        Krynski, Paul : Assignments10.28 Architecture Part 1 This lecture focused on how and why we build the way we do. Using the Palace at Versailles as an example we learn how the city was set up to direct power toward the Palace. Located in the center of city there is no doubt the city was constructed around the Palace. Converging axis lines formed by city roads and sidewalks represent the central and absolute power. Part 2 Ecological Literacy- Educating people about environmentally friendly methods of design and build BIM: Building information modeling- used to demonstrate the entire building lifecycle including the processes of construction and facility operation AIA: American institute of architects- over 80,000 architects express their commitment to excellence in design and livability in our nation's buildings and communities. Part 3 An architects main focus is on what needs to be designed for a specific place and time. They consider numerous issues including environmental factors, social aspects and future projections. It¡¦s important to think about the impact design will have on our world. Building Construction Part 1 The intersection of a building¡¦s lifecycle and the building¡¦s stakeholders is an interesting concept in the discipline of building construction. This intersection occurs because there are a variety of people involved in a build and a variety of steps a building will go through during its lifetime. Part 2 Stakeholders- The people involved in a build Regulatory Agencies- All designs must first be approved by some governing body to legally start the build Part 3 General Contractors are the only link between a design and an owner therefore building construction concentrates on not only the building of the house but the lifecycle of the building and ownership. From these two aspects of building we get the following: 1. Urban Planning and Regulatory Agencies „³Owner „³ Develop „³ Design „³ Build „³ Operate 2. Need for a building „³ Design and Construction „³ Operate, Maintain, and Manage „³ Decommission The discipline building construction requires the understanding of how these two diagrams interact with one another. Industrial Design Part1 All designs will create some sort of emotion. The concept of industrial design involves creating a design that will have a desired effect on the user¡¦s senses. Part 2 Conceptualization: Process of thinking wherein ideas are produced at a basic level. A concept might entail the purpose of the project. Iterative: a process that involves continuous repetition. Humanization: incorporation human aspects into a design Experience Design: Design which comes about after experiances. Products made to make life easier, more enjoyable, etc. Part 3 What are some aspects of design that industrial designers consider? Everything from the brainstorming of an initial idea to the fabrication to the sales of the product is taken into account. During this entire process, the consumer is constantly being considered. Price, sentimental value, esthetics, quality, etc. 9/17 Lecture This lecture discusses the relation between architecture, culture and behavior. More specifically Lecturer Zimring discusses how the environment in hospitals is critical to the healing of patients and how design built environment effects our physical activity. Some buildings have elevators which influences people not to take the stairs. Some buildings don¡¦t have elevators which force people to use the stairs. Sometimes people opt to take the stairs even though there is an elevator. These are the types of issues involved in this relationship. Space syntax- Refers to how space is used. Architecture is about using space and concentrating on how that space with effect the client. Environmental psychologist- Studies how people interact with there environment. This includes there home and the public venues they go to. Hybrid Physical Activity- Describes all physical activity that is voluntary but necessary. For example, a building as a stairway and an elevator, if you take the stairwell you are doing hybrid physical activity. What is the purpose of a design and what effect will it have on the people who use it? How does the scale of the design affect the group or individual? How can physical activity be promoted by a design? What professions are involved in planning this type of environment? 9/19 Lecture The Atlantic Station video was an in depth look at the demolition of the old steel mill that use to be there. Not only does it show how the demolition process occurs but it also reveals how the mill was built and ran. You can almost see how the workers carried out their daily lives. I learned how important it is to preserve as much history as possible. I also realize every building has to be replaced some day, even if it causes tension and remorse to the city. Utopian architects- I thought this term referred to architects who build in a modern environment but it actually utopian architects only build in areas that have never been built on before. What does the demolition of old architecture teach us about new architecture? Why do we need to preserve the memories of something that is no longer there? How did our economy effect the decision to build Atlantic Station? 9/27 Lecture This lecture discussed one of the most influential Architects in history, Palladio. He used a very organized method of design that is still copied to this day. Simple things like centered windows and less detail made his work infamous. The house plan is difficult to change because everything is symmetrical and everything is designed conceptually. He used music theory to perfect room size ratios. Palladio proved that simplicity can be used even in high end residential buildings. Visual Engagement- I believe this involves how we look at a building and how we interpret what we see and think. I discovered that this also includes subconscious thoughts about a building. In other words, you may not think about seeing it but you still recognize it is there. Music Theory- Analyzes the elements of music: rhythm, harmony (harmonic function), melody, structure, and texture. In architecture we can use the principles of music to achieve proportion by using the same ratios. Pediments- Triangle shaped roof; commonly used in Greek architecture. How has Palladio influenced his discipline? Why can simple designs be equally effective as complex design? What does it mean to have a design that can be changed? How will our future generation effect architecture in the same way that Palladio did? 9/16/07 9.10 Lecture This lecture discussed the multi-disciplinary approach to disability. In order to improve functional capabilities of people with disabilities we use assistive technology. Using a Power Point presentation the lecturer discussed the difference between Universal design and specialized design. Universal design is an improvement that has become mainstream technology, whereas specialized assistive technology is targeted toward a specific group of people. He asked the class questions to stay involved with his presentation and introduced terms like: Barrier free education, workplace accommodations, and environmental access. Barrier free education: Before researching this topic I speculated based upon the name that barrier free education is a way of giving everyone the same opportunities in learning. I learned that it applies more specifically to those with disabilities. For example making brail textbooks so the blind can read. Workplace Accommodations: I knew that this describes a way to help the disabled work but I did not understand how. I learned that simple accommodation like a wheel chair ramp is enough to accommodate the disabled some in their work environment. Others may require electrically powered ventilators. Environmental Access: From the lecture I learned that environmental access allows disabled people to see the environment by going to zoos, aquariums, and museums. Although it is far from going out into the wilderness to see wildlife firsthand it is still a great way for the disables to see their environment. 1. How does it help to have knowledge in multiple disciplines when designing assistive technology? 2. What type of educational background would people have to have in order to be involved in the progress of this technology? 3. How do we study the needs of the disabled? 4. Why should we spend time researching disabled people¡¦s needs and making sure they have the same opportunities as fully functional humans? 9.12 This lecture discussed how the construction industry is integrated with architecture. Architects must first develop the design and then communicate the design to contractors. The lecture used diagrams and bulleted notes to explain this process. He also discussed the history of the construction industry to give the class a foundation on how this integration has developed. Some terms and concepts he discussed include lean construction, fragmentation, economies of scale, and fixed price. Lean Construction: In this method all unnecessary waste is reduced from construction. The idea is efficiency will lower the cost for the customer and speed up the construction process. Fragmentation: The idea that architecture and building construction are two different entities. This is a major problem in today¡¦s built environment because architecture is directly related to construction. Economies of scale: This refers to the size of a company. It was originally thought that large companies do not have an advantage in the architecture business however times are changing and integration is affecting economies of scale. 1. Why not just train people to be both architects and builders? 2. Why is research not a priority to the architecture economy? 3. Why are the old characteristics of construction shifting to become more integrated? 4. Does specialization help or hurt the built environment? 9.14 The last lecture of the week discussed how information is stored on a map to describe a geographic location. The lecturer used many examples of this in his presentation. He explained how Google Earth and map quest are examples of a Geographic Information System and then how these types of programs are integrated into design. Some concepts I learned as a result of this lecture include automated data acquisition, location-based services, and enterprise collaboration. Automated data acquisition: As data becomes available it is automatically entered into a database. In today¡¦s ever changing environment it is important to have updated information. Location-based services: Service where people need to be supplied at a curtain time or place, the location is crucial. For example, hospitals must be in a convenient location for all to use. The best way to figure this out is by using GIS. Enterprise collaboration: Using all aspects of an organization to complete a design and build. It describes the relationship of all aspects of the build. 1. What effect does population have on the environment? 2. How do we keep track of global mapping and how it relates to population? 3. Why is knowledge of the environment so important when it comes to designing and building? 4. How can we use the information we have to reduce future impact of population growth? 8/29/07 The predominately wooden object inside of the architecture building catches your eye almost immediately after walking into the building. At first I don¡¦t understand what it is or why it is there. The instillation stretches from ground floor all the way up through the third floor. It is made from several equally spaced boards that run vertically and is held together by steel rods that run horizontality. The viewer¡¦s perspective plays a large role in the appearance of the instillation. If I look straight at it, the object has a translucent effect for there seems to be a lot of space between the boards. The shaper the viewing angle gets the smaller the gaps in the boards become. If you stand at its side the object becomes completely opaque. This effect is caused by the thickness and width of the boards. It is difficult to imagine how the structure was built. The perspective also effects the direction of the curvature of the boards. While looking straight at it you may never no the boards are curved but when you stand to the side you can clearly see it is not straight at all. In fact it is very wavy with a twist at the top. Common sense tells me that a single board can not be long enough to stretch the full three stories. Under my own investigation I discover that each strand of wood is in fact several different boards that were slotted and then fitted together by a triangle joint. I start asking myself questions like ¡§what is its purpose?¡¨ Is it a chair? Does it even have a purpose? Well after a little thought I came to the conclusion that it has a couple purposes. The first and most important one is to add interest to a room that is otherwise lacking in that department. I¡¦m sure the designers kept the fact in mind that architecture students are often overwhelmed with work and spend a majority of their time in the studio. I believe that their goal was to lighten there mood. The object can be used as a bench as well. That fact that this ¡§decoration¡¨ has a practical use only reinforces interest to the viewer. The designers and builders may have completed a successful design on the computer but I¡¦m sure there were changes made when the actually building and fabrication took place. Maybe the wood was not as strong as they calculated or maybe the designer had miscommunication with the builder. You can tell there are flaws and adaptations that were built into the piece itself. For instance, the triangle joints were an adaptation to a mistake in cutting the wood. These types of things are what add meaning and history to the final artifact. If I had to give it a name I would call it "Rebel with a Cause." The instillation outside of the architecture building is a very complex and well thought out piece. It has many different aspects to it. Some aspects seem very modern while others seem very old and disorganized. The ¡§sculpture¡¨ has a clear beginning and end. It starts with all layers flat against each other and anchored to the concrete. The layers begin to separate and form their own organized strand. Each strand separates forming what seems to be a chaotic mess. While continuing to unravel, it eventually runs into the architecture building. The sun plays a large part in its appearance. The materials reflective properties often make it very difficult to view in intense sunlight. On the other hand, it appears dole and boring on a cloudy day. Although the material was transparent, may not be able to see though depending on your perspective and sun reflection. The sculpture was likely built like a puzzle. First all the pieces had to be made (most of which are unique) and then all the pieces had to be fitted together. The first thought that came to my mind was how ugly it was. I only felt this way because I didn¡¦t realize how intricate the piece really was. The designers didn¡¦t just screw a bunch of random pieces together, they had to plan every overlapping strand and design every individual piece. They defiantly accomplished their goal of impressing an audience simply by how complex it was. I can imagine the builders putting this thing together and realizing that a piece doesn¡¦t fit or one strand unexpectedly runs into another. The material is fairly rigid so there is no bending or stretching them into place. Their only option would be to go back to the drawing board and then fabricate a new piece. However, like the instillation inside, these types of mishaps are what make in artifact. There is a story and a meaning behind every nut and bolt and every piece of plastic. I think it is very deserving of the name "Planned Chaos." Link to this Page
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