been a year since hurricane Katrina. To those of us who live far from it the time flies. It happened and now it’s over. We only think about it when someone reminds us of what happened. We don’t make it a part of our lives or our daily thought process because it doesn’t affect us. The sad truth is that not a whole lot has changed.

There are millions of people whose lives were destroyed through the loss of loved ones, loss of work, and the lack of a decent place to live. Construction on the Louisiana superdome was just completed, and the first game since the hurricane was played there today. There is help that comes in small amounts, but there is an immeasurable amount yet to be done.

Design will, in the months and years to come, play a vital role in the rehabilitation of homes and lives. Designers and architects are forming organizations and ways of taking control of the situations. Obviously there have been changes in codes and guidelines for buildings, and designers are the ones who are coming up with realistic, safe, affordable and permanent help for the victims of Katrina.

Organizations such as Architecture for Humanity are taking the lead in the search for solutions to the design issues at hand. They work together with the Biloxi Relief Recovery and Revitalization Center to provide funding and rehabilitation help for the families of the victims.

Right now the organization is working on dealing with the new regulations for the elevation of houses in areas prone to hurricanes. Models are being made and shown to the community so that the families will not only have a place to live, but an actual home. This is what design is all about. Everyone deserves a place, not just a space.

Posted by Brita Mickevicius at 5:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In my visit to the midtown public market I observed the flow and exchange of energy in many different forms. There was energy between customer and vendor, between customers, and energy flow from the environment and weather.

Every vendor had the excitement and anticipation that each passing customer would buy from him or her; that the energy that they put into growing and caring for or making their crops or crafts wouldn’t have been in vain. They spent their time and energy creating goods that would in turn fuel others. They have pride in knowing that their spent energy is used in a productive way.

There was a general relaxed atmosphere between customers as they walked around selecting the next foods that they would eat in order to get energy.

The weather played a huge role in the level of energy in the marketplace. At the time I went there was a huge storm on its way. There were huge gusts of wind and only the energy of the vendors stopped the tents from blowing away. The rain that you might assume would have “dampened� the atmosphere only served to stir it. The anxiety to get in, out, and on your way presided as everyone hurried to get away from the energy of the storm.

Energy flowed to and through everyone there, whether it was from the atmosphere, anticipation of an impending sell, or from the people buying their next energy source.

Posted by Brita Mickevicius at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)