Myp Personal Project: Church in My Eyes

Introduction

Introduction: I view the Personal Process Project is an opportunity to take charge of my own learning and be independent while finding answers. It is very important to choose a topic that will inspire me to remain focused and submersed in the project throughout the work period. Not only is the PPP a good demonstration of the skills learnt as an IB learner, it also will allow me to learn more about my passions.

Background: For my Personal Process Project I have decided to utilize my interest in church architecture. I chose this topic because I enjoy the thought of learning new things about church architecture.

Also, I am very interested in models of churches. The idea of interacting with, observing and learning about architecture is exciting to me. Furthermore, I have recently decided to become an architect. Through this project, I hope to gain a better understanding of the basics of architecture.

Criterion A: Investigating

Goal / Product:

Thesis statement: The goal that I formulate for this project is to “Learn more about architecture, research the history of Karmravor church (one of the early medieval Armenian churches) and then weld and create a model of the Karmravor church. Make an interesting and beautiful poster about the architecture of Karmravor church. ”

My model will be relatively large (width – 40-50cm, length -55cm). It will be enclosed in a transparent cube.

My goal is highly challenging because this research consists of various techniques and components. I will be trying to become more comfortable and engaged, even though the complexity of the project may seem formidable. After developing my goal and global context I needed a guiding question to help me begin my research and focus my project. My guiding question is “How did people create churches that stand till today?”

Global Context

I have chosen a global context that all allow me to make my ideas more detailed and focused on my goal. Topic sentence: The global context that will be guiding me through my investigation is “Personal and Cultural expressions.” This looks at my appreciation for the aesthetic.

This connects with my goal, as my product has to appeal to the community and fit in with the already existing models of churches. I needed to look closely at what would appeal to my community and blend my product in with this idea. Evidence & citing: I chose this context as I wanted to bring together the culture of my school and my hometown, as well as express myself within the model.

Prior learning

In draftsmanship classes I have gained a lot of knowledge. I have learnt to interpret and construct 3D axonometries of different types of projections. This has allowed me to create a very concrete and tidy model of the church.

Recently I took the 3D modeling Course at TUMO Center. From this course I gained knowledge about 3D modeling of houses and buildings. This skill has allowed me to create the model very easily. In TUMO Center I also took part in a photography course, which allowed me to utilize photography skills in this project. Specifically, photography is a large part of the documentation, which makes my skills applicable.

In 2nd - 8th grades, I attended drawing classes, where I acquired basic drawing skills. Although this was not a long time ago, I had forgotten a lot of what I had been taught but when I began this project, it came back to me. I was able to apply this to design my model of the church.

In church history classes at school I gained knowledge about early medieval Armenian churches and their history. This will relate to my goal because I will be able to research church architecture.

Before researching Karmravor church I knew that it is one of the most beautiful sacred sites of Armenia and is very suitable for those who are looking for some peace and solitude. There is a legend about Karmravor. The legend says that there were three sisters, who had jumped off the cliffs. Three churches were built, each in the area where one of the sisters met her death. The other two churches that were built on the gorge of Kasakh River, were named Tsiranavor and Spitakavor. The legend might have a close connection with the fact that Karmravor church was once a convent. Karmravor has endured centuries and managed to keep itself standing, while other medieval churches were tested in their firmness. I was interested in Karmravor and have always wanted to create a model of Karmravor. This is a great chance to reach my wish.

Literature Review

Topic sentence: A large part of my Personal Process Project was conducting research to extend my knowledge further. First, I used the internet to find medieval Armenian churches. I found many medieval Armenian churches but I chose Karmravor. Throughout the creation of my product, I used a variety of sources such as Wikipedia to find out more about the structures I was researching. Since anyone can edit Wikipedia, it may not be a reliable source but the information obtained was scientific and had very little bias. Wikipedia gave the scientific names/classifications for each structure, the location and the description.

When conducting my introductory secondary research, I used books such as Armenian cultural monuments in the region of Karabakh by Samvel Karapetian (Yerevan, 2001) to learn the basic design and architectural aspects of Armenian monuments. This book has many photos of over 2000 different churches and monuments found in Armenia and Karabakh.

Evidence & citing: The book I used to identify structural properties of churches throughout my entire project was: The Geometric Cube in Architectural Proportions of Early Medieval Armenian Churches by Sargis Ter-Galustian (Armenia, 2017). Commentary: This book was very reliable because it was written by a professional who has researched the subject for over 30 years. It is comprehensive and up-to-date. Evidence & citing: Another book I used was the Decorative Art of medieval Armenian churches (Leningrad, 1971). Commentary: This book was used by me in decorating the model of Karmravor.

As part of my online research, I came across contact details of Sargis Ter-Galustyan. I contacted him and had an interview with him. He answered my questions that allowed me to begin my basic research. I also went to Matenadaran (museum of Armenian ancient books), where I met many kind people who were willing to help me. They offered to let me use their own models and information, but I insisted that this project must be built on my personal experiences.

Criterion B: Planning

Product / Outcome Specifications

Topic sentence: I will conduct my research and display the results in my product. Since my final product is not only a product but also an outcome, there are criteria for the product but also areas that must be met in order for me to have successfully achieved my goal. Evidence & citing: I must understand how churches were designed and built in early medieval Armenia, what lies at the heart of Armenian church architecture. This can be seen in my product based on my photos and information collected. I must acquire wide knowledge of these basic techniques. What follows is a list of specifications I have chosen that will show if my product and outcome are successful and that I followed my plan to achieve it:

In order to be successful, my product/ outcome will show:

• different techniques to research church architecture (including photographs)
• planning and good organization
• that I have learnt something from my project that will stay with me

Developing Criteria for the Product

Topic sentence: When making my product there are a few guidelines that must be followed in order to have a successful “high quality” product. As part of the early stages of the project, I also needed to set out the criteria with which I could assess the final product. Although simple, these were important criteria that I needed to adhere to. The detailed criteria for the product can be seen in a chart. This allows the product to be easily ranked according to each of the band levels.

Action Plan and Self-Management

Topic sentence: An action plan was essential to help develop my ideas and assist me in meeting deadlines. There was a number of vital steps I had to include to design, create and evaluate my product, these include:

In order to complete my research, I had to conduct two interviews, research the Internet and read books in relation to the Geometric Cube in early medieval history of Armenian churches. I needed to learn about the history of the medieval Armenian churches and find new information.

I had to learn many skills, such as welding and how to use all of the required equipment. This allowed me to begin the process of my product in the holidays during midterm break.

Before creating my product I was required to create 3 different designs. I planned to design my model on the Christmas holidays and then create a final one before I started creating.

My project needed numerous materials, which I planned to gather from my favorite Drawing shop, or from our village.

I also needed to go Karmravor and have photographs and I planned to do it during the autumn holidays. I had to go and have interview with Sargis Ter -Galustyan during the autumn holidays.

I also will make poster about Karmravor church, and I decided to do that in February.

My ability to be organized was a key skill that I knew I would need to ensure my product would be completed on time. I devised an action plan to assist in managing my time. This helped me organize each section of the planning and research of my product. I also had to ensure that when I was home on the farm, we worked hard on getting all the physical work completed.

Reflection helped me as a learner in a number of ways. Reflection enabled me to think about what I had to do, changes I needed to make and ways to improve the quality of my product.

Developing a Plan to Complete The Project

Topic sentence: In order to complete my Personal Process Project, a strict plan had to be made with due dates to ensure that none of the work was unduly delayed and that I would have sufficient time to complete every stage of the project. A series of time periods was sectioned and small goals were set for each time period. This way all of the work would get done on time and well.

Criterion C: Taking action

Creating my product to achieve my Goal

Topic sentence: After completing the detailed plan, I began to work on my product. I achieved the goal to an excellent standard because I completed the elements of the goal statement. I started from the beginning. Evidence & citing: My goal was “Learn more about architecture, research history of Karmravor church (one of the early medieval Armenian churches) and then, weld and create the model of the Karmravor church. And make interesting and beautiful poster about architecture of Karmravor church.”

Topic sentence: To do my project, I had successfully done my research. I went to Karmravor church and did some photographs. Once the photographs were collected, I processed them and tried to improve them. This was the challenging part of my project. Then I went to Sargis Ter-Galustyan’s home and he helped me create a 3D model of Karmravor. He talked about the architecture of the early medieval Armenian churches. With this knowledge I started to create the model. First I built it with white paper and then I colored it. This is the most amazing time of my project. Then I started to make wallpaper about my research.

Topic sentence: I showed my model to some architects and they indicated some of the limitations and gave some creative ideas. Their thoughts were very important for me.

I ended up doing some research on almost all of them. Sometimes it was difficult to find reliable sources that contained the answers and information for my guiding questions.

After finishing my project, I concluded that my product was efficient in helping me achieve my goal using the global context. I learnt many new things about early medieval Armenian churches including architecture, drawing, photographs, relationships with other architects, behaviors and adaptations.

Criterion D: Reflecting

Evaluation of Product

Topic sentence: After completing my product, I am very proud. I have achieved my goal. Creation of the model was a pleasurable experience.

At the end of my project, I have made sure that I have achieved all of my self-defined criteria for the outcome. I have developed skills (drawing, architectural). This has allowed me to have many amazing experiences, meet many architects who share similar interests and discover new places and new discoveries I had never encountered before now. When doing my research, I had an amazing time taking charge of my own learning. Finally, my project has allowed me obtain new knowledge that will be with me going forward.

Reflections on Knowledge and Understanding

Topic sentence: My Personal Project has allowed me to gain a better understanding of the global context, Personal and cultural expressions. Evidence & citing: When creating my model I have learnt new architectural skills. I have also become more familiar with church architecture. Now I know how they built churches in medieval Armenia.

My knowledge of architecture and research has also increased drastically. Evidence & citing: I have learnt techniques like identification, classification, photography, collecting information, drawing. Commentary: These techniques are important for researching churches, their architecture and specifically Karmravor church. These facilitated the creation of the 3D model. One of the objectives of this project for me was to get to know architecture better, in order to determine if it may turn out to be the career choice for me. I believe that it definitely could be. If I decide to become an architect in the future, the knowledge and skills gained through this project will be a good first step in my journey.

Development of the IB Learner Profile

The International Baccalaureate learner profile describes students in ways that allow for success. Evidence & citing: Ten different qualities that are demonstrated by IB students including : Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Principled, Communicators, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced and Reflective.

As an IB learner, I have improved as a Open-minded, Communicator and Inquirer.

First of all, I have improved as a communicator because I my research involved speaking to people. I communicated with my supervisor throughout the entire project and that took a lot of planning, organizing and arranging. I communicated with an architect (Sargis Ter-Galustyan).

I have improved as an inquirer because I had to come up with different questions for each new creation and dig deep into the research to find answers. Finally I have improved as a open-minded person, because I used many amazing ways to create my model. For example, I used drinking sticks and tights for build the church’s roofs and cupola.

I am very proud of how far I have come since the beginning of my project and I have learnt many new things about IB program and what it means to be an IB student.

Reference List 

Books

1. Ter-Galustyan Sargis, The Geometric Cube in Architectural Proportions of Early Medieval Armenian Churches, author’s edition, 2017, Yerevan.
2. N. Stepanyan, Decorative Art of medival Armenian churches, , 1971, Leningrad.
3. Ayvacyan Argam, Monumental monuments and paintings of Naghijevan, Armenia, 1987.
4. Karapetian Samvel, Armenian cultural monuments in the region of Karabakh, “Gitutyun ” publishing house of NAS RAA, Yerevan 2001.
5. Ghafadaryan Karo, Medieval monuments oh Yerevan, Yerevan 1975.

Websites

1. Karmravor Church, ”Armenian Travel Bureau” , 1999-2018. http://www.atb.am/
2. “Khan Academy ”, Medieval churches, by Valerie Spanswick, 2019. https://www.khanacademy.org/
3. “Culture trip”, A guide to architecture in Armenia, by Baia Dzagnidze, 2018. https://theculturetrip.com/