Personal Statement

我覺得personal statement 個人表述 並不是所謂編年體的自傳，
如果翻譯成"自傳"很容易讓考生不小心就寫出很像列表的文章，
自己看了都無聊，由於設計科系最棒的表述已經在作品集了，
我當初的essay比較是用來補足作品集無法描述清楚的部分。

我是自己用英文寫的，最後再給人潤稿，畢竟要全文中翻英翻得有個人特色，這也不是太容易阿………   內容其實都環繞在建築上，毫無新意可言，也沒有什麼漂亮的英文，其實不是一個好範例，但也是可以給朋友們參考一下開場白，前半段因為時間比較充裕，寫的比較認真一點，後半段就相當草草了事，所以暫且保留。

LING-LI TSENG Personal Statement

Architecture is born from needs, and therefore it should be flexible in response to the changeable needs of the modern time.

While an undergraduate at Tunghai University, because I am interested in human interface with physical elements, I tried to transform the architecture of space to reflect the psychology of human needs. I designed a new mental health test center that combined psychological tests and behavioral records with spatial devices. This challenging design brought me a Young Talent Architectural Design Award honorable mention. I also excelled in two departmental design competitions. One featured transformable iron grilles, and the other a tree-log-park system. For the first project, I designed open grilles, common in Taiwanese buildings, to function as multi-functional balconies, turning a cold and stiff facade into warm and dynamic layers. For the tree-log-park, I designed a blog-projection system situated in a real urban park to bring out the possibility of an interactive hybrid space. These projects demonstrate that small scale or virtual interface designs have great potential for enabling physical change. They also deepened my desire to further challenge the possibilities of design.

      Multiple tools do improve diversity; however, logical thinking and an accurate viewpoint are the keys to a good design project or a good solution. My graduation thesis advisor emphasized that both space study and concept clarification are indispensable. Thus, during my study processes, I kept asking myself, “What is the viewpoint?” in order to define the issue clearly before producing many study models. This repeated dialectic training made me more and more familiar with clarifying complex design processes and producing a simple but effective representation. For instance, in one of the past design studios, the final objective was to find out a problem and a solution of a Seven-Eleven, a 24-hours-convinent store, by analyzing a commercial street. Through observing my site, I noticed that many Seven-Eleven stores block stairs in order to get more space, and that had been causing huge amounts of useless urban upper space. After that, I designed a 7-11 light-house project as a solution. As a prototype, the architectural design is simple, but workable, and could have great influence for entirely urban spaces where Seven-Eleven stores are highly concentrated, such as Taiwan. In addition, instead of just putting my design projects together, I use “responsive architecture” as a concept to select works during my past study years to organize my portfolio.

都在討論案子阿~ 很普通，看看就好，但開場不囉嗦，就寫自己的建築宣言應該還算討喜，整體上文字可以跟作品集呼應。

看到這麼直白的文章，想必很多人鬆一口氣。

當初大概斷斷續續5天搞定自傳，然後每一間學校都用一樣的，因為都在講自己的事。 ( 連我愛寫網誌 愛分享 都有寫進去後半段 ) 


不覺得在有作品集的情況下，會有人很認真的去看這些文字的東西，所以時間很趕的時候，真得不建議在這個部分斤斤計較，時間要用在刀口上，10小時衝一張美圖，絕對比多寫200字英文有用很多。




ps. 我用一個 「線寫線改」的系統來潤稿，
http://www.correctwriting.com.tw/
加入會員以後就可以寄文章給英文老師，英文老師會幫你潤稿，很方便，大概3天就改好了，費用也很便宜，我覺得很好用。足不出戶就可以完成所有的程序，很適合倒數一個月的行程表。