Thursday, April 10, 2014

EXP 2 Concepts

Hey guys, Here are the lists of concepts you came up with. I'll group them by different groups, so there's less chance to get mixed up.


GROUP 1

Mies Van Der Rohe

  • Limiting excess and clutter to emphasize open space
  • Planar elements for harmonization with existing landscape
  • Minimal skin and bones framework to reveal the individual character
  • Unification achieved without ornamentation through the character of enclosed space
  • Reducing distractions to emphasize the beauty in essential elements of our lives




Nathalie de Vries (of MVRDV)

  • Reuse of materials for Sustainability
  • Challenging existing thinking through optimizing design solutions
  • Focus on urban landscape and the public realm
  • Radical investigative spatial research
  • Multicultural habitat for a rich social life
  • Turn urbanism into landscape architecture




GROUP 2

Mies Van Der Rohe

  • Creating a strong relationship between a house and its natural surroundings
  • Reduce distractions to focus on essential elements and emphasise objects Minimalism
  • Promoting openness and simplicity in materiality
  • Simplifying building form to achieve purpose and focus on functional amenities
  • Minimal framework to create free-flowing 'skin and bones' Architecture



Building names, left to right, top to bottom: Farnsworth House, Barcelona Pavilion, S. R. Crown Hall, Villa Tugendhat, Seagram building

Nathalie de Vries (of MVRDV)

  • Promoting Openness; Minimum Materials, Maximum Façade
  • Mixture of different urban characteristics and lifestyles; collating social qualities and intrinsic values
  • Simultaneous access to interior and exterior
  • Elevating and cantilevering objects, to create space
  • Flexibility in building function; providing sustainable character



Building names, left to right, top to bottom: Westerdok Apartments, Vertical Village, DNB Bank Headquarters, WoZoCo, Rødovre Skyscraper


GROUP 3

Mies Van Der Rohe

  • Infinite freedom of movement through punctuated linear space
  • Limitation of excess to emphasise open space
  • Integration with the surroundings by the blurring of the interior and exterior
  • Complementing the local environment by the juxtaposition its form, materiality and proportions with the surrounding landscape
  • Creation on tranquillity and escape by means of an inhabitable sculpture




Nathalie de Vries (of MVRDV)

  • Making repetitive forms feel unique through changing materiality and scale
  • Reflection of the environment in structural forms to integrate the landscape with the urban fabric
  • Encouraging social interaction through the enclosure of space
  • Creating shared circulation to integrate the community
  • Championing vertical living by adhering to the urban demands of population increases


Sunday, April 6, 2014

Experiment 2: Week 1

Hi guys,

As promised last class, here's a link to Christopher Alexander's "A Pattern Language", available free on United Diversity's online library. Think of it as a cheat sheet for the kinds of issues that pop up in architecture, and how they're dealt with across a range of cultures.

Also, here are some TEDtalks by architects mentioned during class, where they talk through their design process in some detail. Things to look out for are their concepts (purpose + some rule that changes the building's design), and how those concepts were used to address issues encountered in the project.

Joshua Prince-Ramus: Designing the Seattle Central Library



Joshua Prince-Ramus: Building a theater that remakes itself



TEDxEastSalon - Bjarke Ingels - Hedonistic Sustainability



Cheers,
Steve

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Week 2 notes

Hey guys, just a reminder for some extra work I'm giving you that will really help you resolve your designs. For each client, make a list of 5 things they will want to do in their space, then post those lists to your blog ready for next week.

When developing your designs, you should look over those lists and ensure you are meeting the requirements for what they want to do, and doing so in a very elegant, resolved way, fitting it to the aesthetic style you're going for based on the client's word. Importantly, the lists should inform how you design your staircases, so when I ask, you'll be able to tell me what the staircase does that a normal "boring" staircase doesn't.

Bonus points if you can make your aesthetic style absolutely necessary in meeting the requirements of your clients.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Welcome to ARCH1101

Hi guys, this is my blog for this semester. I'll be mostly posting handy tips and links here for you guys as we go, so you can jump here for a quick reference. Mostly, I'll be posting things that should prove to be time-savers either for this course, or for your other courses generally. Work smarter, not harder eh? A good place to start for making Sketchup stuff look pretty with a little Vray rendering (which we have available in the level 2 and 3 labs for you guys) and Photoshop is Alex Hogrefe's website.

If you want to get in touch with me about anything, feel free to send an email to stephen.b.davey@gmail.com and I'll get back to you usually the same day.

If you're unsure what you need to have ready by next week (ie posted up on your blogs by Wednesday), click here to see the checklist. Some links Russ mentioned when he popped in:

Dezeen

Le Container