Board Mock

mock up for review boards (8'x12')

The strategy for the final review is to present my project in a competition board layout and organize them by scale.  In keeping with my modernist hero mies van der rohe , I will be exercising"Less is more".  I dont want to over stimulate the reviewers by filling my board with a ton of stuff.  I honestly picture the review facilitating itself around the models.  The boards will be there to demonstrate the quality of space i have in mind.

Im debating putting together three small booklets that will have site photos/research that I can pass out so that the reviewers can thumb through them as I present.  The book will demonstrate the research but also not clutter my presentation boards.

The Urban focus set of boards will allow viewers to understand the extent of this project and see how important transportation is to urbanization.

The site focus board is the design proposal, highlighting the elements of the entire site as a plaza.

The Building board will get into the specifics relating the programatic portion of the site.

Sustainability Review

Well todays review was bitter sweet.  I completely agree with the criticism from my reviewers, however I feel like I am not in the position to make or re-examine how I could incorporate their suggestions. 

I will just have to prioritize their comments and tackle the ones that are manageable, i.e. will take the shortest time or require the minimal revamping.

Their comments in general were spot on.  They understood where I was coming from, although some earlier diagrams could have made my argument easier.  Basically they liked and appreciated the simplicity of the building however found it to be architecturally uninteresting and did not see how the spaces and form making were informed by "bio-synergies"  I admit Bio-synergies has not been my main focus, however I did choose to develop my project in Gateway because of its Eco-district background.  I feel like approaching architecture from and Urban design standpoint has made me value both practices even more, and can now see that it is the balance between the two that allows for the most successes.

They had a lot of ideas and suggestions about how to make my building respond more to climatic and user stimuli, however I worry exploring those route will only leave me high and dry come the final review.

I will take away from this review a little insight to how my final review might go, and begin to think about more thoughtful answers to the tough question that stand before me.

The reviewers appreciated the graphic representation of the ideas and building components and mentioned that it was this clarity that made it so easy to pick at.  That made me smile.   

Day Light Model

Tested out the quality of light in the auditorium portion of my building.  The translucent panels keep a consistent glow in this space in all seasons for all times of the day.  The wood battens add contrast near the stage to make presentations visible even during the brightest times of day.  Roller shades will be added to the interior of the Double skin wall to allow for very low light levels when desired.

Week 16: Update

site plan: New transit Awning, Performance/Exhbition Pavilion to North, and Hybrid plaza to South

Entirely Insulated tanslucent Glazing skin with vision glass denoting entries

This week I was able to nail down the building in terms of its relationship to my proposed transit station covering and to the plaza.  I am excited to work this week on finalizing floor plans, and incorporating more vegetated elements into the hardscape plaza (hence the Hybrid).  

As far as sustainability is concerned,  My urban plan is doing a great job at achieving the objectives of the Eco-district initiative.  Mobility Check, Community Vitality Check, Energy Check, Air Quality Check, Habitat Check, Form Check.

I also Intend to work out The building and site strategies during this week.  Some ideas are as follows:

Rain water from room will be collected in a cistern and used for restrooms.  Over flow will be directed to plantings on site(since my entire site is a basically a ginormous bio-swale.  The new transit station will be covered in a mix of pvs and BIPV glazing.  There is more then enough surface area to power my facilities.  The building skin made primarily of Insulated glazing panels offers an airy feel to the building while still making it perform with low energy consumption.