Blog post 7: Who is a person/expert on your field that you admire?

Since I started studying architecture, I asked myself why I’ve never heard about a successful female architect, until one day a teacher spoke to me about Zaha Hadid. 

She was born on October 31, 1950. In 1972 she traveled to London to study at the Architectural Association, and she met the architects with whom she would collaborate as a partner at the Office of Metropolitan Architecture, Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis. Then in 1979, Hadid established her own London-based firm, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA). Over the years she won many awards in the field of architecture, becoming the first woman to win many of them.

Her projects are characterized by aggressive geometric designs, she was the first woman in design an American museum, the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has made train stations, arts and science centers, an opera house, universities, among others.

I like her because she changed the vision of architecture through her designs, she went beyond architecture, making interior designs, furniture, clothing, and different objects. I also admire her very much for all the awards she won, being the first woman in many of them.

                                One of her most recognized projects, Heydar Aliyev cultural center.

Blog post 6: How can my major make the world a better place?

As most of you know, I'm studying architecture and through my years of study I have realized how my major can affect in terms of pollution, for example we could contaminate with materials that are not recyclable or that in their elaboration emit large amounts of CO2.  Or even if we use materials that are not thermally efficient, people will have to use heating, which is a big expenditure of energy.  I see myself in the future specializing in something related to the environment because I think that in the coming years it will be increasingly important to take care of our planet considering the damage we have done over all these years.

The way that my major could contribute to the worlds benefit is projecting sustainable buildings, worrying about the materials we use, and by using efficient ventilation techniques, so that is not necessary to spend on heating. Another way it would be to promote the use of renovable energies or collect rainwater.

Post 5: A photograph and its story

 This photograph was taken by one of my friends in 2019. This place is called Joffre Lakes and it's located in British Columbia, Canada. I went there to learn English but I also travelled around the country, I made many friends of different nationalities and Joffre Lakes it was one of the places that we visited together, I remember that to get that place we had to do a 4 hour hiking, also that day was so cold that it started to snow and the floor was very slippery, we almost fell a couple of times but it was fun and the landscape was amazing, we took many pictures and I'm pretty sure I will never forget how wonderful that day was.

This photograph means a lot to me because it reminds me of one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life, travel alone and learn another language. Also. that was the first time I travelled outside of Chile, so this photograph is definitely very meaningful to me.

Post 4: A meal or food I really like

My favorite dish has always been Pasta with Bolognese sauce, which is basically spaghetti with a thick, brownish-red sauce.

You must prepare spaghetti according to package instructions, and the Bolognese sauce is made with as many ingredients as you like, ground beef, tomatoes, onion, celery, carrot, and others. I've always liked pasta in different ways, lasagna, with Alfredo sauce or with mushrooms. But I think that the reason why I like it so much is because it reminds me of my childhood, when I came home after school and I was excited because my mother had prepared my favorite food, I hope one day I could prepare it as well as she does.

After a research, I found out that even though pasta is generally healthy, this dish it doesn't have a good impact in my health as I thought. This is because when you combine tomatoes with meat, the nutritional benefits of the tomatoes are largely removed. So, I guess sometimes it is better to eat them separately to have a balanced diet.

Post 3: My favorite piece of technology

If I think about technology devices, the truth is that nowadays is difficult to choose only one, we are basically living in this technological age. I remember when I was a child there weren't many of the devices that are used daily today. 

After thinking a lot, I concluded that my favorite piece of technology is my smartphone, is the one that I use the most and it seems to me that it is the most useful. I got my first one when I was 11 years old, I remember it had few functions, just calling, messaging, and taking pictures. However today smartphones can also access webpages, download files and apps, create and play music playlists, record videos, watch movies, and a lot of more things. The one that I have now, I got it a year ago and I use it daily to check the university app, texting and calling with my friends, and on top of that I love taking pictures of landscapes and recording animals or insects, and then I can immediately share them with my friends, that's why smartphone is my favorite piece of technology, it has many functions included and I can do many things in a little while.

Life without this piece of technology would be so different, we couldn't call and messaging any time, we would have to get a computer if we want to text to someone. And specially in these times of pandemic, we would be even more isolated, without communicating continuously with our friends and distant relatives.

 

Post 2: Why did I choose my major?

As I mentioned in the last blog, I'm Studying architecture. When I was a child, the first thing that I wanted to study it was veterinary because I loved animals and I liked to take care of them. Then I grew up watching a lot of detective movies and I wanted to be investigative police, I have always been interested in mysterious cases. When I was about sixteen years old, I told my parents about that, but they did not like the idea, and it was disappointing and sad because I really wanted to be supported in my choice. Then my parents tried to encourage me to study another thing, they suggested biotechnology, engineering, law... but nothing was exciting enough. 

One thing that my father noticed was that I had artistic abilities and I was good at math, so he came up with the idea of architecture and that was finally the one that convinced me because I found it entertaining and I thought I could develop and improve my artistic side. However, I began university knowing absolutely nothing about architecture, so in the beginning it was difficult, stressful and I cried a lot thinking that I was not made for this. 

In the second year, I started getting good grades and I finally felt that my effort and dedication it was worth it. Currently, I've learned how to manage stress and I'm pretty sure I love my major.

These are some of the projects that I did in my first year.

Post 1: Who am I?

Hello everyone, I'm Antonia. I was born in a little city called Tinguiririca and I moved to Santiago with my parents when I was two years old. I still going back there sometimes to see my grandparents, though.

I'm studying Architecture. Since I was younger, I never really knew what I wanted to do in the future, so basically I decided for something that caught my attention, and I guess I am lucky because I don't regret at all. I think that architecture is the best that I could have chosen. However, I'm also into criminal investigation, which has nothing to do with architecture, I always watch documentaries about criminals, unresolved cases or movies. Another thing that I'm interested in is the universe, galaxies, the stars. I love watching documentaries about that.

About my family, my parents broke up their relationship when I was about three years old and now they both have a couple. My father got married and now I got three little siblings. On my mom's side I still being an only child. I get along with my siblings so now I'm living with my father in Lampa, there's a really calm environment and we are surrounded by nature.