Furthering Research Questions

     This past Tuesday in class, we pinned up our latest narrowed down research questions. The three questions I had narrowed my research down to were:

                1. How can we design and construct domestic spaces that promote rest and worship?

                2. How can we use natural materials based on different climate zones to design for longevity?

                3. How does music impact the design and flow of spaces?

    Because my faith is important to me, I find it helpful to reference the Bible as a driving force in my research and desire to study how we can see a correlation between Christianity/religion and domestic spaces. For example, I referenced Isaiah 32:18, which states, "My people will live in safety, quietly at home. Then they will be at rest." This verse made me wonder how we as designers can design domestic spaces like homes so that occupants can experience this biblical rest. My thought process started by studying the negative impacts of fast construction that causes the place we go to for rest to become the place that stresses us out the most. This is when the question of "How can we use natural materials based on different climate zone to design for longevity?" Because worship is also important to me when it comes to feeling at rest, this also raised the question of "How does music impact the design and flow of spaces?"

    From the pin up session we had with these questions, my peers suggested studying spaces like monks' quarters and cloister spaces to learn how these religious domestic spaces functioned. They also suggested studying the impact of lighting in spaces and how those qualities can make a peaceful space. They also suggested researching spaces that already use sound as a wayfinding technique. My peers also gave tips for my sustainability interest as well, such as utilizing local materials and studying different roofing techniques. This feedback has allowed me to narrow my questions down to:

                1. How can the study of previous religious domestic spaces like monks' quarters influence the                     design of new modern and religious domestic spaces?

                2. How can the use of local materials aid in designing for longevity?

                3. How can music inform design and flow of spaces?

Comments

  1. Lauren WrightFebruary 12, 2025 at 8:23 AM

    Ashley,

    I think your topics are very unique and a very interesting take on modern design. I think the topic that seems the most viable to research is the first question. Studying historic restful spaces, even from different religions, could be very interesting. I also like how you are referencing the Bible to support your thoughts and guide your research. I don't really have any feedback or suggestions, but I wanted to hop on and give some words of encouragement that you are headed in the right direction! Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Annotated Bibliography

  Bibliography Bønding, Sophie. “Places and Spaces of Pre-Christian Religion: An Introduction to Part 2.” In The Norse Sorceress: Mind and Materiality in the Viking World , edited by LESZEK GARDEŁA, SOPHIE BØNDING, and PETER PENTZ, 53–62. Oxbow Books, 2023. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.5699282.10. This source is helpful to my research because it gives a lists of various religious spaces  and how their design and function promotes religion. Bowler, George. “Chapel and Church Architecture.” The Crayon 5, no. 8 (1858): 223–28. https://doi.org/10.2307/25527784. Just like the source “Church Architecture,” this source goes into detail of church forms and interiors. This will help me with my interest in what attributes from these religious sapces could be implemented into more domestic spaces.  Coomans, Thomas. Life Inside the Cloister: Understanding Monastic Architecture: Tradition, Reformation, Adaptive Reuse . Leuven University Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv157bgm....
Read more

Literature Reviews

      This week, we were tasked with reading chapter two of Undergraduate Research in Architecture: A Guide for Students. This chapter focused on how to carefully select, analyze, and reflect on literature used in our research. It discusses how to take the works you have read while researching and turn it into a literature review. It also discusses how to organize and check the credibility of your sources. The reading also mentions the importance of having peer reviews conducted by field experts to validate our research.     I found this reading to be very helpful because it provided tips to help keep the chaos of research under control and organized. The part that I felt to be the most important was having peer reviews from those who are knowledgeable on our research topics to validate our research. I found this important because these reviews would help make sure my research stays on the right path and will also offer a different viewpoint of my research that ...
Read more