        Jensen, Merica : AssignmentsHow has your research changed the way you understand the built environment?After studying this time period I began to grasp the depth and width of the aspects that affect the built environment. I studied gender specifically. Understanding the change in gender gave me a sliver of backing for how the built environment may have been changing during the same time. For example, between 1910-1940 women started entering the workforce. This simple change, taking women out of the home and adding women to the workforce, altered the home and work built environment. This is one sliver of many other aspects that were also impacting architecture during that time. Doing this research helped me understanding the complexity underlying any design decision. We must be aware and carful before we create. Merica May Jensen Arch 1060 Mitch Wood November 26, 2007 Fifth Street: Meeting the Minimum Humans are social movers that go from place to place. Wherever you find people you find paths. As humans evolve they start to create societies that bring along a more advanced path or “street”. As a commodity, streets are utilized every day. They create one important framework for how the rest of our society is built. They shape the way in which the citizens within that society interact and coexist. Ultimately, streets characterize the overall feel and personality of a city. Streets multifaceted impact is unfathomably important, yet their unassuming existence and inherent importance can be easily overlooked. It is hard to get a handle on the street’s importance. Where does one begin? How does one look more critically at a street’s existence in order to make a judgment on how it fulfills its ultimate potential in serving the general public? We can form general opinions about streets. We can identify certain aspects of streets; vibrancy, cleanliness, crowdedness and safety. However, the difficultly comes in determining a streets success and whether or not it operates under affective design and functionality. Most streets do meet the requirements of their definitions. They offer a way to get form one place to another. Yet, few optimize their potential existence as systems above people and commodity movers. Streets have the opportunity to be the society’s point of interaction and exchange. Successful streets that meet their full potential craft an environment that intentionally designs around these various interactions. The success and failure of street design are easily examined in Atlanta’s Fifth Street Development. After observing the different interactions that do and could possibly occur on the street one begins to see where Fifth Street Development falls short of its potential. The most basic interaction on a street is the meeting of public and private space. Traditionally, streets are owned and operated by the public domain. This tradition holds true for Fifth Street. It is important to realize that streets operate above the private enterprise. They should be built with the intention of serving everyone, including those enterprises. Streets as public pathways provide an important access between the citizen, their public amenities and the other private services that make up the rest of the city. The division between public and private space isn’t always immediately apparent. Luckily, on Fifth Street, various visual cues create obvious distinctions. Moving symmetrically outward, the public portion of Fifth Street includes the actual roadway, its associated lights and signs, a clear bike path, metered parking, and grey cement and red brick sidewalks. It also has some cemented-in benches and bike racks, a few ordered trees and a larger green space that extends across the bridge. This public portion is clearly uniform and understandable. The private domain immerges where one starts to see variation in this clear order and symmetry. Individual buildings meet the sidewalk with their various facades and sometimes even add small additions to the sidewalk. The buildings also have spaces between them that open into courtyards and pathways to other buildings. The most noticeable division is the gated portions of sidewalk that enclose a few of the restaurants’ outside eating areas. When Fifth Street enters Georgia Tech’s campus the public sidewalk meets the private space at the different Greek home’s lawns. When one looks closer at the division between public and private space and compares their possible interaction one notices an obvious lack of competition between the two entities. There is not much spillover, overlap or blurring between where one begins and where one ends. A contribution to the lack of tension is the fact that most of these interactions are carefully regulated. Even though there are many individual shops and restaurants on the street, the private ownership can be traced back to two major groups, the Centergy One Corporation and the Georgia Tech Foundation (if one may consider the university a public enterprise for the sake of explanation). All tenants and residents of the street are under the regulation of one of these two groups. The northern side of the street is now currently owned, operated and leased by the Georgia Tech Foundation. The southern side is privately owned and then leased out by a confusing relationship of developers and property managers. Centergy One Associates, a group made up of Kim King Associates and Gateway Development Services owns the Technology Square Research Building, the Centergy Parking Deck and the Centergy One office building. The buildings are operated and maintained by the Fifth Street Management Company. The Globe restaurant for example, is managed by the Fifth Street Company, leases from Kim King Associates and is owned by Centergy. Their storefront is under the regulation of Atlanta’s Midtown alliance and the Fifth Street Management Company. The owner, Joshua Perkins, is not too concerned with all the regulation because he was recruited to create a restaurant for the space. The developers “wanted a restaurant and so [he] gave them one” (1). He built and now operates comfortably within the development requirements. After interviewing the various tenants on either side of the street it was discovered that many of them were recruited to fulfill a specific developer’s overall plan. To be specific, the tenants signed an agreement that none of them are to sell a good or service that is provided by another. Besides existing within a series of buildings that are already pretty much the same, the tenants singe and storefronts must also fit into the larger owner’s restrictions. The owner of a chocolate shop in the basement of Georgia Tech’s hotel explained that the Georgia Tech Foundation determined how the outside of his store looked. “You get what they give you,” he explained when describing his store’s sign. There is not much room true individual entrepreneurship or exploration. When one walks down Fifth Street he can feel the regulations of the owners. The restrictions create clean uniformity, yet at the same time inhibit many important sensory aspects. This is discouraging because one element to a successful street is its “sensory impact” (3), or its ability to interact with an individual’s senses. After studying streets in New York an author, Whtye, wrote, “the best streets are sensory streets… on real-life streets the mix is inextricable, like the florist display you like to touch but that too many other people do too” (3). In comparison to the successful streets of New York and also Japan, Fifth Street is too sterile. There are few smells, sounds, or even sights that are surprising or unique. Part of what make streets exciting and attractive is where the private space starts to interact with the public’s senses. One way to observe where a street interacts with an individual’s senses is to watch where a person chooses to stop or pause. Exciting storefronts, a pretty flower, or inviting café aroma could all cause a consumer to pause and enjoy a sensation. However, if you observe students and other businessmen walking along Fifth Street you rarely see them stop for such “dillydallying”. In fact they usually do not stop at all. Students would rather plug their ears into their cell phones than slow to look at store that might be spilling out onto the sidewalk. The most notable sense may be the failing sewer on the coroner of Fifth and Spring Street and the foul smell most definitely does not entice the passerby to linger or enjoy. One important street component that helps control the interactions of the passer by with his surroundings is the sidewalk. It has been observed that, “the most celebrated of the ancient walk ways fall within a range of twelve to eighteen feet” (4). Fifth Street’s sidewalk, including the private buildings extensions and the sitting space near the road, extend far beyond this width. In general the scale of streets width is extremely important in creating an effective space. Smaller sidewalks tighten the gap between walkers and storefronts. They force the individual to have the sensory interaction that has been described. If a walker must consciously divert their path around a tree or flower pot or even storefront’s table the disruption may cause him or her to notice to the object obstructing his or her way. Granted, Fifth Street does have a relatively well-proportioned sidewalk when one looks at the placement of trees and benches. It has been shown that, “trees channel the walkway” (3). Georgia Tech lines the sidewalks with evenly spaced trees that give a sense of enclosure, green space and a light canopy. Equally positive is how Fifth Street’s width is manageable for both cars and pedestrians. However, it would be recommended to tighten the road’s width at the actual intersections to slow traffic and to provide an easier and clearer space where people could and should cross the street. Moreover, a tighter sidewalk creates the possibility for more individual interaction. The interactions between individuals are another crucial component to successful street design. “Neither the popularity of television and videos, nor the efficiency of the Internet, has eliminated the need of men and women to seek social meaning in streets, parks, markets and plazas” (5). Streets provide the canvas of interaction. They are where all people, who are usually segregated into their private spaces, mix. Because of street’s public nature and people’s dependence on their use to get from one place and another, streets are the most basic place for people to interact. Good streets cultivate these interactions. They are the facilitators encounters- assumed or unexpected. Yet, so often in today’s society our developments cater to a very particular demographic. The city’s zoning restrictions, the developer’s selected leasers and a space's accessibility defines the type of people who chooses to attend a space. One interpretation of the mall for example, is that it is “designed to protect middle-class patrons from the moral confusion that might result from an unmediated confrontation with social difference” (6). Streets have the opportunity to be very exclusive or they can cater to all classes and people. A street is the only place a high powered executive might run into a more under privileged individual. Fifth Street, much like the described mall, has a particular exclusivity that prevents for these much need gauche social encounters. The social encounters observed on Fifth Street are predictable. The development definitely caters to a specific demographic: the Knowledge Industry. The stores, restaurants, and offices are for those that have education and money. Large developments have a desired audience. The included businesses within a development suggest the developer’s desired cliental. Fifth Street has offices, classrooms, a hotel and retail. Fifth Street caters to a certain crowd that participates in a very specific activity- consumption. Like so much of America, “the stores, entertainment complexes, and art museums that are important interventions are shaping an ideal city based on consumption…commercial culture” (5) Fifth Street fits into this new trend. It has no street vendors or panhandlers and very little public space for simple leisure and recreation. Most notably Fifth Street lacks any sort of arts establishment. There is no gallery, no show room, not even a theater. It is not surprising finding a development totally created for consumption in today’s capitalistic economy. However, for a street to be effective in that particular context a few important characteristics must be in place. Fifth Street almost fulfills these requirements but not well. Peoples’ accessibility to the stores is the important component in a consumption development. “Most important of all, especially at night, are the people who live there. More than anybody else, they keep it alive” (3). Fifth Streets sees a lot activity during the day while students and business people are at work and school. However, at night the space dies. This is attributable to the lack of local housing, standard amenities and evening entertainment. There is local housing right off the street: the Fifth Street Management Group runs a loft space one block up on Spring, the Biltmore apartments are just up from the Biltmore and the fraternity houses all line the street as it moves into campus. Still, there are no actual residents living above the shops. Additionally, all the commodities within the street do not sustain an inclusive community. There is no grocery or drug store and as mentioned before no entertainment. The small park that lines the bridge is no place to run or have a picnic. Residents near by go elsewhere for their shopping and evening pleasures, leaving Fifth Street deserted. Another way to attract people to a street is by giving them a place to sit. A study of New York’s plazas revealed that the most occupied spaces were those that had the most places to sit (7). The attributes of utilized seating were very particular. Height, width and sitting flexibility were the most crucial components to seating that was actually used. The only public seating found on Fifth Street is the hard awkwardly-placed metal benches and the cold cement shelves that line the walkway over the bridge. The study in New York learned that benches are practical, however they offer little freedoms to sitters, especially when they are frozen. The author of the study wrote that, “This is why designers should be chary of too much concrete. If they freeze all their sitting spaces in concrete, they freeze their assumptions- that, for example, people want to sit facing away from the action… if this proves wrong there is nothing to be done about it” (7). Fifth Streets seating would interact much better with its users if it were more flexible. The most optimal sitting arrangement is either a long shelf, chairs, or lawn. Chairs are most successful because they offer people choice and “the possibility of choice is as important as the exercise of it” (7). You will find both chairs and shelves on Fifth Street but not in the right places. There are chairs and tables within the two courtyards on the Georgia Tech’s southern side. They are tucked away from the street and shops. The chairs that are actually on the street belong to the private businesses and one feels the pressure to be a patron of the businesses before making use of them. Similarly inaccessible, is long sitting ledge located over the bridge. This space is also away from the shops and does not offer an alluring seating alternative. It is not wide enough for two sitters or to act as a table. It may not even be intended for seating. It acts more of a retaining wall for the green area than a clear bench for relaxing. Lastly, the lawn over the bridge is neither inviting nor accessible. It is lined with the large ledge that one must climb over to reach, and once over the space does not offer any sort of protection or enclosure. Outside of Starbucks and the bookstore, The Fifth Street development does not offer an easy place to sit and relax. The last major interaction important to a street and its development is how a street interacts with the larger framework of the city. Fifth Street’s does a nice job in merging the campus with the city. Yet, the development does a poor job blending with the rest of the city’s surrounding streets. Take a walk one street North or South and the Fifth Street feeling is totally lost. There are two obvious reasons why the development has not affected the surrounding area. First, is because the development was simply that- a development. The growth and development was artificially created and cannot be naturally sustained in the surrounding area. Secondly, the development is completely centric. All the shops and larger building’s main entrances face Fifth Street. They do not interact with the streets behind them beyond accessing their two ancillary parking decks. Fifth Street is not ruined by its isolation, but it falls short of the opportunity to create community. Had the street been designed to interact outside itself it may have been more than just a street. It may have started to create a neighborhood. After careful observation and consideration for alternative possibilities, Fifth Street can by summarized by its missed potential and lack of flexibility. The preeminent component of a street is its creation of framework. Frameworks are important because they create order and give structure to the things that are created upon them. Michael Sorkin wrote when discussing the creation of this framework that, “cities must make room, not for what is possible, but for what is still impossible” (8). Large developments that attempt to create a framework above and beyond the already instilled skeleton of the municipal street start to infringe on certain freedoms that allow for healthy competition and potentially stimulating verity. They also suffocate the natural evolution of place that should be nourished by good street design, limited regulation and diversified ownership. An important lesson can be learned from all the dissection and digestion of Fifth Street: instead of forcing perfectly polished design on the complex personality of society, one should shift focus to refining a design that is flexible and adaptable for inevitable future perfections and possibilities. Citations: 1. Globe interview by Merica Jensen. 11/21/2007. Restaurant owner, Joshua Perkins. 2. Chocolate shop interview by Merica Jensen. 11/21/2007 Shop owner, James. 3. “The Sensory Street” Reading: whyte - the sensory street.pdf 4. “The Physical Street” Reading: whyte - the physical street.pdf 5. “Politics and aesthetics of public space: the “American” model” Reading: zukin_politics and aesthetics.pdf 6. “The Skilled Pedestrian” Reading: whtye - the skilled pedestrian.pdf 7. “The design of Spaces” Reading: whtye - the design of spaces.pdf 8. “Giving Ground” Reading: sorkin traffic.pdf Note: I was unsure how to properly site the articles that were given to us online. I have provided the article’s given title and CoolX’s link title as a citation. 10.28 The Lectures Introduction to Architecture: Program, Discipline, Profession Ellen Dunham-Jones director of the Architecture program at Georgia Tech introduced the department and its corresponding field of work. She explained how architecture, both as a discipline and a practice, is a fulfilling quest because it uses both sides of the brain. It requires both hard sciences and also the arts. She posed the questions of, “what makes something great?” and “why do we build things the way we do?” She started to answer these questions by explaining the role of an architect in today society. She addressed the importance of meeting needs, protecting the health and safety of the public, and design esthetics (“delight”). She explained the two professional divisions of small individuals and large firms, and explained the different research divisions within the college. She finished by summarizing the different academic routs to architecture’s certification and Georgia Tech’s program syllabus. Frank Gehry: is a famous American architect that does all ranges of projects all across the world. His forms are unique in their curvilinear design and interesting usually metal fabrication. Doug Allen: is the associate dean of the college. His main teaching field is landscape architecture and urban design. He has won numerous awards, held positions as both GT and Harvard and is widely published. Howard Roark: the main charter for Ann Rand’s book THE FOUNTAIN HEAD. His charter represents much of how architects are perceived today. He is an idealist that is also stubborn and individualistic. His character contrasts that of real life’s collaborative cooperate architects. Speculations: Ellen did an excellent job at exposing some of issues and key components encountered when becoming or practicing architecture. There are many goals or important issues that affect an architect’s decision and ultimate creation. The most basic affects are the societal context of the architect’s time and material availability. The most common issues include creating a space that is forward looking, meets the needs of the project/client, a design that is environmentally sensitive and also esthetically pleasing. Introduction to Building Construction: Program, Discipline, Profession Georgia Tech’s Building Construction program director Roozbeh Kangari presentation echoed much of what was presented earlier in the semester in the AEC Integration lecture. Mr. Kangari started by giving examples of the many questions that arise when one goes to build a simple project. He also walked through building process from owner to end user and ultimate demolition. He began to show the complexity of the relationships between each person involved in the process and how their decisions directly affect the others and the overall success of the project. He emphasized the need for communication within the industry. He finished by explaining the different types of buildings (residential, commercial, institutional, individual and engineering facilities) and barely touched on the schools program before running out of time. BIM this term was used on the last test and in his lecture and I was not entirely sure of its meaning. Building Information Modeling is a digital representation of the building process that facilitates an exchange and interoperability of information in digital format between those involved in building production. Underwater hotel: the worlds first underwater hotel is in construction in Dubai. The hotel being built 20m below the sea and will about the size of London’s Hyde Park. This was an example of the complexities in building construction. Construction Management is a business model where one party to a construction cataract serves as a construction consultant, providing both design and construction advice. These people work to bridge the gap between architects and builders. Speculate: The most prominent issue that came up in Mr. Kangari lecture was the need to recreate the building process. He emphasized AEC integration and the need for all people to communicate. He also explained the need for firms to have a clearly laid out map that represented the business process and the different sections and their individual responsibilities. I’m not sure these problems are unique to architecture! Introduction to Industrial Design: Program, Discipline, Profession The director of the Industrial Design Program at Georgia Tech, Abir Mullick, presented the field and the schools program. Abir started his lecture by presenting three different definitions of ID. He also introduced the 2 different ID organizations, IDSA and ICSID. He then posed the question of “what is good design.” He answered that good design must empower the user, address social concerns, and be environmentally healthy. He introduced the philosophy and process of design and distinguished the difference between artist and designer. He finished by presenting Georgia Tech’s own program its distinguished awards. In question answer time he also explained the different pathways, after school, ID graduates pursued. Banding includes a name, logo, slogan, and/or design scheme associated with a product or service. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the use of the product of service and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary. Michael Graves is a famous American architect that also creates industrial design objects and many of them are sold at Target. He is known as one of the New York Five. Abir showed his toaster. The New York Five was not in the lecture but I found as I was looking up the above man. These five architects, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charrles Gwathmey, John Hejduk, and Richard Meier worked appeared in a Museum of Modern Art exhibition in 1972. They made a book after. They had a common allegiance to pure architectural modernism. A book published by the “Grays” later attacked them for modernity’s indifference to sight user and voice.. You know this all already. Speculation: One of the main issue for Industrial Designer’s is creating use, or empowering the user. Their role as designers, which differentiate them form pure artists, is to create solutions or things that have added value. Industrial Designers must advocate the user. Industrial Designers must also be able to express their ideas to potential clients or fabricators. They must be proficient in design drawing and language and of course must be creative. Bibliography Brown, Joseph E and Kenneth Caldwell. “New Orleans: one year after Katrina.” Urban Land. v.65 n.11-12 (2007): 38, 40-43,45, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bvh&AN=594413&site=ehost-live. “Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans” Wikipedia. 11 Oct 2007, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_New_Orleans. Elledge, Brenda and others. “Learning from Katrina: Environmental Health Observations from the SWCPHP Response Team in Houston.” v. 70 iss.2 (2007): 22-26, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eih&AN=26518673&site=ehost-live. Elliot, Geoff. “Katrina won’t happen again: Bush.” The Australian. 31 Aug 2006, World, http://www.lexisnexis.com.www.library.gatech.edu:2048/us/lnacademic/. “Exploiting Katrina.” The New York Times. 3 Oct 2005, Editorial desk, http://www.lexisnexis.com.www.library.gatech.edu:2048/us/lnacademic/. Gill, Duane A. “Disaster Research and Hurricane Katrina.” Sociological Spectrum. v. 27 iss. 6 (2007): 609-612, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=26774359&site=ehost-live. Grisset, Sheila. “Corps: SELA projects to cost 3 times more; Post-Katrina building prices are much higher.” Times- Picayune, Feb 23, 2007, National section, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1221220251&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=30287&RQT=309&VName=PQD. Gundersen, Edna. “Walkin’, talkin’, and hopin’; Fats Domino is reconstructing his life, his home – and on a new album, his timeless music.” USA Today. 21 Sep 2007, Life, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1339562541&sid=5&Fmt=2&clientId=30287&RQT=309&VName=PQD. Herdia, Christopher. “Single frequency to unite Bay Area emergency.” San Francisco Cronicle. 12 Sept 2007, Bay Area, http://www.lexisnexis.com.www.library.gatech.edu:2048/us/lnacademic/. Herman, Ken. “Hurricane Katrina: Race hot issue for Bush in storm’s wake.” The Atlanta Journal- Constitution. 15 Sept 2005, Home Edition, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=897687691&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=30287&RQT=309&VName=PQD. Kennedy, Shawn and James Murdock. “Remaking New Orleans, without losing its past.” Architectural Record v. 195 n. 6 (2007): 85-88, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bvh&AN=601187&site=ehost-live. Krupa, Michelle. “City Hall to take over demolistions; Corps moving on, but N.O. isn’t ready.” Times- Picayune. 14 Sept 2007, National http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1335519211&sid=5&Fmt=2&clientId=30287&RQT=309&VName=PQD. Landry, Cathy and Matt Spangler. “Months after hurricanes, 42 pipelines remain closed in Gulf; down form 64.” Oil and Gas. 2006: 12, http://www.lexisnexis.com.www.library.gatech.edu:2048/us/lnacademic/. Law and Catastrophe. Ed. Sarat, Douglas, Umphrey. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2007. “Louisiana workplace fatalities increase while national rate falls.” New Orleans CityBusiness. 4 Oct 2007, News, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=1356121021&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=30287&RQT=309&VName=PQD. Lubell, Sam. “Lousiana recovery continues to hit snags.” Architectural Record v. 195 n. 6 (2007): 42, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bvh&AN=601181&site=ehost-live. Lunkensmeryer, Carolyn J. “Large-Scale Citizen Engagement and the Rebuilding of New Orleans: A Case Study.” National Civic Review. v. 96 iss.3 (2007): 3, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1354017481&sid=4&Fmt=2&clientId=30287&RQT=309&VName=PQD. O’Connell, Kim A. “Into the breach: Trust leads tractate hurricane relief effort. Preservation: the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. v.58 n.1 (2007): 6, 8, 10-11, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bvh&AN=580784&site=ehost-live. Perloe, Alexandra. “Katrina Victims to get new homes form local group.” Boston Globe, 15 Sept 2007, West, http://www.lexisnexis.com.www.library.gatech.edu:2048/us/lnacademic/. “Post- Katrina Construction in Biloxi tops $700 Million mark.” Us Fed News Service, Including US State News. Washington, D.C, Aug 2007, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1321380491&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientId=30287&RQT=309&VName=PQD. Posal, Arthur D. “Hurricane Katrina Puts New Orleans Agency to the Ultimate Test on Service; Strategic recovery plan keeps Gills, Ellis & Baker in business to help clients.” National Underwriter Property. 24 Sept 2007, Year Award, http://www.lexisnexis.com.www.library.gatech.edu:2048/us/lnacademic/ Racing the Storm: radical implications and lessons learned form Hurricane Katrina. Ed. Hillary Potter. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2007. Reeves, Jay. “Katrina aid goes toward luxury condos.” USA Today. 18 Sept 2007, Homes, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-13-katrina-luxury-condos_N.htm Russell, James S. “Can New Orleans and the Gulf Coast face the hard questions?” Architectural Record v. 194 n. 6 (2006): 130-138, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bvh&AN=588359&site=ehost-live. Saulny, Susan. “New Orleans Sets a Way to Plan Its Rebuilding.” New York Times. 6 July 2006, Life, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/06/us/06plan.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fL%2fLand%20Use%20Policies&oref=slogin. Sipes, James L. “Rebuilidng the Golf Coast: how landscape architects can use their digital skillst o play a key role in the process. Landscape Arcitecture. V.96 n.4 (2007): 84,86,88-95, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bvh&AN=586250&site=ehost-live. The Katrina Experience. Curried by Nancy Buirski. Indiepix, 2006. United States. Cong. House. Committee on Transpiration and Infrastructure. Resolution of inquiry relating to contract for service or construction related to Hurricane Katrina recovery. Report/ 109th Cong., 1st sess. micofiche. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2006, https://giluc.usg.edu/webvoy.htm. United States. Congress. Hurricane Katrina: Managing Law Enforcement and Communications in a Catastrophe. Hearing, 109-807 Feb. 2006. William G, Ramroth. Planning for disaster: how natural and man-made disasters shape the built environment. New York: Kaplan Pub.,2007. 9.30 Lecutres Lecture SEVEN : Architecture Culture and Behavior: Craig Zimring from Georgia Tech’s Architecture’s Culture and Behavior research division introduced how architecture impacts the culture in which it habits. He first introduced obesity in the United States and explained the possible causes and solutions for the increase in overweight Americans. He said that if Americans were to simply start taking the stairs or walking to their places of work many of the obesity cases could be avoided. He walked through a study of stair use, and introduced factors (ie. comfort, availability, convince) that affected people’s utilization. He then presented new designs for hospitals. He presented many different examples of possible simple solutions to current problems that could eventually save the industry millions of dollars. His goal was to get us to start thinking about the impacts of our future designs. Wayfinding is the way a space creates orientation and direction. Space Syntax is a set of theories and techniques that aid into the analysis of spatial configurations. There are three main conceptions: isovisit (the view from one point), axial space (developed off of straight lines and paths), and convex space (developed by John Piponis and collaborators at GT!, that looks at space as voids with edges that are viewable from all parts of the center). 1. Do you the study architecture’s impact on culture and behavior started with the first buildings? Is the reflection of an object immediate and simply an extension of the object itself? Of does it take a more developed and conscientious creator to look at post impressions? 2. You talked about a different configuration for the patient’s hospital room. Has any one looked at possible designs that maybe abstract the idea of a patient’s individual room? For example, where a single caregiver’s space is shared as the center of multiple rooms. 3. What other industries are as potentially profitable as the health industry? 4. What question would you suggest students, entering into the field of design, ask themselves before starting any project? Lecture EIGHT: Photography: Ruth Dusseault, Georgia Tech’s resident artists, presented her eight year observation and investigation of the gigantic Atlantic Station development. She first showed a video of the original Steel Mills demolition. The video was time lapsed shots of different machines pulling down the old structures. It was chilling. After the video Ruth present in a somewhat neutral, yet cynical, tone her experience and findings. She introduced the utopian architects of the early 20th century and their influence on the field’s ideas of “modernity” and “completly from scratch”. She also walked through the history of the Mill. She emphasized the new stations complete disregard for the Mill’s importance and preservation. She finished with the replacement of the Steel Mill’s symbolic smoke stack with a tactless irrelevant fabricated classical arch. Omnipotent almighty and having unlimited power. She used this word sarcastically describing the new trend in developer. From the lecture, I thought EPA had something to do specifically with United States historic preservation. However, the EPA is actually a group of several governmental agencies that are charge with protecting human health and with safeguarding the natural environment. 1. How did you initially learn about the Atlanta Station Project. Did you find that the project’s intentions and scope was intentionally kept out of the publics eyes? 2. Did you find any other people that were concerned with the Mill’s destruction and the lost of history? Did you try to contact any agencies that may have hat the political power to prevent the complete destruction? 3. What types of photography did you choose to use? Did you do any time-lapse still shots? What formats did you think were most fitting to your subject? Did you do any silver prints? What prints are you submitting to the historic center at Atlantic Station? 4. You did excellent job of presenting the material form a very unbiased point of view. You came across as a true observer. However, I sensed a tone of disappointment. Why didn’t you present your lecture with a stronger argument for how you felt? Lecture NINE: How to Look at Palladio Sonit Bafna presented any excellent lecture that looked more carefully at the significance of the famous architect Palladio. He first introduced Palladio and explained his current acclaim in the field. He then posed a series of his own questions, “what made his work influential, why was he so important, and what was happening socially at that time that may influenced his work?” He answered these questions by presting Palladio’s use of proportionality, the outside connection of his buildings to the outside, and his “play with space.” He introduced Venice high culture and the demographic shift from urban dwellers into countryside farmers. He looked carefully at Palladio’s variation on a single plan. He stressed the importance of looking beyond the experiential experience. He took a more scientific approach to his work trying to find more specific reasons for this work’s success. I left his lecture having a much broader circomstrantal understanding of Palladio’s work. This was my most favorite lecture. Imposing order is related to Palladio’s way of playing with the eye. He would force different architecture elements on top of each other and play with the way that their lines interacted so that it would be difficult to tell which lay in front of the other. La Rotonda a building built by Palladio in 1951 prominent for its dome. 1. Do you know of other architects that were successful with their work because of the games that they played within their plan design? 2. Did you see similar affects on high culture and education operating on the design usually conservative designs like what was observed with the Venetian homes Palladio created for his “fashionable clientele”? 3. You said that many of Palladio’s buildings were copied and did not have a successful affect. Do you think the landscape setting could have influenced the buildings success? 4. Your lecture implied that the proportions used by Palladio added to the experiential experience. Do you think that newer structures that purposely avoid portion and symmetry have can have the same ephemeral affect. Lecture FOUR : Disability Design and Research: Stephen Sprigle from Georgia Tech’s Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access presented the multidisciplinary field of Disability Design and Research. He used a power point presentation to clearly define and give examples of different types of Assistive Technology. He also introduced the College of Architecture’s four different research foci within the department: STEM education, Environmental Access, Wheeled Mobility and Workplace Accommodation. He explained the three approaches necessary in Disability Design. He explained how a solution should have certain Cross-cultural Standards, practical Development and good Usability. He introduced how a designer should be sensitive to a product’s three criteria and those components’ individual relationships: technology to human, human to commercial and commercial to technology. From the context of the lecture, I took Universal Design to mean a design that transcended an individual society or culture. Universal Design is actually more specifically related to disability design, when a solution is created that fixes more than one problem or issue. Meta anthropology: I could not find a deffiniton for this. I am assuming that it means some type of anthropology (study of humanities and social sciences) that has a more methodological approach to today’s problems. 1. Why did you repeatedly allude to the ineffectiveness of today’s wheelchairs when you are in the field of their design? Should we be thinking outside the solution of merely a chair? 2. You say your work incorporates many different fields. Which one is the most essential to a products overall effectiveness? 3. How did you find your way into disability design? You kept emphasizing the fact that you were NOT an architect. Why can’t architects also be engineers AND maybe also like calculus? 4. Do you think it is important that the government establishes certain requirements for disability accommodations? Do you think rights (and possibly competitive advantage) could remain in the hands of the company providing a goods of services provided? Lecture FIVE: ACE integration: Brian, a former construction consultant and now Georgia Tech professor presented the broad construction “industry’s”. He first presented a consolidated overview of the history of the “industry” from one of his classes. He presented some statistical figures (like how construction is the second largest sector in the US) and looked at the tree different production delivery models. He also focused on the fragmentation in the ndustry. Like Mr. Al Haddad with Digital Design, he questioned the longevity of the industry’s current segment isolation. He also stressed the importance of industry’s need for integration, respect and communication. Turnkey refers to something that is ready for immediate use. I am assuming that it is stuff that is prefabricated for construction. Lean construction is newer approach that seeks to improve the different dimensions of the built and natural environment. It is used in design, construction, activation, maintenance, and recycling. Technology has aided in this type of approach. 1.Why did you think that current builders and designers know the history of the industry? Is there a lot to be learned in the world of prevention? 2. You kept emphasizing how slow the building process is. Do you think prefabrication will become more common? Do you think the rush to complete projects is jeopardizing the integrity of their structure or its sustainability? 3. You were a consultant, what did you do before you consulted? How proportion of the industry is made up of your field? 4. Do you feel a bias to one segment (ie engineering) of the field like those you said we all need to over come? Lecture SIX: Graphic Information System Steven French introduced Georiga Tech’s Geographic Information System research department. He first defined the meaning of “research” as an inquisition that creates new, or pushes back the barriers of, knowledge. He presented some of his individual projects looking at land use, urban development and disaster modeling. He also looked at the different current and future technology components: GIS, GPS, wireless, internet, data availability and acquisition, location based services and enterprise collaboration. He explained how many maps that are now being generated have a whole database behind them. He explained how the industries aided in land use and population prediction. He also claimed that Information Systems are more forward looking and impact planning than other fields. Mr. Finch referred to the use of Thermal Sensors when creating different types of maps. Thermal Sensors measure the heat flux, thermal gradients and thermal conductivity. These measurements help show where heat is being trapped or created on the earth’s surface. Impervious Surfaces are artificial structures that replace the earths natural surfaces with imperious construction materials. They often disrupt natural water flows and resources. 1. Are there standards for prediction modeling? With what kind of accuracy are you able to predict population growth? 2. Do you have a programming background? Which operating system runs the programs you design? 3. Why didn’t you introduce the fields development or origin? 4. You talk about the problem of urban sprawl. How do you deal with the idea that the people that live in the sprawling suburbs may actually prefer to live there as opposed to high-density developments? 9.09 The Lectures Lecture ONE : MS in Classical Design: Georgia Tech's College of Architecture has a new Master's of Science Program in the study of Classical Design. Six students from the program presented their individual backgrounds: schooling, employment and their developed focus on Classical / Traditional Architecture. They also attempted to present the current relevance of classical architecture in today’s market. Their presentations were all slide shows that exhibited present architecture firms using and practicing classical design. They presented High-end, Commercial, Residential and Mixed Use developments, Historical Restoration, Urban Design, and Hotel projects that used classical architecture. Beaux-Arts architecture: a classical type of architecture that originated in Paris at the school of Ecole des Beaux Art. The style is known for its sculptural decoration and conservative modern lines. It combines Baroque and Italian Renaissance architecture.. New Traditional / New Urbanism Architecture:an architecture approach that attempts to reduce traffic and urban sprawl. The Urbanist neighborhood resembles a more traditional European village. Pedagogical: How does simply presenting current “classical” buildings present a strong argument for the style’s truer transcendental existence and contemporary purpose? Disciplinary: How much of Classicalist techniques were constructed out of the constraints of the times instead of pure esthetics and proportion? Professional: How does one differentiate a firm within Classical Architecture in order to create a competitive advantage? Lecture TWO: Solar Decathlon: Chris Von Clay a graduate student at Tech, presented the school’s solar house project. He introduced the motivations behind solar energy and explained the concept of sustainability. He also presented the International competition hosted by the Department of Labor and Georgia Tech’s own entry. He next walked through each step of the house’s development: the chasse, structure, floor, deck, green-wall, SIPs, shelving, lights, doors, and roof. Within each section Chris explained the different departments involved, the individual problems that arose, the techniques used in development, and the explained the reasons for the selected solutions. SIPs: structural insulating panels are a type of building material. They are two boards that have a layer of insulation between them. They are used much as an I-beam or column, but can be used on many different parts of the house (i.e. floor, interior / exterior wall or roof). Gray water: also known as sullage, is the water used in a home that is neither clean (pure) nor polluted. It makes up 50-80% of total residential water used. Pedagogical: Why didn’t you bring more representatives from the project? Disciplinary: What was the overall esthetic goal for the project? Professional: What was the total cost of the project? Which component of the project had the least or questionable return on investment? Lecture THREE: Digital Design and fabrication Tristan Al Haddad spoke about digital design and fabrication. He introduced the concepts of digital design and gave a few examples of their implantation. Tristan also posed many questions as to how this technology was/ could be affecting the future of architecture. He explained how the 21st century design process was becoming more hortative as apposed to linear. He focused on the role of the designer and explained how roles and decisions were expanding into those traditionally only held by a fabricator or contractor. The Master Builder: was a Norwegian play that was about a hard working architect. He is driven, focused and has his own organization. He falls to his death off his own created tower. Polar Array: distributing items around a single point. Pedagogical: Why didn’t you show us any real world digital design or manufacturing creations? Disciplinary: It seems that these new technologies are creating the possibilities making more organic shapes. Is it common that people find these shapes dissatisfying or uncomfortable? Professional: You introduced the idea of the master builder- were you implying that architecture is returning to a field where all aspects of the creation process can be done by one person? ===========================================================================Installation 1: Rapunzel: The Waterfall DESCRIPTION- The swooping wooden waterfall rests gently on the northwestern inside edge of the Architecture atrium at Georgia Tech. Enter the building and the piece instantly grasps your attention; it's light wood stands out against the buildings other stark materials of concrete, tile and metal railings. The arching installation nearly reaches up to the space's ceiling and softly flows down the three tiered stories to gently rest and fold on the floors dark green carpet. The folds and infill at the base provide the structure into a functional 13 foot wide bench. The uniform thin pieces of wood that compose the installation are all about 1/2 inch thick, 4 inches wide and bend up about 6-8 feet depending on the length of each curve. The bench is solid; all of the 240 pieces of wood are flush, however at the bench's head only every 4th piece of wood is extended. These separated pieces shoot up in the same shape, but individually, to create a transparent effect. Metal beams, bolts, and washers are slipped through the center the wooden pieces at various locations along the waterfall as supports. Towards the base, these rods gather some of the wooden pieces-creating larger tear shaped openings in the wooden sheet. These openings emulate the theme as a stick might part the a water sheet at the base of a waterfall. The structure is attached to the first and second floor with a series of metal braces / clamps that come off the metal rods down the side of the concrete wall and reach under the inside of the floor's railing ledge. These clamps are visually hidden from the center of the atrium by the wood pieces and by a chain-linked siding on top of the railing that sits inside the floors ledge. The waterfall cantilevers itself off the top floor with like a gigantic paperclip. After it's dramatic reaching up towards the ceiling the installation clamps back down on the other side of the floors ledge. The wood again folds (like below) to rest gently on the carpet- this time mostly too small for an actual bench, but still beautiful enough for the passing eye. The waterfall interacts with each level of the space. On the second floor, it creates a sort of inviting tunnel corridor as it passes over the hallway's ledge. At it's base it creates a popular resting area, and at the top floor it acts as an almost wall for part of a discussion room. The waterfall is tasteful, elegant, functional. Although it sits separated in its form and style within the buildings' dry walls adding much needed organic aestheticism that’s both inviting and desired. SPECULATION- One could make guesses about the intentions of such an installation. Because of the projects uniqueness within an architectural space, it is assumed that the installation was some sort of investigation with newer modeling or manufacturing possibilities within the industry. Judging by the similarity and complexity of all the thin pieces of wood, one could assume that the object was created using computer modeling. Perhaps Rhino or another means of surface modeling? The perfection cut of the wood would also suggest that some sort of special cutter was used. It suggests that AWPL (advanced wood products laboratory) was probably involved as it specializes in such products and is a department within of the school's research programs. It appears the that project fulfilled a few different architecture functions. The object was functional, interacted well with the surrounding space, emulated an organic object (waterfall) and also explored the current and future technologies of the industry. Installation 2: Calamari:The Squid DESCRIPTION- Attaching itself to two pillars outside Georgia Tech's Architecture building is a large synthetic installation. The object stands about 60 feet long and is made up of thin acrylic or some sort of polycarbonate strips. The strips are choreographed to create a swooping object, that starts 12 feet across one beam, bubbles out down towards a nearby column, and then carefully collects itself as it sneaks around the exterior side- finally pilling itself neatly into a knee high stack of sheets on top of the concrete retainer that separates the grass from the buildings extended tiling. The plastic strips are clear. They vary in width (1-3 feet) across but are only about 3/16 inches think. The pieces attach to each other in one of two ways. Some come together at pierced joints; where each a portion of the plastic extends over to the other. The joints are secured with a nut and bolt attachment or a rivet. The second type are bent joints that are used in the section that vertically wraps around the column. In this section the pieces arrange themselves into long curved hollow tubes that are stacked one on top of each other. At first, the blocks are undulating and not completely flush. This repeating curvature in the boxes allow for a fairly uniform series of tear dropped openings. The boxes are squished thinner and closer together as they reach the stacked “tail” end. In the other direction, as the plastic reaches the column, the boxes begin to separate and fan apart, both horizontally and vertically, creating a series of oblong bubbles. Here the pieces are twisted and attached to one another when they overlap. The pieces' ends come together in groups of four and are secured, again, with two sets of nut and bolt attachments. As the plastic reaches the top of the beam the bubbles begin to reorder themselves into a kind of fan-end. These grooves are longer and stretch the installation horizontally across the beam ledge coming from the building that attaches to the column. It is here, atop the beam, that installation is attached to the envrionment. The plastic is secured by metal angles that saddle the top of the beam and grabs around the back side with stirrups. Depending mostly on the weather and time of day, the phenomenological qualities of the installation can range from pleasant to disturbing. Early in the morning and at dusk the installation is in soft, and glows as it reflects light. At this time, the object takes on a soft sea creature quality. At noon, however, the harsh light interacts differently with the plastic, and seems only to highlight the plastic's ability to attract dirt. The installation is subject to the outside conditions and weathering. Some of the plastic pieces have already begun to come apart, and the bubbles have begun to catch other debris that distract from the works overall elegant nature. The piece seems to have no real functional component, except maybe to create a corridor, acting as kind of wall, and then ceiling for a portion of the tilling that surrounds the building. It is possible that the tail could be used for a bench. The squid almost acts more like a parasite leaching to the outside of the building providing momentary relief from it's traditional expected surroundings. Maybe it works as a kind of reverse aquarium for those at the coffee cart. SPECULATION- It appears as though the this project was the work of some research department within the college. The material used appears to be the most interesting aspect. All the pieces are relatively uniform, while the way that they are placed makes the movement and shape of the object. The different changes of state of the object are admittedly fascinating. The transformations of shape, flow, density, and expansion show the creators diversity, and even allude to the type of problem the students most likely were exploring. The immense complexity and precise interaction between the pieces suggest that the work was again created with some sort of computer aid. Similarly, the cut and edge of the plastic suggest the use of a CNC router or milling machine. The form of the object seems suggest something of sea urchin or attacking leach. Although one may be able to argue that it has some sort of symbiotic relationship with the building. Overall, the installation seems successful in whatever its attempt, excluding the object’s ability to attract dirt. Speaking personally enjoy its oddity and contrast with its surroundings. Link to this Page
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