My artifact is not something tangible, but a photo of an experience. The photo is of a trip that my IA Scholars program took to Toronto. More specifically, the Aga Khan Museum, taken from the roof top of the islamic center and mosque next door.
We were given a tour of the museum where we could see the amazing art exhibitions as well as the unique architectural components. One that stood out to me was the pattern on the floor of the courtyard. The whole floor of the courtyard was covered in the six pointed stars, symbolic of Islam, and they even covered the windows. Another component that stuck out to me were the reflection pools outside of the complex. They gave the illusion of being deep but in reality were just a layer of water of a black slab of what I assume os marble or granite. One thing that really intrigued me, was honestly not even a fixed part of the building at all, it was the architectural plans for the caste on the mountain. The detail and accuracy of the model was incredible. It all was perfectly to scale and I was amazed at how well this can be done, so well done that it can even be considered art, and it was even cooler to realize that I could have my work somewhere like that if I pursue that field wholeheartedly.
In the Islamic center I really appreciated the attention to fine detail. One being the intricate and unique designs on the walls. From the engravings, to passages from the Quran, they all seemed unique and added a nice artistic element to the building. I also really appreciated the precise location of everything in the actual mosque portion. The windows were positioned and designed to let in sun as the day went on, constantly increasing in clarity so that it would be most illuminated once the sun was at its highest point.
I chose this to be my artifact because this trip to Toronto solidified my choice of a major. After seeing the amazing/ beautiful architectural designs of the museum, mosque, and other buildings in Toronto, I realized that I really do want to be an architect so that I can leave my mark on the world. I hope to be able to use what I learned form this experience in my field of study so that I too can create something unique that will leave my mark on this world.