My essay is about the sustainable materials in interior design. I have found three artists to compare and contrast. There are Sou Fujimoto, Waugh Thistleton and Renzo Piano. They are all famous artists in 21st century.

Sou Fujimoto’s work called ‘House Na’, a single family dwelling within a residential district in Tokyo, Japan. It is made up of 21 rectangular prisms stacked one on top of the other, forming a 914 square foot space. The space of the house is organized around 21 white platforms, each measuring 21 to 81 square feet, interconnected by ladders and a super simplified structure of white steel bars. The idea of this house comes from ‘tree’. Sou wants people who lived in this house just like live on a tree. There is no obvious spatial division, just combine spaces with different height.

Waugh Thistleton Architects is a studio composed of Andrew Waugh and Anthony Thistleton. Their work called ‘Multiply’. The aim of the project, said Andrew Waugh is to “provoke a debate around how environmental challenges can be addressed through innovative, affordable construction”.(2018) The structure comprises 17 interconnecting modules, made from a total of 102 60mm and 100mm thick x 2.6m long cross laminated timber panels (CLT) fabricated at the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre. Multiply only use wood because Andrew believes that “a vast amount of greenhouse gases also come from concrete and steel, while construction using them exclusively is a wasteful, drawn out process.

Renzo Piano’s work called Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre. The center consists of 10 huts with three different sizes, from 20 to 28m in height and interconnected by a footpath. Renzo Piano used local materials such as stainless steel, glass, nature wood, and laminated wood. Also, he used some sustainable materials called iroko, it is a kind of wood which was imported from Africa.

In my opinion, these three designers from different countries with the same proposal, to protect our environment. They use sustainable materials in conjunction with their culture. Therefore, the move saves time and costs without damaging the city’s beauty which will be more acceptable to the public. But it may take a long time to bring sustainable materials to the world because humans still don’t realize the damage they’re doing to the environment.  Artists convey their thoughts of protecting the environment to us in their works made by sustainable materials.

Last week, i went to Canterbury . It is really a beautiful place and fortunately our school is located in this beautiful city.

I have learned interior design for 4 years in city university of Macau. And I decided to learn interior design as my master major, because I found it is really an interesting subject. As we all know, interior design is really useful in all parts such as flagship stores, hotels, art museums, etc. After I graduated from my university, I worked in a company in BIM technology. I use the revit for modeling and I think it is more useful than sketch up. I become more and more interested in interior design after I done some project about building construction.

I’m going to study in UCA this September and I’m very expected. Before I decided to have my master course I just know this school is really good at interior design and architecture. I want to learn more skills on how to make my works more perfect, and also I want to know which style does British people like. It is important for us to enrich our knowledge and break our mind. As a designer, we need to have more ideas in order to impress our emotions. I think I can gain a good opportunity in this university to improve myself and become a better designer in the future.

Tomorrow we are going to the Tate Modern and will be free after visiting. Since there are two hours left, we decide to visit the Bankside Gallery for more inspiration. And it’s just 5 minutes’ walk away from the Tate Modern. And i think we will spend about 2 hours in this gallery.

Actually i really want to see the summer exhibition in the Bankside Gallery. The paintings are amazing. And all the artworks are original pieces handmade by contemporary painters and printmakers of the Royal Watercolour Society and Royal Society of Painter Printmakers. I really like the match of the color. I have checked some information on the website and i found a painting which is called ‘Salty Moonlight’. The name is really interesting. In fact, the color of this painting is just like salt and the moonlight. I think the artist must want to mix them up.

In my opinion, art is boundless. And you need to see more works then you will have more ideas on your own works. Although our project’s topic is about sustainable design, we still need to think about design and find more green materials to use. So, it is necessary for me to see more works.

We have finished our first project’s proposal today. Actually it is not easy for us to finish this project. Since we all came from China , we usually do not do project like this, but in UCA , i have learned how to follow a project step by step.

Group works is the most important link in your project. The strength of a person is limited, but there is boundless possibilities for everyone to do together. As our group is consisting of an interior designer, animator, fashion manager and graphic designer，we will have a widely mind about our project. We always work together after class to check out the important point that teacher told us. I think it is good for me to learn a lot from my partners.

Also we need to write a proposal of our project. There are many different skills on how to write a good proposal. Written language is more suitable for writing than speaking.

Last Friday we went to Brighton for our project.The weather there is very nice. And i like the color of the sea. Then we went to the Brighton Museum,it is really a wonderfully place .Many paintings and artworks here. Also i saw lots of pictures about LGBT.It is quiet different from my hometown CHINA.

When we started to visit the museum, I found a lot of interesting artworks, they have a long history, and each piece of art is like a story. I can feel the beauty of them and the information he has given me. In the museum, we also saw a lot of photos about wild animals that were extinct due to certain human actions. Since this photo can’t be photographed, I recorded it on my sketch book, but the miserable situation of the polar bear is deeply in my mind.The photo is about a polar bear. Global warming has caused the melting of the Arctic iceberg. Polar bears and other creatures are homeless and have no habitat. Perhaps by 2050, two-thirds of polar bears will be extinct .

Because the Arctic glaciers are melting, polar bears have to travel farther to find food. At least since the beginning of this century, this distance has exceeded the range that the polar bears can support, and they are finally exhausted in the sea. After reading the photos, I realized that this is a very serious problem. Both polar bears and humans will lose their homes.We must do something to protect our home and polar bears.In my opinion ,as a designer ,wo can use our own way to remind people of the seriousness of the problem, it will be a very meaningful thing.

This is the mindmap of our group.We are working on ice melting. Nowadays, more and more people have realized that globle-warming cause many natural disaster. Polar bears and other creatures will be extinct due to lack of food and rest .Human beings will also face the problem of losing land. Sea level rise has caused the land to be inundated, and finally we might be homeless.

At the beginning of our project ,we want to make a game to let everyone know that the polar bears have lost their homes step by step, but our teacher said that we must link to our majors .It is too difficult so we decided to give up. And then we have another idea about short film.We decided to make an animation film about polar bear.In our film, a polar bear was rescued by human beings into a man-made house because he lost his home. The man-made house is very similar to the Arctic environment that he used to live , but the polar bear is not happy. He began to miss his home. Later, the icebergs of the Arctic all melted. People also lost their homes and were ready to flee the earth. The polar bear finally became the last dead polar bear in the world.

There are 4 people in our group. I am responsible for the poster and scene design , my major is interior design, so all the scenes and other parts are designed by me. After class,we usually go to the library and working together.

From our group, i have learned a lot of things . How to discuss with your partner, how to respect people who have different idea with you. And in my opinion, it is important for us to make sure that your concept must be same with your partners.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

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