If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

...then how much is a 3-D model worth? Often, after the sketch and design step of architecture, both clients and firm like to see a more tangible model before moving on to construction plans. Now, in a world swimming in groundbreaking technology, 3-D printers and laser cutters whip out models in a matter of minutes. However, there are still some cases in which we use the traditional method of manually building miniature models out of cardboard and Tacky Glue (to create cheap, quickly-accessible models, to experiment with furniture layouts, to entertain interns, etc.). I got to try my hand at this today, building miniature versions of storage modules for a current project... Here are some pictures of my novice craftsmanship:

Blown up versions of floor plans (scaled from 1/8" to 1/4" to 1/2")

Though storage module building was relatively minor in the scheme of the entire project, I got firsthand experience of the cumbersome force inflicted by financial and physical limitations. Throughout designing and building, I had to keep in mind that the firm would be building these storage modules under tight budgets and due to those tight budgets, would most likely be building them independently, without the aid of third party contractors. In order to respect these conditions, when I went to build, I was careful to use only the standard 4x8 plywood boards (scaled to miniature cardboard size). This made it extremely difficult to go beyond the average 4x8x8 box (I couldn't bend the wood or extensively vary the sizes of the standard board) which was not very innovative or exciting. This further emphasized that architects are constantly challenged by practicality on top of a myriad of other factors. In order to circumvent these challenges, they must be expertly resourceful and inventive. This experience served as another reminder that I must address whether it is even feasible to add another discipline to architecture when it is already so complex. With the model, I am continuing to research loopholes around this in order to build more useful and creative boxes, but until then, I will become an expert at building some standard 4x8x8 boxes! 

ASU Civic Space

Today, I took a field trip to the ASU Civic Space, across the street from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, with three generous architects from the firm, Eric Vollmer, Brandon Crain, and Matt Winquist. Before the trip, I got a quick briefing of the canopies over the Civic Space that Eric (architect of Architekton at the time) designed in 2009. These canopies received a lot of recognition from the architecture community, so it was exciting to see the steps that led up to their completion. Here is an excerpt on it from Archdaily that provides a perfect description: "The Phoenix Civic Space weaves together the downtown community with ASU’s Phoenix Campus to create a vital urban center adjacent to the city’s new light rail system. Floating above the park, four canopies create a series of outdoor rooms defined by undulating green planes that reflects the park’s corrugated topography. This rhythmic scrim is comprised of standard electrical conduit and unistrut hangers: a syncopated pattern and variegated color scheme transform these off-the-shelf components into a rich textural surface that appears to constantly change density as it flows overhead. A second layer of shading is provided above the scrim by photo voltaic cells set in transparent panels that follow the warp of the structure and supply enough power to light the park at night (solar panels)."

Pictures I took:

What it looks like at night:

art piece put up by the city (not part of the canopy, but it was taken into consideration when designing it) 

The Bare Essentials

In order to ground my project and tie up the medley of blog posts I have produced, I will attempt to clearly establish my vision for my audience as a good client would do for a firm. My goal for the project is to find uses for psychology in architecture in order to improve the process of creation. In order to to this though, I must first show that environmental factors of a building and space do indeed affect people mentally and psychologically. Thus, for the remaining duration of my project, I will be pursuing past research on the psychological connections between factor and effect on user. The nine factors that I have compiled so far are present in nearly every room: 

1. Color
2. Space 
3. Walls
4. Ceilings
5. Floors
6. Furniture
7. Lighting
8. Technology/Accessories
9. Acoustical Characteristics

By the end of my SRP, I will have delved a bit deeper into each factor and have divulged the psychological effects each are currently linked to. The only time I will stray from this list will be to detail some more anecdotes from the firm or to share something interesting I discovered on the relationship between psychology and architecture. 

A great article that initially inspired my project:

How Rooms and Architecture Affect Mood and Creativity

Through the Client's Eyes

After observations of several transactions between client and firm, I broke down the production of a space into three distinctly visible stages--all which I believe are equally and vitally important for the successful creation of a space:

1. the vision of the client for his/her project
2. the successful conveyance of the vision to the firm or project architect (proposals and meetings)
3. the execution of the actual project by the firm

 The optimal situation, in terms of these three stages, would be one where the client has a lucid and practical vision, the client is able to perfectly articulate the vision to the firm, and the firm can comprehend and accurately reproduce the client's vision. Everyone's happy and efficient.

In a more realistic situation, it is more likely that clients have very abstract or overly ambitious visions, they are unable to clearly convey the vision that they themselves cannot really ground, and the firm consequently  has to spend excessive time with follow ups with the client in order to clarify the hazy picture they originally received or sometimes just misinterprets their visions entirely from the start. On top of this, there are several professionals working on this project--designers, architects who majored in engineering, architects who majored in the arts, etc-- and that means several different backgrounds, areas of expertise, and perspectives all trying to collaborate and build one vision. The firm may end up having to struggle, squirm, and guess through the entire process in hopes of producing what the client possibly wanted.

Thus, from the very onset of the project, a profound detailing of the project from the client could serve to be very beneficial and efficient. The presence of someone trained in deciphering a client's intentions through psychological means or just empirical knowledge could profoundly aid in the process of excavating the client's true wishes. That's what psychologists are for, aren't they? Discovering the buried thoughts and wishes deep inside of us?

To be fair, in some scenarios, leaving the architects and designers with the reigns on the project could also have benefits...for people with little idea of what they want or those who possess an unlimited budget and want the most modern, trending design, allowing architects complete freedom with the project after designating a purpose could in fact be the best option. But usually, people are not so flexible and are not so wealthy...

To conclude, the purpose of a project ideally needs to be clearly established for a successful and harmonious project. And with that, until next time!

Bird's Eye View

Hello all! I've been gradually getting more work to do at the firm, and it's an intriguing, different experience every time I visit the office! I'd like to think it is because I have just blown them away with my sheer architectural prowess, but realistically, they are probably just trying to get the new intern something to do. Either way, I don't mind!

Some of the work I was assigned was diagramming work for the upcoming (confidential) project I mentioned earlier. These diagrams are very basic blueprints of the venue, and my role is to place scaled, furniture cut-outs (tables, chairs, beanbags, storage units, etc) on the blueprints and play around with various arrangements of the furniture in the venue to create the most efficient and appealing layouts. There are several copies of the diagrams so I can make specialized layouts for different scenarios, such as large group assemblies versus smaller, divided groups.

Looked something like this...

While working on these diagrams, I truly realized the importance of space. Have you been in a classroom and had a kid sit so close behind you that he was practically breathing in your ear? Well, this could have been avoided had the architect planned more carefully for the intended purposes of the room.

When considering spatial arrangements, the architect must consider not only the purpose of the room, but also the activity of the users (more activity, more space required), the number of users in the space (more users, more space), the "personal space" required for each person to feel comfortable (varies with culture), and the proximity of the furniture and materials to the users (can the users access everything easily). I will dive further into the environmental factor, space, next time! Thank you for reading~

The Power of Prepbooks

Due to my long, complicated history with AP's, subject tests, and SAT's, it is understandable that the mere sight of  a Kaplan or Princeton Review can cause my blood pressure to rise and my body to squirm. On my seventh day at WORKSBUREAU, Mr. Tumminello, my on-site mentor, offered me some good ol' prepbooks: two Kaplan's for the ARE. (Just as the GRE, LSAT, MCAT are the make-it-or-break-it tests for their designated fields, the ARE (Architecture Registration Exam) is the high-stake, pass/fail exam for aspiring architects. There are 7 sections, consisting of a whopping 555 questions.)

Now, had I been prepping a decade in advance to get my architecture license, I would have considered this Kaplan in front of me a daunting enemy that must be conquered to reach success, but since I am a mere intern, this familiar face for an unfamiliar field was a welcoming friend that I was relieved to accept guidance from. As I cracked open Programming, Planning & Practice and Architectural History, I felt a rush of euphoria at the sight of bolded titles and italicized subtitles (I admit this even triggered a tad bit of nostalgia. Don't worry, Enji, you have two APs coming in May. Plenty of prepbook-time...). This structural introduction to architecture was comfortable and most importantly, digestible.

Architectural History will be useful for expanding my general knowledge base and for extracting trends of change in architecture throughout history. I will be studying architecture in a chronological sequence, starting at "Classical Architecture," transitioning to some of my favorite segments such as "Medieval Architecture," and ending with "20th Century and Beyond." Architectural Planning an Programming I plan to use more extensively because it is more in the same vein as my research. The sections that will be most useful are "Programming and Space Needs," "Design Relationship to the Human Body," "Urban Design," "The Human Dimension," and "Environmental Factors." Unfortunately, I cannot sub these texts in as my only sources because my focus is more specific. These texts will primarily be beneficial for pinpointing which section of architecture is best aligned with my thesis and for building my fluency with architectural jargon (yay).

Colorology

Think back to a time when you noticiced the color combination of a room, a building, or even an outfit that irked you for some reason. The colors individually weren't all too horrid, but together, the combination made your eyes beg for relief.

The fact is certain color combinations are harmonious, while others are utterly discordant. Whether its genetically inherent or culturally acquired, there is some intrinsic component in humans that allows us to prefer or detest color combinations.

Some have attempted to discover that intrinsic component and have experimented with various theories, but most have focused on the actual art of forming color harmonies and theories to be utilized for practical usage. Color theories revolve around the color wheel (the commonly accepted color theory consists of twelve colors: primary, secondary, and tertiary). These are some color schemes of basic color theory:

• Complementary: colors opposite to each other on the wheel = vibrant harmonies
• Analogous: colors adjacent to each other on the wheel = comfortable, natural harmonies
• Triadic: colors that are evenly spaced on the color wheel = vibrant, one color must dominate
• Split-Complementary: similar to Complementary, but instead of the complement color, it uses the two colors adjacent to the complement matched with the base = vibrant, but less vibrant than Complementary
• Rectangle: two Complementary pairs = rich variation
• Square: four colors spaced evenly around color wheel = rich, balance of warm and cool

Color harmonies, produced by these theories, all give pleasure of some sort to their viewers, but more importantly, the nuanced emotion each triggers is entirely different from that of another. Notice how the palettes shown below are generally agreeable combinations of colors, yet it is likely that you will prefer one or more over the others:

    

These preferences exist because each palette induces a distinctive feeling--each conjures up a different image or memory, specialized to that palette. Thus, in order to properly design a space for a user, the design must be specialized to that user, and that anonymous title, "user" must become "Jim", "Paula", or any other individual who will realistically have a different color preference than anyone else. This is a vital consideration that must not be left out of the architectural process.

And that is the conclusion of the color and color harmonies segment. Until next time!