3rd Year Critique for studio class on 12/5/2008

Students were to create their own individual retail store within a larger shopping center. The two shopping centers were BioMech Mills and The Shops at Buffalo Creek. Students had to link or unify their store with the larger shopping center. From these powerpoint presentations I learned a lot about presentation as well as process work.

Cultivation- Plant store

The designer presented this store with many hand-rendered drawings of what the space would look like. To figure out the right color she made many different renderings with different colors for all of the accents. One of the most important and helpful parts of her presentation was the way she made the plan with color coded walls. She then showed perceptive hand-renderings of her store. Each perspective was color coded to match the wall that corresponded with the plan so that viewers would not become disoriented. She also included a small thumbnail plan picture at the bottom left of every perspective so that we could still see the plan in its relation to the perspective. The designer was criticized on the structure of her displays in that they stood on very thin poles that didn't seem to look like they could handle the weight placed on them. Also the amount of merchandise and displays within the store was very sparse.

Soiree Green- Party store

The designer spoke of the ways in which people would move through the store in a circular motion. Store has an elevated consulting area where party planners can meet with customers. One thing the designer didn't think about well as pointed out by Stoel was the the lack of possible child interaction with the store as the displays and products were mostly marketed towards adults.

Sight Waves- Camera Store

Designer was inspired by light waves and digital displays. Uses Digital display touch screens throughout the store so that customers can interact with the cameras, upload them to the screens and make choices based on this holistic experience.

Overcast- Overcoats, briefcases, and high-end office supplies

Her concept was overcast as well as urban business culture. The most important thing I learned from her store was the way she made the front displays. Each display told a story of people interacting with their urban environment with their briefcases and overcoats. One mannequin was shown running in the rain, one shown walking down the sidewalk and another going down stairs to a fire escape. The clothing and merchandise were showcased on dark backlit backgrounds so that a silhouette of light will accentuate and enhance the products.

The last stores included: Your State (produce mart), Choc-A-Lot (chocolatier), and Stiches (jeans store).

One of the most important things I learned from all of the presentations was that hand rendered drawings rather than computer generated renderings were much better in showing detail, attraction, light as well as what the designer wanted to communicate. Also all of the designers showed lots of process work in their development of logos, spaces, colors, modules and size.

4th Year Furniture Critique I attended on 12/1/2008

Because of my interest in the furniture design class, I decided to attend the 4th year critique. Students were to read a science fiction story depicting the world world in the year 2020 and design around what they read. The students talked of the specific character or character's house they were designing for and what purpose their furniture would serve. 

The first presenter (bottom two pictures) not only made sketches but actual illustrations of cityscapes she believed locations in the story would look like. From these pictures we were able to understand her interpretation of the world making her presentation more interactive and involving. She found the curved metal struts that bolster the table at at salvage yard. She also painted the table to complement the color of these struts. Although this was not discussed I felt that the shape and curvature of the table represented the rapid progression in terms of technology that is going on today and will multiply in the future. 

The second presenter (top picture) created a lounge chair where the main character would sit in his living room and read. He also provided a nice illustration of a person sitting on this chair reading in "his 140 floor high apartment." Stoel and Tommy discussed the flexing that which resulted when someone sat on the chair and that it is a "beneficial accident," however the legs and footing would need to address the issue as they would splay from the pressure. They also discussed the how the angle to the back rest was awkward and that the back rest perhaps wasn't tall enough to support the back well.

The third Presenter also had issues with the angle of the back rest and that the sitter was almost under tension when sitting in it due to the 45 degree angle the seat has to the back. 

The fourth presenter (top middle green chair) Also had issues with back rest height as the "hyperbola" curves would only come about half way up the back.

The first presenter's table was my favorite of all of the pieces as I thought it was the most visually interesting and it had a stylish way of supporting the legs from splaying. Other furniture pieces would have beautiful wood staining but then have chrome metal struts and large bolts protruding which seemed to interrupt the the natural qualities. Although the large metal parts may have been intended to represent the future, the first presenter worked with her metal struts in a stylish way by complementing color and form.

Redo of Woodland Chapel

I decided to redo my vellum trace of the Woodland Chapel because I felt I poched my original too dark. I ended up buying and using a gray marker (rather than black sharpie) for this new one so that the poche would not come out too dark. The bottom picture is the new one and the top picture is the old one. The new one shows all of the inner workings of the roof much better than the older one. 

The Class Final Exhibit

This was our exhibit which we presented on 12/1/2008. I was the spokesperson for our group. Many local professionals related to the industry lent their wisdom on how we could improve our projects.

New Final Scale Model For Presentation

These are pictures of Christy Wallace holding the updated scale model I made for the exhibit. The wave will now appear on the two sides facing the driveway through the parkinglot and "tails" from the waves ending will be on the other sides. This way people walking within the lot may want to walk around the cubes to see the wave continue around the cube. The cubes are also now flat on top rather than being wavy. From observing our second mold and turning it upside down we thought it looked better and it would also lessen the technical problems we face in integrating the top waves with the side waves. 

2nd Individual Drawings for Desert

These are my new section and top views. Because Stoel wanted us to downsize our cubes we decided on two new sizes for the small and large cubes. The small cube will be 1'6" tall and 1' wide. The large cube will be 1'10" tall and 1' wide. The hollow box is now 4" from the outside. 

My First Individual Drawings for the Desert

The top is my top view of one of the larger cubes and the bottom picture is a section. The white box in the middle is the hollow section of our cast. The hollowness provides a great weight reduction. The height is 2'1/2" and 1'1/2". 

First Scale Model For Desert

This is our first 1/2":1' scale model of our desert installation. We made it so that the viewer can see a continuation of a wave all the way across the four blocks. We made the blocks black with white waves so that the waves can "pop" better in the model. We also created a little scale 5'8" man to stand next to the cubes so that viewers can see the average person's size relation to the cubes.

Perspective Pictures and Drawings

My Four Perspective Drawings

It was tricky finding vanishing points as well as light sources. For the bottom right bench drawing I decided to create my own light points rather than the ones in the picture because I didn't have enough room on my drafting table (or whole table) to find them. For the clouds in the top right and bottom left drawings I decided to take a blind contour approach so that I could capture their natural qualities of disconnectedness better.  

Perspective Drafting

Desk Perspective

The desk perspective exercise was fun and easy once Kurt recommended that I make the desk small to make the depth more pronounced.

My Throw Up Sheet

Process Pictures

These are pictures of the group creating and pouring the mold for our second block.

Second Design Idea model

From exploring the direction of cars as well as the technical limitations of the concrete and project allowances, we decided to make the pillars shorter (about 3 feet tall) and have the pillars be square so that incoming and outgoing cars can see the image from either direction.

First Design Idea Model

The Converging Image

I wanted to create something that would clearly address the issues discussed on what purposes the pathway/edge/boundary installation will have. Tommy talked a lot about creating a "visual speed-bump" since many people like to drive fast from one entrance/exit to the other which can be dangerous. The sign outside of the Greensboro Natural Science Center became my inspiration. It is a converging image very much like my own, however it cannot slow people down much as it is on a busy road where the speed limit is above 35. When the Column faces are oriented toward the two entrances/exits drivers coming upon the columns will want to slow down so that they can align the columns to see the image.  This will create something which is interactive, progressive (progression of spaces closing to form an image) as well as being a visual speed bump. People walking around the lot may want to walk around and in between the columns (and touch them if the columns are to have texture) adding another level of interactivity. The repetition in size and shape as well as the overlapping mechanic will address the issue of speeding and safety as well as providing something visually interesting for the parking-lot.  

Venturi House Plan

North Arrows

I had a lot of fun coming up with different ideas for north arrows. It also made me think about designing around context. If you are for example designing for a pizza parlor you might draw a slice of pizza as your north arrow.

Cube Sections

House Elevation

This elevation was very tricky in getting measurements right. I started out drawing everything from left to right and ended up getting off on my measurements. I had to erase a lot and figure out the errors I a had made with my architectural ruler. Although it is a lot of work to do the picture, make the architectural layout, and do the lettering, a huge sigh of relief came over me once I was done. I felt like the man who hit himself in the head with a hammer.

Venturi 1st Floor Plan

The floor plans were tricky in getting walls from one end of the house to correspond/line up right with other walls. This was my first time poche'ing a plan. I liked how the walls seemed to "pop" with the poche almost looking three-dimensional.

Woodland Chapel Section

The Woodland Chapel Section was probably the hardest and most stress-inducing assignment we've had. The drawing we were to copy in 1/4" scale was so small it was nearly impossible to measure the distance in between lines. Any small mis-measure would ruin the whole section. 

One and Two Point Perspective Drawings of My Room

My room is very interesting because it is a finished attic in which the ceilings come down to meet the walls diagonally due to the roof slope. I was very entertained in exploring the ways in which I would draw this diagonal coming down and how it would interact with my vanishing point(s). Doing the 2 point perspective also helped me to realize the ways walls overlap and how an overlapping wall changes your view of what's behind.

My Claymation For the Parking Presentation

This is a claymation I made to give a better visual representation of the origin and future of parking. The claymation is made of two scenes which illustrate the past and future of parking. The past is characterized by the 1920s music in the beginning and then changes to techno to represent the future.

Pathways, Edges and Boundaries Research and Presentation

Origin of the Parking lot

 Public parking began on the curbs of streets.

 Model T with its affordability along with the growing popularity of cars during the 1910s established the parking frenzy that began in public spaces.

 During the 1910s the increasing number of parked cars to parked carriages increased sanitary conditions and led to the eventual banning of carriages.

 Due to the growing demand for parking within towns small parking businesses sprang up within nearby vacant buildings.

 William Phelps Eno a businessman of New York City created some of America’s first parking plans (1903) such as the clearing of trees or demolition of buildings for parking. Eno is also credited for the stop sign, and traffic circle.

 Created the Eno Transportation Foundation in Washington D.C. dedicated to improving all modes of transportation.

 Early designers of parking garages created ramps, Ferris wheels, turntables, elevators and other contraptions.

 Malls sprung up during the 20’s and were surrounded by parking lots.

 Parking frenzies led cars to park on piers.

 New York’s robotic parking garage parks 67 cars in a space that would usually hold 24 cars. 

 Car Sizes

 Standard car size began from the basic function to seat 2 to 3 people side by side and to have some amount of cargo space as or in the trunk.

 Designated car sizes: Compact, midsize, full-size are based on the size of a car’s wheel base (the distance between the front and rear tires). 

 Citations

http://www.flickr.com/photos/northbaywanderer/162617727/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/voors/316503565/

http://www.apai.net/apai2003/designguide_0605/designguide/Chapter_5B.pdf

http://www.cmstory.org/EXHIBIT/legacy/images/1920s.jpg

House Plan

Making my house footprint was interesting in trying to make a box look visually interesting. Using color to mark special lines helped with making my plan interesting. Drawing the topo lines also really made me think in depth of mine and my neighbor's yards as most of us have raised yards at different heights. Making a logo for my "Smitty & Son's" company was fun too and also adds to the visual interest.

Topo Plans

Dialog Project

For our Dialog projects we were to create two distinct spaces using 12-4"x6" bristol board planes along with 12 wooden skewers. These spaces were to have some type of communication with each other in their respective qualities.

I wanted to create something with positive and negative qualities, or at least two spaces that were not identical to each other. I felt like having different spaces would bring more energy and interactivity to the model. Ironically for my first model I created two spaces that were closely similar to each-other however the way I placed them in relation to each-other created the contrast. One space I placed on its side while the other I placed more vertical. I then intertwined the spaces by sticking one of the stakes of the vertical space into the horizontal space. both spaces opened up outward while relating to each-other in thier interiors which joined at the back. 

I decided not to continue explicitly with this idea in more iterations because I wanted to incorporate my "canal" joint system which I used in my unity project. The canal joints would not work with the structure of my first model because the joints cannot intersect each-other on the planes of bristol board. I wanted my two spaces to be an ordered space which would be a replication of my unity project coupled with a structure that is disordered. The disordered space would have joints and planes like the ordered space but would be "blown apart" as if the disordered space was once like the ordered space but is now only parts and pieces of the original. I placed one of the legs of the ordered space within the disordered space. However when I did this there wasn't much of a sense of dialogue. The ordered space was too tall and open to have much of a relation to the disordered space. The ordered space also had the leg attachments that pointed inward almost implying a third space. It was very hard trying to think of ways to fix this problem or fix the ordered space to relate closer to the disordered space. I decided to throw the unity model/ordered space out as it would only complicate and make the spaces harder to relate to each-other. 

I kept the disordered space and decided to build onto it the ordered space. At first I experimented with extending square planes out from the disordered space as the disordered space has lots of diagonals and crazy angles and an ordered space can be made of squares and right angles. However this only attracted my eye to the disordered space as the angles made it more interesting than the boring blocky ordered space. I decided to find a way to incorporate the angles and energy of the disordered space into the ordered space. 

For the new and final ordered space I created triangular planes which connected to another set of triangular planes all connected by the skewers running through the canal joints. The ordered space was now visually interesting and it conveyed the idea that it is recovering from what ever happened to the disordered space and that it is what the disordered space used to be. Because the disordered space was so exaggerated in its disruption the dialog between it and the ordered space is made more apparent.