elite student work

in defense of the mad architect

software comparisons & conversions

pinterest

THE FOUR CLASSES WE NEED

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contentswatchlist

ELITE STUDENT WORK

four classes we don’t offerAND WHY WE SHOULD

software comparisonsUSE THE RIGHT TOOL

in defense of the mad architectZAHA HADID, FRANK GEHRY

inspiration for architectureMUSIC, ART, AND CULTURE

architect fashionWHY FASHION MATTERS

pinterestTHE DIY BULLETIN

hindsightMUSINGS BY GOESSLER

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Cover image by James Thompson, ‘14

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Dear Readers,

New semesters are always exciting, for they hold the promise of new learning and opportunities. Your task is to use creativity to seek out those opportunities and capitalize on them. If you pay attention to the news, it appears the outlook for architects is slim. High unemployment and low wages have pushed architecture to the top of lists of ‘useless majors’. While the numbers are grim, architecture isn’t dead - not yet. The profession needs a shot in the arm which can only be delivered by the innovation and creativity we foster here and take into the fi eld. Architects are oft derided as impractical and lacking in common sense. Develop your skills now so that your knowledge and understanding of architecture is relevant and realistic for when you enter the fi eld. Go the extra mile in studio to research case studies that can infl uence your project. Learn to present well and market your designs. Apply your skills of synthesis, organization, and creativity to solve problems outside of architecture. Organize your courses to put you on the path to success as a professional, and let your voice be heard for how you want to structure your education. Gloom may be hovering, but if you purpose to develop innovative skill in architecture, you will craft your own future.

Best Wishes,

Brian Sowell

Axiom Editor

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watchlist elite student work

The Mindset

Justin Zumel ‘16

“The intention of this piece was to cre-

ate a combination of abstraction and

realism, or in simple terms, ab-realism.

The use of the shades of blue was

used to infer that the color blue means

calm and soothing. The dream was to

become a successful architect, which

is why I made my design of a city.

As a student, I realized that dreams

are easily reached when one is calm

through every obstacle.”

Justin Zumel is an undergraduate

B.E.D. major in the Department of

Architecture. He began drawing on th

walls of his family’s apartment at the

age of three, and his parents quickly

encouraged him to transfer his talents

to a paper medium. Justin’s passion

is obvious in his pursuit of art, music,

and architecture.

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Cube 45x45x45

Jing Zhang (Jenny)

“The athletic club consists of large functional unions and small service

areas. The design method was to juxtapose all the space into a 45×45×45

cube, built with a rigid steel frame following a 3 meter grid module. The cube

simplifi es structural solutions and brings light into each space through the 3

by 3 grid. The functional union of the sports takes place through the elevator

in the center. The elevator is directed towards the swimming pool, gymnasi-

um, rock climbing and tennis court. A small space spanning 6 meters con-

tains lockers and bathrooms in the center of the building.

The three perspective sections with the vanishing points at the top,

middle and bottom emphasizes the structure system, the space and the func-

tional union. Column placement shifts when they reach the badminton court to

create an ‘L’ shaped space. This space benefi ts occupants on the gym fl oor,

providing a view through to the sky and natural lighting into the gym at the

same time.”

Jing Zhang is an international student from Jinan Shi, Shandong,

China. She is pursuing her Masters of Architecture at Texas A&M and is in her

second year of study. Her committee is chaired by Marcel Erminy.

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four classes we don’t offer(and why we should) BY JOSHUA WALKER

Every year, AIAS hosts Q&A

session with Dr. Ward Wells, Head of

the Department of Architecture. While

a complete review of that conversation

would be impossible, it primarily cen-

tered around recent changes to the

B.E.D. curriculum, and what changes

might be coming in the future. The

department is in a process of refi n-

ing- even redefi ning- itself, and there

are likely to be signifi cant changes in

faculty and curriculum soon. These

changes have been primarily faculty-

driven, with the College and Depart-

ment making decisions based on fac-

ulty available and where they’d like to

see the programs go in the future. We

as students have a unique perspec-

tive on the curriculum, subsequentally

we can offer insights that may not be

possible for faculty to anticipate. So

as a student, here are three directed

electives and one required course

that I would recommend to enhance

the B.E.D. curriculum, and why the

Department would benefi t from them.

ENDS 265- Industrial Design-

(3 hours) Quick, what’s the one thing

Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der

Rohe, Adolf Loos, and Frank Gehry

all have in common? They, along with

many other famous architects through-

out history, have all designed unique

and famous furniture. The correlation

is so strong that many architecture

programs emphasize their ability to

create custom furniture. Even be-

yond furniture, understanding how to

design beautiful, functional products

can only enhance our design sen-

sitivities, and A&M has some of the

best facilities of any design college in

the state to pull this off. Don’t believe

me? Go visit the Digital Fabrication

Factory (a.k.a. the ranch). It’s an

industrial designer’s playground.

This class would be a popular and

immensely practical directed elective

option.

ARCH 339- Architectural

Presentations and Salesmanship

(2 hours)

Have you ever had to sit

through a presentation that would

have been improved if performed by a

mime? If not, consider yourself lucky,

they’re surprisingly common. This is

frustrating because architects aren’t

just designers, we’re salesmen. The

ability to “sell” a client our design is an

absolute necessity in the professional

world, but it’s something that architec-

ture students are expected to learn

without ever being taught. Let’s let stu-

dents who struggle in front of an audi-

ence take a course in presentation

“...here are three courses that I would recommend to enhance the B.E.D. curriculum...”

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ARCH 468- Leadership and

Management of an Architecture

Firm (3 hours)

Leadership is a core value

of Texas A&M University and former

students of the College of Architec-

ture often fi nd themselves in posi-

tions of leadership in the professional

world. Many students hope to own or

manage a fi rm at some point in their

career. A few years ago, there was a

course for this: ARCH 451- Strategies

in Architectural Management. Un-

fortunately, when the normal profes-

sor retired the class stopped being

offered. Let’s bring back a course in

basic leadership theories and the le-

gal and business elements of running

a fi rm. We can bring in current global

leaders and former students for prac-

tical advice, and build A&M into the

school everyone wants to recruit their

next partner from.

ARCH 117- Survey of Design

Software (1 hour.)

It’s the uncomfortable truth

about architecture: design is going

digital. Analog isn’t being entirely

replaced, but the professional world

is increasingly transitioning toward

virtual modeling. Take a glance at the

chart on pages 11-12. There are no

fewer than fi ve programs devoted to

digital model production, each with

their own commands, strengths, and

weaknesses, not to mention the three

programs for 2-D document produc-

tion. Where’s the class that gives us

a survey of each programs’ abilities,

proper uses, and enough of the basic

commands that we can select the

right tool for each design? The college

is making some progress in this area,

but this isn’t something to do half-way.

Find or hire someone who knows at

least fi ve programs like the back of

their hand and can teach them, make

this their only course, and require it

for both freshman semesters. Let’s

make sure our students don’t miss out

on opportunities because they don’t

know the tools exist.

In summary...

The current program changes

mean we have an opportunity to

improve not only our student experi-

ence, but the opportunities for future

students in our program. If there’s

anything studio has taught me, it’s that

design is an iterative process, and no

project, even a curriculum, is suc-

cessful without feedback. Talk to your

professors, peers, and administrators.

Think about your experience here

and how you might adapt it, and let’s

start a conversation about what we as

students would like to see available in

our four-year plan.

and salesmanship. Devote all home-

work to researching and composing

presentations and all class time to the

fundamentals, practice, and critique

of presentation. And lest you think

this would be a low intensity course,

remember that to present effectively

students will have to verse themselves

deeply in architectural literature,

building their design awareness and

vocabulary. Architectural awareness,

theory knowledge, AND communica-

tion skills all in one course? Sign me

up.

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The introduction of software to

the fi eld of architecture has drastically

changed the way that architects de-

sign. Software can only do so much;

however, and a lack of features can of-

ten limit the creativity of the designer.

Who hasn’t longed for a combination

of features from several design soft-

wares? What about the ease of form

creation in Maya coupled with the

archtitectural application of Revit? Or

AutoCAD and Illustrator? Perfect pro-

grams don’t exist, so architects must

learn to develop profi ciency in several

programs. Profi ciency in a software

isn’t enough for success though. Like

turning screws with a saw, it’s vital that

the architect understands what each

software is designed to accomplish.

While there is signifi cant crossover

between softwares, most designers

will admit there is a ‘best’ tool for the

job. In an attempt to help students

understand how to choose the best

tool, Leandro Aguiar, a junior from

Brazil studying abroad at Texas A&M,

and Joshua Walker have compiled an

unexaustive list of some of the popular

programs used in architecture and

their respective abilities. A handy

table then describes how to export

projects and open them in each of the

other softwares. -Brian Sowell

software comparisonsLEANDRO AGUIAR JOSHUA WALKER

Pros: Works with lines, geometric

surfaces, and nurbs at the same time.

Cons: All actions are executed

through typed commands which can

be cumbersome.

Tips: Get comfortable with the ba-

sics of AutoCAD. Not only is CAD the

primary software used for construction

documents, it’s necessary for laser

cutting, 2D presentation materials,

and for converting some 3D elements.

“...a lack of features can often limit the creativity of the designer.”

AutoCADAutoCAD provides a

fundamental staple for

architects. Designed specifi cally for

architects, AutoCAD uses layers to

mimic the hand drafting technique of

stacking layers of vellum. AutoCAD

is capable of working with lines,

geometric forms, surfaces, volumes,

nurbs, and meshes.

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Revit

Rhino

Revit is understood to

be the future of archi-

tecture production. As a

BIM software it has incredible features

for making the architect’s job faster

and integrating between disciplines.

Revit uses elements like walls, win-

dows, and doors to create a building.

Because it doesn’t utilize geometric

forms or nurbs, it doesn’t often ‘play

well’ with other softwares.

Pros: Strong production program,

allows detail customization and pro-

vides realistic renderings.

Cons: Not a solid choice for creating

building form or complex geometric

shapes.

Tips: Use Revitcity.com to download

custom families like tables and chairs

to dress up your renderings.

Rhino offers power-

ful commands for 3D

objects, allowing the

designer to work in a plethora of ap-

plications. Because it uses curves,

surfaces, volumes, nurbs, and

meshes, Rhino has been used for

everything from architecture to digital

fabrication and jewelry design

Pros: Rich availability of commands

and fl exible fi le formats.

Cons: The multitude of commands

can be confusing. Can be slow to use

because each curve must be edited

individually.

Tips: Two important commands set

Rhino apart from Sketchup: cut and

unroll. Learn to use them well.

Sketch-up

3ds Max

Illustrator

Photoshop

Maya

Sketch-up uses lines and

geometric forms, making

it one of the simplest

programs to learn and use. Although

simple, many notable fi rms still use

sketch-up to quickly create their

building forms.

Pros: Very fast to learn with a

simple but fl exible interface.

Cons: Imprecise, doesn’t handle

nurbs, and has trouble with complex

surfaces.

Tips: Import complex surfaces

from another program such as

Rhino, Maya, or 3ds Max.

extremely effi cient for designers who

understand the interface.

Cons: The interface can take getting

used to, editing materials is a compli-

cated process for beginners.

Tips: When moving lights and

cameras work in the elevation views

and be careful about what you have

selected.

3ds Max is a program

primarily intended for

producing renderings

or animations. Expect to work with

lights, cameras, and materials.

Pros: Excellent rendering quality

and control over lighting. Can be

Illustrator uses vector rather

than raster data to produce

graphics. This allows logos and other

2D objects to be designed and scaled

to fi t everything from a business card

to a billboard.

Pros: Excellent software for refi ning

plans and other 2D line work. Excel-

lent control of lineweight and color.

Cons: Doesn’t work in three dimen-

sions. Primarily a production software,

isn’t great for architectural design

work.

Tips: Learn to utilize layers and

remember to check line weights and

caps.

Photoshop holds dominance

in the photo editing world

and is understood to be the ultimate

software photo editing.

Pros: Excellent tool to bring render-

ings ‘to life’, faster to place plants and

people than rendering.

Cons: To achieve photo-realism you

must understand concepts of lighting

and have a sharp eye.

Tips: Keep a folder with textures

such as grass, trees, people, and

cars to place in your renderings.

ImmediateEntourage.com is a great

place to start.

Primarily a tool for game

designers and anima-

tors, Maya is used by

architects to produce organic forms.

Capable of working with curves, sur-

faces, volumes, nurbs, and meshes.

Pros: Works with lines, geometric

surfaces, and nurbs at the same

time. Rich command capability and

rendering options.

Cons: Imprecise, can be diffi cult to

learn the fi ner aspects of the pro-

gram without tutoring.

Tips: Use Maya to develop building

concepts or organic shapes, then

export to refi ne in other programs.

11

Save as autocad 2007.

Import to Maya, then

export from Maya to Rhino

using an IGES fi letype to

preserve accuracy.

Export from the 3d view

as an ACIS, then open in

rhino.

Go to a fl oorplan, section,

or elevation view, then

export as a .dwg.

For 3D models save as an

.acis fi le and convert to Nurb

or surface. For 2D drawings

watch http://digitaltoolbox.info/

rhinoceros-advanced/section/

From Sketchup Pro, export

the 3D model as dwg fi le and

import to Autocad.

Follow the “Rhino to

Autocad” instructions, then

“Autocad to Revit”

Diffi cult to explain, watch

this video: http://www.

youtube.com/watch?v=91

z0hX3zfAc&feature=play

er_embedded

Export from Rhino to

Sketchup using a 3Ds fi le.

Export a 3ds fi le from

Sketchup and import to Rhino.

Use Meshtonurb or create a

dupborder of everything and

create faces.

Export from Rhino to Maya

using an IGES fi le.

export as a .dwg fi le from

Sketchup and import to

Maya.

Export from Rhino to 3DS

using an IGES fi le.

3DS Max opens Sketchup

fi les, but you need to have

all your objects with a given

material on the same layer

in Sketchup already.

Export as an .ai fi le. This

preserves your layers.

Export as a 2007 or earlier

.dwg, then follow AutoCAD

to Illustrator.

Export your 2D view to

AutoCAD and go from

there, export 3D renderings

as jpegs or pngs.

For 2D linework export

to AutoCAD and follow

‘AutoCAD to Photoshop’.

Open jpegs directly in

photoshop.

3D CAD imports as a mesh,

which you can’t edit. Select

in-place mass and import

the CAD fi le while editing the

mass.

Save as autocad 2007 and

open in Sketchup pro.

Export from the 3d view

as an ACIS, then open in

sketchup.

Save as autocad 2007 then

import to Maya

Export from the 3d view

as an ACIS, then open in

Maya

Autocad fi les open directly

in 3DS max

Export an FBX fi le, then

import into 3DS

Save as Autocad 2007

or earlier, then open in

Illustrator. Decide whether

to scale to artboard or

actual scale.

Export as a 2007 or earlier

.dwg, then follow AutoCAD

to Illustrator.

Import to illustrator,

then follow illustrator to

photoshop instructions.

Export your 2D view to

AutoCAD and go from

there, export 3D renderings

as jpegs or pngs.

export from:

AutoCAD

AutoCAD

Rhino

Rhino

Revit

Revit

Sketchup

Sketchup

Maya

3DS

Illustrator

Photoshop

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Export from Maya to Rhino

using an iges fi le.

Export as a .dwg then follow

‘AutoCAD to Rhino’.

Export from Maya to Rhino

using an iges fi le, then follow

‘Rhino to AutoCAD’.

Export as a .dwg fi le.

Remember you can ‘live

trace’ raster images to

import jpegs into AutoCAD.

Export options from 3DS Max

design to AutoCAD include DWF,

DWG, and FBX.

Follow ‘Photoshop to Illustrator’,

then ‘Illustrator to AutoCAD.’

Sketchup Pro opens 3DS

fi les, so open it in Sketchup

and follow ‘Sketchup to

Revit’. Alternatively, go

through AutoCAD

Revit imports images onto

the layer, just use the import

button.

Export from 3DS to Rhino using

an iges fi le.

Follow ‘Photoshop to Illustrator’,

‘Illustrator to AutoCAD’, then

‘AutoCAD to Rhino’ to obtain

linework. Alternatively just import

the fl at image directly.

Export from 3DS to Maya

using an iges fi le.

For linework export to

Illustrator, then follow

‘Illustrator to AutoCAD’ and

‘AutoCAD to Maya’.

Export from 3DS to Sketchup

as a 3DS or Collada fi le

(.DAE)

For linework open in

illustrator, then follow

‘illustrator to AutoCAD’ and

‘AutoCAD to Sketchup’.

Export as a 2007 or earlier

.dwg, then follow AutoCAD to

Illustrator.

Use the ‘place’ tool (ctrl-d)

in illustrator to place a

photoshop fi le directly on the

artboard.

Export renderings as a

jpeg or png. Get plans and

sections from a design

program (revit, sketchup,

Rhino, etc.)

Uneccessary.

Follow ‘Maya to Rhino’, then

‘Rhino to Sketchup’.

Follow ‘Maya to Rhino’, then

‘Rhino to Sketchup’.

But why do you want the

headache? If you must,

export to rhino, then follow

‘rhino to revit’. The results

won’t be pretty.

Seriously? If you insist, try

going through AutoCAD, or

Rhino.

Export from Maya to 3DS

using an iges fi le.

It’s unclear what you’re

trying to accomplish, but try

going through CAD.

Follow Maya to Rhino, then

Rhino to AutoCAD, save as

a 2007 .dwg and open in

Illustrator.

Export as a .dwg then follow

‘AutoCAD to Maya’.

Export your 2D view to

AutoCAD and go from there,

export 3D renderings as

jpegs or pngs.

Photoshop can open .AI fi les

directly. Alternatively save

from illustrator as a .png.

Maya Illustrator Photoshop3DS

13

in defense of themad architect an opinion by catlan fearon

Architecture is a curious

profession, and one curiosity that has

always seemed astounding to me is

how fashionable it is to revile certain

architects. Usually considered

avant garde or associated with

deconstructivism, these architects

are renounced, reviled, and

lampooned by amateur critics as

“hacks”, “ego-centrists”, and “mad

scientists” of architecture and are

dismissively called “mad architects”.

Where their work should stand on

its own as proof of their talent and

importance in the architectural

discourse it is simply dismissed,

often solely by virtue of missteps in

craft, which would otherwise never

be attributed to an architect. Other

times they are dismissed simply

for aesthetic purp oses, which is

perhaps the most egregious and

hypocritical of all reasons to dismiss

an architect’s work.

There are several of these

mad architects who narrow minded

individuals tend to deride as useless

distractions. Frank O Gehry and

Zaha Hadid seem to be the two most

hated of these architects, yet the

defense of each is rather different.

Gehry, the more popularly derided

of the two, is easily explained. He

is merely a sculptor and is eternally

confused that people seem so eager

for him to design buildings, and he

goes about these commissions like

sculptures. This defense is quick and

neat, but not extremely interesting

for architectural discourse. Because

of this, the best candidate for

examination is Hadid.

Zaha Hadid’s work has been

criticized as egotistical, impractical,

expensive, over-designed, and ugly.

It is rather diffi cult to substantially

dismiss any of these critiques, as

some are correct, but I do think

it is possible to show that these

qualities are not out of character with

other venerated practitioners of our

profession. Indeed, I believe the best

example of a venerated architect who

shares her fl aws is Le Corbusier.

It seems almost expected

in our profession for the great

architects to be egomaniacal and

even venerated. Corbusier himself

was racist against Americans simply

because they preferred Frank Lloyd

Wright to him. He stopped talking to

his best friend because his best friend

dared decorate the house Corbusier

built for him. He was an egomaniac,

yet Le Corbusier’s continued

popularity proves that an ego is

“...these architects are renounced, reviled, and lampooned by amateur critics as “hacks”, “ego-centrists”, and “mad scientists” of architecture and are dismissively called “mad architects.”

14

not enough to rule someone out of

greatness.

And what of expense? I

highly doubt that anyone going into

Hadid’s offi ce to ask her for a design

is unaware that her designs are

costly to build, and if they are they

deserve to lose that money for their

shoddy research. But if a client is

willing to spend the money on a Zaha

Hadid building it is silly to get angry.

They have the money; let them have

the building they want.

The insistent critique of all

mad architects seems to be their

impracticality. This is hypocritical. If

a person derides the impracticality

of deconstructivists or avant garde

architects, and turns around and

praises Le Corbusier, one should

laugh in their face. Surely they aren’t

speaking of the same Le Corbusier?

His plan to fi x cities was to simply

tear them to the ground and hope the

inhabitants would simply cease to

exist until his monstrous towers could

be constructed. Of course Zaha

Hadid’s buildings are occasionally

impractical, but then again so is

living is a house made totally of

glass.

Zaha and architects like

her are important. They inspire

the average person to care about

architecture and be captivated by

it. They spark interest in architecture

and trigger discussion about function

and most of all form. Form is perhaps

the area in which the mad architect

is currently the most important. In

an era with new tools and more

powerful machines with which we can

calculate loads, structures, and costs,

unimaginable forms are now available

to architects.

If we are truly interested in

form, as I believe architects should

be, then we cannot afford to sneer

at those who experiment with them

like Zaha does. No universal force

declared functional minimalism to be

the perfect architectural philosophy,

and if we did not continually push

form, style and even taste to its

limits we would fail to advance in

the profession. Not all ambitious

buildings will be successes, of course,

but we will learn from the failures like

we learned from Corbusier’s failures,

and like he learned from the Beaux

Art’s, on and on ad infi nitum The

mad architect is the architect who

is not afraid to experiment, nothing

more and nothing less, and in them

we will fi nd the future of the art and

profession.

1515

on and off Texas A&M’s campus that

there is no reason for architecture

students not to give music a try.

Another great way to expand

on architectural design skills is to

learn and experience a new culture

for an extended period of time. Fully

understanding and experiencing a

new culture provides opportunity for

the visitor to think and live in differ-

ent ways. The exposure allows an

architectural designer to understand

a different set of priorities and cultural

values. For instance, my experiences

living with a Polish family in Krakow

for a month opened my eyes to the

Polish culture. Getting to know a new

culture is great practice for adapting

to a completely foreign environment

and making adjustments as needed.

The irrefutable connection

between architecture and all other

inspirational things create a special

bond between all types of artists.

As architecture students, we should

explore this bond in new ways. There

are a variety of opportunities that ex-

plore this bond and ultimately improve

on our design skills. As architecture

students we should take advantage

of every opportunity to explore things

such as music, experiencing a new

culture, and obtaining a greater un-

derstanding of art and its history so to

further develop our design skills and

artistic maturity.

For instance, learning to play

an instrument or to sing improves an

architect’s understanding of rhythm,

line, and detail. These concepts,

among many others, can be reen-

gineered and applied to an archi-

tect’s design. The idea of continuing

one thought or “line” into the next is

directly transferable into designing

structures. The level of detail and

focus required to play music can only

improve a designer’s eye for detail in

architecture. Furthermore, playing with

a group of musicians provides prac-

tice for team projects in the architec-

ture fi eld because it helps to further

teamwork development and quick

adaptation. My musical background

in fl ute and voice has helped my

architectural skills by providing both

inspiration and another way to think

and approach design. There are so

many musical opportunities available

15

BY TAMARA DRURY

16

As architecture students, we should

go travel and experience living in a

completely new environment so we

can be pushed to become stronger

and more independent people and be

inspired by new things that can rarely

be duplicated from a text book.

Going out and exploring

art and art history is another way to

inspire your design work. An archi-

tectural designer becomes a better

artist as they increasingly understand

and appreciate the work of the great

art masters. One way to understand

art is to personally produce it with a

paint brush or another art medium

and attempt to “get inside” the head

of a great master artist. The more an

architectural designer can “get inside”

the mind of art masters, the easier it is

to be inspired and be able to produce

signifi cant design work. There are

fabulous art museums both in Texas

and all over the world to serve as in-

spiration that all architecture students

should take the time to visit.

Music, experiencing new

cultures and exploring art all help de-

signers to essentially “tap” into deeper

levels of creativity. Architecture

students grow and develop as both

people and as artists when we are

stretched beyond the comfort zone

and pushed to try and explore differ-

ent cultures and forms of art. It is our

job to make use of these sources of

inspiration so we can ultimately reach

our potential as future architects.

“The level of detail and focus required to play music can only improve a designer’s eye for detail in architecture.”

17

Fashion can be thought of

as wearable form. This form can

include clothes, hair design or even

architecture. The practice of architec-

ture exists to create usable spaces.

Both architecture and fashion deal

with forms and are an expression of

one’s creative ideas. Understanding

how the two are related is imperative

because as designers we should use

fashion to express our creativity and

design skills.

Despite their similarities,

fashion and architecture have one key

difference. Fashion in general is less

embraced than architecture, not only

in American society but especially

Texas. Most of the time, people want

to blend in, not stand out. This can be

detrimental to designing the person

you want to be. What one wears

gives people an idea of who you are.

In order to be able to fully embrace

the idea of exploring ones personality

through fashion, one must understand

the importance of fashion.

These two design cultures

convey that design begins as an idea

and develops into a physical creation

that did not previously exist. “Fashion

and architecture have a dual demand:

aesthetics and practicality,” Junior,

Joshua Walker said. “Both have to

meet a practical need and are expect-

ed to do so with beauty.” This is the

defi ning overlap between these two

forms of design. As Dr. Campagnol

stated, “Fashion and architecture cre-

ate a skin.” Fashion creates a skin for

architect fashion BY AMANDA GARCIA

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the body while architecture creates a

skin that defi nes space for its inhabit-

ants. This is something that designers

should think about.

The College of Architecture

has some of the most fashionable stu-

dents on A&M’s campus. Many people

from majors outside of architecture do

not believe in taking extra time to look

presentable for class. Students and

faculty in the department believe that

the reasoning behind dressing up for

class is driven by the fact that archi-

tecture is one of the few majors that

engage in one-on-one conversations

with professors every day. Architec-

ture students want to demonstrate that

even small desk critiques are impor-

tant. While students in the College of

Architecture appreciate the comfort

of casual dress, their dress habits in

class often set them apart from the

average student on campus.

The clear separation between

architecture students and the rest of

A&M is the accepting environment.

Architecture students embody the

creative gene on campus; they have

a greater understanding of the wide

spectrum of ideas. Because architec-

ture students have a keen eye for de-

sign, they are more likely to express

it not only though architecture, but in

the way they present and through the

type of clothing they wear.

Some may argue that profes-

sors does not really care whether one

dresses up for class or not. However

this is simply not true. According to

Professor Gabe Esquivel, “Fashion

is very important because fashion

is your personality…when students

come in looking all the same… it is

sort of a denial of your personality.”

He states that he has respect for stu-

dents that express their individuality

though the way they dress.

Fashion is a great eleva-

tor speech. You only have a few

seconds to make a lasting impres-

sion. The beauty with fashion is that

one does not have to say anything

to make that impression. There is

only one opportunity to make a fi rst

impression; fashion should be used to

your advantage.

When someone takes the time

to express themselves through the

way they dress, their confi dence goes

up. Their head is held a bit higher

and they stand up straighter. Both

professors and fellow students notice

this increased confi dence. “I honestly

think that if you look good, you feel

good. And this notion projects in your

attitude, whether you notice it or not,”

Junior, Yuliana Hernandez said.

Fashion is a way of expres-

sion and conveying to others ones

true identity. As a designer, one

should embrace creativity in order

for their true persona to be revealed.

Take the challenge of wearing some-

thing that is not normally worn on a

regular basis and embrace it. Let

the creative juices fl ow when get-

ting dressed in the morning. Design

an outfi t instead of grabbing the

fi rst thing in the drawer. The notice-

able difference will be well worth the

added effort.

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pinterestThe DIY Bulletin Board

BY AMIE AKERS

store new ideas when they fi nd them,

and go look them back up when they

need them. This eliminates those

questions of, “Where’d I write that

down at?” or “What was that thing I

saw on that website that one time?”

Pinterest organizes this frenzy, allow-

ing the confusion to be sorted and

fi led into place according to each

individual’s desire, and in a world

where the individual is held above

the community, Pinterest continues to

grow and expand.

Sharing ideas is another rea-

son Pinterest is an asset to design-

ers. Modern society is full of informa-

tion, and the computers in people’s

pockets are constantly bombarding

their minds through media, music,

and internet. For this reason, trends

are constantly changing, and new

ideas are soon made into newer

ones. In order to keep up with a

shifting society, these ideas must be

shared and spread. Pinterest does

exactly that through constant up-

dates by society itself, posting new

favorite designs or color trends.

Not only does Pinterest

spread new ideas, but it takes the

user back to the source, be it a

website, blog, or journal. This allows

pinners to further investigate their

pins and expand their knowledge on

whatever subject they’re research-

ing, informing users of how reliable a

piece of information is, which brings

a sense of honesty to the website.

Nothing is assumed or falsely adver-

tised. Along with looking into other

pins, a user can create their own pins

and spread their own ideas on Pinter-

est. They can then give and receive

critical feedback through comments,

grasping the success of ideas and

where they need improvements.

Pinterest is a vehicle that

keeps up with the constant change in

the world, because members of soci-

ety are behind the wheel, controlling

the speed and direction of change. It

is one of the most reliable ways to stay

updated on what’s important to spe-

cifi c groups of people or personalities,

and it gives its users control over their

own style and ideas.

Holiday decorations, cupcake

recipes, nursery ideas, and an array of

“mommy things” are what immediately

come to mind when someone men-

tions Pinterest. Unfortunately, most

people are misled by this idea and

miss out on the opportunities Pinterest

provides for all kinds of artistic per-

sonalities. Pinterest is a tool architects

and designers can and should use

to keep track of ideas, inspirations,

techniques, trends, and sure, maybe a

few cupcake recipes too.

Among Pinterest’s many

subjects, architecture, art, design,

photography, illustrations, posters,

and countless other applicable topics,

is an array of creative and diverse

projects to look at and learn from. The

broad range of ideas and the way

they are organized sets Pinterest apart

from other websites. What’s great

about Pinterest is that it is organized

around the user, and in today’s world,

driven by a “do it yourself” mentality,

Pinterest is a powerful tool.

Pinterest’s users create their

own accounts that can be organized

into their favorite or most useful sub-

jects. Under these subjects, they can

20

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One of Webster’s Dictionary defi ni-

tions of sleep is “to cease being

awake.” Sleep, then, means that you

are unconscious. The defi nition is

understandable but the only problem

with this is that you can’t really work

on your studio project when you’re

asleep. This seems a little counter-

productive, so why even bother with

the hassle of sleeping? As they say,

“all play and no work makes Jack a

dull boy.” Or something like that. We

must keep working; we don’t want to

be dull after all.

A quick Google search can

bring up a multitude of studies on

sleep. A lot of these studies say

that getting 8 hours of sleep equals a

healthy, well-rested person. Although,

when they say 8 hours of sleep,

perhaps it means 8 hours of sleep

per night and not 8 hours of sleep

per week, but I’m not exactly sure.

Somehow, we are still able to function

no matter what defi nes sleep for us.

It could just be all the coffee that we

drink. We go through a lot of coffee.

Or maybe even the fear of having

the Hulk smash our projects during a

review. Either way, we forcibly keep

our eyes open with tape or propping

them with basswood sticks. These

work well but banging our heads on

the desks is just as effective. Then

They say architects have their

own jargon, which, of course, is true.

We throw around these words in our

critiques so we can one up the person

that went before us. Words like:

parti, tectonic, poche, axial, material-

ity, etc. Our vocabulary has gotten

a bit cluttered so we’ve had to make

a little room for our new intellectual

vocabulary. Our architecture jargon

has replaced words like: sleep, bed,

napping, and well-rested to name

but a few. There simply isn’t enough

space for these words anymore, so

throwing them out the window is the

most sensible thing to do.

Let’s examine the word sleep.

hindsightBY ALEXANDER GOESSLER

22

it’s back to work. Sleep goes hand in

hand with bed. But if we’ve thrown

out sleep why not throw out bed too?

If nothing else it’ll make more room in

our vocabulary books.

In all of the furniture that is

designed the piece that receives

the least attention seems to be the

bed. It’s always a chair, or a desk, or

an end table, but never a bed. This

isn’t because we don’t like designing

beds; it’s just that we don’t know what

they are. Designing something you’re

not familiar with gets diffi cult even

for the greats. It’s a good thing that

our professors don’t make us design

beds. That would be ironic, and aw-

ful. We should just stick with chairs,

desks, and end tables. No reason to

get too ambitious. Not even the most

thorough vocabulary could aid us in

presenting a bed. I’d rather go on

with no sleep than have a bad review

anyways.

As architecture students

we tend to take a little joy in brag-

ging about how little sleep we’ve

had in the past week. So no matter

how tired you are there is always

the summer to look forward to but

that’s always too far away. No time

for thinking about summer, there’s a

project to be done. In our attempts

to climb to the top of our intellectual

ambitions we must make some room.

What better place to start than improv-

ing our daily vocabulary and removing

activities that are completely unnec-

essary. Perhaps sleep is where we

should all begin this journey.

FOR THE ARCHITECTURE STUDENT:1. Master your speaking skills as you master your design skills. Don’t use ‘talkitecture’, just tell the story of your design.2. Remember the sun still exists.3. Learn to fl ip the switch between work and play, and do it regularly.4. Sleep, while a scheduling nuisance, is mandatory. Especially if you don’t want to cut off your fi ngers

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