        Oh, Sangjun : AssignmentsSangjun Eric OhSection B-Wood November 25, 2007 Walking Down the Fifth Street The Fifth Street is one of the most notable places in Georgia Institute of Technology campus. Cleanly paved street with lines of decorated lightings and trees is a pleasant place to walk on and enjoy the surroundings. The beautifully-tended garden and trees form a perfect harmony with the bridge’s modern structure. Wide two lane sidewalks on each side of the bridge provide a sense of security for pedestrians. For these reasons, the Fifth Street is very suitable for being the main entrance of Georgia Tech. However, judging whether it was worth spending $148 million to develop the Fifth Street requires more careful and critical analysis of the project rather than just simple study of its aesthetic value. In order to determine the level of success of the project, it is important to discuss the historical and fundamental values of street designing and how well the project follows these guidelines. The critical observation of the project is very important. Analyzing through different filters and lenses, an observer can evaluate how successful the project is according to different criteria. These important filters and criteria are: how the development project balanced the public and private use of space, what kind of subdivision of territory was used and what changes it has brought, how the project has transformed the Fifth Street into a place with a vivid future, whether the project has accomplished a job of creating a place with multiple functions, and how social interactions were encouraged by the development. The definition of street is the parallel alignment of two series of buildings. The primary purposes of street were communication and social engagement by street structures. Though it seems obvious and natural to think that street has always been a part of city or town and that street is a path on the ground, these were not always true. For example, in a process of securing town from invasions of enemies, some cities used Catal Huyuk, which is using roofs of buildings as a passage. For their geographical reason, countries like Venice use water way. Even though how and where these roads were made, one thing was always constant; Buildings on sides of a street are built aligned to adjacent buildings, forming a perfectly straight path. The requirement for beautiful street was its regularity. A smooth paved surface, a consistent slope, and linear clarity were most emphasized characteristics. The term “street” is derived from Latin word “sternere”, which means to pave. This shows how important the paving is. The first modern sidewalk was created in England. Evelyn, who was the chief city planner after the Great fire of London, proposed to use the left over bricks for the sidewalks. Paving was originally developed to facilitate more comfortable road, but soon it became an important decorating tool. Wood was widely used in America for paving since Colonial times until 19th century, when vitrified brick popularized. The great turning point of paving was the perfection of asphalt. Asphalt paving was flexible, impervious to water, and able to expand in high temperature. The main goal of the development of 5th street was to create a more pedestrian-friendly link to Georgia Tech’s main campus and Tech Square. This is more than just a way to connect two parts across I-75/I-85. Even though the Fifth Street Bridge has more than tripled in size, the new main entrance keeps the same number of car lanes. The extra spaces are occupied with wider sidewalk. With its ample sidewalk space, students feel more safe and comfortable about walking on the bridge. The bridge’s planter wall, benches, and trees give the feel of a garden or a park rather than a bridge. The downtown of Atlanta has bad reputation for being dangerous and dirty place. However, the 5th Street, with its straight and open street, bright lighting, and a uniform building design, became safer and more pleasant place. The construction of 5th street was successful in many ways: First, the Fifth Street had achieved balancing the use of the street between the private and public sectors. Crashes between the people advocating the public use of street and the people supporting the private interest and a secluded life had always been big problems. A well designed street would allow bigger traffic, and this would cause less privacy for people living in buildings along the street. To benefit one groups, the other groups had to sacrifice. In 18th century, in London’s West End estates even had created a private street to obstruct the traffic and prevent traffickers. As I was observing the Fifth Street I found that the restaurant Fifth St. Ribs has iron fences in front of the restaurant, creating an outdoor eating place. There was no open end or a door on the iron fences, and only way to get in was through the restaurant. This is an example of how a street is used for a private interest, an exclusive benefit to the restaurant. In the other hand, there was a set of benches on the street, about 5 feet from the restaurant fences, that was open to everybody who wanted to sit there and rest. The wide sidewalk of the Fifth Street allows the balanced use of the street by private and public sector. The fair balance of these private and public uses of the street is beneficial for the general public, because it gives the customers an option of eating outside without being disrupted by the traffickers. Second, the development of the Fifth Street holds an important statement that the Atlanta’s subdivision system will be transformed and changed to aid the city’s growing need for development. As a terminal point of state-owned Western and Atlantic Railroad, Atlanta resulted from the collision of frontier trails, government subdivisions into land lots, and rail lines. Thereby, Atlanta was built according to many different plans and by different planners and developers. Also, the development of main streets was discouraged because the land owners were allowed to subdivide their land according to their wills. Independent street grids and a variety of different land planning gave Atlanta its quintessential triangular sites. The Fifth Street project shows that Atlanta is adjusting and correcting its grid plans to build a city which is more organized and systematical. The essence of a well designed street is in its regularity. The Fifth Street development was focused on the construction of buildings on three blocks, divided by and aligned along the Fifth Street. Anybody who drives through the Fifth Street will realize how easier it became to navigate in the part of the Midtown. Third, the Fifth Street development had transformed a land which was not deemed valuable to Georgia Institute of Technology, for it was apart from the main campus and located across the highway, into a center of learning and social engagement and an important research institute of business. The DuPree College of Management’s new building near the corner of West Peachtree and Fifth Street make the business school more connected to the businesses and companies in Midtown, enabling the College to better meet the growing demand for education programs in technology oriented management, entrepreneurship and executive education. Business can not be learned from just textbook. It was a wise decision to make the school closer to the real work place where the students can get opportunities to learn from real work experiences. Forth, the city planners have envisioned of creating a place that joins the campus with its surrounding neighborhoods to develop a space with multiple functions and uses. While the upper levels are being used for class rooms, hotel guest and conference rooms, and offices, the ground level are occupied with restaurant and stores. The setting provides a space with multiple functions. The people who work in the upstairs offices can come down for a quick lunch or a cup of coffee. The restaurants offer moderately priced which are affordable by students who already had spent a fortune on books and tuition. Tech Square is not a huge area; One can walk from one side to the other in less than two minutes. However, for its multiple functions, students can satisfy their most needs in this one area. Fifth, the Fifth Street has achieved a goal of creating a social institution. The accessibility of Tech Square from Midtown and campus naturally made the place to be a center of meeting space within students, faculty, and others. Students who got tired of the dining hall food can walk or take a tech trolley bus to Tech Square for a better food on Fridays. Business owners and company representatives visit DuPree management buildings as interviewees or lecturers. In the times of important school events like graduation, parents of international students or school beneficiaries fully occupy the Georgia Tech hotel. With the view of beautiful neoclassical buildings, the ornamentally red brick paved sidewalk is a wonderful place to walk with a close friend. It seems like there are always one or two groups of students waiting for a bus, talking nonstop about their college life or a recent football game. Despite having these good qualities, the Fifth Street still requires and needs improvements. First, benches should be placed at the bus stop signs, for people waiting for bus have to either be standing with their heavy book bags on their backs or sitting down on the ground. Concluding from my observation, the tech trolley buses come through the Fifth Street only once in thirty to forty minutes. I remember friends of mine complaining about their uncomfortable experience of waiting outside in a cold weather for a long time. Maybe a “waiting booth” can be placed there. Second, the lack of parking lots is a very serious problem facing the Fifth Street. The Technology Square is like a shopping district. Huge people come by during lunch or dinner time and have difficult time finding parking lots. The parking spots on the sides of the Fifth Street are not enough to accommodate the need of all the people during busy hours. More than $120 million was spent on this whole project; some of this funding should have gone to provide more accessible parking space. I myself had difficult time finding a parking spot. A week before the school started my mother and I were drove to the Barnes and Noble at the Technology Square to purchase text books. During that time, everybody seemed to be doing the same thing and the Technology Square was very busy and crowed. Finding a parking spot was close to impossible around the place and at the end of futile search I had to go the book store alone while my mother was cruising around in a search for a parking spot. These are the most urgent problems that the Fifth Street needs to address. In conclusion, the Fifth Street is a wonderful place for many reasons. The development project successfully achieved the goal of creating a public place which provides multiple functions and uses. The Fifth Street became a valuable place of social interaction. The setting of Fifth Street, with the wide sidewalks and street and straightly aligned buildings along the street adding more openness to it, offers great benefit to the business owners and the students and faculties. The cleanly paved street and lines of decorative lightings, and modern neoclassical buildings along the street carry a great sense of urbanism. Once the parking space problem is solved and better ways to accommodate the people waiting for a bus were provided, the Fifth Street will truly become a place which is worth every dime of the $148 million spent on the project. Cite Source Development plan http://www.whistle.gatech.edu/archives/00/june/12/ Terraso, David. “Georgia Tech Reconnects, Renews Section of Atlanta Business District with Technology Square”, Institute Communication and public affairs. Pictures Venice picture http://www.destination360.com/europe/italy/venice.php Cover page Technology Square pictures. http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=198 10-22-07 Part I The most important concept in the lecture was that industrial design is the professional service of creating and developing concepts and specifications that optimize the function, value and appearance of products and systems for the benefit of both user and manufacturer. The good design must achieve a number of objects. It has to be pleasurable, easy to use, efficient and convenient. Part II 1. Interaction design: As products become more complicated, designers try to minimize the difficult the users face. With a design which brings familiarity to its users, the designers increase the accuracy and efficiency of task completion. 2. Experience Design: Experience design is the practice of designing products based on the consideration of an individual’s desires and needs. Designers study the success and failures of previous designs to come up with a design which maximizes its usability. Experience design draws from people’s needs, desires, beliefs, knowledge, and skills. 3. Empowerment: Empowerment is defined as an increase in the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. Good design focuses on people and makes easier for its users to use it to increase their productivity. Good design of product gives people more control and freedom. Part III The primary challenge of industrial design is to balance the aesthetic value with the functionality of an object. Look of a product is important, but it is important that it can achieve its object more efficiently because of the design. Designers focus on people because products need to be easy to operate. Manufacturing aspect is also important part because products need to be available to their users. Some designers also put environment into their consideration. They try to come up with a design which can be beneficial to the environment. 10-15-07 Part I The most important concept of the lecture was the importance of the communication between architects, builders, and investors in a creation of a building. Efficient communication is key to a successful building construction. Part II 1. Fully integrated and highly automated project: Sharing of information within architects, builders, and facility managers. This reduces costs for facility creation and renovation. It also speeds up project schedule. 2. Fragmentation and loss of knowledge: The term “fragmentation and loss of knowledge” refers to a situation where information was lost in between steps of communication. This causes a severe slow down in construction schedule and cause an increase in production cost. 3. Procurement and Bidding project: Procurement is the acquisition of goods and services at the best possible total cost of ownership. General or sub contractors come up with a proposal for a project, Rather than owner decide how much the project should be, they just choose the best option available. Part III The primary disciplinary issue of building construction is in the organization and management of construction. How of project depends on the efficiency of organization and communication of a building process, 10-22-07 Part I The very important concept of architecture is that architecture is ways of shaping social access to power and defines public and private activities. Architects express the hierarchy of cultural values and aspirations. Architecture is not just about one building. Architects shape how the world looks by creating building designs which interact with others. Part II 1. Digital Manufacturing (BIM and AEC integration): Computer based design enable architects to design more complex structures in a lesser cost. 2. Information explosion: Information explosion is a term that describes the rapidly increasing amount of published information and the effects of this abundance of data. 3. Ecological literacy: The word ecological literacy describes how much understanding people have on issues and problems on the ecology. Awareness of these issues leads architects to put ecological problems into the consideration. Project like the Solar-decathlon enhance the general understanding of the issue and helps to develop building technology which is ecology friendly. Part III The big question in architecture is what distinguishes a work of “Architecture” from “ordinary building”? A building can be built and satisfy aesthetic need without a planning, but the building does not meet the standard as a work of architecture. Architects study people’s need and try to design a plan which would satisfy it and at the same time put sustainability and functionality into the consideration. Biographies A. Allweil, Yael. “Shrinking cities: like a slow-motion Katrina.” Places (2007): 91-93. C. Clark, Jayne. “New Orleans: 'Beautiful things' against some ugly reminders; Destruction is still a big draw as tourism rises.” USA TODAY, August 24, 2007 Friday, LIFE. Craig, Robert. “Hurricane Katrina's impact on nineteenth-century cultural landmarks.” Society of Architectural Historians Newsletter - Society of Architectural Historians (2005): 2-5 Crittenden, Michael. “Emergency Plan Deemed A Disaster-in-Waiting.” CQ Weekly (2007): 2606 F. Fein, Geoff. “Katrina Showed Need For Rapid Damage Assessment, Improved Communications.” Defense Daily, July 27, 2006. G. Gordon, Meghan. “Plaquemines plans to give up land ; Expropriation used to build floodwall.” Times – Picayune. (2007): 01 H. Harvey, Christine. “1st District hopefuls vow to rebuild ; All three want to see the Gulf Outlet close.” Times – Picayne (2007): 01 Health, Brad. “Katrina evacuees feel money pinch ; Census survey shows joblessness, poverty.” USA TODAY (2007): A 1 Heitman, Danny. “In Katrina's shadow, neighborhood loyalty shines on.” Christian Science Monitor, August 29, 2007 Holtzman, Anna. “Why are so many displaced residents of New Orleans being left out of the rebuilding process?” Architecture (2006): 72 Howe, Peter J. “Patrick ousts two at parks agency; Move creates new roles to aid revitalization.” Boston Globe (2007): B.1 K. Kabacoff, Pres. “Operation Rebirth: development needs to be connected to New Orleans's neighborhoods.” Urban land (2006): 67 Kennedy, Shawn. “Remaking New Orleans, without losing its past.” Architectural record (2007): 85-88, 226 Konigsmark, Anne Rochell. “In New Orleans, fried chicken for a city's soul; Patching up Willie Mae's may help revive battered culture.” USA TODAY, February 6, 2006 Monday, NEWS. L. Lubell, Sam. “Louisiana recovery continues to hit snags.” Architectural record (2007): 42 M. McDonald, Martha. “Picking up the pieces: post-Katrina recovery.” Clem Labine’s traditional building (2006): 16-20 McLean. “Help Gulf recover, but don't subsidize the next disaster.” USA TODAY (2007): 12 N. Nobel, Philip. “Welcome restraint: in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, something strange happened: architects kept their mouths shut and their hands off their pens.” Metropolis (2005): 64, 66. O. Olenchek, Christina. “Private foundations quietly make difference.” Central Penn Business Journal (2007): 23 P. Pontolilo, Brian. “After the storm: a special report in the wake of the devastating 2005 hurricane season.” Fine homebuilding (2005): 18, 20 R. Rackelmann, George. “Doing the right thing for New Orleans” Landscape architecture (2006): 14. Rosan, Richard. “The path to rebuilding: one year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, New Orleans still lacks a coordinated plan for action.” Urban land (2006): 58, 60, 62-63 Rowland, Kara. “Democrats press Bush to name mortgage czar.” Knight Ridder Tribune Business News (2007): Rozhon, Tracie. “From the ground up: frustrated by the federal and state response to Katrina, New Orleanians have begun making plans of their own.” Metropolis (2006): 118, 120, 122, 124. S. Schwartz, Matthew. “Louisiana business publications find opportunity after Katrina .” Media Business, September 1, 2006 Sipes, James. “Rebuilding the Gulf Coast: how landscape architects can use their digital skills to play a key role in the process.” Landscape architecture (2006): 84, 86, 88-95 Strasberg, Hadiya. “After the storm: a charrette of unprecedented magnitude offers a new vision for the storm-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast.” Clem Labine's traditional building (2006): 12-20 Straw, Joseph. “New Council to Help FEMA Look Beyond the Beltway.” Security Management (2007): 30 U. Usborne, David. “The battle to ensure disaster will not be repeated .” The Independent (London), August 29, 2006. W. Warner, Coleman. “BUYOUT OR SELLOUT? ; A federal plan to purchase properties along Mississippi's Coast has Bay St. Louis residents thinking twice about rebuilding.” Times – Picayune (2007): 01 Warrick, Joby. “White House Got Early Warning on Katrina.” The Washington Post, January 24, 2006 Tuesday, A Section Part 1 Palladio was one of the most influential architects in Venice. Since Venice was located between Europe and Middle East, it became an important place of trade. During the time period of Palladio, Venice went through landscape change. Palladio brought new characteristics to the previous classical design. The lecturer showed the designs done by Palladio which shows three different sections, placement of windows on the middle. It was very fascinating how the ratio of whole number was used to create layouts for buildings. Sep 19, 2007 Part. 1 The lecturer had documented the redevelopment of Atlanta downtown. She showed the full process of the development in a chronological order. The main focus of the lecture was the planning of the creation of new city out of old city. The environmental issues were also discussed. The lecturer placed emphasis on the importance of keeping the historical artifacts of old city and at the same time, developing the sustainable urban city. Part. 2 Utopian Architecture: I presumed that the word means designing a safe and secure building structure. The term is referred to a practice of making an architecture design which satisfies the human need and protects the environment. The word also refers to the design which includes all the quality the designers had intended. Industrialization: The idea I got from the lecture about the word was that the development of industry would have profound effect on the formation of a city. The definition of the term in the dictionary was “advancement of technology”. I would interpret the word “Industrialization” as how the development of new construction technology changes the course of urban planning. New city out of old city: I presumed the concept as redeveloping an old city. I researched few cases of redevelopment in Asia countries where there are scarcity for land, like Korea and Japan. This concept has both advantages and disadvantages. The redevelopment prevents the exploitation of environment and destruction of habits for wild animals. Demolition and clean up process cost a lot of money. Part. 3 1. Economical challenge: The big question of redevelopment is whether it is economically advantageous or disadvantageous. 2. The practice of redevelopment requires more than a conventional technique. The architects and city planners must learn to affectively use re-developed area, since the land is limited to a certain size and shape. 3. The question of economic production is how faster a city can be built on re-developed area. In the lecture, the construction seemed to be faster using re-developing technique, since the planners used some of the old structures. Sep 17, 2007 Architecture, Culture and Behavior Part 1 The main focus of the lecture was how we design buildings and how these buildings shape our lives. Dr. Zimring discussed how Americans are suffering from lack of exercise. He voiced out the importance of designing buildings to promote human activity. His solution was to make a building design which can naturally induce people to become more active. He explained that making stairs more available increases the level of activity. The important concept of the lecture was that most buildings can be easily adjusted to become Activity-Friendly. Part 2 Hybrid Activity: Since the word “hybrid” means combination, I interpreted it as the combination of intentional activity and accidental activity. The term refers to a situation when a person decides to take physical activity while he/she is trying to achieve an objective. Example: Choose to walk to workplace rather than taking a bus. Environmental factors: People are constantly being affected by the surroundings they are in. The degree of physical activity can be varied greatly depend on the environment. Activity-friendly settings: As I expected the term refers to a design of building which promotes physical activity. Part 3 1. Economic factor: The new installment to induce activity would cost money, but this would have benefits which outweigh the investment. The increase of activity would be beneficial for the health of the people working in there, increasing the productivity. The use of stairs results in the less use of elevators and decrease in energy consumption. 2. Pedagogy: Architects who are accustomed to living in an environment which induce activity would be more likely to put human activity into the consideration. 3. Discipline: The development of the Activity Friendly design opens a new area of study. Researches can be done to develop a new way of inducing human activity. Sept. 10 A multi-disciplinary approach to disability research The Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access does numerous activities to aid the people with disability. CATEA does research and develop the better designs for equipment and installment in building. It also provides services to train and educate the people who have difficulty getting to class. CATEA recognizes that to promote the learning, teachers must be informed. In order to find the optimum solution for the design, the scientist and researchers concentrate to find the solution which satisfies tech factor, business factor and human factor. 1. Barrier Free Education and Information: I think that this phrase has to do something with getting information using the internet, because computer became one of the most accessible equipment which can give a user the connection to places which are not reachable. The CATEA and other organizations provide academic training classes on-line. 2. Workplace Accommodation: Recently, the lawmakers passed laws that require companies or employers to provide accommodations for employees with disability, but even this effort could not eliminate all the difficulties the employees faced. Engineers and researchers develop new design of desk or chair to provide comfort for people with handicap. 3. Development of accessibility standards for web based information: A number of organizations develop on-line site to provide information for people who have difficulty to access the information otherwise. But because most of the sites use different formats and standards, it causes confusion. It is essential to develop a unison way. Part Three: Speculate 1. Many research projects, such as developing a new design of wheelchair, seem to be requiring only in-door research, but they require skills to collect data on research done outside or done in large scale. 2. Challenge: It is hard to satisfy all of tech factor, business factor, and human factor. Unless advanced technologies could be reproduced fast and for low cost, they do not achieve its main purpose. 3. Teaching: The main goal of the project to accommodate the people with disability. The question is how a project like this should be based on. In this project, the participation of wheelchair usage helped them to understand the life style of the users and thereby what they could improve. 4. Another challenge is that there are numerous barriers and that these problems can not be solved by one group, but requires the attention of general public. Sept. 12. 2007 AIE Integration There had been few examples of integration in the field of Architecture/Construction, because there used have a few advantages for. The little vertical integration and low level of integration allowed many small entities to compete. Small firms had business with a few product commitments were not pressured to deliver their products fast. The construction and design parts were separate. Part two 1. Value Engineering: Value Engineering is a systematic method to improve the “Value” of goods and service by using an examination of function. Value is the ratio of Function to cost. Value can therefore be increased by either improving the Function of reducing the cost. The definition was little bit different than I used to think. I thought the value only means the quality of the product, and therefore only way to increase its value was to enhances its quality. 2. Risk management: As I presumed, risk management means that a company makes decisions to reduce the risk and or take risk for the benefit of the decision. The strategies include avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of the risk, or accepting some or all of the risk. 3. Total teamwork concept: I thought this term was used to mean the collaboration of each person in a group, but when I read an article on “Total Teamwork-SEI Investments,” it means more than that. Everybody in the team puts effort into the project and takes responsibility. Therefore, all the products have to pass all the scrutiny of them, guaranteeing the quality. Part Three 1. Learning: In the field where the advantage of integration is increasing, cooperation is very important. The question is how an institution can improve this skill. One way can be placing an importance on the peer review. Through critical review of each other’s work, all the members learn to how improve their performance through the critics of others. 2. Discipline: It is importance not to lose the efficiency. As an organization becomes large, it easily develops red-tape. 3. Profession: Integration of professions can either increase the quality of products or the price without a difference in the work. The question is which is more likely, and if both of them is a possibility, which outweigh the other. 4. Economic production: Integration usually results in lowering of the price. For example, big corporate chains such as Wal-Mart provide services for lower prices. But what does this mean for local firms and self-employed entities? The integration can possibly affect the value of building. Sept. 14. 2007 Geographic Information systems: Whenever where matters Part One Geographic Information Systems is the linked system of hardware and software to attribute to the urban development. After Mr. French defined the GIS, he showed how and where the technology is used on, and then the possibility of future development. The converging technologies such as remote sensing, GPS, and wireless enable for the researchers to get better data. These studies are used in urban planning by projecting future conditions and analyzing the development consequences. Part Two 1. Automated Date Acquisition: I could not find the exact definition, but I think the word means the way of collecting information constantly via computerized system. 2. Location-Based Services: I defined the LBS as that local producer provides services for local users. But the real definition is that LBS are services developed and distributed by wireless carriers and their partners which provide information specific to a location. This enables the users without specifying their location every time they use a certain service. 3. Regression Analysis: The general definition of regression analysis is the examination of the relation of a dependent variable to specified independent variables. But I think the definition of the term “regression analysis” used in the lecture is more like “study of the previous examples.” Part Three 1. Profession: How do you include GIS information and analysis in design? Using GIS is like looking at a map to find a better way to get somewhere. A designer can maximize the available space and at the same time protect areas such as habitats for wild animals or environmental pool, absorbing the emission from city. It also can prevent from building on fragile landscape. The technology also helps public to understand projects. 2. Profession: What can you do to reduce the negative impacts of growth and development? Using GIS technology, urban planning engineers could limit the growth of cities to the level the environment can sustain. 3. Challenge: The GIS technology is fairly new to most engineers in the work force. 4. Economic production: The question whether the advantage of using the technology outweighs the cost of implementing it. (Question 1 and 2 are from the lecture) M.S.: Classical Design Curriculum Aug 29 1. The lecture was given by a number of different students from the Classical Design Curriculum. The main focus of the lecture was how the designers and architects are implementing the classical design into their modern projects. The lecturers included in the presentation the projects they or their firms have done. The difference between each lecturer was that while some worked to design from a scratch a building according to the classical design, others used already existing buildings as a blue print of their new projects. Important concept: Direct implementation of the classical design v. redefining of the design. 2. a. Classical Design- Classical Design was developed from Greeks and Romans. A few of the Classical ideals employed in architecture are colonnaded porticoes, domed centers and symmetrical designs each used Classical design elements in their architecture to portray a sense of simplicity and harmony in their work, as well as to reflect Classical ideals of order and mathematical proportion. b. Mantel Design- Usually referred to chimney design. During Medieval time, it was used as a hood over a fireplace. 3. a. Discipline- In current world where practicality usually outweighs the artistic value, how important is the classical design? b. Profession- To what extend a work can be referred as a classical designed building? Does it have to follow all the defined characteristics or can it just have partial? c. Teaching- Would the learning of classical design hold us to the past or help us to go next stage of building design? The Solar Decathlon Aug 31st 1.The Solar Decathlon is a competition organized by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a more environment friendly building technique. The lecturer first explained about the competition and then reviewed in a chronological order the project done by the Georgia Tech team. He showed the pictures of the building in different stages of development to show why they decided to make the building in a certain ways, and what kind of obstacles they faced and how they overcame them. Important terms: Collaboration v. Isolation. 2. a. Off-the-grid: Off-the-grid means a way of life living without traditional utilities. Off-grid houses rely on renewable energies such as solar power or wind mill. b. Thermal bridge: Using poor insulators, architects distribute heat from one part of a house to other sides. 3. a. Discipline- Shouldn’t all architects be aware of the importance of developing eco-friendly building technique as the resources on the Earth being depleted and ecosystems around the world being disturbed by humans?. b. Profession- What kind of building materials can be used to make building environment-friendly and affordable at the same time? c. Teaching- Could we also use the technique for building eco-friendly houses to provide houses in countries where constant water or electric supply is not possible? CAD The lecture was about how the modern techniques change the way designers and architects work. The lecturer showed a couple of examples of how He showed the process the Georgia Tech students have gone through to produce the installments which are located inside and outside of the Architecture building. His presentations explained that all the installment and projects were built for different objectives, but the procedures for building them were very similar: Designers make a quick sketch and build a computer model of it, using software, add details and produce each part using a machine, and finally assemble them. The important terms : Representation, Nonstandard (every part is unique). Local and global variability 2. CNC- A computer controller that reads G-code instructions and drives the machine tool, a powered mechanical device typically used to fabricate metal components by the selective removal of metal. CNC does numerically directed interpolation of a cutting tool in the work envelope of a machine. Nanogel- Nanogel is a way of insulating. Nanogel is an aerogel that consists of 95% air, in nano-sized pores that inhibit heat transfer through the aerogel. Nanogel can easily adapt to different climates. 3. a. Disciplines- Would the development of computer-aided-design enable us to add complexity, which was not possible before? b. Professions- Could the humanism in the building construction, such as Masonic work or wooden carving by artisans, be lost because of the computerized industry? c. Learning- Is it necessary to learn how to draw, when every work can be done using computer? The observation on two installment. The wooden installment is made of series of plywood planks. Each plywood consists of multiple layers of wooden plates, and shaped into either “l” or “h” shape. Some of these “l” shaped plywood are bent to either side, meeting others at certain points. There are total of 320 lines of plywood planks at the bottom part and the very upper part of the installment. 80 of which extend upward, forming the main-part of the structure. Though both sides of plywood are coated and therefore very smooth, the front and rear sides have rough surface. Two long metal bars are placed at the bottom part, about one feet apart, bolted by a nut at each side. As each ply woods plant bends to one side or the other, short metal bars placed at each of these collection points, using the same method used for the big ones. All the planks at the bottom are parallel to each other and forms perpendicular with the ground. Acrylic plastic is used for building the outside installment. Glass would have given it better clarity and look, but plastic was more suitable choice because it is easier to mold and more durable. Four corners of each plastic plates have holes for metal bolt. And each metal bolt connects three plates of plastic. The bottom part is made mostly of flat plates. As the plates reach the middle section, the degree of twist increases, and then as it reaches the top part the degree decreases to 0, and all the plates are collected to a single line. Looking closely at the connecting sites, you can find that these three plates form a tripod shape, creating a strong support for the structure. One amazing thing about the installment was how its appearance changes over the time. When the sunlight shines on, the installment shows a haggard look because all the dirt on plates is visible. But once the sun goes down, the light from the building shines the installment crystal clear. It looks brighter at night, due to the contrast created by the darkness surrounding it. The wooden installment has no flow as a decoration; nevertheless, it also has a practical quality. First, the bench on the bottom part provides comfortable sitting area for its spectators. Second, the wall created by the planks adds an extra room without losing the area’s openness. Even though there are open space between each planks, when a spectator looks at it from a distance the structure acts as a perfect blinder. This observation leads to the answer of the research question how to build a structure which uses the human’s perspective as an advantage. The plastic installment is like a shield for the building. Though the installment was located on concrete ground and no direct source of dirt was visible from the site, the structure was covered with dirt and debris. This indicates that if the installment were not there, then the debris would have directly attacked the building. Both installments consist of small pre-molded or –formed parts, connected together by numerous joints. The wooden one was built from ground up and piled upward. But the plastic one lacked support, and therefore had to be assembled on the round and then raised up to the position. It would not be wrong to say that the theme for the installments is nature. The wooden installment has a look of a waterfall and the plastic one is like a combination of wind and water bubbles. Link to this Page
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