Bedtime stories

Once upon a time, Archigeek decided to go to grad school...

Thesis Advisor M has suggested I put together a narrative of my project to keep track of what is and isn't important to show for the presentation. I think it will be a good way to focus my efforts on what is really important and cut down on my distraction (I'd like to point out that I stopped writing in the middle of that sentence to go check out some web sites )
So how does my project start?

This thesis began with an interest in details and ambiguity. I wondered if there was some kind of mechanism with which designers could indicate possible uses of a space without being specific so there were lots of possibilities. After looking at the work of Vernor Panton and some others, I decided that the best way to do this was by using small-scale interventions. That way the whole space wouldn't be affected, just portions of it.

Since I decided I wanted to start with the small scale and was interested in Panton, I went to Architectural Graphic Standards to look at how small small-scale is. When I was there, I noticed that there is some overlap in the measurements for certain things, and since a surface that is a table can also act as a seat is ambiguous, I started to overlay different examples of humans using furniture to produce a surface or section that could do a couple of things at once.

I found this productive, so chose 13 Graphic Standards that I felt addressed a variety of conditions and crossed them with each other to produce a huge number of ambiguous spatial conditions. Some of these were more successful than others, so I picked a representation of the best ones to work with further.

While the sections were interesting, they weren't yet spatial, so I decided I wanted to see what would happen if I combined them in a different way. While the ambiguous spatial conditions were interesting, their use was still limited to what I could imagine. But part of my idea of articulated space is that the architect needs to provide for uses that she can't imagine: the sections didn't address this.

I decided to go into Maya and created 3-D versions of combinations of sections. Each example took two sections and lofted between them. This meant that there were spaces that weren't one thing or another, and the use wasn't regulated by me because the shape was a byproduct of this process. I pursued this with all the sections and created a matrix of 45+ different chunks of habitable space.

When I started to assemble these, I realized that I had to apply some outside influences to arrange them. I had already picked a site that I thought would be productive because the use fluctuates significantly during the day and would vary according to measurable influences, so I began to diagram all the things that influence the site and might influence the placement of the ambiguous spatial conditions.

I spent a week diagramming everything I could think of that varied according to time: daylight access to site, program requirements, pedestrian movement, pedestrian speed. I laid them all out on a single map and realised that it would be possible to insert specific programmatic uses at certain points with the remainder of the site either ambiguous spatial condition that was not linked to program (the midpoint between two sections), or flat space that could be used as a pathway or have a relationship to the sections.

I looked at the solar access to the site and decided to place all the program in the north west corner to minimize shade cast into the site. I looked at the average speeds for paths across the site and decided that the less travelled areas were the best place to add the sections. I decided that the entry to the underground bus loop should have a habitable roof that could also function as a stage, and decided that the rest of the ambiguous spatial articulations should be arranged with the same form.

The end result of this is a ground plane that, at certain moments, undulates to create folds that can be used in ways defined by the original Architectural Graphic Standards.

The end.

Getting personal

When I started this blog, I decided I didn't want to talk about how I felt about thesis and the process because I was going to let people know about it and noone wanted to hear me complain. But I don't know anyone that reads it, and I've had my final committee meeting, so I thought I would blow off a little steam with the understanding that yes, I do love my project and I'm very fond of the School of Architecture, my professors, and the other students.

So in no particular order, a list of questions.

Why do my friends come to sit at my desk and complain about how much work they have to do? And that they can't wait until it's over? I have to produce a thesis project, and I have three weeks of hell to go through. Have they not noticed that I'm at school all the time?

Why does drinking coffee make my stomach decide to suceed? It's apparently trying to abdicate from my abdomen in an intensely painful way.

Why didn't I wear a sweater, or at the very least a long sleeved shirt today? It's freezing.

Why does stress make me hurt my feet so it's hard to walk? Am I trying to prevent myself from leaving my apartment, or possibly even my bed?

Why doesn't complaining about this make me feel better?

Do people actually believe I'm relaxed? And how is saying 'You'll be fine: you're Archigeek!' supposed to reassure me? That's the problem. I'm Archigeek. And she doesn't know what she is doing.

Why is this so unpleasant? I swore I would try to enjoy this thesis as much as possible because it's likely it will be my last real design project. But here I am, moaning and groaning.

What is the best way to deal with someone saying 'I miss being a student. You're so lucky: these days I rarely get home before 7 at night' ? Can it involve some slapping?

Will I ever lose these circles under my eyes? Are the wrinkles I've noticed for the first time this semester permanent?

Why is facebook so addictive, and why won't my friends do more things so it can take up more time?

Did I waste as much time this weekend as I think I did? Was what I was doing instead of homework actually a waste of time? Can I claim that martini drinking as brainstorming time? When am I going to drink my next martini?

Is not going to yoga giving me more time to work on my project, or just making me less focused?

Why can't I start the project that is due April 20th? Do I want to fail?

Why do all my muscles hurt?

Is Team Fun actually going to be fun? Are Team, the DBA, Short Bus, Mr. Clean and The Vegan going to want me dead? Am I going to want them dead? Is there going to be a murder/suicide in the studio, leaving the concrete floors awash with blood?

Can I do this?

This would be an excellent time to delurk, if you feel so inclined.

Final Committee Meeting: Today Only!

I have my last meeting today before the big presentation May-5th-or-6th. I've been awake for too long and haven't exercised properly since Saturday night, so am both sleepy and jittery. Hooray!

I'm pretty happy with most of what I've put together since the last meeting, but there are a couple of holes that concern me. The massing for most of the site should be fine because I'm not going to get too detailed and have some parameters that take care of most of the decisions. The same is true for the structure: there are only so many options, so I just need to pick one and see it through. The issue that concerns me most, however, is weather protection.

The Flame has been concerned about weather protection from the get-go. While I agree that in Vancouver it makes sense to have covered seating areas, I'm not sure if the auditorium (the only area that I plan to really resolve) is the best place for it. The reason? Sightlines. I've been trying to organize the whole site so that you can see the stage part from pretty much anywhere so that it can act as a small stage, an auditorium, or as a huge demonstration/gathering space. I want people looking from their windows able to participate in the stage: I want the whole plaza able to focus on this space.

How do you fit shelter into this? Any roof-ish structure is going to ruin the sightlines from somewhere. There are two walls, it's true, but they are only 3' above grade, and so won't be suitable for hanging any shelter from. I also want to make it possible for people to hang over the edge of them to listen/watch, and any shelter would really detract from that.

Something moveable might be the answer, but it seems so late to be introducing a new element. If I leave it the way it is, I can argue that in this instance there is no shelter because the way the auditorium functions precludes it, but there are lots of other opportunities for shelter in other collections of ambiguous spatial conditions around the square that I have not resolved. If I do add something I run the risk of it becoming the focus of my presentation because it doesn't fit or evolve naturally from these ideas. Yes, there should be shelter. But is it right in this case?

It's funny: I'm usually the most pragmatic of designers. I focus on stairs, shelter, envelope: all the boring stuff we are taught not to care about. But for this project I've thrown the existing program out the window, created a hugely dangerous site, spec'ed some suspicious details.... all in the name of design. If this were to be built, would the design be worth the hassles? That's my working theory, but I don't know.

I'm at T minus one month, one day. I'm going to take it easy this weekend (woo hoo! LONG weekend) and try to keep it down to 20 hours total at school. I'm going to talk about some of my presentation stuff with my committee this afternoon so I can get a better idea of what I should be getting done.... and Tuesday I'm going to send out an e-mail to all the people I've discussed thesis work with so I can figure out who is doing what and when. There are a couple of major players...

Mr. Clean: lightening fast with ACAD, Mr. Clean is best known for his work with physical models, but is now banned from the shop due to his advanced age. Mr. Clean will be tapped to draw and tidy sections.

The Vegan: The Vegan owes me one (1) flash movie, as a direct swap for work done on his thesis. He's going to be producing something very much like what I did for him: an animation that shows how use of the site varies throughout the day/week. He's going to be including shadow patterns as well, so I think it could be a great movie. His mayan expertise will also be required to help with renders.

Team: Team is going home for a week between April 21st and May5/6, but his tofu-powered precision should be put to good use on a mid-sized model of the auditorium with some structural details. I'm not sure how big it will be, but the intent is to show the structure and the relationship between the auditorium and the underground bus loop.

The DBA: I've been in talks with the DBA to build a full size model of some furniture for my reviewers to sit on. This needs to be approved by my committee, as Thesis Advisor M has suggested it may not be a good use of my resources (AKA, money and DBA) so he may end up working on a site model.

Short Bus: The only girl on the A team, Short Bus will be photoshopping and illustrating renders. I would prefer to only have people I know in my images, but we'll see if that happens.

I'm hoping to force sArs, AL, Orphan Annie and possibly some others to give a hand, but too many people is more of an issue at this point than not enough. Orphan Annie has said she might be able to cater, which is great for The Vegan and Team.

I'm stoked about the reformation of Team Fun as a kick off to summer. Go Team Fun!