MIAD ARCHITECTURE PROJECT
"RIVER BANK CAFE"
PENCIL ON PAPER xCM APRIL, 2018 EXHIBITION TEXT:"RIVER BANK CAFE" is based off of the Colectivo Coffee building in Bay View and Puerto Rican architecture. The building's intention is that of a cafe to be found along the Milwaukee river allowing use for an open air cafe and for comfortable use of many small balconies. |
planning and inspiration
My architecture piece was inspired by the Colectivo Coffee building on Kinnickinnic and Lincoln in Bay View, Milwaukee, and the architecture of buildings in Puerto Rico. The choice to use this building as inspiration stemmed from the love and memories I have for the cafe and the culture of the area around it. MY family moved from Chicago to Milwaukee in 2003 and built their bars in the heart of Bay View. Because of this location I grew up exploring the Bay View area however not to the extent a child should. It wasn't until my sophomore year in high school did I begin to really appreciate the area we lived in, beginning to find new places to hangout and new places to explore. Colectivo was a major role in the activities I'd do and the places I'd go.
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Colectivo Coffee, 2017, Google Maps
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Whether it would be just walking around Bay View at night, meeting to do homework or exploring new and abandoned places Colectivo always was a go to location to rest and to hangout, even when it's closed the patio always offered to be a good location to just rest our feet. The size and shape of Colectivo always interested me. As they found a way to utilize as much of their space as possible so there was never a place where one would wonder what could be there. The walls on the outside all have large windows that allow one to peer into the kitchen and see the inner workings of the building, the places outside that don't have windows are home to bike racks on the walls to save space on the sidewalk and in walkways. The position on a corner gives people a good view of the area especially when its darker out and the bus stop across the street lights up.
Much of the culture in Bay View isn't based so much on the people, and isn't distinguishable in one way. Just a walk down Kinnickinnic --the street that runs through the heart of Bay View all the way downtown, and probably my favourite street because of that-- would emphasize my point. The almost lack of a major cultural aesthetic is what really makes me interested in the area, with many niche establishments that one wouldn't think would be alongside some of the buildings in Bay View; vintage clothing stores can be found more than once on a walk down KK, right next to many oriental restaurants, skateboard and bike shops and a renovated classic theater. Taking detours down side streets can have people finding themselves alongside busy areas down Lincoln or Howell, or in quiet tame neighborhoods on streets like Wentworth and Superior. The almost lack of a cultural norm is what makes the area so interesting to me, because things never stay the same.
The use of space and the shape of the building both were something I wanted to incorporate into my piece, it's simple silhouette and use of space were both appealing and interesting to me and I felt would make for a very clean and aesthetically pleasing building to look at. The lack of a set cultural aesthetic is also what inspired me to incorporate parts of architecture from Puerto Rico, my mother's family's home.
Much of the culture in Bay View isn't based so much on the people, and isn't distinguishable in one way. Just a walk down Kinnickinnic --the street that runs through the heart of Bay View all the way downtown, and probably my favourite street because of that-- would emphasize my point. The almost lack of a major cultural aesthetic is what really makes me interested in the area, with many niche establishments that one wouldn't think would be alongside some of the buildings in Bay View; vintage clothing stores can be found more than once on a walk down KK, right next to many oriental restaurants, skateboard and bike shops and a renovated classic theater. Taking detours down side streets can have people finding themselves alongside busy areas down Lincoln or Howell, or in quiet tame neighborhoods on streets like Wentworth and Superior. The almost lack of a cultural norm is what makes the area so interesting to me, because things never stay the same.
The use of space and the shape of the building both were something I wanted to incorporate into my piece, it's simple silhouette and use of space were both appealing and interesting to me and I felt would make for a very clean and aesthetically pleasing building to look at. The lack of a set cultural aesthetic is also what inspired me to incorporate parts of architecture from Puerto Rico, my mother's family's home.
Over the summer in 2013 my family and I spent a week in Culebra, an island off of Puerto Rico. The architecture of the region was so much different and more care free than what I was used to. Not carefree as in the structure wasn't made without care, but carefree in the expression each house expresses. The colours were so vibrant and looked extravagant against the bright sunny weather that we experienced everyday. Along with the bright colours were interesting layers and protrusions from the building like in the balconies. The balconies were what really caught my eye, along with the shaped frames that helped give this simple little buildings more depth and character. I wanted to incorporate these protrusions within my building to give it more depth and to make it more interesting to look at.
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process
To begin my work I lay out the horizon line and my vanishing points which I placed outside of the paper. I placed my corner line off centered to show the size of the structure, and to make the location of it feel less uniform on the paper. I referenced the silhouette of Colectivo to get the basic shape and structure down before I worked on adding any additional details. After working on the silhouette and the basic shapes of the building I began to plan where the windows would go, and how I'd work on making the protruding balconies. Using the method of finding the middle of a square on a plane, I was able to make even balconies that didn't ever appear lopsided with the detail on each side.
I proceeded to then go in and add the bricks and the detailing and shadowing around those. I then added many of the smaller details that I regrettably didn't add to the entire piece and only added to certain parts.
I proceeded to then go in and add the bricks and the detailing and shadowing around those. I then added many of the smaller details that I regrettably didn't add to the entire piece and only added to certain parts.
experimentation
The creation of the balconies in my piece was very much a lot of experimenting that I had to do off-paper on scrap pieces in order to get right before I really took to working on the final illustration. Much of the illustration however was mostly the same thing I was used to; perspective was a bit new and I had a few issues with it during the process however I did get the hang of it after a few attempts.
reflection
In the end I'm not too happy with the outcome of this piece. There was a lot that I could have redone in order to up the overall quality and make the pieces presentation look better and more effective. Lots of the paper was left blank and I feel like there is a lot that could have been done had I added a background or made the piece larger. After the critique I was made aware of many problems I already saw in the piece. The piece could have had a lot of additional things added to make it appear like its around the Milwaukee River and more detail could have been added to the building itself. With capturing my ideas and theme I'm not sure if it did that either however potentially adding more detail and a background could help capture my theme in a more effective way.
act questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork?
It's very apparent I took inspiration from the Puerto Rican architecture within the balconies and the inspiration from Colectivo Coffee's general shape and size.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
There wasn’t much of a specific artist I looked at so I’m not sure if there is an easily obtainable approach to find within the construction of my inspirations.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I felt like it would be difficult to find and utilize an outside source as an inspiration however after researching into my culture I found many aspects that I felt like I could use in my art.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to create a building that felt cozy and utilized many different aspects of my culture.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I’m not sure if I learned a lot as most of my research was on inspirations that I felt reflected my theme and intentions.
It's very apparent I took inspiration from the Puerto Rican architecture within the balconies and the inspiration from Colectivo Coffee's general shape and size.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
There wasn’t much of a specific artist I looked at so I’m not sure if there is an easily obtainable approach to find within the construction of my inspirations.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I felt like it would be difficult to find and utilize an outside source as an inspiration however after researching into my culture I found many aspects that I felt like I could use in my art.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to create a building that felt cozy and utilized many different aspects of my culture.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I’m not sure if I learned a lot as most of my research was on inspirations that I felt reflected my theme and intentions.