Reading through A Skilled Hand and Cultivated Mind (Edquist, 2012), I started to realise that I’ve never really looked at the RMIT campus. For just over a year, I’ve been coming to RMIT for classes, arriving just on time and leaving as soon as I can. Apart from the occasional trip to the library or walk through the Alumni Courtyard, I’ve never really explored RMIT outside of the classrooms to which I am assigned.

RMIT’s location in the heart of the CBD is unique, and it’s ties to the old judicial precinct and Old Melbourne Gaol should have been enough to spike my interest in the buildings of the university. But like most people, I’ve never really taken the time to explore the places that I visit so frequently.

Edquist’s book has made me realise I need to take a closer look at what is around me. The fig tree has me especially interested, since I’d never even realised such an odd tree was on campus.

This act of noticing is described by John Mason in The Discipline of Noticing. In the introductory chapter, Mason talks of how even though we spend out days noticing things, we do not mark them. He also mentions that there are vast amounts of things we simply just do to notice. By making an effort to notice certain things, say the way the buildings look at RMIT, we can become more reflective about these things. So, from here on I will notice the way buildings are designed at RMIT. Hopefully this will help me reflect on place throughout this semester.