marvin rodriguez learning portfolio b pdf [autosaved]
DESCRIPTION
Arch. 101 Learning Portfolio. Midterm projectTRANSCRIPT
Introduction
Chronological documentation of all three-dimensional
iteration projects and research carried by written
reflections.
Each iterative design was directed with the help of
personal responses to a selected weekly question that
was assigned. This helped formulate new ideas, and a
new hypothesis for thinking and making new designs.
Design prompts labled throughout were derived from
Arch. 101 Syllabus, and work handouts.
Icebreaker Exercise: Assortment of objects thoughtfully
arranged on a 8-1/2 inch x 12-inch stiff piece of cardboard then secured in
place.
Design is the recreation of a past creation.
It is exercised by the illusion of free will,
nonetheless it is an artistic form of self
expression.
Architecture is a creation, an adaptation to
a given environment. It crafts shape,
space, and structure in forms that exudes
expression.
“What is design? What is architecture?”
Design Prompt Destinations
1. What constitutes order and what is its
value in design?
2. What is the relationship of one
element of your composition to
another and to the whole?
3. How does your selection of materials,
their surface qualities, and level of
craft used in your construction affect
the perceptions of others?
Order is the balance, and coexistence
between control, collaboration,
sustainability, direction, and equilibrium. Its
value in design creates the ability to reflect
and support the orderly, civil sides of
human nature. Order gives design
responsibility.
The three circular objects formed at an
angle that represented hierarchy, thus
promoting order. The pennies illustrated
repetition and order using linear
formations. These formations formed
ninety degree angles, that provided the
unity of spaces.
The objects of metal exudes a feeling of
strength and authenticity. The plastic
objects were less solid, and perhaps
fragile by comparison, but this represents
the order that softer, and stronger must
coexist, and being capable of balancing
the emotion from this design.
Challenges Insights
It seemed that no object was able to
express anything by itself. Only until it
was placed near multiple objects was it
able to signify. Any items that are
formed together as a design will
communicate with each other and
create signals to the observer.
As long as the designer focuses on an
architectonic language, he can form
something that speaks subtlety. The
last challenge would be recognizing
when you are satisfied with a design.
What you want expressed, must agree
with that that is actually being
expressed if you want to be satisfied.
After testing different glue adhesives,
securing the objects to the base board
was successful with no more parts
breaking off.
What objects was I to choose? Which
could have a particular significance?
How can such random and
miscellaneous items form a design?
What is supposed to be designed?
How will these items adhere securely
to the base board so they are
structurally sound?
Second Generation Using same craft limitations as the Ice-
breaker exercise.
“When is symmetry vs. asymmetry
appropriate?”
Symmetry is more beneficial when order, and
regularity need to stand out more.
For instance, if a court building needs to be built,
the designer should want to display strength and
superiority, and integrity for its functional
purpose. It would be more socially acceptable,
and understandable for the court to present a
civil, and uniform personality, versus having a
chaotic and irregular form, which would impose
a rebellious vibe(a vibe that suits amore a
modern art museum)
Design Prompt Destinations
Sustaining shapes from the first
iteration, I used circular forms only.
Spherical objects were placed in unity
around the yellow frisbee in bilateral
symmetry for unity and order. Each
sphere has a growing gap that
increases two times as much as the
previous. This increasing gap, along
with the gum balls slightly wrapping
around the yellow fris bee, shows a
dynamic look, and applies the fourth
dimension of architecture,
motion(‘Thinking about Architecture’ p
21) versus the static look from
iteration1.
Second generation of initial
constructed composition adhering to
the same limitations and requirements.
What are the relationships between
iterations one, and two, what am I
investigating?
Narrative Prompt Destinations
a) Describe the most significant aspects and
qualities of your design.
b) Describe what you want others to see and
experience.
c) What does your design represent?
d) What will the audience see first, second?
e) Identify what you are provoking in others as
they experience your design.
f) Describe how your design intentions and the
physical aspects and its organization relate
a. Symmetry could have been more developed
if only the space of the display board was
not constricting its form.
b. Solidity in oneself, not afraid to take up
space, confidence, grounded but still have
versatility, make impact/change. Having
your own vantage points while still
respecting the view pints of others.
c. Those dimensional layers and personalities
that you can’t see still have an impact on the
layers that are visible.
d. Shapes of vast difference, but form to one
with such simplicity. Why there’s only one
large sphere but only two small spheres?
e. What does the leather signify? Why is one
small ball touching the surface, but the other
is not?
f. Like the universe believed to be
multidimensional, so are people. Our
personalities and emotions are sometimes
invisible, but can still have indirect impacts
on the environment/atmosphere around.
Insights
I discovered representation surfaces automatically when transforming a design into a
new statement using the dissected, and carved shapes from a previous design.
Ornamentaion from one design to the next is another discovery.
How are history, culture, and time related in architecture?
History of architecture is something handed down to future generations, leaving
room for architectonic language revised, altered or improved. As time passes,
architectural forms beceom more meaningful, and culture changes, making style, and
form meanings change.
Narrative Prompt Destinations
a) Describe the most significant aspects
and qualities of your design.
b) Describe what you want others to see
and experience.
c) What does your design represent?
d) What will the audience see first,
second?
e) Identify what you are provoking in
others as they experience your design.
f) Describe how your design intentions
and the physical aspects and its
organization relate
a) Significant aspects are; the textured surface
is identical to the figures. The small green
object that’s small but noticeably stands out
by contrast.
b) I want the audience to feel warmth and
comfort that the brown colored, soft, texture
creates.
c) It’s about order and being civil, while not
being dual and boring at the same time.
d) They will see simplicity, but with daring
complexity. The small green sphere in hiding
easily stands out by contrast.
e) Each spiral has its own uniqueness and
identity. That’s what the green object versus
the sideways spiral both represent.
f) The design intention was to incorporate a
Golden Ratio. I cut triangular shapes, sizing
them up with each shape size increased by
a third than consecutively.
Insights
What is the relationship between scale
and proportions?
Scale and proportions both have a
natural significance, they both speak
to people natural, hey both “feel right”.
Natural feelscomfortable, and
comfortable feels safe. People
generally don’t want to feel out of
whack whick may be introduced to
them by the scale and proportions of
there own home, or place of work is
“out of whack”
Scaled-Up Model
“How do your shape space to stimulate
the senses and evoke memories to
create experiences?”
The more daring and mean a structure
is, the more memories of childhood
experiences can arise. For instance, a
shape or form may resemble and
spark a child’s wild, antics, daring
stunts from the oddly shaped school
jungle-gym, from climbing, and
jumping off these structures may
exude adrenaline and excitement.
Another example is that of a typical
single family, average sized, boxy
shaped house. A home is an area,
space and atmosphere, that provides
shelter, warmth, and comfort in
common predictable shapes, and
moods of living spaces
Design Prompt
Produce a series of scaled-up constructions that focus on developing hierarchically
diverse and expressive spaces defined by your form
Demonstration that each evolution of special ideas are derived from the former
iterative study
Spaces are hierarchically layered, that is there are smaller defined spaces within a
larger one and are contiguous. These smaller spaces flow into the larger one without
being fully physically closed off.
Challenges
The scale was much larger, so I had a slightly tougher time securing the wavy arches
into place. The original smaller scale was easier and lighter to apply.
Picking the right materials that I wanted to replace the new abundant space caused
by the “zooming in” on the area and scaled up.
Insights
The "Powers of Ten“ video (listed below) really expanded my views of space and has
helped me introduce this subject into my architectural crafts.
By analyzing specific details and "spaces" in a magnified view of my work, I am
begining to learn more about the meanings of each part and piece of my iteration
designs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0
Design Prompt Destinations
Bilateral symmetry is repetive in the
triangular shapes used.
I wanted to close off the spaces within
almost completely, while still having
larges areas to vent space.
Forms defining new spaces that have
a felt geometry and a hierarchy of
special qualities using the developing
kit of parts.
Challenges Insights
When configuring new spaces within
spaces, each surface (cardboard
piece) placed, must be carefully
observed for what invisible surface
edges may continue to extend beyond
where the physical aspect ends. This
transparency in space forms shape
weather you want to or not.
Each surface needs its own indicators
of its, shape, size and formation.
Without these indications (cardboard
walls) there is just void or empty
space.
The physical length of this iteration
was just around five inches, so the
spacial cavities were difficult to reach
my larger hands inside of. If I had
crafted it about four times bigger, it
would feel as if the small confined
spaces would lose some significance
from much narrower looking wall
surfaces. I would have to thicken all
the walls to scale up the form.
“How does truth manifest itself in
architecture? How many forms of truth
are there?”
When function is mainly focused and
represented in architectural forms. Truth
may introduce itself through various forms
such as in “high-tech” style, and
representation of truth.
Destinations/Insights
Using previous kit of parts and narrative, I merged two shapes' within each other,
squares and triangles(pyramids) In doing so, a symmetric assumption was given by
one half of the object formed as a hollow shell, like the space a rain umbrella shapes
inside when its opened up.
The other shape(one on both sides) however is not an enclosed frame like the square
on the other side. The invisible shape of space assumes that for me, I did not have to
finish two more wood sticks that would have been necessary to completely frame the
last two out of six edges that make up a cube.
I plan on leaving many walls blank when I begin adding the surfaces. I hypothesize
this will leave illusions of voided space, and will benefit from the affect of free flowing
spaces.
If there were not enough wooden sticks indicating a closed surface, then the sticks
themselves become the surface and whole volume. If there were a missing crease
indication in a folded surface, then an impression of a space warping would have
been imposed(nothing wrong with that, but I want my surfaces to mostly flat).
Destinations
Initially, the frame design had more vagueness and up for interpretation of what
frames can represent a surface. Before deciding what surfaces will take form in this
iteration, I chose to incorporate translucency, throughout the iteration. I wanted to
avoid the sense of enclosure, by allowing more light inside, even though all spaces
are physically hollow.
From the exterior view, the main center gap is continuous with no breaks, and no
easy indication of what is holding and connecting the entire form as one. If it were a
building, pillars, or support columns, would be the comparison.
Insights
The free flowing, open ended structure of space created a breathable pathway of
spaces that is also visually unpredictable upon every corner. The six-directions-plus-
center idea will confirm this.
Limiting the amount of material (translucent paper)used, was mutually exclusive with
the effect it created on the perceived volume of spaces. The fewer the walls(surfaces)
in form, the more perceived voids in that space.
Sun exposure and views.
Reflective surface is transparent from the inside, but
translucent from the outside. Deflects only a desired amount of sunlight..
Sun exposure.
Open view of truss to invite sunlight in, especially sunlight from early hours
to promote sun-dawn ambience.
Plenty of ambient light flows through the
restaurant by entering one symmetrical
glass wall, to the other on the opposite
end.
Citygroup Center Atrium- Financial
District, San Francisoco
Because the environment is all interrupted by manmade landscape and structures(city)
the atrium resembles nature versus simply adapting to a past time nature of beachy
lands untouched by man.
This atrium attempts to encapsulate a
relaxing mood, that would be found in
a rain forest, far away from a stressful
congested, busy, street corner.
Insights
What is the difference between designing to resemble nature and designing with nature?
When resembling nature, ornamentation may be used much more, such as organic
structures and processes that mimic nature such as a tree, a branch, or even the front
view of a the pointy eyes of a poison snake.
To design with nature, means to adapt to any given environment with there respective
weather, landscape, terrain or hostile conditions, such as a manmade structure built near
a water stream in the woods, in a high precipitational region, with high winds. The
structure must accommodate, and preferably capitalize on the surrounding natural
rsources (wind, solar energy) is clean energy is a goal. Architecture responding to nature
by resembling it.
Conclusion
Design fixations are broken anytime the goal is to create quality out
of quantity.
Although architecture is also a recreation or response from the past,
new architecture can still be “new” and rewarding.
Fundamental theory will always be a foundational skill that I will
always need for my future endeavors in studying and practicing
architecture.