        Harmon, Andrew : AssignmentsAndrew Harmon26 November 2007 Fifth Street Bridge Developments Fifth Street has been the object of attentive architectural focus and investment over the past five years. Stretching from the Klaus Building to the Biltmore Hotel, this traffic-way has served as the primary gateway, or public amenity, between the Georgia Tech campus and the sprawling city of Atlanta. However, has this always been the case? Before the developments of Midtown Alliance, Tech Square, and the Department of Transportation, one would argue that this street was conducive to little amounts of human and civilized interaction. In my opinion, as an informed observer and participant in this space, the recent constructs on Fifth Street have indeed turned this stretch into what was envisioned for the space. However, as a nascent and researched professional, I would claim that the space has become all that it can be, successfully expanding the breadth of campus interaction with the urban area of Atlanta. This street, and most specifically the Fifth Street Bridge, have paved the way for future developments on campus, such as the current project to replace several of the roads throughout campus with pedestrian pathways. Utimately, I have come to find Fifth Street, in its current condition, to be a “good street,” one that finds balance and unity among physical, formal, spatial, social, political, cultural, legal, historical, environmental, and experiential aspects of human interaction and civilization. A street is foremost defined as a public space, that is one that is both open to and conducive of human interaction. The street is both safe, being well-lit and securely observed and patrolled. This space must be divided into different aspects of human interaction. For example, this space and the nature of its use must allow for both automobile and human traffic. The Fifth Street Bridge also brings the idea of “green space” into the concept. This specific area of development has invited several forms of human interaction, from tailgating on game days to playing with pets and throwing the Frisbee. With Atlanta growing at such a rapid pace, several designers and urban planners completely leave out the importance of this green space in our daily lives. Not only does this incorporation of nature add freshness to the air, but it also enlivens our senses and brightens the environment, providing a clean and fresh atmosphere. The developers of Midtown Alliance and the Fifth Street Bridge developers acknowledged the need for such space in an ever-polluting environment and were extremely successful in adding a healthier and ergonomic feel to this mixed-use area. Secondly, a street is also a result of a prior framework or subdivision of territory. This area has been broken down and in a sense been subdivided by the different developments within the space. The Klaus Building sits at the bottom of the downhill street from Tech Square, and provides a very contemporary and academic-looking environment on campus. The glass-covered building is intact with modern architectural developments and provides a rich feel of keeping up with the present and developing for the future at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The curved building even allows room for a center-piece staircase that in a sense extends in a continuance from the street up to the building with a large opening through the building into the academic quad-like area. When walking through this raised opening, Fifth Street and Tech Square, flanked with two large, vertical Biltmore signs, are quite literally framed by the opening. Moving up the hill, the Bridge subdivides the area into a space of both traffic and peaceful green space. Traffic is an integral part of an effective street. Next, the public space is divided into the mixed-use area we call Tech Square. The area is home to several college-style restaurants such as Moes, Tin Drum, Ribs & Blues, and Rays. Tech Square also combines shopping outlets, most importantly the official school bookstore at Barnes and Noble, and areas of professional work. This combination provides for an atmosphere of active and productive lifestyles. Territories such as this are often subdivided several times before the perfect balance and use of the space is found, which in its current condition, I believe has happened. Streets also must be laid out to allow for the proper flow of traffic and purpose of the space. In fact, Atlanta used to allow land developers to subdivide and layout their own roads and street blocks, leaving the city filled with uneven blocks and confusing streets, unlike the geometrical subdivision mandates of other urban cities, like New York City. Also, a street must be a “pampliest” of previous conditions, as well as a projection of desired futures. I believe that the Fifth Street Bridge best identifies what campus developers hope to add to the urban setting of downtown Atlanta. This incorporation of green space allows for a much more optimistic feeling of “growth” and expansion. Replacing the old Fifth Street bridge, much more narrow and devoid of human interaction, the road and thin sidewalks provided no welcoming opportunities for either spaces, campus or city, to mix together. Making the bridge much more wider makes the road and automobile traffic seem much more insignificant, and allows for the “gateway” to appeal to pedestrians, especially in that it allows for wider views of the excitement and opportunities that Tech Square has to offer. The bridge has also been built up with plants and appealing walls and trellises to mask the irritating traffic that runs along the interchange below. These walls also decrease the noise levels on the bridge creating a much more peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. Also, with a cleaned-up area in this section of midtown, bus routes can now connect student life on campus and urban life at Tech Square. Before the ten million dollar development project of Fifth Street, this space saw little human interaction of any means, completely devoid of social, economic, and spatial activity. Next, a street is also defined and limited by a dimensionable space with particular physical and material characteristics. The land that Tech owns is a specific amount. The area can, however be expanded, but only through the buying out of other subdivided territory, which has proven to be quite expensive in this tourist-filled area. Street layouts are extremely difficult to change, especially with the existing connections with the highways running between campus and midtown. The concept of dimensionable space is of extreme attention in urban settings, quite literally the reasoning behind building vertically, to add population and human interaction to a space with limited dimensions on the ground. This idea is evident in the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, which allows for hundreds of guests to stay in this area of campus connectivity, and takes up a mere block or two of the area. Also the parking decks demonstrate this idea of dimensionable space, utilizing little amounts of ground area to attract mass amounts of visitors to the area. It is equally important that we both allow ourselves to be shaped by the space limitations as well as set and change around these limitations. For example, we cannot change the layout of the 75 and 85 conncector, however we can widen Fifth Street Bridge to allow for the new green space and appealing pathway between urban Atlanta and the Georgia Tech campus. A good street must also depict urban form with a particular volume and section. The section of the area is outlined by the actual street, which runs from the Klaus Building to the Historic Biltmore Hotel. All of the important developments from the past five years which I have thus far outlined, sit directly on the traffic-filled street. These attractions include the Klaus Building, the Tech Trolley and Stinger bus route stations, the Fifth Street Bridge and its green space, the retail space and restaurants of Tech Square, the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, and the Historic Biltmore Hotel. In my opinion, the volume that is found in the space is defined by the layout of these attractions, including their vertical integration within the area. Volume also is defined by the flow of traffic, both automobile and human, and the dispersion of population within the area into respective spaces, whether retail, food, hotel, work, or traffic space. Fifth Street is clearly a space with multiple functions and uses. These uses and functions are identified by the different categories of development in terms of retail, food, hotel, work, or traffic space. Upon observing human interaction with the space, I found several different types of human activity taking place. I saw businessmen and women in suits hurrying from their cars to get into the office buildings, similar men and women on break for lunch at restaurants, students taking food breaks, people playing with their pets on the bridge, students carrying back Publix groceries, shopping in Barnes and Noble for books and more importantly, spirit wear, and friends and family taking a coffee break at Starbucks. These activities incorporate all of the purposes defined by a mixed-use space. I find the Fifth Street developments to be a huge success because none of these activities were encouraged or available to those on campus. So one may pose the question of whether or not Georgia Tech has the responsibility or moral obligation of cleaning up the areas that are not necessarily part of campus, and the answer would be yes, development and expansion is a key aspect of social change in society, and this progress must be demonstrated by campus and even student-led development teams. The street is most successful in that it serves as a social institution. “What attracts people most, in sum, is other people. If I labor the point, it is because many urban spaces are being designed as though what people like best are the places they stay away from” (The Social Life of the Street 10). Tech Square is an area that I find my way to several times in a week to eat, shop, or even find some peace of mind. The bus routes also allow for more social interaction between campus academics and the urban world of Atlanta. In this area we can see all of the possibilities of an expanding community. Not only are physical possibilities of design and change evident in this area, but also opportunities of career and service work within our social environments. The developments of Fifth street incorporate most all aspects of human life and forms of social interaction, making them, in my opinion, such a successful and unified development project. Finally, a good street must be a “theater activated by human performance: everyday acts as well as special events.” Clearly before these developments of Midtown Alliance, Tech Square, and the Department of Transportation, the stage had not yet been built. However, since the ten million dollar construction project every day along Fifth Street is a performance. Students travel this path connecting their academic and social lives. The street successfully serves as a conduit for traffic as well as a dynamic locus of physical, formal, spatial, social, political, cultural, legal, historical, environmental, and experiential conditions. In conclusion, this street unifies all of the aspects that a good streeet should be. Fifth Street is now a bustling public space, conducive to healthy, active, and ergonomic lifestyles, subdivided to serve all forms of human and social interaction. The ten million dollars was well worth, in my opinion, the first successful linkage between Georgia Tech campus and urban midtown Atlanta. These developments are also most successful in that they demonstrate how to continue to expand and integrate our campus with the city, making Tech not only a place of academia but also of community service and active engagement. 12 October 2007 The impact of Katrina on the city and citizens of New Orleans Bibliography for Library 101: Bakker, Karen. “Katrina: The Public Transcript of ‘Disaster’”. England, 2005. Retrieved from EBSCO on 12 October 2007 (Katrina + Environment). File under Environment. Barns, Fred. “Post-Katrina Politics”. Washington D.C.: The Weekly Standard, 2006. Retrieved from ProQuest on 12 October 2007 (Katrina politics). File under Politics. Campanella, Richard. “Analyzing New Orleans’ New Footprint”. New Orleans, Louisiana: Times – Picayune, 2007. Retrieved from ProQuest on 12 October 2007 (New Orleans Geography). File under Geography. Childs, John Brown. “Hurricane Katrina: Response and Responsibilities”. Santa Cruz, California: New Pacific Press, 2005. Retrieved from GIL on 12 October 2007 (Katrina + Culture). File under Culture. DeReinzo, Harold. “Rebuilding Community”. New York: National Civic Review, 2007. Retrieved from ProQuest on 12 October 2007 (New Orleans Infrastructure). File under Infrastructure. Dolfman, Michael L. and Solidelle Fortier Wasser and Bruce Bergman. “The Effects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Economy”. Washington D.C.: Monthly Labor Review, 2007. Retrieved from Galileo on 12 October 2007 (New Orleans Economy). File under Economy. Falk, Henry and Grant Baldwin. “Environmental Health and Hurricane Katrina”. NIEHS Environmental Health Perspectives, 2006. Retrieved from JSTOR on 12 October 2007 (Katrina). File under Environment. Foster, Margaret. “Katrina’s Wrath: Assessing the Damage in Mississippi”. District of Columbia: Preservation: the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2005. Retrieved from EBSCO on 12 October 2007 (Katrina). File under Historic Preservation. Frangos, Alex. “Historic New Orleans Architecture Faces Threat”. Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition, 2005. Retrieved from Galileo on 12 October 2007 (New Orleans Architecture). File under Historic Preservation. Giroux, Henry A. “Katrina and the Politics of Disposability”. Boulder, Colorado: Paradigm Publishers, 2007. Retrieved from GIL on 12 October 2007 (Katrina + Politics). File under Politics. Hartman, Chester and Gregory D. Squires. “There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster: Race, Class, and Hurricane Katrina”. New York: Routledge, 2006. Retrieved from GIL on 12 October 2007 (Katrina + Politics). File under Society. Hylton, Morris. “In Katrina’s Wake: The Effort to Preserve Gulf Coast Heritage”. New York: World Monuments Icon, 2005. Retrieved from EBSCO on 12 October 2007. Jenkins, Henry. “People from That Part of the World: The Politics of Dislocation”. Cultural Anthropology: Volume 21, No. 3, 2006. Retrieved from JSTOR on 12 September 2007 (Katrina). File under Culture. Johnson, Reed. “New Orleans: Before and After; A Strong, Soulful, Wicked, Frail City; After Disaster Recedes, The Rebuilding will Begin”. Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Times, 2005. Retrieved from ProQuest on 12 October 2007 (New Orleans Culture). File under Culture. Karenga, Maulana. “Post-Katrina Politics and Elections: Recapturing Our Radical Spirit”. Los Angeles, California: Sentinel, 2006. Retrieved from ProQuest on 12 October 2007 (Katrina Politics). File under Politics. Kennedy, Shawn and James Murdock. “Remaking New Orleans, Without Losing its Past”. New York: Architectural Record, 2007. Retrieved from EBSCO on 12 October 2007 (Hurricane Katrina). File under Planning. Lipsitz, George. “Learning from New Orleans: The Social Warrant of Hostile Privatism and Competitive Consumer Citizenship”. Cultural Anthropology: Volume 21, No. 3, 2006. Retrieved from JSTOR on 12 October 2007 (Katrina). File under Culture. Lobato, Mark N. and Emad Yanni. “Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Newborn Screening in Louisiana”. Evanston: Pediatrics, 2007. Retrieved from ProQuest on 12 October 2007 (Katrina Technology). File under Engineering and Technology. Lougheed, Tim. “Raising the Bar for Levees”. NIEHS Environmental Health Perspectives: Innovations, 2006. Retrieved from JSTOR on 12 October 2007 (Katrina). File under Infrastructure. Lubell, Sam. “Special Report: Hurrican Katrina”. New York: Architectural Record, 2005. Retrieved from EBSCO on 12 October 2007 (Katrina). File under Culture. Nobel, Philip. “Welcome Restraint: In the Aftermath of Hurrican Katrina, Something Strange Happened: Architects Kept Their Mouths Shut and their Hands off of their Pens”. New York: Metropolis, 2005. Retrieved from EBSCO on 12 October 2007. File under Architecture. Olasky, Marvin N. “The Politics of Disaster: Katrina, Big Government, and a New Strategy for Future Crises”. Nashville, Tennessee: W. Pub. Group, 2006. Retrieved from GIL on 12 October 2007 (Katrina + Politics). File under Policy. Ouroussoff, Nicolai. “Katrina’s Legacy: Theme Park or Cookie Cutter?”. New York Times, 2005. Retrieved from Galileo on 12 October 2007 (New Orleans Architecture). File under Architecture. Picou, Steven J. and Marshall K. Brent. “Social Impacts of Hurricane Katrina on Displaced K-12 Students and Educational Institutions in Coastal Alabama Counties: Some Preliminary Observations”. Sociological Spectrum: Volume 27, Issue 6, 2005. Retrieved from Galileo on 12 October 2007 (Katrina). File under Society. Ramroth, William G. “Planning for Disaster: How Natural and Man-made Disasters Shape the Build Environment”. New York: Kaplan Publishing, 2007. Retrieved from GIL on 12 October 2007 (Katrina + Architecture). File under Construction. Schwartz, David A. “The NIEHS Responds to Hurricane Katrina”. NIEHS Environmental Health Perspectives, 2005. Retrieved from JSTOR on 12 October 2007 (Katrina). File under Environment. South End Press Collective. “What Lies Beneath: Katrina, Race, And the State of the Nation”. South End Press, 2007. Retrieved from Galileo on 12 October 2007 (Katrina). File under Society. United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. “A vision and strategy for rebuilding New Orleans”. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 2006. Retrieved from GIL on 12 October 2007 (Katrina + Economics). File under Infrastructure. US Fed News Service. “Post-Katrina Construction in Biloxi Tops $700 Million Mark”. Washington D.C.: US Fed News Service, 2007. Retrieved from ProQuest on 12 October 2007 (Katrina Construction). File under Economy. Weems, Carl F. “The Psychological Impact of Hurricane Katrina: Contextual Differences in Psychological Symptoms, Social, Support, and Discrimination”. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 2007. Retrieved from Galileo on 12 October 2007 (New Orleans Culture). File under Society. Woods, Clyde Adrian. “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?: Katrina, Trap Economics, and the Rebirth of the Blues”. American Quarterly: Volume 57, No. 4, 2005. Retrieved from JSTOR on 12 October 2007 (Katrina). File under Economics. Key words derived from Dan Baum’s article:
30 September 2007 Critical Listening: Learning to Ask Good Questions: Lecture Review: 9.17, 9.19, and 9.26 In the first lecture, author Dr. Craig Zimring describes how design at different scales affects individuals and groups, as well as how the characteristics and goals of individuals and groups affect design. Fields that contribute to architecture, culture, and behavior include architecture, planning, industrial design, environment and behavior, environmental psychology, environmental sociology, and space syntax. The author then structures his ideas by citing the example of designing buildings that induce physical activity to change the growing trend of obesity. Important terms include environmental psychology, environmental sociology, and space syntax. Environmental psychology is a field that studies the interplay and interactions of humans and their surroundings. This field draws information from anthropology, geography, sociology, psychology, political science, engineering, planning, architecture, urban design, and aesthetics. This concept plays a role in the study of the elemental design of a staircase. Voluntary stair use predictors include comfort, safety, aesthetics, availability, convenience, legibility, and most importantly visibility/layout. Environmental sociology focuses on similar interactions but more intently upon separating human cultures from the rest of ecology. They also focus on social factors that cause environmental problems, such as the need to create activity-friendly spaces to eliminate obesity. Finally, space syntax is the idea of how spaces are broken down into several parts and the way that these parts interact with each other. An example of this concept is the difference in voluntary use of a staircase hidden in a stairwell as opposed to a stair running through the middle of an open building. Pedagogical goals here include deciphering environmental factors at site, city, building, and object scales. It also taught about the importance of research studies and development such as the 1990 to 2001 self-reported study as well as the Harvard Alumni Study. We can create activity-friendly settings by considering everyday physical activity, identifying social and other supports or impediments to everyday activity, and attending to layout activity-programmed and activity-inducing space, such as Columbus, Ohio Health Hospital. Disciplines include study the research, developing innovative inducing ideas and spaces, and creating a healthy environment through design. Professions include architects, planning, industrial designers, engineers, and related field workers such as hospital workers effected by the spatial environment. Systems of organization include both the health-care and construction sectors of the economy. Four questions I would ask would be how they distinguished between beneficial factors in hospitals of light, noise, and other factors. Also, I would ask how bedside computers and air-quality affect staff effectiveness, how the healthcare construction industry plans to increase patient safety, and how to best combine aesthetics with functionality in terms of creating physical activity inducing space. The author of the second lecture focused on the transformation of the old steel mill to today’s prominent Atlanta shopping mall, Atlantic Station. The author was most fascinated with the idea of a world being built from scratch through design and construction. She also documented this transformation in the form of an eight year-long photo journal. As an admirer of industrial form, the author was pleased that it remained an industrial site up until the very end, with the steel mill stack being moved to the millennium bridge as well as maintaining similar steel mill rooflines. The author structured her argument by first showing a film of the construction process over time, and then moving into the logistics and reasons behind her study. Important concepts in this lecture are structural fermentation, vernacular (of blooming mills), and modernism. Structural fermentation refers to environmental reconstructions such as the storm-water sewage system, the four level parking deck, the pond, and the new highway bridge. Vernacular design refers to the process of architecture and design that relates to the existing, or native, environment. Atlantic Station has an ambiguous relationship with history, yet preserves the old feel of the steel mill with the vernacular of blooming mills and similar rooflines. Thirdly, modernism can be defined as the sweeping away of the existing world in place of building something that is considered to be better, such as this mixed use environment. A pedagogical goal of this lecture are learning how to view construction as a gradual process that occurs over time, rather than a mere “before and after” change. This lecture also taught me how to see the emotion and mood of the construction changes in the environment. Disciplines and professions include the construction sector, as well as photography and environmental research and development. The economic production associated with this design and build environment is the field of historic preservation, renovation, and reconstruction. Questions I would ask are what the author’s opinion of the Disney conception of Epcot is, how we can find a balance between preservation and modernism, what exactly was the thought process during the conceptualization of this project, and if there were any setbacks during the construction process of the largest in-town development in the United States. The third and final lecture instructor spoke about the influence that Palladio’s architecture has today in our design and build environment, especially in terms of the work of other architects. His mathematic approach, combined with his study of music theory allowed him to study and develop inviting spaces with balanced symmetry and circulation. He organized his argument by making generalizations about his approach to classical architecture, and supporting these generalizations with examples such as the idea of a center room and building symmetry. Three vocabulary words used in this lecture include classical architecture, visual engagements, and proportionality. Classical architecture is the form of design that incorporates cherished and traditional aesthetics and building techniques, especially based off of the ancient Greek and Roman concepts and constructions. Visual engagements are characteristics of architecture that are especially aesthetically pleasing, whether by means of symmetry, balance, geometric constructs, or proportionality. Proportionality is the relationship between elements of a design as a whole construction. This proportionality is created once again through geometry and balance (including symmetry). Pedagogical goals from this lesson are how to combine classical concepts with increasing modernism and demands for functionality, as well as learning to see constructs as assembled pieces that work together in harmony, like the music that Palladio relates. Disciplines and professions include music theory, architecture, art history, classical design, and geometrical studies. The system of organization from this lecture is the idea of traditional values that have been passed down time by means of architecture, in similar ways of music and other art. I would pose questions such as how to maintain classical architecture with the need to modernize because of new technologies and problem solutions, what the significance of the Palladian Window is in terms of classicism, how to incorporate the idea of music as a construct of notes into architectural design, and how to change the emotion designs convey by “playing around” with proportions and geometry. 16 September 2007 Learning to Ask Good Questions, Lectures 9.10, 9.12, and 9.14 The general topic that Stephen Sprigle took on in Monday’s lecture was that of disability research. The first issue that he addressed was that of defining a disability. Dr. Sprigle characterized a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities, such as communicating, dressing, and bathing. He then went on to describe products of design that are used to aid the disabled – assistive technology, that is. Furthermore the author described such products with “universal design appeal” and how they substantially improve the capabilities and functions of the disabled. After touching on the topic of creating more safe and functional living environments, Stephen Sprigle described the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access. This organization focuses on research and development as well as outreach activities like online tutorials and education workshops. Key terms and concepts introduced in the lecture include assistive technology, universal design appeal, environmental access, commonality, and anthropometry. Because I have a basic understanding from the lecture on the first two concepts, I feel that it would be most beneficial to understand the terms environmental access, commonality, and anthropometry. Before exploring the idea of environmental access I would have figured that this meant the degree of mobility and functionality for all humans, regardless of disability or not. However, after the lecture and further research it would be more appropriately defined as the accessibility of informal learning environments, such as at museums and zoos. Although it does also pertain to the elimination of environmental barriers hindering community mobility, the term also refers to workplace and rehabilitation accommodations. Commonality is the idea of expertise and interest, especially in the case of disability issues. In this case, it is also the understanding behind disparate usage and community participation as well as the development of information and accessibility standards, primarily through the internet. Lastly, Anthropometry refers to “the measurement of living human individuals for the purposes of understanding human physical variation” (wikipedia.org). It is the field where statistical data about the distribution of body dimensions and changes in life styles are reflected in design, clothing, ergonomics, and architecture. This is evident in the author’s outlining of an off-loading wheelchair cushion. The curriculum and learning involved with this lecture is that of adaptive design through the collection of data and human functionality in our current environment. It goes along with Plato’s historical quote “I cannot advise that we remain as we are.” We must continue to progress and adapt, in accordance with prompted recall interviews, research and development studies, and product design partnerships. Disciplines included in this field are research and development, product design, and engineering. These disciplines promote professions such as industrial designing, disability research, mechanical engineering, environmental developers, and ergonomic research. The system of organization for this topic is that of anthropomorphic research and development. Questions I pose for the author are how to maximize universal design appeal in assistive technology, where to establish a balance between design appeal and functionality, how to include the entire target population in disability research, and finally how to go about eliminating environmental mobility barriers. The second lecture, on Wednesday, focused on the idea of “AEC Integration”, as explained by a profession in the construction project management company. First off, the author explained that the construction industry is a sector of the economy as well as simply an industry – the second biggest, in fact. Worth over $1.1 Trillion, the industry directly employs over ten million and indirectly involves millions more. The presentation is organized by breaking down the construction process, from design to procurement to bidding and then to construction and operational activities, the whole time maintaining the idea that “owners want it all” – good, fast, and cheap. The basis of the industry today is the emergence of single fixed price general contracting, competitive bidding, and professionalization toward the side of the clients. Important concepts in this lecture are the Ecclesiastical Boom, ephemeral project teams, fragmentation, and economies of scale. The Ecclesiastical Boom occurred from 1150 to 1350 and laid the groundwork for the construction industry, based upon classical and medieval roots, such as contracting by separate trades, established craft guilds, design by trade contractors, relaxed schedules, procurement by reputation, and management by client. Ephemeral project teams are essentially research and development teams based on qualification and specialization that focus on accelerated completion times and scheduling. I originally thought that fragmentation was basically the break down of construction into design and build; however, after the lecture it is clear to see that there are many more sectors in the industry that must be integrated in order to reach completion goals and deadlines. Finally, economies of scale do not exist in the construction field, meaning the bigger does not necessarily mean the better. This is because of the triangular contract relationship that requires not only speediness for completion, but also quality of craft and reputation. Pedagogy from this lecture includes the pressures of clientele on the construction sector of the economy. This includes pressures and value changes in sustainability, availability of technology, litigation, and marketplace consolidations. Disciplines related are management, scheduling, specialization, and integration. Professions directly involved are project managers, estimators, bidders, and administrative workers. Questions for this lecture would be how to integrate through a “technocrat” and how this concept could be used to bring together all of the aspects of construction, what course broadenings could be emplaced, how to deal with the necessary fragmentation alongside integration, and finally why little research and development interacts with the construction field and its impact on the change of the industry over time. The third and final lecture of the week focused on geographic information systems and how to take data and research and alter our environmental technologies to benefit these findings. The author of this lecture was Steven P. French, professor of city and regional planning as well as director of the Georgia Tech Center for Geographic Information Systems. The lecture is organized by first describing the research conducted in the centers and then expanded on the emerging and converging technologies. Important terms in this lecture are ubiquitous data, remote sensing, and regression analyses. Ubiquitous data describes the availability of automated data and location-based services. It is the data that is omnipresent and pressing on our environment, such as on the current political issue of global warming. We must take this topic and apply it to the idea of using materials to better our environment. Remote sensing is the technology in this sector of aerial satellites and infrared technologies that can be used to determine how the materials in our world acts and interacts with the environment and forces such as light, pressure, heat, and sound. Finally, Regression analysis is a technique that breaks down the separate effects of an independent variable on a dependent variable such as the employment density per census tract. Learning that is gained from this lecture is how to better the environment through conducting research and development based on new and improving technologies. Disciplines in this field are most basically analyzing research and past environmental behavior as well as projecting future conditions using such technology. Professions would include disaster modeling, technology improvement, environmental planning, and development visualization. The system of organization is the environmental aspect of our lives. Questions that I would base off of this lecture would be how to include GIS information and analysis in design, how is technology changing how we construct and build the environment, what can we do to reduce the negative impacts of growth and development, and finally how can we harness the effects of urban heat, hazard exposure, and traffic congestion. September 9, 2007 Overview, Exploration, and Speculation on Three Lectures In the first lecture class period for this assignment we had several architecture field professionals come to discuss their own interactions with the design and build environment. Tim Kelly designs high-end residences, David Pearson works on mixed-use communities, Jeremy Sommer does commercial as well as urban work with historical concepts, Stefanie Wahl designs private residences as well as retail buildings, Trey LaFave works on old home renovations, William Rutledge creates classical buildings, and finally Mike Watkins builds mixed-use homes and neighborhoods. The broad issue that these speakers focused on mixed-use buildings, maintaining classical and traditional style rules, as well as balancing these rigidities with New Urbanism. The two ideas, urbanism and traditional style, are contrasted by each speaker and are presented alongside historical influences and new design technologies respectively. Some of the important terms in these lectures are mixed-use communities and New Urbanism. Mixed-use communities are communities that “emphasize and intelligent combination of housing employment, shopping and recreation as the environment and circumstances allow” (www.petersoncos.com). Generally these communities, such as Atlantic Station, offer a wide array of living options in a relatively small area. Likewise, New Urbanism is the recent revival movement whose goal is “to reform all aspects of real estate development and urban planning, from urban retrofits to suburban infill” (wikipedia.org). Urbanist neighborhoods are designed as mixed-use communities to contain a diverse range of housing and jobs, and to be walkable. The disciplines that must be learned from these lectures are how to design and build in the vernacular of an area and how to best mix residence and commercial life. Professions in this field are designers, builders, regional planners, civil engineers, and material experts and manufacturers. Questions that I would propose for this lecture and the concepts brought about would be how to find the balance between historical influences and the new urban market, how to find ways to maintain privacy for the residences in these communities while allowing them to still closely interact with the community, and lastly how to construct these communities in a low-cost way in order to be affordable to both the builders and buyers as well as sustainable for a large expanse of time. In the second lecture, the author focused on sustainability in terms of a zero-energy solar-powered home. The house designed by Georgia Tech for the national competition included sip walls for privacy, triple-paned glass windows to allow for best air ventilation, rain and runoff water filter, reclaimed lumber, and plants that climb the exterior walls. Designers focused on a pressing issue that they didn’t want to make the materials cost too much because they wanted this to be something feasible for consumers to by. He did this by reviewing the design process, collaboration versus isolation, and the importance of drawing what you see, then building what you draw. Important terms used in the lecture are sustainability and functionality, and structural integrity. Sustainability is the focus on providing the best outcomes for both the human and natural environments now, and into the indefinite future, according to wikipedia.org. Two of the most important aspects that must be combined properly in sustainability are functionality and structural integrity. Functionality is the user-friendliness of the building, in this case. On the other hand, structural integrity must be maintained. That is to say that the house must be able to remain sturdy and withstand natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, that have continued to repeat themselves throughout history. This balance was exemplified in the designers’ decision to install three-paned windows for best air ventilation (functionality), which added weight to the structure, forcing them to revisit the structural plans. Disciplines within this process include landscape design, management, structure, lighting, and digitally fabricated components, thus requiring once again the professions of designers (computer-aided), architects, engineers, marketers, communication experts, and finally all types of engineers, in this case civil, structural, and even industrial – to balance living comfort with environmental sustainability. Three questions brought up in the lecture that I would like to expand upon and have answered would be how feasible would be finding a 100 x 100 square mile block to provide all of the country’s power in the United States, who sponsors the competition and what do they intend on discovering through the process, and lastly as stated, is the integration of solar design principles, and their allied mechanical systems, within the contemporary works of architecture, environmentally and economically feasible given the increasing desire on the part of designers and consumers for spatial and architectural transparency. The final lecture I am reviewing focused on digital, or computer-aided, design, and how this process is both changing over time and impact the architecture world. The author did this by describing recent technologies such as the Rhino-Interface, software that allows one to think and design in three-dimensions, taking a digital model and transforming a geometric representation to g-code, which drives a machine to make the object in its material form. It was made clear by the author that the actual making of the object does and must allow for changes in the concept and design itself. The way that materials behave changes the way that you will ultimately employ that material. Therefore, it is important to conduct research studies before and during the process of fabrication. Important terms in this lecture were the ideas of a master builder and art as iconic. The master builder is the medieval concept reemerging in the 21st century explaining that there is one person behind the entire processes of conceptualization and fabrication, overlooking design, aesthetics, ornament, structure, and style. Art as iconic means that research informs the material, represents an artifact in the world, and ultimately interacts within its environment, such as the example of the bright neon squid structure. Disciplines and professions involved with these notions are CADCAM drafters, architects, engineers, modelers, planners (fabrication scheduling), and even more simply-put – artists. It is important to keep in mind that new tools, techniques, and algorithmic procedures affect the design and production of out build environment, as the author noted. Because there are subtle boundaries between architects and builders as well as differences between how you represent something and how you actually create it, we must continue to find new technologies and tools to close this gap in moving from the immaterial to the material and back again. Questions that I would pose for the author on this topic would be if there would likely bee any further modeling technology beyond the five-axis router, how to create uniqueness while maintaining both original concept and fabrication efficiency, and how the idea of local and global variations contributes to design representations of space. August 29, 2007 Architecture Building Installation Observation, Description, and Speculation The first installation that I observed was the wooden structure in the atrium constructed of light-colored and curved strips of wood. The strips of wood have been placed vertically parallel to each other. Each strip also seems to curve at a slightly varying degree than that of the ones to its sides. This gives the structure a unique “flowing” look, much like that of a waving flag or bed sheet being fluffed in the air directed by captured air and wind currents. The wooden strips are all tethered in place by steel rods and bolts running perpendicular to the strips. In fact, in several places of the artifact, the strips are pulled apart to allow for little holes and pockets of light and space. In my opinion, this reinforces the notion that each strip does indeed take on its own path or “life”, and yet they all come together to flow up and down the atrium as one unit. This idea is further proven by the traces of the fabrication process such as the uneven thicknesses of the strips as well as by material imperfections that truly show this piece of art as a creative process rather than merely a machinated construction. Its formal qualities are those of parallel lines that break the installation into several rectangles and even parallelograms that run both vertically, in line with the strips, as well as horizontally, following the bumps in the structure. The perspective of the piece is reinforced as the structure has optimal viewing from the floor-space where it is grounded on the first floor, and the distances between the bumps decrease as the strips move up toward the ceiling. Lastly, an important phenomenological quality to note is the translucent appearance of the piece because of the alternating gaps of space within the structure, allowing light to filter through and also having the wood even seem to magically disappear where the windows are directly behind it. We also see the anthropomorphic likening with a strong stance as defined by gravity, where the strips curve and are filled in to become a dense base and bench to sit on giving the installation functionality, one of the key elements to design. The body then reaches up to the ceiling even beginning to appear lighter and more freely flowing the further away from the darker ground level. Like all objects in the world, loads must be transferred which is apparent in the piece’s curves around the different levels of balconies in the atrium. The structure finally reaches near the ceiling and balances itself out structurally by locking into the corrugated concrete, giving it a look of strength and steadfastness. Issues that motivate this piece, meaning research questions being explored, seem to be the interaction of structure and space. Creators most likely aimed at creating a large enough piece to fill the entire atrium without completely overtaking the space, thus allowing for gaps of space to lighten the density of the piece as well as for the continuance of light into the building beyond the installation. As previously mentioned, another question raised was probably also the relationship between structure and functionality, evident in the bench at the base of the structure. Clearly, the structure interacts with the environment as well as with itself, with the individual paths of the strips that come together to form one flowing sheet in the atrium. The individual and corroborated paths also take on active lives, making the piece not merely something that was created years ago but something that was design to always interact with changing times, light, sound, temperature and touch, as Mies Van de Rohe explained. Light and sound easily filter through the gaps in the material and the wood is sanded down to give it a softer, user-friendly feel (as it is a bench at its base). This softer and sanded wood also adds to the “flowing” feel of the installation. Design processes employed in this installation probably included contour drawings and especially gesture drawings. Then there were probably space and movement studies conducted, drafted drawings, and three-dimensional models constructed to test different materials, textures, and changes of light in the atrium. Images and references that the wooden structure sponsors are those of flowing sheets and waving flags and names would be light and flowing to reinforce these themes of the material. A secret life that could be imagined for this piece would be that of a beautiful musical instrument with many strings, chords, and notes to compliment the space within the atrium. The second installation at the architecture building that I observed is the plastic long piece that runs along the terrace just outside the atrium. This structure is made out of a Plexiglas-like translucent plastic. The material appears to be somewhat malleable, as shown by the twisting and intertwining moves that it takes on after leaving the base of the form. Each strip of plastic is by itself extremely thin and clear; however, like the sky when the forms begin to stack like layers over each other, the material becomes less see-through and takes on a slight shade of blue. The pieces are held together with light gray screws at even intervals along the strips. Also, the pieces when they are viewed together at a further scale take on similar qualities of water – refracting colors from within and behind the form and showing different tones of the colors from white to more colored because of the amounts and reflections/refractions of the light. The strips are also curved around the edges adding to the “abstract” look of the free-flowing form that seems to be blowing up into the wind and around the columns, yet caught on the concrete edge of the terrace. Each piece of plastic leaves the base where they are all stacked and arches up at toward the column ahead of it, which they wrap around and then begin to twist like the corkscrews of a rollercoaster. The proportions seem to match, meaning that each strip twists at approximately the same point in a vertical line up from the ground. This installation especially interacts with the space under different conditions. Especially since it is outdoors and can be viewed from extremely varying positions, angles, and distances, the form, its gestures, and viewing perspective change with each new position. Also, since the shiny material reflects and refracts light the changing position of the sun relative to the installation and the building effects how the light acts on the piece. An issue that most likely arose during the construction of the installation was how to add character and design to a rather unassuming concrete building exterior without completely hiding the building. The piece also gives character to the brick and concrete terrace. Another question acknowledge was surely how to let the installation interact with the light and space in the environment. Also, the creators were probably concerned with how the edges could be guided by this light/shadows and reflection, how the different parts interact with each other and take on their own active “lives”, movement and gesture, how the surfaces interact and overlap, and obviously how does progression and layering add to the object. Design and fabrication processes clearly involved in this artifact include once again contour, gesture, and abstract movement studies, as well as photography studies and working axonometric sketches and models. Much like a folding paper fan, the structure shows how the pieces can come together at one point into a neat stacking of the layers and as easily diverge and twist to take on this wide, space-occupying form. Finally, I also think that the installation sponsors the image of a flame blowing in the wind, that begins as one point, a spark, and widens in space to certain degree and then layers and splits off into different directions, like the ending tips of the structure. Andrew Harmon Link to this Page
|  | 
|