Design Project 1 - Preliminary Plan

I suppose this should have been posted much earlier..but here is the preliminary plan for the project. This helped me to explore and edit housing arrangements and to create space by their organization.

Design Project 1 - Illustrative Details

 

Exploring these details helped me to further understand the scale, style, and materials that I was considering for the design...I feel like this process is important to fully realizing your design ideas and I wish I had left myself some more time...you live, you learn. 

Design Project 1 - Perspective Sketches Continued

Design Project 1 - Perspective Sketches

These perspectives help to showcase the character and identity of the community. Building the model helped me to study these details further...

Design Project 1 - Section Sketches

Design Project 1 - Enlarged Plan

This is the enlarged area that I chose to concentrate on...I felt drawn to this area because I felt that it truly encapsulated the idea of a "buzzing hive". Working on this component of the design project helped to me to develop a much deeper understanding of the spaces. Enjoy.

Design Project 1 Master Plan

I know my drawings aren't labeled...but for some reason I had trouble uploading all of my updated files ("server error message". Nonetheless, here it is...a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly.

Andreas Stavropoulos' Process of Understand Landscape Architecture...Pretty Rad.

"Andreas Stavropoulos is a recently laid off landscape architect who transformed a Airsteam in order to create a space for real understanding within the profession—the kind of understanding that occurs from seeing a day of shadows move across a place, or listening to and observing people in a space. Below, Andreas provides us with his  thought process and inspiring goals of taking upon : The Airstream Life. Read Andreas’s inspiring story after the jump!

First came the idea,  then came the late nights of Craigslist searching. And then it happened quickly: a trip to a derelict horse ranch in the Salinas Valley, an exchange of cash in an old barn, and a harrowing towing adventure up Highway 101 netted me my current abode—a 1959 Airstream travel trailer. The metamorphosis, which occurred in a generously allocated space at a friend’s Stanford sculpture studio, was an archeological study in all things Americana. Tucked under couch cushions and linoleum panels, I found artifacts—mix tapes, scrawled recipes, and wrinkled photographs—that chronicled the lives of those who had dwelt within the Airstream since some stranger first purchased it in 1959 from Pacific Railroad Sales in Salinas, California. I was participating in American history by unearthing and updating one of its most iconic symbols in order to make it relevant to my age and time.The materials palette that I chose is light in color with a few splashes of color. This lightness holds the space open and gives it a contemporary feel. The renovation was necessarily an exercise in restraint and creativity. With just 150 square feet to work with, I jettisoned the 1950s colors of flesh tone paint and wall-to-wall linoleum, and moved in with cork flooring, track lighting, fresh colorful paint, and custom designed cabinets and furniture to fit the sinuous interior topography. I was intent on keeping the original stove, incorporating it into the cabinetry. I created a backsplash using inexpensive aluminum flashing that I texturized with a ball-peen hammer. The interior is lit by several medium sized windows and an off-the-shelf track lighting system. With the door open, diffuse light makes the space glow. As a recently self employed landscape architect I have been able to address several of the problems that I see in my field. Namely, the lack of connection between the LAND and the ARCHITECT. Whereas landscape architects once spent significant time on the site, the profession now finds some of the most creative minds shoehorned into cubicles. With this in mind, and the knowledge that I gained by designing and building the Airstream, I set about creating a mobile studio that could travel to the site and where I could work during the early and critical stages of concept design. The bed measures 7 feet from head to toe. Designing and building cabinetry for the space was challenging. Every panel hides a full extension drawer that provides unparalleled access to storage. Stripping paint to reveal the beautiful riveting and aluminum was one the hardest but most rewarding tasks. To me, revealing the structure and construction honors the original craftsmanship that went into this trailer. I did restoration work on the exterior as well. Polishing the aluminum skin was an exercise in patience! I restored the lights, and retouched the original license plate. I wanted the space to be alluring from all angles, inside and out. An enormous slide out drawer was necessary to create a storage area for clothes. Some potential clients raise an eyebrow at the studio and walk away. Most, however, have been delighted. And those are the people I want to work for: they see the value of process, understand the subtleties that result from deep understanding, and want to engage with a designer as we surround ourselves in the medium."

From Guerilla Plants to Guerilla Paint...

A group of cyclists dumped 13 gallons of paint on the road at Berlin’s busy Rosenthaler Platz, creating a series of colourful lines as cars drove through. The various colours of paint were dumped onto the road in large puddles at different locations throughout the intersection. As traffic drove through, the paint was spread around creating lots of colourful lines. The whole action took only a few seconds: bikers had poured paint from big boxes in front of cars that waited for green lights. So the cars and their wheels, if the driver wanted it or not, became the brush tool for this guerilla public art piece.The creators of the project posted signs on post nearby explaining that the paint wasn’t harmful and would simply wash off with water.

An Over-Achiever at Work...

Charles...finishing design, writing a second thesis, learning another language, solving the cure to AIDS, discovering that extraterrestrial life does exist, reading Voltaire, etc.....

ec-O_Bench - Self-Sustaining Outergear

"ec-O_Bench infuses nature into pedestrian traffic zones by creating a self-sustaining eco-system that envelopes sitters in living and growing plant-life. ec-O_Bench collects and filters rainwater and harnesses sunlight using thin-film photovoltaics, creating a welcoming resting spot even when it's dark outside. ec-O_Bench is a multifunctional green concept bench system which generates electricity through solar panels that are embedded into the top of the extended structure which hovers above the suggested seating area. These panels harness electricity during the day to illuminate the seating are at night. A built-in system collects and filters water that is used for healthy plant growth. As they grow the plants wind around the bench's circular structure, creating a jungle-like canopy dangling above the user."

First I posted Solar Tiles...Prepare for Living Tiles!

Creating vertical gardens just got a whole lot easier thanks to these modular garden tiles by Spanish firm Ceracasa. Their Lifewall product, which we just saw over at Jetson Green, is a modular tile that can support a number of different plants and is drip irrigated for water efficiency. Since it’s modular, the designer has the ability to place these in whatever pattern they want, which could create some really fascinating designs. Lifewall tiles also interface with another Ceracasa product called Bionictile, which is able to suck pollution out of the air.

When used together the two products create a symbiotic relationship, where the Lifewall has plant matter that soaks up CO2, and the Bionictile converts NOx to fertilizer which is used by the plants. Tests show that Bionictile ceramics are able to decompose 25.09 micrograms of NOx per m2 per hour, and if 200 buildings were coated by ceramic BIONICTILE, an equivalent volume of 2,638 million cubic meters of air per year would be decontaminated. In other words, more than 400,000 people could breathe air free of harmful NOx from vehicles and industries in one year.

Coolest Thing Ever - Guerilla Gardening at it's Best!

Gardening’s gone guerilla -  These are compacted wild flower seed grenades. Throw them...and the buttercups/poppies take around 3 weeks to start up...while the rye takes only about a week. I LOVE this concept...who's in it with me?!

How Buildings Learn...Military to Luxury

Cap Rocat is a 19th-century military fortress that has been completely renovated into a boutique hotel! The adults-only getaway sits on a private headland, overlooking Mallorca’s Bay of Palma. The idea of the hotel is to provide “total peace and seclusion within an historic and cultural context.” The retreat has been restored by Spanish architect Antonio Obrador, who is well known in the community for his local work. Set atop a hill, its location offers full panoramic views of the ocean to provide guests with the kind of serenity the hotel boasts, “Is all about simple luxury and a complete lack of ostentation.”

Model Mania - Enlarged Master Plan Model

Here are some pictures of my enlarged model for our Infill Design project...overall, I really enjoyed this process and found it very beneficial. I spent quite a bit of time trying to understand building footprints and how to manipulate building arrangement to create space.

Model Mania - Massing Model

Here are some pictures of my preliminary design massing model...this process helped me to make some key design decisions as I moved forward with the master plan. Particularly the arrangement of buildings and their orientation around the meandering green.

Kevin Costner would totally wear these in Waterworld..

I'm always interested in finding products that are influenced by animal/plant process...in other words biomimicry...I thought these swim gloves were a really smart translation. Specifically, the gloves created a "webbed" hand that increases surface area by 70%..thus requiring less energy to tread water/swim. Thank you webbed feet/hand animal friends (ducks, frogs, alligators, etc.)


The concepts of biomimicry have been practiced throughout our history...however the term and "science" itself did not reach popularity until the 1980's..making it a relatively new science. I would definiately recommend reading a little more about biomimicry if you're interested...here is a good site to start. http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/

Designing with the Sun..

"This amazing modern home in Northcote, Melbourne, features a building envelope that was carefully shaped to ensure maximum sun exposure in the backyard. The owners wanted to be sure they had full sun exposure in their garden to be able to grow vegetables year round, so Australia-based firm, Harrison & White focused upon smart solar design as one of the home's most important strategies. The architects used a technique called "reverse shadow casting" to design the exterior and included sustainable materials like recycled plastic decking for the shade screen."

What Happens When the Oil Runs Out?

Past Peak Oil Travelling Towards Transition Animation from Anita Sancha on Vimeo.

What happens when the oil runs out? This 2 minute animation takes us on a journey from 1900 to the year 2080 and beyond. It follows the Hubbert Peak theory that suggests that any area in the world - to the planet as a whole - has a rate of petroleum production that follows a bell-shaped curve.

I feel like Taz may have mentioned this graph in class..or during a discussion..I can't recall for sure, but it intrigued me enough to look it up. 

Largest Green Wall in North America - Longwood Gardens

"The extraordinary vegetated wall is installed at the historic garden’s new East Conservatory Plaza. The hallway’s radius creates an endless façade of ferns, and the expansive skylights flood the space with light to create an indoor green utopia. The system acts like a green lung for the new facility, and it was designed by GSky to be fully automated so that maintenance is reduced. The building where the wall is installed was designed by Kim Wilkie in conjunction with Wells Appeal. The bermed, arching pod-like complex is open to one side and supports a natural outdoor amphitheater on the other. The interior green wall is a total of 4,072 square feet, which is almost twice the size of the second largest green wall in North America.

The majority of the astonishing 47,000 plants are ferns, which are embedded in a non-soil growth medium. Remote operated drip line irrigation and an array of sensors maintain the plants to help ensure quality control and longevity of the plants. The wall essentially acts like a filter and lung for the complex. An estimated 15,500 lbs of dust and toxins will be removed from the air each year, and the more visitors, the more CO2 for the plants to metabolize and exchange for O2."

The green wall is located at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania...I've visited their gardens before, which are beautiful...but I would love to see this wall. Fantastic.

Green Roofs of Norway

"Norwegians have their own way of going green, and quite literally. For hundreds of years houses in Norway have been covered with turf. And they come in different varieties. Some are bright green and almost velvety. Others are golden and look like they’re growing wheat or oats. A number of turf roofs have flowers mixed in with the grass, and a few have small trees.  Turf roofs in Norway are a tradition and you will see them everywhere. Roofs in Scandinavia have probably been covered with birch bark and sod since prehistory. During the Viking and Middle Ages most houses had sod roofs. In rural areas sod roofs were almost universal until the beginning of the 18th century. Tile roofs, which appeared much earlier in towns and on rural manors, gradually superseded sod roofs except in remote inland areas during the 19th century. Corrugated iron and other industrial materials also became a threat to ancient traditions. But just before extinction, the national romantics proclaimed a revival of vernacular traditions, including sod roofs. A new market was opened by the demand for mountain lodges and holiday homes. At the same time, open air museums and the preservation movement created a reservation for ancient building traditions. From these reservations, sod roofs have begun to reappear as an alternative to modern materials."