REFLECTIONS SUMMARY

Like myself, most of the individuals in the class referred to the theme of "revolution" when talking about the Reflections unit. Three essays that I found particularly compelling were those of Jasmine Collins, Anna Behrendt, and Raul Garcia. Each of these people relate back to the revolution of time and the continuous change in design cycle.

Beginning with the latter, Raul discussed specific examples of design styles being borrowed from other places in the world. He specifically references buildings such as a the U.S. Capitol Building, which "was inspired by ancient classical buildings." He also references the plan for the city as a whole as being borrowed from, "designs of several European cities and 18th century gardens such as France's Palace of Versailles" and describes the plan of Washington D.C. as "symbolic and innovative for the new nation."

Anna's essay I really enjoyed. Especially the Disney reference that she includes to help explain the concept of the cycle of design. She states,

“Mufasa: Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.
Young Simba: But, Dad, don't we eat the antelope?
Mufasa: Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life.”

 And so her essay goes on in explanation of her take on the "Circle of Design." She focuses on the idea that new cycles begin in reaction to previous and occurring styles. She believes that in coming up with new ideas we say to ourselves, "Huh, that was a great style, but let's make it different; let's make it better." She also chooses to be more specific and focus on revolution of materials, stating that "the industrial revolution was in reaction to new materials being made faster and easier, which can be related back to when concrete was invented." Basically, it is the same occurrences just at separate times in history.

Jasmine begins her essay with a beautiful thought

  "As we reflect back into the past we often wonder how quickly the past comes, and how much we long to get to the future.  When we reach that future, it has already become a thing of the past.  As trends come and go we tend to place them in box.  We set boundaries around them.  We do not overlook the details, but on the contrary we try to follow those details to the point in which we copy someone else’s design.  Until one day someone gets tired of being a mere copy of someone else, and starts a revolution, and the circle, the recurring sense of events ends, only to start a new one, a world changing one that will change the view of the world."

 She continues on to draw parallels between different styles overlapping into the cultures and designs of other countries. She walks us through the Greek revival in America and comparing, just as Raul did, the Capitol building to Roman and Grecian influences. She ends her essay with a personal thought, "there is not a first without a second, and we do not under estimate anyone because we might need them one day."