A door by any other name

So , In a recent project we covered the design of a door. I found myself going from far left field, a specific theory of craziness, but

What is a door? I've pondered this many night as a true vigilant architect would. I accepted no text book answers--who really can give hem credibility?(The author?But who gave them authority before that and that?) Instead I go to the methods of the philosopher Socrates. I start with what I know. A door is... a panel of wood with a chunk of metal? A gateway? The divider of two spaces? WHAT?!! Of course, I find this method only tells me what a door is not! So what then? Night and day I struggled. I couldn't eat or sleep or take a shower or be clean in any sort if sense (though, none of this new to me. I am, after all, an architect major)Then I figure, WHO CARES? Seriously, as long as it works and lets me through, I'm on my way to bigger and better things such as...the importance of noncoding DNA (the subject of a VERY important paper to be).

In my defense I wrote none of that philosophical bull, my friend(biology major) took my computer being open as an opportunity to input her own opinion.

Defining the UNdeniable

Can you define the word "the"?I mean no seriously think about it for a minute, it has such a common use in the english language, and is quite simplistic.So simplistic in fact it seems as though, it can't be reduced down to anything more, but in order for it to be a word that has any meaning(or any word at all) it must have a definition.
The same is true of a thing, a thing, if it is to exist, must exist for some purpose, if it is to exist at all.The thing which I am refering to in this blog would be a wall, we pass them everyday,buildings would not exist the way we know them without them,they seem to serve a simple purpose ......................................... yet their purpose is not so simple after all.
The current first year project requires us to critically analyze and define what a wall is, other than a barrier,barricade, or source of protection.Removing these definitions now leaves us with the very simple definition of..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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a big block of nothingness

Myopic View

Currently the first year studio has been assigned a project requiring the deconstruction and analysis of three buildings(two artifacts, one modern work).I never realized how myopic my view had been about the construction of a building , and how difficult illustrating certain design concepts can be. The amount of thought and tweaking that goes into things such as how much natural light a building recieves, situating it just right on a site, is amazing .
The more I analyze the more I realize that to the architect, being able to design, and physically construct is about as significant as giving another human being life, the amount of systems that a single building is composed of , the structure(skeletal system), simple architectural details(composition fo the face), the circulation throughout the building(/body)

I'm having the most fun reading about the history of each, and seeing that for everytime a civilization is defeated, or a coup d'tat occurs the most notable buildings are not taken down, as signs of the fall of a civilization, they are changed to accomodate the new cronies.

lata'

The more questions.........

Hello, Welcome to the first year blog.From here on I will be giving you insights into the life and experiences of a first year Architecture student .
As I muddle through all the information of what designing space means, it seems the more questions I ask myself about design, the more questions I come up with not answers.In pursuit of the answers though I have bumped into some interesting facts,none that have actually helped me get any closer to answering any of my questions but interesting nonetheless. For example, I once heard that you can tell where a society's values lie when you look at which buildings are the tallest, or at the center of a community.When you look at our skyline what do you see, commercial buildings,businesses, etc. this is quite interesting when we think of those things that stood at the center of our communities,churches, schools, places of community gatherings.