I spent the past year and three months surrounded by architecture experts. Thought I can hardly consider myself an expert, I was able to pick up some random bits of architectural knowledge during my time with the Chicago Architecture Foundation. I thought that the scraps of information I learned about architecture would make decent dinner party conversation in a pinch, but I think it may also come in handy for my assistantship!
Today I began my assigned readings for my assistantship with the University Union, and there was a surprising amount of carryover. The articles I was reading situated different eras of student unions with different architectural movements, and it was nice to know what they were talking about when referencing Beaux Arts, Art Deco, and everything in between. One of my favorite architects, Mies Van Der Rohe, even got a shout-out!
Today I began my assigned readings for my assistantship with the University Union, and there was a surprising amount of carryover. The articles I was reading situated different eras of student unions with different architectural movements, and it was nice to know what they were talking about when referencing Beaux Arts, Art Deco, and everything in between. One of my favorite architects, Mies Van Der Rohe, even got a shout-out!
As I read, I started to think about the architectural principle, "form follows function." This principle became prevalent during the Modernist movement, arguing that spaces needed to be built intentionally based upon what they were to be used for. One of my favorite examples of this principle, bringing it back to student unions, is the McCormick-Tribune Campus Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology. During the building's development, the architect behind the project, Rem Koolhaas, tracked students' movements through the site to determine the most traveled paths and built the hallways and walkways around those paths. Though his work was architectural in nature, it reminds me of how vital it is to have a clear understanding of what students need. As a new advisor, I will have to closely pay attention to my students' paths and build my advising strategies around them. Their learning experience is the function, and I have to build the form to follow it.