Wall Project - Jason

This first thing I did when approaching this project was to think about how I could reflect the function and values of the site's function as a community center in the structure I created. The theme I seized on and that inspired my wall was that of transparency and accessibility. To this end, I endeavored to create a wall structure that felt open and airy, and would facilitate a dialogue between what was going on inside and what was going on outside the building.

The primary I achieved this level of openness and transparency was by heavily using transparent and translucent materials and judiciously using solid masses.















I was also interested in using planes to define dimensional space. A wall, in its most basic form, is a plane, so I wanted to have some fun with that fact and use planes to create something that wasn't just a flat surface. I did this primarily by using horizontal planes as translucent fins, giving the wall thickness while allowing for the filtration of light without impeding the transparency of the wall. These fins also created an interesting skeletal/mass relationship by giving the wall a feeling of thickness while maintaining a strong sense of openness. I also placed the wall at an angle to the side walls to create more interest and to create a shaded alcove in which the entrance could be placed.

























Another theme I explored in my wall was that of penetration of mass. In it's most basic form (shown in the study model below) the wall is a skewed vertical plane pierced by two rectangular prisms. This penetration allows the two most important features of the wall, the entrance and balcony, to be highlighted while still being in dialog with the rest of the wall which are in turn penetrated by a series of horizontal fins.

































In designing these penetrating spaces (the balcony and entrance) I also thought about the hierarchy between vertical and horizontal. With the wall having a dominant horizontal axis defined by translucency and transparency, I decided to highlight the entry and balcony with vertical and opaque planes. I gave the balcony additional prominence by placing it directly in the line of sight from the main entrance to the complex.
























For my zen view, I was inspired by what A Pattern Language said about fleeting views. I incoporated a series of fleeting vistas into the ladder that accessed my balcony in order to draw attention to the idea of ascent. As visitors climb up towards the balcony, narrow horizontal windows will punctuate the wall in front of them, giving them glimpses of how their relationship with the surrounding site is changing. I don't think people would want to linger on a rung of a ladder too much, so they would appreciate these series of views only fleetingly. This is much like the view one gets from a glass elevator in a mall perhaps, except that I've added the component of sometimes denying the climber a view so that each time they reach a new window, their vista will have changed more dramatically.


















For the movable screen of my habitable space, I continued my theme of transparency and fusion of interior and exterior spaces. When closed, the screen turns the balcony into an inward facing space. When open, however, the balcony is transformed into a space that addresses both inside and outside and increases the space's connection with it's surrounding courtyard.

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.

Viral's Wall Design

My wall project was inspired by the trees that inhabit the space within the community center.

After working on several iterations of the front design, I came up with an ordered system based on a grid and on proportionality. The grid starts with the trunk and all 'branches' extending out from it are 1/2 of the width. The spacing is a multiple of the width of the trunk as well. When combined, these qualities gave my piece a light delicate top juxtaposed in harmony with the thick trunk that defines a strong diagonal.

Within the additive diagonal mass, I created a

public space. Here, community members can

gather to have a cup of coffee, read

the paper, or play in the structure while bathing in sunlight. I created a moveable opaque wall, that can be used to close off the community center when being used for private events. When a private event like a conference, art gallery, or party occurs in the interior space, the sunlit room would still be accessible, giving the people of the community a space that is truly always theirs.

For my zen view, I created a small window across the hall When on the balcony (whose floor follows the 45 degree lines in the front design),

you can look through the trees to a view of the park behind. The design on the windows uses th same 45 degree angles with strong vertical lines to evoke a sense that the individual is looking through a whole row of trees. The window is higher the eye level when on the ground floor so the occupants must climb to the balcony to experience the park vista.

I had a great time challenging myself to put careful consideration into the way my design wrapped corners and the roof. For the roof I extended the front design in the same way. However for both sides, I decided to invert and

simplify the design so that the space would feel refined so that there is a smooth transition from the front to the rest of the building.

As a south-facing building, this building will receive plenty of sunlight in the public space that

will provide a very comfortable and desirable sitting area for the occupants. At night, this

design will create a beautiful display as light from the inside penetrates outwards, making this building a 24 hour icon and emble

m of the city.

The guidance I received allowed to me focus on design parameters that lent themselves to this

beautiful design that I am very happy with.

I also wanted my design to be aesthetically pleasing from the interior. Small details add a very machine like style that I thought was very exciting and full of energy. The movement of the pieces also split the space of the interior into different spaces so that the interior also felt the movement of the wall.
I then decided to add small details, like stairs to give the design a more playful look. The pieces jut out in such a way that they can connect to allow the visitor to enter the habitual area.
I added a frame as well as movement through rotation and sliding.The front door laid down to let the people walk in. My design came to life as it seemed like the entire wall was opening for the visitor to enter.
My design started to come to life as I began to raise and lower the pieces. The layers started to add a completely different dimension to my design.
As I was transferring my puzzle piece design to wood, I realized that making the outside pieces of my design skeletal and the inside solid would allow variation in lighting throughout the building and that would would be pleasing to the eye.
For my small scale model, I started changing my puzzle piece design by moving pieces in and out. I enjoyed the layered look that was created by doing this.

Wall Assignment Final Model

My final model was largely a success, given the amount of time spent (15 hours), the difficulty of the many complex pieces, and my commitment to not using hot glue. The final product is an interesting, cohesive blend of three different materials and bold shapes.

I'm especially happy with how the outside banners turned out. The only way I could create curves was to laser cut two wooden pieces that sandwich vertical acryllic panels. I was very lucky that the panels fit with just enough space, and that the three banners were able to support themselves. I had finished the bottom panel the night before, but about an hour before class I discovered it to be half missing and left broken on the shelf. Luckily, I was able to quickly recreate it with some extra glass panels I had

Some notable additions to this model from the preliminary model were glass railings on the balcony and stairs, a skeletal ladder piece on the back side of the cube, and a small display case next to the entrance to mimic the larger wooden square. These final additions were completely hand done because I did not want this model to be entirely made with the laser cutter.

The punctures into the wall turned out to be very effective. I designed them on AutoCAD with a basic proportional design, along with some extra scorings on the front to introduce some design to the exterior surface. The final product was three foam core pieces thick, but because of the effects of the laser cutter I had to use some white tape to cover key edges. The result is an imposing facade that I can easily adapt for a monolithic wall in my chapel project.

Final Model

Above is a picture of my final wall model. The design intent was two fold: 1) "Complete the square" the building originally broke off by being positioned at an angle, and 2) create an experience of playful penetration by creating an entrance facade that could not be read from the outside, fulfilling the "can't judge a book by it's cover" adage.

PROCESS:
I started out with a base sketch (not pictured with a very simple idea of completing the square. The nice idea behind that is by subtracting volume from the front of the building, the ceiling that covers the removed volume functions as an additive space. I intend for this space to be my habitable space, and is the spot in the model shown that is "on top". The nice thing about this setup is that the zen view of looking out the windows at the top is really seen in the back of the community hall, but you're not really enticed to go up there until once you've moved through the building itself.
The facade I put in front of the subtracted space is supposed to be transparent one way, and have a graphic of sorts on the other side (so that looking from the outside, you can't actually see in, but when in the "black space", you can see out). You've probably seen this before on a bus, where you could see out the windows, but people see an ad on the outside. The goal of this glazing is to have a design that doesn't reflect the function of the structure. The below graphic shows the underlying structure and function of the operable components of the building. A graphic overlaying the front could have complete disregard for this, to encourage the surprise/discovery of finding ways into the building.
















I found this project to be frustrating, as I felt the quality of my final model was not proportional to the amount of time I spent on it. Aside from the quality of it's construction, it falls short of it's design intent. I think much of my difficulty stemmed from the fact my design demanded "operability" and "intricacy", which makes for a bad combination at a small scale.

I feel my last project was strong on execution/construction of my idea and weaker on the ideas, and that this project was the reverse. My plan is to make sure everything comes together in the chapel project.

The New Yorker

Hi Everyone,

I'm an avid reader of the New Yorker and in the most recent issue, there is a whole article about one of the buildings (Aqua by Jeanne Gang) that somebody posted in an earlier thread.

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/skyline/2010/02/01/100201crsk_skyline_goldberger

Nancy