Blog 8: "Architecture and Earthquakes"

 The subject I have enjoyed the most this semester is Architecture and Earthquakes. It is about understanding how earthquakes affect building structures and teaches us how to design them in such a way that they can withstand large earthquakes. 

I find it very interesting because Chile is a seismic country and learning about structural design based on these is crucial in our career as architects, also, the subject requires a lot of mathematics (which I like a lot) and I do the work with my friends because they are in groups, so we have a great time and we help each other with the different doubts that arise throughout the class :D

I think one of the main reasons why I like this subject is that the teacher who teaches the course is very patient, intelligent, comprehensive and knows how to explain very well, she can explain a thousand times how to do the calculus exercises until we all understand, creating a comfortable atmosphere for everyone, both teachers and students <3

My favourite architecture website

We all know the website PLATAFORMA ARQUITECTURA when we start studying architecture, it is, as its name says, a platform where there are thousands and thousands of architectural projects from all over the world. It is currently the most visited architecture website in the world and it was created by a Chilean from the architecture school of the University of Chile :) 

The website is composed of categories such as religious architecture, public, educational, sports, hotels and many others, but it also has a category of shops and construction products, who I understand are the sponsors of the site.

 I like it because it has a very friendly interface and I find here everything I need, from interior design ideas to urban proposals from all over the world.

I visit it every week, as I like to learn about new projects to get ideas for my university work, in short, it makes my career easier :D

link Plataforma Arquitectura -->  https://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl

How can my career make the world a better place?

 Architecture contributes to the world by providing places to improve people's lives.  Buildings (ideally) are created to satisfy their needs, making their lives easier, although sometimes access to these spaces is more of a privilege than a right.

I particularly chose to study architecture because I came up with the idea of wanting to contribute to the improvement of social housing in Chile, since I consider that although there are very good housing projects, there are others that are mediocre. Either because of bad management, or because of monetary interests, etc.

Although Chile has made a lot of progress in public housing policy, there is still a long way to go, and as social housing is an essential part of everyone's life, I think it should be a higher priority because the demand is much greater than the supply (the reason for the existence of many camps, especially in the metropolitan region).

Although I think I still have a lot to study and know, I hope one day to be able to contribute a bit to this.

My favorite photograph

This is my current favorite photograph, I took it on an afternoon last summer when I was studying for an oral exam for the subject "Problems of Architecture" in my backyard and my pets were with me.

Poli and Blanqui (dog and cat respectively) are the smallest pets in my home and they are always playing just like in the photo, so I decided to capture this moment because I was amused by the position my cat was in (he looked like a little kangaroo :D).

They are together all day long, they sleep next to each other, they fight over toys and share their food, although when Blanqui arrived (about seven months ago), Poli cried for a whole week because she wanted to play with him, but we couldn't leave them together since Blanqui was only two months old and she was afraid of everything.

I love this picture because every time I see it I laugh and I remember the reason why I love them so much <3

My favorite meal

 I LOVE Chilean Shepherd’s Pie. I think I could eat it every day. It consists of a layer of ground potato over a layer of ground meat and seasoned with onion and garlic. My favorite is the one my mom prepares, because I don't eat animal meat and she replaces it with vegetable meat and it's delicious <3 sometimes she puts slices of cheese between the meat and the potato and that's when I like it the most because it has a lot of flavors, plus I accompany it with tomato salad.

I don't think this food is very harmful to my health if I eat it in the right portion, since the vegetable meat gives me protein and the potato gives me energy :D.

My favorite technological object

My favorite technological object is my computer because due to the pandemic it has become my tool to socialize and at the same time have fun and study. 

On it I can join my online classes as well as listen to music, watch series or play online video games with my friends.

My computer also allows me to practice one of my favorite things to do: creating collages and editing photos, which helps me with the stress of college.

Even though I didn't give much importance to technological objects before my quarantine, during this one I don't think I could survive without them, considering that I have to study and distract myself, and inside four walls I can't do much :(.  

I recommend using it because it is very versatile, you can play video games or even learn a language on it, although if you use it for a long time I would recommend wearing glasses to avoid headaches :D. 

Why did i choose this career?

  

Since I was born I have been in contact with many animals, as my grandparents were farmers, so they had horses, cows, rabbits, chickens and many dogs and cats. That is why I always wanted to be a veterinarian. I imagined myself in a zoo taking care of lions and zebras. There was even a video game called Zoo Tycoon and I loved it! 

I dreamed about this until I was about 14 years old when I started to really like math and construction topics, so I thought about studying engineering. 

Just 1 year before entering the university I went to an architecture workshop at the University of Concepción and I really liked what they taught me, so I decided to study this career and I'm currently in my third year.

So far I love the career, and I think it has helped me to develop skills that I thought I didn't have, such as painting, drawing and working in a group.

Because I still love animals, my dream job would be to be part of an NGO dedicated to rescuing and caring for them.

Thanks for reading <3

Denis' autobiography

Hello everyone! welcome to my blog.

I am 20 years old and I was born in the south of Chile, in a city called Los Ángeles and I currently live in the countryside with my parents and an older brother. My sister (also older) lives in Santiago and before the pandemic I lived with her to go to college.

I studied in a catholic school called San Sebastian for 13 years and currently I am in my third year of Architecture at the Universidad de Chile. This makes me very happy :).

What I like most in the world are animals, I have four cats; Telon, Osi, Vaquita, and Blanki, and two dogs, Pulgui and Poli. All rescued except the last one which we adopted. I spend all day with them and we even sleep together some nights.

In my free time I like to watch video game videos on Youtube and Twitch and I'm currently addicted to a video game called Stardew Valley, it's very entertaining. I also like to take pictures, edit them and create collages with them like Pilar García-Ferrer, an architect and artist that inspires me a lot. While I do this I use to listen to Noel Gallagher's music from Oasis, Spinetta, Coldplay and Cerati, I like them a lot <3.

Another thing I do in my free time is watch series and movies, of all the ones I've seen, Prison Break and Dark have been the best and if we talk about movies The Danish Girl stole my heart. 

Thanks for reading my autobiography! <3