Unfortunately, I couldn’t be in class for the midterm, but I have viewed my colleagues projects that are posted on open-lab. Along with my research, I’ve been exposed with some deep insights about Metrotech, from its architecture and zoning to rezoning. The information provided from my colleagues became a great tool for my team and I to push forward with our final presentation.
Before taking this course I thought it was strictly an Architectural course based on the reviews from classmates that took the course before, therefore I was excited to see what new knowledge and skills I would gain. On the first day of class, we were told that our class would be a combination of multiple professors, Prof. Jason Montgomery who I was already familiar with from the Architectural Department and Prof. Susan Phillips from the Hospitality Department. I suddenly became worried because of my experience with having two different professors teaching the same course, what made me more worried was this time both professors were from different departments. I automatically assumed that this class would be difficult. Well, I was wrong. The material that both professors taught in class as well as how it was taught, taught me so much inside the classroom as well outside the classroom. I’ve lived in this country for eleven years now and did not know the history of my neighborhood nor the history of downtown Brooklyn a place where I spend most of my days; therefore, I must say that this course is one of the best courses I’ve taken at the New York City College of Technology, I say this not only because of how much I’ve learned but because of how well each professor communicates and help each student with what they were struggling with, this made us as a class felt comfortable not only with each professor but with our classmates as well.
During this trip, we compared two maps, both, old and new that covered the premises of MetroTech and its surroundings. We were able to analyze some Signiant changes within the map and the physical tour of Metro-Tech from 1924 till today. Based on the map we were able to conclude that the redevelopment of the area has impacted some Signiant streets like Tillary Street, Flatbush Ave, and Myrtle St. Tillary St., which runs both east to west has expanded into a two-way traffic road. As we proceeded our scavenger hunt towards the south eastern side of Tillary St. and then south, through the back of the City Tech’s new building, we discovered that the street adjacent to polytechnic high school, was shorten by Metro Tech’s loading dock. Flatbush appeared to have impact on modified surroundings areas that runs parallel to it. Some properties no longer exist because of the expansion of the street We also took noticed of the public seating incorporated into a busy Flatbush Ave, not being utilized by the public because of the noise and exposure to pollution. We observed new buildings under construction towards Willoughby street, add to a more post-modern look of architecture around the area. As we made our way into Myrtle Square inside MetroTech, we analyzed that the old map shows Myrtle street running freely, east to west, whiles the new map and physical visual experience shows Myrtle street ending at Myrtle square.
This was our second Scavenger hunt to the down-town Brooklyn area, and like the first one, history was a topic, but architecture was more of the focus this time around. We analyzed that some historical buildings are sometimes preserved but has changes with its use and purpose. These buildings are typically modified slightly. One example was the Offerman building on Duffield St., a structure that mimics the Roman style of architecture that consist of the following characteristics; double hung windows on both ground and upper floors, arches, vaults, concrete and, Corinthian columns. The building has been converted to both commercial (retail), and residential use. The ground level is used as the commercial space whiles the top has been converted to luxurious apartment complex. As we proceeded to MetroTech, our attention was drawn to this massive building that turned out to be the JP Morgan building. This building appeared to have some art deco characteristics, like its vertical emphasis and its use of masonry. The building is strictly office spaces with one exceptional small business on the ground level that interestingly turns out to be a barbershop. We also analyzed more historical buildings that were neighbored with new buildings influenced by post modern architecture.
Podcast link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-RsdrVlDqN1HYPyWCcANsVh79OYI6S3V
During the first day , i thought the title “Learning the places” is just another boring class because it has nothing to do with my major. I was wrong, it was way more fun. over the 15 weeks, i learned so many things while attending the class. Learning the places isn’t just about learning the changes, it also involves how people react to the changes and what did they do to adapt the changes. Another thing that grab my attention is the final project, this is the first time that i used podcast as a way to express my work, and i have to record my voice over and over again until i’m sure that i make no mistakes while reading my script. overall, this course is fun and i’d recommend this course to my friends.
For the mid term, me and Jason wasn’t able to present due to personal issues. However, while researching the topic , i learned many things over time. First of all, the architecture develop is more interesting than i thought and the way how building being built changes way more than i imagined. In addition, we were planned to focus on population and architecture at first , then we realized that we should be focusing on one topic as it will gives audience more information and keep the topic relevant to our final project, being specific is the key of this course.
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