Essay on Architecture field trip to Tokyo. Reflective essay (550 words) to be developed as a conclusion of the whole “personal” experience of Tokyo. For this field trip I used a pinhole camera to record my journey through the city. The pinhole camera produces dream like images of the built environment. I want this essay to draw some philosophical conclusions from the photographs taken relating them to the old and new architecture of Tokyo, Japanese aesthetics and Japanese culture and beliefs. I want the essay to be based on perception and vision of the surrounding world and built environment in Tokyo e.g. what does the pinhole camera capture that our eyes are unable to. Also how the camera captures the movement of time through space with its long exposure shots. Official Brief for students taking this project: The Journey, an immersive experience Understanding time and place, as generators of truly architectural experiences… The journey has already started, as we are passengers on this continuous journey through life… Our senses are permanently gathering information, which, if not recorded properly becomes part of an unconscious memory that only arise and therefore used in accidental episodes of inspiration. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye” Antoine de Saint-Exupery During the Easter Break, students registered in this module will undertake a Field trip into one of the official destinations or a specific one to be determined and agreed. (Tokyo) Students will register their findings through text and graphics and at the end of the module will present their conclusions in a power point presentation and a printed report. Purpose: - To engage in a real-time experience: a personal journey In order to understand the relevance of time and place in architecture, which are two of the most important factors contributing in settling personal sensorial experiences. - To reflect on the various means of recording information during a journey, in order to achieve a truthful registry and subsequently the understanding of the place. The exercise: The exercise will be divided in two phases: A- The approach: Preparing the information for the trip A1 - Identifying a referential context for the journey: A recognition trip throughout Stewartby (the preliminary journey), to be considered as an empirical way of “rehearsing” the main immersive experience, but even more important: to establish a number of parameters to look for during the field trip. A2 – Research and contextualisation of the place to be visited: Historical, geographical and urban morphology research of the place to be visited, identifying the main components and relevant areas that organises it. B- The immersion: a real time experience This experience is related to “engage” with a time and place, following a “comparison” with those references gathered in advance. In addition to these references, those senses involved in human perception will also be used as a guide the journey… the intuitive approach. Blending both approaches, it is expected that the instinct that guides us in a journey becomes an “observation capacity” (critical & amp; analytical approach) During the journey you are expected to understand not only the BUILT ENVIRONMENT of the visited place, but also THE VOIDS and INTERSTICES (the spaces between), the NATURAL CONTEXT and the HUMAN BEHAVIOUR, including INTERACTION with its inhabitants, towards the identification of the CULTURE OF THE PLACE. The Challenge: to establish a wider description of the atmosphere of the place, in a critical but non influenced way (no pre-judgements to influence the exploration and further description, only the memory of the observer) Aims of the Module: - Develop and understand how first hand experience of built environments varies from a theoretical, book-based research and can contribute to understanding design. - To develop a personal and effective “observation capacity”, analytical skills, critical assessment skills and graphical representation skills. - To effectively communicate an architectural experience (synthesis capacity) using various resources: verbally, literally and graphically. Recommended Study material: - Movie: “Wings of Desire”; Wim Wenders, 1987. - Movie: “Groundhog Day”, Harold Ramis, 1993. - Movie: “Lost in translation”, Sofia Coppola, 2003. - Poem: Song of Childhood; By Peter Handke - Book: Invisible cities; Italo Calvino - Book: Six memos for the next Millenium; Italo Calvino - Lonely Planet & amp; Time Out Travel Guides