After the whole semester of talking about space, I learned a lot of stuff and new way of thinking the space around us.
Before taking this class, I did not even know what is constructive environment means, I never pay attention on public spaces, the subway map, tall buildings around us or how people act on the street. Everything just normal and they are all the same day by day. Until in Studio and Seminar classes, we started to take “space” as a very important and big question to observe, I realized that people’s relationship with the space are much more complicate than what I thought. Since the beginning of the semester we started to talk about the how a space could built atmosphere, the importance about mapping, public space and gentrification, all these new information give me a different way of thinking about things.
There are lots of issues, problems, stories behind each space and people who live in the place. Every problems we see in readings like public space, inequality or gentrification they are all connect with each other, so after reading all these articles, and researching about space, now I view things differently. When I go to a new neighborhood, I would think about if gentrification if is happening to the space and how people’s connection and reaction to the space. I also often compare space and neighborhood in Manhattan with my hometown in Taiwan.
For all the readings that we did, I think looking for physical research is the most useful technique that I will always use for now or in the future, I think the reading really helps me to get a deeper research and also would help me to find out new things that we never think about.
I think all the readings all have very unique perspective of thinking about space which led me to think things differently and care about what is happening around us, and I think it is very important to a designer because our job is see what is missing or what can we do better to change people’s life or the community.
