mocking up

So last week we decided it was necessary to build a full scale mock up of the funnel part of the canopy. Using poster board as a stand in for recycled plastic panels and hundreds of rivets, the funnel slowly came into being. It was a seemingly never-ending process of file setup, laser cutting, and riveting, but it will be invaluable experience when actual construction begins. The difficult thing will be training helpers to rivet because screw-ups can be very time consuming. Still, when it was all up it looks really good. Final pics to come.

concrete corner

I'm a little behind on the blog posts so I thought I'd do a little catch up work before I start on current events. Jori suggested the necessity of a concrete corner to clean up/emphasize the corner condition and also allow for signage opportunities. Using plaster models John and I looked at different ways to integrate the corner with the crossing of the beams that we were covering by pulling the beams through the corner. We also looked at possible sitting conditions that might occur with a person leaning against the wall. We came up with a solution that we thought was minimal but effective, but the design was not too well recieved. Here are some pics.


Of course how to incorporate signage was still an issue and still is, but we felt this could allow for a number of applications. We're still looking at ways to eliminate the holes but still prevent the corner from feeling tacked on.

bamboo up and down

This past friday the group came to a consensus on a structural scheme that was simple enough to be accomplished and graceful enough to work with the canopy. Rather than trying to think our way through where the poles should occur on a piece of paper we went straight to the site for a full scale mock up. It was instantly apparent the impact this structure was going to have in creating a gathering space on the site. My only concern was the density of the poles creating an artificial forest on the site and getting in the way of performances, but it was not too bad. Returning to the site on saturday many of the poles had fallen and their were curious looks coming from all over, with the broken bamboo not doing much to assuage the doubts. Still, there was a lot of positive feedback and finally we feel like we have something that may just get built.

Design to construction

City council meeting went great, open house went great, and now its time to get on with building. Unfortunately, we haven't yet nailed down our material suppliers. The importance of finding recycled materials makes it a little trickier but there is plenty of stuff out there for us. The design seems to have come together and hopefully construction will be starting within a week.

Here are some pics of a water bottle study inspired by a design by emilio ambasz and a shadow/form study of the analogue panel/funnel model I built. I think it's important we keep these two concepts in mind even as we seem to be moving further away from them to make sure that we don't end up tacking them on in the end. The panels especially seem to have been forgotten as the structural form takes so much precedence. The water bottle is really just playing around with how a plastic bottle can start to become something more and how the ability to refract and bend the light moving through it can create some interesting opportunities.

stage design

This past weekend we decided to tackle the design of the stage since it seemed to be lagging as other phases developed. Beginning with concept of covering and revealing parts of the stage use decking, we began to develop a more experiential concept about how crossing in front of the stage might begin to connect a runner with the experience of the boardwalk later on. In addition we explored the concept of weaving the two decking planes together visually. By wrapping the wood around the edges we experimented with preserving the edges of the box as well as breaking away from it periodically. Other Adam and I constructed a model that would allow us to look at not only the aesthetics of the planes but also at how the construction details might begin to reinforce the overall concepts in play.

rural studio connections

After visiting the rural studio in Alabama, one thing became very apparent about the nature of design/build projects and that is that it's all about the connections. Looking specifically at the Perry Lakes projects, the importance of connections within the structure as not only a system of architectural detailing but also as a means of connecting builder to inhabitant reveals itself as an essential element. Thinking about how to apply these ideas to our own project the importance of connections within the structure is apparent when dealing with the plastic paneling system. How these details might tell a story of our own process and allow people to realize the effort of construction as they move through the site could be very helpful in developing the construction details.

first impressions

I am expecting that the most meaningful aspect of this studio will be the exploration of how what we do in the studio can have a very noticeable and permanent impact on the community that we are a part of. These projects will hopefully help to remind us that we are a part of the community that we design for, even in later studios that are not design/build. I am hoping that there is a great deal of community engagement, both at the site for construction and ideas and at various community centers, day cares, etc. Architecture without people is pointless and by strengthening our sense of community we will hopefully develop a stronger architecture that can endure and go beyond mere installation. I imagine that the most difficult part will be the resolution of construction details and materials. This is the aspect that I feel we have dealt with least in past projects and will therefore be a new experience, which usually means a lot of dead-ends. Then again, that's always part of the fun.