Thursday, October 23, 2008
Unit Review...
For my final post, I thought I would just give my overall views of the unit:
  • There was certainly a lot of work to complete, however I felt that the workload was manageable... I certainly wouldn't increase the work load for next year.
  • Having been one of the few students to attend every lecture, I found them very informative and interesting. Lectures by people in the know were greatly appreciated and I can honestly say I took something out of every single one. Those who weren't there really missed out... in my opinion anyway.
  • Although I'm not completely against group work, I do prefer to work on my own, developing my own ideas as opposed to trying to refine 4 ideas into one. Having said that, I do understand that in the industry there will be more group work to come and this unit assisted me to get used to that.
  • I was quite a fan of the youtube submission technique that was used for the mod 5 assignment. I would seriously suggest this type of submission for projects of similar size in the future. I have also got a great appreciation for the laser cutter in the workshop. Having never had to use it before, it opened up a whole new avenue of modeling techniques that I am looking forward to discovering in the future.
  • I felt that there were an adequate number of tutors around to assist us, which came in handy. I was also impressed with the masterclass concept. It gave me the opportunity to get some feedback on how I was going, while allowing enough time to make some adjustments. I find it easier to work to a deadline to get my arse into gear, which the masterclass provided: a mid-project deadline.
Overall, I was quite impressed in the way the unit was run. I have learned quite a lot in the way of incorporating sustainability and environmental factors into a design, which I will carry with me forever.
posted by Dallas Andrew @ 3:51 AM   0 comments
How Bazaar!!!
Well, the day had finally arrived. After many, many hours of work, we were able to pin up and show the reviewers what we're made of! Below are some images of my presentation and our group model.





I must admit that I was much happier with the model we produced for this assignment in comparison to the mod 5 assignment. Although it was more simple to create, the overall finish was of a much better standard in my opinion. I was happy with my posters as I felt I incorporated as much as I could. There is no doubt that I have left something off, but things always look different through someone else's eyes.

We were probably the very last group do be reviewed by Mark + Greg, and we were all quite exhausted (reviewers included!). We presented fairly quickly and I tried to explain as much as I could in a short amount of time. I was a little concerned at the fact that I didn't receive too much feed back, so I hope all was ok.
posted by Dallas Andrew @ 3:22 AM   0 comments
Presentation Development
I have included some of the images that I created for my presentation:
posted by Dallas Andrew @ 3:14 AM   0 comments
Master Class
Two weeks before submission, we had a master class with industry professionals. I had prepared some drawings in order to get some feedback.

As well as my scaled drawings, I also produced a quick marquette to show how the building works.:



I must admit that I'm not usually the type to produce a mini model, but I found it very rewarding to see how the building works. After producing the model, I was able to see areas that worked, and areas that didn't.

Peter Woolard spent some time discussing our buildings. He suggested that I make the walls a bit more interesting, so that the building didn't look like walls with just a weird roof stuck on. This was very handy advice, and I decided to implement it. I extended the roof so that it appears that it is 'crashing' into the walls, providing more cohesion as a design. I also added some fins that added some intrigue as well as structural support to the roof. These additions can be seen in later drawings.
posted by Dallas Andrew @ 2:28 AM   0 comments
Admin + Library Development
After the masterplanning session, we had to delegate buildings to the group members.

- Terri : Auditorium + Specialist subject building (utilizing existing building)
- Munya : General classrooms + Health and PE building
- Patience : Communal spaces + Year level development centre
- Myself : Library + Administration building

I had decided to stick to the hexagonal shape as it was able to address different areas of the site. Because the building is the first one to be seen from the entry to the school, I had to design something that would be visually pleasing as well as making a statement.

I began to play around with different forms:


I was stuggling a little bit in the way of roof forms. During a lengthy discussion with Terri, I was able to incorporate the skillion roof that she had been working with. I tweeked the concept further and it developed into a pin-wheel type roof, which I was able to use to allow natural light into all rooms, including those completely internal.



My floor plan was quite simple in its layout. I divided the building into two parts : library and admin. The admin was on the north east side of the building as that was the side that was fronting the entrance and had to be the first point of call. During the masterplanning, we had compiled a list of what need to be in each building, so it was simply a matter of knowing that I had incorporated all elements.
posted by Dallas Andrew @ 1:59 AM   0 comments
Master Planning Sketches
Below are a couple of sketches from Terri and mine's master planning session. It basically involved a drawing of the site and some tracing paper and pens. I found this a good technique so that we could get an understanding of the site.

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posted by Dallas Andrew @ 1:51 AM   0 comments
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Master Planning
I know it has been ages since my last post, so I'm going to try and catch you up. It has been a hectic month or so....

Following our site visit, we began working on our master plan. There were a few major issues that we addressed first:
  • Drop off/ pick up location : we knew that Grossmans Rd was used as the main thouroghfare, the problem being, it was not at all successful.
  • Keep / remove / upgrade existing Shire Office
  • Extent of the site
We addressed the drop off location first. We have decided to have all transport come off Surf Coast Hwy, which can be developed much easier than Grossmans Rd. As a result of this, we have had to extend our site to the east, taking over the depot site also.

The existing building is in good condition and is now being used in our design. Terri and I decided that it would be fairly easy to modify and transform into the new arts complex.

We drew up a rough plan and I headed back to the site to examine it further, having a look at weather patterns and driving patterns, the latter definitely cemented our idea of utilizing Surf Coast Hwy and discouraging the use of Grossmans Rd.

Some pictures of the site:


Masterplan:

After this research, Terri and I prepared our master plan. Unfortunately, we missed the mark a bit, which became evident during our review. We didn't look broad enough away from the site to determine how it would work. This was handy feedback, because we went straight into reassessing our design. By researching the town and culture of Torquay, we were able to make some changes that wouldn't have been changed otherwise. I am glad that we were able to get the feedback we did because otherwise we would have been going down the wrong track the whole time.

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posted by Dallas Andrew @ 9:33 PM   0 comments

"Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness."

- Frank Gehry

"A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight."

- Robertson Davies

"Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light."

- Le Corbousier

  
About Me

Name: Dallas Andrew
Home: Australia
About Me: 3rd Year Architecture student at Deakin. Work part time at Jackman Design gaining some industry experience.
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