1012 research dossier briefs

Research Dossier: Design Briefs

You are to prepare a Research Dossier for the Design Brief assigned to your team (See Research Sign up).
The "Suggested Scenario(s)" listed with the Design Briefs below are there to help you visualize the design problem in a particular setting. The research you carry out should not be limited to this specific scenario.
The "Research Issues" identified with each Design Brief are a first pass at the range of issues you will need to research in order to prepare a Research Dossier for a designer working on this Design Brief. This first pass should get you started looking for material in the library, or planning your observation/analysis.
Before you meet your TA for the first time, make sure you have consulted the basic reference materials.
A format for the Research Dossier, identifying research categories common to all Design Briefs will be provided. The TAs will go over this format with each group.

Design Briefs 1 through 7: Horizontal 'Surfaces'
TA Kristin Halloran

1. Roof Garden
Suggested Scenario
A roof garden on top of the bridge connecting the two wings of the East (old) COA building. (The building was designed to have a roof garden).

Research Issues
Structural support; safety; building codes; points of access; materials (roofing, decking, finish); green design; water-proofing; planting; precedents; analogous projects; building assemblies and products

2. Freeway Overpass Park/Plaza
Suggested Scenario
Revisit the Fifth Street Bridge Park/Plaza project (current).

Research Issues
Local, city, state, DOT, codes; structural support; construction procedures (over highways, etc.); safety; materials; green design; waterproofing; park/plaza programming; precedents; analogous projects; reverse engineering current plans for the project; building assemblies and products

3. Resurfacing/Reprogramming Pedestrian Underpass
Suggested Scenario
3rd Street Tunnel Chill Lounge.

Research Issues
Local, city, state, DOT, codes; safety; materials; Building finishes, products, and assemblies; waterproofing; programmable surfaces and objects; precedents; analogous projects

4. Sidewalk and Right-of-Way (ROW) Design Standards
Suggested Scenario
The six-block section of Fifth Street: from Ferst to Williams, from Williams to West Peachtree.

Research Issues
Local, city, municipal, state, DOT codes; existing design standards in Atlanta, in other American and European cities; standard details: curb cuts, bicycle paths, tree planting; Utilities: telephone, electricity poles, lighting, gutters, drainage; materials; construction methods; empirical observation/analysis of user behavior and existing conditions; guidelines (New Urbanist, Urban Land Institute, etc.)

5. Design Standards for Streetscape and Public Plaza
Suggested Scenario
Design specifications for signage, entrance canopies, shop windows, etc. for Tech Square, along Fifth street, Spring street, and the public plaza on Fifth street.

Research Issues
Municipal and city codes; building codes; design standards in Atlanta and other cities; best practices; retail standards and conventions; out-door landscaping; ergonomics; materials, finishes, products, and assemblies; empirical observation/analysis of existing conditions

6. Surface Parking Lots
Suggested Scenario
Any large on-campus or off-campus parking lot with a gradient (if off-campus, perhaps in Midtown).

Research Issues
Standards; codes; conventions; green design; empirical observation/analysis of user behavior; planting; landscaping; traffic patterns; ADA; water run-off/drainage; materials; construction; relative costs; normative and alternative programming; empirical observation/analysis of user behavior and existing conditions; best practices; precedents; analogous projects

7. Accessible Entrances
Suggested Scenario
Handicap accessible entrances to one or more buildings on campus (the Hinman, Rich, and other buildings along the path to the library).

Research Issues
ADA requirements; universal design; handicap ramps; other devices; materials, assemblies, products, finishes; safety and building codes; precedents; analogous projects

Design Briefs 8-14: 'Objects'
TA Myung Seok Hyun

8. Street Furniture
Suggested Scenario
Bench, bicycle racks, trash receptacles, lampposts, etc. for Tech Square.

Research Issues
Ergonomics; codes; standards; precedents; analogous projects; materials; fabrication; weathering; durability; style; user behavior; off-the-shelf products

9. Bus Stops
Suggested Scenario
Prototypical bus stops for Stinger and Trolley routes.

Research Issues
Shelter: degree of enclosure; signage; interface between bus stop and bus; precedents; analogous projects; materials; style; fabrication; user behavior

10. Trolley Body
Suggested Scenario
Alternative to the ‘ye-olde-look’ trolley for the “premier technological university of the 21st century” (Clough); or for the proposed Peachtree trolley.

Research Issues
Reverse engineering of existing trolley; materials; fabrication; local, state, DOT codes; style; ergonomics; interior, exterior finishes; precedents; analogous projects

11. Design Studio Furniture
Suggested Scenario #1
In-studio ‘desk’ (work surfaces, storage, support) for Architecture students.

Research Issues
Ergonomics; programming; user needs; user behavior; materials; fabrication; furniture systems; cost; precedents

Suggested Scenario #2
In-studio ‘desk’ (work surfaces, storage, support) for Industrial Design students.

Research Issues
Ergonomics; programming; user needs; user behavior; materials; fabrication; furniture systems; cost; precedents

Suggested Scenario #3
Fully portable desktop with work surface and storage for Common First Year students.

Research Issues
Research Issues. Ergonomics; programming; user behavior; materials; fabrication; furniture systems; cost; precedents

12. Food Service Cart
Suggested Scenario
Fully enclosable, portable, coffee and food cart for the COA atrium/courtyard.

Research Issues
Ergonomics; portable structures; codes; cabinetry; materials; structure; fabrication; safety; security; programming; operation modes; user behavior

13. Mezzanine Structures
Suggested Scenario #1
Lightweight observation gallery in the Advanced Wood Products Lab.

Suggested Scenario #2
Load-bearing mezzanines to support design studios in the Hinman high-bay.

Research Issues
Structural support systems; standard mezzanine types; materials, finishes, assemblies, off-the shelf products; codes; safety; on-site analysis of AWPL space; analysis of proposed scheme in Hinman study; precedents; analogous projects.

14. Free-standing Stairs
Suggested Scenario #1
A new stair for the West COA building linking the three floors.

Suggested Scenario #2
A new stair for the Hinman high bay.

Research Issues
Structural systems; construction methods; building and safety codes; standard stair types; materials, products, assemblies, finishes; precedents; analogous projects

Design Briefs 15-21: Vertical 'Faces'
TA Arief Setiawan

15. Sun-shading
Suggested Scenario
South- and west-facing facades of East and West COA buildings.

Research Issues
Heat gain principles: convection/radiation, sun angles; architectural strategies; material strategies; product strategies; building codes; precedents; analogous projects

16. South-facing Enclosures
Suggested Scenario
An enclosure for the south facing ‘porch’ of the West (new) COA building.

Research Issues
Self-supporting curtain walls systems; green design; double-wall systems; active/passive climate control; light, heat, ventilation control

17. Multimedia Information ‘Wall’
Suggested Scenario
Freestanding wall for the COA atrium.

Research Issues
Information design; viewing angles, standards, conventions; new media, technical specifications; lighting conditions; durability; safety; security

18. Exhibition ‘Wall’
Suggested Scenario
‘Storefront for Architecture and Design’: two-sided exhibition ‘wall’ – for the bays between the atrium and the library – to display three- and two-dimensional material.

Research Issues
Storefront systems; display systems; cabinetry; materials; fabrication; exhibition standards and conventions; safety; security; climate control; viewability; assembly; disassembly

19. Recycling ‘Wall’
Suggested Scenario
Free-standing collection ‘wall’ for waste paper, wood, metal, plastics, and organic composting, to be located adjacent to the COA buildings.

Research Issues
Off-the shelf products, components, assemblies; recycling strategies; sorting, compacting, composting; green design

20. Acoustics
Suggested Scenario #1
Acoustical solutions for studio spaces: room 150 (cfy) and room 251 (id soph).

Suggested Scenario #2
Acoustical solution for the three-story COA atrium.

Research Issues
Sound behavior; relationship of space with sound behavior; acoustical material and products; codes; construction; empirical analysis of space, use, noise-level relationships; materials, finishes, assemblies, ratings, products; durability

21. Lighting Systems
Suggested Scenario
Lighting for the jury spaces in the COA atrium.

Research Issues
Light behavior; natural, artificial, ambient, task, lighting; empirical observation/analysis of space, use, light-level relationships; materials, finishes, assemblies, ratings; fixtures; products; maintenance, durability