Blog 24 - Last Presentation Reflection

I'm FREE!

(1) Positive Statement
What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
What I am most proud of my presentation is that I did not choke as much as I thought I would. Plus, I thought I would do much worse than I originally thought. I thought of myself messing up or not meeting time, but that was not the case. My information was solid and I was able to present a satisfying presentation

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation?  Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

P, because I need the minimum requirements and did not strive higher than what was expected of me. 

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project? Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

P, again. I would asses myself with a P because I did not go above and beyond, I did what was required. 

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

What worked for my senior project was actually the notebook. I knew I had information on it and instead of searching for it online, I refereed back to my notebook. I did not think I would use it as much as I did.
(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?

There wasn't much that did not work for my in my senior project, just I would have done a little more during my presentation. Such as having better slides, more pleasing or having props to show the class. More interactive. 
(5) Finding Value
How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

Senior project actually helped my confidence in presenting. I used to be very shy, and have more of a trembling, freaking out affect. But now, its better. I was pretty comfortable in presenting and I was pretty proud. 

Exit Interview

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

EQ: What qualities can an architect incorporate into a design to evoke a desired psychological effect? My 3 answers are: 1) creativity, 2) health, and 3) culture and history. My best answer would probably be answer one. Because architecture involves many types of engineering and science, it is always advancing. It can incorporate a lot more to make you feel and think certain ways. 

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

The process I took to arrive at my answer would be countless google searching and using my mentor as a reference and guidance to which direction I should take. 

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

Problems I faced was how I should go about finding a suitable question that I would want to pursue myself. I resolved this by reading articles that had to do about my topic.  

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

One of the important sources I used was my mentor. He gave me a lot of advice. Another source I used was my summer school teacher. His class was important because it talked about the history of architecture and its evolution and that is actually part of one of my answers. 

Blog 22 - Independent Component 2

I, Christian Legaspino, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work. My source for completing my IC 2 is my mentor, Miyong Chung. What I did for my senior project was do an additional 30 hours. What I did was go with my mentor, shadow him when he has meetings with his clients. During this time, I meet one of his architect friends, Stephen Le, who I shadowed as well. I had a lot of time to talk with my mentor about my senior project and EQ. I had valuable information that was said to me that I can use for my presentation. The significance of this was that I was able to get my mentor's view and thoughts on the idea. While I shadowed him, I saw some things that he would incorporate that deals with my answers. I learned a lot during his meetings with his clients. Plus, when I wasn't at a meeting with him I would be at the office doing additional work to help around. Use AutoCAD the principle system the employees use. 

These are the notes I took when I went with my mentor during one of his meetings with his clients.

Blog 21 - Interview 4 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

The most important thing I learned form my interview is that architecture is evolving and is continuing to evolve as society flourishes. There is a lot of science and engineering that is taking into fact to make a  suitable living for the users. 

2.  How will what I learned affect my final lesson?

It will help with a closer for my topic. Instead of ending abruptly, I have something to say, like a walk off and maybe convince people to join architecture. There are a lot more positions opening because the people who were in the baby boom are dying off and positions are opening up. 

Interview 4

Blog 20 - Interview 4 Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

Who I plan to interview is my main man, my mentor, Mr. Chung. What makes this particular guy an expertise to interview is because his profession is architecture which is, coincidently, my senior topic! 

2.  Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your EQ.

1.  What is the biggest influence you see architecture inspires through its design. 
2. How does architecture affect people's health? 
3. In what ways can you change a room to help benefit an individual's needs? 
4. When designing a building, what is the most important factor to design first? 
5. Do you incorporate any foreign design concepts into your buildings? 
6. How can you alter a room to increase creativity? 
7. How does culture in architecture affect the community? 
8. Does architecture define culture or does culture define architecture? 
9. Which culture has a major influence on architecture? 
10. Does architecture plan a huge role in health? 
11. Can architecture have a negative influence on health? 
12. Can architecture have a negative influence on a person's creativity? 
13. Is it possible for architecture to have a negative influence on various types of culture? 
14. How can an architect alter a room/building to influence someone's health? 
15. Does lighting design have any effect on someone's creativity? 
16. Can audio have a negative or positive effect on someone's creativity? 
17. What do you think is the best influence architecture can inspire? 
18. Is it possible at all that architecture can inspire any feelings within a person? 
19. What is architecture's best quality it can provide people other that a roof to stay under? 
20. Is inspiration even considered when designing a building? 

Blog 19 - Answer 3

1. EQ 

What qualities can an architect incorporate into a design to evoke a desire psychological effect? 

2. Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)*

Qualities an architect can incorporate into a design are historical and foreign design aspects to influence history and culture. 

3. 3 details to support the answer

• spanish building are seen through out some buildings, people like it
• pointed arches are used to bring in more light, used mainly for churches to seem more divine 
• asian style buildings are used, japanese influence 

4. The research source(s) to support your details and answer

Source 55, 56, and 57

5. Concluding Sentence

By adding foreign design, it can give people a different look on architecture and how they perceive it. 

Blog 18 - Answer 2

1.  What is your EQ?

What qualities can an architect incorporate into a design to evoke a desired psychological effect?

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

Qualities an architect can incorporate into a design to evoke a desired psychological effect is changing the structural, lighting, and audio aspect to inspire creativity. 

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

Qualities an architect can incorporate into a design to evoke a desired psychological effect is changing the structural functions in a room to inspire health. 

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

1.) You heal better with a better environment, which in my case architecture comes in. Such as a hospital, the way you design a room or the building itself. 

2.) Putting someone's mind in the right set can help them feel better, which architecture can be a sense of security. 

3.) Having a sense of control in what you do you feel more empowered. That is what architecture can do, control functions within a building. 

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?

Cladwell, Delia, and David Martin. "Five Ways Design Can Make Doctors' Visits Shorter." Five Ways Design Can Make Doctors' Visits Shorter. N.p., 4 Feb. 2016. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

6.  What other source supports your answer?

My mentor. 

7.  Tie this together with a  concluding thought.

Architecture can have a positive effect in a person state. The way a building is designed and the functions it has can ultimately benefit someones health. 

Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

The most important thing I learned for my interview is a possible answer for my essential question. 

2.  How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?

It narrowed down on what I want to ask and where I want to focus. Not a huge change but there is a change from my old, bland questions I would say. 

Interview 3

Blog 16 - Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

Well to be honest, I don't know what to do yet. I am thinking to either do an additional 30 mentor hours with my mentor or with possibly another mentor, if I am able to find one that focuses on a different aspect of architecture, or I can take an architecture class. I can take one online, there are some free classes. 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

What I can do is log my hours if I do additional 30 hours or if I take a online class of my topic I can provide proof of my class. Possibly showing my grade, unless my grade is humiliating to my family's pride. 

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

Having a different mentor and taking a class gives me a different perspective on how to view and take on architecture. I been viewing it my way as well as my mentors. It provides a different way oth thinking and a way to expand on where I want to go. 

4.  Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

Sure thing. 

Independent Component 1

Literal 

I, Christian (Lego) Legaspino, affirm that I have completed my independent component which represents 34 hours and 30 minutes of work. During my independent component, I did not use a written source to help complete my project. What I did use and reference for help was my mentor's coworker, Bob L., who works at CMC Architects and Engineers. What I did for my independent component was build a model of one of my mentor's client's house. My mentor gave me the task and I used this opportunity as my independent component. So as I stated, I built someones house to give the client a representation of what their house will look like. I built a exact replica of what the house will look like. From the facade of the building to the roofing. 

Interpretive

Oh this project took over 30 hours alright. Making a professional model for my mentor's client when I have little to none experience is not an easy task. I had a hard time cutting, gluing, and keeping the model clean. 

This was the beginning stages of my model. Looks neat doesn't it? This is when I first started piecing the facades of the building together. These are the main walls of the building. The front section of the house was a whole new thing. Because the house is proportional to the real thing, the spacing and alignment of these walls needed to be on point. Which in my eyes were pretty darn well. Then I cut of more walls or features of the house and attached it to the house. The detailing of the house took a while. You think that would be the easy part or let along the easy part, but boy am I wrong. If I mess up gluing the detail onto the walls...I ruin the aesthetic appeal of it (which I learned the hard way). 

Pretty nice, huh? 

How about this angle? Looking good. 

This model took a lot of work. I had to be delicate so I would not break it while also being careful so I keep the model looking nice. What it is laying on is the foundation of the place the actual house will be at. The contour of the lade and how the house will be laid respected to its surroundings. 

Applied

This helped me with the foundation of my senior topic by the design aspect and the precision of how the pieces are fitted in. Because of the way the house was built I can see the functionality of things. Such as the spacing of rooms, or even why some things are placed the way they are. 

Blog 15 - Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

What I am most proud of in my Lesson 2 Presentation is that I kept my cool and did not choke. Man, what a relief. In my first presentation, I forgot what I was going to say and I went silent. Not this time! I was able to to complete my 10-minute lecture content and finished my lecture with all that I needed to say. 

2. a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

I would give myself a P. 

     b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

I would give myself a P because I think I had a pretty solid presentation. I did what was required of me, I turned in what I needed to, I did my 10-minute lecture time, I provided an answer, I was engaging to the audience, and I dressed fairly nicely. 

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

What worked for me in my Lesson 2, would be real life scenarios and pictures, a lot of pictures. Using real life scenarios and pictures help explain what I am trying to present on. Clarifies it better. 

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

To be honest, I do not know what did not work during my presentation. I think everything went fine. Probably I would try to add jokes or funny images to capture my audience attention more. 

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

What I think will be my answer #2 is... health. Yes, health. What does architecture have to do about health? Well you would need to attend my 3rd presentation. 

Blog 14 - Interview 3 Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?
I plan to interview my summer professor who I took a class with on architecture. He has been teaching architecture for a couple of years and is a certified architect. 

2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview? 
I can not verify because I have no contacted this person yet. 

3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.
How can I learn about the effects of architecture has on an individual? 

4.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).
When designing a building, what aspect do you make a priority? 

5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ.
What do you want your client to feel when design your building?
In what ways can you ensure your client is content with what you build?

Blog 13 - 10 Hour Mentorship Check-in

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am doing my mentorship at CMC Architect and Engineers in El Monte. 

2.   Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?

My contact is Mr. Chung, the big man of the firm. What makes him an expert is that he has been doing architecture for over 20+ years. 

3.   How many  hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right hand side of your blog).

I have completed about half of my school year mentorship hours. I have 28 hours. 

4.   Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.

I worked on programs (AutoCAD) and did some overlooking of plans. My mentor and I are pretty good to one another, there are no problems. I plan to complete my hours by continuing to go to his office and do more work he wants to give me. 

Blog 12 - Holiday Project Update

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?
I actually did a lot over break and boy did it take a lot out of my time. I complete a lot of my mentoring hours and I started my first independent component during the beginning of the break. 

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

The most important thing I learned from what I did was not to wait so late to get work done. It ruins you in the future. I wasn't able to enjoy my break completely because I had to get senior project done. The source of what I learned was my misery of not being able to enjoy break. 

3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?
For my third interview, I plan to ask my summer architecture professor. I met him before and I hope he is willing to be able to spare a little of his time for me. He has a lot of experience in the field and hopefully shed knowledge on my topic. 

Blog 11 - Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?
Well, to be honest, I am not proud of anything. Why you ask? Because in my mind, I did terrible. I didn't do as good as I practiced. I forgot information and blanked out for a little bit.

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you learned that grade using evidence from the component contract.
I would give myself an AP. I don't think I met time or even had enough content to fill the 7 min mark. 

3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?
What I would change about my lesson would be pretty much the whole thing. My hook was wack, my presentation was dull, and I seemed lost at times. Now that I know where I am at a 9 min presentation, I can do better by adding information I forgot and expand on details that I quickly skimmed through. 

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

I haven't spent a lot of time with my mentor. He has a busy schedule to keep and it's been tough getting a set date to mentor under him. He has bigger priorities to attend to and I am fine by that. There are other professional architects that I can shadow under in my mentors firm. 

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you? 

How I found my mentor was through my dad. He was actually pretty excited for me to get into architecture. 

 

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person

I will say, my relationship with my mentor, will be at a solid 7. Like my mentor doesn't dislikes me, it's just that it is hard for my mentor to find time for me. Even though we don't hang much, we are pretty comfortable with each other. Hopefully, I can bring up the rating. 

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

What went well in my interview was that my interview had a lot of information. I could tell he had a lot of information but didn't want to continue because he was taking to much time. What I need to improve it getting more information about my topic. There is a lot more to my senior topic to fully understand it. I will go about this by doing more research and trying to find more than one mentors. 

Interview 2

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

I have a mentor but my status with my interview is still pending. I am figuring out which date would best serve my mentor and I. 

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons. 

An area in my topic that I am guided towards may be the designing part of architecture. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered in designing a building. A specific area in this could be the acoustic system on a building. I am interested in this because sound can vary, you need to design a room where it best fits the users needs. Another specific topic I can possibly focus on is the lighting system. Lighting is unique and there are different techniques used. 

3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

What kinds of research that will help me that will gain more depth would be actual books about my topic. Article are wonderful, but I feel book will provide more information for me. I can get books where anyone else gets books really. I can either go to the library or if they do not have a particular book, I can possibly rent one online. 

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

How can an architect successfully incorporate building regulations and a clients demands?