9/25/15

Mariela and I have begun working with different concept sketches now that we have decided how many floors we are going to do as well as what structural system. We have set up our column grids for our optional floor plans. 

9/11/15

I had a chance to be introduced to a bit of code while my internship. For a Harmony school project I had to figure out the occupancy of each room and add them all up to see if the building had enough exits for its occupants. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to become familiar with much more so I appreciate learning and becoming  bit more familiar with code regulations.

Austin Trip

Today was an eventful and  adventurous day. For my landscape class we walked around campus, then for studio we toured downtown Austin. The city hall was no doubt my favorite building. I love the design and materials used. Although it was hot out, I enjoyed being able to see and talk about the architecture around our site. This has definitely sparked some ideas!

Final

This semester had been a great learning experience. Final presentations went great, and I feel like overall everyone received great reviews. I know everyone would have wanted to see another curved wall added, however my partners and I feel strongly about our proposal and we were stubborn with our diagonal walls. Our project could be improved ofcourse at a later time, but for now I feel like it is a strong proposal.

Posters

My group is continuing to work on our renders to put on the posters. Photoshop has really enhanced our pictures! Going to try to enjoy thanksgiving while trying to finish our posters and studying for structures!

Letting the parking lot influence this parti limited us in extending the building northeast. It appeared to work with the existing parking lot, but when only the ground of the building was drawn, the shape became awkward. This parti did not meet our satisfaction in that we were aware that there are
various other design possibilities that could function better for the library.

We moved the curved wall down more to create more
interior space. The curved wall would have to be knocked down and re-built; this was not the best solution for, it is not practical to knock down an existing wall only to rebuild it.

We created a new wall that would still have the windows that visitors could sit alongside. Getting rid of the half arched roof and curved wall was an idea that got rid of the character that the standing library holds.

Our final parti combines our first two ideas. We decided to keep the existing curved wall and use it as a separation of spaces. The windows would be taken out and wooden elements will be put in place as separators. This wall would help keep out the noise from the children’s area at the other end.The space created between the curved wall and new wall design would best serve as a separate quite reading area. An exterior reading area will sit right outsde the reading room.

The Architect

As it was mentioned during class, an architect randomly thinks about his/her design through out the day and comes up with ideas. To me this is what makes an architect's thinking process distinct. The article I read talked about the process of a  DIY project. The main process is to create a checklist of items to get and a checklist of the steps to take. Even though an architect always has a mental checklist, ideas could randomly come up while laying in bed. Of course every architect can approach a project differently, but they all have a mental checklist nevertheless. This relates to the picture that I posted in that architects are constantly thinking about what the next step is and how to go about it. Architects have to think about every single detail, for it all affects the language and design of the building.