Becoming the Storm

Contemplating the Quad : Grad Studio : Fall 2009

2010-01-30T20:12:00.012-05:00

view of the dorm on site

Basement floor plan: performance space (The Underground) and student laundry space

The Underground: interior view

Underground: student laundry room

1st Floor: floorplan

1st Floor: Coffee Shop

2nd and 3rd Floor plans

Contemplating the Quad : Grad Studio : Fall 2009

2010-01-30T19:58:00.008-05:00

Confronting the Quad: Preserving Campus Housing to Accommodate Current Needs

The focus of this design project is to rehabilitate the UNCG dormitory, Cotten Hall, by adaptively reusing it as a multifunctional, “live-learn” residence hall. While the site will primarily be a residence hall, it will also accommodate a coffee shop, class rooms, community spaces as well as a performance space. In an effort to understand the interplay between historic preservation, systems and users, the rehabilitation of Cotten Hall will serve as a case study for directive design through the adaptive reuse of historic dormitory buildings. Providing a variety of student living spaces will allow students to become more attuned and connected with their environments as well as their larger communities.

Technology and functionalism have disconnected people from their environments, creating a society that is ungrounded and disconnected. Architectural design and historic preservation, each with different goals and foundations, can be put to good use to create and enable active community building for these societies. In this case, I am looking specifically at the college community. Although the demographics of the ‘typical college student’ have changed with varying backgrounds and ages, the need for community is a tie that binds throughout.

This design project will utilize several design and preservation theories, as well as architectural philosophy, as the underpinning of the rehabilitation. Precedent studies from different universities, as well as rehabilitation projects from around the world, in combination with the proposed rehabilitation plans through UNCG Facilities Design and Construction, will guide the designs.

Theory

Rehabilitation of historic buildings is a way to breath new life into buildings that have become obsolete or under used. Designs for the reuse of a building or structure should communicate values, sense of place and identity as well as offer an architectural dialogue between the past and future. In the context of rehabilitating an historic dormitory, it is helpful to take cues from the existing design to educate the new design. This studio will look specifically at how the design of the old dormitory, thought to be inadequate for current student needs, can be reworked to become not only relevant but actively engage students in their community.

With the choice for rehabilitation of the dorms, it is important to understand the values of the undertaking and its direction. Reworking existing buildings for new uses, or in this case similar uses, is a longstanding practice. Rehabilitation emphasizes the cultural value of a building, but can also serve as an architectural narrative conveying continued significance through time.

The Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation is responsible for establishing standards on the preservation of historic properties listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Rehabilitation is defined as "the process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those features which are significant to its historic, architectural, and cultural values."

Rehabilitation

In Brooker and Stone’s text, “ReReadings: interior architecture and the design principles of remodeling existing buildings”, the author suggests three strategies for rehabilitation; Intervention, Insertion and Installation. An intervention is when an existing building and its modifications are so intertwined that they cannot exist independently. Insertion is when new autonomous elements are introduced but are defined and contained by the existing building, and Installation is when the existing and new elements are independent of one another.

For this studio, a combination of Intervention and Insertion will be used, maintaining the integrity of the existing dormitory buildings, while introducing new architectural language and flexible spaces.

Value

In terms of preserving architecture it is important to acknowledge the diverse transformations it has developed over time. Both discourses about the past and future of architecture must coincide to make a successful intervention in cultural heritage. Professor of Architecture, Manuel Martin-Hernandez offers that in order to reconcile these two terms, we must spell out the values that define the heritage in question; then by de limiting the scope of the intervention meant to preserve and invigorate it.

Alois Riegl, in his pivotal text “The Modern Cult of Monuments”, provides a clear systematization of the values attributed to monuments over time. The most obvious value when referring to cultural heritage is the "age value," which appreciates the past for itself, preventing any intervention from happening. On the contrary, "historical value" is inherent in the object's capacity to "represent" a particular time in history. To these we may add a third value, that of "Contemporaneity," which may in turn be divided in two: an artistic value and use value. The former was defined by Riegl in his theory of kunstwollen (artistic will) as relative, characteristic of each time, and therefore subject to a certain suspension of judgment. The latter referred to the monument's utilitarian capacities, affirming that the only way to safeguard our cultural heritage was to put it to use. It is in this sense that design interventions can be understood.

Recomposition

Conservation can learn from design in that intervention must be understood architecturally according to space, to meaning, to the relation of form to function, and to appropriate techniques. When this mutual instruction happens, historic architecture is allowed to become “the protagonist of its own history, in all its complexities”. Rehabilitation needs to combine art and functionalism, to discover the essence of a building which can be communicated through architectural language. This conception of architectural conservation as an act of "re-composition" has given Modern architects the ability to transcend the limitations of previous techniques.

A classic example is the work of Carlo Scarpa at the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona, reconstructed between 1957 and 1973. Scarpa's understanding of the relationship between conservation and design is evident in his drawings. The drawings that he produced in developing his design employed various techniques to represent the accumulation of time, something he felt gave character and vitality to historic buildings. He traced over lines in watercolor and ink and superimposed transparencies of all the floors and ceilings to develop a new structural mesh as an integral part of the original building.

Scarpa’s techniques uncover a deeper issue with architecture; that it cannot be strictly functional and technological, or based solely on a formal aesthetic; architecture is a poetic discourse between the two. In his text on the space of architectural representation, Alberto Perez Gomez states, “The dilemma ultimately concerns an architecture for a cultural epoch that is defined by a new beginning and yet cannot pretend to overcome modernity and leave behind its fundamental roots in historicity, but can only shift and redefine its critical terms.”

Directive Design

While the studio is based heavily in architectural theory, it is also guided by social behavioral theory. Directive design is a two pronged approach to adaptive reuse. First, the existing building directs and informs the new design through existing layout and features. Second, the new design aims to be directive for an enriched social climate and community building opportunities. The interplay between systems and users can manipulate social interaction and community engagement through the layout and types of spaces. The rehabilitation of Cotten Hall will look specifically at movement between public and private spaces and transparency between larger university spaces and smaller residential spaces. The idea of directive design was inspired under the premise of educational programming and social behavior studies. Robert Brown from the University of Nebraska describes directive design as the “management and manipulation of the environment for specific and even occasionally predictable purposes.” In terms of architectural design, the arrangement of public and private spaces and the insertion of new architectural language into an existing fabric creates depth, engaging residents to take note of their environments and directing them to become actively engaged in the space and their communities.

Context

Cotten Hall, located at the center of the UNC Greensboro campus, is one of seven neoclassical dormitories within the university Quad. Built between 1920 and 1923, Quad dormitories offer traditional double rooms and hall bathrooms. The Quad itself is a character-defining feature of the campus, serving as a hub for activity and community as well as creating a sense of place and identity for the university.

In the spring of 2009, due to worn-out systems and weak demand for rooms, the Board of Trustees opened a debate whether the seven dorms should be rebuilt or renovated, a proposal that roused overwhelming support against demolition. Then, on September 10 the Board of Trustees released their decision to complete a $52.3 million rehabilitation of the existing buildings, to create suite style rooms with common areas that will include the addition of air conditioning, fire sprinklers, and accessibility.

Precedent Studies

The rehabilitation of Cotten Hall is be educated by precedent studies focusing on several key design projects as well as continued research of dormitory design and the architectural narrative. The study will include the works of Carlo Scarpa, whose designs work to elude time and to discover the hidden qualities of matter. Examples of successful dormitory rehabilitations at Elon University as well as Chapel Hill will be considered, in addition to new residence hall designs following the “live-learn” model.

Approach

This studio will approach the rehabilitation of the Quad in a new way, combining modern design, sustainable technology, historic preservation and the “live-learn” residence hall model. As the name implies, a “live-learn” residence hall is an integrative model of student housing which promotes academic excellence and social interaction through mixed use areas. Floorplans feature single and double configurations, social spaces as well as areas for academic functions.

The antiquated idea that ‘work’ is done in the library and ‘relaxing’ is done in the dorm, does not fit the learning models for today’s college students. Live-Learn Residence halls are microcosms for current design trends, allowing the buildings to become incubators for emotional growth, relationship development, and a sense of community, place, and identity.

The studio project is grounded in preservation theory as well as directive design theory. The project will be guided by Brooker and Stone’s strategies of Insertion and Intervention. These strategies will allow for flexible design solution that provide a variety of living and community spaces, circulation between public and private spaces (when appropriate), and transparency between the larger university community and the smaller residence hall community. The project will also be guided by the Facilities Design and Construction Department’s proposed plans for the rehabilitation of the Quad dormitories. The intention is to provide an interpretation of a successful interplay of historic preservation, systems and users in an effort positively manipulate social interaction and community engagement within the dorm and university context.

Program

The 1920’s building consists of a basement and three floors. For the purpose of this project, only the ground floor and second floor will be utilized. The first floor of the building will be developed into a mixed use space including a coffee shop, study area, classroom and several living spaces. The space demands a flexible open area where students can mingle in public or semi-private areas, a study area that is quiet and sectioned away from the main flow of traffic, private access and spaces, community areas, living spaces and transparency between the interior and the outside. The upper floor will serve mostly as residences, with communal spaces for interaction, meetings and studying.

Given the fact that the original building does not include air conditioning, handicap accessibility or fire sprinklers; innovative, flexible technologies will be introduced and considered for the design to address these needs.

Using the first and second floors in conjuncture with one another will allow the dorm to become a hub for activity on campus. Students will be encouraged to build community and develop a sense of place through the design of the structure, resulting in retention of students on campus.

Method

In addition to a thorough assessment of precedent studies, a comprehensive analysis of the dormitory, existing plans and the proposed “live-learn” floor plan from the Facilities Design and Construction Department will guide the design phase of this studio. A study of the building will analyze its form, function and context. This analysis will provide insight that will lead to a more socially directive design plan. A study of how the building is used and what students actually need will determine circulation, egress and adjacency.

The studio will produce Conceptual and Schematic Designs of floor plans and community spaces will explore circulation, transparency and use. Design Development will solidify floor plan, function and integrative architectural elements. Finally, an Analysis of the rehabilitation will look at how the design was socially directive in the context of the university context.

Revolution Mills~GDS Music Department

2009-05-04T10:28:00.006-04:00

Floor plan and reflected ceiling plan:

Perspectives:

Shelter Bus - Podium Renderings

2009-04-13T19:47:00.003-04:00

SketchUp Model - Shelter Bus

2009-04-07T14:03:00.003-04:00

More Vignettes for Music Space

2009-03-23T08:22:00.004-04:00

Break out space in the music department

Visual Vignettes - Music Community Analysis Screen

2009-03-04T09:19:00.007-05:00

Visual Images were required for each focus area. The images were to reflect how each category from this semester's readings could be seen in each space.
From the Clock of the Long Now, by Stewart Brand:
Fashion & Art, Commerce, Infrastructure, Governance, Culture, Nature
-These are the six levels of pace and size, in which the world is organized. Fashion and art move and change faster than nature and culture.

What is the Beauty that you see?
Dynamic opposition, Warm and Fuzzy, Beauty that Surrounds Us, Dirt to Dirt, Tactile Beauty

Water: How can water be used in this focus area?

These are the final images that I drew, and the thumbnail sketches for a group study.

The Beauty that Surrounds Us: The chaos of everyday life is surrounded by the calm of the natural environment. It acts as a balancing force.

Dynamic Opposition: Many times, people will see different colors or shapes when they hear reaction. I see brass as more geometric and bright, contrasting the cooler, smoother shapes associated with string instruments. Sound and approach create dynamic opposition.

Warm and Fuzzy: The colors and the feeling of being enveloped speak to the warm and fuzzy in music.

Place Making for Plastic Minds - Spring Studio Intro

2009-03-03T13:24:00.007-05:00

Place Making for Plastic Minds – Interior Architecture Spring 2009

This semester’s studio has focused on developing design knowledge and skills while unfolding the design of an educational facility for Greensboro Day School.

The rationale for designing a middle school in an urban setting is to develop an awareness of environmental patterns that afford the opportunity for healthy exploration of childhood education:
At the scale of a neighborhood
Reuse of an existing building
Future visions for how children learn
This is achieved through exploration of patterns, processes and beauty.

Refreshing our posture: Posture describes the way we look at life, it’s a half empty vs. half full way of looking at things. A closed posture, like crossing your arms, blocks out the world, making you closed off to new ideas or ways of thinking. An open posture allows you to be more receptive to new ideas. Its not a matter of ‘This is what I could have done and I didn’t do a good job this time”, but rather, “This is an opportunity that I can explore next time.” The glass is always half full. Open posture helps the design process and allows you to absorb and appreciate the beauty that is everywhere around us.

We have been told that this studio places us in the ‘middle of the storm’. This concept was introduced last semester at a lecture seminar by John Lynn, one of the professors. He liken a storm to the built environment and humans interaction with it, saying that storms are agents of transformation, can be constructive/destructive, are dynamic and are a process. Designers can become the storm. We can take all the forces available and use them as a constructive force, beautifying the environment around us. I have adopted this concept, but I’m still struggling to grasp it completely every day.

Anyway, the studio has worked to incorporate these principles into this semester’s project. We are designing a middle school for Greensboro Day School in the existing facilities at Revolution Mills on Yanceyville Street in Greensboro. The middle school will house 200-400 students.

The first half of the semester has been dedicated to re-teaching the students on how to think about design. In the past, students have learned to take a project and dive in, thinking about space requirements, colors, flow and use. This studio has taught us to think first about the most important aspect of any space. What is the beauty here? What could it be? What do you see? What do the people that will be using the space see?

The project:
We have developed a Programming Document that lays out the following:
About the Studio
About the Greensboro Day School
About Revolution Mills: Historic considerations, General statements
Design Considerations/Resources to be incorporated: Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation, LEED Standards, AIA 50 to 50, Light Imprint
Building Focus Area: Scope of Focus Area, narrative, charts, photos, Quantified Tabulation (quantities/qualities), historic considerations, and visual vignettes

Our group has written up the program for the Music Community at Revolution Mills, consisting of 2 band spaces, a chorus space, an orchestra space, offices, storage spaces, practice rooms, and a breakout space.

We have chosen our concept, or intent for the space, to be:
Voicing the Soul through Music and Space

Music is an art form in which the creation, performance, significance and even definition may vary according to culture and social context. In so many ways, music is different from other disciplines. It is abstract, transcendent, constantly evolving, and can be ethereal and in-your-face at the same time. But most importantly, music cannot be contained. It can, however, be housed, and that space should honor its unique attributes by voicing the true soul of music.

In the context of a middle school music community, ‘voicing the soul’ is a concept that deals with personal development through the expression of music. Middle school is an uncertain time in a child’s developmental stages, where they are trying to fit it and stand out at the same time. Music can help to organize and give meaning to a somewhat chaotic time in development, by enabling one’s voice to be heard through the music itself, its interpretation or its space. Many elements enhance and enable this expression.

Music as an Outlet for Creativity
Music in all forms acts as an outlet for creativity. The common trend in today’s education, at least up until now, has been to snuff out children’s creativity, forcing them to accept and regurgitate information. Music and music education functions much differently, thriving on and reintroducing creativity back into the curriculum. Spaces should not only be functional, but should celebrate music, honoring personal and group achievements.

Musical and Educational Versatility
Nation wide, educators have voiced the importance of a project based education, and music education is no different. The creation and appreciation of music in all its forms is always a work in progress. Project based education in music allows students to learn to act on and explore personal interests. Individuals can work on composition, groups can work together to find that perfect pitch, and ensembles can achieve harmony and balance through flexible spaces.

This introduces another important aspect of music education in the 21st century; that of elastic and versatile spaces. Who ever made the rule that a space had to serve one purpose? The designs for Revolution Mills will break the mold, letting music spill out into every aspect of children’s and educators’ lives. Want to create a music community both spatially and intellectually. The physical connection of the music spaces to other art disciplines will not only help the free flow of people between the disciplines, but will also encourage the dissemination and exchange of different ideas.

Versatility is not just a spatial concept, but is a teaching method that can be supported by the actual space it resides in. Music education in the 21st century needs to accommodate different learning methods and speeds at which this learning takes place. Not everyone learns at the same pace or in the same way. Some children cannot read music, but can see music in their mind, while other children may be able to read music but have trouble connecting to it and actually seeing it. Spaces need to be elastic and inspiring, appealing to the physical and mental eye.

Music and Stimulation
Stimulation is another major aspect of music. While music is aurally stimulating, the spaces that accommodate it should be equally motivating. Stimulation in a music environment can be conceptualized in a three prong approach. The environment provides visual stimulation, the music provides aural stimulation, and the students provide tactile and intellectual stimulation. These three pathways are simultaneously stimulating, creating a dynamic environment through thought and space.

Music and Technology
Planning for a music education space would not be a complete conversation if the importance of technology was not addressed. Technology in music is not only creating new outlets for expression, but serves to enhance current and past forms. The music spaces at Revolution Mills will allow for composition, education and theory, as well as web based projects and recording.

Music and Health Benefits
Recent studies have shown that music has positive effects on intelligence, mental health and immunity. Tests have shown more grey matter in the auditory cortex of the right hemisphere in musicians compared to non musicians. Music has also shown to enhance memory and positively effect cognition and health (The Neurosciences and Music II, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences). Specifically applicable to middle school children, studies have shown that students involved with music do better in school, showing positive effects on reading and mathematic achievement in early childhood and adolescence (The Impact of Music on Childhood and Adolescent Achievement, Social Science Quarterly).

In order to accommodate all these assets of music, Greensboro Day School will require several types of music spaces. Students will need access to 2 band spaces, one chorus space, an orchestra space, a dance studio, practice rooms, as well as a breakout room. In addition to this, instructors will require offices spaces. Most areas will require access to windows to allow for natural light and ventilation, as well as access to an outdoor loading zone. Spaces need to be adjacent to one another, and due to the noise produced by this community, it would be better to be located in a corner area at the mill

Object Persuasion

2009-02-25T09:50:00.002-05:00

Urban Pathways - Adventures with Illustrator

2009-02-25T09:43:00.003-05:00

Scene of Discourse

2009-02-12T16:04:00.004-05:00

Urban Landscapes - William Morris Meets City Grunge

2009-01-29T13:06:00.004-05:00

Urban Landscapes can be anything from buildings, to art, to the people that inhabit the spaces. The Visual Communications class was asked to create Victorian inspired wallpaper from elements of an urban landscape image. I chose graffiti because it not only reflects the built environment, but the cultural and social landscape as well. I then used William Morris Nettle wallpaper as a reference for the new product.

Computing in Architectural Design - Response

2009-01-25T20:02:00.003-05:00

Computers have become such an integral and integrated part of our lives today, functioning as both tools, means of communication, assistants and play spaces. In the world of design, computers are the keystone to the design process, but it was not always this way. In Yehuda Kalay’s book, Architecture’s New Media, the author discusses the evolution of computer based design programs. There were several aspects that I found interesting regarding the past, present and future use of design programs.

According to Kalay, architectural design technology is actually changing the way the built environment is conceived. As technology has progressed, computers have been used in different ways, at different levels of uses, volition and intelligence. Computers are used as design tools. In this instance, computer programs are “instruments with no intelligence or volition of their own”. Computers are used as a means of communication, acting as a link between “distant collaborators”, compiling the “joint effort of many specialists”. Computers can be used as design assistants or travel agents, filling in the holes when short sighted designers miss big problems. In this instance, computer programs have the ability to carry out “complex tasks and have to the volition to do so on their own, computers can go beyond the abilities of their human operators”. This may or may not be a good thing in the future. Lastly, computing is a design environment. In essence, just about every aspect of our lives have us chained to the computer, whether it be Facebook, AIM, the news or CAD. Design is chained to technology. Designers are starting to be unable to creatively function without the aid of their drafting program. Will the ultimately be detrimental to overall human creativity?

With this in mind, one begins to weigh the pros and cons of computers in today’s designs. On the pros side, benefits of computing in today’s designs are undeniable. We are able to visualize designs, make changes quickly, and explore small elements of design more thoroughly without having to concentrate as much on computations, which are taken care of by design programs. Today’s design programs are brilliant, going to far as to actually building the model, with the touch of a single human hand.

While this may be fantastic, it brings up the questions of human obsoleteness and artistic integrity. Kalay discusses how modern computer programs have worked to become more intuitive, placing staircases at the click a button and flashing warnings of overheated wires in places a designer did not see them. What will happen to craftsmanship? What will happen to spontaneity in design? What will happen to humans having to actually sit down and think about design solutions instead of just punching in numbers into a program and taking the easy way out?

Today’s design programs teach students a dependence on computers, which may or may not be a good thing. Students are able to learn much more information in a shorter period of time, but they aren’t learning the same things as craftsman 50 years before them. Yes technology advances, but will students lose the ability to think for themselves.

While there are concerns for the future of design and computing in design, the vast potential for the future is brilliant. In the past, advances in computational technology helped to advance the aerospace and automobile industries. Leaps and bounds were made in technology due to technology, and one can only imaging the potential in the future. Future systems could help the environment, not to manage it as most computers are programmed to do, but instead to provide humans with solutions that are better thought out.

The ability of computers to be so far reaching is a little scary, admittedly. Technology has increased so much in the past, with both positive and negative impacts. One may think that humans need to put a leash on technology and computing, but that may or may not be possible.

In terms of computing in design in the future, I think that there will be so many new programs it will be dizzying. I think that there needs to be a balance between craftsmanship and technology, or an integration of the two.

Building Blocks for Better Communities - Studio Final Project

2008-12-02T12:33:00.001-05:00

Shelter/Bus II - The final studio project was to design an inventive and thoughtful shelter | bus to meet the needs of the following four hurricane relief workers in
Eastern North Carolina:
• Lynn : a visually-impaired teacher, plays guitar, conservative Jew
• Chris : an African American nurse, training for a marathon, works 3rd shift
• Siu : a language teacher, Montagnard, broke leg recently and on crutches
• Chi Chi : a nurse from New Mexico, has a pet bird, Hispanic

With this came Building Blocks for Better Communities.
Concept: Building Blocks are a collection of basic shapes that stimulate the imagination of children. The idea of a manipulable environment lets children do what they do best: construct their own world, break it down and rebuild it. Building Blocks for Better Communities provides a bottom up approach to disaster relief, while maintaining the functional and entertaining aspects of simple building blocks. Transformation, material and color are linked to explain spaces and movement.

FloorplanCross Section 1 / Cross Section 2
Interior Playground Detail
Interior Playground Detail
Interior 2nd Floor Lounge Perspective
Section in Perspective
Site Transformation: the unit is site dependent, on a narrow site the unit is stacked vertically, on a wider site, the top and bottom portions can be detached and placed adjacently

Room/Box Transformation: rooms slide out of mainframe on a track system to create more interior space

Roof Transformation: Roof panels expand up to increase interior ceiling height

Furniture Transformation: movement of furniture and appliances reflects building blocks in that it can telescope, nest or stack

Process Work: Studio Final Project (Complete with Coffee Stains)

2008-12-02T12:07:00.001-05:00

Vernacular Innovation - Snaggle & Snaggle Design

2008-10-17T09:32:00.000-04:00

Snaggle & Snaggle Design, Inc. would like to present the latest in Bus Shelter design for the Community by Design IARC Studio. Last week, we were challenged to design Bus Shelters for the Weatherspoon Gallery and A&T Campus. Of these, four finalists were chosen. This week's challenge was to modify these finalists, and come up with more complete designs and concepts. The Clubs, or Snaggle & Snaggle Design, Inc. would like to present Vernacular Innovation.

Concept Statement:
Although the term sustainability has become increasingly prevalent in everyday vocabulary, it has yet to infiltrate the built environment in a similar way. Many people may still think of sustainability as an expensive, distant, idealistic value, meant for design magazines and wealthy environmentalists, but in fact, green design can take the form of something as simple and common as a bus shelter. A familiar, understated structure can make a powerful statement. The detail in the simplicity of the structure demonstrates that, even using recognizable materials such as glass, aluminum and stainless steel, a vernacular structure can still be sustainable.

Change often happens slowly and subtly, step by step, so by introducing a green roof system to a familiar form, this shelter can begin to inspire change not only in the bus system, but in society as a whole. Each of the different materials incorporated into the structure is sustainable, demonstrating the way in which sustainability can and should permeate all levels of society. The green roof of the bus shelter does not impact the function of the structure per se, but it does stand as an icon for the way in which the bus system itself can be an eco-friendly transportation option. Furthermore, the use of glass, which in this case creates the ability to see through the entire structure, as well as the use of clean lines and corrugated aluminum roofing are in keeping with the contemporary architecture of the North Carolina A & T campus nearby, testifying to the fact that green design can be integrated into a variety of aesthetics.

The Clubs: Lauren Shepulski, Christyn Dunning, Diana Stanisic, Emme Zheng, Heather Link, Jamie Hilton, Jayson Parker, Kurt Huizenga, Laura Dipasquale, Lauren Foster, Maiken Schoenleber, Nacarra Lessane and Sara Easterling

Geometric Illumination - Bus/Shelter

2008-10-13T09:39:00.000-04:00

Last week's project was to design a Bus/Shelter on A&T campus. The shelter was located on East Market, between A&T campus and St. John's Lodge. We were challenged to create a shelter that fit with the site, but could also potentially be built. For this particular site and shelter, I pulled cues from the buildings on A&T campus and from the Church across the street. On campus, I noticed that the buildings are very modern looking, in that they emphasized rectilinear forms and structural severity. The main building materials seemed to be glass and steel. The church across the street was stone, and emphasized triangular forms on the facade decoration. In designing for this shelter, I thought that it was very important to recognize these two very obvious influences for the community in this area, the campus and the general community, embodied in the church. I wanted to pull influences from both together to create a cohesive design.

The concept for the shelter was Geometric Illumination. I used rectangular forms horizontally and vertically to reflect the architecture on campus. These forms are articulated by natural light during the day. Then I used the triangular forms from the church across the street, and articulated them by backlighting plexiglas cutouts inside glass columns. By emphasizing the two elements in the same structure, the design presents a combination of communities.

Transforming Spaces - Shelter/Bus

2008-10-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

This week's challenge was to design a shelter:bus for four hurricane relief workers. I chose to design a bus for preservation students aiding in relief efforts by documenting damaged historic buildings. UNCG and Mary Washington have both sent students to New Orleans in the past to hand draw and digitally record compromised buildings. In these instances, the students stayed in a motel for an extended period of time.

CONTEXT:
When disaster strikes an area, countless people and buildings are affected. In historic areas, significant historic fabric may be lost or compromised, requiring preservation efforts through the means of historic building surveys. The concept of this project is the transformation of actual spaces and their uses through the collapse and expansion of large and small scale elements. It provides a work and living space for four students who are documenting historic buildings after a hurricane, much like the team that UNCG sent to New Orleans several years ago.

Transformation is achieved through the expansion of sections to create additional interior space, while sliding glass doors convert open, public space to compartmentalized, private and work spaces. Tables collapse to become folding sofas. Swinging doors serve as posting boards and beds serve double duty for sleep and storage.

The use of windows, skylights and solar panels transforms contained space into an interactive environment that relates the structure to the street, but allows free flowing air to circulate throughout. Aesthetically, the structural simplicity and bright colors of the interior help to generate artistic energy and a positive environment.

THE PROJECT:

Dear John Linn

2008-09-29T12:44:00.000-04:00

I addressed my postcard to John Linn, who spoke about the 2030 Challenge. I was mainly interested in how Historic Preservation could be incorporated into this challenge, so much so, that I'm turning it into a preservation brief for the semester.

Precis - Tying up loose ends

2008-09-26T09:40:00.000-04:00

Time for reflection: the Shelter/Bus/Shelter project charrettes seem to be winding down (for now). These precis help to give a visual tour of the last couple weeks work.

Actual Guerilla Marketing - Communicate

2008-09-23T13:23:00.001-04:00

Drawn by Sara Zales
Drawn by BrittanyDasso
Designed by Katrina Fischer
Drawn by Sara Zales
Designed by Lauren Shepulski

Guerilla Marketing - Communicate

2008-09-22T12:50:00.000-04:00

You can't change the world if no one knows about it.We need to get the word out about IARC and what we do here, but we don't have a marketing team, or much money, so guerrilla marketing is our best bet and it looks like fun.Guerrilla Marketing is defined as any of a number of unconventional methods of marketing with minimal resources for maximum results; any marketing campaign that uses non-mainstream tactics and locations (Webster's Dictionary for the New Millennium.)
After an hour of so of brain storming my group of four came up with six workable ideas:

Crosswalk lights. (Printed) We want to put stickers with our web address on the button you push to get a walk signal. The sticker will look like a computer cursor clicking on our address to remind people every time they click the button to get a walk signal to also click to see what we're doing.
Trash cans. (Product) But not your average trash cans. Ours don't work. The top does not swing open. The lid will say, "What if design didn't function?" and direct the user to our blog.
All Tied Up! (Scandal) We want to tie mannequins or blow up dolls to light posts near bus stops with a sign reading, "Having trouble getting around? Try GTA!" We'll put up a link to our Bus/Shelter Shelter/Bus blogs and to the GTA.
Art Show. (People) Tate Street Coffee is within itself a community of very creative people. There are ever-changing art exhibits there and we think if we can fill it with IARCers work we can get noticed.
A scavenger hunt. (Places) No, we're not talking about a list and a bunch of people scurrying around looking for paper clips and men named Bob. We envision something more subtle. We're thinking small scale numbered Minerva statues holding clues to finding out what the IARC department is doing scattered around town.

Codes (+) Modifications to our Shelters/Busses

2008-09-19T10:48:00.000-04:00

Through our investigation of codes, ergonomics, and proxemics, we found several shortcoming in our Bus/Shelter and Shelter/Bus projects. Most of these problems had to do with handicap accessibility and cramped space. This diagram shows the necessary codes that apply to the shower bus model. To check out all three of the Fantastic Fours Diagrams and essay, please go to the Fantastic Fours Blog.

Container - Shelter/Bus Model

2008-09-19T10:43:00.001-04:00

Container - Shelter/Bus

2008-09-17T09:58:00.000-04:00

Natural Disasters affect thousands of people every year both psychologically and physically. These victims have countless needs depending on the type and severity of the disaster. In this charrette, we listed 10 needs of hurricane victims, and chose two of these needs to address through design. Our group chose Communication and Showers.

Client - Bus/Shelter : Shelter/Bus

2008-09-17T09:44:00.000-04:00

Part 1 of this charrette was to interview 2 people on the bus or at the station, to find out the
'who?when?where?why?howoften?' questions. Part 2 addressed the issue of disaster relief victims. We chose clients that have survived natural disasters in recent history and to design something that would help prevent, deter, or help afterwards. Our group chose the California Wildfires in June 2008. These fires were started by dry conditions and over 8000 lightning strikes. Our group addressed fire prevention, relief during the fire, and reforestation.

A Study in Light and Space

2008-09-10T16:10:00.001-04:00

Pre(c)edent - Elements of a Bus Shelter

2008-09-09T19:20:00.000-04:00

Postcard for Jenny Page

2008-09-09T19:07:00.001-04:00

Context - The Three R's

2008-09-04T21:16:00.000-04:00

There are many different experiences to be had on public transportation. They are dependent on where you are going, who you are with, and what time you ride. A ride with a friend, midday in the downtown sector, will inherently be very different from a ride alone at night through a more rundown route. When we were given this assignment, I really wanted to keep this in mind. I originally wanted to choose a route through a more depressed area of Greensboro both during the day and at night, to analyze the differences in the people that ride and the general atmosphere, and to try and pinpoint what are the key contributing factors to the difference. My actual experience turned out a bit different.

A friend and I picked up the bus at Spring Garden and Tate around 9:00 pm. Our original intentions were to ride the bus to the Four Seasons Shopping Center, where we had parked another car. I have used public transportation in the past, whether it was getting around D.C, Fredericksburg, or Bologna. I felt pretty confident in my abilities to read maps, and take in my surroundings. In general, the bus was very quiet and indifferent. The passengers looked very tired after a long day. Laura and I were the only two white people on the bus the entire time. Most of the people had take out containers, and the bus itself had smudgy finger prints on the windows and graffiti on the seats. The stops went through mostly lower income areas and the highway.

It was interesting to notice which stops people were getting off at. I half expected a mass of people to get off in one major location, but the opposite was true. People dribbled off the bus at remote stops along the highway, making me wonder where they actually lived and how far they were walking to catch the bus at 9:40 at night. I also noticed a high ratio of young mothers with their infants and toddlers on the bus.

Two things really stuck out for me. Number one was the fact that the bus made me very car sick, which does not seem like it should be a key moment, but it was. If I had to take the bus everyday, getting carsick every time wouldn’t matter, because it would have to be something that I had to deal with. Instead, it was something that I ended up focusing on because I have alternate transportation. It is a luxury that I can even complain about it. Many of the people that I saw on the bus didn’t have an option, they are playing with the cards dealt to them.

The second thing was the fact that Laura and I missed our stop. Like I said before, I have ridden public transportation before, and did not consider myself unversed in bus etiquette. I was under the assumption that the bus stopped at every stop. Maybe in the past, someone pulled the cord at just the right time that I needed it, but in this particular case, we did not pull the cord. We watched our stop out the back window as the bus continued down the highway. The fact that we ended up riding the rest of the loop is pretty funny in retrospect, but it really gets to a deeper issue. I evidently do not know as much as I think I do.

The demographics on the bus pointed to lower income families. Laura and I were the only two white people on the bus the entire ride, but it was the two college girls who didn’t know to pull the string. The concept of knowledge is different for different people in different situations. With this information in mind, we decided to call it a night after riding the bus for an hour. We also decided that riding the day route the next day was not feasible for us, due to time restrictions.

The next day I did the reading. I honestly had no idea until earlier today that Greensboro was such a hotbed for racial and social unrest. I vaguely remembered that the sit-ins started here, but the article gave breath and depth the issue. The article communicated that individuals really can make a different and to truly believe in the power of students. This reading helped me to think about the bus in a different way. First, it’s important to understand the history of a place before you try to assimilate yourself into a community. You cannot step onto a bus and be the only white person who is still holding the keys to their car, is taking notes on other occupants and snapping pictures of bus signs, and not expect to get some nasty looks from the other passengers. Also looking at the situation from the perspective of a design student, understanding the history of a place is a key element in understanding what would be best for a community. In reference to the article the author said that one of the reasons that Zane’s campaign failed was because he only worked within a traditional framework to solve a problem. As design students, it is best for us and the community to think outside the box, and outside the bus, to create smarter design.

Crash Course in Drafting - The First Week

2008-09-02T18:43:00.000-04:00

As the second week of school begins, let's take a minute to look back and assess the first week and breathe a sigh of relief that it's over and we emerged unscathed, for the most part.

I should begin by saying that this is my first year at UNCG and in the IARC department. I am a first year graduate student focusing on Historic Preservation. I graduated in May from the University of Mary Washington with an undergraduate degree in Historic Preservation. I chose to come to UNCG because I really want to design for the adaptive reuse of industrial structures and barns.

While that's all fine and dandy, I could not be happier that the first week is over. My apparent 'Crash Course in Drafting' was hectic and frustrating, because I have never taken a drawing class until I came to UNCG. Now I don’t want to seem like I am complaining. While there may have been excessive nail biting, pacing, and living in a haze of confusion, there were plenty of good things that came out of last week. I have made friends with my very tiny drafting desk and we are now on good terms. I completed two of my first drafting projects, and survived a group project with 60 people. I’m feeling more comfortable drawing, and best of all, I have met some really nice people.

The ‘Crash Course’ also helped me to realize several things: that it’s going to be really hard work, but that it will definitely be worth it. I have realized that there is never a time to be too proud to ask for help, everyone is a resource; everyone is in the same situation in one way, shape or form. And the best realization: its going to be a great year. There’s a lot to learn, but the payoff will be great. Good luck to all, looking forward to working with you!

~Lauren Shepulski

First Project - Wayfinding

2008-08-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

World War Memorial Stadium