LAUREN DAY
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE 2012-2016
As a master’s research project, I studied the progression of the architecture of the boathouse and the interaction of the rowing community and the broader community and how both the community and the boathouse can respond to each other. Sited on Lake Fairview in Orlando, FL, the boathouse allows the greater population of Orlando to interact with the water, the rowers, and the boathouse, meanwhile providing the rowers with an architecture specific to their sport.
The primary driver for the boathouse was unity of the greater community with the rowing community. In the sport of rowing, the unity of a crew is usually gaged by the swing of the rowers and how precise and well matched they are. The swing of the rower through the catch, drive, release, and recovery were analyzed in order to provide an itinerary for the program.
The National Tennis Training Resort and Stadium on the former Colony site seeks to rejuvinate Longboat Key’s affiliation with sporting excellence. Used as a winter training site for many professional tennis players, like Andre Agassi, in the 90’s, the Colony was a true icon for tennis and for Longboat Key. The new training center and stadium will restore the image and excellence that once was on the site, while retaining the historical connection to its origins. The stadium will bring elite players from around the world to the Key, creating a recognition for the island as a place of sporting excellence. New tourism will be introduced to the island by adding a resort element with a 5 acre pool , making it a one-of-a-kind destination in the United States. To bring the other residents and visitors of the island in to experience the site, the proposed island greenway will move through the site with beach access available. A high-end restaurant will also serve the resort and training center guests, as well as the other islanders.
The idea of this bedside table stems from an interest and study of traditional woodworking joints and techniques. A love of mid century modern furniture also drives the design. The form of the table comes from a traditional mid century modern bedside table. The exercise became more about craftsmanship as the design process moved along. A lot of the mid century modern furniture was designed with the idea of mass production in mind, which was a far cry from the finely handcrafted furniture of the previous generations. With mass production, the essence of joinery was lost. The art of precision in making was lost. This table is a study into traditional joinery techniques such as the dovetail, the butt joint, and the mortise and tenon. The dovetail is a hallmark of craftsmanship and quality in furniture making. The smaller pices attach via dovetail joints at the corner to exploit the precision of the joint. The legs come through the table using a tenon on the leg end and a mortise in the table top to illustrate the connection of elements. Niches in the top allow for the passage of light as well as a more dynamic connection of pieces. Contrasting woods (marblewood, walnut, and pine) were used to better show the convergence of each joint.
The design process was inspired by an interest in mid century and Danish modern furniture. The styles are typically clean lined with an angle to the legs and a rather boxy top. There is a characteristic proportion to bith styles. There is also a distinct use of wood and its grain to illustrate the form of the piece. The process began with an idea to have a lighted bedside table that could illuminate at night to help you find things, such as glasses, without having to get up. As the design progressed, these ideas were abandoned, but their initial perception left behind the residue of the idea in the cutaway slits in the horizontal table surfaces. These slits led to a more dynamic joining of pieces. The contrasting woods were chosen to further display the idea of joint in the table. The focal point became to dovetail joints that connected the corners of the smaller slats.
Materials were selected based on grain, hardness, texture, and tradition. Much of mid-century furniture was build using walnut due to its availability. For this project, I selected walnut and marblewood, an exotic lumber from South America that uses similar tones to the walnut, but has a more pronounced grain pattern.
Danish modern
restored mid century
mid century modern
danish modern
dovetail
mortise and tenon
butt joint
The pin and tail give the joint more stability than if the joint was made of 90 degree angles.
The mortise is created in the surface of the piece whle the tenon is created using the top of the leg to show the joinery.
Butt joints are used to join the wider pieces at the corners at 90 degrees and to join the slats together in parallel.
The building process included several trials on scrap wood, teaching me a little bit about patience and a lot about practice and craft. Jigs for each cut helped create a uniformity to the manufacturing process, however they didn’t alleviate all sources of error, as differences in each piece of wood, and the jig’s proneness to movement added a small amout of deviation. After everything was glued, clamped, and dried, a substantial amount of sanding took place to attain the desired final surface. 1] Plane lumber to same thickness and rip to appropriate width 2] Create jig for lengths of side and top pieces and cut pieces 3] Cut voids in pieces using dado 4] Create jig for dovetails and cut 5] Finalize fit of joints 6] Assemble and glue together. Clamp pieces 7] Sand body of table thoroughly 8] Using taper jig on table saw, taper table legs 9] Mark placement of legs and use router to remove material. 10] Finalize mortise shape using files 11] Sand table down to 600 grit 12] Finish table using butcher block oil
The Florida 3.0: Reinventing our future exhibit was curated at the University of Florida and displayed at the Miami Center for Architecture and Design (MCAD) during the fall of 2015. The Exhibition displayed works from 5 years of studios on the topic of resiliency. The main xhibition focused on resiliency strategies for the state of Florida in the event of the predicted sea level rise. The secondary exhibition displayed work about existing coastal Florida neighborhood conditions and how they would be affected by sea level rise. As part of the curation team, I was in charge of constructing the exhibit and logistics, as well as collaborating with the design and A/V teams to create a unified exhibition.
Photo credit: Mitchell Clarke
Diagram credit: Mitchell Clarke
Rendering credit: Evan Vander Ploeg