Wall Project by Taylor Skaufel

I really enjoyed designing/ making my wall for the community center. I learned so much through this process. The following are a few of the things I learned in this project: skeletal vs. mass, additive vs. subtractive, habitable spaces can come in all shapes and sizes, Zen view can be really cool, how to divide a wall into a grid, the use of proportionality and repetition, how to make 3D models in Google Sketch-up, how to think from the perspective of being inside the building, and finally that cutting wood by hand takes forever :).


The Beginning

This project all began with trace paper and foam board mini models. I had so many ideas of what i wanted to do. These ideas included a moving staircase, moving walls, balconies, and sliding doors. I made wall grid designs that were 10x5, 4x5, and 4x6. I decided on doing a front wall modeled off a pinos roof my group created in the first project. In addition, a skeletal structure was to be a base for my project. A balcony would extending both inside and outside of the wall. I decided on breaking my wall into 3.2 foot grids across and 21 inch grid going up.

Building

Once i started building my project not everything was easy to build. The stairs were a particular challenge since i wanted to build stairs that were supported only by beams underneath. This was accomplished through building a jig. I was pleased how open and airy feeling my wall design turned out to be. The benches were on grid with the rest of the model. The bench seats sat at 21 inches. This is the same as the bars in the front of the wall and every third stair in the building.

I spent approximately 18 hours building this project (this is just assembly and does not include drafting time or drawings). Since i did this whole project by hand it took a while. I had many small parts (like stairs and benches) that required precise cutting.

While my wall had multiple habitable spaces, my favorite space was the the place on the balcony with the stair seating (as seen below). This space gave the inhabitant a great view of the trees in the building while giving privacy through the screen behind.

One of my favorite parts of this project was the movable door/ screen. This door functioned as the main door for the entry way. It also functioned as a screen to separate the indoor balcony from outdoor balcony when the door was opened in the entry way. This door would slide up through the floor of the balcony to create a pattern with the already existing screen.

Final Product

I was pleased with my final product. After taking pictures under the lights, it was cool to see the lighting effects that my design had on the inside of the building. Streaks of light can be seen on the ground which reflected the horizontal beams on the front of the building. This wall stayed true to my intentions: a space that opened up both the courtyard and inside to a balcony, as well as using subtractive elements in the frontal wall with the stair pattern in the windows and the inset seating area before you walk into the building. It reflected a stair theme throughout and was constructed in a very skeletal structure. Zen views could be seen as walking up the stairs or from multiple habitable spaces in the building. Overall i was pleased with how my project turned out for designing my first wall.