Shroeder House Board and Model

Friendly Assessment of Shirley Bircher

Shirley, I enjoyed the energy circulating your design for St. Mary’s. I think you really took a risk in the idea of a room divider made up of metal fins but it was a creative risk that really became the focal point of your presentation, and what is design without a sense of exploration and playfulness? One idea I would challenge you to explore is how a sculptural room divider can also become a functional unit within a space, after all, as designers, we are artists with purpose, to delight but also to fulfill. For example, what if these metal fins could also slide on a system of wheels or wall hinges so that they become, in a way, partition walls. They could create additional, more intimate spaces divided by metal screens or they could slide out as creative, discrete storage units that didn’t impede on the space.

Through your main perspective with the flowing fins hugging the staircase it made me think of my trip to Chicago during spring break. Take a look at the staircase/ramp of the McCormick Tribune Student Center designed by Rem Koolhaas on the campus of IIT in Chicago. I believe it combines function with a sense of dynamic playfulness, which is lost in most design that is concerned solely with the function of the space.

Furthermore, your use of color was quite impressive, especially in the stained glass window but put more emphasis on light and shadow so the images don’t appear flat. Sometimes this means brushing a few more strokes of the gray marker. Personally, I prefer using graphite pencils to add shadow with a white colored pencil for highlights and blend with a tissue. Color pencils are by far your friend when it comes to adding depth to your color range. In my experience, markers usually provide the base coat for a color maybe with a layer or two of a gray marker but then it is all up to color pencils, graphite pencils, and especially a white colored pencil. Also, if you want to go for a sketchy look, freehand pen lines over the more tight pencil lines you have as the outline of your perspective, it helps to layer these lines and provides a loose energy.

WI(10) : Memoirs of Jenga...

Before I get started I want to thank you both for being such great professors you gave me hell and headaches but it was all well worth the fight and it proves I am that much more of a designer.

Claire I want to thank you, I truly admire and commend you for your decisiveness and preparation, you truly were a co-instructor, always having an answer for us when Patrick was away or engaged elsewhere. You will make a great teacher and I wish you the best!

Patrick, your unfailing humor, enthusiasm, and faith in us (along with an endless supply of Starbucks) were one of the few treasures that got me by this semester. Because of your studio, my craft, understanding, and leadership have significantly improved and I hope down the road you will be teaching 3^rd or 4^th year studio.

At the beginning of this semester the two of you were so intimidating, but now, in place, is only a deep level of respect. Thank you!

P.S. This isn’t a bribe to get a better grade I just want to make sure you read this before you get sucked into my time warp of word phrases and run-ons. Enjoy! J

Writing……is a hard skill to master. It is a process of internal reflection requiring one to escape the physical distractions of everyday life and materialize their thoughts. These thoughts, though elusive at times, have been following me this whole semester thanks to the constant flow of writing assignments. Through this journey of words, I have learned that writing is an idea processer, allowing me to channel thoughts into cohesive ideas, into illuminating experiences. Where sketch up unfolds models, where modeling perfects craft, where photoshop and illustrator enhance digital prowess, writing sharpens the analytical reflection that gives design meaning. I noticed early on that writing helped understand a space, building, and place conceptually and if I could understand the structure conceptually I could articulate key elements verbally while also highlighting these elements throughout the design process if caught at an early stage. This advantage became prominent in the justification of the site choices during Jenga 6.0 and 7.0. By exploring aspects of a site, I was able to conceptually form an opinion and idea about how the structure would develop and merge from the context. If I have learned anything this semester, it is to read everything within the context in which it was gathered and formulated from. People prefer visuals because they are faster to ‘read’, provide instant information, and often times illustrate displays of illusion. But writing is a much more keen and agile art. It relies on subtleties, persuasion, and description. I discovered this not in the writing assignments but through my role as group leader in Jenga 7.0. As a leader, it is important to keep colleagues organized and focused but also inspired and encouraged. Through a myriad of emails and group meetings, I learned that this meant to constructively criticize followed by a compliment of recent work or an understanding sentiment where other members had been less patient. Being a leader takes on many forms, from being a babysitter to a peace keeper to a role model, much like writing can influence different audiences depending on which way it is read. In a way, having been a group leader is ironic. I have always thought I worked more efficiently by myself, and perhaps this remains true, but after fulfilling that role I feel a sense of accomplishment in being able to guide a collection of minds to an organized yet very energetic design. I believe that writing was the foundation for my leadership and that my ability to empathize with other’s frustration mixed with the ability to articulate my thoughts, and at times, their thoughts truly worked in favor for our team.

Another important aspect I have learned and built upon is the power of body language and its close relation to writing. Patrick and Claire, you pointed out that I am ‘King of the Smirk” and this comes as no coincidence. I have been building upon this smirk ever since I was in high school. It has many connotations. It can mean a polite rejection, an amusing understanding, an ‘I know something you don’t’ impression, a friendly gesture, a boyish playfulness, many times it’s a combination; it just depends on the situation. Overall though, this smirk is my general outlook on design and life, as in most cases I can hardly control it as you well know. Yet, I believe this smirk and my general ‘spacey’, somewhat reserved persona say a great deal about how my writing and design process function. I have learned that my spacey character is actually one of my strengths as a designer, allowing me to reflect on people’s emotions and extract ideas that they have trouble finding within themselves. Yet this also allows me to move frequently into outer body experiences, where I tune people out to enable my own thought processes to emerge where the majority of my creative writing surfaces.

What is odd to me though is that my favorite experiences this semester was when I worked individually and when I worked in a group of twelve, not in between. I don’t know if this was because I felt a sense of control in both situations, working individually and then being a group leader for a team of twelve or if it concerns the balance of designer strengths. Maybe you have some insight on this? Regardless, I felt that the energy permeating both situations was positive and creative, which motivated me to excel.

This entire semester has been a series of achievements one after the next. There is not a single project I regret or feel as though I didn’t accomplish something, whether it was what I wanted to or not. I have grown conceptually, craftily, digitally, communicatively, empathetically, even physically for that matter, though I think I lost muscle tone…. On a serious note, my crowning achievement is the realization that I own leadership skills I didn’t know I possessed, that I am not just the quiet beach boy with a level head, good craft, and a crooked smile. Even more importantly, leadership taught me to own the self-confidence I have on the inside and share a piece of that with fellow colleagues.

Synergy, what a positive energy!

Jenga 7.0 was a merge between two groups, Symbiosis and Pinnacle. Symbiosis focused on the interplay of angles and curves explored within our groups of three through complicated angled facade detailing emanating from our stairwells with enormous sail-like curves protruding from either corner to encapsulate and stabilize the structure. Pinnacle focused on the merging of the team of six's individual concept words through a series of stratified tilts and twists culminating in an illuminating 'pinnacle'.

Synergy is the firm of twelve individuals, with 12 different concepts, and 12 different approaches to design, collaborating to create a structure that speaks to the language of our concepts, mind sets, and goals. This philosophy led us to a structure that transcends the notion of the box with a central core of twisting hexagons that tilt at a 15 degree angle every two levels for 19 levels. These hexagons house the public circulation for our structure with open catwalks that radiate outwards from the centralized elevator shaft. Permeating from these hexagons are three wings of private units with semi private reception halls, allowing residents to enjoy layers of privacy.

The interior provides a very contrasting experience to the exterior, which is veneered with a blue tinted glass curtain wall with exposed structural x framing coated in a terra cotta tinted fire insulator. The exterior speaks directly to the vast expanse of the lake reservoir it overlooks, on the Pantano de Sau. The terra cotta x framing echoes subtly the earth tones of the surrounding cliff bed rock, but is a minor detail representing the solidity of land that carries and encapsulates the lake, similar to the way our curtain wall is nestled in a cage of x framing. The tilts and twists made blatantly clear on the exterior are a visual continuation but not replica of the stratification of cliffs leading from the lake to the site of our building. On the other hand, the interior offers distinct areas of open vistas with sheltered niches. The hexagonal circulation spaces are completely exposed through the glass curtain wall but the private units are made of steel and a stucco veneer. So as one circulates through the building, these wings of radiating private unit impede on outside views until one enter the private units themselves that have windows exposing panaramic views of the site. Furthermore, the x framing impedes and opens certain vantage points as one circulates the catwalks. This sense of exposure and isolation can be seen within the environment of this site, through the vast expanse of the lake contrasting the density of the terrain speckled with greenery, cliffs, and wildlife.

This structure is all about accentuating aspects of the site but exaggerating them in a very bold manner and in a way that intermingles each members concept.

Site Justification

In merging the conceptual frames of both Pinnacle and Symbiosis, it was imperative that the context speak to many factors throughout the design process. This included aspects from local materials that blended seamlessly with the environment to the spatial tectonics and form, which emulates individual features within the environment to create a cohesive whole. Collectively, the group decided on a site located 20 miles northeast of a small Spanish community known as Vic on the elevated outskirts of the water reservoir at Pantano de Sau. This location is a seasonal retreat in a temperate climate overlooking a spectacular natural terrain, which allows for ideal all-year residency. Furthermore, local quarries near this lake reservoir allow the use of local materials, promoting a sustainable design practice while also complimenting and accentuating the natural tones and hues of the surrounding landscape. Our structure, having a centralized core with stratified layers of tilting private units, speak to the natural layout of the environment that houses an open, centralized lake nestled in a forest of stratified cliffs. While the form continues this stratified topography rippling from the lake, our building further emphasizes this experience with a large open atrium with three symmetrical glass entrances permeated by solid shells of private units, creating a central ripple effect. This experience captures both moments of open clarity and intimate shelters, emulating similar experiences present around the site. For example, as one walks in through the main entrance facing the lake, the viewer is immersed with the view of an enormous glass curtain wall reflecting the dominance of the open lake while divided by tilting rows of exposed structural x framing coated with a terracotta tinted fire insulator, which provides visual barriers of shelter that echoes the natural terrain. Yet as one crosses into the atrium domain, there is still a sense of open disclosure but the private units encapsulate and define the spatial configuration, creating the visual perception of a more intimate setting. As one continues to the upper levels and ambulates around the three wings of private units, there is more awareness to this sense of intimacy in the way that private units tilt and twist to create awnings and platforms that impede certain vantage points. Walking into the individual units themselves offers the most privacy and refuge but as one reaches the pinnacle of our building the ambient experience of light and open vistas is aggressively revisited and displayed, bringing the structure back to where it began. The gateway portal faces a northeast axis overlooking the lake so that the soft morning light permeates the glass filtered entrance and gently greets the residence. This experience is further enhanced by the reflective tendency of water, which acts as a tranquil augmenter of light. The other entrances face south and west, providing different moments and opportunities of light for private residence. The west axis is articulated with one wing of private units and a glass entrance facing the edge of the lake and landscape, which greets the final blaze of the sunset at the day’s end.

Shroeder House

This is a replica of the Shroeder House designed by the architect Gerritt Rietveld, famous also for the red/blue chair, which was actually designed for this house as well, but judging by the minimalist style and primary color palette this should come as no surprise.

This replica was created using the 3-d modeling nurbs program, Rhino, using plans and elevations exported from auto cad via illustrator. From these plans and elevation, I extruded planes to create the walls and railing while also puncturing holes to create windows.

Once, I was done building, I used one of Rhino's rendering plug-ins known as V-Ray to provide color and texture to the building. Lastly, I exported a jpeg into photoshop to add context (which needs some work), add lighting effects/lens flare, and the burn and dodge tool.

Needless to say, there were a lot of processes and computer programs needed to complete this assignment.

10 Tips

Top Ten Tips that Relate to me.

#1: Be concise; use meaningful and descriptive words but fewer of them.

#2: Window

#3: Don't Mention what you don't Know.

#4: Never use self incriminating words like "mimic"

#5: Body Language = Half the story

#6: Model Building requires the right tools, materials, and patience. There is no backspace.

#7: Myder Box

#8: Piers = Inspiration

#9: Never use "I don't know" as a finishing statement

#10: Speak up and have a sense of humor

Jenga 7.0

As both teams Symbiosis and Pinnacle begin the last phase of Jenga we are looking forward to merging both our structures. The site we have chosen is Parador de Vic, a lake resevior located north of the town of Vic in Spain, which is in close proximity to Barcelona. This site is the perfect marriage of both our structures as it combines the textural quality of the land. with that of our structures through material similarities while the form emulates the topography of the natural landscape. Through experimentation is configuring our structures, we have found that pinnacle has a very open plan with a centralized atrium and four entrances that have the opportunity to include glass curtain walls encapsulated in angle frames. This ideation not only combines both our forms but it adapts to the natural pattern of the landscape around it. The orientation of the atrium style structure faces the open span of the lake with a blue tinted glass entrance greeting guest and reflecting the desolate calmness of the lake. Collectively, we decided to shave four levels off of pinnacle and add them to Symbiosis, encapsulating the experience in an angle framed pinnacle. The experience of the building offers moment of illuminating openness reflecting the peacefulness of the lake with moments of intimate shelter as one walks further in reflecting the idea of leaving the lake and walking into the hillside and to the mountains. Yet the experience ends in the culmination of an open pinnacle so that these moments of shelter and openness are expressed in a myriad of locations.