Chicken or the Egg

Form and function are the two major components of architecture. Which one came first?

Thursday
Sitting in a concept meeting allowed by the gracious principals of my firm, I contemplated the relation between form and function. Architects must work in the confines of the form that is provided of the venue or the landscape on which they are building the venue. On the other hand, they must also shape the form of the interior and exterior to fit the intended function.

As an extern, I had expected to sit in on this meeting as a quiet fly on the wall or even an undetected part of the furnishing. To my surprise, I sat at the conference table facing the three principals of the firm and three other architects working on the project. This instantly dissipated my worry that I would not be exposed to the central work done at the firm.

It turns out, I had been pulled to sit through the meeting, not only to observe as an intern, but to also provide my insight as a teenager--the project dealt with teenagers. Unfortunately, beyond that, I may not disclose more information, but general observations I made--I can disclose:

1) Architectural planning is NOT easy.

• Architects have to consider an extraordinary number of variables. 
• lighting
• plumbing
• legal restrictions
• electricity
• aesthetic appeal 
• budget
• activity of users
• business appeal
• spacing of venue
• and the list goes on....
• Would it be practical to add psychology into this potpourri of factors to consider when designing? The option of having a psychology consultant rather than all architects being trained in psychology is looking more practical...

2) Form and function can come in any order.

• As the project architects put their heads together and created a whirlpool of innovative ideas, whether form followed function or function followed form became hazy. I decided either way worked as long as the idea was logical and feasible. 
• With the introduction of psychology, form following function would be analogous to manipulating design to fit the psychological needs of the users. Function following form would be analogous to manipulating the activity in a space because the design or environment is the most suitable for that activity and psychological state. 

If you haven't already, check out the firm's website! They have awesome past and working projects that will get you to think about their intended functions (;

Roll your cursor next to this arrow to see the firm's link--> WORKSBUREAU

Chipping Away at the Ice

Monday
The ice-cubes in my emptied Starbucks cup melt as I stand perplexed in the lanes of Barnes and Noble. I am in search of relevant architecture literature, particularly something on the process of architectural creation or something that links design to psychology. Unfortunately, B&N apparently stands for Broad and Narrow...the literature is either too broad, discussing the entire history of building design, or too narrow, discussing the ideals of "blobitecture." Thus, I deem my trip to Broad and Narrow:

FRUITLESS. 

[I remain hopeful, though, because I can always resort to surfing Amazon!]

Tuesday
I took my third visit to WORKSBUREAU! I can feel the ice breaking as I acclimate to the firm environment and the firm gets used to my presence. For the majority of the day, I took the opportunity of an independent station to conduct further internet research. I built a JStor account and searched its reliable archives to find an article Servicescapes: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and Employees from the Journal of Marketing by Mary Jo Bitner.  This article details a study on the  influence of design on consumers and employees. It states that the environmental dimensions or ambient conditions, temperature, air quality, noise, music, odor, and other miscellaneous factors, are all factors that influence consumers and employees.  Following the recommendation of my guidance counselor, Ms. McConaghy, I also ventured onto the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) website which showcases current talks, all around the world, given by renowned speakers with innovative ideas. I browsed through this vast archive and gleaned several resources aligned with the direction of my research, such as a talk delivered by Edi Rama, the mayor of Tiranna, who painted the city in bright colors to lessen crime rates. These studies imply that color, environment, and design do impact humans, which is  a great start in validating my question. Internet research is heading in a positive direction!

Before my shift was over, I also got my first Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign introductory course. After it was over, I realized how I had been living in such primitive confines with comfortable, yet lacking Microsoft Word! I am excited to be accruing new skills so I will be able to better prepare for the final product in May! Until next time~

WORKSBUREAU: The Start of Something Beautiful

Hello again! Thank you for your commitment in reading not only my first, but second entry! I'd like to continue right where I left off from my last post and share with you the exciting start of my internship. Quickly before I begin, I will clarify the actual nature of my sessions at the firm. My "internship" is actually somewhat of a fusion of an internship and an "externship." An externship is supervised shadowing of a professional in a field for a relatively short period of time. Since I unfortunately do not possess the highly-specialized qualifications of architects (degree in architecture, dexterity with AutoCAD, photoshopping skills-eh..debatable), I will indeed be doing more shadowing, and in the process, will be earning valuable empirical knowledge. The duration of my study will last a little over three months, which is slightly longer than the usual externship, giving my study the additional essence of an internship. Now that I've bored you with semantics, I will recount my intriguing Day 1 and Day 2 at WORKSBUREAU:

Day 1

WORKSBUREAU is the definition of "modern."

As I frantically circle the sleek, angular, wooden building, I ask myself my first research question, "Where is the door?" After I solve this mystery and finally enter the building, I am in a studio that pulsates with a warm ambiance. The soft hues of the wooden building complement the splashes of color in the decor, giving the entire studio a very modern, chic feel. There is a sacred zen in the silent, yet charged atmosphere. The architects work independently and silently, but for a collective purpose, creating an efficient, unified space. If I had been asked to picture my ideal architectural studio, this is probably what I would have described.

The majority of the day was filled with formalities: introductions, tours, and so on--yet I thoroughly enjoyed everything, from the beautiful firm to the wonderful characters. I discovered that each architect was both brilliant and charismatic with a hilarious wit and kind nature. From the first day, I felt integrated into the firm, and I left excited to return for the next round.

Day 2

Architects are intellectual Olympians. 

As I sat in my second day of intern/extern smoothie-ing, I was able to sense more of what an architect's job entailed. Some members of the firm made business calls, while some diagrammed on AutoCAD or collaborated with partners on project details. Architects are masters of both breadth and depth. They must simultaneously be designers, engineers, businessmen, leaders, and intuitively psychologists. For my SRP, I would like to focus on the psychological aspect of design, and divulge explicitly what architects consider implicitly when they create: the impact of design on human behavior and well-being. My final product will hopefully be my own design, and sitting in a beautiful firm that produces beautiful buildings, I feel the beginning of something beautiful coming into creation.

Current project at WORKSBUREAU: KAFD Portal Spas 2014, Saudi Arabia





Disclaimer: Since this is the very beginning, I have heavily detailed my experiences at WORKSBUREAU to allow the readers to see through my eyes my setting for the next three months. Do not fret though--I will be intensely focusing on research, research, research for the majority of the blog. Staaaayyyy tuned~

Welcome to my SRP

Hello stranger!
Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable while I deliver a quick introduction.

My name is Enji Kim, and I am currently a senior at BASIS Scottsdale High School. BASIS allows us seniors a unique opportunity of trading the last trimester of our school year for an independent Senior Research Project. Quite an extraordinary exchange, don't you think? The Senior Research Project (SRP) not only prepares us for future research endeavors in college, but also quenches our intellectual thirsts beyond coursework. Through this blog, I would like to provide some insight into my own SRP, its details, my progress in my chosen field, and my results. 

Architecture. Though my interests in architecture were not a recent fascination, I had never considered it to be a potential career path until this year, when the Common App insisted I check three majors. Architecture has always been a source of inspiration and pleasure for me, but now, as I deem it a potential major, I am driven to explore it in even more depth through a convenient SRP. The thesis for my project is admittedly still in its nascent stage: 

"The common stereotype of architects--sheltered, isolated, geniuses--is not necessarily upheld in the modern world where many heads are needed to assess the plethora of variables presented in designing practical yet innovative architecture."

Hopefully, As I grow more seasoned with research, my thesis will equally become more flavorful.   The means of my research will be an internship at WORKSBUREAU, a cutting-edge architectural firm founded in 2012, and occasional independent research. I elaborate more extensively on my project in my proposal, so please feel free to take a gander! I will post it in the following week.

Starting February and ending May, I will be posting diligently twice a week on my updated experiences and gathered resources. Stay tuned and please accompany me on this journey into the inspirational realm of architecture!