First Light has gone on

When we started this degree I wasn't just nervous of performing, I was utterly terrified.

Over many many presentations I've learnt the following,

1.  If I breath I have a hope - SO BREATH.

2. Get prepared and practice practice.  If you blag it viewers will see it.

3. Do not joke.

4. If you don't know the answers ask for more time or say you don't know.

5. Speak slowly and clearly.

Now I seem to be able to talk to a class and breath, a definite improvement.

Now need to work on my rendering light to go on, not much time left

Since returning from Lille I seem to have an immovable chest infection. I can cough like a woodbine smoker!  While dragging my heels through work on Thursday I saw the Prunus avium was sprouting.  It was a nice reassurance as I've chosen it as my under storey planting for the woodland areas in my masterplan. I was between this and Prunus spinosa but that spreads too quickly and gets too scrubby.

Only thing left to do now is try to kick this infection. It's been a week now, the work is pilling up and I'm having difficulty answering the simplest of questions.

Funnily enough I didn't get time to blog on days 4 and 5 (or sleep)

I think Lille will be the gift that just seems to keep giving.  Having got back, unpacked, walked the dog and done the laundry it still seems to be settling in what I've learnt and achieved.

It's been a great insight into French life and how town councils approach planning. It's offered insights into a different culture and how they approach design.  It was also great to get an extra week with the mighty Mr Holden.

When we first arrived we visited park called Jardin des Geants near Gare Lille Europe. It was an interesting piece of design but is hugely resented by locals due to the fact that it was so costly. I felt it was an interesting piece of design and the materials used were brilliant and probably very costly but it wasn't a space where you wanted to stop and relax in. To me it felt like there was something lacking in the sense of safety of the park. The locals seem to judge it as a big showpiece in front of their government office and although it had a lot of visitors I tend to agree. 

On the final day after a slightly hungover shopping and sightseeing flurry I settled in Parc Henri Matisse to observe the spacial layout, enjoy some fresh air and how people used it. 

The misting machine was on and it was interesting to see how it introduced a reflective and playful atmosphere to quite a stark space. 

 Hellemmes

Learning from other peoples rendering styles 

And a good dose of silly

I've learnt from this week to commit to my ideas and have faith in them.  If I don't believe in them who else will!  

I've learnt that creative collaborations can be challenging but like any relationship can be brilliantly rewarding. 

I've learnt to relax and take a breath during presentations - if I don't know the answer for goodness sake don't grasp at straws.

I've remembered how much I love arriving in a new town and exploring

and lastly I've learnt to get on with it which is now what I must do with my masterplan!

Day 3 in the Lille School of Architecture House

I'm getting there and completely loving the experience although tomorrow will probably be the worst / hardest day - on that note I'm off to bed!

Day 2 in the Lille school of Architecture House........

French students are fascinating. They talk through presentations, they talk through lecturers talking but then when we need to brainstorm they're silent. They are much better than the Brits at their sketching and idea generating and they seem fearless in their proposals. They just scribble away and come up with a bit of magic.

It's also interesting to work in a group and see a different dynamic to one than I'm used to . I am good at being organised, rallying people together and getting things organised. In a group of creatives this is quite important!

I think I learnt this from having my own business and taking on logistically complicated jobs. If you do them in the wrong order it costs you a lot of time which equates to profit. Also as a big sister in a single parent family its been natural since I was knee hight to a grasshopper.

However by staying in this role I don't tax myself, it's comfy and very familiar. Therefore within this charette I have stepped back from this role.  I have stepped into the role of worker bee rather than queen. It's nice not being out front and feeling responsible for so many, it's also nice to be one of the ones who actually gets the work done rather than bossing everyone and slightly suffocating them in that process.A lot of designing is about control but its important to be mindful with that control and power.

 I am also realising that I work really well under pressure. Creatives either freeze or thrive under pressure, I thrive. Secretly I'm realising that I'm not as bad as I thought I was, but don't tell anyone.

Our group tends to be separated into the energetic and controlling ones, the quiet and shy ones and plodders. We shall see how the week progresses and what other characters I see.

Jamie is really interesting with his approach to the charette. He treats us mean to keep us keen(as usual!). He doesn't give us a brief for the week and I think he does this not to daunt us.  This evening he put some money behind the student bar for us to all have beers. He left a deliberately long break to consume a lot of beer and then gave us a 'Japanese style pep talk' and then let us go for the evening.  It's quite interesting firstly to see him apply and stoke up the pressure and then to see him release it. I feel a little like a pawn in a chess game and I have no choice but to trust him. Here goes nothing, tomorrow - stronger concept and refining the master plan.

Day One in the Lille School of Architecture House

I was put in a great group. We are 3 Greenwich students and 2 Lille. If truth be known I feel such a philistine not speaking better French. Only one of the student speaks English and he's getting tired of translating already.

During our group Masterplan research document I learnt quite a lot about the dynamics of team work and its interesting to see how they play out with this group too.  Speaking personally I want to try to get the maximum out of this week and therefore throw myself into it. It's unusual though to try to design with two members of another mother tongue! Communication in teams is tough enough when we all speak the same. Until tomorrow......

Get it out

Write good ideas down, sketch them, photo montage them, blog them - empty your head portal into another portal so that you can let your head fill up again and you will have a record.

All packed and terrified

I'm pleased to confirm I'll only need a pair of sherpas to carry my luggage to Lille. I'm not sure whether packing english breakfast teabags and a french curve is necessary for the job ahead or precious. I'm also not sure how I'll explain the small hacksaw and scalpels in my suitcase if the Eurostar officials ask but all that and more awaits me over the coming days.

I'm quite nervous about this week (notice the understatement) but I think that like taking your first dive it will be an experience. I hope to gain a lot of insight into how other students work and a clearer idea of how to render my designs.

I'll keep reporting in but for now 'here goes'

Just a quicky

I went to life drawing tonight and realised something quite important.

If I'm going to do any decent life drawing there needs to be a balance.  A balance between loosening up enough to get a pencil line on the paper but aware enough to put the right stroke on the paper or at least step back afterwards and check that line and proportion was right.

The same analogy can be said for designing. During our lecture on Monday Julia gave us a great lecture on materiality and Jamie piped in. He talked about being a great designer.  His justifications for this were:

1. He had a big head
2. He reasoned what he did and had already answered his 'why what how'.
3. He only worked with people who agreed he was great.

Ok, by his last admission he could have hoisted himself by his own petard BUT there has to be a balance within good design between grounded creativity and good cold hard practical reason. I have a propensity to become nervous and adrenal and then before I know it I'm carried off down the wrong track without asking myself any clear questions.

My first impression of Calverley Ground was that I really liked the sandstone retaining walls at the back and wanted to retain them and follow them through in my design.  I have however missed an incredible design opportunity to introduce something really interesting to my design by just blankly dismissing other options and not properly questioning why I want to continue with sandstone.

I had that horrible moment where I wanted to collect my master planning and redo it. In life drawing the model pulls a pose that you think you know but you have to really look and question that pose to fully understand it. Keep questioning.

Time to show what I'm made of..........

Last weeks crit was disastrous. After quite frankly many tears, which I blame on heightened stress, hormones and too much chocolate I'm back in the running.  Many wonderful glasses of vino with girlfriends and pep talks.  It's the old achilles heel again of my presentation.

This leaves me with two options, improve my drawing skills or get my photoshop and CAD skills better. I don't think I have time for the first which leaves the latter. Here goes nothing!

I'm hoping that in Lille next week I'll be able to watch how the wonder kids in class do their ninja computer skills.

I must confess I feel quite heartened as well by moving from 1:500 to 1:200.  I find 1:500 quite daunting as I'm not terribly good at leaving stones unturned.

Onwards and Upwards..............