Final ProjectArch 21

Spring 2009

Sara Alsop

Inspiration…In starting this final iteration, I was more than a little bit lost. I had no idea which direction I was going to go, and I

was feeling a little burnt out from the semester in general. Luckily, one day, I had an experience at school that inspired me

to make my final iteration.

So, my story about what inspired my final iteration is as follows: I took a break from class to go and use the ladies

room. While in the ladies room it was obvious that one of the stalls would be in use for sometime, which is understandable.

The second stall was also occupied by a woman, who had finished using the facility, but stood inside the stall talking on her

cell phone. She was literally standing in front of the toilet, talking about what kind of filling to put inside of a pie. After a few

minutes of this, I was getting impatient, I had to pee after all, and its not like you can just put off something like that

indefinitely. She continued to talk on her phone for, what must have been a good solid five minutes. I began loudly walking

back and forth in front of the stall, coughing, making it very obvious that there was a person waiting. She continued to talk.

After some time, I was fed up, and loudly exclaimed, “Come on!!” She gave me a few more moments to wait until she came

out of the stall, still talking on the cell phone while she washed her hands.

This might sound like a silly thing to get mad over, but I was just blown away by how rude and inconsiderate that

lady had been. So, I decided to build a fortress in order to keep people just like her far far away from my personal space.

Early, very general, sketches...

Notes…

So, I wrote a little about that experience immediately… and started making baby sketches…

So, over the course of post-finals madness I have misplaced some early sketches, but I would now like to address what I actually made…

In making this final iteration I wanted to focus on creating a fortress. I wanted to capture a feeling of absolute solitude as well as an unwelcome façade.

I chose to use sharp edges and towering angles that would help in creating a daunting journey to the entrance of the structure. I also wanted to make the structure inaccessible from the campus.

As the structure took shape, I found it amusing that it began to reflect very much on who I am as a person. I also am very private, hard to get close to,

and use a sharp and somewhat austere attitude to keep people at bay.

In choosing the lines of the structure I wanted there to be a sense of discomfort. The walls of the structure angle outward making the approach

challenging.

If there had been a better way to portray it, I would have liked for the bridge to have a glass bottom. This would have made the path to the structure somewhat jarring, being

that the bridge overhangs a huge drop down into the hillside.

I left the interior of the structure completely closed off from the outside. This choice was made in order to make the idea extreme and plainly obvious. The interior is meant to be a huge, expansive place, with no separation between live and work

space.

This central structure is also supposed to mirror myself. I am also completely open and generous once friendship is established.

The experience of making the final iteration was a feverish one, a few late nights and too much TV with Derek. I think that the final outcome was successful, and even

though I did not imply any other doors or windows, my idea was successfully communicated.

So, thank you for an intense and challenging semester. I will use the lessons learned in this class many times over. I was glad to have the opportunity to

try my hand at a new discipline, even if it was brief. Thanks again.