WP4 : The Reflection
Over the course of this semester and through all of my classes combined I’ve produced more writing than in all of my other semesters throughout my academic career. This prolific amount of writing has allowed me to think a lot about my writing. First and foremost I’ve enjoyed the writing I’ve done. I’ve improved and grown more confident in what I have to say and how I’m saying it. Over the course of this semester writing has taught me how to consciously think about ideas which I have about myself and the world.
WP1 : Kemet
In WP1 I attempted to explore identity through architecture and codify a framework in which to think about buildings and built spaces as receptacles for human identity. Formally this was done through an exploration of 3 case studies and a recollection of my own past experience.
These ideas, while they had lived in my head previously, weren’t concrete in any way during the process of writing WP1 but it was through the process of writing that first essay that I was able to clarify these ideas for myself. WP1 was a way of thinking about architecture and identity that I had always tried to put into words but often struggled to say. Taking the time to struggle through formalizing these ideas in sentences and paragraphs made the ideas clearer and more tangible. I was able to understand what it was that I had felt beforehand. Ultimately the final essay included too broad a scope and shifted focus too many times. This led to an essay that was confusing to read. While it made sense to me at the time reading it only a few months later I realized how jarring the transitions were and disjointed the ideas were.
In revising, I found that small changes to the overall structure greatly improved the legibility of the work. Adding transitions between the ideas created a better flow and allowed for the ideas to connect in a way which revealed a more nuanced understanding.
However I do still think that I attempted to cover too much in WP1. Each one of the three case studies could have been its own separate essay and as a result could have been explored more extensively. Attempting to cover too much ground is a tendency I have and I’ve been trying to work on focusing on choosing smaller and clearer points of departure for the work I do.
WP2 : Om el Donya
Transitioning to the multi-modality of WP2 I think better allowed me to explore the ideas of WP1. An essay which had been about a nebulous concept of cultural identity found in architecture transformed into a series of passages, photos, and drawings which explored a specific identity and person.
WP2 allowed me to take on similar ideas of WP1 but through modalities I was much more familiar with. As a result I felt I could express the ideas clearer and in a manner which made sense to me.
WP3 : ‘Ashwa’iyyat
WP3 allowed me to focus on a specific topic. Having established the frameworks on architectural identity in WP1 and my own personal Egyptianness in WP2 I felt I was able to tackle a real topic. That of informal settlements and the current demolition / development phenomena in Cairo. Having learned my lesson from WP1 I really wanted to focus on tackling a topic which was specific and timely. A topic which related to the ideas I had discussed before but was also an application of the more conceptual ideas I had written about in WP1 and WP2.
WP3 actually turned into a research proposal which I gave to the School of Architecture. Getting to choose the topic which interested me allowed me to delve into work that I’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t seem to find an avenue for in my day to day academics. This class and the three pieces are pertinent works that I intend to continue. My goal is to compile all three into a larger work and eventually adapt it for my architectural thesis next year.
