Angelica Flores Arch 101 Studio Class 2016 Midterm Portfolio
Week 1-1st Project Prep: Collage
Problems in uploading photo of collage into portfolio: solution in progress
Reflection This f irst assignment w as hard for me because I generally don’t like to get personal. I’ m a private person and I felt like the things I say about myself might clash w ith how people perceive me to be. Then it became a question of how much do I w ant to reveal about myse lf. Should I incorporate only the good? I ended up choosing qu alities of myse lf that are positive and I w as able to f ind pictu res to match. When it came down to the arrangeme nt of e lements I tried to make su re that everything is balanced to the eye. I didn't want things to seem top heavy or bottom heavy. I did it on an application on my parents laptop called pages and now my dile mma is that it wont show on my lap top and therefore missing from my le arning portfolio. I’ve tried emailing it to myself and putting it on a usb and then saving it to my laptop but it refuses to show up.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I feel like I was able to at least balance all the photos so that the fit togethe r as a composition. Also, all the pictu res are somewhat self explanatory so its easy to understand bu t I also chose some that are more on the abstract side to cre ate interest.
Weaknesses:
An obvious we akness is my understanding of technology. So now my learning portfolio is suffering becau se the image of my collage is missing.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to understand that’s its ok to say good things about yourself as long as you can back it up. Sometimes saying good things about you rse lf or describing yourself can be weird becau se you don’t w ant to seem boastful w hen re ally its not a bad thing to have confidence as long as its in the right amount.
Threats: Since we started
the semester on a Tuesday it really messed me up and I got my classes mixed up. I got my MW class mixed up with my TTR class. So on the day that the collage was due I didn't have it with me.
Week 2-1st Project: What is Your Sign? Assignment: Construct and design a sign that shows who you are as a person
Rough sketches of my plans of tackling this project
Reflection I struggled a lot with this project mostly because my ambition did not mee t my current capabilitie s in construction. I also didn't’ t have the time to try ambitious design and yet even aware of the fact I still tried too execute it anyway. This is why throughout my construction the design kept changing. My initial design was meant to have layers and produce a 3D effect so that I would have a lot of shadows and even shadow patte rns from my cutou ts. However I struggled with the mate rial, and my cutouts tu rned out to skinny than I had originally planned. In the e nd I could not produce the 3D effect that I wanted, and with consideration to the weight I could not add layering walls. In terms of conveying who I am as a person, because parts of my design were let go, so was the depiction of my self. In the classroom as I saw it hung I realized how much I found it hard to open up about who I am. My piece was so abstract that I became unreadable.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: I don’t have a lot of strengths except for my will to keep trying to fix my design.
Weaknesses: My ability
to perceive consequences and solutions to my problems. In actuality there is this gapping hole on one side covered from the foam board. The hold was from my first attempt in trying to make it hold to the wall.
Opportunities: Even with a lot of
downfalls I took the opportunity in pursuing an ambitious design. Maybe if I was better in model making it would have turned out better.
Threats: I ended up losing
a lot of sleep just trying to make sure I had something to turn in the following day.
What is Your Sign?: 2nd iteration Front:
Back:
Reflection This time around I feel that I have conveyed more clearly the kind of pe rson I am. I was also able to incorporate a 3D effect by using 3D stickers and e levating some printou ts by adding foam board to it before attaching to the sign. On the front side of my sign it tells of the kind of person I am by what's in my heart. The depiction of the jar with a little light f rom inside the heart is suppose to rep resent the little fire inside me and then everything spilling out of the jar are aspects of my life that are important to me such as love, family, friends, and my talent for drawing. The back side represents my goals in life and how different aspects of my life affect those goals. Afte r I re alized the need to open up about myse lf it was no longe r scary to incorporate myself into my design.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I was able to convey myself more clearly in a more clear design.
Weaknesses:
A weakness of my design is its reliance to the material to convey the message and create interest in my design.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to analyze my abilities so that I won’ t overwhe lm myself like what happened with the f irst sign. I also took the opportunity of conveying different messages for the front and back
Threats:
A thre at to my design is its dependence on the material.
Week 3-2nd Project: A Journey of Discovery Place: Japanese Tea Garden The different pathways -The game of hide and reveal, the way the pathways blend themselves into the surrounding nature creates a sense of tranquility, peace, and overall calmness
A Journey of Discovery: Japanese Tea Garden The importance in attention to detail Left: Attention to detail manipulation in use of material to create authenticity in simulating Japan. Right: Attention to detail in the extras. Play on reality, where the statues resemble live birds because of their pose. Element of surprise in the discovery that its not real, and in is placement hidden under the shade of trees. Bottom Right: Arch to create suspense. Element of surprise and reward in the discovery of a platform on the other side Bottom Right: Small structures placed along or on intersections between paths to act as markers to direct people
Reflection In a p lace whe re I thought there would be nothing much to do I found myself surprised with my experience. I enjoyed my visit to the Japanese Tea Garden in the little things. I realized that in a c alming and peaceful environment, the architecture prov ided things to do. For example in the pathways a lot of it winds and splits, and so the destinations are by choices made from the person. Then when we look into the detail put into the structu res, we find bits of exaggeration that account for the ou t of the ordinary. For example the Moon Bridge, is slopped at such an awkward angle that it become s a bridge to climb. It’s a challenge and when a person f inally re aches the top they feel accomplished and rew arded with a topical view of the garden. I concluded that the place was not as big as it seemed but because everything abou t this place prolonged the journey, from the pathways, to the nodes of re st, and feel for the unfamiliar in exaggerated proportions, it felt like such a vast area with a lot to see. Even if it was a journey that brings you back to where you started.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
In analyzing the area I was able to understand how certain experiences are made because of the architec ture. I also feel like I’ve taken good picture s that show the feel of the garden.
Weaknesses:
I feel like there could be some points of the garden that I may have missed and could have incorporated into my project because I couldn't’t stay long.
Opportunities: I don’t get to go out that often to
explore places and so this project gave me an opportunity to visit a place I’ve wanted to see.
Threats: I could to a better job in presenting
findings when it comes to speaking up and eye contact.
my
Week 4-3rd Project: Creating a wall
Reflection When I first heard of the project in my head I alre ady envisioned it to be a wall of a c afé or a p lace where people can hang ou t or study while getting a bite to eat. I drew insp iration from the Japane se Tea Garden as a designed the wall. I wanted the book shelf to reminiscent of branches but in a symmetrical play of space and shadow. Symme try usually is more calming with the danger of creating boredom. However, I wasn’ t able to make it symmetrical on Sketch Up and so it was constructed in a random fashion that I feel, in the end added interest to my design. Then to evoke the unfamiliar I wanted the books to rest at awkward angles created by the intersections. The circular window s was out of curiosity when I imagined what the Japane se Tea Garden may look like at night. I thought of the moon creating light and shadow over the place. In my design I wanted to mimic the cycles of the moon as someone slides open or closed the three circular windows c reating different patte rns on the f loor e ach time. However on Sketch Up the patterns did not show.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I was able to design based on a story I formulated in my head and it was because of the story that I was able to give the wall a purpose.
Weaknesses:
My wall doesn’t do enough to evoke wonder or pu sh the e nvelope in terms of design. Also in execution, a lot of it are mistakes. In using the push pull tool I forgot to p ress control and so I lost the whole back side until I pulled it back.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity in u sing Sketch Up to explore my design. By using Sketch Up I found out that I could find pictures on the interne t of textures and upload for use in Sketch Up.
Threats: In class
I realized that I didn’t save it in Version 8 and so I had to do it in the lab. It took time and in the end I didn't get the chance to show it to the class. I realized the one I saved in Version 8 was on my desktop in my laptop at home.
Week 5-4th Project: Two Parallel Walls My Plans on Google Sketch Up:
Actual Model:
Reflection Before starting my model I used Google Sketch Up to plan ou t my design. I stuck with my original concept of a café or cool place to hang out f rom my first wall. I thought of places to sit that c an be calming and different from the u sual experience with tables and chairs. This is how I came up with the idea of sitting by the window. I also thought abou t how cool it would be to walk through a window into a natu re setting or to go fu rther inside the build ing. Then for the second wall I thought about incorporating a top f loor, so that just like the Japane se Tea Garden I can provide many different view points. What I failed to re alize abou t my design is that togethe r as a composition it was not enough to be unique. I designed f rom gene ralitie s of a random thought process from bits and pieces of different ideas. I thought of the sun’s path and how it arches so I designed an arch. Then I wanted a cool calming experience for a moment of p ause to sit so I came up with the w indow benche s. I also w anted to try hide and reveal so I created a top f loor hidden from the view outside of the window walls. Anothe r downfall to my design that I realized is my dependence on decoration. Once I realized my downfalls I wanted to improve and told my self come next project its time to focus on form.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I used Google Sketch Up as a way to set up my design.
Weaknesses:
I struggled with construc tion and it show s in my mode l. I also failed to step back and check my design
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to absorb the critique of my design and now with the lessons I learned I can come up with a better design for my next project
Threats:
Since I struggled so much with construction it took up so much time that I didn't get that much sleep. I was running out of materials and time that I voted to leave some parts out because I didn’t want to deal with bringing it to school and it collapsing before I can p resent it. However, if the re is anything I’ve learned in c lass today is that the re is always a way to make things work and that failing once shou ldn't stop me from trying to excel.
Week 6-Parallel Wall Iteration Drafts of designs:
Parallel Wall Iteration Final Model:
Reflection Afte r my previou s model I began to zoom in on my thought p rocess to f ind a unif ied concept instead of scattered ideas. My de sign has gone through a lot of changes and iterations before I reached a f inal model. I envisioned this to be a place for pause in a busy are a surrounded by buildings. My final design is based on the idea of a landsc ape with the land in the foreground and the sky in the background or second wall. The serie s of arche s and circular forms in the second are meant to encapsu late the path of the sun as it rises and se ts. I captu red different moments of time in the sun’s path all in one structu re. Then for the f irst wall it rep resents the land, uneven at d ifferent elevated heights. I made it into a se ating area to allow for human inte raction. So that we have the sky the unreachable aspect and my metaphorical land, the touchable part that allows for human activity.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: I was able to find a unified concept after taking a moment to be aware of my thought process.
Weaknesses: I still
have problems with construction because I’m still getting use to making models.
Opportunities: I took the opportunity to use Google Sketch Up to explore quick models.
Threats: My model doesn't match to my desired human scale. I only had one cut out as a human scale and during my construction of my model, I realized to late that its scaled down from my original intent with size.
Week 7-Study Models Studying Light Patterns:
Study Models: Exploring the Notion of Walls, Floors, and Ceilings Study Models on Google Sketch Up:
Study Models Studying shadow, light, and patterns:
Study Models Studying orientation and manipulation of form:
Reflection The hard thing about doing study models is wanting the study models to be “perfect” even if the primary function of study models is a way to quickly observe ideas. I did some exploring on Google Sketch after the critique of my last model and created quick study models. There was a period where I felt lost because I couldn’t establish connections in design between walls, floors, and ceilings. I was still designing separately from each other or forcing things to work. Aware of my predicament I began to think back and analyze where my ideas are coming from in terms of observation and inspiration. I originally had this paper I cut a pattern on. I got the pattern from observing my water bottle. The pattern goes from big to small for the positive spaces, small to big for negative spaces, and then repeats. After class I got the idea to try and manipulate the piece of paper I had many different ways. I surprised myself with how a simple piece of paper can be made into all these unique forms and because I photographed them on a sunny day I was able to capture a rich shadow quality. I learned that ideas can really come from anywhere. In this case I became fascinated with a water bottle, its unique shadow, reflection, and light because of the water inside.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I took what I learned in class and applied it to my own model. My photos are able to demonstrate my intent of showing shadow quality.
Weaknesses:
Some of my photos had my hand peeping from the corners becau se I had to hold up the model due to the wind.
Opportunities:
By observing an ord inary object I was able to le arn and explore concepts learned in class. I took the opportunity during my break between classe s to u tilize my mode l with its surroundings from the sun providing shadow, to my seat p roviding a ground, to the background of far off trees and people.
Threats:
I was almost hesitant to proceed with my exploration because I didn’t want to see m weird photographing a water bottle. Then I re alized the re is nothing wrong with me developing a keen eye in obse rvation, so much so that I was able to see potential design in a water bottle.
Week 8-Model: Exploring Notion of Walls, Floors, and Ceilings Iterations of model:
Final Model:
Inspirations Behind the Model Picture: Rice Terraces and (unsure of name) Misibis Bay-Kapuntukan Hill I was particularily captivated by the manmade layering aspect of the two destinations. Both are manmade but appear to occur in nature. I liked the idea behind the merge r of nature and the man made. The more I thou ght of this the more it brought me to the idea of ruins, where a bu ild ing or structu re has alre ady established a place in natu re and it feels like it belongs the re. A place whe re its existe nce has surpassed many generations of spectators before and appears to remain standing for generations to come. I first saw these image s on tv so when I tried to re search where the se place s are I had a hard time. Though I am unsure of how old the place is, or the correct name, I think the important part of my discovery of these places is that they were able to evoke a feeling from me and inspire my design. It has made me aware of the importance of knowing w hat inf luences an individual’s design and that it is not all about designing with a clear concept but sometime s tak ing bits and pieces of inspiration and putting them toge ther to make a clear concept of a unified composition. In other words, some times the start is a whole, and its broken down into parts and can be analyzed and put together to make a different whole or v ice versa in where you f ind the parts and cre ate a whole.
Reflection Afte r having expe rienced the feeling of be ing “ lost” and overwhelmed with having to de sign many parts to a build ing, I began to to think more on the line s of “unification.” Now it wasn’t about the parts be ing walls, f loors, and ceilings, but the bu ild ing as a whole because inevitably I ended up designing a w hole building for the parts can no longer stand on its own. I revisited my thou ght p rocess and thought abou t what brou ght me up to this point and what experie nces I want people to have when they visit my build ing. I went back to my concept from the last model of the landscape and sky but now focused more on the landscape. The landscape is uneven, grow s at different he ights, and also house s infrastructure. I thought about d ifferent lands such as the rice te rraces of the Philippine s bu t even more so the ruin like architecture I saw on tv. How struc ture s are e mbedded in the land and the calming nostalgic feel it brought to be su rrounded by natu re and history. I learned that when one is lost its important to take in a moment of pau se to calm you rse lf so that the mind is clear when approaching work once again. Trying to design feeling stressful leads to unsuccessful compositions f illed with the arbitrary becau se then the goal is to ju st ge t it over with to feel happy again. However if your happy getting into it then it can lead to d iscoveries, successful design, and it wont feel like work .
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I realized an architectu re’s work is never done and its hard to reach satisfac tion with one’ s own work becau se the re are so many ways of doing things, more unique pieces to come up with, and time to experiment and try. A stre ngth I have found is that afte r feeling lost and overwhe lmed, in the end I came to a bette r understanding of what its like to be an architect and I still had that drive to keep learning to discover more.
Weaknesses: I had a moment of weakness being overwhelmed with the task at hand but I know its only human and natural to be afraid of doing something I’ve never done before.
Opportunities: I took the opportunity to look for my
inspiration online in order to incorporate it into my portfolio because I fe lt that it was key to making the documentation of my design process more understandable.
Threats:
All though a moment of pause to gather the thoughts is important there is a thre at of excusing yourself to extend the moment because of fear of getting back to work and feeling stuck again. Its all about be ing aware of the time s where excuses are used instead of finding solutions.
Creating a Storyboard
“Where does this path lead too?”
“A building?” “Huh..What’s that building i n the distance?”
“ Cool! They look l ike there floating. How i s it even doing that?”
“Oh. Wait the path stops here?” “Downhill… hm..runnn!”
“I c an see the space in between each step. Is this even safe?” “ Yeah I c an do this..”
“Woah that was fun. Stairs?”
“ I made it! Wow the view from up here is amazing.”
Creating a Storyboard
“There’s the view of the distant hills..”
“And that’s the path I walked on…”
“What’s that? I want a closer look.”
“Hold on…I c an get on this thing.” “Oh look I c an see the river through the window, c ool!”
“Oh my! I c an see the bottom. There’s a bottom?” “Oh yeah. Wait I c an enter. I wonder what’s there.” “I’m going to go check it out.”
“Down we go..”
Creating a Storyboard
“ Ah Its even scary to go down. OK.. I can do this.”
“ Found it!” “It’s the entryway I saw from the top floor.”
“ And there’s the cut out.” “Wow. I c an see the sky from here.”
“And there’s the other entrance..” “If I continued down there I could probably get close to the water.”
“Let’s see…I went through that way l ast time, so I’ll go through the doorway now.”
“Its pretty dark down here. “ “Wait are those the stairs?” “Can I walk under there?”
Creating a Storyboard
“It was the stairs. So when I walk under it will be like i ts floating over me. Woah.”
“And then there is this. Could I get up this?” “She got up there. How did she get up there?”
“I did i t!” “It wasn’t so hard.”
“I c an get why she chose to sit here. Great view.”
“If I stand on here, could I reach the top of the wall. (after attempting) “Nope. I’m not that tall.”
“ And continues…”
“Hold on, i t c ontinues..”
Creating a Storyboard
“Oh I know where this l eads. I c an see the river ahead again.”
“Well the was fun.” “I think I’m going to sit down for a awhile.”
Reflection I enjoyed working on the storyboard becau se it really lets a person see you r design for what it is by envisioning how people will inte ract in the different spaces and events set up for them. While working on the storyboard everything changes when infrastructure is given a certain context. When I inputted a su rrounding I re alized it gave my build ing purposes to fu rther exp lore. I changed the orientation of the building so that it framed different views and allowed for mome nts of pause, relaxation, and tranquility. It also gave my building more events, so that within every experience is an event involving my build ing and natu re. I have framed views and pathways that lead to areas of nature. I also realized that just like how design has endless possibilities so does a story. It’s a diffe rent story each time depending on where a person starts, ends, as well as the spaces they revisit. Eve ryone sees things differently so even if my current storyboard begins at a path and leads to the stairs, someone else might see the entryway from under the stairs first because of the spaces between each step, or even the seating are a leading to the ramp. If I were to continue designing with this in mind then I could cre ate more inte resting experiences incorporated in the se spaces and the story will continue.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: I was able to display all the aspects of my
design by using each frame to screen shot an experience associated with eachspace.
Weaknesses: Once again attention to detail, I didn’t
realize that my stairs have no supporting wall and that they are really f loating throughout the whole storyboard but its an easy fix. I will incorporate the wall.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to try and design the landscape to best fit my intentions in integrating my building on its plane. I scaled it, until I was satisfied with the way it looked.
Threats:
It took me a while to get the hang of working with a landscape. I realized I couldn’t rotate my building once it was planted on the landscape, so I rotated it first and then put it on. I also need more practice with putting things on the landscape because when I created a path, I couldn’t lay it f lat and so it hovers a little above ground. This is a possible threat to my design because orientation matters in order to get the desired experiences I want people to have and aesthetically, having my path hover shows lack of skill and makes it look messy.
Making Improvements in the Model
Reflection I began thinking abou t mate rials so can see it in a more re alistic context. I thought abou t what proble ms in construction could occur. For example since my setting is in natu re I needed durable long lasting mate rial to withstand weathe r conditions. I also thought abou t the affect of mate rials on the overall feel of the place. So I searched textu res online and uploaded them into my Google Sketch Up. I even found an image for water to make the river more realistic. Then after looking over my design I realized for people like me who are shy there needs to be more of an invite to bring people to the accommodating attraction they came here to see which is the river. In response to this I cre ated benches which makes the river more approachable. So when people walk through the arche s that are alre ady oriented to face the river, they can see the benches and continue forw ard to sit closer to the river. Then today in class another opportunity for improvement came about as one classmate pointed out that my view isn’t being framed to fit my intent due to the size of it. So now I will see what I can do to fix it.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
Im beginning to think outside of what I already know w hich is pu shing me to fu rther question processes and how it is things work.
Weaknesses:
Not being able to identify the proble m of my window on the top f loor bu t that’s why its always good to get feedback from other people because they catch things you might have missed.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to add in more to my design to create more events in relationship to structure and its surroundings.
Threats:
A possible threat to my improvements is time constraint and the want to keep designing and adding more. One mu st always consider if the changes are necessary and for the bette r and it also helps to have othe r people view your work to help make those critical decisions that will be nefit the composition.
Week 9-Introduction of techniques for final project Pictures in progress
Reflection The first technique I decided to try was tessellation. However, my design turned out to be folding. In class I re alized I didn’t fully grasp what tessellation is. My p roblem is that I only saw the patte rns and not the piece s that fit toge ther. Even in my own self research I only saw the patterns. Afte r this failed atte mpt I still wanted to try my hand at te sse llation and ge t it right for the next class meeting.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
Even though I failed in exp loring one of the techniques prope rly, I accept fault and will try and do it right.
Weaknesses:
My model isn’ t a design that shows
tessellation.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to do my own research on the topic.
Threats:
I didn’t utilize all existing resou rces given to me before conducting my own rese arch. There is no way to te ll if what I’ m doing is right if I don’t have a reference to fall back on.
Tessellation
Tessellation
Tessellation
Reflection This time I took advantage of resou rces provided along with se lf conducted research. I am happy that my intent in show ing tessellation was ref lected in my model. I explored tesse llation by first ske tching simple shapes such as squares, rectangles, and triangle s. Then I started to distort the shapes. For example , I took a square and elongated it to make it a diamond. Afte r sketching I decided to work with chipboard. This w as when I realized that I can make 3d forms by cutting slightly and fold ing the material. I chose to use a pyramid. So now I have folding w ithin my tessellated study models. I found creating quick study models to be very helpful in asse ssing possible problems before continuing on to the final model. I came across the proble m of f itting them togethe r. There are only so many ways to f it pyramids togethe r to make a plane. My construction skills lef t me with distorted triangle s. Instead of stre ssing abou t my skills I decided to go with what I had and came up with an inte resting design of an entry way with different experiences.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I was able to successfully show tessellation in my design.
Weaknesses: My construction
skills are always leaving me with problems later on.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to fully utilize study models.
Threats:
My construction skills are gradually getting be tte r but at a slower pace then my ability to think of designs. Some times my designs come out different then I had envisioned because of adjustments I need to make in order to make construction more time efficient and cleaner.
Week 10-Introduction to Site Analysis Pictures in progress
Reflection I did my site analysis as a packet and realized to late that it is a poor means of presentation. I basically analyzed the pros and cons of each possible site by my own hypothe sis of what I thought to be the seven sectors of location for the installations. Then I tried to f ind information about the weather for the upcoming months. As I rese arched the weathe r I found it hard to understand the information. Later in class I decided to ask a c lassmate and she explained it to me. I also learned a lot from he r pre sentation of her site analysis.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I was able to conduct my own research on what I thought to be important information to put in my site analysis
Weaknesses:
My site analy sis was formatted in a packet which is a weak means of pre sentation especially if me ant for a big audience.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to ask a classmate abou t questions that came about f rom my research abou t concepts I didn’t understand. I also took the opportunity to le arn f rom her p resentation on how to document research.
Threats:
There is always the threat of obtaining false information or getting confused from all the different sources when conducting re search on your own. A solu tion is to always stick to credible sources, or even ask a fellow classmate for help.
Improvement of Site Analysis
Site Analysis
City College of San Francisco/ Batmale Hall Courtyard Arch 101 studio class Angelica Flores
Plans
A,B,C
-‐locations within site
B A
C
Sun Pattern
N
B
C
A
W
E
S
Wind Pattern Direction: West Northwest
N W
E
S
Weather Conditions Month of April 2016 Duration of time spent on project: • Week 1 4 – April 1 8-‐24: Logistical Planning / Procurement of Construction Materials & Tools O fficial Start of Construction A pril 2 0 (MW Section) & A pril 2 1 (TR Section) • Week 1 5 – April 2 5-‐May 1 : Installation Continued (27 Calendar Days Duration): 30 % Complete by End of Week
Weather Conditions Month of May 2016 • Week 1 6 – May 2 -‐8: Installation Continued: 6 0 % Complete by End of Week • Week 1 6 – May 9 -‐15: Installation Continued: 9 0 % Complete by End of Week • Week 1 7 – May 1 6-‐18: Installation Completed: 100 % Complete by End of Monday, May 1 6 / Team Presentations & Critiques by Guest Jurors -‐rainy day during construction http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/san-‐ francisco-‐ca/94103/may-‐ weather/347629?monyr=5/1/2016
Accessibility Key:
-‐Loading material
Location of installation
B A
C
Route in bringing in material Area where cars can stop temporarily
-‐Easiest route to bring in material to locations A and B. -‐Easier route to bring in material to location C
Plan A
Existing V iews:
Hours: 9:10-12:00
-‐Area is always in shade because of Batmale Hall -‐Not much potential for high shadow contrast between areas of sun and areas in shadow due to c onstant shade -‐receives wind from the west northwest -‐relatively flat ground, easier to work with -‐design opportunity i n l eft over installation from previous class
-‐easy accessibility to
-‐first location to be viewed by people passing by
-‐the various paths from the southwest side and the stairway from the east side all merge to set location, c reating more opportunity to grasp a greater audience
material
Cons: farthest from outlet
and c lassroom, b athroom Distraction-‐o ther students will be passing i nstallation from loading site to b ring i n material -‐o n rainy d ays g round c an b e slippery
-‐always the first or l ast installation seen depending on direction traveled of existing pathways. Opportunity for impactful design as show starter and show stopper
Plan B
Existing V iews:
Hours: 9:10-12:00 -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐
Always in shade from existing foliage and Batmale Hall Receives wind from the west and northwest Flat ground, easier to work with Easy accessibility to site because of stairs Easy accessibility to material from loading site
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Location i s approximately i n the middle of all other installations, opportunity for i mpactful design Depending on height of installation, c an be seen from bottom c ourtyard when looking up and over the wall Design opportunity i n existing foliage, can create framed views with the trees
Cons: relatively far from
outlets, a nd b athroom Distraction-‐ students passing b y carrying material -‐o n rainy d ays g round c an b e slippery
-‐second i nstallation to be seen
from southwest side pathways for people traveling from the west
Plan C
Existing V iews:
Hours: 9:10-12:00 -‐always in sun, opportunity for installation to cast shadows -‐existing wall blocks the winds coming from the west northwest direction -‐open area, solo from other installations -‐most accessible location to outlets, classroom, and bathroom -‐accessibility to material from different loading site
Cons: carrying material up stairs while p assing other students, d angerous
-‐existing infrastructure, wall of faces -‐existing view of the soccer field
-‐ Design opportunity, only l ocation that
allows bird’s eye view for i nstallation from path to the southwest and platform to the south
-‐first l ocation to be seen by jurors
-‐c an be seen from translucent windows of the classroom
-‐last i nstallation to be seen going down from the stairs
Program Analysis
Program Analysis City College of San Francisco/ Batmale Hall Courtyard Arch 101 studio class Angelica Flores
Plan A Design Potential Sun pattern Shade creates mysterious, calming, and tranquil vibe Wind pattern Potential for moving parts in installation using the wind Proximity to street Potential to use sound from passing cars Existing foliage Creates tranquil feel from being close to nature
-‐mysterious hide and reveal for people passing by from the southwest side -‐suspenseful reveal from stairway -‐big finale piece as last installation seen -‐design potential in having layers , installation can look one way from afar, then as one gets closer, they can see more and more detail put into it
Plan B Design Potential
Sun Pattern existing foliage creates a shade for a quite tranquil feel Ground Relatively flat ground and open area located in the middle, installation can use symmetry and sit relatively balanced Existing foliage Trees create framed views of installation
-‐hide and reveal factor, elevation is high as cars travel down the slope, potential to use sound from cars passing by -‐Depending on height of installation can be seen from the bottom courtyard -‐Can use existing wall in front, mimic the lines in design
Plan C Design Potential
Sun Pattern Installation will make shadows against the concrete for a more colder feel Location Contrast of material to the concrete Solo open space No digging, means exposed edges Existing infrastructure Can utilize the geometric forms and lines of wall, planters, and frames
Element of surprise as only location that provides a bird’s eye view of installation Installation can look one way from eye level, and then another way when looking down at installation like solving a puzzle
Week 11-Creating Models according to site and program analysis Model intended for Site A: West Side
Reflection This design is meant to be located in my plan A location f rom my site analysis. It is the site located on the farthest west side atop of the hill. The thought process of this design was to have a build ing welcome a person. I have always thought that when build ings move it is such an out of the ordinary feature that its almost magical. Much like in the fantasy f ilms whe re the portals are located in ancie nt infrastructure s of rock or w hen secret doors are revealed when something is trigge red. I wanted to bring that fascination to school grou nds in order to introduce a dose of magic in a place full of sleep deprived tired people. The te sse llated parts would move by the force of the passing winds to create a magical experience whenever a person walked through. As if to say your p resence matters and thank you for being here. Afte r carefu lly examining my design I realized that though my narrative and inspiration is inte resting, the overall design is lacking. The re isn't enough e xperience s related to the design be sides walking under. It also isn't site specific enough. It is not enough to utilize the wind s at the site to make it site specific. I was to caught up in my story that I didn’t address the site aspects enough.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I had a strong start in trying to atte mpt a model with moving parts.
Weaknesses:
My design is not site specific enough because it doe sn’t incorporate tie s to the site that qualify it to be “tailor fit” to the space.
Opportunities:
I took the opportunity to try something new with the moving parts of my design.
Threats: There is always
the threat that the moving parts would not work. If that were to happen it would have undermine the whole design.
Week 11-Creating Models according to site and program analysis Model intended for site B
Reflection I call this design the “Hall of Frames.� The Hall of Frames is meant to be located at my Plan B site. I want the structure to be shaded by the trees to create this mysterious alluring affect. I still had the fantasy aspect playing in my head and the continuous theme of moving parts to create a magical experience. In my model each individual frame increases slightly in size and is movable by sliding them in their slots. My thoughts behind this design is the trails of the heroine or hero. A path will form only when one has a clear mind to face the problem of a non existent path. We create opportunities in our lives despite the hardships. People could push the frames into place any which way they please in order to create the paths they want to take. Sometimes the job is to big for just one person and so it invites people to help each other discover paths and overcome hardship together. Through the smallest frame is the entrance where at first it seems hard but as they continue on the frames are bigger and spacious. Yet even if the passage gets easier it requires more effort to push the bigger frames in place. Life is always simultaneously easy and hard. Once we overcome an obstacle and become stronger, there is always a new challenge that awaits us. They pass all these frames and come out stronger having overcome the present obstacle. Then they find it harder to go back the way they came, through the biggest frame until they reach the small frame. Its an awkward experience to leave an open space just to try an go through a cramped one. This is meant to represent that after we gain strength and knowledge its harder to go back from where we came because we are no longer the same person. We realize how far we have come, how much we have grown, and how much we have out grown our past selves.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I have a well developed narrative to
my design.
Weaknesses:
My design isn’ t site specif ic. I realized I only took one aspect of the site, like the trees and tried to fit my design into the space instead of the space providing guideline s for my design.
Opportunities: I took the opportunity to try and make a moving model and it works.
Threats:
A threat to my design is the inaccuracy of cuts and the sp ace within slots causing my frame s to tilt slightly back and forth instead of standing up right. When they tilt they block the path of the other frames.
Model intended for site C
Reflection This de sign is me ant to be located in the courtyard near the classroom. I wanted to utilize the opportunity that it brings as it be ing the only site that p rovides a bird’s eye view over the entire installation. My intention was to create an installation much like a puzzle, where viewers can fill in the blanks by viewing it in all different direc tions. This was actually the first model I worked on becau se I reme mbered talking abou t memory of paper with Olga’ s fan model. That’s w hen I realized folding can cre ate movement. It made me recall fantasy films whe re f loors, walls, ceilings, and doors would move and reveal the secrets of the place. I call my design “ the blooming f loor” because I constructed the folded forms to move in a blooming fashion. Then maybe it wou ld connect to other parts of a platform. The more I thought abou t it the more dif ficult it became to construct because of all the components to conside r. I started off with a pyramid, cut out an outline, and then taped the sides togethe r. When I rele ased the tape the folded sides came down on its own. The proble m w ith a model is that for the most part everything is manu al, once I released the side s I had to tape it back toge ther again and then rearrange the platform.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths: My idea was strong
in trying to create my own moving installation.
Weaknesses:
The overall de sign is too simple and not site specif ic. Its not enough to have the structu re fit into the given space be tween the plante rs and having it point to the wall it has to tie in ele ments from the site to have it site specific. Also, I didn’t conside r how it might be constructed in real life.
Opportunities:
After realiz ing how simple my design w as I f lipped it over to see if it wou ld create some thing different. Flipped over it created more experience s and pathw ays then it right side up.
Threats:
Since my design isn’ t site specif ic enough it misse s the point of be longing only to one particu lar place and becoming special in that aspect.
Final Project Prep: choosing teams “The West Gate Team” Angelica Flores- Project Manager/Design Director Olga- Photographer Jordan- Book Keeper Jeremy- Site Supervisor
Reflection Afte r choosing te ams, we then assigned role s to e ach member. I was elec ted project manage r. I can already feel the weight of my responsibility but somehow I felt like I can do it. I didn’t want to le t the load of work I know I w ill be doing undermine my excitement for this final project. I decided to treat the experience as practice for my upcoming internship for the summe r. We then assigned Jordan as book keeper, Olga as photographer, and Jere my as site supervisor. I be lieve we assigned the roles according to each pe rson’s strengths they can bring to the te am. However since the re are a total of f ive role s and only four membe rs to our team we had to decide on who wou ld take on more re sponsibility. The last role to give was the responsibility of project manage r. To make it fair, we decided as a team that design decisions are a collaborative effort but I’ ll make su re of the de sign’ s progre ss. In the end, the role of design director w as also given to me. Being project manage r and design d irector is a lot on my shoulde rs bu t I believe in my team and what we all can collectively bring to the table.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
I am taking on two role s of responsibility and trying to keep up my optimistic attitude desp ite the pre ssu re. I am now the project manager and design director.
Weaknesses:
I think present weaknesses in our team is lack of experience accounting for me and Olga, and the fac t of late attend ance to class. The se weaknesses aren’t anything that can’t be fixed.
Opportunities:
We are all e mbracing the opportunity of work ing in a team collaborative project.
Threats:
There is always the threat that I’m not matu re enough to take these kind s of big responsibility. Yet w hen I look back from what I said the f irst day of class where see ing people build these installations intimidated me because of my lack of experience, I can te ll that I’ve grown past that k ind of paralyzing mind set. I must be stronger and more confident than the pe rson I was the first day of class because my attitude now is full of fighting spirit.
1st Meeting with team Pictures  in  progress
Reflection Our first meeting came to a very rough start. My team members were fifteen to thirty minute s late. While my other te ammate has said in advance that she will be absent. I realized that to be a leader I have to be pushy to get things done. It was so new to me to have to inquire and text where my teammates are because I relied on them to do what they were suppose to do. Now I can see that we all have growing up to do. We came to the idea of a ship from visiting ou r site last class and so I did research to find insp iration. I loved how the skele ton of a boat or ship is like a sectioned installation itse lf. Afte r re searching the parts of a boat I came up with the idea of a shipwreck. A shipwreck has history to it and a story of the beauty of acceptance. After a tragedy and time passes the ship eventually achieves a sense of permanence in its env ironment. We thought it would be cool to have this ghostly beauty of a ship that overlook s the view of the city. The ship would have moving tessellated parts as if to simu late that the ship wreck is still alive. We wanted to evoke childhood me morie s of fairytale s and stories of sunken tre asu re if just for a mome nt to re live what it was like to be a child.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
The incident of being left alone because of the tard iness of my teammates has prompted me to create a clearer se t of rule s of engagement now with implemented punishments.
Weaknesses:
We were excited for our concept of a shipw reck without considering the fact that it doe sn’t relate to its environment. As it was pointed out to us, college is a place for learning and moving forward that a shipw reck doesn’t repre sent any of that. In conclusion, we haven’t done enough to make a concept and design that is site and program specific.
Opportunities:
Even though its hard, we took the opportunity in starting over in hope s of discovering an even better concept and design that is site and program specific.
Threats:
A present threat to our group success is the issue of tard iness and lost time. Eve ryone is participating and follow ing directions bu t lost time is time that could have been utilized to fu rther progre ss with ou r design. Hopefully w ith the imp lemented punishment tardiness will no longer be an issue.
Week 12-2nd team meeting Assignments: Pictures in progress
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Iteration model Assigned research on wind and sound installations
Criteria for iteration model: •
Model must satisfy site and program specificity
•
Must examine the possibility of moving parts in order to incorpate the wind received in site
•
Must use one of the set techniques of folding, sectioning, tessellation, or tensioning
•
Design must be in line with our new theme of “magnifying what is not obvious”
Reflection In today’s team meeting we went over three models today. My model was inspired by revisiting my first atte mpt at moving tessellated parts and linking that togethe r with my re search on Ned Kahn’s work. It was to be a series of slanted rectangle parts that formed a singu lar plane. Then when the w ind hits it, it wou ld create this undulating effect so that the wall would move and change. The verdict on my model is that it is to complicated to atte mpt in real life becau se it depended on the force of impact provided by the wind in order to move and rotate. Also the slant required a very technical hand that is good at working with angle s. My critique of my own model w as that there w asn’ t enough cre ated experiences and jou rney’s aside from the walls and seating area. We decided to develop Olga’ s design fu rthe r because he r design inspired us. Af ter talk ing we realized just how far ou r theme of “magnifying what is not obviou s” can take us. It creates three points of awareness, awareness of surround ings( accounting for not just the physical environment but also the people), of se lf, and of the greate r reality of how big the universe is and how little of it we absorb. For the next meeting, the proble m of the three missing nodal regions and an established main entrance must be solved.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
Everybody participated in discussions to further progre ss in coming up with design.
Weaknesses: Even though I assigned
a task to each member only one other person besides me brought in work.
Opportunities: We took the opportunity
in class to discuss what is lacking in approach and assignments were given to tackle the problem.
Threats:
In my efforts in try ing to be an understanding leade r, I fear my au thority is not registe ring the u rgent need to comp lete tasks that I have assigned. It’s time to stop being a push over for the benef it of the te am. The punishment of tard iness has already long been established in the set Rule s of Engageme nt and I’m keeping track of how many times a member is late.
Week 13-3rd Meeting with the team
Jordan’s model
Jeremy’s model
Week 13-3rd Meeting with the team
Reflection Today in class our team went over three models that didn’t qu ite address the proble m area of our design approach which is three nodal regions of activity. We realized with the approach of sectioning it can some times be hard to break away from the gradual continu ation of parts to create nodal regions. Usually continu ation is assoc iated with pathway s becau se it promotes movement. We knew we wanted to incorporate the view of the city from the center vocal point of out design. This became one nodal region. Then we planned for two nodal regions to be located at the side of the existing pathways in the interior of the sectioning between two gable frames. I designed my model so that we were able to move the pieces and experiment with orientation and organization of the structu ral parts. Eventually, we started sketching ou t ideas that we always connected back to ou r said narrative of experience s and jou rneys we want the people to have. We eventually came out with an agreed upon design.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
Everybody was on track and participated in solving the current problem in the design.
Weaknesses:
Our team was missing a member due to personal problems.
Opportunities: We took the opportunity to bring our individual views into a group design. Threats:
At the end of class there were new proble ms to consider. Now we have to think about how it would be bu ilt in real life. We have to consider material, construc tion technique, and how it will affect the design. It may be a challenge but its nothing my team and I can’ t hand le. It’s a problem that w ill be solved.
Week 14-4th Meeting with the team
Reflection This time around we had a scale model to look at and it proved to be very he lpful. My te ammate figured ou t the scale and then sent it to me so that I could build the model. However the scale only had the width between the two legs of the gable frame structu re and the overall he ight of the structu re. I had to f igu re out the le ngth of the hypotenuse of the triangle gable working with right triangles. It was like another epiphany moment where I actu ally had to u se some thing I’m learning currently and put it to good use. My brother helped me out with the trigonome try. I found that the width actually shrunk because of the measurements. In class we realized that the nodal regions between gables was going to be too c ramped of a space and so we had to re locate the regions. We went up to the site to reevalu ate our plan and come up with a solu tion to the current p roblem. The two nodal regions are relocated to be in gable frame s f ive and six near the trees that still gives a view of the city to provide an area of solitude but also social interaction. The benches are within the two legs of the gable frames. The changes in design still adhe re to our narrative but also provide a new set of experiences.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
Our design has presented our team with many challe nges to solve and it has only made our design better.
Weaknesses:
I allocated the work load and gave out assignments and yet again we had little to review. The time spent in class went to comple ting the assignments I had assigned previou sly. Also though my model was to scale , adjustments need to be made to make the w idth of the gable frames accessible.
Opportunities:
In class, all issues regarding the design w as resolved and we took the opportunity to assign people to buy material.
Threats:
Our team is still missing a me mber for the third time due to personal p roblems so I try my best to keep the membe r updated through email. Also, assignments were not submitted for review but at least we had time in class to go over it. Now all se t backs aside, my team is on track with material and cost.
Week 14- Start of Construction
Reflection I had mix feelings for the f irst day of construction. I was nervou s, excited, and worried all at the same time. Prior to this day I devised an agenda for my team to have certain ele ments of the installation to be completed during work days. My agenda didn't work out accord ing to plan and is now subject for rev isions. All we completed today was laying out the positioning of the gable frames and staking out only four out of 10. I was tu rning out to be a real perfectionist try ing to get the positioning ju st right while my teammate staked it out. My te ammate had to deal with my pickiness. So he let me try hammering a stake in just to get the feel of it. I enjoyed it because it w as a new thing for me to try and made the project feel that much more real. I got the point being made, that once the stakes are in there is no moving it. While work ing on the site I was informed by a team member about a concern from anothe r team. The other team needed a certain view of purple f lowers to the northwest where ou r gable frames might block them. I decided to shif t our installation slightly just so there is no conf lict.
S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths:
We were able to start some construction even if we were missing a member that day.
Weaknesses: We didn’t get done as much as I hoped so we are going to have to make up for it the next day of construction.
Opportunities:
I had the opportunity of talking to a student from the Tuesday/Thursday section. Sometimes you get so absorb with your own project that you don’t get to hear much about what other teams are doing. It was really cool to hear about what their team was doing. I found out that if out team mimic the existing view of houses, the team the student was from mimic the existing trees in their site. We also have similar methods of construction except they have the opportunity to tether cable to the trees for more added support.
Threats:
We have accomplished so little on the first day on construction and with the possible strike happening on April 27th that’s even more time lost for construction. My team is really going to have to put in extra effort to accomplish a lot. I always tell them that its not only the construction of the installation that we have to worry about but also the presentation. I constructed an agenda so that my team has time to work on presentation but now that agendais in for revisions.