sean murphy's midterm
DESCRIPTION
My midterm for Jerry Lum's Spring '13 Arch 101TRANSCRIPT
Sean Murphy�Arch 101 Midterm Portfolio�
Spring 2013�Jerry Lum
Iteration 1_Icebreaker
• Positively developing, exponentially supportive and curiously persistent were the words I chose to describe myself.
• Eventually I got the idea to represent the idea of positive development by an increase in the size of some rectangles that I was playing around with.
• If each one grew a little in size this would hopefully create a sense of growth.
Itera&on 2_Icebreaker
• For my second itera&on I focused on the fact that I needed to make this piece stand on its own no ma:er how I set it down.
• These are some sketches I came up with that allowed me to envision a structure that stands even if it gets knocked over. It also allowed me to preserve my original idea of rectangles that were growing and ge@ng larger.
Itera&on 2_Physical Model
• I was not able to create the straight lines which wrap around the three parabolas in the drawing. I kept breaking the structure and having to re-‐glue it.
• I decided to just tangle the wire and make it look as though the piece was coming out of a chao&c mess.
• I learned that I was going to need to find a be2er adhesive for gluing metal to metal. I was using Krazy Glue but the pieces kept coming apart.
Itera&on 2
• Here it is on what I consider to be its side. This, however, works as a founda&on as well. The parabolic arches give it a strength and an upward movement. One thing I don’t like is the scraggly piece of wire I a:ached to the leI side. The idea behind this was to have a sense of something that is undeveloped turning into something more clearly organized.
• This was supposed to capture the feeling of posi?ve development. What it ends up looking like is a disjointed collec&on of two unrelated things. I like the idea of variety in a structure but not at the expense of unity. What I need to do in my third itera&on is have a sense of variety and unity.
Itera&on 3_Kit of Parts • I narrowed down my kit of parts by
elimina&ng the squiggly piece of metal. This gave me two basic shapes, a parabola and various sizes of rectangles.
Itera&on 3_Kit of Parts Experiment
• I experimented with the basic kit of parts shapes. Here is another op&on Which lead to my next design.
Itera&on 3_SketchUp Model
• My idea for this model was to start the pieces small from the center and have them grow larger as they branched out.
• The connec&on pieces are small parabola shapes.
• I hoped to achieve a sense of organic and exponen&al growth from this design.
Itera&on 4_Physical Model 1
• I didn’t do a great job of designing something that could be created in real life. • I succeeded in recrea&ng the progressively larger rectangles. • The wire represented the connec&ng pieces well but didn’t provide a strong base for the model. • I was really unhappy with the whole process of making this and decided to start over.
Itera&on 4_Model 2
• With the tools and supplies I had, there was going to have to be a new approach to ge@ng this piece to stand and not look terrible.
• We talked in class about how overlap and increased complexity can create a more interes&ng model.
• I employed those ideas and tried to give the piece a sense of organic development.
Itera&on 4_Model 2
• I also took my original kit of parts shapes and turned the parabolas into a spiral shape. • I used that spiral as the base of the model.
Wri:en Narra&ve
• I’m transi&oning from a place of fearful, self-‐centered, stagna&on into a place of challenging myself in order to find a path of crea&ve explora&on and being helpful to society and the world around me. Trying to stay curious and excited about life. Some&mes figh&ng to stay curious and excited about life.
• Breaking out of old unhealthy pa:erns and beliefs: self doubt, regret, living in the past, feeling too old, feeling lost. Lacking faith in myself, life and humanity.
• Replacing that behavior with loving posi&vity. Waking up. Working hard. Challenging myself. Se@ng goals. Overcoming obstacles. Facing fear. Helping others. Inspiring others. Providing support and opportunity for friends and family.
• Posi&vely developing, exponen&ally suppor&ve, persistently curious.
Narra&ve_Model Sketches • My idea for this model was to have the model itself transform from small, chao&cally laid out shapes into more uniform, organized shapes.
• In the center I have a scribbled ball that is messy and compact. It would be made out of wire. Then it transforms into more angular but s&ll erra&c triangles and trapezoids made out of Bolsa wood.
• As things progress forward the shapes transform into squares. The overall shape is sort of a cradle that is meant to foster crea&ve curiosity.
• The idea of this cradle being suppor&ve is strengthened by the beams on the bo:om which would be made out of thin pieces of wood.
Narra&ve_Physical Model
From this angle you can hopefully get the impression of the transforma&on From right to leI as the pieces change into organized squares.
Narra&ve_Physical Model This photo shows the cradle aspect of the model. The sides curve up and enclose the central area.
Propor&onal Studies Fibonacci Series
This “formula” is seen in so many structures and works of art. It’s fascina&ng in that it seems to be where nature, man and mathema&cs all meet. When I physically represented this series it soon became clear how rapidly and extreme things were increasing.
Propor&onal Studies Golden Sec&on
Propor&onal Studies Harmonic Propor&ons
Propor&onal Studies Modular
Propor&onal Studies Equal or Extreme Divisions
Playing around in SketchUp with division gave me an opportunity to see how one can use very basic rules and guides to create a unified structure. When looking at some of the greatest buildings I’ve seen I now can see that even the Greeks had a guide logic and framework behind their structures.
Propor&onal Studies Composi&on
For this piece I used a more complex organiza&on of harmonic propor&ons. I took the structure of a musical scale and used the intervals as my basis for the rela&onships between each shape.
The pillars become progressively unorganized and are following the basic radial format, as you can see on the leI.
Spa&al Rela&onships
Spa&al Rela&onships
Spa&al Rela&onships
A Tectonic Journey SketchUp Model
This is a model of welcoming an comfortable space, awesome and monumental space, and In&mate and tranquil space.
• In the first space I included rounded edges, a wide opening and installed chairs so one would feel comfortable. • The second space is 55 feet tall and has stalac&te-‐like shapes driIing down from the ceiling which gives the viewer an engaging visual experience. • The third space is enclosed with cozier sea&ng and a small pond inside to produce a calming affect.
A Tectonic Journey
• Here is a sec&on view that allows one to see the interior and the staglac&te-‐like shapes. The steps on the side invite one to take a closer look at the driIing shapes. • The eleva&on to the right of the steps brings you into the in&mate space.
A Tectonic Journey Enhanced SketchUp Model
• In class we talked about my SketchUp model and how I could improve it by ge@ng rid of the hallway at the front and integra&ng the welcoming space with the monumental space. • To make the walls more interes&ng I turned some of them into strips. This allows more light into the monumental space and gives the eye more ac&vity to par&cipate it.
Sec&on Model
Sec&on Model
• Construc&ng this was a bit more difficult than I thought. Measuring the pieces to match the curves was not easy to do on a consistent basis.
• I didn’t have the skills or &me to re-‐create the stalac&te shapes in this model. Hopefully I will get be:er with prac&ce.