Corry Mears Presents

Conceptual Diagrams: Systems

2012-01-27T15:18:00.001-05:00

Shortly after leaving the skin assignment we took a look at the systems from a conceptual viewpoint. We were to base our five diagrams off of structure, light, water, electricity, and technology and compose 11x17 sheets along with brief descriptions about the various diagrams.

Material Connections: Skin

2012-01-26T22:09:00.006-05:00

Throughout our studio we’ve been focusing on learning space: spaces that learn and this project was focused on the skin of a structure. We investigated materials for our particular library after finishing the structure assignment. We had to propose four different materials for the inside that abided by different constraints such as being in production prior to 1950, being put out in the market in the past year, one material from our precedent library, and lastly a material in which the surface area is mostly blue. The entire time I was selecting materials I was thinking about how the materials would connect and ultimately the application in which they would be used. I chose carpet, wood, acoustic tiles and structural glass and I thought they were relatively conservative but modern enough and had an overall aesthetic I was interested in pursuing. The carpet would be used on the floor mostly in the group areas of the library and where more absorption would help and the wood flooring would be laid out throughout the stacks area of the library. Acoustical tiles would be applied on the ceiling and provide another layer for sound to be absorbed by and the structural glass would run along what is now the corridor in the music library. If the library is something we can be proud about why conceal it, my mission is to provide a space that is celebrated and that when students pass by you are intrigued by and want to investigate it further.

Precedents: Structure

2012-01-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

So shortly after wrapping up our site assignment we had another do which had each classmate do some precedent research of three different libraries from three different time periods. Each library had to contain seven different diagrams (boundaries, function, materiality, systems, sensory experience, furnishings and users) and this is the final outcome of my individual research.

How Buildings Learn

2012-01-19T00:40:00.001-05:00

The above is a quotation from How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand, he goes on to speak about art more in depth and how it’s an experimental process and that most experiments fail and have more cost to them than expected. Both of these fields are vital to life and they are both forms of expression to which everyone is entitled to but they differ tremendously. Architecture houses art, good design is a skill while art is a talent, art is limited while architecture gives people opportunities. These are just my personal opinions but I believe that design is embedded within everything and has to be conservative in certain aspects to abide by all of the codes and laws established. Artists have unlimited options but architects and designers have so many fundamental and philosophical challenges. Form follows function, less is more, more is more, good design is unobtrusive, many of these deep questions are things we as designers ask ourselves and must confront but may never resolve. Artists have to deal with composition and medium where architects have to deal with people as well as designers and our intent as thinkers is to move these people in ways in which they haven’t been moved before. Sure artists think about people as well, but we have to think about humans in the full spectrum of events from arrival to departure, making a building or product last and making that experience as enjoyable as possible while personally trying to use as little design as possible.

Assignment 1.0 - Proposal

2012-01-17T18:45:00.002-05:00

Our first project for Professional Practice in Interior Architecture was to put together rather quickly a single page cover letter, resume and lastly a summary portfolio and this is my attempt at just that.

UNCG Music Library: Site

2012-01-15T02:31:00.000-05:00

Our first project in Patrick's studio splits our class into two major groups, one looking at the Jackson Library and the other which I belong to is examining the UNCG Music Library. Our first assignment within that entire project was to analyze the existing space as is, and to do that we started off first with a list which gave each person specific aspects to investigate. I was given the task to record and diagram the users of that space and my other classmates focused on various aspects such as materiality, systems, sensory experience, etc. These are the drawings which I generated based on the users of that particular space.

A List

2012-01-13T17:41:00.001-05:00

The Magic and Madness

2012-01-11T16:24:00.002-05:00

[source]

The Return

2012-01-11T00:10:00.004-05:00

Welcome back my IARC friends! Break is over, it was nice (short) while it lasted but today I was able to get some stuff done around the house which was great and even able to hang this sweet print I purchased a while back.

A Creator's Life

2011-12-27T12:20:00.001-05:00

The Tectonic House

2011-12-14T02:03:00.007-05:00

Since my last update for studio a final design was chosen to focus on as an entire class for the 2015 Solar Decathlon and you can read about that design here. We began by forming groups that focused on certain deliverables, there was a design documentation group, a model group and a full scale build group. I was able to join the build group which is where my interest really was and it was a neat-o process for sure that was set up in the lobby. I even saw it as an opportune moment to create a time-lapse displaying the majority of the construction that occurred throughout one days time. You can read more about the project for IAR 301 on the departments blog!

Gatewood Transformation Part II

2011-12-13T20:29:00.008-05:00

This project is a continuation of the first portion of my IAR 311 class which had us take our work even further by providing construction documentation of our proposed changes and even went into the design development phase; all of this being generated in Autodesk Revit.

Gatewood Studio Arts Building: Structural System

2011-12-13T02:22:00.000-05:00

Middlebury College Ecotect Analysis

2011-12-13T01:51:00.000-05:00

Sketch Series Five.Five

2011-12-13T01:41:00.001-05:00

This Week Let's

2011-11-28T01:32:00.000-05:00

In Some Way

2011-11-22T12:52:00.001-05:00

cool site I ran into called A Lyric A Day, check it out people

Thankfully

2011-11-22T01:33:00.002-05:00

I Wish

2011-11-16T01:06:00.003-05:00

Support

2011-11-07T01:21:00.000-05:00

So this month I've decided to try out something a bit different for me and that's to grow a mustache for a good cause know as Movember. I am to grow a mustache for the month of November to raise awareness for men's cancer and I'm pretty excited to try this out! So check out my page here and maybe even donate to my team.

Thanks so much, Corry

Worth A Shot

2011-11-04T01:49:00.003-04:00

I Have

2011-10-21T23:33:00.003-04:00

Sketch Series Five

2011-10-19T16:50:00.000-04:00

Assignment 2.0

2011-10-19T00:38:00.000-04:00

So the first assignment for studio consisted of intensive research on a selected Solar Decathlon home, for which I had Middlebury College. The second portion gave us the opportunity to design our own solar home which could eventually become the house we proposed for the 2013 Solar Decathlon. We originally started by documenting our own dwelling, studying the way in which we live. From there we created numerous sketch models and eventually developed our scheme. Our final design and presentation required the norm such as technical drawings, renderings, diagrams and a physical model at 3/16" scale.

INITIAL WORK

DESIGN WORK

MODEL WORK

Sketch Series Four

2011-10-13T11:25:00.001-04:00

THIRD & FOURTH FLOOR STAIRWAY: GATEWOOD BUILDING

A. Type of luminaire: semi direct

B. Mounting Type: surface mounted

C. Lamping: 2 lamps, fluorescent

D. Construction: length-48" diameter-1" shatter resistant

E. Manufacturer: TCP

F. Photometrics: lumens-3,400 (initial), 3,200 (mean), color temp. 4,100K, CRI-85

G. Material and finish: acrylic and plastic

H. Lensing: acrylic

I. Function: fixed

J. Ballasts: specific voltage, non-dimming, program start, thermal fuse and internal to luminaire

K. Environment: dry

L. Shielding: plastic covering with no baffles or louvers

A. Purpose of the space: a stairwell as a means of egress from the building

B. Purpose of lighting: allows the users to navigate vertically throughout the space

C. Luminaire effect: a light which during the day provides some extra lighting but not really necessary but at night allows the occupants to travel up and down the stairs

D. Improvements: the up lighting that happens in the space almost seems unnecessary to me and some of the lights placements don't seem well suited

This Is My Life

2011-10-12T00:16:00.002-04:00

Middlebury College

2011-10-11T15:19:00.002-04:00

Studio began this year by being given a statement in which every student was assigned a college for the 2011 Solar Decathlon. The school I was elected was Middlebury College (4th place overall), a small liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. For this project we were to study intensively our school and produce ten original diagrams, five original 3D models and fifteen photographs taken by ourselves when we physically ventured up to Washington DC to see the competition first hand.

My Friends

2011-10-06T12:51:00.000-04:00

Gatewood Transformation

2011-10-06T12:34:00.008-04:00

This is a project I have been working on in IAR 311: Computer-Aided Design for Interior Architecture. This assignment was the first portion which required transforming the Gatewood's third and fourth floors into a library for the art department. This first part focuses on the pre-design where we document the existing space and also do a bit of precedent research. The other part was the schematic design where we developed ideas and modeled the space in Autodesk Revit. This is the compilation of those documents all coming together.

Sad Day

2011-10-05T23:02:00.000-04:00

Solar Decathlon 2011

2011-10-02T15:41:00.000-04:00

Here For The Weekend

2011-09-30T16:42:00.000-04:00

Sketch Series Three

2011-09-29T15:06:00.006-04:00

Sketch Series Two

2011-09-29T14:57:00.003-04:00

a. pin up space

b. task lighting

c. MR-16

d. a warm light that white washes the wall and provides spots on the wall for students to pin up with

f. they aren't very accessible for students to slide left or right, plus they are tall allowing only certain people to change the orientation

a. digital lab

b. task lighting

c. fluorescent

d. cooler light that provides the users in the lab with good adequate lighting that stay consistent throughout the day

f. this lighting works pretty effectively for the space and function it's needed for

a. studio space

b. task lighting

c. medal halide

d. bright lamps that illuminate the studio throughout the day that allow people to work in a good and productive manner

f. these lights sometime dim or cut off completely during certain hours usually occurring during the night, and at night it doesn't seem to be concentrated enough for the students

a. natuzzi library

b. task lighting

c. fluorescent

d. cooler light that serves its purpose in the library allowing for easy overhead lighting to read in

f. lighting might vary throughout the space especially in the nook area because there is no window access in that area to allow some natural light into

Life Mission

2011-09-26T00:42:00.002-04:00

Light Model

2011-09-23T15:15:00.003-04:00

Changes

2011-09-22T00:18:00.002-04:00

Finally moved to Greensboro about two weeks ago, and it's been crazy (still is) between school and unpacking and working and just everything man. Just wanted to share some of the new place and some other things with you folks.

Ten Principles

2011-09-08T00:02:00.002-04:00

Impact Of Light On Health And Welfare

2011-09-01T13:15:00.002-04:00

Lighting in the healthcare profession arises concerns with issues such season affective disorder (SAD), sleep disruption, diminished immune system and many other things. Seasonal affective disorder is depression that occurs for an individual usually during the Winter period. People that live in places with longer Winter nights are at a greater risk, but factors of this disorder include light, genes, body temperature and hormones. As far as treatment goes for SAD, doctors recommend antidepressants or becoming more adjusted to the light, either by spending time outside during daylight hours or providing you with a special lamp. Circadian rhythm can also be affected by light, a term know as light-dark cycle. This term states that animals or humans kept in the dark for extended periods eventually push back or forward their sleep cycle. This means that light or lack there of can affect your health over time by confusing you and throwing off what normally you would do. In the medical profession lighting plays a major part because there are safety as well as health concerns for the employees and the patients alike. Lighting has to be integrated to allow for egress and it must function properly for its intended use. Rooms must be able to be dimmed or brightened up by the use of blinds or lights to allow for different patient types. With health care, lighting must play a much more bigger concern because it’s the welfare of the people and the safety of its occupants and employees that must be considered. It’s much more about safety than creating a beautiful and surreal experience like you would find in a structure. You can find circumstances I’m sure where the two worlds can mesh and create something stunning but also something that’s safe for its attendants as well.

Light Revealing Experience

2011-09-01T13:13:00.005-04:00

Light begins as soon as we begin, from birth until our death, light for most people is an everyday aspect. Life with light creates what we see, people, buildings, art, anything and everything is available thanks to this natural phenomenon. Articulating light and understanding why it does what it does is a valuable part of being a designer. We can’t control light from happening but we can control how we use it and how to take advantage of it in different situations. Lighting in a place has many various factors that go into consideration such as its use, site, weather, sunlight. Natural lighting has to be a part of the design and you have to account for it and let the light work for you rather than against. The writer talks about how certain areas receive different amounts of light and that’s important to know or have some basic understanding of at least. Buildings are often formed like they are to account for natural lighting, perhaps the greatest known example is the work of Taadao Ando. Ando shapes lighting and allows for natural light and his architecture is heavily influenced by the lighting itself.

Nature is perhaps the most beautiful place in which to find inspiration, and lighting in nature just adds to the marvel. Seeing something in the morning and viewing it again at night is a completely different experience because the color values change constantly throughout the day. Bringing nature inside is a difficult task to accomplish but you can bridge the gap by letting your design be influenced by nature and taking cues from nature to affect your design. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House is a prime example in which he used a window on the north side to shape and abstract. By doing this he managed to make the window nearly disappear and create a surreal experience in which the visitor feels far more engaged with the outside creating an intimate scenario.

Climate is another factor that’s affected by light; light creates heat and for different regions this changes things in drastic ways. The author starts by saying “the interaction between light and climate is multidimensional. It has to do with the spirit of place, with thermal comfort, and also with culture, since climate affects people, their habits, and their rituals.” Many people choose where they live based on the yearly kind of weather there. Most people prefer to have more sunny days versus cloudy days although I’m sure there are some exceptions. Places that are cooler want more light because they generally want warmer weather and vice versa.

Time is perhaps one of the clearest examples of how light affects us as people, time happens constantly and throughout time things change. Nature, places, buildings, seasons are just some the examples we see occurring in our daily life that are altered by light and time together. The article refers to ancient grounds such as the great pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge in England which are still thought to have been early prototypes for telling time in some shape or form. It also talks about how near the equator the days and nights have equality and on the Arctic and Antarctic circles, the length of days can vary from a few hours to an entire 24 hours. Seasons is personally the biggest change that deals with time, you learn from a kid that in the Fall it gets darker earlier and in the Summer your days last even longer. Knowing that always seemed so secondary but it’s the basic idea of light and you understand that even as a child. One of the more memorable statements throughout the reading was the one that says “the biggest shift in light comes as day turns to night, and then reappears. We take this for granted - perhaps more so when we rely on electric light, thereby blurring the differences.” I take from this that looking at something before the sun sets looks one way and looking at it again when the light reappears shows you a completely new view and provides you with more of a perspective. When the sun goes down and comes back up things are totally different, and a sunset is a great example because you will never see one similar sunset.

Electric light tries to do what natural light can’t do and that’s provide you an alternative to natural when you just don’t have any. This creates so many different design problems and almost every problem has a different approach, some effective and some/many are not. The task can be influenced by the lighting type, bulb and the strength. You don’t want to work in a space where to lighting is an intimate candlelit situation, nor do you want to be in a restaurant with bright fluorescent lights aiming down upon you. But task lighting is tricky in the sense that people prefer different things to accomplish what they’re setting out to do.

Any lighting is something as people of design we should take note of and learn from past experiences and nature and anything else we can and use that to our advantage. Whether it’s dealing with a building that’s in the mountains or designing a desk lamp or renovating a room. Lighting is and has to be thought out, if it’s not you will suffer from a something that does function or doesn’t work quite like you want it to. Light is with most of us from birth until death and if studied correctly we can learn tons and tons from it alone.

The Words Of Stoel

2011-08-29T23:12:00.002-04:00

Where Not To Go

2011-08-29T16:04:00.000-04:00

Gotta Remember This

2011-08-23T23:44:00.000-04:00

just amazing inspirational quotes I found today! Check it out here!

Everyone

2011-08-22T23:34:00.002-04:00

Here We Go Again

2011-08-21T21:40:00.002-04:00

Summers Memories

2011-08-21T19:06:00.006-04:00

Any Thing

2011-08-17T01:53:00.004-04:00

Anakin

2011-08-17T00:35:00.002-04:00

Nearly That Time

2011-08-15T23:30:00.000-04:00

86

2011-08-14T23:30:00.000-04:00

last Friday my grandmother passed away, she was eighty-six years old, one awesome, funny, lively person who like other grandmothers could cook amazingly. I can't say enough great things about her but I'll miss her terribly and love her.

Beach Trip

2011-08-14T23:00:00.000-04:00

Tuesday night I went down to the beach as I do usually once a year. I enjoyed good times, good food, laughing, beers, baseball, golf and venturing out and walking around.

Straight Up

2011-08-08T00:52:00.003-04:00

take a stand against planking!

MOVE

2011-08-06T01:10:00.005-04:00

Go I Will

2011-08-06T00:47:00.002-04:00

No Fun

2011-08-05T23:56:00.001-04:00

A New Hope

2011-08-01T02:27:00.003-04:00

It Speaks!

2011-07-31T00:25:00.000-04:00

RED

2011-07-22T01:25:00.000-04:00

Come September

2011-07-21T00:02:00.000-04:00

I AM

2011-07-18T01:12:00.004-04:00

inspired by this video, how's your summah?

Am I Really

2011-07-11T22:36:00.005-04:00

A Moment Of Clarity

2011-07-08T03:12:00.004-04:00

It's A Me!

2011-06-29T00:24:00.003-04:00

Past, Present and Future

2011-06-29T00:21:00.003-04:00

Currently

2011-06-22T00:41:00.007-04:00

Eulogy

2011-06-15T22:21:00.006-04:00

Gonna Enjoy It

2011-06-13T00:59:00.003-04:00

A Reminder To Myself In The Future

2011-06-12T23:04:00.000-04:00

images found here

29 Ways

2011-06-10T21:10:00.004-04:00

Love Less

2011-06-09T22:18:00.002-04:00

Peggy Sang The Blues

2011-06-09T14:39:00.002-04:00

We're All Failures

2011-06-07T02:04:00.003-04:00

VITA

2011-06-07T02:00:00.003-04:00

Banner Elk, NC

2011-06-06T02:33:00.005-04:00

Instagram is one application I use on my iPhone almost daily and have been for about seven months. Something about is really awesome! I like how it levels the playing field essentially and everyone is given the same equipment which is their phone. Now one of the best reasons I think I use it is because it's way easier to take photos in certain situations through your telephone versus your SLR or whatever you use.

This happened to be the case for much of my trip to the mountains so I thought I'd post some of those photos.

If you've got an iPhone you need to get this app. I'm not saying, I'm just saying!

This Is Me Signing Off

2011-05-30T00:14:00.005-04:00

Honesty, Honestly

2011-05-27T01:55:00.004-04:00

Signs of Affection

2011-05-25T01:39:00.002-04:00

these are featured on this very neat site along with many more

This Is Heavy

2011-05-24T15:59:00.001-04:00

Both Are Relevant

2011-05-20T23:57:00.005-04:00

It Didn't Look Exactly Like This

2011-05-17T00:00:00.004-04:00

Is It Perfect

2011-05-16T22:07:00.006-04:00

Harrison Ford Hasn't Done A Bad Movie

2011-05-16T00:18:00.003-04:00

I Hear That I'm

2011-05-15T23:21:00.003-04:00

The Fun Stuff

2011-05-13T13:18:00.005-04:00

As you can see these are some of my hobbies I generally pick back up during the Summer because I just honestly don't have time to enjoy during the hectic school year. Some of these are newer activities I like and some are way older like skateboarding. I'm sure I am not the only one who can't do things they like during school, right?

What hobbies do you all enjoy?

Graphics Interchange Format

2011-05-11T02:22:00.000-04:00

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death

2011-05-05T01:19:00.002-04:00

Farewell Michael Scott

2011-05-01T22:42:00.003-04:00

Do I Really Talk Like This...

2011-04-29T14:59:00.002-04:00

Writing for me has always been something completely separate from the designing aspect of things but this semester that was not the occasion. Patrick almost always challenged us to write and think about things before we physically did any of the designing. Looking back at my first blog entry for studio I illustrated my goals for the semester which included furthering my ideas, engaging people in my creations, and having fun as well. My list included more but these were some of the most crucial ones, but I realize I should have possibly added another which would definitely be the writing process. I know that writing is just as vital as really making it in reality but it’s putting my thoughts in my head onto that paper where the challenge arises. Aside from writing I would say my other goals matured, not yet reaching their full potential but getting developed as I myself develop and grow as a designer.

I’ve always been a bit nervous of group work, having not worked in that situation too much throughout first year but Patrick forced us to work in groups throughout five of our seven assignments. And I can say I have quite a biased opinion about them now after doing them all semester. I would say all my group projects I liked, it’s just that I liked more than others. In the early stages of 3.0 working with Abigail and Austin I really appreciated because we all shared similar work ethics and worked and fed off of each other. We would constantly say “WE’RE JIVING because we really were which was both fun and ironic. Joining with ALLURE in 5.0 we formed [E] MERGE which was still a positive adventure but this is where that group dynamic clearly started becoming more visible. When more people become involved it’s harder to divvy up work and harder to arrive at the same decision when facing anything really. By the time we got to 7.0 and being with twelve other members forming PORTMANTEAU, we knew we weren’t going to make everyone happy. A lot of it came down to time, we might not all have collectively decided the same thing but we had to just agree and move on for times sake.

So what I’m really striving for is that as I grow my writing will become more of an integral part of my overall design process. Another problem I tend to have as I’ve heard is that I basically write the way I talk which is probably true. It’s always easier for me to write things down essentially as I see them in my head without adding the wordiness of an English dictionary. Right now I know that it’s still easier for me to sketch something out or just do it versus writing things down or talking about it. However I know that needs to change, both have there own time and place, and I need to learn both worlds. Being skillful in both realms can help me and others see my vision in a more holistic approach rather than being solely words or vice versa. Writing also requires thought and patience and I feel like designing I don’t think about as much as I have to when I sit down to write. It allows you to take a step back from the construction of things and focus on smaller details and work those things out before a problem arises. So writing is most definitely something I will continue to work on and strengthen as my ideas strengthen as well, both will become integrated together to hopefully be something that intuitionally makes sense.

A First Year Review

2011-04-28T16:48:00.001-04:00

Tuesday we were asked to attend an hour of the first year critiques which were all centered around the same idea. They were all taking an existing space on Walker/Tate Street called St. Mary’s House and creating a writers retreat from that. They could create an addition if deemed necessary as well. I chose to review Kristy Stroud’s presentation in which she displayed technical drawings, hand renderings and a model too. Kristy’s technical drawings helped communicate the overall floor layout and where exactly furnishings and built ins would be placed. Sections were key in showing me just what I was seeing in this space in more depth. The renderings she worked on were just vignettes on various perspectives which promoted materiality throughout the space. I would say what guided me the most through her presentation though was the model itself. The other presentations I witnessed and all I could really see was poched walls that stood out boldly to me. However Kristy’s model gave me more of an idea of what it physically felt like to be in that space. Overall Kristy’s spoken words, drawings, renderings and model building technique created a nice effective presentation style that worked in her favor. I would say a general comment for her and many of the other presentations I saw would definitely be line weights, they’re instrumental in reading exactly what comes first and what comes afterwards. And with being further away than some, technical drawings become very flat and difficult to understand but line weights will just help anyone and everyone out.

JENGA 7.0

2011-04-28T15:09:00.000-04:00

So finally the time has come where we are done with the JENGA projects! For our last project in the series was to team up once again with another group of six. The group we were paired with was Trepide. Their group consisted of Dajana Nedic, Sharon Fraizer, Blakeni Walls, Kelly Harris, Kara Kooy, and Cassie Bradfield and you can see their board here. Our name we arrived at for our group of twelve PORTMANTEAU, which simply means the joining of two or more words to form a new cohesive word.

Within 7.0 we had to do work for 7 different categories, those were: site, building, public space, circulation, unit, component, and finish. And within each category there were many different deliverables which were due. As well a +7 category that included three models, one film, one experience, one prospectus and a custom element either being a furnishing or component. These are just some of the various group deliverables we chose to present as well as the individual deliverables.

INDIVIDUAL

GROUP

MODEL

Trying Something Different

2011-04-26T15:39:00.000-04:00

Part of our new JENGA assignment which has a post coming very soon was to do some perspectives but we wanted to incorporate hand as well as the digital world and this is an attempt at doing just that.

A Little Cheaper By The Dozen Humor

2011-04-21T17:38:00.002-04:00

More Is More... Plus Some More

2011-04-21T16:32:00.003-04:00

Continuing from my last post about the Bordeaux House in my Visual Communications class, our next two assignments and final assignments were to construct a board and model about the structure. Working with two other classmates, we had to built a 20" x 30" board as well as create a conceptual model about the place. This is what we came up with!

We Tried

2011-04-20T23:23:00.001-04:00

Mac n Cheese

2011-04-13T13:37:00.002-04:00

Today me and Kacie Leisure gave a presentation in a series of presentations by fellow classmates. Our topic of discussion was craft and not the macaroni maker either, instead we developed ten ideas within craft and described each a bit. As well as providing individual quotes for our peers which you'll see below.

More Is More

2011-04-05T14:39:00.000-04:00

Our latest assignment for Visual Communications II was to select a building out of six other choices and model it in Rhino and render it using a plug-in for that particular software. I chose the Bordeaux House by Rem Koolhaas and rendered within Rhino, then took it into Photoshop and then Illustrator finally before printing it.

Just Another Piece

2011-04-04T16:27:00.002-04:00

This is another piece that I've been working on for quite some time, it was a simple idea which was to provide a model stand as well as being a bench.

Building Is Fun

2011-04-04T16:15:00.000-04:00

So this semester I've also been partaking in an independent study with Matt Jones, our wood shop guy. You can see some of his great work here which is shot by Tim Robinson (another great site). Anyways, we've been learning techniques and the best and most efficient ways to work with wood and down specifically in the wood shop. This is actually the first (and not the best) piece we created.

Lucky Number Seven

2011-04-04T13:49:00.001-04:00

So we've finally arrived to the final JENGA project, we started at 1.0 and now we're at 7.0, we went from one to three, to six, to now twelve people involved. The last project being 6.0, we are now to bring our two eight story complexes into at least one 12+ story unit.

Portmanteau is the name we arrived at as a group, portmanteau is a pretty big word for a simple meaning a blend of two or more words into one new word.

the best example of a portmanteau

Our team name is simple really, and doesn't so much describe our concepts as much as describes that we're just coming together. The group we're joining is Trepide (Dajana, Blakeni, Kara, Cassie, Kelly, Sharon) which is Latin for in confusion and we both share similar ideas in our designs from previous projects. Their ideas focused much on light, dematerialization, horizontality and navigation throughout the eight floors. Materiality was also vital within their design, incorporating more heavier materials towards to bottom and gradually losing weight towards the top. I see our two units coming together but through those fundamental elements that were present in previous projects. Finding a balance between our heavy "C's" and their lightweight structure will be a challenge but one I believe will work out in the end.

And this is just a (bad) image of what we produced between our four groups coming together into one yesterday morning.

Jenga & Twain?

2011-04-03T02:27:00.004-04:00