1-Ordinary Building: The Ethnographic Museum, Berat, Albania
- How does Architecture affect communities?
- What is the building built for?
- Design
- What materials are they using?
- What is the building’s relationship with light?
- Critical Regionalism
- How is the space used?
- What’s the Surrounding Area Like?
- Human Movement
- Drawing people in through vibrancy and color
Description: The Ethnographic Museum is a museum located in my hometown, Berat, Albania. The museum opened in 1979 and it was renovated this summer on May 2024. Located in Berat castle, this museum has a rich collection of 1300 objects ranging from everyday objects to traditional clothing specific for Berat.
- How does Architecture affect communities?
- Architecture affects a neighborhood in many ways, including community identity, belonging, accessibility and economic development. Neighborhood design involves recognizing how physical, social, and economic conditions inform these boundaries. Ethnographic Museum of Berat is a great example of community identity. It is an important evidence of the culture and rich tradition of Berat; the city of a thousand windows.
- What is the building built for?
- Not all buildings have the same shape and size. Is it a residential, office, cultural (museum, library), or multi-functional building? Is it a government building? Does the design match the purpose? How will the building be used? Does it seem useful? I think this building match its purpose successfully. The museum serves as a hub for everyone to be more knowledge about the history of Berta-the city of the thousand windows.
- Design
- Design matters because it tells a story and helps innovation in the most stylish ways. A building not only shelters us from natural elements, but represents our cultures and reflects on the environment in which it is placed. I think that the design of the Ethnographic Museum of Berat fully captures the city’s story. A proof of that is ‘Oda e Miqve” known as ‘Chamber of Friends”. It is the most important environment in the building because of its architectural and decorative elements, intended for honoring friends and conducting family ceremonies. The elegance of the fireplace, the wall cupboards, the decorated ceiling, the windows, the carpets and the food service in the center stand out and make this interior space inviting and warm.
- What materials are they using?
- Glass, concrete, stone, brick? Is it clear how the choice in materials was influenced by the building’s purpose? How about the facade? Does it seem appropriate for the building’s purpose? The materials used to build this building were wood, concrete, glass, and stone. What makes this building meaningful is the use of local materials and the remarkable ability of talented artisans. I think The Ethnographic Museum fits the building’s purpose very well.
- What is the building’s relationship with light?
- How much natural light is there projected onto and into the building? Are the windows properly positioned to let light in? What does it look like when light is projected onto it? I think that the Ethnographic Museum of Berat perfectly captures light, especially the ‘’Chamber of Friends” room. The windows on the left side of the room let natural light in; illuminating the interior space and enhancing various objects in this room.
Chamber of Friends, Ethnographic Museum of Berat, Albania
- Critical Regionalism
- Critical Regionalism aims to create architecture that reflects the identity and culture of a place. This concept is applied to the Ethnographic Museum of Berat as it focuses on local needs, reflecting the identity and culture of my wonderful hometown.
- How is the space used?
- Space is a pure intuition. When used correctly, it can elevate our experience. ‘’Chamber of Friends’’ is a great example of using space intentionally as it showcases the skillful artisans of this city, making the architecture more empathetic and human-centered.
Diagram
- What’s the Surrounding Area Like?
- Does the building fit in with the surroundings? This building fully respects the surrounding environment. Located in the Berat castle, the use of natural materials such as wood, stone, cobblestone bring the outside in and blend this building with the environment.
- Human Movement
- How do humans move throughout the building? On stairs? Escalators? How do they flow? Would it be easy to get lost? The use of stairs in the entrance makes this building more friendly. However, I wish there was a ramp specifically designed for people with disabilities to make this building more accessible.
- Drawing people in through vibrancy and color
- ”Because Singapore has included vibrancy and color in their buildings, it’s led to the city-state to be a huge proprietor for tourism. Eye-catching artistry in the form of architecture in Singapore allows it to have its own vibrant identity’’. Color is powerful. And when used intentionally, it can really elevate our experience. ‘’Chamber of Friends’’ is a perfect example of using color effectively. Incorporating pops of color in the red ‘kilims’ and the seating area make this space more aesthetically pleasing, drawing people into the space. This also adds dynamism and balance out the white bland walls.
2-Studio Project: UO Pavilion
- How does Architecture affect communities?
- What is the building built for?
- Design
- What materials are they using?
- What is the building’s relationship with light?
- Critical Regionalism
- How is the space used?
- What’s the Surrounding Area Like?
- Human Movement
- Drawing people in through vibrancy and color
Description: When I think of Oregon, first thing that comes to my mind is trees. Oregon has got a wonderful nature which was my inspiration for this studio project.
- How does Architecture affect communities?
- Architecture affects a neighborhood in many ways, including community identity, belonging, accessibility and economic development. My UO Pavilion hosts lectures, entertain visitors through exhibition and art gallery and creates a community place that is both functional and beautiful.
UO Pavilion Design
- What is the building built for?
- Not all buildings have the same shape and size. Is it a residential, office, cultural (museum, library), or multi-functional building? Is it a government building? Does the design match the purpose? I think this building match its several purposes such as educational, entertaining and inviting.
- Design
- A building not only shelters us from natural elements, but represents our cultures and reflects on the environment in which it is placed. I think that the design of my final project reflects the environment. The leaf shape roofs perfectly reflect the environment and nature of Oregon.
- What materials are they using?
- Is it clear how the choice in materials was influenced by the building’s purpose? How about the facade? The materials used are wood (beams + walls) and glass (roof). During the field trips, we visited lots of building that had mass timber. Hence, I wanted to reflect the use of wood into my design.
- What is the building’s relationship with light?
- What does it look like when light is projected onto it? I think that light is a concept well reflected into my design. All roofs are made out of glass. I used glass a material for my roof because I wanted the audience to fully experience the translucent effect that glass has from above. I wanted to transport the viewer to the outside.
- Critical Regionalism
- Critical Regionalism aims to create architecture that reflects the identity and culture of a place. This concept is applied to my final project as the use of wood and natural materials reflect Oregon nature.
- How is the space used?
- Space is a pure intuition. When used correctly, it can elevate our experience. For my design, I distributed the space to several spaces. Its main area is the main building; which hosts various lectures. Food is located next to the entry space. I also have incorporated an art gallery space, restrooms, storage and interactive exhibition.
- What’s the Surrounding Area Like?
- Does the building fit in with the surroundings? The surrounding area consists of both traditional and modern building. However, I do believe that my building fits well with its surrounding area as there are lots of trees surrounding this site.
- Human Movement
- How do humans move throughout the building? On stairs? Escalators? The use of curved stairs in the entrance makes this building more engaging.
- Drawing people in through vibrancy and color
- Color is powerful. And when used intentionally, it can really elevate our experience. My final project showcases color very well. We can notice that in the green/yellow roofs, green benches and main path.
3-Reflection
I found these analytical frames to be very helpful. As a designer, it is important to keep in mind elements such as human-centric design, light, materials, space, color or light. Incorporating these elements into our designs make the design more meaningful. Reflecting a neighborhood, community, its surroundings and storytelling makes architecture engaging and accessible to everyone. The Ethnographic Museum of my hometown, Berat, perfectly reflects the community, history, and tradition of the pictoresque city. If I were to add something for my final project, I would definitely add more ramps into my design as it would make my design more accessible. When it comes to design, you are never fully finished. However, I am happy with how the final design turned out. I have made so much progress this semester and I am very proud of myself. I enjoyed making mistakes and learning a lot of lessons. That is what matters the most.
