“What do I know now that I didn't know at the beginning of the semester that I know now?”

            Prior to my involvement with Community Practice, I thought I had a grasp on how the design world operates, (but I was slightly off mark) and how theoretically easy it should be to communicate with other design professionals (again I was slightly off). But the reason I had underestimated these operations is because I simply have not had the interactions and practice to completely understand the process. My biggest take away from this semester, were all those tangent moments in-between the overarching statement of community practice where I began to understand the political structure of how a progressive architecture firm might operate. If I could digest the semester into categories, the most valuable theory I learned was the art of collaboration, and the many forms and scales it happens. There were moments as an individual working on this project; I had to rely on the production or information of another group member, and the inverse of group members relying on me. The understanding of accountability has made a large impact on how collaboration operates.

“What I would suggest for students taking this class”

            Community practice is a great opportunity to work with classmates and build stronger relationships with the BAC community. The class is designed to explore theories of collaboration, as seen in the structure of the class (4 weeks history lecture, 4 weeks design build, 1 week build, 3 week analysis) from beginning to end, this class covers a lot of ground, and attempts to create an entire composition of the design/build process. To get the most out of what this class has to offer, I would recommend staying on top of your punctuality, actively practice the best and most efficient ways to communicate ideas; email/ phone/ sketching/ models/ diagrams.  And to be successful with this class it is crucial to be loyal to your team members, whereas if you are accountable to provide group members with information, it is best to do so in a timely manner. (which is always harder than it sounds)