ARCH 101
Final Learning Portfolio Individual & Team Portion Juveriyah Salat 12/14/2015
This, in addition to the group Final Portfolio, will detail the progression of the class and my progress within the class itself.
Table of Contents Week 9 .......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Iteration 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Feedback ............................................................................................................................. 3 Iteration 2 ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Week 10 ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 Iteration 3 ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Feedback ............................................................................................................................. 7 Iteration 4 ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Feedback ............................................................................................................................. 9 Iteration 5 ...................................................................................................................................... 13 Feedback ........................................................................................................................... 15 Week 11 ...................................................................................................................................................... 15 Iteration 6 ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Feedback ........................................................................................................................... 17 Iteration 7 ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Feedback ........................................................................................................................... 19 Iteration 8 ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Week 12 ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 Iteration 9 ...................................................................................................................................... 21 Week 13 ...................................................................................................................................................... 22 Week 14 ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 Week 15 ...................................................................................................................................................... 24 Week 16 ...................................................................................................................................................... 25 SWOT ......................................................................................................................................................... 27 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 28 Advice to Incoming Arch 101 Students ...................................................................................................... 29
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Week 9
Iteration 1 At the end of Week 8, and beginning of Week 9, we started getting information on the Final Project. The first document we got was one that explained the program for the final project. It was a starting point on what to think about when thinking about the final project. For my project, I chose sectioning. I really liked the idea of having small parts that come together to make the whole. I went home and I thought about how I would
exemplify sectioning. The way I chose to do that was having a point of anchor, and then carving off parts of a piece of wood, which would then look as if they’re going through a transformation. I ended up not hating it too badly. It was pretty interesting and I think the transformation gave it a bit of dynamism and it looked as if it could be moving in a sense. I hadn’t planned on adding more than one piece of wood to the base. However, I found that it was very unstable and would fall over if it
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was given the chance, which was every time that it was put on a flat surface. Therefore, I added a piece of the base after every angled part. Therefore, it would have more stability and would give a more interesting path, as they would have to walk in between the base pieces, which were wide enough to walk in between, or go around. Originally though, I was apprehensive on how much work would be put in, as we were required to have 3 iterations every week, and the 3rd iteration would be due the following Monday. But I realized that I would have to step up my game to get better at building models, and keep on progressing so it was interesting learning
and
developing
and
adapting. Feedback: When we started talking about our projects, Jerry chose mine to go first. When I started talking about what I wanted out of it – The idea of a moving object without it actually moving, the idea of it transforming, as well as it degenerating, and looking more and more dilapidated the closer it was to the ground. After I finished speaking, Jerry gave me Page 3
some suggestions for the next iteration. The first thing he started doing was sketching it on Trace Paper, as that would help me understand what exactly he was talking about.
After that, we
started talking about the fasteners and how, if I chose to make this a fullscale
project,
connect
the
I
would different
aspects of the project. This was an illuminating talk,
as
I
had
never
worked with materials before, and it was interesting learning about how things would connect to each other. He also suggested looking up serial degeneration as well as washers and disks, just to further my knowledge and how I would approach the second iteration. I was also to understand how tension and compression worked; to fully grasp the potential by basic model could go to.
Iteration 2: For my second iteration, I was thinking about creating hands that were intertwined together. I didn’t yet know how I was thinking about doing it, but I wanted to have a message in my piece; something that would connect to a Page 4
wide variety of people and that they would understand off the bat. Due to this, I decided to go for intertwining hands, as that is universal and people would understand immediately what that meant. I was trying to go for peace. After I completed the model, I ended up not liking it. I did not like the way it was cut or the way it was made. I was thinking how I would be able to recreate it in real life, and that’s one of the reasons I did not end up liking this project. The message behind it was clear, but execution wise, it was not up there with one of my best works.
Week 10 Iteration 3:
For iteration 3, I went back to my original model, but tweaked it up a bit. I like the idea of two things intertwining, so I kept the basic idea but decided to change up the overall look, and make it less awkward. This time, I decided to go for the slightly subtler theme, as research shows that humans pick up more subtle stimuli than they do obvious ones. The initial idea was to create two pieces that were identical, but just flipped. This would give the model a contrast, so it would start to look more dimensional and not just flat. I decided to go back to the degenerative idea, but decided to research further on what kind of ideas and
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inspirations that would show up. This image showed up, and I was endlessly fascinated by it. In it, were these pieces
that
contrasted
but
flowed and interlocked with each other. I especially liked the intricacy yet simplicity of it. Another picture was this one that
was
a
health
center. This one was fascinating because it showed substance but there were some pieces that were meant to not be fully enclosed. This double
play
felt
intentional and really caught my attention. So through this, I came up with my next model. I took the rudimentary aspects I liked from my preliminary research and applied it to my model. While this wasn’t a completely polished view, it showcased what I wanted
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to be showcased. The model shows to pieces that seem similar but are very different. One side is completely straight and angular and very modern looking. The other side is made up of jagged cuts and looks as if it half falling apart already. I liked the contrast and the interesting duality of things that are perceived as similar but are quite different when you look at them closely. I wanted them to be interlocked because the idea that they are different but are still together is something that I wanted to show and indicate that this was very important and was a main message throughout my entire model. Feedback: For this model, I did not get feedback. However, I was confused as to the
process we were going through. Therefore, Jerry explained what exactly we were doing and why we were doing it. He gave a thorough explanation of the steps that this process went through, and how to get through each step. He also Page 7
showed me what parts of process related to each other, and how so. This significantly helped me envision what I wanted, as well as do the site analysis and program analysis as well as how to establish the message and my intention better. This then helped me make sure that my design was addressing all the points of the program as well. It helped make the whole thing more cohesive. Iteration 4 For iteration 4, I decided to capitalize on the way that both of the sides interacted. Because of that, instead of having them connect at the top, I decided that they should have a connecting factor instead. Because we started making these models in class, I had some help from my fellow classmates. Chad in particular helped me with this iteration. He gave me examples on
what
I
completely
could
do,
enhance
and
my
helped
vision,
me
without
outright telling me what to do. Because of him, I got the idea to make them connect through one piece in the
middle,
which
would
be
completely-or as much as I could make
them-vertical
and
the
bottom pieces would lie on the ground. These two pieces would Page 8
serve as the main structural components of the whole thing. I like this because it would then connect both sides together without it being haphazard; it would have a connection and a purpose, not simply done because it was not fully planned. This model was scaled, and was made at ½”=1’- 0”. Due to this, the details are not fully fleshed out yet. However, the essential design is still there. The connecting piece would be wider at the base and narrower at the top, leading to a feeling of coming out of a tunnel, without creating a tunnel. I didn’t add the other parts that would be like a fan to this model because I was confused about what and how it would look, and how it would connect. However, I was planning the different angled fan parts at 15° from the base, and continuing to add 15° for every part. I also wanted to have fabric stretched between each fan part, which would then be fluttering in the wind. At this stage, we were required to create a site analysis as well, with 3 site options, and the reasons behind those. Feedback: Jerry gave me a lot of feedback for this iteration that would then formulate my last iteration before we would join together in teams. We went through all the sites that I had chosen specifically, and why I liked each
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of them, and what the reason was for specifically choosing those sites. So the first site I had chosen was the space at the very top of the hill with the stairs. The reason I chose this site was because I liked the idea of being able to see it from far away while you were in the breezeway. This would evoke Wonder #1. My whole idea was to emphasize the aspect of restoration to deterioration, from the synthetic to natural. The reason I chose this concept was that it showed that beauty could manifest itself into multiple ways, and that one way isn’t necessarily better than the other. The deteriorated showed the stages of life, and the evidence of a dynamic existence. The restored complemented the natural surroundings and showed the intricacy and complexity of human ideals through size, proportion, scale, organization, geometry and materiality. My second site option was between the trees and the courtyard leading to the hillside. The sense of mystery and wonder you would see, which would then interest people to come and see it. However, and I did not know this, this would have a conflict for exiting for Batmale Hall. I like this space because it had a very clean definition between hardscape and softscape, synthetic vs. natural, and concrete vs. earth. I liked this site, for many of the same reasons as last time. One such reason was that each enhances the other. They are dependent rather than independent for enriching human experience – a balanced physical world that enhances human life. Other qualities from site #1 were also the same. For site #3, I chose the courtyard near the sculpture of the faces. This site was very different from the others. Since it was wholly synthetic, the incorporation of Page 10
the natural world through use of natural materials world elevates the human experiences. I also like it because I was planning on using wind as a part of my design, and because of that, I noticed that the wind was present, but managed through the all wall and the depression of the courtyard. Because we clearly went through my site analysis together, we both noticed a clear concept and hypothesis coming through. That was: “Human experiences are enhanced by a balance between synthetic and natural.� Jerry mentioned that I would have to define what multiple words meant, in accordance with the rest of my design. I needed to define: experiences due to well-being, balance and quality vs. quantity, synthetic, natural, beauty. The process that I would use for my next iteration would be that symmetry is associated and a hallmark of built environment. Asymmetry is a quality of nature. To go further, I searched up whether it is true or not, and this is what I found. Many famous buildings hat we hallmark today area very symmetrical, especially traditional buildings.
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Nature on the other hand, could be very asymmetrical. I wanted to play off this idea, so I continued to see if this was true.
While
were
there
exceptions,
especially in modern architecture,
I
wanted to keep the idea
of
it
being
structural
in
some
places, but asymmetrical in others. So Jerry and I brainstormed how to continue from this iteration to the last one before we got into groups. We were reviewing why exactly I chose the specific design I did. I explained I wanted to have a visual connection between the synthetic and natural. When I showed him my model, he suggested that since I wanted to do a series of restoration to deterioration, I should try to incorporate the stages of life and how it is a continuous cycle. The state of deterioration that would be included would be
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the various stages of life, starting from the beginning in which the part would be partially made, to represent the beginning of a life, and then the next one would be mostly made, representing an adolescent. The middle one would be fully formed, like someone who is middle aged. The next two would be the same as the first two, but reversed, both in the metaphor and in real life. From there, since it was a cycle, we realized that it should be curved instead of linear. This showed the progress that we went through to make sure every decision we made was deliberate and made sense and that everything was intentional. I ended up choosing the courtyard after the feedback because it was the most practical solution, but it had the best reason to choose that place as well. Once I decided that, it was time to think about how the new and improved design would relate to the site. Some ideas I came up with were that it would still be symmetrical, but would have the center match up with the joints, and then it would continue from that radial pattern. Through this feedback, I completed Iteration 5, which would be our last one before we got into separate teams. Iteration 5:
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For iteration 5, I tried to stick with the plan I had made. However, this ended up being extremely hard to make as the pieced of wood would not bend; therefore, to bend it, it needed to have sectioning, which is what the lines on the wood are for. The branches are tied together with other branches to make sure that it is completely natural, which was what my goal was. While they are not concentric circles and are not intersecting circles wither, I think the main idea behind my design came through. I like the look of how it came out, and though the fasteners were a problem (I hot glue-gunned it after trying to make the drill work), it still didn’t detract from the overall look. The only part that I didn’t like was the portion pictured on the right. The reason
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was because it looks unnatural and completely wrong. It was hard tying the branches together with other branches as everything wanted to snap. It was a good thing that I chose green branches, as that was easier to bend and shape to my will. Feedback: Did not get feedback but it was well received.
Week 11
For Week 11, we started getting into teams. To do that, we decided to choose what role we wanted to be. Myself personally, I wanted to be a project manager. However, I had to think about my time commitments, and what I thought would be best for myself as well as best for my potential team. Due to that, I decided to be site coordinator. I didn’t know what the idea of a site coordinator was, or even what they were supposed to do, but it seemed like a good fit for me. Once we each chose our teams, we got together and brainstormed for iteration 6. For iteration 6, once we got into our individual themes, decided to come up with what exactly we wanted for iteration 6. To do this, we started to break up our individual iteration 5s, and then create something unique. To do that, we had to go back to our individual concepts. My individual concept was the idea of going from somewhere synthetic to somewhere natural, in essence a journey
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and balance between human behavior and nature. So with all of our ideas combined, we came up with a central theme “An interactive journey from the simple to complex�. After we came up with this, we thought about what we would so for our iteration 6. We decided to think about ways that this could manifest itself into real life. That was our task. Iteration 6 For iteration 6, we only had to sketch out our ideas, as that was something that we had all decided. My idea was to create something that people could interact with by adding different panels to look through. It would be placed on the hill, in the middle of the two trees, so that two could be surrounding them and the last could be further away. This would create spaces within spaces, and would also allow people the freedom to go through
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and
experience
it
for
themselves. The idea was to have some panels will already be put in so that it will be obvious what to do. Also, I wanted to have them be ratioed so that if you chose to use a previous panel, it would still work, but you have to put in a different amount of them. After I thought of this idea, I wanted to see whether people had done anything like this fore, to see whether this was feasible. I did find one, but I can’t find it anymore. However, there was another thing that was almost the same idea. It was a homeless shelter made out of simple shapes. Therefore, I realized that it was something doable. Feedback: When
I
brought this in, my
team
began to argue about the very finite details that this could be about (which was very annoying). The initial idea was not about having a complete planned out idea, it was to have a very clear concept and go from there. However, once we got passed that stage, we put Page 17
all of our ideas on the board. We listed the pros and cons of each one as well. Doing this, we got to the idea that we liked the idea of having frames that surround this one thing in the middle, which was a combination of Maria and Chad’s ideas together. If we wanted, we could also have an interaction or something like one of those old cartoons where if you press something a whole chain reaction will happen in the middle as well. Iteration 7: For iteration 7, we were supposed to come up with ideas to have an idea for what we wanted to so around the courtyard and to be site-specific. I chose the middle of the courtyard. I now realize that my original idea was not very sitespecific at all, but I thought it was at the time. My idea was to have a periscope, from the top of the stair case that we had earlier wanted, to the bottom, giving a different perspective on what each person saw. It was either that, or having it go from the bottom to the top, looking out, giving an avenue for those who weren’t tall Page 18
enough to see through the top. My other idea was to have two ramps that would go from one side intersecting with each other all the way to the ground, kind of like those coin ramp things that are in the mall. Feedback: Both of my ideas had merit. A problem with them was that they were not site specific; that they could be put anywhere and the experience could potentially be the same. Building periscopes would also be a bit difficult as we would have to figure out the exact angles of the mirrors inside. From these as well as other members’ feedback, we decided that the stairs had some merit, but we needed to figure out the best way to make them. Also, we chose the tree as our main site. Iteration 8: For
iteration
8,
we
decided to go off of iteration 6, but have different pathways to the tree. To do this, we brainstormed what the pathways to look like. We really saw two different “entrances” to the courtyard and chose to capitalize on those two paths. The next thing to do was to figure out how they would look. We liked the different ideas for Page 19
both sides and wanted to take in the idea of differing positions. So one side would be very utilitarian and more of an isolatory journey, and the other side would be a social gathering and a social experience. My inspiration came from the pictures above. I liked how the stairs were spaced, and as we were wondering how we were going to support these, the idea of floating stairs came to mind. My take on it was to have one side a straight line that is made out of different frames, with no sides. For the curved side, it would be following the path of a circle. We all were supposed to meet
at
some
mall
in
San
Francisco on Veteran’s Day. Unfortunately, I could not make it that day. However, I did send pictures of this model to my team members to discuss so that we could get what we needed for the last iteration.
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Week 12 Iteration 9:
While we knew what the next iteration would sort of look like, we spent this week deciding on
exactly
how
we
wanted everything to look. Chad started making the Rhino model, with us pitching in, and helping sometimes. The reason that this was taking a long time was because we were thinking about how much material this was going to take. On the Wednesday, we went in the morning and bought the materials we thought we needed. However, even though we had the basic idea of what we wanted, we still had to make sure that everything was perfectly dimensioned. So we went out and took out ladders and measured where the dip in the trees was and figured out that it
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was 5’ high. From there, we looked at other stairs and checked what the other dimensions of other stairs are. It was 1’ inwards and 6” down every step so we took that into our model. For the ramp, we had to check what was in our budgets as well as the constraints and since we wanted a curtain, we extended the ramp just past the overhead. We continued to update the model on both Rhino and the actual model every time we would meet up. We would stop every time we had a design decision to make and therefore, we did not finish making
it
until
week
before
the our
presentations.
Week 13 We
started
construction this week. We
were
initially
supposed to start during Week 12 on Wednesday,
but
we
were still going through exactly
what
wanted
to
we make
exactly. We started to initially
work
on
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Mondays and Wednesdays until 5 or so, to complete work each time. Initially, we started creating the frames, since we knew that was what we wanted. To do this, Chad taught us how to use the Miter Saw as well as how to use the drill. While I had a drill at home, I had never previously used it, so it was an interesting experience to learn how to use it. We continued this for Week 13, and part of Week 14.
Week 14
We continued what we had been
week,
doing
which
the
previous
had
been
making the frames as fast as possible. By the end of the week, we had started to compile enough to have two of each, to start creating the frames. At that point, we started to have some questions on how to further advance and continue our progress. So we went in and debated on what the best way to continue was. We used the frames we had made in the model, and thought put different sized wood on them, because we didn’t like the idea of plywood. I said that I liked the look of there being an empty space at two ends, and Chad agreed. From there, we measured pieces that we thought were the best size. We wanted to have a piece that two people side-by-side could walk together on, and we
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chose a 4’ wide piece. It would allow for two people to walk in different directions, with a comfortable space between. We started cutting the middle pieces then. We also got started on the
landing
platforms for the platforms above the planters. To do this, we attached 2x6’s together, and made footers so they would be at the perfect sitting height of 18”. We only made the frames.
Week 15
For week 15, we started attaching the frames together with the 2x4s cut in 4’ long lengths. This was done by attaching brackets to the frames and then to the between piece. Originally, we put them underneath the top piece, and then for the bottom piece, put them on top. However, we did not like them like that the next time we came, so put them underneath the next time. We also attached support braces underneath so that they would not break and were
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structurally sound enough for people to walk on top of them. Week 15 was the point where we started hurrying things up. We came in a lot that week, trying to finish things up. On that Wednesday, we attached all the plywood, and then also made the platforms for both sides. That Friday, I met up with Maria and Jeremy to cut the pieces for the platforms, so that we could build it on the weekend since we wouldn’t have the miter saw over the weekend. We also continued our presentation that we were supposed to have finished the previous Monday. That Sunday, Chad and Jeremy came by to finish building the platforms.
Week 16
On the Monday, we finished the ramp, and also started building the pulley since we figured we had
time
for
that.
I
was
disappointed with how it came out, as I had been advocating that we should be designing it earlier. However, we also put in the hearing horn that day as well. Jeremy and Chad bought the hearing horn and Maria and Yucong went for the curtain as well as the rope needed. I
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continued to work on the presentation. On Tuesday, we continued to work on the same things. We put up the curtain, attached the pulley, and just fixed up everything. Another
professor
gave
us
the
suggestion to have a middle brace underneath the ramp to make it stronger, so we did that as well. Hannah, along with some members of her team, Yucong, Maria and I helped clean
up
surroundings
the in
the
courtyard. Honestly it felt such a relief to get things cleaned up as I cannot focus in a place that was cluttered up that much. It lent a sense of professionalism to our site as well. We also finished our presentation that Tuesday, and practiced a few times to make sure that it was less than 15 min, which it was. I had written a rough script so that would allow people to have a freedom to say what they wanted exactly but would have guided points to make sure they covered what they were supposed to. On Wednesday, we gave our presentation. Something that we should have done that we ended up doing a little late was to put all our iterations on the bench Page 26
that we moved over. This gave a much clearer understanding on our progress throughout the semester. zAmily
gave
some
Sonny CCSF Photo Club
us
great
feedback.
She
said
she
that
wished there were more visuals in the overall presentation. She also
mentioned
some things about the design as well.
SWOT
Strengths: For strengths, I definitely learned that I have a definite skill in thinking ahead, and going to attend my goals. If I have something in my head that I think I important, and that is crucial, then I will try to achieve that goal. I believe strength of mine knows when to push and when to step back. This is
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essential especially when working in a group. Weaknesses: I think that sometimes, it is hard to work in a group, and I think it is hard to get your ideas out there. If there is something I want to get done, then I think that I need to say something, rather than letting it get to the backside. Also, I tend to roll over if someone is very adamant that their way goes through, and I think that I need to be more effective in how I communicate. Opportunities: An opportunity is to get the knowledge of different ways of thinking and different perspectives. Amily and Jerry are very different and I think that is a huge opportunity as it allows me to learn from very different types of people and expand my knowledge in many different ways. Risks: I think a big risk is continuing architecture confusedly as well as procrastination and time management. Although I am decent with time management, I think I could get better, and I definitely need to prevent myself from procrastinating.
Conclusion
Arch 101 was one of the most interesting and most valuable classes I have ever had in the course of my college career. I have learned so much in these past 16 weeks. In learning how to do reflections, I have learned how to know what my strengths and weaknesses are and how to improve my strengths and bolster my weaknesses. It is difficult to say goodbye to my classmates because I have worked so closely with them over the past few weeks specifically, and it will
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certainly be a change to get to the next class. I learned how to work with tools, how to work on a budget, how to expand but also restrict myself, as well as how to think on the fly. One big thing I definitely learned was the ability to learn from my mistakes and don’t stop learning. If you don’t know what to do, just do it. It still sometimes stops me, and paralyzes me, but I’m getting better at managing it.
Advice to Incoming Arch 101 Students
Do not procrastinate. Don’t take it if you’re not passionate about it. Take pride in your progress, and learn from your mistakes. Nothing is impossible if you try. Be an active learner and participant. Know how to work with others, and learn from each other.
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