Calm Before the Storm

Long time no post

I was in the calm before the storm, and now the storm has reached.

I'll start by sharing with you a project I've been working on for my Building Integration class.  This is a comprehensive assignment  my precedent study, the childcare center.  A version of the document can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Qy0YHahdxfb05lR2JRQlIwRFU/edit?usp=sharing

Some warnings: this is not the final version I plan on handing in.  For copyright purposes, I've withheld the annotations and bibliography, since the rights belong to UVa (they use these assignments from the first year architecture students for their national accreditation process, thus I will just show a large portion).  There are spelling mistakes, but I think I've fixed them all at this point.

Additionally, I had a short review with a professor from the GSD on Friday, and as I've said, my project has changed quite a bit.  Here are some links that show my current state of design.  I've decided that the train is horrible and have built up a wall to block it out.  The pecan trees are now plum trees, as well. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Qy0YHahdxfN1NIQnpZdEpndE0/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Qy0YHahdxfbDQzWnBFZTBJRGs/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Qy0YHahdxfenFSZFJrdlYwR28/edit?usp=sharing

And lastly, here are some renders

Thanks for reading.

Solar Animations

Hi all,

Thought I'd briefly share some solar animations I've been working on.  In order they are animations of the sun during the winter solstice, vernal equinox, autumnal equinox, and summer solstice.

 

And for whatever reason I can't upload my last video, but you can watch it here:

https://vimeo.com/78935214

It's an interior animation of the vernal equinox, the summer solstice, the autumnal equinox, and the winter solstice (in that order).

If the videos don't work you can find those on the vimeo page as well.

Updates will probably be sporatic and brief and the real charette beings.

Thanks for reading.

Renderings

Just thought I'd share some renderings I did for one of my computer classes.  It's of the Childcare Center from earlier.  I made the model in Rhino and did the rendering in a program called VRay.

 

This is a view from the roof, looking down into the light well.  I used a white tinted concrete bump texture and three point lighting.

 

 

This is also the roof looking towards one of the light wells.  Again I used the same concrete and lighting settings.

 

Here is the entrance to the childcare center.  Same concrete, same lighting, but a displacement grass map and I used a glass texture as well for the windows, then added some reflection (you can't see too well in this rendering).

 

Overall view, same techniques, worst rendering by far

 

This is from a hallway on the second floor.  I used the same settings, but different lighting to make it more like an interior.

Thanks for reading.

Mid-Review

So this was the big mid-review.  The style was a bit different though; we presented in groups of three to different juries and had a total of 6 people over the course of the day to give us feedback.  Here is a distillation of the information I got:

Also a few firsts to note!

Yesterday was the first day I saw someone get his model ripped.  Afterwards he asked me if he should be honored or upset that his model was damaged.  I had no answer.

Also it was the first time I saw someone get called out for not doing all the work.  Basically he had a super nice model, but no technical drawings, and one of the jurors said that he was getting seduced by his own work and neglecting the rest of the design, which is interesting to say the least.

Lastly, it was the first time I got complimented on one of my models, and it happened to be by the studio professor I'll have next semester.  I think the model is pretty poorly crafted, but maybe there is something to like.

Some thoughts on my review:

PHASE 03 REVIEW NOTES:

PETER WALDMAN AND BETSY ROETTGER:
-Push the grid further, draw the site out
-establish an edge condition, perhaps with density
-do something drastic, like a fortune telling area
-can use a tree wall to create different spaces
-curve the cafe into the site, maybe as a reaction to the topography
-make something very large, as tall as 10 stories

CHARLIE MENEFEE AND SARAH KARPINSKI
-key words: open, closed, central space, open garden
-needs a main structural idea that ties all the elements together
-cafe can have multiple “front” doors and can be placed elsewhere
-needs something “bossy,” such as making the platform six times larger
-can have multiple aspects, but there should be one clear, central part
-consider the space throughout the year when stuck
-the “food” has a form, but what is the flavor?
-might have too many things going on at once

W.G. CLARK AND MARGARITA JOVER
-pecan trees and berry patches are so outrageous that it works
-flip the entire project, that is, have the platform be close to the cafe -so that people can experience that while waiting for the train
-the columns and tree connection is too obvious and not architectural
-divide up the space below for parking and then start putting in trees -and columns, or maybe not the columns unless necessary
-get rid of the entire middle row of columns, if not more

CONCLUSIONS:
The space is currently loosely defined, but it could benefit from a solid structuring. Most likely the best way to go about this would be to continue the grid system, but articulate it a bit more clearly. Spatial arrangement and strategies should be reevaluated and continue to be explored.

BRIEF PROJECT STATEMENT:
The site will be an interactive garden area complete with pecan and berry picking, as well as a central cafe area allowing for a more fluid experience from the train to Charlottesville. Acting both as an intermediary between commuters and citizens of Charlottesville, the site will redefine the current condition of West Main Street.

Here are some of the pictures and diagrams of my final presentation materials:

 

Collage, definitely not West Main St. in the back

 

 

Rhino render, concrete, steel

 

Rhino Render, steel, grass, concrete

 

Rhino screenshot

 

Happy Halloween! Thanks for reading.

Models and Stuff

Hi all,

I've got midreviews on Wednesday so things are crazy.  Not gonna explain much, but here are some unprocessed pictures.  Cheers.

 

Also to whoever has been +1-ing my posts, thanks!  Glad people like the blog.

Thanks for reading

Happy Birthday Mom!

Big birthday wishes to my mother!

I've got some working photos to share, but I'll start with my latest spray.

 

So the idea is still the same for my project, a cafe with a pecan picking platform and berry picking patch.  The structure is tentatively a single story rigid steel frame, 300 ft longitudinal span , 5' short span at 25' spacing.  I'm hoping to create a grid that people can walk on and see from below.  Maybe add some glass or something.

 

Testing out some mobilitree modeling

 

Plexi trees, 64th scale

 

32nd scale, cut plexi with sanded grid pattern, steel wire framing (might be hard to see)

 

Platform with adjacent paths, cafe attached (volumetric), 64th scale

 

Site model, 64th scale, top pavilion area, train station, cafe and platform, adjacent paths, info booth/welcome center, terraced gardens (topography)

 

Working models, 64th scale, 20' columns, 32.5' on center, blurry and broken cafe, twig trees?  I dunno I was tired

And here's a picture of a really slopping rendering I did for one of my classes. 

 

Yeah that grass is totally scaled correctly and so is the concrete on the roof...wait what

 

Review Wednesday here we go.

Happy birthday Mom! Love you lots.

Thanks for reading all

 

More Gardens

Here are some super large images just to show where I currently am in my thinking.  I'm readapting the space to be more of a garden with interactive pecan and berry picking, which can be used in the cafe and sold as well.  Not too much else to update, as the last post contains most of the current pictures.  Thanks for reading.