Here's a little article on Rem Koolhaas, one of the more interesting architects I've studied, by Smithsonian.com.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Everybody's a Critic
A studio-rendition of a poem by a popular modern-day poet:
Our palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's sweat stains on shirts already, we're not ready
She's nervous but on the surface she looks calm and ready to drop bombs
But she keeps on forgetting what she wrote down
The whole studio goes so loud
She opens her mouth but the words won't come out
She's choking now, everybody's joking now
Keep trying to put words together but I'm stumbling, wow
The clock's run out, times up, over, BOW!
AKA: It's review day.
However, despite the fact that majority of architecture college students hate reviews, I tend to like them. I don't like the actual presentation of course (who actually likes those?!) since I tend to forget the art of English-ing, but I rather enjoy the critiques and conversations about my/our design afterward. After you've worked on something for so long, hour after hour (most likely in the wee hours of the morning), it's advantageous for a group to get a fresh pair of eyes to review the project at hand.
In spite of the fact that both my partner and I were running on roughly 2 hours of sleep each, I think that our presentation went well today. The reviewers were very helpful with their comments after our presentation. They talked mostly about how, at least in the beginning, liked our parti (even though it was most definitely not in chronological order.. which is surprisingly hard to realize at 3 am..). Later though, they said the form was lost in the process, specifically when we split the one "noodle" form into two different pieces.
Now, I think we will be able to move in a direction that can fix the children's noise issue, that they also touched on, and still be able to stick with our original "inspiration" and/or parti.
Hopefully we will be able to design a great form and fix our currently non-functional areas. Will get to work before the weekend however. :)
^
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (^ .> ^)
Monday, October 13, 2014
Transportation and Technology Are Not My Friends
Once again my luck almost got the best of me today.
On the way to class today, the bolt that holds the front tire of my bike to the frame decided to just FLY OFF while I was speeding down a hill. Luckily for me the front tire "forks" onto the frame and the wheel only wiggled from side to side wildly as I came safely to a halt (with my back break because the front doesn't work). I sprinted to grab the bolt and proceeded to fix the bike at one of the handy bike-fix stations around campus. (I also saw a man on the ground under the bridge receiving medical attention from 4 or 5 medics and a cop. No clue what happened. Exciting day I suppose.)
On the bright side, our project is going well. We've decided to give up on my computer and utilize the lab directly next to the studio. (Why we didn't do this before we'll never know. -_- ) What I've learned from this project so far is:
Tata for now.
On the way to class today, the bolt that holds the front tire of my bike to the frame decided to just FLY OFF while I was speeding down a hill. Luckily for me the front tire "forks" onto the frame and the wheel only wiggled from side to side wildly as I came safely to a halt (with my back break because the front doesn't work). I sprinted to grab the bolt and proceeded to fix the bike at one of the handy bike-fix stations around campus. (I also saw a man on the ground under the bridge receiving medical attention from 4 or 5 medics and a cop. No clue what happened. Exciting day I suppose.)
On the bright side, our project is going well. We've decided to give up on my computer and utilize the lab directly next to the studio. (Why we didn't do this before we'll never know. -_- ) What I've learned from this project so far is:
CURVES SUCK.
But besides the fact that it is hella hard to make roofs for our building in Revit, we're pretty excited about the form coming together and taking it's final shape, and therefore aiding with the program of the library. And now, it's about time to go start on Systems and Structures homework.Tata for now.
Uh.. Friday?
10-10-14
Technology hates me.
It just does.
I've seem to had a run of bad luck recently, and after someone stole something from me and my phone rained on, my computer now seems to hate the program Revit. After attempting to diagnose the problem, I think it may be time 1) to install a newer version of Windows or 2) get a new computer altogether. (Unfortunately that won't happen with my financial situation as of now.) So hopefully we can get all these problems banged out by Monday and have a clean model, sections, and a good floorplan to show for all the work that we (actually have) put into this project so far.
But right now computers still hate me, and in return, I hate them. It's a lovely hate-hate relationship as of ten minutes ago when my Windows partition decided to shut down completely in the middle of attempting to save our model. (-_-)
Besides that, I can't wait for this weekend! I have friends coming in to stay with me for the game from both Lubbock and Waco, and will get to see even more old friends at a once-a-year tailgate. Sadly I'll have to finish the weekend off with painting signs for one of the chair positions I hold, but it'll be fine since my friends will be simultaneously suffering from cutting out the spray paint stencils. :) Muahaha.
Technology hates me.
It just does.
I've seem to had a run of bad luck recently, and after someone stole something from me and my phone rained on, my computer now seems to hate the program Revit. After attempting to diagnose the problem, I think it may be time 1) to install a newer version of Windows or 2) get a new computer altogether. (Unfortunately that won't happen with my financial situation as of now.) So hopefully we can get all these problems banged out by Monday and have a clean model, sections, and a good floorplan to show for all the work that we (actually have) put into this project so far.
But right now computers still hate me, and in return, I hate them. It's a lovely hate-hate relationship as of ten minutes ago when my Windows partition decided to shut down completely in the middle of attempting to save our model. (-_-)
Besides that, I can't wait for this weekend! I have friends coming in to stay with me for the game from both Lubbock and Waco, and will get to see even more old friends at a once-a-year tailgate. Sadly I'll have to finish the weekend off with painting signs for one of the chair positions I hold, but it'll be fine since my friends will be simultaneously suffering from cutting out the spray paint stencils. :) Muahaha.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Barbie Doll Houses vs. Lincoln Logs
Upon reading chapters 6 and 7 of Refrabricating Architecture, one thing kept barging into my mind: Barbie Doll houses and Lincoln Logs. I couldn't stop associating prefabrication with them. For one, the Barbie Doll House (some editions?) come with attachable rooms, already prefabricated and ready to use. However the Lincoln Logs are separate from one another, waiting to be built into something different every time they're used with prefabricated roofs and windows that vary in size.
This is honestly the best way to most accurately describe the way I think about mass customization. According to the book, Henry Ford had one model and one color for roughly 20 years. It was a means of transportation and transportation only, not customization. They were put together on assembly lines quickly (in that time) and efficiently. What we want to aim to do to relate this to architecture is to not follow Ford's lead, but to focus on the few aspects that helped the company succeed. In architecture, every client is unique, and therefore their needs are as much. Unlike Ford, we can not simply build prefabricated houses and expect to be a huge success. As architects, it is our job to design spaces for people to live in comfortably. Prefabrication will never work for architecture.. or will it?
I believe that it is possible for architects to achieve mass customization. But it's going to be a lot harder than it seems. It's simpler for different things, such as automobiles, because they generally have a design basis to start out with. (Four wheels, an enclosed cab, front and back bumpers, windows all 360 degrees for sight.) Yet, with architecture, the only specification we really have is that a human must be able to stand and walk around or through it, which isn't a lot if you think about it. This calls for more and more ideas of how to build something and what the process is to put it together, yet while still doing it quickly and efficiently. This is where the process gets sticky. Once you have a module, you must have the option to alter the model in some way, or else you'll end up with the same old module every time you replicate your building, therefore making it monotonous and boring.
Mass customization is now what architects today are looking towards. In this day and age, people want everything at the tips of their fingertips and to have what they want when they want it. The whole "smartphone revolution" has flipped society around, now making us more impatient while simultaneously making us more demanding of our individual needs. This is where mass customization needs to be if it ever wants to succeed. We need to create a way to fabricate something quickly while still having the ability to change it, like Lincoln Logs. The logs themselves are straight from the factory, but unlike the doll house, it has the option to vary the building's height, size, whether there's a window or not, and more. You can even build a castle with a courtyard (my personal favorite as a kid). The dollhouse rooms were either stationary and immoveable inside the house, or were separate units that you could arrange around one another, but not completely transform.
In the end, I think that we will need to find a solution more like Lincoln Logs than a dollhouse system to help end modular monotony, and hopefully we'll be able to find it soon.
This is honestly the best way to most accurately describe the way I think about mass customization. According to the book, Henry Ford had one model and one color for roughly 20 years. It was a means of transportation and transportation only, not customization. They were put together on assembly lines quickly (in that time) and efficiently. What we want to aim to do to relate this to architecture is to not follow Ford's lead, but to focus on the few aspects that helped the company succeed. In architecture, every client is unique, and therefore their needs are as much. Unlike Ford, we can not simply build prefabricated houses and expect to be a huge success. As architects, it is our job to design spaces for people to live in comfortably. Prefabrication will never work for architecture.. or will it?
I believe that it is possible for architects to achieve mass customization. But it's going to be a lot harder than it seems. It's simpler for different things, such as automobiles, because they generally have a design basis to start out with. (Four wheels, an enclosed cab, front and back bumpers, windows all 360 degrees for sight.) Yet, with architecture, the only specification we really have is that a human must be able to stand and walk around or through it, which isn't a lot if you think about it. This calls for more and more ideas of how to build something and what the process is to put it together, yet while still doing it quickly and efficiently. This is where the process gets sticky. Once you have a module, you must have the option to alter the model in some way, or else you'll end up with the same old module every time you replicate your building, therefore making it monotonous and boring.
Mass customization is now what architects today are looking towards. In this day and age, people want everything at the tips of their fingertips and to have what they want when they want it. The whole "smartphone revolution" has flipped society around, now making us more impatient while simultaneously making us more demanding of our individual needs. This is where mass customization needs to be if it ever wants to succeed. We need to create a way to fabricate something quickly while still having the ability to change it, like Lincoln Logs. The logs themselves are straight from the factory, but unlike the doll house, it has the option to vary the building's height, size, whether there's a window or not, and more. You can even build a castle with a courtyard (my personal favorite as a kid). The dollhouse rooms were either stationary and immoveable inside the house, or were separate units that you could arrange around one another, but not completely transform.
In the end, I think that we will need to find a solution more like Lincoln Logs than a dollhouse system to help end modular monotony, and hopefully we'll be able to find it soon.
~tada~
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)