General Chat / The Future Architects' Thread

The point of this thread is for NE's current architecture majors (like Natelox, AP, PyroPenguin if he still comes here, and myself) to discuss architecture. Anyone interested in majoring in architecture in college can also ask questions, because I know I get IM's about it from time to time, and I'm always glad to help. At the same time, I can only provide my experience at USC, and other programs may be different.

Hahaha! I've designed a home for school; part of a mini-townhouse development (four homes) but we only had to design one and just place the others. Anyways, I'm happy with my house but my instructors were commenting on the lack of privacy due to the huge amount of glass and the fact that there are no walls between bedrooms. They have a very good point, but I can't change it now, I don't have the time (Due on Friday). The point is that the most difficult part of architecture in my opinion is trying to think of everything! I assume privacy may be one of the upmost important values when designing a home (atleast to the client), but I was so focused on apperance and flow inside that I lost sight of that. It's manually drafted, but I've taken some pictures and may post them.

The point of the story? We're all suseptable to being too focused on one or two details that we lose sight of the big picture. I think this contest is great example of this.

Interesting you should mention that. We're doing a mixed use housing/retail project right now on a relatively large site in Venice, five minutes away from the beach (Venice is just south of Santa Monica for those of you who'd know where SM is). The lot is trapezoidal in shape but about 450 feet on the long side and a bit over 200 feet on the short dimensions. Anyway, the first phase of our semester long design project was to design a master plan for the whole site. I worked with a friend to attain one. Then, each person took a piece of that plan and developed it.

Basically, I had midterm reviews last week, and one of my criticisms was also a lack of private space for my units, so I'm working towards correcting that. Turns out I'd sort of entrapped my own design by leveling the parking all the way next to the housing. Then I had put a walkway over that. The end result was that my apartment units, which were arranged as row housing, was completely blocked off from light on the ground floor of one end, resulting in ventilation and natural light problems for my bedrooms. And as it turns out, that's a code violation.

So in terms of the privacy thing, I'm in the same boat. I had totally overlooked individual privacy, because I thought I could create a private group space in the form of a courtyard terrace with bridges that crossed over the parking lot below.

In terms of your bedrooms having no privacy... that probably is something that should be fixed, but it reminds me sort of something my own professor has been preaching: flexible spaces for alternate lifestyles. A bedroom doesn't only have to be a room you sleep in, it might also be a personal office or a den during the day. So he's trying to get us to develop flexible spaces while also integrating ideas of natural ventilation, daylighting, sustainable design, and of course, solid design ideas--all into one. I'm not doing a super job of the flexible spaces thing yet, but I've redesigned my master plan (that's always a bitch) and I think I can definitely get some better spaces out of my units now that they're no longer restricted.


This is also as good of a time as any to announce that next fall, I will be going to Saintes, France, to study architecture abroad for a semester. I'm totally stoked, and it should be really exciting.

I'm not even sure the Europeans on the site know where Saintes is... but it's on the southwestern coast of France, in the Aquitaine / Poitou-Charente region. The closest "known" town I can think of is La Rochelle. Saintes is 30 miles away from the beach and about 200 miles south west of Paris (rough estimates).

We'll also be visiting Barcelona, Berlin, and Paris twice.

Here's the home. Sorry about the quality of the pictures. I tried to fix them up in Photoshop as best I could. The house revolves around this idea of having a raised walkway through it, with the occupants stepping off the walkway, ususally down, into each space.


Main Floor Plan. The big entry porch houses the major room in the basement. The house is somewhat unorthadox; just trying to give you (the reader) a better understanding. The living room and dining room are sunken, so the basment flows between these spaces. This is to reduce the height of the building because the basement may only be four feet below ground (Instructors requirement).


Upper Floor Plan. This is where the bedrooms are. I can close off the master bedroom (on the left, opens to balcony) quite easily because there is a partial height wall seperating it from the stair/hallway. The second bedroom is more difficult. I think I'll have to remove the closet, which is probably too big anyways, and have a door that opens either near the bathroom or to the right of the stair, then have a step up once inside the room.


Lower Floor Plan


Elevation


Section


Site Plan

Corkscrewed, your trip to Europe sounds amazing! Have you ever been before? I've visited Paris, and loved it. The architecture is just stunning, as is their city wall layout. Barcelona would be very cool to visit! Gaudi's work runs rampant through there, and we can't forget about Jean Nouvel's Agbar Tower. Germany would be great to visit aswell. Lots of classic architecture mixed with some amazing new work from Zaha Hadid and Helmut Jahn.

Well, unfortunely I'll have to call it there. I've got a lot of studying to do for next week.

Nate, that's a beautiful house. Though, it could be a pain to have so many elevation changes throughout...

-ACE

oke... europe is great i agree... but if you are there plz visit rotterdam in the netherlands!

why? because the old center was for 90% destroyed by the german in the WW2... the complete centre of rotterdam is reuild with some great buildings...

there is nowadays a few great pieces of fine architecture...

A few of my favorits are: [screens are URL's just to kill the download time and some are huge]

De Kubuswoningen:

http://img208.exs.cx...sepoort18cz.jpg

Schouwburgplein withe a very large cinema:

http://home.hetnet.n...ista3dgroot.jpg

Cinema:

http://www.kuijpers....,_Rotterdam.jpg

Koopgoot [in english: Buyíng gutter ]

http://www.rotterdam...gen/Koopc02.jpg

errasmusbrug \ de zwaan [erasmus bridge \ the swan]

http://agentsmith.mi...m/big/WPC08.jpg

Metro station \ train station Blaak:

http://galerij.mine....8bdba23cbf5bde1

and there is much more...

-PBJ

Edited by PBJ, 04 March 2006 - 03:35 PM.

I'm going to University of Missouri Rolla to hopefully study Architectural Engineering. I think the biggest difference in that and Architecture is there will probably be a bit less focus on on the aesthetics aspect and more on the electrical, ventilation, acoustics, materials, plumbing and structural aspects of the building.

I don't know too terribly much about all of this right now. I did however buy a book on Frank Lloyd Wright and his smaller house, and it preached very flat rooflines, integrating furniture, flowing spaces with few doorways and actual rooms, using very few materials, and not only privacy, but also large flooding windows. It's very interesting to say the least.

I wouldn't be in the position to say this, but I view designing a building as a puzzle that has many aspects and a few high priorities. You guys might want to make a list of all of those aspects and high priorities before you start designing, so you don't forget them all.

Anyways, do you guys have any advice for an incoming freshman to an Architecture program, or college in general?

The program I'm in is actually called "Building Engineering and Architectural Technology." It sounds very similar to what you're looking to study. It's a two year program and then I have to reapply for for another two years to get a degree in Architectural Technology. After that I will apply to UBC to get into their masters program (to become an Architect) for another three years. First term consisted of physics, math, civil engineering, building construction, communication, construction materials and processes, drafting and AutoCad. All of which relates directly to buildings and construction, there are no intellectual classes, if you will. In second year it becomes more architectural (well, it's one of three options) and the third and fourth years are completely architectural. In second year, we will have classes on HVAC, Electrical, Lighting, Plumbing, Engineering, Estimating, Acoustics etc.. The program I'm in is insane interms of workload. We've got eight classes at 30hours a week. Five midterms this week, plus two projects due, one worth 60% and the other, although unknown, is probably around 40%. Then I get a week off for spring break then I have a project due on Tuesday and two midterms in that same week back. We finnish on May 29th I believe. I don't think universities pile it on this much, no matter what program you're in. I think Fatha' said he's got 22 hours a week of classes at USC (or wherever he is attending). Just an account of my experiances.

In terms of your puzzle analogy, I'm not sure it quite works. Or atleast, it doesn't work for me. It indicates that there is a correct way of doing something, only one possible outcome. This is not true for architecture. And the list, well, it could be very, very long. Some major issues are things like privacy, and some are very minor, such as handrails should meet the wall at the end of their run to prevent items from becoming caught on them. Or the spacing of balusters needs to be 100mm (4") or less to prevent a childs head from getting stuck between them. If you want horizontal members to your balusters, they need to run on the outside of the stair to prevent children from climbing them, if infact the code will allow horizontal members. It's all in the details.

In terms of your puzzle analogy, I'm not sure it quite works. Or atleast, it doesn't work for me.  It indicates that there is a correct way of doing something, only one possible outcome. This is not true for architecture.

hmm.. true. i was thinking more along the lines of having something envisioned, the 'perfect building' so to say. it's nearly impossible to reach, but it's something to strive for, and it could come in many different shapes and sizes, etc.

and yeah, in all honesty i don't know what i'm talking about with the list. i just thought that some kind of check list would help to make sure you don't run into any problems like corkscrewed ran into.

well, i'm just entering project week (aka hell week) here at UC....so I'm not really gonna read through these posts too thoroughly or write much....but I'll be sure to check back in two weeks when im off for spring break. and to give a sample of what we do here at UC's architecture program (no.2 in the nation btw....thats right corky ) here is a link to my portfolio:
http://daapspace.daa...t/portfolio.zip

oh, it's a .pdf file btw

Edited by AustinPowers, 05 March 2006 - 12:57 AM.

Hey, nah, I know UC is pretty good, AP. No worries.

I'm in a tad of a rush, so I'll edit this post later, but Nate, are those inked drawings, or did you just rush and photograph some printed out CAD drawings? Just wondering. If that's inked, then you have some wonderful lettering.

Your house with the raised elevation spaces sounds pretty neat. It's probably too late now, but you might have been able to take the idea of raised and lowered spaces and turn it into a raumplan (ala Adolf Loos), where the spaces really flow into each other. Of course, logistically, this creates code nightmares, but it's an interesting design idea. The other thing it reminds me of is Charles Corea's Cablenagar Township, which is an never-built mass housing project in India that used a row house arrangement (hence that's different from yours alread) to raise and lower various spaces. You had a procession of spaces from the front to the back, and they'd step up or down to signal the type of space.

I've never been to Europe before, so I'm definitely super excited. I've never really traveled much period, actually, so I can't wait to see what we do. The travel itineraries are pretty much set, but I'm definitely gonna see if we can visit some of Gaudi's works (he said last year, they were almost able to visit the Segrada Familia) when we're in Spain.

A final comment to Nate: your program sounds ridiculous. 30 hrs a week is pretty damn hellish, but it sounds like you might come out the better for it when you finish. USC's got a rigorous program, but we stress structure a little less than you guys.


Bob, your expectations for architectural engineering sound pretty close to what I've heard. It's less design, more pragmatic issues. Still important though.

Oh, and it sounds like your book is about FLW in his Midwest years. That would be the prairie house you're talking about. He radically changed his style when he moved to LA, though, especially with his textile block houses that were part-Japanese inspired. And of course, he did later design the Guggenheim in New York. So it's quite interesting to track his chronology.

I'm in a tad of a rush, so I'll edit this post later, but Nate, are those inked drawings, or did you just rush and photograph some printed out CAD drawings?  Just wondering.  If that's inked, then you have some wonderful lettering.

Your house with the raised elevation spaces sounds pretty neat.  It's probably too late now, but you might have been able to take the idea of raised and lowered spaces and turn it into a raumplan (ala Adolf Loos), where the spaces really flow into each other.  Of course, logistically, this creates code nightmares, but it's an interesting design idea.

It's graphite on velum. Inking is dangerous unless you use mylar, but that's expensive and it's difficult to carry around. Thank you for the comment on the lettering. My instructors have commented on that aswell, but as hard as I try I still don't think it looks that great.

Luckly we don't have to worry about code compliance in this class. We have another class for that, but it's not very creative. We are given a problem and are required to solve it within the code.

Segrada Familia is still underconstruction isn't it? So he ment you almost got to go on site or visit it from the outside? What is on the/your itinerary?

That house is a pretty interesting idea.

I've always been interested in architecture but dont have the mathmatic skills to go with is. not to mention im already on another degree .
Growing up in a country village in the middle of nowhere i've always had a certain interest in the modern architecture of todays major citys and in particular skyscrapers.

I've just finished reading up on the Taipai 101 (for those who dont know its currently the worlds tallest building) and the theory that the immence presure the building places on such a small area of the underlying geology is causing an increase in minor earthquakes in the area. The building itself is incredibly cleverly designed.

One thing thats pretty cool about living in britain is the vast architectural history you can see in some of our cities. the same being true of many other european cities. although we've never really gone for the whole sky scraper thing...

anyway i am rambling.
cheers

Oh, and it sounds like your book is about FLW in his Midwest years.  That would be the prairie house you're talking about.  He radically changed his style when he moved to LA, though, especially with his textile block houses that were part-Japanese inspired.  And of course, he did later design the Guggenheim in New York.  So it's quite interesting to track his chronology.

It has pictures from all different eras of (strictly) his houses when it talks about certain aspects of home design. In the featured home section it has only 2 prarie houses, and they're both small--less than 3,500 sq ft--and the rest are mostly Usonian homes. My favorite is the Isabel Roberts House.

although we've never really gone for the whole sky scraper thing...

*cough* Richard Rogers and Norman Foster *cough*

Actually, mostly Richard Rogers. Case in point: Lloyds of London Building.

It's graphite on velum. Inking is dangerous unless you use mylar, but that's expensive and it's difficult to carry around. Thank you for the comment on the lettering. My instructors have commented on that aswell, but as hard as I try I still don't think it looks that great.

Hmmm, good point. I was thinking "hand drawn" when I typed that in. It looked dark enough to possibly be inked. Anyway, that is very good. And I'm glad your program is teaching you to hand draft. USC is apparently getting more and more lax in that regard. I wasn't allowed to use CAD until second semester of second year. The year below was allowed to use CAD in first semester of first year. And the last I heard, they might be allowing first year to use CAD for their final project. And in my opinion, that's a bad move, because if you do everything on the computer, you will never get a true sense of scale or lineweights. Plus, too many students who do stuff on CAD just draw lines and end up having no idea how big their buildings are, because they don't know the dimensions!

Segrada Familia is still underconstruction isn't it? So he ment you almost got to go on site or visit it from the outside? What is on the/your itinerary?

Yeah, it's under construction, but I thought there are parts of it you can visit that are completed. Anyway, he wasn't too clear on it; just said they almost visited it. I'm not sure what the itinerary is because he hasn't finalized it.

So if anyone wants to offer up a host I can put up some pictures of a model I have been working on in sketchup of my house I did for a project first semester. And if I get around to actually taking some decent pictures I can put up some hand drafted bits.

I think its important to have worked by hand, but I think two years is kind of pushing it given the modern environment of architecture. Realistically, you are going to by drafting by computer for the extent of your career. So while the tactile experience of actually hand drafting is important for developing lineweight and a sense of scale, I think the you should start mixing handdrafting with computer by the second year. But I guess im just really quite smitten with sketchup right now.

http://www.rctd.ft6....loads/index.php


I like reading this thread. I've always been interested in architecture.

Thanks silenced. This was a project I did first semester for an Intro Studio. The program was a house for an intellectual couple of professors, the wife an artist and psycologist. The house was required to have a master bedroom, guest bedroom, 225 sq ft kitchen, at least one full bath, living space, study space with 60 linear feet bookshelf, private space for psych patients, space for displaying artwork all in an 800 sqaure foot footprint, no more than two stories.



Front Elevation


Rear Elevation


Left Elevation


Front Iso


Rear Iso


Guest Bedroom Section


Living Room Section- The master Bedroom is behind the bookshelf as well as the kitchen

Love Sketchup

And the house looks amazing, just been staring at it for about 10mins now.

I'm doing my first year of my BA Architecture course at Plymouth Uni (England that is) and all is well.

That sounds like a really challenging project Pyro. I just want to point out a few things I see about your building.


The open upper floor really reduces the square footage of an already small home. Also, I understand that that is a outrageous requirement for shelf space, and the way you've fit it in is quite grand. However, the shelves extend beyond the door height. I think it would be quite difficult to pick out a book from up there. I assume the bookshelf opens on the other side on the upper floor, but it also is quite tall.


The 'railing' on the porch (below balcony) I find quite frightening. I realize its purpose interms of asethetics, but it looks like a prison. I don't think it really needs a railing there anyways (However the building is out of context).

Just some things to think about.

What programs do you Arch majors use? I remember when the addition put on our house was drawn and printed on blueprints. Amazing how much technology has been shifted to the computer realm in the last 15 years.

AutoCad I think is still kind of the industry standard right now, even though it is a severly outdated program. AutoCad is essentially like drafting by hand using a computer. 3d programs are becoming a lot more capable because you construct a model allowing you to view your design and then can print in any elevation or section view. Autodesk has a program capable of model design based off of AutoCad called Architectural Desktop. They also recently aquired Revit, another 3d based design program. Others include ArchiCad, Vectorworks, etc. Programs such as SketchUp and FormZ are nice because they are more conceptual programs. SketchUp makes it easy to design on the computer because the modeling is more intuitive and less exact- you can essentially sketch on your computer. Plus, you can then output your model to another program to render it. Rendering programs are your standard fare- 3ds, Maya, Lightwave. But that is getting into some heavy stuff. From what I understand a lot of programs seem to focus on either SketchUp or FormZ and AutoCad.