Architectural Graphics Learning Portfolio Alexander Nikban Fall 2015 - City College of San Francisco
Drawing by Iakov Chernikhov
Dog House 1 Strengths: My strong point for this project was creating the shell of the structure. I had an easy time building the walls and constructing the windows. I also believe I had a good grasp on simple constructions in SketchUp. As this being this first assignment it was fun to play around with the different materials and tools.
Opportunities: I need some work on creating 3-D walls. When using the push/pull tool its creates a hollow surface on the inside of the wall. Also taking more interesting screen shots of my construction so the project doesn’t feel boring.
Rapid Visualizations (Cubes in Space) In class we practiced visual drawings of cubes in space to better help us create these objects in SketchUp. My challenge was recreating a cube on paper that was much easier for me to render in SketchUp. Rapid Visualizations for this section really helped me understand sight lines and how quickly I could jot down a creative thought onto paper.
Piazza Del Campidoglio Strengths: My strength in this project was using the rotate tool to create symmetry on both sides of this raised structure. Each side of the piazza looks uniform and I was able to achieve this through using the move and copy technique
Weaknesses: My hardest objectives with this project were getting the arcs on the Piazza floor to close and create the outlining shape. I also struggled with the follow me tool at the end of this construction. There was a section of the stair that I couldn’t get to close.
Piazza Del Campidoglio shots continued
Piazza Del Campidoglio top view
Piazza Del Campidoglio size view
Floor Pattern studies Rapid Visualization
A poet’s wall
Rapid Visualizations (Poet’s Wall)
Rapid Visualization (Poet’s Wall)
In this section we practiced rapid visualizations of different wall types. Through this exercise I was able to create many different wall designs that I would then be able to render into SketchUp. Each wall type gave me endless possibilities in SketchUp. I enjoyed this exercise because it really let me get creative in my designs and then make them 3D on the computer.
A poet’s wall reflections Strengths: My strengths in creating these walls were most show in creating different shapes. I had confidence in the designs as well as the construction.
Weaknesses: I struggled a bit with creating the recessed boxes in the walls. In practicing a few times I was able to create them on a few of the walls but was not successful in constructing recesses in the curved walls. I need more practice on those surfaces.
Poet’s wall views
Poet’s Wall side aerial view
Folding Pavilion Home
Folding Pavilion front aerial view
Strengths: I feel my strong point in this process was using the rotation tool to create an interesting pitched roof for this house. Although I did not create the exact pavilion that was drawn up in class, I used my design skills to imagine something different. I still used the basis of the teachings to create this rendering. Using the different Styles in SketchUp I was able to play around with different looks for this modern pavilion home.
Opportunities: I had trouble with creating the railings on the outdoor patio of this structure. When I used the follow me tool, the railings became broken up. I need to work on staying within the framework of the project and not letting my designs run off track.
Folding Pavilion Home
Folding Pavilion top view
Folding Pavilion side view
Sandbox Strengths: I grasped the concept of making sandbox surfaces into an architectural feature. I used my design driven mindset to turn this sandbox array into a building with a super modern style. I successfully created a dramatic structure using an array of sandbox cubes. Using the rotate tool I was able to stack them into a structure.
Sandbox house continued Opportunities: I think my opportunity with this project would be creating one solid array of sandboxes instead of grouping them together. It would create a more cohesive look. I also want to work on visualizing different concepts using these sandbox arrays.
Sandbox house side view
Sandbox house aerial view
Model of My Residence
West side view
Residence Model
West cross section view
South front view
Residence Model
Strengths: My strong points on this project were being able to create a full scale model of my residence using the offset tool & push pull tool. Using these tools I was able to create a realistic representation of my home. Using my creative side, I did half of the home as a remodel (how I would like it to look and the other half as the home stands now)
Residence Model
Weaknesses: My biggest struggles with this project were getting all the interior walls to match each other in size. When doing the original floor plan, I did not take into account that when I erased lines the walls would double in size. I spent a lot of time re-adjusting measurements and fixing the interior walls to the best of my abilities. My other opportunity would be using the rotate tool to create the roof structure. I used a different method of drawing multiple lines and erasing to create a solid roof structure. Next time using the rotate tool to create a solid roof structure could be more efficient for me.
Residence Model
dining room and family room aerial view
master bedroom and bathroom aerial view
Rin’s Gallery Photomatch
Aerial view onto patio from upper patio
View from back of Rin’s Gallery
Starbucks patio view
Carport View onto Patio
View from inside retail space
Opportunities: My opportunities in this project would be to better use photomatch to create the structure. It took me a lot of trial and error to get the different pillars to match up and be the right scale. I also have the opportunity to create a better design using different styles in SketchUp. Overall I need more practice using photomatch.
Full scale view
Entrance to Rin’s Gallery
Strengths: Using photomatch I was successfully able to recreate a gallery inspired by Rinh’s Gallery. I created the basic structure using photomatch and then using the push/pull tool, I was able to infer the rest of the structure. The gallery features 2 retail spaces and a rooftop plaza. I used 3D warehouse for all signage and furniture.
Log Cabin Modern raised cabin featuring open floor plan and modern interior style.
Log cabin side interior view
Log Cabin front view
Loft walkway view from bedroom
Loft walkway view
Strengths: Using the floor plan provided I was able to recreate this log cabin structure. I used to push/pull tool to raise this structure off the ground.
Bedroom loft view
Weaknesses: My biggest challenge in this project was trying to space plan the bottom floor. I moved the staircase a few times before I got it in a place where it made sense in the space. I also had trouble with getting the scale of the windows to match those in the original model.