Design Process

Ever since I was young, designing is already my hobby. Rooms, clothes, shoes, bags, notebooks, scrapbooks and different stuffs are what I like to design until now. Every time I design, I don’t consider the guidelines in designing-what should be consider and not to consider, colors to render, and many more. How I design stuffs are base on what I think is beautiful, cute and looks good.  But that was before, when I was just a kid, when drawing doesn’t need to have shadings nor shadows.

Now that I am studying architecture, currently on my second year,  and now designing houses which is far away from what I design when I was young, I can say that I am more knowledgeable.  Since I was also enrolled in a program where advanced planning and designing is being taught to which is called ARCDES 1 (Architectural Design 1) I already know the guidelines and parameters in making a good design.  Our professors in major courses taught us what to consider in planning a good design. We need to consider the site, its background and its history because it is where the plan will materialize, we also need to consider the materials that will be used and that will last a lifetime, budget of the clients and lastly we need to associate the opinions of our clients in our design because their opinions are the focal point of what we are trying to build.

Every time I design, I always get inspirations from the works of different architects that were often introduce to us, like Zaha Hadid, Alvar Aalto, Rem Koolhas, Frank Lloyd Wright and many more. But the architect that I really look up to is Architect Frank Owen Gehry, He is a contemporary artist but most of his works falls within the style of Deconstructivism which is often referred to as post-structuralist in nature for its ability to go beyond current modalities of structural definition. His famous designs are the “Guggenheim Museum” in Bilbao, Spain and the “Walt Disney Concert Hall” in downtown Los Angeles. 

His works are very simple yet very creative in his own way, it always leaves me speechless whenever I see his works, most especially the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I can’t believe that he got that idea from a crumpled paper. Such a genius! Frank Gehry’s design are very playful, and free flowing, it looks like his pen is doing the sketches alone. Base on my observation, he design by doing some free flowing sketches first then he will think of what for is the sketches he made, what is its function. I think that we have the same design process, very free flowing at the same time very unique.

If ever I will become an architect someday I would like to design structures that is new to the eyes of everyone. I want people to have that awe feeling every time they see my designs, I am not saying that I like people to really look up to me, I just want them to be impress and to appreciate my works as well. I know that I still have a long way to reach my goals in life but I’m willing to surpass it all, I’m willing to sacrifice everything for I know someday that all my hard works will pay off. I like to end this blog by sharing with you a quote from the architect that really inspires me and the artist that I really look up to, Frank Gehry.

“Your best work is your expression of yourself. Now, you may not be the greatest at it, but when you do it, you’re the only expert.”