On the first major review of my graduate studies
Wednesday October 14 drew the end of a 4 week design project of Marin city and its new neighborhood park. Despite 3 different time zones and unfortunate computer breakdowns, our group was able to pull through and successfully devise a design that we were proud to show for the jurors. We wanted to make an engaging community park that spoke to its history, community, and its identity in a 21st century context. We focused on creating new spaces and revitalizing ones that have vanished, all while trying to better the conditions of the lagoon in hopes of restoring a rich array of marine wildlife to the area.
I won’t go too much about the specifics of all the factors that were considered in project, but rather reflect upon the critiques that we’ve received. One that struck me very hard is the mention of hydrology. We were grilled about the hydrology of the site and how our changes might impact the hydrology of Marin city in general. The critic mentioned things like flap valves, forebays, and outfalls, all of which I had never come in contact before. Through his critiques, I realized how little we knew about the actuality of water behavior and the very surface level analysis that we were implementing into our overall design in regards to hydrology. It was a very humbling and exciting experience for me to learn just how much more there is to learn in this topic alone, let along the LA profession.
Another critique that I’d like to touch up on is the mention of a “over” or “under-designed” plan. I’ve heard this comment pop up in studio critiques throughout my undergraduate degree and now, hearing it emphasized for the first time in my graduate studies, it really gets me thinking about what the fine line is between the two and a “good design”. Does “good design” even exist? A space that might resonate with somebody as a master-piece might be a bad design to another — We see this through the comments of every single post from social media pages that focus on the built environment; there will always be people that love your design and people that hate it. So what dictates a “good” design? Is it the client? The budget? The social factors you considered? The ecological methods that you’ve implemented? Or is it an amalgamation of all of the above that comes only with decades of experience?
