At Ohio State University, Mack Scogin Merrill Elam's new KNOWLTON HALL brings the design process to the larger academic community.

Not only was the Knowlton School of Architecture a building which is one to remember in architectural history but also was a huge leap for the next generation of architects in this part of the USA. As stated in the text ‘the importance of this event cannot be overstated.’ The university was given a ‘state of the art’ building which would not only help the university gain a high profile but also to inspire the work of the students that were to study here in the years to come. Although the project was a very ambitious one, being costly and complex in its design, the outcome of the project was pretty spectacular.

Although familiar with the building, I did not know that the initial design was not used and that the architects had to go back to the drawing board to make sure that the structure would be able to last a lot longer. This was not only to do with the design but the budget they had been given was not sufficient to provide for the school. Along with very generous donations, the school managed to raise enough money to fund the build.

From studying in a beautiful building myself, I am aware of the impact that this building would have on the students. To have true inspiration, there is no better way than being surrounded by stunning architecture. It was particularly interesting to see how the architects had to think about the function of the building predominantly.

I found that it was easy to relate to this to my work in Interior Architecture as the site itself is also a huge part of designing a building. Without a site and context is it very difficult to understand the project completely and produce something that is relevant to the client’s needs. This is something I will be taking further with me through my design studio work.

Building and exhibition layout: Sainsbury Wing compared with Castelvecchio - Kali Tzortzi

Personally, this reading has been one of my favourites. Not only have we covered museum space and how to move around a gallery in two projects in university but I have a strong interest in it myself. Exploring how people move around a space is something that can be explored in great depth. When entering museums or galleries in the past I have always been someone to look at the art work, having studied Fine Art at A Level, it has always been something that has interested me. However, after studying Interior Architecture at university, I now have a completely different approach when entering the space; it’s not so much the artwork I look at but the building itself. I look at how the art is places in such a way that the viewer moves in a certain way. After tonnes of research within my studio work, I feel like a have a clearer understanding of how to create a gallery or museum space within a building/outer shell.

Within the text, two of my favourite museums are spoken about, the Tate Modern and the Tate Britain. Two prime examples (especially the Tate Modern) of exhibition spaces that are constantly changing within a building that does not. It was interesting to see all the floor plans of both museums and how the author spoke about moving through the space. It was fascinating to compare these museums to others, and see how the space inside each building had been used differently. It was also of interest to see how the art work itself had been displayed in order to emphasise the work that is being displayed within the museum.

I felt that I learnt a lot from the article. Although studying gallery and museum spaces in great detail in first and second year, it’s safe to say there is a lot more that goes into the thought process of creating a museum space, in a way that displays the work appropriately and also allows the public to flow through the space perhaps chronologically if that is the way the artist intended.

On Concrete Materiality in Architecture - Ute Poerschke

Once again, we look at materials used within architecture, here the text is looking at concrete and how it is used within architecture. Concrete has always been one of my favourable materials when designing a building. I like the way it looks, feels and how it changes in temperature due to its surroundings. The roughness of it makes architectural structures have a raw and stripped back effect. I believe that in the construction of a building a large amount of its appearance can go down to its materials and without the right ones, a whole building can completely change. After studying materials thoroughly in Technical Studies (one of the modules for Interior Architecture) it is interesting to see how these materials are used within architecture, why they are used and their sustainability. I strongly believe however, that materials should be used in order to fit in with their surroundings. Again, going back to Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘organic’ approach in the way he works, and making sure that the architecture does not look out of place.

The text moves on to speak about Gottfriend Semper, who said that materials should appear in their natural form.

“Brick should appear as brick, wood and wood, iron as iron”

It is interesting to see how much this has changed over time, and materials are being developed every day to improve construction as a whole and also to make them more aesthetically pleasing. I like the idea however, that raw materials are used and left untouched. It gives the idea that they have come naturally, which is something I appreciate within architecture.

My feelings towards the text vary; I strongly stand by the fact that materials should be left untouched if possible. In my work, I like using raw and natural materials, rather than ones that have been coated or covered in paint. I believe that although sometimes, these coatings might be needed, sometimes it is completely unnecessary and can ruin the finish of some projects, the architecture should speak for itself.