Reflection: Ani Moushigian MSM Interior Architecture

RESEARCH TOPIC:

My research topic discussed the idea of walls and their resilience in the countries of Germany and the Czech Republic and their connection to its citizens throughout history. The topic focused on analyzing the connections in history that resulted in physical and mental divisions and unity in both countries. The two main focuses were the Berlin Wall in Germany and the John Lennon Wall in Prague and the events in history that lead up to both walls up until their current condition today.

The infographic that related to my research concentrated on illustrating the history of resilient walls.

Berlin Wall and The John Lennon Wall) from the 1940’s up until present day. The imagery indicated major historical events that created a domino effect, as well as integrating major pop culture influences that streamed through these major points in history. It was important to fuse together both political and pop culture history because both created messages that German and Czech citizens were affected by and later these messages were to change history.

Travel Experience:

Traveling has always been a passion of mine. When presented with an opportunity such as these classes I feel as though I owe it to my education, my future and myself to take advantage of it as best as I could. The topic of resiliency in design is something that will always be relevant, and I think that it is important for all of us to consider as contributing members of this planet. Whenever I travel to a new place it always affects me in a different way and I begin to breathe in everything around me in steps. First, acclimate to the culture. Second, understand the people. Third, take advantage of the experience and all this place has to offer. Every place we land has a different way of thinking and a history to back it up. I love being able to be a part of that and take it home with me

Critical Reflections:

The outcome of this travel experience was beyond what I expected. To pin point a moment that was not fulfilling either academically or personally would be a difficult task. I was so impressed with our all of our guides extensive knowledge and willingness to speak with our group. It was also a pleasant surprise to find unexpected treasures along our way, such as an unofficial street collection of fragments of the Berlin Wall and having the co-design architect of the Dancing House read us letters from Frank Gehry. These moments were simply irreplaceable, unforgettable and certainly my favorite.

Personal Growth:

This course provided me with a wealth of personal growth. To me, travel is so important and valuable. In order to understand our everyday world, I believe that studying what came before it is a must. As a designer, having the opportunity to study architecture and resiliency through travel and having discussions with architects abroad opens an entirely new portal of inspiration, knowledge and understanding of our world. I believe that once we understand our world, we as global citizens (and especially designers) can contribute our efforts and knowledge in making our world a better place for us all to live and flourish.

Academic Enhancement:

The academic experience of this course was incomparable to almost any other course I have experienced in my collegiate career. Setting aside the semester I experienced abroad, no other course I have taken has had a travel element and I truly believe that is something that makes an immense difference. Although it is not feasible to have many classes with travel elements, I believe the knowledge received by experiencing courses such as these provides a deeper understanding to the topic and opportunities that the average person would not experience. Particularly in design where we often study precedents, it makes complete sense to visit the site in order to really digest the information. I completely endorse more courses such as these and my hopes is that students will understand the value of these experiences and take advantage of as many opportunities as they can.

Civic Engagement:

Civic engagement is incredibly important from personal and academic growth. When given the opportunity to contribute knowledge and experiences with others, it helps not only our immediate peers, but educates our many communities we are all a part of. By integrating our classroom knowledge and experiences from traveling to Berlin and Prague into a visual diagram (infographic) as well as taking advantage of technology and blogging about our day to day experiences, it allows us all as students to convey a global message about our class topic: resiliency. It would be selfish not to share all of our new found knowledge with everyone around us and by doing this we may inspire others to continue to do the same.

INFOGRAPGIC: