Project 02_Phase 03 & 04

Here are the things that are due this week. Let me know if you have questions please.

Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013

- By the beginning of the class:

A diagram about "How the GEOMETRY (SOLID/VOID) of your music instrument inspires you in design?" This diagram should be 3d. Especially, please show how it influences the solid/void of the form of the exhibition facility that you are designing, if there is any connection.

- By the end of the class:

Please print out your floor plan and two sections drawings (one long-side cut and one short-side cut) at 1/16"=1'-0" scare on 8.5x11" paper. There drawings should be accurate and standard (how to drawing walls, doors, windows, steps, ramps, and floors that are cut in section drawings etc. and LINE-WEIGHTS). Please leave the walls/floors hollow, which means do not use solid black color to fill the cut walls or floors. In the long-side cut section drawing, please also show the elevation change of the site (please see the example below). Do not forget to put north arrow and section-cut symbols in the floor plan.

Friday, Oct. 4, 2013

- By the beginning of the class

Massing physical model at 1/16"=1'-0" scale. Material is mainly white museum board or white foam board, and you can also use wood sticks or MDF sticks for linear elements. You are encouraged to make more than one massing model to show your thinking process or to explore different options. Test your model and see how it looks on your site model. No interior details or details on the facade are required for this model. It is critical to show the openings/closeness and solid/void in your building.

Project 02_Phase 02 & 03 (part 2)

Homework due by Monday class on Sept 30, 2013.

1. Clean and simple MDF site model at 1/16"=1'-0".

2. At least five bubble diagram. Free-hand sketch on tracing paper. Do not use pencil (color pencil not recommended either), please. Instead, draw confidently with markers, pen, or other ink based media - I mean, start train yourself to draw and think like an architect. The purpose of five bubble diagrams is to see your thinking development process through changing back and forth in your bubble diagram and eventually stick to one for creating a  floor plan.

3. Floor plan drawing (schematic stage) - use single lines for walls. Computer drafting, and print out on 1/16"=1'-0" scale on 8.5x11" or 11x17" paper. The square footage of the spaces should be precisely calculated according to the program of the project (10% difference from assigned square footage is allowed). Label the spaces. This floor plan should be generated from one of the bubble diagrams from homework 2.

4. A computer diagram of "how the SOUND or RHYTHM (or PERSONALITY) of your music instrument inspire you in design?" This could be 2d or 3d diagram. I suggest you sketch on paper first, and then translate into computer drawing. Print out on 8.5x11" paper. You are allowed to use color or some other creative methods. Please do not spend too much time on this diagram (not too little either, of course. I say, between 1 hr to 1.5 hrs).

Project 02_Phase 02 and 03 (part 1)

What's due on Friday, September 27?

1. Site model, in 1/16"=1'-0", in MDF.

2. A diagram on "how the 2D SHAPE of your music instrument inspires you in design". Computer diagramming, and print out on 8.5x11" paper. Make it a 2d drawing in black and white (it can be line drawing or image, or both, or even the scanning of your sketching and collage with something else). For this exercise, you can look at the general shape from top view/ side view/ section view; you can focus on the general shape or on an important part/detail of the instrument; you are welcome to look at it in a intact manner; you are also encouraged to de-construct the instrument (take the parts apart or cut up an image of the instrument) and then reassemble them in a creative way (collage the pieces of the image or put the actual parts together in a way that makes sense but different from the original instrument).

More themes are to come for this diagramming exercise:
- How the SOUND and RHYTHM (or PERSONALITY) of your music instrument inspire you in design? - 2d or 3d
- How the GEOMETRY (SOLID/VOID) of your music instrument inspires you in design? - 3d
- How the MATERIAL (TEXTURE AND COLOR) of your music instrument inspires you in design? - 2d or 3d

3. Print out the site plan on 11x17" paper on 1/8"=1'-0" scale. You won't be able to fit the whole site on the paper (I know), but make sure you put the entire actual site/lot in the paper. North arrow and the scale should be included in the printed site plan.

Schedule for Project_02

Class 11	Fri	09/20	Phase 01: Research and exploration
Class 12	Mon	09/23	Phase 02: Site analysis and site modeling
Class 13	Wed	09/25	Phase 03 – Bubble diagram and floor plan
Class 14	Fri	09/27
Class 15	Mon	09/30	Phase 04 – Massing and façade design
Class 16	Wed	10/02
Class 17	Fri	10/04
Class 18	Mon	10/07	Phase 05 – Drafting and modeling (digital and physical)
Class 19	Wed	10/09
Class 20	Fri	10/11
Class 21	Mon	10/14	Review preparation
Class 22	Wed	10/16	Project due, REVIEW
Class 23	Fri	10/18

Your mind and a pen are your best tools for design at the preliminary stage :)

Project 02_Phase 01: Research and exploration

For project 02, we are going to design an exhibition hall for a kind of musical instrument. First of all, you are required to choose one instrument for yourself. Then explore and research it, and get really familiar with it until you feel you understand the spirit of this instrument. Please consider the following areas to do research about your instrument:

History and culture background
Shape and form (geometry, plane vs. linear components, straight vs. curve, solid vs. void)
Material(s)
Crafting technique of making the instrument (if handmade, then what are the tools)
Performing style (Is it versatile? Or is it mainly used for one particular music genre?)
Compare rhythm/ texture/ harmony/ proportion/ dynamic in architecture and music (this is an abstract one!)

The purpose of this practice is not to train you becoming a musician, but you are encouraged to think deep and make connection of the two great forms of art - architecture and music. Think deep, meditate and let you spirit released when you experience architecture imagination and music appreciation.

Now let's bring in two other forms of art to this practice: sketching (drawing) and modeling (sculpting). Here comes the homework while you lose yourself in listening to the performance of the musical instrument that you have picked. All due on Monday, Sept 23.

1. Do ten sketches on 8.5x11" paper of this instrument and the feeling/understanding that you get out of it. The ten sketches should go from concrete and more precise drawings to more abstract and dynamic ones. Keep in mind of straight line vs. curves, using line weights to show the depth of space, geometry proportion, etc. You are strongly encouraged to use color. One drawing per page.

2. Use paper and wire (or rope) to make three study models out of three of the abstract sketches you did for the first homework. The dimension should be about 5.5 x 8.5" (half of the regular paper size).

3. Bind your first project into a book as we talked in class.

Project 02_ Design Synthesis I

Dear all,

We are going to start our second project of the semester, which is "Design Synthesis I". The objective of the project is to produce a plan driven, horizontal, single story proposal. Please click here to download and print out the information package of the project.

Specifically, for our studio section, you are required to design a exhibition facility for one type of musical instrument. A great saying goes "Architecture is music frozen in time." Through this synthesis project, we are going to combine architecture and music. The process of design will be mainly carried out through sketching, diagramming, model making and line drawing producing.