Ethics

The examples of ethical issues that were discussed in class revealed a sinister part of the business world which is becoming more and more relevant in today's society. Topics such as government bailouts and collusion between stock market speculators have taken center stage in the public's eye. It's important that heads of industry and business profiteers uphold good ethical standards in order to maintain the trust of the population which they serve.

The documents shown in class were startling examples of dehumanizing language which gave me a new perspective on the application of business writing techniques. Hopefully, I never encounter a similar situation in my future career in architecture, but I'd like to think I'll uphold better standards than those articulate Nazis.

Miscommunication

I recently had some difficulties caused by poor communication in a group project. Just before spring break, we were presenting our final concepts for a library project we've been working on all semester. I was responsible for laser cutting a 1/16 scale model from plans made by another group member. The model was supposed to fit into a larger site model which was also built to a scale of 1/16"=1'. Taking the drawings made by a group member, I finished cutting and assembling the model right before the presentation deadline. Unfortunately, there was some misunderstanding about the required scale, resulting in a model which was ridiculously over-sized for the site model. The problem could have been easily avoided if we had discussed our plans more thoroughly as a group before taking action.

I really enjoyed Joey's presentation on Cincinnatti's famous Skyline chili. I've heard a lot of people rave about the dish in the past but have never personally had the opportunity to try it. After tasting it for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised by the taste.

As far as the portfolio project goes, I'm unsure of how it will all come together. Being an architecture major, I've never had to submit an online portfolio of this nature. Despite my inexperience, I'm sure everything will fall into place.

presentations...

I was particularly moved by Brett's presentation on Coors Light. Though I do not share Mr. O'Brien's view that Coors Light is the best light beer, I respect his perspective and thought he gave a stirring presentation.

I thought the analysis of the packaging was a key part of his argument's validity. The vented wide-mouth can and color changing mountain label make me question the superiority of my favorite light beer. Then again, light beer is for girls anyway.

It's business time.

After the client visit our group started brainstorming some ideas for our project. My biggest concern would be to get the attention of the student audience. Something funny or entertaining would keep people's attention while informing them about healthy lifestyles.

So far, team moral is high among group "Give 'em the Business". Everybody seems to be on board with the "get it done" sentiment. I'm optimistic that we'll be able to produce some quality work this semester.

10 Years From Now...

A lot of stuff can happen in ten years. In the next year I'll most likely be applying to graduate school for architecture. After getting my masters and working a bit on my resume, I'm hoping to get into a job that I enjoy. If I'm not working at an architecture firm, I'd like to be doing something design oriented.

In ten years I want to be living in a big city and making a good living for myself. Ideally, my job would allow me to do some traveling so I can see a little more of the world before I get too old. If everything goes according to plan, I'll accomplish some goals I can be proud of and be able to do the things I enjoy without too much stress in my life.

About Me

Hey everybody...

I'm Ryan, a fourth year architecture major from Columbia, SC. My new year's resolution is to graduate. I don't really have a game plan for after college as of now, but I'm working on it.

I played soccer all through high school and won a couple state championships at Irmo. I'm a big fan of music and have a pretty eclectic iTunes library. I rarely take things very seriously and I'm really easy going. That's not a real mustache.