critique week...

on friday dec. 5th, i went to a critique for students in the retail class. they had to design shops for either biomech mills or the shops at buffalo bridge. my favorite was for a store called overcast. it was a boutique for outerwear and luxury office goods. one of the first reasons i liked it is because of the concept and mood. i LOVE rainy days and overcast weather and the student did a good job of conveying that mood throughout the presentation. i know that i personally was drawn into her design and could visualize it as a real store. i could also tell that she put a lot of thought into developing her ideas from the precedent of a cloudy day streetscape. every detail was thought out and her drawings were amazing.

looking at all the presentations, i learned that it is important to really sell your design and concept. make the audience want to see your plan become a reality. i also learned that every detail is important. skipping a few minor things might not seem like a big deal, but it is guaranteed that somebody will notice it in your presentation. overall, i am looking forward to my future in this program. i got to see the kind of thought and process that goes into design work and i am excited to get to that level!

pathways.edges.boundaries: final model

we decided to use a texture of circles and squares to mimic the shapes used by the oasis island directly across from us. we started with the base in the back, but changed to this configuration instead.

here is the mold for our final casting...

here i was cutting circles out of foam for the mold.

PATHWAYS... final exhibit

EDGES... sketches and notes

BOUNDARIES... first model

we made our first model 12 in x 12in. above is the mold for the top of our structure, below is the base, which is uniform throughout the four structures in the building edge.

when we took the concrete out of the mold, it ended up cracking. this told us that we needed a bigger aggregate than kitty litter. so for the next model, we used pea pebbles.

pathways.edges.boundaries: research

our first task was to do research about the history of the gatewood/weatherspoon parking lot. my group found out that in 1891 before the university opened, the land where gatewood is consisted of farmland. the area was unsuccessful as farmland and was willingly converted into the university. through the 1970s, the area around gatewood was residential. eventually the area was cleared for a gravel parking lot and later the gatewood building and the current parking lot.

dialog: final drawings

dialog: continuing the process...

this is my sketchbook page that i used throughout the process. after my first iteration, i started thinking literally about the kinds of conversations people have. the one that stuck out to me was one person coming in and dominating a conversation. i liked this idea because it fit in with the work i had done with one narrow space and a larger space.



this is the right side of the project. i took the design of this side from the top of my previous iteration. the opening reveals the narrow space that i have created.


i decided to play more with scale and exaggerate the differences in the sizes of the spaces. i also thought more about how i defined the spaces. continuation allows the eye to recognize two distinct spaces without the larger space being completely delineated.

dialog: first iterations

my initial idea was to create one space that is closed off and narrow. this iteration was very flat and possibly could have been considered one space since the triangle cutout opened into the same narrow space.




this shows the narrow space along the sides that i was trying to create.




my second idea was inspired by thinking literally about conversations. i came up with the idea of one person coming in and dominating the conversation. so i created one broad space and a small confined space on the back side.

questions about dialog

how is dialog created?
-often dialog can be created through similarities between the two spaces. many projects had spaces with a shared side or skewers that run through both spaces. the spaces have some clear relationship, such as a space within a space or spaces back to back. the dialog can also be created through continuation and proximity without the spaces actually touching.

how is a sense of space/place defined?
-space can be defined through using the paper or skewers or a combination of both. proximity is important in deciding when two objects are close enough to delineate a space between them. it is also used in determining when when one space becomes two. in my project, the large space is defined through two sides that suggest a space, but do not completely close the space.

how is the idea of system generated?
-a system is a series of parts that work together as a whole. this can be created through modules coming together in the whole. modules allow for repetition which can create a certain rhythm. a lot of people also worked off of a grid format that automatically helped the spaces fit cohesively within the whole.

how does the joinery support the project concept/strategies?
-during the critique, i noticed that sometimes joinery can be used to emphasize the most important parts of the project. it can also be used simply for structure and support.

how is scale utilized in the project?
-in my project, i intentionally played with scale by having one closed narrow space next to a much larger, less defined space. scale can also differentiate between primary and secondary spaces. sometimes if the intended spaces are large enough, the smaller secondary spaces don't necessarily 'count as spaces.'

how do two-dimensional images add to the understanding of the project?
-drawings and graphics can serve to simplify the design or to show details that may be missed. images can also show process.

how did the initial project idea evolve?
-listening to others at the critique, i found that many people started the same way i did: thinking literally about types of dialog and how two spaces might depict that. my idea came from the way one person comes in and dominates a conversation. i chose to express that with a small constricted space and a relatively large space.

unity: final design

this is the final design for my project. i went back toward what i did for my first iteration. the bowl is deeper than the first iteration. i do feel that this design conveys unity because all the parts have to work together to create the overall shapes.

unity: final drawings

-plan-

-elevation-

-contour-

-gesture-

unity: the process...

these are my first two iterations (the bottom two images are the first attempt, the top image is the second model). i thought about unifying opposites and my idea became creating curves and circles with straight objects. in the first model, i tried to keep everything unified by having all the points of the sticks on the interior and all the skewers and papers come together to create the circles in the center. for my second iteration, i tried to use the suggestions from class to create something related but completely different. the skewers made their circle outside of the paper, the points of the skewers were upward and the cards were turned horizontally. in the end, this model did not work as well as the first.

unity project comparison

i chose to compare my project to meghan kaufman's project. both our projects used the papers collectively to form a new overall shape. my shape was a circular, bowl shape. hers was a hexagon. the construction of the projects was similar in that the papers overlap to form the shapes. meghan's is composed of modules that repeat throughout. at first i didn't look at my project as having modules, but looking at it more i think that it does. my modules consist of one paper and one skewer. the thing that is different between the projects is in the integration of the skewers. her skewers had a structural function. mine were not structural at all. they were more of a design element. unlike in meghan's project, the skewers in mine echoed the shape made by the papers. overall, i think it is interesting how these two projects have distinctly different appearances, yet have so many similarities.

a box for 12 twigs: final

this box looks similar to my previous model, but i improved the craft on it. in the openings, i folded the paper instead of cutting it to make the box sturdier. the sewing was also made neater. i like the back of the project because it gives the same image as the front, with the string showing the twigs. im happy with the way my project turned out and i think i conveyed idea of a display box for twigs within twigs.

a box for 12 twigs: continued

here is an iteration of my project that is close to the final product. instead of showcasing 12 individual twigs, i chose one that stood out to me (the one on the left). i thought of this as a twig within a twig, so i chose to mimic this with the other twigs. the twigs on the right are 6 twigs wrapped in bark (which i consider to be a twig...). the purpose was to create a display box for them.

a box for 12 twigs: the beginning

this was one of my first ideas for the twig project. i had 12 twigs that were all different from each other and i wanted to showcase their differences. the result was a cylinder with the twigs sticking through slits in the paper. this iteration was not very stable and it was difficult to get the twigs through the paper while still keeping a nice, clean shape. 

a few things...

today we had interim critiques our 'box for 12 twigs' project. first of all, i thought it was a lot more helpful to critique in small groups rather than one big group. we got to look at each project and talk about it, rather than just looking at a few in the large group. a lot of the same issues arose with many of the designs. the most common one was justification of every choice made and how those choices specifically relate to the twigs. often we put elements in our designs because we 'liked the effect' or 'thought it was cute.' today's critique further stressed the point that everything in our design should be done purposefully and in response to the twigs. i think that once this effort is taken, then the project will be able to speak for itself. if the audience looks thoughtfully at the design, they should be able to understand what you were going for.

on another note...

in studio theory hour the topic was architecture 2030. the first statement that really caught my attention was 'we are a storm on the planet.' i never thought of describing our impact on the earth in that way. but it actually makes perfect sense. the damage done to this planet is growing out of control. to combat the destruction, ed mazria started the idea of AIA 2030 and the 2030 challenge. the challenge is to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings by 50% immediately, and continue reducing carbon until it is reduced by 100% in 2030. it is possible and there are many builders, designers, and others who participate in the effort. i also liked the idea of 'long life, loose fit.' this means designing buildings that function now, but will also be functional in the future despite changing times. it is great that so many people are coming together to reduce the damage. i am interested to see how the challenge plays out.

a box for 12 twigs: precedent study...

this building is called the melnikov house. i ran across it accidentally but it turned out to be perfect for my project. the house is cylindrical and has windows to show the inside... just like my design has "windows" to show off the qualities of my twigs. i also can relate to the way the windows are not in perfect vertical lines, but sort of alternating. my design has the same type of effect.

a place for a leaf

our project was to design a place for a leaf that responded specifically to the leaf. the reason i chose my leaf was because it had two distinct sides... one was green and glossy, the other was brown and felt like suede. therefore i decided to make a design with two sides as well to showcase both sides of my leaf. my original idea was a hammock-like cradle that used weaving of two different papers. this project is better at reflecting the reason i selected my leaf in the first place.