Semester 2

Looking back on Semester 2, it was an extremely chaotic semester. Juggling two design modules at the same time was extremely difficult for me. Semester 1 made me realise how much my design skills had suffered as a result of my time away from university for my placement. I enjoyed being able to do modelling for one of my modules; it brought me back to my undergraduate days and was a valuable experience amidst all the chaos. As a result, I applied the feedback from semester 1 this semester, which meant doing some private learning on my own time. I believe I have learned a lot this semester, but there is still much room for improvement. So, as we move into semester 3, I am feeling a lot more confident, but I am looking forward to improving my design outputs even more, and I plan to do some more private learning in my spare time to do so.

Blog Experience

Because we didn’t have our usual lectures this semester, the blogging experience was a little different. We were pushed to investigate issues that we thought were relevant to urban design or that we wanted to investigate. This was initially uncomfortable for me, but it pushed me to do my own thinking and research. As a result, I chose to focus on research that could help me with my design thesis, which made it easier to choose topics.

When it came to blogging, I was a little more organised this semester. I decided to complete all of mine during the first four weeks when I would be less stressed from my other modules. This really helped me get the blogging aspect out of the way before it became an issue where I rushed it. Because of how I organised my blogs from the beginning, I was able to prepare for my design thesis from the start. Furthermore, it gave me more time to improve based on the feedback I received.

Comments

I enjoyed reading and commenting on my colleague’s blogs. This is because I not only learned new things but also conducted my own research, which improved my understanding of the topic. The only disadvantage of doing the comments were having to wait for people to upload their blogs because some did late submissions, but this had something to do with me finishing at such an early stage.

Overall, I had an easier time than last semester because I knew how to format a blog better, but also because I think I organised myself better. Similarly, when it came to making comments, I felt more confident in doing so. My blogs are a small part of a larger discussion that I hope to explore in my design thesis.