Through the analysis of three different museums, we were able to identify various concepts and ideas that shape the way architects think. However, there is one common denominator that holds constant for the process of any work, and that is everything stems from drawing. In the words of Louis I. Khan, “We draw to find out”. This could not be truer. Throughout the lecture, a reoccurring theme that proved to provide a visually appealing and informative hub was the importance of diagramming. Everything from plan to section, geometry, additive and subtractive, and symmetry and balance focuses will open up worlds of knowledge. It is equally important that you don’t clutter your diagrams with unnecessary noise or too much information.

Going on a tour of the Kimbell Art Museum Piano Pavilion, Kimbell Art Museum, and Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the class was exposed to the driving principle of light, and how it is the giver of all presences. Architects must become familiar with manipulating materials that work in sync with the shadows that belong to light, positively altering the entire atmosphere of a space if done correctly. The notion of separating components in diagrams to highlight specific details is a fact that I found most useful, and will look to implore in future projects. By accumulating various mechanisms and pieces of history with technology, we as architects will be able to build the field of architecture to heights that were never thought possible.

The driving principle of this week’s lecture was primarily targeted towards finding people as we go along, and how we can discover ourselves as architects through the friends we make. As a matter of fact, none of us know exactly whom we are as architects. In the realm of architecture, there remains an exploded existence through which craft is required to advance. In this context, it proves true that practical and poetic features can coexist. Architecture is about connection, and fulfilling a useful passion. The most interesting piece of the lecture was how architecture is not bounded or restricted by anything. This is an extremely rare ability for a profession to possess. From this, we know that the possibilities of architecture are endless, and that we retain the necessary power to be able to change it structure by structure. 

There are many characteristics that define architects for who they are. This consists of everything from materiality, to the synchronization of space, to how circulation flows about an area. For example, with one of the museums we studied in The Harvard Art Museums, Architect Renzo Piano is able to successfully simulate new and old properties through the utilization of a central courtyard. None of this would be possible, however, without the concrete process of sketching, drawing, modeling, site visits, drawing again, and repeating these steps. Piano describes drawing as, “Drawing and making is like having a quiet sort of game and that game is played through drawing”. There is a constant juxtaposition between art and context, and being able to successfully incorporate each one’s strengths within the museums is a challenge that all of the architects we discussed conquered.