Unit 9 Summary

I think interior spaces are always a representation of something or someone. People make deisgn choices based on what they like or need in the room. That is a representation of their personality and taste was well as representing their needs. This is true in interior spaces as well as any design spaces or design ideas. We spoke a lot about the World's Fair and everyone one of those represented the time period and the era as well as a specific culture or theme. Representation are seen everywhere, some are more clear than others.

In the above design choices, there are representations of the family who lives in the house. I would assume that this is a family room. In this family room, I would say it represents the family, the family space, and the simplicity that the family wants and needs. I see this representation from the simple colors, simple straight lined frames, simple layering, and the family pictures. Throughout any design choices, there are representations of something hidden in the choices.

Sense of Place

Everyone can find where they feel a sense of place and a sense of being at home and comfortable. People can find their sense of place in many different ways and they can find it after years of looking or it can just be from where they grew up or where they always are. This article, written by Jennifer Cross, speaks specifically of these ways that people find their 'place.' She interviewed and spoke to many people and found out their relationship with where they are and how they found their sense of space. I relate and understand the story that Susie shared, she felt a biographical relationship with where she lived and where she finds her sense of place there at the house her father built. I feel the same with my house.

I did not have access to a picture of my own house but the picture above gives an idea to how I feel. I lived in my first house until I was 8 and then we got to move. I was excited to pick out the color of my very own room and decide where my bed was going to go and where all my possessions would go. I thought this was the best house until my dad gave us a surprise. We were going to be able to build a pool in our backyard. Every day, I would go into the family room and look out the big window. Outside the window, I could see more and more progress as the days went on. I saw construction workers digging, I saw the pool be put in place, I saw the pool liner be put in, and I saw the concrete be put around the pool. All that was left was being able to have our first pool party outside. 

The design of the house helped create my sense of place. I had my own room, I had the best window to look out at the pool and I lived in the perfect city by all my family to have pool parties with. I still live in this house and I never want my parents to move. Even if we found a house with another pool, it wouldn't be the pool I was able to watch be built. This creates my biographical relationship and my sense of place with object, a pool, and the space, my house.

Maslow

After reviewing the Maslow article concerning his hierarchy of needs, I found 2 pictures, of an object and of a space, that represented some form of need. This was not an easy task because I struggled to understand how this related to interior design. But I managed to figure it out.

To me, this represents the need of status and esteem. The gold placed around the room represents the need of status and the feeling of accomplishment and entitlement. The big windows bring in an abundance of natural light and able to see the outside of the home. There is also a use of artificial light with the chandeliers that are hung. This is not a room that is meant to be sat in and played in, but rather a room that is used to show off the look of the house and set the tone of the house. Gold texture is added on the ceiling as well as on statues, tables, and chairs. The red curtains add a contrast and rich look. The furniture in the room looks expensive along with the whole room and the other furnishings represent the richness of the room and the status that was trying to be shown. I do not see a big referencing to technology but rather a classical look with the contrast of rich colors and the use of the big painting.

I looked into a picture of an object that represents a Maslow need to me. The need represented is the need for safety, protection, and even a sense of belonging. This picture, because it is an object, is harder to identify the light, finishes, and furnishings. The materials used in roofs are used to protect against anything: rain, storm, damage, hail, and much more. The are able to handle the amount of light that is let in and that is reflected back. The finishes allow a specific look with shingles to be shown to add texture and dimension to the house. This roof represents a need for safety and protection while adding to the house and its form.

Visualizing Empire

Overall, I would say that the cultural reading that was presented to us through the lecture seems realistic and I am able to believe it. It focuses on every aspect and detail in both the foreground and the background. The ideas focus on the genders, status indicators based on the activities being done, and identifies the other cultures coming into one picture. The picture represents both the classic influences and the indigenous ideas that show larger scale of the world in the time period. The idea of America being led by wisdom resinates with me because I look at the picture and recognize those people in the foreground. These pictures seem to be classical figures with their status being shown because of the scale of the foreground. I also noticed and remembered the look of the sun shine down on those classical figures as if they should be the center of attention to all people. All the ideas presented make the most sense to me and seem believable. The one aspect that I question and am interested in is the ships in the way back of the picture. These ships look to be European or Spanish style ships. I would go on to say these represent those who sail and find the world and discover more as time goes on. I would be interested to speak with the artist and identify his ideas and influences of the painting, especially the ships.

World's Fair 2

My group was focused on looking at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) which explains why I understand and know most about that particular world's fair location. I am able to make some comparisons between my group's fair and another fair: the Seattle World's Fair or Century 21 Exposition. The PPIE has influences from other cultures and Spanish pieces. The fair was used as a way to bounce back from the fire and damage caused in the early 1900s. It uses lights in the evenings to light up the building to give them a whole new look. The light reflects off the jewels that are often portrayed throughout the fair. The big use of jewels explains why this is often referred to as the Jewel City. Jewels are seen on the centerpiece of the architecture, the Tower of Jewels, which stands as the tallest building in the fair and provides scale to the exposition. The lighting works with the jewels to create an overall illumination. The colors used in the PPIE had to follow a selected color scheme which included 8 different pastel colors. The architecture throughout this World Fair is very Spanish-like with the Adobe and domed shaped buildings. The iconic look of the PPIE features a dome-shaped building which gives the name of 'The Domed City." It is said that much of the architecture used is featuring stone, plaster and featured burlap as well.

The Seattle World's Fair features a different type of architecture and inspiration. This fair promotes more straight lines in their design. These straight lines, and often time symmetrical designs, compliment the Space Needle well. This fair promoted technology in a much bigger and more noticeable way through things such as the Monorail and featured Skyride. Science is an influential topic when designing the fair and featuring specific factors of the time period. This fair also used the same idea with lighting. At night, the lighting was able to show on the building to create a bigger emphasis on the scale and height of some of the buildings. Shadows would be casted representing the straight lines seen throughout the fair.

While both of these fairs are different, they represent a change in the world's fairs. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition features domed-shaped buildings and Spanish inspiration while the Century 21 Exposition features design based on straight lines and modern science and technology.

World's Fair

These two lectures were jam packed with information and examples so it was important to find what was most interesting to me and what stuck out. In the first World's Fair lecture, I found  most interesting the conversation about Hyde Park. It most caught my attention when he spoke on leaving the trees in place so that when the building was taken down, the trees were still around: they kept the originality. Paxton's big space he created shows just how big the World Fair was. It needed horses to help put up the structural pieces! My main reaction to these fairs is the amount of change and influence that went into the celebration of the fairs.
Throughout the history of fairs, there is a constant change of innovations. materials used, and the influence it is based on. The ideas, such as the monorail, cast iron and glass, and the Eiffel Tower show the fun changes within the architectural design. It is also interesting to see the numerous fairs within the United States (most knowingly in Chicago and New York) and beyond the nation's borders and throughout the centuries. The changes are also seen throughout the architecture of state buildings, halls, and art pieces. Louisiana offers electricity in the buildings, new foods come up, politics are brought up and used as influence. These bright ideas and influences are expressed in the sale of souvenirs; these were often celebrating the World's Fairs. All these individual pieces came together to make the World's Fair something to enjoy and be involved in.

Magazines

                  The advertisement shows the Blue Mountain Rocker and describes it in detail. The description includes the materials it is made of, the comfortable seating it provides, and gives dimensions. This pictures relates directly to our study on chairs, both ancient style chairs and more recent styles. This Blue Mountain Rocker is showing how the finishes, materials, and comfort level make this a chair to purchase.

                  The picture of what looks to be a bedroom shows all the textiles, materials, finishes, and textures that were used. All these come together to look like a busy but comfortable room. They have unique furniture along side the many types of cloths and blankets. This relates to our study of experience and finishes because the picture shows all the individual pieces combined to give off a certain vibe and look.

                  The picture features two chairs that were in a house in Greece. It is a well known castle like building with very intricate details all around the house. These chairs have a rich red pattern for the cushion and the material has gold design imprinted on it. The chair is edged in gold design around the edges. The red and gold together remind me of the older inspirations we studied in class through our Style Book.

                  This picture is also from the same big, grand home in Greece. It was featured in the Vogue magazine issued in the 1980’s. This shows the grander entrance and center of the house with marble, stone, and a statement chandelier. The chandelier, fountain, Greek motifs, and columns show a strong resemblance and influence from the Greek motifs and common design choices we studied in lecture.

                 This picture featured in the Vogue magazine directly relates to our study of the Queen Anne style furniture. The magazine takes a look back at old furniture and focuses on the Queen Anne bureau. We studied a variety of traits and common decoration choices that were put on Queen Anne Style furniture, some that are seen on this featured bureau.