Class Reflection October 30, 2008

As Judith mentioned, today’s classes were definitely a lesson in the dichotomy of design, if nothing else. Thanks in part to my business background I enjoyed Mr. Milatano’s presentation very much. I often voice my regret concern for having spent so many years in business school, as opposed to sketching and beefing up my photosopping capabilities and am consistently re-assured by people more experienced than myself that it will all be worth something in the end, and today’s presentation definitely re-enforced that notion. Designing is all fun and games (and sometimes tears) when we are doing it in a theoretical hypothetical sense in studio but when we are out in the field real world obstacles are going to present us with an entirely new set of hurdles to tackle. Being able assess the risks associated with our designs will undoubtedly help us immensely in the long run.

For what Dr. Van Vliet’s presentation lacked in energy it made up for with information. We were introduced to many sustainable design practices that are occurring in other countries. Dr. Van Vilet’s presence (or lack thereof) in many ways was a lesson in and of itself especially in comparison to the dichotomy of his presence with that of Mr. Miliatano’s. I think that most students are much more interested in the sustainability of designs over the business side but thanks to Mr. Milatano’s ability to engage the crowd, today, his proposal stole the show. Going forward when our presentations will be more highly scrutinized I think we will be able to take this knowledge and run with it, creating presentations that are captivating.