What am I Thinking?

I have never taken a Theory class so all this deep thinking is really new to me. I have to admit that I am curious about this aspect of architecture and how theory relates to it. I love watching people much like every other person in the world. But I like to go further with people watching and try to understand how they react in these spaces. I don’t want to just watch people because it is entertainment, I want to see their hand gestures, their facial expressions, and their body language. I find it very fascinating the psychology of people while occupying space. I know this really has nothing to do with the recent articles we have been reading but it has been brought up once or twice.

The article by Karsten Harries talks about mobile homes and dwellings. It makes sense that if a building is not grounded, than it is mobile. I understand that concept it’s just that I really didn’t think of it like that. This then turns my attention to the article written by Herb about place in life. Who ever thought a simple word like place can have such a diverse meaning. I was shocked to know there were only 2 other classmates that are presently living in their home towns. Staying close to our roots is a similar characteristic of Maine residents. I can only think of one person, although I know there are a couple more, which presently lives in Maine but didn’t grow up there. I know a lot of people that have moved out of state for a couple years but eventually find their way back to Maine. So, place in life, my community, and my home is very important to me. It gives stability that I want to help provide for my child. When children move from place to place they become socially mature but it seems to me that children are stronger if have only one root. I don’t think I would be as grounded if I moved from city to city as a child. I would lose my sense of place in this world, community, and home. It might have something to do with the support my family provided.

So I read these articles although they might not literally relate to me but they help me think of a different level of which I really like. Is this more psychology, architecture, or both? I understand when Herb says he automatically knew he didn’t want to be an architect. It’s ok to want to study people at this depth and still design buildings. Wanting to study people is definitely going to make me a better, stronger designer.