        Collins, Tyler : AssignmentsCudda Wudda Shudda: An Essay on ‘Fifth Street’The history of the street dates back to thousands of years ago when it was used to link together towns. Streets have not always been how they appear today, however, as they were previously unpaved and used primarily for trafficking of goods. Now, streets are defined not just by the strip of pavement that runs down by the center, but also by the sidewalks and flanking buildings. In Kostoff’s History of the Street, he notes that “the street is an entity made up of a roadway, usually a pedestrian way, and flanking buildings” (189). A prominent road in Atlanta, Georgia runs from the Georgia Tech campus, crosses the main interstate, and goes into Midtown Atlanta. This road, simply known as Fifth Street, is an integral part of the Georgia Tech community. Its main purpose is to connect the campus to the city, but in reality, it has many more purposes. Fifth Street is more than just a channel of traffic; it also serves the purpose of a social, physical, spatial, formal, political, cultural, historical, and environmental space. There have been many speculations questioning the successfulness of Fifth Street. This paper will argue whether it is what it was meant to be, whether it is what it should be, whether it is all what it could have been, and whether it could still become what it could be. There are two main types of college campus: ones that are right in the city and others that are filled with green spaces and in the quieter regions. An ideal campus would be one that can fit both of these needs, and this is what Fifth Street strives to do. Although Georgia Tech is in downtown Atlanta, when standing in the middle of the campus, it feels like the suburbs because of the large grassy parks and the trees lining the walkways. Fifth Street acts as a connector to integrate city life into the campus. Prior to the bridge being built that goes across I-75, there was a highway bounding the edge of campus and the beginning of the city. Fifth Street is completely successful in bridging this gap between the campus and the city, allowing for easier access into Midtown Atlanta. When asking an inexperienced person what comes to mind when thinking of streets, a common initial response is the physical street: the pavement and the place where cars drive. William Whyte wrote a book that contains a chapter on the Physical Street. In this chapter, he talks about local city authorities who say that streets are designed for pedestrian traffic just as much as they are designed for vehicular traffic. In reality, however, streets are far more embracing to vehicles than to pedestrians and this is an inverse relationship to need. Whyte does a case study of Lexington Avenue in which the roads have been made wider to cut down on vehicular traffic, but in effect, this has made sidewalks narrower, resulting in more pedestrian traffic. He came to the conclusion that forty-one thousand people traverse the sidewalk each day on the block between Fifty-seventh and Fifty-eighth Streets, while only twenty-five thousand traverse in vehicles. It is made evident that sidewalks are far more important than the actual streets themselves, and this is clear when looking at Fifth Street. The wide sidewalks are an appealing feature to the design on Fifth Street as they cut down on pedestrian traffic (see Figure 1). When walking down the sidewalk at peak hours, there doesn’t appear to be any pedestrian blocking at all because of the space to walk around them. Fifth Street is successful in designing sidewalks that are wide enough to keep pedestrian traffic under control, while at the same time allowing streets to stay wide for vehicle traffic control. Another aspect of streets in general, and more importantly Fifth Street in specific, is the use of public spaces. A public place is a space where anyone can come without being excluded for social or economic conditions. Sharon Zukin talks about the politics and aesthetics of public space in her essay. She notes that public space is still important even with the emergence of technology, and that people will go to these public spaces to seek meaning. There is always great competition over the control of public spaces and “whoever controls public space sets the ‘program’ for representing society.” Since the 1960’s, public spaces have become more democratic, inclusive, and tolerant. Fifth Street embodies the term ‘public place’ in every sense of the meaning. In general, the street is a public place filled with semi-public restaurants and shops. There is, however, one distinct public place that sticks out when walking on Fifth Street and that is the green space in front of the RBC Centura Bank building (see Figure 2). In this park, there is green grass with flowers and landscaping, and park benches and tables to sit down (Figure 3). Public spaces are important because they are how visitors and tourists view the city. This park located on Fifth Street is definitely an important public space; however, it could be more successful in the placement of the park. Many people won’t see the tables and benches because it is offset in the distance, and barely noticeable when walking on the sidewalk opposite the park. I believe that if the street had been placed more carefully, in a spot where it was more noticeable, it would get more attention than it does now. After walking by the benches at various times of the day, I have yet to see anybody sitting on them. An aspect of Fifth Street that is highly regarded is the social life that takes place on the street and in the shops and restaurants that reside on the street (Figure 4). Whyte’s essay on The Sensory Street talks about what attracts customers to stores. An example of something that attracts customers is manikins in windows and inside the display case. In a study of a newly placed manikin, Whyte notes that “though the prices were out of reach for all but a very tiny fraction of passerby, the particular window drew many more people than the location usually does, and many of the lookers were low-income people” (85). In the shops that line Fifth Street, there are things such as these manikins that attract customers to the stores. An example of this is American Apparel, a clothing store located on the block between Williams and Spring St (Figure 5). This is just one example of Fifth Street being a social institution, however, there are many more. Fifth Street is carefully designed in that it allows for conversation no matter what part of the street you’re on. Along the entrances to the stores there are tables and chairs set up outside the shops (Figure 6). It could have been just as easy to leave the seating completely inside the restaurants and shops, but it was designed so the seating could come outside, resulting in a “theater activated by human performance.” One way to look at Atlanta in general is as a prior framework of American subdivisions. Professors from Georgia Tech produced an essay called “You Are How You Subdivide” in which they explained the maximizing of accessibility of pedestrians to places and focusing attention to focal points in the city. With each new city comes a different design, and there are no two cities that are designed the same. Much like everything else, the layout of cities is a result of prior frameworks set back hundreds of years ago. The grid became a prominent figure in the planning of cities; however, there were some cities that didn’t follow this plan. Atlanta is an example of city not “built according to a comprehensive and unified master plan.” It resulted from the collision of frontier roads and railroads. The authors note that “resistance to a unified plan by individual land lot owners let to street patterns that were aligned to the railroads, or to the existing trials (Peachtree Street) as they crossed each land lot.” Another condition that Fifth Street can be viewed upon is that of environmental importance. The environment is being affected daily by human uses and the only people who can prevent a drastic change in the environment are the ones who are affecting it. Adding green space to preexisting buildings can have a large effect on the environment. Fifth Street was designed to include a bridge that connects the campus to the city; however, this is no ordinary bridge. In the section directly over the interstate, there are green spaces on both sides of the street (Figure 7). Although this extra landscape may seem like it helps the environment, there are also many downsides to the gardens. They require constant maintenance because of their location directly alongside a road and sidewalk. Also, there was a drastic effort that went into making the bridge look this way, as it had to extend out further than most bridges, and there also has to be fences on the exterior of the parks enclosing the bridge. This is definitely a nice rendition to helping the environment; however, I feel there could have been more effective ways. If the green spaces were placed on top of roofs, this would help the environment. Although it would be a challenge, adding green space on top of buildings will provide habitat for birds, insects, and other wildlife. Fifth Street can also be viewed as a dimensionable space with particular physical and material characteristics. One point of interest in the material choice of Fifth Street is the sidewalks. The first time I walked down Fifth Street, the thing that stuck out to me the most was not only the width of the pedestrian walking ways, but also the material choice. The sidewalks are extremely wide; however, there are parts where only half of the sidewalk can actually be used for walking. The surface of the section whose primary purpose is walking is cement, while the other half is composed of bricks (Figure 8). On the half that is composed of bricks, there are trees that line the walkway, as well as bike racks and benches in some spots. Because of this, most of the pedestrian traffic occurs on the cement side. This unique surfacing only occurs in certain blocks of Fifth Street, however; the end of Fifth Street down by the Greek section and the baseball field has a different surface material. Although it is composed of cement and brick again, there are patterns in the sidewalks. There are horizontal lines of bricks extending across the sidewalk every five feet (Figure 9). This pattern stops when the sidewalk reaches the beginning of the baseball field and starts to turn into Ferst Drive. There are speculations as to why the type of material used to cover the sidewalk was used in this way, and the main reasons are simply for aesthetics as well as comfort. Fifth Street is successful in creating visually appealing sidewalks; however, they are ineffective in designing sidewalks that are as usable as they are wide. What this means is that there are so many accessories on the sidewalk itself, that it cannot be used as effectively for its primary purpose – walking. Pedestrians see wide sidewalks and get excited, but their hopes are shot down because less than half of the sidewalk can be used due to landscape gardening, resting areas, and trash dispensers. In summary, I believe Fifth Street was an overall success in its design, however, I feel there are parts of it that could have been designed more effectively. It is definitely successful in achieving status as a public space, as there are many places one can go without being excluded for social or economic issues. The only parts of the street that aren’t public are the shops and restaurants that flank the sides. There is also a park located off the side of the street that has benches and places to sit down. The design team could have been more successful in the placement of the park. Fifth Street also does a successful job in linking the campus to the city. Prior to the Fifth Street bridge, the only ways to get into Midtown were at the north of the campus by 10th street and at the south of the campus by North Avenue. Fifth Street was created to serve as a means to easily gain access to the city, and it does a perfect job in this. As a physical street, the sidewalks are very wide, and there are plenty of spaces to park, not to mention the width of the road. The surface material chosen gives aesthetic beauty as well as comfort to the pedestrians who choose to walk on the concrete and rest of the bricks. As an environmental condition, Fifth Street is successful in the sense that adds green space to the campus; however, it could have always added more on the roofs of the buildings. The shops that line the streets are notable because they attract customers with the accessories set up on the street. Due to all these conditions, I have come to the conclusion that Fifth Street, although under many speculations for its design, is in the process of becoming a flourishing street. Works Cited Page A quick history of the street Kostoff_ the street.pdf On streets as a prior framework Allen et al_ you are how you subdivide.pdf On the 'facts' of the street Perec the street.pdf Whtye - the design of spaces.pdf Whtye - the skilled pedestrian.pdf Whtye - the social life of the street.pdf Whyte - the physical street.pdf Whyte - the sensory street.pdf Zukin_politics and aesthetics.pdf Tyler Collins Assignment 6 10.28.07 Architecture Part One: In the lecture on the Introduction to the Architecture program, Ellen Dunham-Jones introduces the top of what distinguishes a good building from an ordinary building. Sonit Bafna touched upon this in his lecture on Palladio, but Dunham-Jones reveals the idea of Architecture with a capital A. Architects have to answer the question of how should we build here and now, and how should what kind of world are we contributing to? Part Two: Nested Hierarchies – Charles Darwin first used the idea of nested hierarchies in his theory on evolution. He said it refers to the ways taxonomic groups fit neatly inside other taxonomic groups. This relates to architecture in the way Thomas Jefferson designed UVA. There are nested hierarchies in the sense that there are multiple levels, with the classrooms, faculty dorms, and student dorms, that are represented through hierarchies. Radial Axes – Radial axes are prominent in neighborhood designs that are centered around a certain object. An example of this is in a country with a monarchy, the king’s castle being at the center of town. All streets and roads lead to the king’s castle, reinforcing the absolute power of the king at the center. Individualism within Unity – This concept is also set forward in the way that Thomas Jefferson designed UVA. There is individualism within unity in the sense that each building is different from every other. Each individual is brought together by their common unity, resulting in a community. Part Three: How can we be more effective in designing the everyday landscape to shape us in healthy ways? As sustainable design is becoming an increasingly more prominent feature in architecture each year, how can this integrated into the curriculum? In the future, is there going to be a profession that deals strictly with sustainable design? In the discipline of architecture, would the global marketplace be changed drastically if countries with minimal prior exposure to architecture, such as France, Great Britain, and Ireland, became open to all different fields of architecture? Building Construction Part One: In his lecture on Building Construction, Dr. Roozbeh Kangari focuses on the idea that each building goes through life cycle phases. These phases he talks about include: 1.) planning and engineering 2.) construction 3.) operation, maintenance, management 4.) decommissioning. This is similar to a life cycle because the building starts with planning, is eventually constructed and taken care of, and then finally decommissioned through either demolition or abandonment, before it eventually goes through the planning stage again. Part Two: Stakeholders – a stakeholder is a person who has an effect, or can be affected, by a company’s actions. In BC, the stakeholders are commonly the owner, architect/engineer, general contractors, building operators/managers. Each of these people has an effect on the building in their own unique way, and they can all be affected if something happens to the building. Holistic thinking – holistic thinking is the idea of understanding all the different areas that go in to the design, construction, and demolition of a building. This term can also be applied when thinking about the concept of a “master builder”, or someone who does the entire project from the design to the construction. A holistic thinker integrates all aspects of the project. Construction documents – the documents that are dealt with in construction include the plans, specifications, and bid documents. The construction document stage is initiated by the architects and engineers. The bid documents deal with all legal and financial issues, while the plans and specifications provide the necessary details about specific requirements in the project. Part Three: Would the idea of this “master builder”, who can integrate all parts of B.C, eliminate job opportunities in the future for B.C majors? Would it be more effective to have Building Construction majors separate from CFY and start right away on construction, or does the combination of the three disciplines allow for more innovative ideas in B.C? Is it possible to receive a degree in Building Construction and still pursue a career in architecture, or do most B.C. majors go on to more management oriented careers? Industrial Design Part One: Abir Mullick, director of the Industrial Design program, gave an overview of the discipline and profession of industrial design. One of the main concepts Mullick focuses on is the idea of Good Design. There are four factors that go in to good design: people focused, social-economic focused, environment focused, and future focused. If the design of a product meets all these requirements, it falls under the category of good design. Part Two: Interaction design – the process of defining the interaction of an artifact in response to its users over time. Examples of these artifacts include mobile devices, software, and services. Interaction design minimizes the complexity of most new modern objects, leading to less frustration and higher satisfaction to users. User centered – designing products that are user centered are a big factor in I.D. Having a user centered product means that it provides support for the user, and the entire product is focused around the user. It does not necessarily have to be people centered, as long as it oriented around the user. Consultant design – In terms of careers after graduating from the I.D. program at Tech, one of the options is to work for a consultant company, practicing consultant design. A designer who works for a consulting company gives design to small, medium, and large companies. Part Three: You mentioned that design starts with a problem. If we keep designing such great products, is it possible to eliminate problems, effectively eliminating I.D.? Are there as many job opportunities when graduating from the I.D. program as there are in say architecture or building construction? It seems there are more opportunities to start your own company in architecture and B.C, while I.D. you must work for a corporate or consultant company. Is this true? Is it possible to keep designing classical looking products even though we are advancing toward a more innovative future? Library 101 Assignment (every time after the source goes to a second line it should be indented - I didn't know how to tab in HTML) Bates, Kristen A., and Richelle S. Swan, ed. Through the eye of Katrina : social justice in the United States. Durham, N.C. Carolina Academic Press, 2007. Block, Walter, and Llewellyn H Rockwell, Jr. “Katrina and the Future of New Orleans.” Telos 139 (Summer 2007): 170 Brown II, M. Christopher, and Sharon P. Robinson, ed. The children Hurricane Katrina left behind : schooling context, professional preparation, and community politics. New York. Peter Lang, 2007 Brown, Joseph E., and Kenneth Caldwell. “New Orleans: one year after Katrina.” Urban Land 65 (2006): 38, 40-3, 45 Brunsma, David L., David Overfelt, and J. Steven Picou, ed. The sociology of Katrina : perspectives on a modern catastrophe. Lanham. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. Elie, Lolis Eric. “Clearing the political debris.” Times-Picayune, Aug. 6 2007, METRO section Forbes, Steve. “Cut Out the Middleman.” Forbes 180 (2007): 19-20 Golub, Robert M. “New Orleans, Katrina, and the Death and Life of Cities.” JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association 298 (2007): 1062-3 Hartman, Chester, and Gregory D. Squires. There is no such thing as a natural disaster : race, class, and Hurricane Katrina. New York. Routledge, 2006 Henderson, Mark. “Katrina hit the old of all races.” The Times (London) February 18, 2006, OVERSEAS NEWS, 33 Kelman, Ilan. “Hurricane Katrina disaster diplomacy.” Disasters 31 (2007): 288-309 Kennedy, Shawn, and James Murdock. “Remaking New Orleans, without losing its past.” Architectural Record 195 (2007): 85-8, 226. Lubell, Sam. “Louisiana recovery continues to hit snags.” Architectural Record 195 (2007): 42 Lukensmeyer, Carolyn J. “Large-Scale Citizen Engagement and the Rebuilding of New Orleans: A Case Study” National Civic Review 96 (Fall 2007): 3 Maxwell, Lesli A. “City Yearns For Rebirth Among Ruin.” Education Week 26 (2007): 1-19 McKee, Bradford. “New Orleans recovery plan released.” Architect (Washington, D.C.) 96 (2007): 20 Nelson, Cary. “Should We Abandon All Hope?” Academe 93 (2007): 96 Nossiter, Adam. “A Tamer of Troubled Schools Offers a Plan for New Orleans.” New York Times, September 24, 2007, A1-A18 Park, Andrew. “The Katrina Effect, Measured in Gigs.” New York Times, Aug 5, 2007, Section 3, p 1-9 Riley, Maj. Gen. Don T. “Corps To Rebuild Levees, Public Trust.” Engineering-News Record 256 (2006): 47 Schleifstein, Mark. “Corps revises cause of levee failure ; 9th Ward rupture due to seepage, it says.” Times-Picayune, Aug 29, 2007, METRO section Schwartz, John. “Category 5: Levees Are Piece of a $32 Billion Pie.” New York Times November 29, 2005, Section A, p 1 Schwartz, John. “Engineers Faulted on Hurricane System.” New York Times, Jul 11, 2007, Section A, Late Edition (East Coast) Sokol, David. “New architecture for Katrina-ravaged town.” Architectural Record 194 (2006): 29 South End Press Collective. What lies beneath : Katrina, race, and the state of the nation. Cambridge, Mass. South End Press, 2007. Stehr, Steven, D. “The Political Economy of Urban Disaster Assistance.” Urban Affairs Review 41 (March 2006): 492-500 Stephens, Suzanne. “Damaged by Katrina: early signs of a campus in recovery.” Architectural Record 194 (2006): 388 Strom, Stephanie. “Many Charities Founded After Hurricane Are Faltering.” New York Times, Mar 13, 2006, Section A, Late Edition, 12 Strom, Stephanie. “The post-Katrina charity boom is going bust.” The International Herald Tribune (2006), NEWS section, p 2 Struijs, Maarten, Diana Balmori, David Waggoner, Robert Orr, Tim Culvahouse, Kimberly Brown, Wade Ragas, Nina Rappaport, David Hecht. “Regenerating New Orleans.” Constructs 8 (2006): 12-13 Troutt, David Dante, ed. After the Storm: Black intellectuals explore the meaning of Hurricane Katrina. New York. New Press, 2006. United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials. Hurricane Katrina : assessing the present environmental status : hearing before the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, September 29, 2005. Washington. U.S. G.P.O, 2005 Warrick, Joby. “White House Got Early Warning on Katrina.” The Washington Post January 24, 2006, Section A, A02 Warrick, Joby, and Michael Grunwald. “Katrina probes point to building.” Toronto Star October 25, 2005, NEWS section, A06 Young, Cathy. “Katrina’s Racial Paranoia.” The Boston Globe, January 16, 2006, OP-ED section, A13 Assignment 4 09.30 Lecture 09.17 ACB The author of the Architecture, Culture & Behavior lecture, Craig Zimring, focuses on how the design of buildings at different scales has an effect on people and groups. He also talks about how the characteristics and goals of individuals affect the design of those buildings. His entire lecture can be summarized with a quote from Winston Churchill who says, “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.” Zimring accomplishes this by first showing facts and figures of obesity in the United States. He explains what it means to be physically active and the environmental factors that barricade this exercise. He continues to talk about how buildings can be designed to promote physical activity, and finally ends with hospitals and how they affect our behavior. Some of the important terms and concepts are space syntax, evidence based design, close-knit team, activity inducing areas, environmental factors, and activity-friendly settings. Environmental Factors are any natural factors that have some sort of effect on the outcome of the situation. This relates to Zimring’s lecture because he talks about the environmental factors that are preventing people from physical activity. These factors include comfort, aesthetic, safety, availability, convenience, and legibility. Activity-friendly settings refer to situations where there is an integration of physical activity into daily life. This relates back to the lecture because his main argument to lower the obesity rate is to create activity-friendly settings. This can be accomplished by attending to layout, activity-programmed, activity-inducing spaces. Evidence based design is a process in which the architect makes a decision based on the best available information from research. Zimring touches on this subject with his section on improving healthcare with better building design. He notes that there was a rigorous amount of research and evidence studied, with more than 700 cases, and evidence based design is become increasingly accepted. 1. You mentioned that a view of natural sunlight has a positive effect on a patient’s health, but doesn’t that take away from the design of the building. Wouldn’t it be too costly and space consuming to construct and hospital with rooms only on the outer edge facing outside? 2. Due to the numerous fields that contribute to ACB, would it be possible for a “master-builder” to design a hospital, or is it necessary that all these fields participate? 3. In the classroom, do you think it would be more effective to have the message sent out earlier to students and develop a course for architecture and ID major’s to work together in designing new hospitals to improve healthcare? 4. How would the design of the proposed new hospitals have an effect on the economy? Would it put more RN’s out of work because not as many would be needed anymore? Lecture 09.19 Photography The author of the Photography lecture, Ruth Dusseault, focused on showing the changing environment that we live in, and the effect that modernism and industrialization have on that environment. She does this by first showing the destruction of the old Atlantic Steel Mill. She photographs the entire transformation from 1996-2006. She says that she “wanted to reposition it as means for reflection on the historic reality in which we live.” Some of the important terms mentioned were utopian constructs in architecture, vernacular, modernism, agri-business, Millennium Arch, and Corbusier’s Radiant City. Vernacular means indigenous to the land, and it is not copied or imported from anywhere else. The term vernaculus literally means a slave quarter at the back of the master’s garden. This relates back to Dusseault’s lecture when she talks about the warehouses and blooming mils that are located in the shopping district, keeping the spirit of the old mill. Utopian architecture deals with buildings and sectors of neighborhoods that are built like utopias, in the sense that they are perfect worlds. This is mentioned in Dusseault’s lecture when she talks about Corbusier’s Radiant City and Norman Bel Gedde’s design for a national highway system that weaves a perfect web across the nation. Agri-business is a play on words of the terms agriculture and business. Agribusiness refers to the various businesses involved in the production of food, including processing and retail sales. This is mentioned in Dusseault’s lecture when she says that the culture of farming is starting to disappear. She mentions this because the photography was also aimed at an “architectural perspective on southern modernity.” 1. How can the style of photography you showed in the lecture be incorporated into CFY curriculum? 2. Do you think the discipline of photography can alter the opinions of peoples preconceptions in pictures alone, or does it also require facts and figures to back up the argument? 3. When you were photographing the pictures of the renovation of Atlantic Station, were there any problems with privacy issues? 4. Does the advancement of our built environment from an industrial based society to a more modern culture have an effect on the economy? Lecture 09.26 Palladio The author of the Palladio lecture, Sonit Bafna, focuses on what makes Palladio’s work so famous, and what makes him so influential. He asks the question of what makes Palladio so great, and answers the question through the lecture. He does this by showing examples of Palladio’s work and analyzing each of them. Some of the important terms and concepts mentioned include visual engagement, music theory, base-middle-top plan, and proportional. Music theory is a field of study that describes the elements of music, including pitch, harmony, melody, and rhythm. This is related to Palladian architecture in the proportions of his rooms. Palladio uses music theory to determine the acoustics of the room, thus carrying the same musical harmony in each of the rooms. Base-middle-top plan is a component of Palladian architecture that deals with the exterior of the house. Prior to Palladio, the style of houses were very ephemeral, and could be moved around a lot. For example, you could take any door or window and move it to another location on the house and it wouldn’t affect anything else. In Palladian architecture, he uses a base-middle-top plan so there is a base of the house, then a large middle section, and a small top section, all of which are essential to the design of the house and cannot be interchanged with any other part. Visual engagement deals with the aesthetic beauty of a house. While visually engaging a house, you might look at the symmetry or asymmetry, or what makes the house look extravagant. Palladio’s work could be classified as visually engaging because of the beauty it produced. His houses were visually mesmerizing, meaning you could look at it for hours and not run out of things to analyze. 1. It appears that Palladio is the most influential architect in designing Western Architecture. Do you see, in the future, a class with more emphasis on Palladio alone? 2. How can Palladian architecture be differentiated from Classical Architecture? Is Palladio just a branch of classical, or is there a distinct difference between the two? 3. Does the fact that we are advancing toward a more modernistic society have an effect on the profession of studying Palladian architecture? 4. How does the economic production during the time of Palladio have an effect on the design of his buildings? Assignment 09.16 Critical Listening Lecture 09.10 CATEA Stephen Sprigle, the author of the CATEA presentation, focused on the mental and physical impairments that limit a major life activity in a person, and more importantly, the assistive technology that helps to improve that impairment. He does this by first showing general information about assistive technology but then gets more in depth and talks about environmental access and shows specific studies of cases of people using assistive technology outside of the lab, and finally ends with an example of a recently designed product in their research lab: a wheelchair cushion that weights the three areas a person sits on. Some of the important terms and concepts used in this lecture include universal design appeal, myriad foci, environmental barriers, and anthropometry-based layout. Universal Design Appeal – a design process that allows use by all people, regardless of age or ability. This refers to the lecture in the sense that products such as a wheelchair ramp, comfort utensils, and big-button calculator are designed so they can be used by people of all ages, disability or not. Environmental barriers – natural barriers (such as hills and air quality) that can prevent a disabled person from accessing certain areas. This relates back to the lecture because the environment has a huge impact on wheelchair use. In a study done by CATEA, subjects living in certain neighborhoods “showed an order of magnitude more usage within the community.” Anthropometry-based layout – anthropometry is the study of measuring the human body and its capacities. This is significant to the wheelchair cushion design presented by Sprigle because it uses anthropometry to measure the bones and muscles in the lower back and design the cushion to work with the electronics to constantly shift the molding around, allowing for a more comfortable seat. 1. When teaching students about assistive technology, do you feel that they don’t find it as interesting because it’s not something they can relate to? 2. Is the discipline of assistive technology becoming increasingly less popular because society is advancing to a place where what is known as “elderly” is becoming an older age each year? 3. Is the profession of somebody who works for CATEA more focused on research and development, or on making information accessible to the public? 4. What kind of effect does assistive technology have on economic production? Is the economy changing because elderly people are becoming more accessible to things they couldn’t gain access to before? Lecture 09.12 Construction Industry The author of the AEC lecture, Brian Bowen, focused specifically on the construction industry today and its historical roots, giving “a view from the center” of industry. He does this by starting general and giving basic definitions of industry as well as ten specific characteristics of the construction industry. He then talks about the project delivery model and integration – what it is and why do we need it. Some of the important terms and concepts mentioned in this lecture include partnering, lean construction, design-build, PPP, turnkey, alliance construction, life cycle costing, risk management, and 3XPT. Lean construction – an approach in manufacturing that maximizes value to the customer and cuts down on waste. This relates back to the lecture because it is one of the ten characteristics of the industry today under the topic of slow delivery. They take a little longer to deliver the product because they are emphasizing lean construction. Design-build – this is a product delivery option that overlaps the design and construct stages. This is effective because it saves time in delivery the product to the customer. This term relates back not only to this lecture, but also to the digital design lecture when the term Master Builder was mentioned. Design-build and master builder are related because design-build usually involves just one person from the design to the constructing stage, and this personally is typically a master builder. Risk Management – developing strategies to manage and assess risk and using these resources to mitigate the risk. This is important in the construction world because of all the dangers of the building industry. The process involves identifying the risks in construction and formulating an effective strategy to alleviate the potential of loss 1. It was mentioned that there is a triangular relationship between the owner, architect, and general contractor. Do you think that it would be easier for these people to communicate if they worked closer together during school? Should architects and general contractors be taught to work together? 2. Do you feel that there is going to be an emergence of a new function, similar to the master builder? 3. Do you think that the construction industry is a service industry – in the sense that everything that is being built is constructed specifically for societal uses? 4. You mentioned that construction is the second biggest sector of the economy and there are millions of people indirectly involved with construction. Do you think it would change the face of the industry if it cut down on the number of independent contractors and only recognized corporations? What kind of effect would this have on the economy? Lecture 09.14 Geographic Information Systems Steven French, author of the GIS lecture, focused on the use of GIS information in design, and how technology is changing the way we plan and construct the built environment. He does this first explaining the different technology used in GIS and how they are used in urban planning. He then proceeded to focus more on the environment, and showed pictures of land suitability analysis and how GIS can be used to predict future conditions in the built environment. Some of the important terms and concepts used in the lecture include remote sensing, infrared, lidar, regression model, land suitability analysis, and GPS. Remote Sensing – remote sensing is the acquisition of information by either real-time sensing devices or recording that is not in physical contact with the object. The entire theory of GIS is based on remote sensing. All images taken by satellite, plane, and ship are done by remote sensing. Infrared – infrared is a type of remote sensing that involves heat and electromagnetic waves that vary between 3.5 and 20 micrometers. Thermal imaging is used in GIS to show structures on the ground that can be identified by their heat signature. Regression Model – this is a technique which shows the relationship between the independent and dependent variables in an equation. This is significant in GIS because it is used to make predictions of the Y variable, and it attempts to explain the relationship between two different items that appear to have nothing in common. It is important to note that correlation between two objects does not imply causation between them. 1. If you were to take a class in say, GIS, wouldn’t it be more of a class of how to use the software and hardware, as opposed to actual teaching? Do you think there is a more proficient way to teach the subject than just a tutorial that any computer can give? 2. When working with GIS, do you feel it helps to have a discipline in the field of urban planning, or can anyone with a general understanding of architecture work with GIS as well? 3. In your time working with GIS, have you found that it can produce any privacy concerns? 4. Is there any economic production that is created when working with GIS? Is it a true necessity for the future of the economy? Classical Design In the lecture about classical design and classical architecture, the authors take focus on the idea of incorporating the architecture of buildings from hundreds of years ago and incorporating these designs into structures today. They do this by showing a PowerPoint of buildings they are constructing now, and comparing them with the buildings from the classical era by comparing features such as columns and façades. Some of the important terms and concepts listed in this lecture include historical preservation, façade, new urbanism, traditional neighborhood developments (TND’s), building codes, and traditional architecture. The classical design lecture mentioned the word Traditional Neighborhood Developments when dealing with the aspect of urban and town planning. TND’s are the development of land that stress the walkable suburbs of the early to mid 20th century as opposed to the automobile reliable neighborhoods built since the 1960’s. TND’s place a great emphasis on different styles of housing, as well as a town center, formal civic spaces, and squares. Another term used in the classical design lecture was building codes. Building codes are a set of rules that specify minimum requirements for the acceptable level of safety in newly constructed buildings. They are written not just for the safety of the participants, however; they are also designed for public health which relates back to environmentally friendly design. 1. This question is specific to the historical preservation lecture: Do you find that it’s becoming increasing harder to preserve older historical houses as opposed to building more modern looking houses since the future of real estate is heading in a futuristic manner? 2. This question is for the author of the town planning section: When you were studying in school, did you always know that you wanted to be an urban planner? Because it seems like an exhausted discipline due to the fact that most neighborhoods are already built and there is less and less room to build new ones 3. It appears that most of the classical architecture presented was designed mostly in Europe. Do you feel that if somebody wanted to pursue classical design it would be meaningless to study in a country that doesn’t have as much classical architecture as Italy or France? If so, do you think it should be a requirement for all classical design students to study in a place like Europe in order to get the hands on experience? Solar Decathlon The solar decathlon lecture focuses on the challenge of constructing a sustainable house that can produce all the energy it uses. The author of the lecture was trying to prove the point that although it may be impossible to build a house that is 100% green, it is definitely possible to build one that is more environmentally friendly than an average house. He gets this point across by showing a series of slides that break down the house piece by piece, starting with the chassis and ending with the PV structure on the roof. Some key terms and concepts include greywater, living walls, rain screen, translucent wall (duo-gard), clearstory windows, and photovoltaic structure. A prominent feature of the solar decathlon house is the translucent wall, also known as the Duo-Gard wall. This wall is important because it insulates the house by allowing light to pass through it, but at the same time it also acts as a wall and gives the resident privacy. It also insulates the house using the insulating agent Nanogel. Another term mentioned in the solar decathlon lecture was photovoltaics. There is a photovoltaic structure on the roof that takes natural light and heat from the sun and translates into energy for use by the house. This works by solar panels that track the sun during all parts of the day. Inverters on the house convert the energy from the sunlight into the frequency and voltage needed to power a house that is off-the-grid. 1. It was mentioned in the lecture that a 100x100 square mile photovoltaic setup in the middle of the desert in Arizona could power the entire United States. Is there any reason why this isn’t being looked into? I understand how costly it would be, but don’t you think it’s worth for the U.S to spend some money in order to save the environment? 2. There are a lot of good things that come out of a solar decathlon house, but it appears that they can only work in certain conditions. For example, the house gets most of its energy from the sun, but if the house was built in a northern location like New England, would it still work in the winter? Wouldn’t there be drawbacks to placing it in a location where the sun isn’t out and shining for the most of the day? Also, if it were to be placed in hurricane-heavy location would the house (specifically the roof) be stable enough to withstand the wind? 3. As students become more and more aware of the environment and what’s happening to it, do you think there will be classes more specific to the solar decathlon project? As of right now the only way to get involved is on your free time, but do you think it will ever become a prominent lecture in college classes? Digital Design The author of the Digital Design and Manufacturing focuses on the iterative design process of the 21st century as opposed to the linear design process in the previous years; the architect is engaging more directly with the representation. He also takes on the concept of designing in three dimensions. He does this by showing slides of projects that use machines that can make representations of objects in the three dimensions, such as the three and six axis routers. Some of the important terms and concepts included in the lecture are local variation vs. global variation, parametric modulation, three axis router, six axis router, and the Master Builder concept. A term mentioned by the author throughout the end of his presentation is parametric modulation. Parametric modulation means that something has intelligence, it can change and adapt. An example used is the cube. A geometric modeled cube is just a cube and will stay the same length, width, and height the whole time. A parametric modeled cube gives parametric values assigned to each length, width, and height, tuning the cube to adapt in certain ways. It produces a lot of intelligence in a cell that can aggregate and mutate. At the end of the lecture the author mentioned the concept of the Master Builder, and whether or not it was reemerging in the 21st century. The Master Builder concept states that there is one individual who is completely responsible for the entire project, from the design idea to the completion. The master builder was held accountable delays and defects in the project. 1. In the profession of digital design and manufacturing, it appears that there is less and less work falling in the hands of the fabricators and contractors with the emergence of robotics and machines. Do you feel that this is a good or bad process? Is it taking away jobs from people who are just as capable? 2. After researching some CAD programs, it seems that there are hundreds of them that can mostly do the same job. Is there a difference between all the different types of computer aided drafting? And more importantly, is it becoming harder to teach students the proper way to draft with the emergence of computers? 3. With the addition of new tools and techniques, is it going to have an effect on the way the environment is built? Are buildings going to last longer because they were designed in an iterative process instead of a linear process? The first time I examined the wooden installation I noticed the material it was constructed of. Not only is it plywood, it’s very thick plywood with many layers. The installation has to have a solid structure to support all its weight. There is a steel rod that runs through each piece of wood near the floor, which stabilizes the installation and grounds it to the concrete in the floor. It was made by cutting small slats of plywood and using wood glue to connect them together, allowing the installation to reach taller heights. There are still evident marks of where each individual slat was connected to the one above it. The fabrication process appeared to be tedious, with many different types of slats; there are short, long, curved, and straight slats. It appears that each individual piece of wood had to be cut using a band saw. The shape of the installation is what makes it unique. The section on the first floor comes together at the end to form a bench. There are many wooden pieces that run up toward the second floor balcony; the five slats on the ends are vertical lines and run straight up, and all the other slats are curved, some more bowed than others. There doesn’t appear to be any symmetry in the section on the first floor. As the installation twists toward the second floor balcony, the slats start to bend more and more. At the second floor landing, a steel rod, parallel to the handrail, passes through each piece. This rod attaches to the wall, stabilizing the installation. The third floor balcony is set farther back than the rest of the landings, and the installation has to bend to reach the landing area. There is a similar bench-like structure at the top of the installation, except this one doesn’t protrude far enough for a sitting area, and some slats stick out more than others. This section of the installation is also stabilized to the wall with a rod. Looking at the installation on the third floor, there is a window in the background with light shining through during the day. Because the light passes through, it makes the pieces of the wood in front of the window appear to be translucent. The bench portion of the installation has the normal wear and tear of a bench. There are places where the wood is smoother than others due to the fact that people are constantly sitting there. The installation isn’t affected by weathering since it sits under a roof. The plywood still appears to be in high-quality condition, especially in places that can’t be reached. In the wooden installation, the architects have appeared to question the issue of bending wood to make art. They are trying to design an installation that will serve as both a bench and a piece of art. It is also worth noting that the installation is supported by anything hanging down from the ceiling. The only support it has is in the floor at the two ends, and the rods that attach to the walls at each ledge. This could tell us they are questioning the research of building an installation that can climb three stories without and stabilization from the ceiling. This installation appears to have been designed on a computer and then transferred over into tangible products. This is evident because there are so many different cuts of plywood that would need to be designed on a computer program before being converted into actual wood. If I had to name this installation, I would call it “Vertical Bench”. When I saw it for the first time, I was reminded of a harp and also the baleen hairs of a baleen whale. If this vertical bench were to have a secret life, I would imagine it turning into a monster late at night. The wood pieces become its mouth and act as a filter, similar to a baleen whale. The monster also drinks a lot of coffee because it’s so tired from staying up all day and having people sit on its feet. The next installation is the plexiglass structure on the patio of the Architecture West building. This installation is made out of polymethyl methacrylate, better known as plexiglass. At the edge of the installation, on the side closest to the open space between the two architecture buildings, there are thirteen sheets of plexiglass horizontally lined up. In between each of these sheets there are approximately ten more sheets tightly packed in. It’s interesting to note that the only two materials used in making this installation were plexiglass and screws to hold the pieces together. In order to fabricate each sheet of plastic, it appears that they were cut using a computer generated router. Each sheet of plastic has a perfect amount of thickness to it – light enough that it won’t collapse, but thick enough to have some structure. As the installation moves toward the first pillar, it develops into twelve boxes, each made of four sheets of plexiglass, held together by screws. These boxes twist in toward the building, then back away to wrap around the pillar. The sheets start off thin, but get as they get closer to the pillar, they get thicker and have some volume to them. There is a gap between each box, and each gap is the same shape as the one above it, resulting in perfect symmetry. Although the installation wraps around the pillar, it is interesting to note it never touches the concrete; it is not screwed into the pillar at all. The twelve boxes then start to get thinner and weave in and out of each other. When two or more pieces intersect, they are bolted together. In the section of weaves, there doesn’t appear to be any structure or symmetry. The pieces come back together at the second pillar and go over the top of a ledge that connects the second pillar to the architecture building. As they extend past the ledge, they are still curved, but now they are close together. The installation is supported by wires that attach to the third floor ledge. There are no spots that bolt the installation into the ground. The only reason the structure is stable to the ground is because its own mass keeps it grounded. I noticed how much natural weathering there is to the installation. In between each sheet of plastic there are a lot of dried leaves and small pieces of grass. Also, there is a lot of dirt and sand covering the plastic. This is expected, however, because the installation is outside and has to constantly deal with different types of weather. The plastic feels like regular plexiglass, except with a little roughness due to the pebbles from the dirt and sand. It appears that the research team was examining the question of how to make a three dimensional object out of two dimensional materials. When looked at from far away, the installation appears to take on a three dimensional feel to it. The design process used appears to be a large amount constructed by computer programs. In order for each piece to be cut in the shape it is, a computer program has to shape each piece of plastic and then send it a computer run router that will cut the plastic. The design process seemed tedious because each piece of plexiglass had to be cut and fit perfectly, or else the entire design would have to be started over again. When I first saw the installation, the image that came to my head was the plastic that holds soda cans together that fish can get caught in. Another image that came to mind was a candy wrapper for a small hard candy, similar to a Tootsie Roll wrapper. This is because the installation has ends that start off close together and appear to tie together, but towards the center, the installation is wider and more circular. If I had to name this structure, I would call it “Intertwine” because of the way the center of structure appears to weave together. If this installation were to have a secret life, I think it would be an evil monster that lives in the ocean. In the middle of the night, it would move away from the building and advance to the ocean, where it would catch fish and dolphins by trapping their noses in its weaving plastic. Link to this Page
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