When I decide to venture out into San Francisco, I generally will take twice the amount of time I need to reach my destination. It isn’t because of the brutal hills or the throngs of tourists, but because I’m taking time to appreciate the buildings. A lot of the homes in San Francisco are characterized by their Victorian (and sometimes modern) style. However, it is the subtle differences between each building that gives them their own unique charm.

As an aspiring architect, my first semester of undergraduate has been about instilling in me the desire to observe. Many of my assignments were to find something worth drawing and to capture as much detail of it as humanly possible. This goal was often reflected by the suggested time to be spent on each assignment, which was sometimes upwards of 8 hours. For one to spend 8 hours or more on a single drawing, a keen eye would be a necessity.

After this first semester, I find my perspective on the world to have transformed. I have a desire to understand not only what I’m looking at, but the how and why as well. When it comes to something that has been designed and constructed by a human, nothing should be considered unintentional. There’s always a reason that space is organized the way it is.

Often times, one doesn’t assess something’s function upon first glance. It takes time or a second opinion to make sense of a purpose. When it comes to design, every detail has been thought over and scrutinized until the designer considers the final decision to be perfect. However, a designer’s view of perfection sometimes isn’t the same as true perfection.

I find that my observation of the built world has given me a sense of respect and appreciation for all works of architecture. An architect designs a space with feelings in mind. A cramped room gives a person a different feeling than a spacious one. These choices are important and make the architect’s work meaningful. Architects influence space, and in turn, those spaces are what influences us.