Blog post 1

I would love to visit England, because the last semester I did research (for homework) about places to visit in there, and I found it beautiful, it has many interesting places to visit, especially the city of London. I know that the streets are very clean, and that people have a different schedule (to eat and sleep) they do everything earlier than us! And it is often said that the city of London is kind of full. I would like to know how the people are there, the culture and try their typical foods, and of course to visit the London eye and some of the palaces and museums there. I've also seen pictures of some parks and they look really fascinating. However, I don’t know if I would be capable of living there, because I would have to leave my family and friends that I have here in Chile and I would miss them very much, maybe when I get older, I could consider it.

Post 8: A subject I've enjoyed studying this semester

 The subject that I've enjoyed the most it's called "methods and practices of urbanism" I remember we had discussions, expository lessons, group work, among other things. We have seen many contents focused on how a geologic fault could affect cities, in this case we studied the San Ramon fault, which is in eastern Santiago Metropolitan Region, each group chose an area and studied evacuation procedures, infrastructure and community life. We learn different ways to study and research, resilient urban design, territorial planning, research approaches and representation techniques. At the end of the course, we made a poster and explained our research. 

What I liked the most about that subject it was the things that I learned about urban design and analysis methods, there was also a very good atmosphere in the course group. We did short activities in group, and when we had presentations, the teachers gave us feedback. I also learned a lot about the San Ramón fault and how it can affect the population in terms of evacuation and quality of their homes. Before I had never had a subject about urban planning, the order of the city and how the densification of cities puts people at risk.

This is an axonometric that I did in this course.

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.