Hutchison, Alyssa : Assignments

Hutchison, Alyssa : Assignments

Fifth Street: Cudda Wudda Shudda

Due: November 26, 2007

An outsider looking into Fifth Street would realize that it is, in fact, not very long. The richness that it encompasses cannot be seen at a first glance. The short street stretches through numerous spaces and contains many different areas and uses. Starting on the west end of the street, fraternity houses surround it and it is fully enveloped in a college campus, even having a baseball field to one side. The street itself looks good, as it was just repaved there, and the new Claus building adds a distinct and fresh new feeling to the area. During the day, students crowd the sidewalks getting to class and at night, typical college campus parties are happening. Moving east and going up a hill, the sidewalks become older and more cracked with age. There are no more academic buildings, just fraternity houses around, making the area more residential than university. More east to the bridge and right before it, the street becomes new again. The bridge does not feel like a bridge at all. One might not even know they were crossing a major highway if they were not familiar with the area. The bridge area surrounding the street is a green space and people can be seen in it much like people at a park would be. In the summer, people even lay out to tan there. The sidewalks become much more massive than they were on campus. Once off the bridge, into Tech Square, the area is surrounded by large buildings and commercial uses, like restaurants and stores, with business buildings above them. Even a hotel is located there. It feels more urban, more like a crowded city. The people here are no longer just students and faculty. There are now cars parked along the street, and there is more of a public space with benches along the sidewalk. Moving across State Street, the large buildings are only on one side and give the street a less developed feel, even an older one. The end of Fifth Street had a cute turn around outside the Management Building, but it is currently under construction because no one really used it, at least not as much as developers would have liked.

Its many uses stem from the fact that it was not always part of Georgia Tech campus. Tech Square was part of Atlanta, and then the Management Building was built, meaning more and more people would be going through the area. This is what eventually caused the building of the Fifth Street Bridge, and the development of Tech Square. The street became more than something that people passed through, but a place where people could hang out and relax, which is hard to find outside in a city. Since more and more people were coming through, something appealing was needed in the buildings, which is why there are now stores and restaurants. The bridge is visually appealing but some questions are raised about if it is really necessary and if it was really worth the millions of dollars it cost to build. Was there anything really wrong with it in the first place? What is its purpose? What other purposes does it serve besides being just a bridge? Development plays a huge part of Fifth Street. If the Management Building was not there, we may not even have had a Tech Square. If the Claus Building was not just built, the road itself might not have gotten a makeover. The street could just have been just like any other street through a college campus, but because of development it has transformed into something bigger, something that is a home, a commercial place, an academic place, and a public space, all in one.

Walking down the street gives a clear view of the different uses, just by the appearance. It is clear what is campus, with the big, older looking houses, and what is commercial use, with the newer looking shops and multiple story buildings. The sidewalks on the campus part are a lot smaller than in the more public, commercial space, because people on campus basically use the sidewalks for only walking whereas on the bridge and into Tech Square, people use the sidewalks for more than that; they have benches and tables for eating and sitting and whatever a person could want to do on a sidewalk. It is interesting to look at those sidewalks in Tech Square compared to others in Atlanta and see how the newer developed areas account for things that people would want to do outside, more than just walking to and from a place.

Being in a city, its not easy to construct places where people can just sit around outside. The street goes through phases which can be broken up into three areas; where it feels like it is not in a city (on campus) and into a park type area (the bridge) and then into a fairly newly developed city (Tech Square). In each case, much design and thought went into the process of creating it. On campus, the buildings were spaced far apart from each other on purpose; they were trying to create a more appealing area to live in, which can sometimes feel secluded from the rest of Atlanta. The bridge was left simple to leave the space open to the interpretation of different people and to attract them to it, and it is in fact used for many different things by students and other people alike. Tech Square was built with parking and big sidewalks surrounded by restaurants and shops because it was interesting and drew people in. They all have one thing in common though; they all were designed to attract people. People drive the design of these areas; they are the ones that use them. Campus is modeled to students; the bridge and Tech Square are modeled to accommodate to all sorts of people, from students to anybody looking for a fun store or place to eat, to people who work there.

The areas were created to be open ended, to have multiple uses. The Claus building is an academic building, but it also houses a parking garage, and is visually appealing because of the large stairway which is what is seen straight ahead while driving down Fifth Street, looking like an opening to campus. The fraternity houses are houses for many, but also a place where people can hang out, most with porches and some with volleyball courts. The bridge, as previously stated, was left open for interpretation by anyone who would like to use it, and the business buildings are already being used in multiple ways. There are stores and restaurants, but also a hotel, conference center, and offices above. This was done on purpose to again attract more people. The more spaces are used, such as the space along the street, the more attractive and appealing they are to everyone around and involved, including pedestrians and workers and even the drivers going through the street, and the more it makes people want to stop and go look around. Even the sidewalks have multiple uses. There is a part for walking and a clear line where it becomes part of the businesses, and a selected spots for benches and some restaurants even have outdoor seating, right along the street.

Walking along Fifth Street, the typical person walking would see the areas differently. Campus includes just a normal sidewalk, a means of getting places. The sidewalks are also older. The bridge brings a new idea of a wider sidewalk and other uses to mind. Not only is it easier to move around, it makes it more open to walk and makes a person more likely to want to walk there. The attractiveness of a larger space is undeniable, especially in somewhere such as Atlanta, where they are rare to come across. Being in an attractive place makes it a prime spot for the shops and restaurants. People can drive there, since there is parking, but a lot of people walk, which could be linked to the appeal of the bigger sidewalks. The larger sidewalks in the city have a certain appeal. In cities, sidewalks are a major form of transportation, which would be a good reason to make them more attractive and appealing to people.

The street has pretty light traffic compared to the rest of Atlanta. Streets going through it (West Peachtree and Spring Streets) have a lot of congestion during rush hour, but Fifth Street itself is not nearly as bad, maybe because it is a short street not connecting to any highways, or because it is connected to a college campus, where students typically do not have to travel at the same times as people who have a regular job. The only time it is really crowded is when campus has big events, such as sporting events, and some streets on campus are blocked off. The street is not really made to accommodate drivers, it is mostly a through street which can be seen and interpreted from its limited parking. There is an unattractive parking lot that is one dollar an hour at the end near the Management building, and also parking along the street in Tech Square, but those are metered spots and have a two hour limit. Having to pay to park makes it undesirable. The rest of the street has no parking at all. This limited parking is meant to promote walking and other methods of transportation.

One of the downfalls of Fifth Street is that it has been under construction on various parts for a while. The bridge was being built, limiting the walking and driving areas for a while, also causing much noise and commotion, but many people would agree the new, much larger, peaceful green space is a great improvement from the narrow and old looking bridge. The old bridge was improved in appearance and in function. The roar of the interstate below is hardly noticeable, and the green space gives people a place to relax in a busy city. Green spaces are also visually appealing to people. The bridge can be seen as an improvement. The west end of the street is currently being worked on, first the road and now on one of the sidewalks. Not only does the construction in that part limit the use of the entrances of some houses, it takes away a whole sidewalk and it is unattractive and makes people not want to walk that way, maybe even avoid it if they can. Construction in the middle of a school campus is inconvenient at the time, and questions are raised about if it is all worth it. Do we really need to fix something that was not broken in the first place? Once the construction is completed however, many people forget about it and actually like the improvements that were made.

Another downfall of Fifth Street is its separation of activities. Yes, it holds and encompasses many different uses and many different people, but when looking closely, these people are separated. Campus is separated by a bridge with Tech Square; commercial stores are separated from the business world by stories of buildings. A sort of successful example of integration of different aspects would be the Barnes and Noble bookstore, where students combine with a business, but it is still separated from the rest of the community. A really good example of integration would be a place like Atlantic Station, where everything is all jumbled up together in one big place.

So what makes this particular street so interesting? The street itself is nothing special, just a regular asphalt street, that could be seen anywhere around the world. What makes Fifth Street special is its richness. It is a connecting way from Georgia Tech into the real city of Atlanta. It is a commercial area, an academic area and a home to many people. The richness comes from the fact that so many people use Fifth Street, for so many different reasons.

10.28 Assignment

10.10
In this lecture, architecture is examined in many different ways; first by looking at architecture throughout time and in other parts of the world, and individual architects, then narrowing down to just the program at Georgia Tech. This approach was really effective because it kept things interesting by constantly changing.

Part 2: Look Up

“Old Man’s Profession”: the idea that most architects, generally men, do not become successful until their later years in life, a common stereotype of architecture, but it is beginning to change, as more and more younger people are making names for themselves early on in life.
Radial Axis: coming out from a common center, usually in a circular form. I could have probably figured this out because “radius” reminds me of a circle.
Ecological Literacy: I thought this could mean having a good understanding about the land around, and I looked it up, and found I was right. It is important in architecture because not only is knowledge of buildings needed, but the ground and surrounds are really important as well.

Part 3: Speculate
The main purpose of this lecture was giving students a general overview of architecture, showing how effective it can be with good design, and also telling them what they will be getting into the next few years.

10.15
This lecture really focuses on the process of Building Construction and all the different aspects of it. It tried to really teach people what exactly BC was because a lot of people do not really know. This was the most informative of the lectures, offering a plethora of information, but also including something about the program at GT.

Part 2: Look Up

Automated Design: The process of integrating software and technology with designs. I did not know what really was meant from this term, but looking back, I could have probably figured it out.
Building Decommissioning: Demolishing or recycling a building that is no longer functioning or is not effective. Apparently, a lot of new “green” buildings are using the shells of old buildings for the new ones, which I thought was pretty cool.
“O & M”: Operation and Maintenance. The part of the building’s life where it is in actual use. The lecturer used this term early on but it is not really clear what it means until later on.

Part 3: Speculate
There was a lot of information in this lecture, even on the individual slides, way more than an hours worth. The presenter should maybe have taken that into consideration before making the power point, but overall it was pretty effective in communicating all the different parts of the building construction world, including the program at Georgia Tech, which was what I was personally most excited about, considering that is what effects me in the near future, when we will have to pick our discipline.

10.22
This lecture really did show what Industrial Design was, and really focused on the program at GT, showing specific projects that students have actually worked on, which was interesting to me. The presenter did a good job of keeping the audience interested as well because the slides were mostly visual, allowing him to actually explain, not just read off of slides.

Part 2: Look Up

Applied Arts: the application of design and aesthetics to objects of function and every day use, incorporating design and creativity to objects of utility (Wikipedia). I did not even know there was such a thing, but that is basically what ID is.
Humanization of Technologies: Using technology to the advantage of humans. It is a huge process of design, and I just did not understand it in the context of the slides.
Product design: the design of something that is appealing and adds value to the object, or increases its use, or both.

Part 3: Speculate
One thing I wish was presented was how students at GT do after graduation. That was one thing in the other two that I found interesting, that this one lacked. I also think that this lecture was kind of generic and not really aimed to CFY students, just to students in general, but I thought the work that students have done was cool, showing us what we were getting into.

10.12 Bibliography!

“After the Flood.” The Nation. New York: 17 September 2007. Vol. 285, Iss. 7; p. 3.

Brown, Joseph E. “New Orleans: One Year After Katrina.” Urban Land. November-December 2006. Vol. 65,
Iss. 11-12; p. 38, 40-43, 45.

Cornwell, Rupert. “In Katrina’s Wake a Year Ago, America’s Gulf Coast Suffered the Worst Storm of Modern
Times.” The Independent 12 August 2006: 18.

“Dramatic Gas Sell-off Brings Spring, Summer Prices all the Way Back to Pre-Katrina Levels.” Power
Markets Week 9 January 2006: 6.

Fellowes, Matt, Bruce Katz, Amy Liu and Nigel Holmes. “The State of New Orleans:
An Update.” The New York Times 5 July 2006: 17.

Gay, Patricia. “Working Hard for Preservation in the Big Easy.” Architectural Record. August 2002. Vol.
190, Iss. 8; p. 256.

Gerfen, Katie. “Greening New Orleans.” Architecture. October 2006. Vol. 95, Iss. 10; p. 16.

Golub, Robert M. “New Orleans, Katrina, and the Death and Life of Cities.” JAMA. Chicago: 5 September
2007. Vol. 298, Iss. 9; p. 1062.

Hummer, Tracey. “Post-Katrina, Questions Loom Over Housing and Hazards.” Architectural Record, October 2005.
Vol. 94, Iss. 10; p. 13.

Ichniowski, Tom. “More Hurricane Relief Approved for Gulf.” Architectural Record. July 2006. Vol. 194, Iss. 7;
p. 26.

Kennedy, Shawn. “Remaking New Orleans, Without Losing Its Past.” Architectural Record. June 2007. Vol. 195,
Iss. 6; p. 85-88, 226.

Lieberman, Ben. “Katrina’s Punch at the Pump.” The Washington Times 3 September 2006: B01.

Lubell, Sam. “Louisiana Recovery Continues to Hit Snags.” Architectural Record. June 2007. Vol. 195, Iss. 6;
p. 42.

Lubell, Sam. “Special Report: Hurricane Katrina.” Architectural Record, October 2005. Vol. 193, Iss. 10; p. 42-
46, 48.

Lukensmeyer, Carolyn J. “Large-Scale Citizen Engagement and the Rebuilding of New Orleans: A Case Study.”
National Civic Review. New York: 2007. Vol. 96, Iss. 3; p. 3.

“Magnitude of Katrina Disaster Demands Help.” USA Today 21 February 2006: 17A.

McKee, Bradford. “New Orleans Recovery Plan Released.” Architect (Washington D.C.). May 2007. Vol. 96, Iss. 6;
p. 20.

McMahon, Edward T. “A Teachable Moment: Hurricane Katrina: If this Country Does Not Learn from the Past, it
will be Condemned to Repeat Its Mistakes in the Future.” Urban Land. October 2005. Vol. 64, Iss. 10; p.
200.

“New Orleans in the Aftermath.” Architectural record, October 2005. Vol. 193, Iss. 10; p. 32-35.

Parry, Simon. “Counting Cost of Wave of Disasters.” South China Morning Post 29 December 2005: 11.

Penick, George and K. Jack Riley. “Katrina: A Year Later; Mississippi Comeback.” Los Angeles Times 20
August 2006: 3.

Reith, Charles. “A More Protective Urban Landscape: as the World Warms and Becomes More Populous and Urban,
More is Expected from Cityscapes.” Urban Land. October 2006. Vol. 65, Iss. 10; p. 134-136.

Robinson, Erin. “Dealing with Winds of Change; A Year After Katrina, Some Retailers Struggle.” Automotive
News 28 August 2006: 6.

Rosan, Richard M. “Rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast: A Look Ahead.” Urban Land. October 2005. Vol.
64, Iss. 10; p. 186-187.

Sawyers, Arlena. “Insurers Split on Fate of Katrina Cars.” Automotive News 31 October 2005: 1.

Snoonian, Deborah. “Damaged Buildings and Widespread Environmental Hazards Remain in Katrina’s Aftermath.”
Architectural Record, October 2005. Vol. 193, Iss. 10; p. 191-192, 194.

Sociology of Katrina: Perspectives on a Modern Catastrophe. Ed. David L. Brunsma, David Overfelt, and
J. Steven Picou. Lanham: Rowan & Littlefield, 2007.

Solnit, Rebecca. “The Lower Ninth Battles Back.” The Nation. New York: 17 September 2007. Vol. 285, Iss. 7; p.
13.

Through the Eye of Katrina: Social Justice in the United States. Ed. Kristin A. Bates, and Richelle S.
Swan. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2007.

United States Congress. “Hurricane Katrina: Stopping the Flood of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.” Committee on
Homeland Security and Government Affairs Hearing. 6 December 2006.

United States Congress. “ Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Outstanding Need, Slow Progress.” Committee on Homeland
Security and Government Affairs Hearing. 2007.

Ward, Andrew. “Further Storms are Expected in the industry THE US; What is More, the Problems Facing the
Insurance Sector are not Just Natural Catastrophes.” Financial Times 17 October 2006: 3.

Warrick, Joby. “Washington Knew About Hurricane Katrina’s Likely Impact.” The Irish Times 25 January
2006: 12.

Whoriskey, Peter and Spencer S. Hsu. “New Orleans Gets a New Hurricane Plan; Mayor Emphasizes Evacuation, Not
Shelters; Buses and Trains to Run.” The Washington Post 3 May 2006: A03.

side note: I know bibliographies are supposed to be indented after the first line, but I could not figure out how to do it in html format. My printed version is, however, correct.

Assignment due September 30, 2007!

9.17
This lecture focuses on how the built world affects people in every day life. It does this by zooming in to a few different examples, like the obesity problem in America and how different building strategies may be able to help it, and also takes a look into how a hospital is set up and how that affects the patients, like a patient with a well lit room and a nice view has a better and faster recovery rate.
Part 2: Things I did not Know

Aesthetics: I had no idea what this word meant, even though I have heard it a lot in life, I never got the chance to look it up. It means the study of the mind and emotions, in relation to the sense of beauty (dictionary.com)
acuity: I first thought this word had something to do with the word “acute”, which means sharp, but I could not figure out how that would work in the context of “acuity-adaptable”, describing the room. I looked it up and it meant “sharply” so I thought about it, and it means in this sense that the room can be “sharply adaptable” or really easily adaptable to the changing conditions in a hospital.
BMI: I had heard this term in health and such, but I never really did pay attention to that class. It stands for Body Mass Index and represents the amount of body fat using a person’s height and weight.

Part 3: Questions

What if all people that did not have disabilities were forced to take the stairs? Would there be a lot of complaining or would it stop because it was good for them in the long run?
Will all new hospitals in the planning of being built take into account the research about safety and living conditions for patients? If not, why not?
Is there any research about all the factors (lighting, view, family space, etc.) combined and how much of an impact they all have on hospital patients?
How could buildings be better organized to help make people more likely to take an alternative route than the elevator?

9.19
This lecturer was fascinated with the idea that a factory, or anything really in the middle of no where, could be torn down and a whole new city built in its remains. She documented the process of Atlantic Steel turning into Atlantic Station through pictures and video.
Part 2: Things I did not Know

Neo-classical: We had heard this term in previous lectures, but I still did not know what it meant. From Latin class, I could tell it had something to do with “new classical”, and in fact, it does mean the revival of classical things, in this case architecture.
Utopian: I had heard of the idea of “utopia”, having everything, and being perfect, and the idea of building a utopian city means building the perfect city.
topological: I had no idea what this word meant so I definitely had to look it up. It means the study of the history of a given place, based on the land.

Part 3: Questions

How often did she have to go to the site to see actual progress? Every day? Every other day? Once a week?
Did she ever feel in danger or threatened in any way? Some of the footage and explosions in the video looked pretty close.
Is it important to preserve some of the past (like with the smoke stack) while moving on to the future?
How will this production of a new utopian city benefit the area better than what was there before? How will it not be beneficial?

9.26
This lecture focuses on the architect Palladio and how he was an innovator in the world of architecture. He was one of the first architects on record to start designing buildings with the inside layout in mind. The lecturer got his information across through pictures and visual aides.
Part 2: Things I did not Know

Villa: I had always thought of these as a sort of tropical vacation home. The ones in the pictures looked nothing like what I had imagined so I looked it up. It in reality means “a country residence or estate” (dictionary.com), which more accurately describes the buildings in the lecture.
Mathematics of the Ideal Villa: Palladio broke down the way to design a building by breaking each room into a geometric form and into ratios; basically putting math into architecture.
Visual Engagement: When I saw this term, I wanted to know what and how he was going to show this through a presentation, because when I thought of it I thought it would be some kind of video. It actually means to engage a person through visuals, like through the pictures he used.

Part 3: Questions

How do the geometric patterns in Palladio’s work convey to a person viewing the building?
Did he plan out those patterns or did they just happen?
How can we still see his influence in the world of architecture today?
How do his thoughts and works influence us today?

Assignment due September 16, 2007!

9.10.07
This lecture focuses mostly on Assistive Technology; how it is designed and all the things it does to help people. Stephen Sprigle, the lecturer, mostly used hard facts (like definitions) and specific data (like different statistics) to make his points. He also used pictures to show what assistive technology was and how it is used in a day to day basis. One of the most important concepts of his lecture was how different people from all different educational backgrounds (designers, engineers, etc.) all work together on a single project.

Part 2: Terms I did not Know

Myriad: when I first heard this word during the lecture, I thought it meant “different” just based on the context of the sentence it was in. Once I looked it up, I realized that I was sort of right, but the technical definition was an “indefinably great number.” It makes sense considering it was used to describe the different approaches to disability research.
Anthropometry: I had no idea what this word meant at first but I know it had something to do with the study of the human body (yay Latin class!). It really means the study of the size and proportion of the human body, which would be helpful for the design of many AT objects that are made for disabilities of the body (like the wheel chair).
Electro-mechanical System: I figured this was something that controlled the cushion on the wheelchair. It is really a system that combines electrical and mechanical parts, like an electrical motor.

Part 3: Questions

How can this research and development be spread to people outside of the design and engineering world? In other words, how can it become well known to the public?
Do the designers/engineers ever spend a day in the life of someone who has a disability they are trying to improve? Because I think that would really help them see exact things they need to work on.
Do the designers generally have statistics available when they begin a project or do they have to ask someone else to gather the information for them?
Could something like the “universally designed checkout counter” be something that we use all the time? Is it costly to install places so that owners of a shop might not be inclined to get one?

9.12
The lecturer, Brian Bowen, focuses mostly on the construction industry in this lecture. He goes through the history of construction up until present times and uses a lot of statistics to make points. He really took advantage of the effectiveness of graphic layouts, like the many charts (the project delivery chart was really interesting too me) and pictures that he used to aid his facts.

Part 2: Terms I did not Know

Fragmentation: I thought this word meant separation, because the lecturer talked about how the construction industry is broken up into millions of different identities. When I looked it up, there were tons of definitions but the one I liked the best and I thought really showed what the presenter was trying to say was about computer files. It said “Fragmentation slows system performance because it takes extra time to locate and assemble the parts of the fragmented file” (dictionary.com). I think this applies to construction because there are so many different aspects about it and since it is not integrated, it greatly slows the process of construction.
Economies of Scale: I knew it was an economic term but I just couldn’t remember what it meant from my economics class last year! So I went back and looked it up and immediately remembered that it meant as more and more of a unit is produced, the cost of production goes down. I can see how there would not be much of this in construction because no matter what, supplies will always cost the same.
Vertical Integration: Another economic term I had forgotten. It means the integration of many companies working on related phases of production. There would be little of this in the construction area because there are so many different types of construction it would be hard to integrate it all into one giant company.
Life Cycle Costing: I had no idea what this term meant at all. I had to look it up and I found out that it meant analyzing the cost of a product or system over its entire life span. This applies to construction because sometimes things cost money still even after they are built.

Part 3: Questions

Will the construction industry ever become integrated? Is it on the way to being there?
From looking at how construction was in medieval times and even from times of the industrial revolution, how much and what can we learn from that to improve the situation today?
What can be done to change the negative attitudes about construction?
How would becoming more specialized in certain areas help the industry as a whole?

9.14.07
This lecture was focusing on all the new technology and computer programs that are helping to map and deal with city planning. It mostly used pictures and examples from different types of technology, which was interesting to look at all the types and look at their differences and what they helped to show.

Part 2: Terms I did not Know

Impervious Surface: I thought this meant something that water could go through, but then I realized I was thinking of impermeable. What I thought and what it actually means are the complete opposite things. An impervious surface is something that eliminates rainwater penetration, like a roof or a concrete sidewalk.
GIS: I had never even heard this term before this lecture and in the lecture it gives a brief definition. When I researched it more I could tell it was a computer system that is used to analyze geographically-related information. It is becoming more and more useful as technology improves.
Ubiquitous: Another term I had never heard of. It means being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time. In the context of the lecture it could mean having an unending amount of data.

Part 3: Questions:

How can the research centers be used to our advantage to understand the world and how it works more efficiently?
How can we use these mapping techniques to our advantage when planning and building?
One thing I noticed about all three of these lectures is they are somehow related (lecture 1 used the same kind of software talked about in lecture 3, etc.). What I want to know is how many other professions benefit from the GIS?
How can all of the different types of GIS be used as one (projecting the future to help city planning, and to help analyze the consequences of the building actions) to help the design/building world?

Assignment due September 9, 2007!

8.29.07
In this lecture the author focuses on the difference between traditional and classical architecture styles. She does this by looking at different architects and comparing and contrasting their styles through images, like the more circular shapes for the classical to the more box-y look of the traditional.

Part 2: Terms I did not know:

classical style architecture: reminicent of old greek and roman architecture
Traditional style architecture: type of construction that uses local resources to meet local needs
parametric design: Products in CAD that create lines, arcs and circles

Part 3: Questions:

Most of the buildings, if not all, pictured are on flat land. Do architects ever plan to build things on a hill or on a different form of landscape?
On public buildings, who decides what to do with the area?

8.31.07

This lecture focuses on the huge project that is the Solar Decathlon and all the different things and people that it takes to make it all happen. This is done by breaking down each individual part of the project, from the point system in the contest to the designing process and even to the actual structural parts of the house; we really get a look at every aspect of it. Most of the important terms come from the structural aspects of the house and from the design processes.

Part 2: Terms I did not know:

Clerestory: architectural term where the rooflines are lined with windows to provide extra light; comes from Roman architecture
Circadian Rhythms: the cycle from day to night (24 hours)

Part 3: Questions:

How was the inside of the house furnished? If at all?
Could people actually live inside of the finished house?
How much money/energy are these houses saving? How effective are they (the price it takes to make them compared to how much they save)?

9.5.07
This lecture focuses mainly on how much computers help the designing and manufacturing processes of modern architects and builders. This is mainly conveyed in the beginning through the comparison of 20th century style, how it was more linear, but how with computers it is a lot easier to go back and actually try things out before they are actually built, how there is a “feedback loop” in the new process. The two diagrams really helped me understand this comparison. Machines also are helpful in the building process because they make everything a lot more uniform and accurate.

Part 2: Terms I did not know:

Prototyping: quickly putting together a working model to test design, and also to gather ideas and feedback early on
combinatory logic: eliminating math and variables in logic

Part 3: Questions:

Do computers take in how much things weigh/how much material is needed as support?
Do the simulators show how things are bolted together and how they fit together?
Can you pick different materials to use during the simulators and do the computers factor the different materials in?

Our First Assignment!

The installment that I found most interesting was the three-story piece in the atrium. I liked this processed wood piece initially because of its size. When I looked closer, I found many more details that appealed to me. It looks like each column is one long piece of wood but when looked at closer, we can see that it is actually many pieces, cut to fit together and at places, held together by metal rods inserted at ninety degree angles from the wood. These metal rods are barely noticeable at the “site” level but become clear when viewing more carefully. This piece can be interpreted and looked at in so many different ways, which could be why I liked it so much. When viewing from the front, it looks very transparent and you can see exactly what is behind it, even though there are thick pieces of wood there. It becomes especially transparent when there is a bright light shining through; it is almost as if the wood disappears in the light. When you look at it from the side though, it becomes one solid object.

I think the motivation for this project really came from the shape of the area (the balconies) or else the use of the light in the atrium. The way it is shaped and curved at the top really follows the movement down from the top floor, as if it were just falling. I like to think of it being designed from the top down because of the way it jets out at the bottom. It also is reminiscent of a waterfall the way it cascades down in waves and near the bottom separates a little in chunks, as if there were rocks jetting out to stop the even flow, and then it breaks out at the bottom almost like it were splashing into the ground.

The outside clear plastic piece had its own special qualities as well. If viewed on a really bright sunny day, it looks quite beautiful because of all the light bouncing off it in so many different directions. I think the light was actually the motivation for this piece because of all the twists and bends in it, it really is amazing how much light it reflects. It was interesting to see something clear to be reflective. The people who built it must have spent a long time researching all the angles in it. Since it is clear, I thought I would be able to see right through it, but really I could not because it was so distorted and there were so many pieces.

What I liked about it was depending on where you viewed it from, you got a whole different vibe. From one direction it was in front of a massive building. From another, it was the foreground to a pretty nature scene. Standing under it looking up just feels overwhelming and kind of un-real because it is such an unusual shape and such a huge size. The many separate pieces of plastic are contorted and twisted and then bolted down to hold their position. It would have been neat to see this structure being built because looking at it made me wonder how the plastic held its form until it was bolted, since there were so many pieces and so many bolts. Also, the structure basically is resting on a concrete beam, so I would like to see how it would have supported itself during the building process until it got to that height. Because of the way they built it, it really reminded me of an upside down fish. The front part that is stacked would be the head and/or mouth of the fish and the huge middle that is all crazy would be the middle, with the reflective parts being individual scales on the fish then ending with the tail when it is all bunched back together again.

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official class list last edited on 15 September 2007 at 5:34 pm by 12.19.35.253

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