Fanjie Mike Jin-LookingOutwards-08

Meejin Yoon is an architect and designer. She currently serves as the dean of the school of architecture at MIT. She got her bachelor of architecture education from Cornell and a master of architecture degree from Harvard GSD. She is truly a pioneer in designing interactive public space and she regarded her projects as bridges that engage technology in the public sphere. Her works that were presented in the talk really showed that she has successfully and effectively integrated technology to the architecture that aligns with the purpose and context of her projects.

One project that I really admired is MIT’s Collier Memorial. There are a number of concepts that are associated with this memorial. The form drew from MIT’s motto, “Mens et Manus,” Latin for “mind and hand.” Five radial stone walls form the hand’s fingers connecting by a vault; the palm and the open hand represent Collier’s spirit of helpfulness, and the space under the vault represented his absence. She successfully synthesized some really meaningful memories aligning with the core values of MIT and finally produced an elegant and beautiful memorial.