Manipulation through folds

These are some images from my final project first semester, second year. For this assignment we were asked to design a wellness center for cancer survivor patients. My group developed a very gestural spirit to our design of the two structures on the site, both buildings having manipulated ceilings through the process of folding triangles in a way that dividing the space without actually doing so.

Here are some of the process drawings I did for the structure that including the kitchen, art studio, and simple storage. They were drawn using conte cran and graphite.

putting history into practice

For this assignment we stepped outside of the classroom and walked around campus for about 30 minutes. We were asked to take a second look at what we would typically walk by without notice, and consider what we've been discussing in class recently, such as circles, groups, and stacks.

In this sketch that I did I observed various circles, groups, and stacks around campus. One thing I noticed multiple times was the amount of grouping throughout campus. I drew one example of this, which is the columns shown outside the Ferguson building. Another example I noticed was the buildings in the quad. All are uniform and proportionate to each other, centered around a courtyard like area. There were many examples of circles across campus, college av, the fountain, and the EUC especially. There are repeated dome like ceilings in the EUC, along with a sun pattern below the domes. Each dome also had an oculus in the center of it, which is notably seen in the Pantheon. The music building on campus emulates the idea of circles extremely well. Everything appears balanced and unified, even simply the benches in the outside entrance to the building, all emphasizing repetition and harmony. One example representing both circles and stacking is the fountain on campus. It does a nice job of creating a sense of balance with the half circles and full circles stacked on top each other in a fluid motion. The circles surrounding the fountain also do a good job of directing your eye, focusing it, leading it upwards towards the actual fountain.

One thing we were asked to consider while observing circles, groups, and stacks around campus was to ask ourselves if we think that environments influence RITUALS, or if rituals influence ENVIRONMENTS. I believe that it is the environment that has control. For example, the fountain is a known for a place to gather and socialize with friends, telling us that it is the environment that influences the ritual. This is strange to me, however, because historically it appears to be the opposite, that many rituals controlled how the overall design of that space was positioned, Stonehenge for example.

reading response 1

burj khalifa (continued)

Two floor plans, two site diagrams of the hotel.

Diagraming Dubai

For this assignment we had to compose a series of diagrams on a certain architectural building we personally chose. My decision to choose the man-made islands of Dubai was a risky one, but I find their design appealing, their concept, fascinating. It was a challenge, however, to find the architectural documentation that was required for the assignment. I found aerial images of the islands themselves, along with plan views of the Burj hotel, which is the tallest building in the world as of now. I was also able to find a floor plan of one of the levels in the hotel. I wasn't too pleased with my overall diagram that I was able to put together, but here are the traced images and one free-hand sketch that I used for the final result.

Summer Passion

One of my passions is art. Sketching favorite actors and artists, or simply sketching what's in my mind at the time. It helps deal with emotion and express my "free spirit gypsy soul" (as some people like to describe me :D). This summer was a summer of James Dean. He, along with others such as Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr, inspire me greatly. I also choose to emulate other various images I found. I deeply enjoyed sketching this summer and was very pleased with the results.

Reflection for Final Project

For our final project, we were assigned to design a space for a client (designer, artist, etc) of our choice. The space could either be from the loading dock or the administrative office. I chose film director Joe Wright and designed using the administrative space. His style of film is actually what inspired me to design his space the way I did. He uses a lot of rich colors and movement in his films, which is what influenced my title ‘Literary Movement’. We had to include various architectural elements on our board. For example, floor plan, elevations, perspectives, etc. We were also asked to include one level change in the space and design a studio and living area. I decided to keep make the studio space the focal point, having your eyes move directly towards it when entering the space. I did this by adding a brick wall with double French doors leading into his studio. I also added architectural wood paneling along the ceiling, directing your eye towards the space. The color palette I chose was complementary, using rich green, red, brown, and yellow. As for my actual project, I felt that my board and presentation went ‘okay’. The critique I received was very helpful and I am now more aware of what to improve on in the future. I know personally that I could have done much better in my perspective drawings. This was frustrating for me because I know what I am capable of doing, drawing-wise, and feel that I did not meet my personal expectations. My drawings were rather confusing for the audience and I felt, did not help get my design across the way I would have hoped. For any future assignment, I would make sure to draw my perspectives with my audience in mind. I felt my floor plan and elevations were done nicely, but they can always be improved, be cleaner, neater. Overall, if I could re-due this assignment, I would definitely make improvements with my perspectives.