Arch101 Part1 Booklet, Mounes Al Ani

ARCHITECTURE 101Station1: From scratch to art

Journey of:

Mounes AL ANI

Human is small .. Human is big ... Relativity

The eye is a tool ...to see ...to read ...to learn ...

The eye is the window ...

Part 1: What I’ve learned

Things with no name...may have great meanings ...Just use good translator ....

TV without signal ...Watched it ...Drowned in it ...Lost in it ...When I went out ...I finally saw the light ...

Part 1: What I’ve learned

Music Without SoundLife Without Motion

Draw everything out ...Draw nothing in ...Improve drawing skills ...Improve perception ...

Part 1: What I’ve learned

Memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. memorize .. Then draw ...

Think inside ...Abstract outside ...Learn in between ...

New tools, new techniques ...new life of app ...Thanks Arch101 ...

Part 1: What I’ve learned

#InsideNoOutside

Feel inside ...Abstract outside ...And again ...Learn between ...I love to learn ...

#StealingThingsIs

Abstract .. abstract ..More simple ...More difficult ...It is a challenge indeed ...

Part 1: What I’ve learned

My Sun Machine

Exploring The Weather ...Learning New Apps ...kaleidoscope ...

Some people walk in the rain,Me learn from the rain ....

Voyage dans la Lune ...Trip to the Moon...

Part 1: What I’ve learned

Think thoroughly ...Organize your ideas ...Shape diagrams ...

Diagram of my mind ...

All over horizon ...Many things, many thoughts ...But all important ...

I gotta have a body ...A loyal body to my mind ...

Part 1: What I’ve learned

Mind-body Connection ...in the simplest way ...

The triangle relationship between mind, body and place

Human is all ...Mind makes place through body ...

@maxred91Speaking eye ...

@sabrosas_journalDrawing on wall ..music without sound ...

@ ardisiftiWhat real sketching is ...Difference is obvious between the two images ...This is real sketching ... I beleive ...

@ bojanefYou can make a good sketch ...by looking outside the vase ...

@telezarmarinaAbstract is a difficult kind of fine arts ...But it can tells thinks with no sound ...

@_sunaddict_Feelings can be told byabstract too ...

@lizzielalayellowWhatMakesTheDesertI liked colour composition ...

@panyukStealingThingsIsGood use of apps ...

@function_521Beautiful way to look at the sky ...Good use of app ...

@rightfromthesoulIt is not like an app-sunmachinebut it’s a good way of thinking ...

@karenlili101SomePeopleWalkNice idea ... mixing feelings, motion and rain ...

@kristinaneralVoyageDansLaLuneIt is an extraordinary idea...

@anna_bolotnikovaYourMindWillsuccessful mixture of abstract and diagram ...

@pfa101OnesDestinationInnovative way of diagrams ...

@aygullalaALineIsADotIt is amazing how long storiescan be told by one single line !!!...

@grudinskaNoManIsUnique way dealingwith matters...It’s an island ..But it isn’t like any island ...

WhatMakesTheDesert

The place I am in ...Tripoli, Libya ...A beautiful city between the Mediterranean and the Sahara...

BrianEnoSays My desk ... My hands among stuff that are usually on my desk ...

Onesdestination

My place here isn’t a physical one ...It is as big & important to me asUniverse ...

It is my career ...

ALineIsADot This is me !!! ... Walking on the line of the city ... Home, job, seashore, picnic, shopping, movies, etc...

YouCantCriticize My car standing by traffic light in the city of Tripoli waiting for the green light...

My place is the city of Tripoli ...Where I live, work, eat, shop and everything else ...

Once I represent it as a sea ..

the other as an island ...or my empire in the island ...

and the third as a starry sky ...

15 / 3 / 2011

It is a date …

But it is not like any other date…

The date that changed history…

The history of my family, my country and me …

On that day, Syria, my homeland, my land of love,

hope and life has rebelled on that day against theirhope and life has rebelled on that day against their

criminal leader, so our dreams, plans and any other

future projects has temporarily postponed until the

target of our revolution to be achieved.

Four years passed away and our life is still on hold

waiting for the end, but no end seems to be close...

Two years I spent in Syria waiting, but when I realized

that my life was going in vain I decided to travel to

another country hoping that the new place will change

my days a little bit, after deep thought I chose Libya

to live in.

Tripoli is a peaceful nice city that you can live in and

make a good business in the field of civil engineering,make a good business in the field of civil engineering,

I have been here for two years having normal life,

well …it is

semi-normal

indeed because

my heart is still

there …

in Damascus …in Damascus …

My treasure of

dreams …

One of my important plans is to study architecture as

a beloved branch of science that collects arts,engineering

and Humanities all together in a lovely Bouquet of

flowers that smells all over the world, but unfortunately,

my dream is postponed like all other ones.

Two months ago, when I was reading Facebook posts,

I have noticed something strange and very new to me;I have noticed something strange and very new to me;

it was called "MOOC". As a curious person I googled

it and realized that one of my dreams could be

–somehow- true by studying architecture online

through several courses that in the end gives me

– temporarily – what I need until I study it in the

University – in my unknown future -.

Therefore, I have started to look for suitable courses

for my purpose, I searches … searched … searched …

until I finally found you, ARCHITECTURE 101,

I screamed … "THAT'S IT"

Why is that? Simply for many reasons:

- Long graded courses hold your hand from the

beginning "nothingness" to the end "architecture".beginning "nothingness" to the end "architecture".

- Certifies your study and gives you an opportunity

to step forward by ECTs.

- Concentrates on many useful things other than

architecture such as social media, computer & phone

apps, etc.

- There will be a great opportunity to meet our

lecturers and peers at the Exhibition / Graduationlecturers and peers at the Exhibition / Graduation

and the summer camp in Sicily next summer.

I love photography so the idea of the first week stood

in front of me as a ghost after reading lessons through

the few hours that I had before submitting the

homework, so I started talking to myself about it.

For example, when I read "musicwithoutsound' I said

to myself when I was driving my car: Where can I find

this – music without sound - ?!!. My self answered me:

Here it is …

I saw a closed amusement park at noon, I imagined

the park in the evening when it is full of families

playing, kids shouting,peddlers selling popcorn and

sweets, I said: This place will have a very very loud

sound after three or four hours, so it is a music

without sound indeed!!!

Something else, Instagram, I love it, our circle of socialSomething else, Instagram, I love it, our circle of social

relations don't deal with Instagram so it is new to me,

by using it I found out new world of social media,

just photos and some few words, and I met people

through the course that share me the same interest,

how amazing !!!

By the way, whenever I learn something new here,

I say from the bottom of my heart ...I say from the bottom of my heart ...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH ARCH101.

Well, I like sketching and I somehow know how to

draw on paper, but on a screen of my smartphone by

my wide fingers... I must admit that is really difficult,

my finger was slipping on the screen and it was shaking

too. I tried and tried and tried, you should have to see

my masterpieces at the very beginning, after one million

try; I could draw the two sketches of the lady's face.try; I could draw the two sketches of the lady's face.

"QuestionWithoutAnswer " and "DoorsOfPerception"

highlights very important secrets of sketching that really

help improving hand-drawing techniques.

After submitting week02 homework and getting my

result, I have noticed that my peers hardly believed

that I am honest doing my homework; well I swear

I am. It is all about practice and hard work…I am. It is all about practice and hard work…

As I mentioned I took the course seriously from the

beginning so every lesson was a matter to me.

I have tried to draw the leaves

of "SomePeopleTheyKnow"

lesson many times before

reaching the final result.

"The Human camera" that is what I have imagined

through reading "DaytimeNighttime", I thought:

How could he draw an entire city from his memory,

I started staring at the building trying to remember

all details.

Also my hand of

"PlayItByTrust" lesson,

I have sketched zombie-like

hands, and I spent all night

sketching with my eyes closed

to get a reasonable result.

Maybe I stared

at the picture

about 1 hour

then I started

to sketch, and

this was the result.

The third week was so interesting; it has opened a

new window of fine arts; abstract, it has made us

think thoroughly and try to abstract several things,

which was a new experiment to me. On the other

hand, it has opened a window of technology, which

was digital collage using smart phones.

In the first lesson "RomanceInManyDimensions", I’ve

tried to use something besides mobile apps toget better

collage effects, so I have

gotten some help from

Adobe Photoshop on PC

- which I am familiar to -

to compose images I have to compose images I have

taken from the mobile app

PolyFauna", that was so helpful making a nice image.

The second lesson took me back home; my sorrowful

Syria. Mixed feelings of anger, sadness and disappointment

with tiny spotlights of hope here and there.

It was not supposed to use any recognizable thing

but I couldn't, my heart forced me to put Syria's map

- with few modifications - as a background, maybe it

is not recognized to many people, but at least it is

recognized to me.

Week 4 has made me feel dizzy, just like riding twists,

rolling sky … rolling sun

… rolling moon ..., yet it

was a lovely week,

very emotional, I have

had a wonderful trip to the sky, I have really touched

the blue atmosphere, felt the blue atmosphere, felt

the heat of the sun, danced

under the rain, flew with

clouds, hunted the moon

and gave it as a gift to my

loving wife.

The best of this week for me is the time-lapse app,

it is something I was looking for long time ago, but

I didn't expect that I might find it as an app in my hand.

Frankly, every time

you surprised us with

new app I wondered as

a person who has gooda person who has good

experience in app technology

they dig and extract those

great apps from the ground.

Kaleidoscope, what is that I wondered …

Wow, new game I think,

great results, again and

again thanks ARCH101…

The fifth week was not so difficult to me because I like

diagrams, managing, arranging thoughts in a written

organized method, and the app of the week "DrawExpress"

has made things easier to me, so I have tried to make

something different from what I make usually – ordinary

diagrams I mean –, I tried to mix diagrams with abstract.

.I’ve used small isotypes to enrich the diagram, an

inspiring background and a sentence at the bottom

that completes the idea.

"YourMindWill" was

not like that. I have

concentrated on

meanings. I have tried

to get everything in my

mind out and put it in

one diagram, it was notone diagram, it was not

an easy task at all, but

the result was good

one I believe,yes; it is

my mind

But in the "body", "place", and "mind & body" diagramsI have used drawn objects as a connection betweenwords, a new full of life way of shaping diagramswhich I will use in my business in the future.

My "mind, body and place" triangle diagram was something

different. I did not tell a word,

it is a collage, but it is still a

diagram. Lines between the

untold words are so obvious,

in this diagram I have shown

my point of view, I always my point of view, I always

believe that God created human

to build and implant, created

his brain to think and his body

to achieve, and the final result is, Earth.

Before reaching week 6, I have tried to figure

out the meaning of "map", is it map of our

country, our city, our home …? I did not know.

When we started and I began to read I have

felt that I have learned another new thing here,

I realized that every relationship between things

can be called "map"; map of traffic, map ofcan be called "map"; map of traffic, map of

blood cells, map of dreams and thoughts.

Well I think that everyone knows that, yes;

that is right, but it is something like difference

between knowing to walk and knowing how to,

I hope I could explain the idea as I understood.

I liked the graded way of using tools from the simple

to the complex.

Now I can represent any relation as a map, by using

different tools and in any environment that I choose.

Expressing my place as a sea, an island or a sky,

what’s an idea!

Finally, we have reached the last week and I am so tired.

I have been making the booklet for 6 days considering

that I have full-time job.

Please do not think that I am complaining, I am just

thinking loudly. You have thankfully made us working

as artists, publishers and finally writers. Well, I am an

engineer, maybe some kind of junior artist, but I amengineer, maybe some kind of junior artist, but I am

not a writer, and as I mentioned in the beginning I am

a non-English speaker, so the most difficult task ever

was writing this essay, I hope from my heart that you

like it and my hard work doing it does not go in vain.

This was my interesting and useful journey

from "nothingness" to "place". I have enjoyed

this journey so much and I am glad I havethis journey so much and I am glad I have

reached the first station "place", longing for

the next step insisting to complete the journey

to the end and hoping to meet you at the end

of the course in the events that I expect to be

great as much as you.

Why am I here ...

After years of waiting and despair something must appear and

change the way we live, it is education,

I believe that nothing better than the art and sceince of rebuilding

dreams of ruined countries I can spend time on hoping that my

new world of architecture turns into truth when I return to my

country after this nightmare ends and we gain our desired freedom.country after this nightmare ends and we gain our desired freedom.

All thanks to the University Of Abadir, our lecturers and iversity.