        Wright, Robby : AssignmentsRobby Wright11-2-2007 COA 1060 Lectures Essay Lecture 10/15 Playback During Ms. Dunham-Jones presentation, many new questions and concepts emerged from her critical way of thinking. For instance, how has or how should the way our environment been shaped in the past and what should we, as architecture students, be focusing on in the future? Although in the past many architecture companies were not looking toward the mixed-use sector of the industry and the many benefits that tag along when these projects happen, it is more apparent today that we look toward these concepts. Places like Atlantic Station are one of the first steps that we should take in order to provide better environments for our society. After listening to Ms. Dunham-Jones lecture, I have a better understanding about what should be designed and built in the future to not only benefit our society, but the future architects and designers. Lookup I found that the building in Versailles, France was very interesting because I never knew that it was based around radial axes. The radial axes reinforces the power that the king has, every access way and road either starts or ends at the king’s castle. This design by the architect is very interesting because the castle is situated toward the back of the property with his constituents protecting him from any foreign invader attacks. Another interesting aspect that Ms. Dunham-Jones proposed in her presentation was the concept of nested hierarchy. This is described as how different pieces of the house such as columns, decks, and roofing, although are not related individually, they are part of the bigger picture which is the house it makes up. Speculate I think Ms. Dunham-Jones was trying to make us realize that there have been many people that have made a lot of fascinating buildings that have been built around interesting concepts. These concepts have shaped our world as we see it today, looking back on the experience that Ms. Dunham-Jones gave me personally, I can say that I better understand how some of these investigations began and how they ended up. One question that I have to ask the presenter is how do you think other countries have influenced what has been developed in the United States or are we trying to shy away from proven methods to invent our own? Playback (10/15) The building construction process that is described and explained by Mr. Kangari helped make the connection between each piece of the puzzle that makes up construction. His presentation gave an interesting insight as to where and how these big construction booms are taking place. For example, Dubai, located in the United Arab Emirates, has over 300 buildings being constructed as we speak, one of which is suppose to shatter the current record for the tallest building in the world. In order for these buildings to run efficiently, the communication between architect, contractor, owner, and all the subcontractors needs to run without a hitch. Lookup One type of construction that Dr. Kangari mentioned was A/E/C method, in which the architect, engineer, and contractor are either one company who has integrated the different aspects of constructing a building or three different companies who have agreed upon working together only for this one project and will dissolve after the project is completed. This method is very cost efficient cutting down on the cost of the facility creation and renovation, creating project schedules, as well as repair cost savings. Not only do these companies design and build their own projects, they also offer every aspect of the construction process from beginning to end! Speculate Dr. Kangari made an excellent point as to why we should integrate all processes of construction. Not only does it enable the architect and contractor to communicate at all times, there are many cost reductions that would influence most companies. Also, in an integrated world every process would run more efficiently and cause less problems in the long-run. Now that many are trying to integrate the different steps of construction, do you think that more money will be put toward research and development so that we can further increase our efficiency? Playback (10/22) Industrial design has always been a person favorite of mine, the deep thought and consideration of how a certain object should look and function. It takes a step back to look at how something can be made in a creative and intelligent way. For instance, Mr. Mullin mentioned that there were such creations as a circular printer in his presentation, this type of “thinking outside the box” is what is expect from an industrial designer. If you look around, especially in Atlanta, there are many helpful devices that get us through the day. For example, think of the automated maps that help you navigate through the city everyday without these many of us would not make it around as easily as we do. Lookup Most of Mr. Mullin’s presentation was of innovative objects that are being created for the consumer today. In this section I decided to investigate some of the products I didn’t know existed so to further understand how they work and maybe understand how they were designed. The first object that I was interested in and mentioned in the Playback section, was the circular printer. This is such a fascinating object because you slide the paper through a ring in the circle and the printer spins around and creates the desired object. Although the printer is not realistic because if one would want to print more than a couple of pages, the process could become time consuming, thus making the product undesirable, but that is the chance you have to take in the industrial design market. Another object is the Aquamod which help a person determine whether or not they have drank enough fluids for the day. This would help someone who has just got out of the hospital to stay fully hydrated so their body can recover faster. Speculate Mr. Mullin made me realize how important industrial design is in our world today, without many products that we use on a daily basis, most of us would not make it to work (GPS), communicate with others (cell phone), and create elaborate and creative design in a timely manner (computer). Without industrial design working with us, how do you think our world would work today? Our world would be a mess without cell phones to communicate with someone across the world in just a few seconds. Or think of the efficiency a computer utilizes to use, without this many designs and the construction process as a whole would never finish a project on time. 1. Allen, B.L. Environmental Justice, local knowledge. Elseuier, 2007 2. Andy, Chris. Architect Selected for New Orleans. New Orleans City Business, August 28, 2007 3. Birch, Eugene L. Rebuilding urban places after disasters: lessons from Hurricane Katrina. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006 4. Burck, Chris. “Planners can’t play ‘let’s pretend’ on flooding.” Times-Picayune, April 6, 2007 5. Burton, Adrian. Crisis Not Over for Hurricane Victims. Environews, September 12, 2005 6. Brunsma, David. The Sociology of Katrina. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, August 31, 2007 7. Center for Disease Control. Environmental Health Needs and Habitability. Joint Taskforce, September 17, 2005 8. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. A Vision and Strategy for Rebuilding New Orleans. Center for Disease Control, October 18, 2005 9. Dean, Andrea. New Orleans’ Rebuilding Leadership coming into focus. Architectural Record, December 1, 2005 10. Duffy, Jim. Rewiring New Orleans. Network World, August 14, 2006 11. Elie, Lolis Eric. “Plan could power city with waste.” Times-Picayune, May 30, 2007 12. Engineering News Record. Skimping on Rebuilding Standard is Another Disaster. Engineering News Record, April 24, 2007 13. Faulk, Henry. Environmental Health Perspectives. Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, January 2006 14. Kennedy, Shawn. Remaking New Orleans, without losing its past. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., June 2007 15. Kraus, Nicholas C. Coastal Sediments 2007: proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium on Coastal Engineering. Reston, Va: American Society of Engineers, 2007 16. Lois, Taylor. “Urban Planning; New Orleans: Two Years Later.” Los Angeles Times, August 29, 2007 17. Lyman, Chris. “Not so easy: Two Years after Katrina efforts to rebuild New Orleans show promise, but more remains to be done.” Los Angeles Times, August 29, 2007 18. Mckee, Bradford. New Orleans recovery plan released. Architectural Records, May 2007 19. Monitor, Christian. Gulf rebuilding plans: mix and match. Christian Science Monitor, October 13, 2005 20. National Council on Disability. The Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on People with Disabilities: A Look Back and Remaining Challenges. Washington, D.C.: National Council on Disability, August 3, 2006 21. Nolan, Bruce. New Orleans citizen activists spread word. New Orleans Times, October 9, 2007 22. Rix, Glenn Jr. Hurricane Katrina’s Impact of Louisiana’s Transportation Infrastructure. Georgia Institute of Technology, March 28, 2007 23. Roberts, Deon. Engineer’s ‘pipe’ dream would eliminate canals in New Orleans. New Orleans City Business, September 25, 2006 24. Suplee, Matt. New Orleans gets affordable, greener housing. Architectural Record, May 2007 25. Tibbetts, John. Louisiana’s Wetlands: A Lesson in Nature Appreciation. Environews, January 11, 2007 26. United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Budget. “After the Hurricanes: Impact on the fiscal year 2007 budget.” Washington, D.C. G.P.O., October 6, 2005 27. United States Governmental Accountability Office. “Hurricane Katrina: agency contracting data should be more complete regarding subcontracting opportunities for small business.” Office of Governmental Accountability, March 2007 28. United States. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. “Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Outstanding need, slow progress.” Washington, D.C., January 29, 2007 29. Warrick, Joby. “Warning Sounded About Levees; Federal Engineers.” The Washington Post, March 8, 2006 30. Whoriskey, Peter. “Wait Ends on Rules for Katrina Rebuilding; $2.5 billion more for levees also proposed.” The Washington Post, April 13, 2006 Robby Wright COA 1060 9/30/07 Playback (9/17) In Mr. Zimring’s presentation about our built environment and how we relate to the physical objects we see and interact with each day, he set the proposal that many Americans are becoming more obese and reliant on automated equipment to get through our day. He also suggest the question if the way our designed environment influences our “voluntary stair predictors”, which helps us decide whether we are going to take the stairs or the escalator. It is estimated that over 200,000 Americans die each year because they do not get the minimum physical activity recommended each day (30 minutes), Mr. Zimring proposed designing activity-friendly buildings and adding steps for better health. Look Up Comfort- a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. The idea of being comfortable on a set of stairs is a key essential in promoting conscious health relations for the Americans that usually take the escalator when they need to be using the stairs. (www.dictionary.com) Legibility- is the degree at which glyphs and words are decipherable or readable based on appearance. The ability of stairs to be read, according to Mr. Zimring, is the most important factor and the basic reason why most people do not take the stairs. First off they are not automatically seen when first entering the building, usually movement catches the eye, the escalator, which acts as a magnet for a legs. (www.dictionary.com) Speculate 1. Mr. Zimring talked about the legibility of stairs and how if there were seen earlier or first could result in more people taking the stairs and ultimately lose weight, how would you as an individual tell Mr. Zimring to orient stairs accordingly? 2. The presenter also discussed how our built environment, in hospitals, are remarkable poor in regards to patient versus caregiver injuries. His ideas were to promote windows and bigger doorways, but what other key aspects did he leave out? 3. How do groups of people affect the way a building is designed and oriented? Playback (9/19) Ms. Dusseault’s presentation gave an insight as to how the south, mainly Atlanta, has changed from an agricultural landmark to a modernized suburban economy. The first major change was the destruction of the 100-year-old Atlantic Steel Mill to make room for the “new city” of Atlantic Station. Although the mill would be torn down, the architects made sure that the details of the new city would be rediscovered in the shops and restaurants that took their place. Look Up Vernacular- a style of architecture exemplifying the commonest techniques, decorative features, and materials of a particular historical period, region or group of people. During the construction of Atlantic Station many considerations were taken into account, for example the style of the restaurants and shops took a back-seat view of the old steel mill, many of their details and main façade represented that of the creature that stood before it. Modernism- describes a series of reforming cultural movements in art and architecture, music, literature, and the applied arts which emerged in the three decades before 1914. Obviously, the cultural shift from old, dirty, poor efficient steel making was swept away and made room for its predecessor a new, clean, and some energy-efficient buildings were put in its place, which made for a better living atmosphere. Speculate 1. The photograph slides of Atlantic Station showed how old times are being replaced with new innovations, according to Ms. Desseault, was this change good for the citizens already living in the area? 2. What are the disadvantages of taking pictures day-by-day as to taking a before and after picture of the steel mill? 3. Even though Ms. Desseault is not an engineer or an architect for that matter, did her presentation of the deconstruction of the steel mill provide any information or any new ideas that we as architects could use? Playback (9/30) Palladio was considered one of the greatest architects who influenced Western architecture. Although I could not understand what Mr. Bonfa was talking about during his presentation, I am going to reflect on what I thought he was trying to convey to the rest of the class. I did catch that Mr. Bonfa referred to the way in which Palladio organized the layout of the rooms in each house, with reference to the different parts of the house. Many geometric shapes were taken into consideration when Palladio designed and built many of his works, which made for better flow between rooms as well as the aesthetics that pleased each onlooker. Look Up Proportion- is a correspondence among the measures of the members of an entire work, and of the whole to a certain part selected as standard. As one can tell from looking at many of Palladio’s works, this term was widely used in many of his works. This proportion made it difficult in some of his works to determine whether a certain piece was in front or behind another distinct part of the building. (www.dictionary.com) Visual engagement- is self-reflection on how people ‘see' and the identification of their behaviors when making visual judgments. Palladio was an innovator in the way that he made people see his works, from looking at the buildings many people realize proportion and geometric style is a definite key aspect in the way he built his works. By looking into the projects that he created we can better understand the way architecture is suppose to make a person feel and perceive certain works. Speculate 1. Although Palladio was raised in the 15th century, how did his understanding of geometric shapes help influence the way we perceive the flow of a building or house? 2. What are the disadvantages to the way that Palladio has shown us he used geometric shapes to produce his ground work for his projects? 3. Palladio was an innovator of his time and more than likely if it wasn’t for him we would be greatly behind in our studies of buildings, but what if he hadn’t figured out the geometric patterns and styles what do you think today would be like? Robby Wright Homework #2 9-15-07 Playback (9/10) The Center for Assistive Technology & Environment Access, better known as CATEA, creates assistive technology that increases functional capabilities of disabled peoples. It is estimated that over 50 million people, or 17.5%, in America has a disability that doesn’t allow movement in some way or another. The goal of CATEA is to provide information on the web to architects, engineers, and constructors that are interested in researching and developing new products that would allow the disabled to move around their house and community better. For instance, there is research being done on the distance traveled in the house versus the community, which will provide information on the diverse patterns that each subject encompasses. Research I personally thought a convalescent was someone who is recovering from an injury sustained by a car accident, bodily malfunction, or some other method of causing bodily harm. After researching, I found that it actually has a much more broad definition refers to a person that has undergone surgery or recovering from an illness, who mostly rely on volunteers and medical staff to assist them through their recovery. An anatomical device is something used to assist medically disabled people after an operation, or so I thought, an anatomical device can be anything that can be used to help people make it through their day, for instance a back brace or a wheelchair. An anatomical device could even be a handicap accessible sidewalk that allows better maneuverability throughout the community or a support for a previously broken leg so the weight of their own body isn’t directly on the once broken leg. My definition of HCI is a technology that enables engineers, architects, and constructors work together to make or improve existing models over the internet, providing schematics, designs, and materials needed to perform the task of building anatomical devices. In actuality, the HCI stands for human-computer interaction between humans and computers, for example using the GPS system to track movement throughout a house or community that enables engineers to design better and more efficient anatomical devices. Speculate 1. I know that Medicare/Medicaid takes care of the expenses of the disabled, but where would the money come from for research and development for new products? 2. In order to integrate the architect, engineer, and constructor there must be a certain goal that they are working towards, what would that goal be? 3. Obviously the goal of CATEA is to provide mobility for disabled bodies, but is there anything that is trying to help people walk again or regain movement faster? 4. For a better design and new ideas do any of the CATEA workers consult with any disabled people? Playback (9/12) The construction industry today employees over ten million people and spends over 1.1 trillion dollars each year in their efforts. Mostly residential buildings make up most of the money spent during the year, constructing single and multi-family structures. Although there is a lot of money invested in the construction industry, not much is put back into research and development to learn and discover new materials and techniques that could be used in the field to enable projects to be built faster. Many companies are choosing to integrate their services with those of the architect and the engineer to increase the speed and efficiency between each company. Research A turnkey is a project in which separate entities are responsible in setting up a plant or equipment, just like the HCI discussed in the CATEA discussion, each part; the design, engineering, and construction of the project depends on different companies to build a single project. Value construction is a method that is used to improve the value of a project, by either cutting costs or coming up with a more efficient way of building the project, this extra money that is saved should be used in research and development to further enable the industry to find better ways of constructing and sharing information. In lean construction the industry is concerned with the holistic approach of continuing improvement in all aspects of the building environment. Lean construction would be greatly used and influenced by the solar decathlon team here at GT, they are also trying to create new and efficient ways of heating/cooling, electricity capabilities and economical materials that can be used in trying to protect our environment. Speculate 1. Why is it that money isn’t being put into research and development in the construction field as it is in the medical industry? 2. How will integrating the architects, engineers, and contractors help the industry perform than it does now? 3. Although investing money in research and development will help find new materials and methods for building, won’t it cost more to make the new materials? 4. Are many businesses leaning toward on extended enterprise, where everything is controlled by one company? It seems like this would be the logical idea and even better than integrating. Playback (9/14) The center for Geographic Information Systems is one of six research centers in the College of Architecture, which is a system of hardware and software that links mapped objects to descriptive text. This information is very useful in city planning and determining which materials are better suited for different locations such as cities versus subdivisions outside the city limits. The GIS is useful in identifying how many cities and place have grown over the years, by either looking at thermal imaging that shows how streets and roads have evolved from place to place or by looking at how many houses there are per acre. The GIS system can prove to be a very useful tool in city planning and other uses that involve the locations of houses and roads. Research Remote sensing is the acquisition of information of an object by the use of either recording or real-time sensing devices that is not in physical contact with the object. These could be used in the CATEA discussion to improve doorways that automatically open when the detect a wheelchair enabled person roll across sensors in the floor much like traffic lights are wired to detect when a car is sitting at a red light. Just as GPS was used in determining where wheelchair enabled people go in their house, it can also be used to create a map showing how dense our city is by evaluating how cars travel through the streets and how long it takes one person to get from point A to B. We are used to using wireless internet to exchange information between either one person to another or from computer to computer, but we could also use it as a real time player that transmits information to a GPS system or can be used to find out what the average distance traveled to and from the job. Speculate 1. This technology seems very important in city planning, is it being used today as it should be? 2. How does GPS play a role in GIS, what kind of information does the GPS entail? 3. Who would use this information other than city planners, does this system provide information for anyone else? 4. These maps could show how hot surfaces are and how many people travel through the city over a certain period, could this be used by the Department of Transportation to cut smog and other environmental factors? Robby Wright Critical Listening 9-8-07 Lecture #1 Playback Classical architecture has been a very important part of the world of architecture. Since 2000 B.C. cultures throughout the world have embraced many classical techniques such as proportions, details, and columns. These techniques have brought many ideas to the 21st century that many architects use to this day to create “modern” works of art. Although many architects nowadays are using the steel and glass box design, many architects are not fully convinced these techniques are as comfortable as classical built homes. Look Up Two terms that I thought were very important in Classical Architecture are proportion and comfortable. As everyone should know, proportion is a very key aspect that should never be ignored. The proportion of window size to the rest of the façade is crucial because your window should not take up a small amount of space compared to a solid wooden or brick wall. This component helps define how comfortable the house or building will be to the customer/employees. Classical architects disagree with the modern built homes and buildings because the metal and glass box does not feel as comfortable as a wooden, classically built home. Speculate The presentation was very insightful, knowing how proportions and details play a huge role in how a home performs and deals with the comfortability issue, unlike the modern-built houses. I gain a huge respect for the ancient Romans, since they were the first to create such elaborate and successful designs that they have lasted thousands of years, even to this day. Since classical architecture is coming back into the market for houses and buildings, the professional market will greatly increase in the amount of homes and buildings that each company produces. Lecture #2 Playback The Solar Decathlon is an international competition between colleges all around the world. They have to design, build, and transport their 800 s.f. solar-powered house to the national mall in Washington D.C. The event is put on by the Department of Energy and relies on the students from the College of Engineering, Management, and Science. The building is considered a “green” building because it enables the house to generate energy from the sun as well as incorporating materials that keep heat or cool air in the building. Look Up A concept that is used to cut the manufactured product is a cold-forming technique, which means the pieces are bent to make each shape the team, is producing. This technique will cut down on the time spent on the machine energy that is used in manufacturing the products. The design process behind the solar-powered house is very interesting to find out what products and materials are being used. For instance, knowing that the insulation is made of a soy-based, spray-in foam insulation, the walls are made of structural insulated panels and translucent aerogel wall panes, makes me think that there are plenty of natural-based products that can be used that just aren’t being explored. These other materials could play very important roles in the solar-powered home business. Speculate Solar-powered energy is an issue that has been circulating around the world for years, but not many people or companies have the resources and manpower to create such designs. Now that colleges are getting involved in building solar-powered homes, the future is looking brighter for the environment as well as` the companies that will be able to perform these kind of tasks for a better building environment. Now that these solar-powered homes are being built, the information will be more readily available which will be a catalyst for the learning process that needs to be set in place in order for our future to be a brighter and cleaner place to live. Lecture #3 Playback Digital Fabrication is the new wave of the future, from computer-generated design to computer-generated manufacturing. The first step in the designing process is the conception of the design, or the idea that leads to the creation of the model that will soon be sent to the CNC machine. The next step is the development of the model, or how the model is going to be made, put together, and what material the structure is to be made of. Computer-aided design programs, such as CADD will enable architects as well as other designers create more elaborate design while being able to create them quicker and more efficiently. Look Up Combinatorics is the study of numeration, for instance a question one might ask would be “how many words can I make using a 26 letter type-writer?” This relates to the computer-aided design because it asks how many ways can this piece be used to create a design that is made of only one piece or it could ask how many different pieces can be used to create the a simple-looking design. A question that arose when listening to the lecture was how do architects/designers translate their design to the CNC machine to be cut and made. The translating process that is used in the process is called G-Code, which links the computer-aided design with the CNC machine. Speculate The lecture made many questions rise, for instance how will this technology help the architects/designers create better and more efficient models? These computer-aided programs will help the designers duplicate many parts of the design that are the same unlike manual drawing and model building where the architect has to create tedious details over and over again. Although the computer-aided design will be a better medium for designing, it will take a bit of time to learn and to teach others how to use the program. Edit Wright, Robby : Assignments here. Robby Wright COA 1060 8/28/07 Installations Wooden Installation Description The wooden installation in the Architecture West building is composed of a six layer wooden composite material, nuts and bolts, as well as metal rods that fix the installation to the concrete side of each floor. As you enter the building, one would recognize the seat that is formed from the strips of the composite wood as well as seeing that every fourth piece of wood that makes up the back of the seat is projected upwards, which in turn makes the wooden installation. While one looks up, its seems apparent that the bottom floor is darker than the rest of the structure and when you look up at the rest of the structure you can see that each floor becomes lighter, as though you are looking into heaven. The seat is a unique part of the system and looks as though it is the only stable/concrete piece because it is solid and does not move. Looking above the seat reveals that there are “holes” made by compressing usually three to four pieces of wood together with a metal rod and nuts and bolts on either end. While observing the first floor “holes”, I thought that the “holes” were encompassing that there was something to be seen on the backside and looking through. As I studied my hypothesis, I noticed that you could see each different element of the building, from ventilation, railing, copper wiring, and the sprinkler system. Next, the installation makes its way up to the second level, attaching itself to the concrete wall with a large metal rod running through each piece of composite wood and finally coming to an end on the other side of the wall. I did notice that there were unusable tables on the second level that made up the metal connection to the wall. These tables looked as though they were part of the installation, but they could not be used due to the fact that the tables did not have a locking mechanism. The second level is where the installation becomes very interesting, at first glance I noticed that the metal rods that were contorting the wooden pieces could be seen from the side of the installation. The metal rods cast shadows on the underside of the system, which made the installation look as though it were opaque. This level also revealed that were “butterfly strip” connections that held each separate piece of wood together, these connections were also supplemented by wood screws and triangular wooden pieces that were glued into place, which did not make the installation sturdy whatsoever. At one point, I jiggled one of the wooden pieces and immediately stopped due to thinking I was going to injure someone that was working on charcoal pose drawings! The part of the wooden installation on the second floor that is contorted was a very interesting process to try and figure out. There are actually metal rods that hold between 14-16 pieces together, these pieces are cut very differently than in the previous level. These different shapes that are incorporated into the wooden installation gives it a feeling of bending, although none of the pieces are actually bent in any way. Moving onto the third floor is very similar to the first floor; each piece is very flat against the wall and straight-edged, also having a smaller and angled bench at the very top. Speculation From studying the installation on the inside of the Architecture West building made sense that the architects were going for making an installation that appeared as though the pieces of wood were actually bent. Now that they had an idea of what they wanted the installation to look like, there came the next step in the process which is to decide what material it should be made of. Obviously they need a material that is light-weight, but still strong enough to have students/faculty sit on the bench. A composite wood is a incredible idea to come up with laminating pieces of wood together to make a new type of wood that is able to bend, but at the same time have enough strength to deal with everyday associations with the installation. The design process in for the wooden structure was probably very time consuming as well as hard work because there are many pieces that make up the entire installation. Clearly making the installation out of three to four pieces would have been a nightmare because they would have had to find huge pieces of wood, but at the same time they knew that making the structure out of many pieces has its flaws as well. The first thing that came to mind whenever I saw the wooden installation was that of a rib cage of the human body. From a side angle, the rib cage looks very flimsy and weak, but actually is very strong the opposed from the front. Just as the wooden installation, from side-to-side the individual pieces were very weak on their own, but attacked from the front would reveal that the structure is magnificently strong. Honestly, the wooden structure seems as though it would be a great way to start new fun ways of constructing rooftops for more modern-style housing. It would be very fun to see what design someone could come up with for a rooftop that funnels rainwater into a filtering system which provides drinking and potable water in LEEDS construction. Plastic Installation Description The plastic installation outside the Architecture West building starts off looking like a huge chunk of plastic that has been laid on the ground, but in all actuality it is many thin layers of plastic on top of each other and bolted together. These pieces were not held down very tightly; as I lifted the edge of the plastic up I realized that every piece had let water and other natural elements into the cracks and crevasses. This was because the huge piece was only held together by two bolts and one of which was completely removed. As the installation moves from right to left, I immediately noticed that this certain installation directly deals with solid versus void spaces. At the beginning the big piece of plastic almost looks as though each piece has the same quality as every piece above and below it, until you see that the chunk gives way to a upward sloping wall of some sort. Each piece now looks as though it has its still has some qualities as what it started off as, but has different characteristics as well. The solid versus void now become evident because there are eye-shaped holes in between many of the pieces of plastic. This makes it seem as though there is a solid wall from a distance, but up close you can clearly see that is not the case. Moving onto the next part where the installation moves around the concrete column poses another different quality than it began. The once “solid” chunk of plastic now seems as though each piece of plastic has a mind of its own. The installation becomes very hard to see where one piece of plastic starts and ends because each piece is intertwined with what seems like every piece of plastic in the installation. I also noticed that from right to left the void in between the pieces grows ever so rapidly until at the end the void becomes so big that one can almost fit their entire body inside the installation. From looking at a distance it was easy to see most of the nuts and bolts that connected the many plastic pieces to its successor, it seemed as though the plastic gave a clue as to where each nut and bolt was. I was very surprised to see that the plastic did not react with the sun as I had imagined, the nuts and bolts were the pieces that gave off a glimmering sensation, I would have suspected that the plastic would have been almost unbearable to stand and look at. Speculation I figure that the plastic installation is a good tool to see how plastic can be used to develop a modern-style sculpture outside. From studying the plastic used and the way it was used I would come to the conclusion that the plastic is not a very good product to use when it is exposed to the natural elements. There would be a lot of up keep because the rainwater as well as pieces of pine straw and other element would stick in the interweaving parts and in the big piece of plastic. I think that the architects were studying whether or not this type of material would be suitable for an outside installation. The design process that would have to be incorporated with this type of structure is functionality and to find a material that would be able to be curved and molded into a unique shape. Obviously the plastic is a very lightweight material, but strong at the same time that is able to be heat and molded into the exact shape that a designer would want. I think that this installation could be used for sculptures outside businesses, for instance a breeze way that is covered by this type of plastic starting off as the “bench” did on the plastic installation and wrapping itself around and around to create a covered breezeway. Link to this Page
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