ANNOUNCEMENT FOR DESIGN STUDIO

Dear all,

Please be informed that I will be briefing you on the requirements for the Internal Review tomorrow in class. For Group A, this briefing will take place at 11am, Group B at 2pm. Attendance is compulsory and critical.

As we are just mere days away from the submission, this will mean that you need to finalise your design schemes with your tutors by tomorrow. In order to aid the finalisation of your design and getting the advice you need to progress towards completion, you will need to show sufficient visual material to your tutors. So please have with you: your study models, site models, orthographic drawings, sketches and any additional drawings such as perspectives and axo. Everyone should have started on their models and orthographic drawings by now.

Please take note of this and inform your fellow peers.

Thank you and I will see you all tomorrow.
Shyn.

Postscript:

In developing your designs, think about these two things:
1) What is the spatial quality you're creating? What is the poetics of space in your scheme?
 - poetics of space quite simply refers to the atmosphere you're creating. Think about the difference of spatial quality and experience of a church and a storeroom. Why are the two spaces so different in experience? What are the architectural elements (ie. ceiling height, choice of materials and textures, window openings size and type) that have been used/manipulate/modified in order to create that resulting spatial quality?

2) How is your design grafted?
- does your design meet the requirement of being grafted? What is the definition of grafted? How is your design grafted to your site? Is it grafted to the wall or ceiling? Is it grafted to the ground or onto a pillar?

 

What is being grafted here and how?

Design Studio 1: Interim Submission requirements

Hi Studio 1 troop,

Just a few general announcements and advice for the coming Monday [June 11] Interim review:

Format of review
- it will be in the format of a pin up. Each student will get 5 minutes to present and 5 minutes feedback.
- please have all your works pinned up (drawings, sketches) and laid out (models) according to groups by 8.30am [Group A] and 2pm [Group B]. This means that you will have to be at the studio half an hour before to organise yourselves into your groups and rearrange (and properly subdivide) the studio space for the purpose of the presentation. Have your site models ready and conveniently placed in your group's space too. The review will commence precisely at the above stated times.

What we will be looking for
-  your design scheme, and proposed idea in relationship to the site and function you are providing for your user. Which means two very important things you must be designing with: (1) SCALE, and, (2) SITE
- make sure all drawings and models are done to SCALE. This shows your consideration of the human scale in relation to your scheme. You can choose to draw and model either at 1:50 or 1:20 or even in both scales, depending on the nature of what you need to explore with the model and drawings and how.
- make sure all drawings and models are drawn and built with SITE CONTEXT. Your study model should sit within a model of your site, and your drawings (floor plans, section and elevation) should include the surrounding site. Without this, it shows us that you are not considering the information which you all have worked so hard to gather in your site analysis exercise in the last two weeks. Why waste all that precious effort hah?
- make sure all drawings and sketches are presented neatly and consistently on A3 butter paper. If you have been drawing on A4s, don't worry! (or swear or throw them away) Just stick them onto A3 butter papers and tadaa! they are re-usable for presentation purposes.
  

 

 Make the drawings work for you. Let even a single section say more about just the inside of your design, it can talk about how your building relates to its surroundings, and people approach your design. A site plan can also contain your floor plan. The question is how do you contrast the site from your building to make your design stand out.
Link: http://openbuildings.com/buildings/roku-museum-profile-39085



 

 Make models. MANY models. But with a purpose in mind, several questions to address and answer.

  
 
 And make these models work for you (not vice versa).
Link: http://gabriellevoogt-projectmanagement.blogspot.com/2011/02/architectual-biennale-showed-award.html




Time management
- I don't call you guys a troop for nothing. It's been a long battle and you guys are physically (some potentially mentally, some frighteningly emotionally) weary and tired from the last eight weeks. Good news is, we're halfway there. Bad news is, we've got six more weeks to go and you guys are way too burnt out for your own good. You have to pace yourself. And in order to do so, please plan and manage your time and other resources well!

NOTE: Resources here include the following - money (please don't incur car damage and accident fees from lack of sleep), materials (don't find yourself cursing in the middle of the night for flattening your technical pen nib after having slammed it by accident onto your drafting table out of frustration of having lack of sleep), and energy (read: LACK OF SLEEP)

- please start exercising the habit of keeping track of how long you spend working on an assignment. And when I say work, it doesn't include checking FB on your iPhone or Angry Bird-ing off your iPad every half an hour. Every minute counts. Finish your work then go enjoy surfing, tweeting and Bird-ing in your free time. Focus and get your work done WELL in the minimum amount of time. I'm sure you all are trying to crack your head around how to get an extra 25th hour in your short and overfilled day.

Tracking your time means that you will know that inking an axo will take you two days (instead of two hours before submission *cough cough* ortho *cough cough*).

This means that ideally you should finish your axo by Saturday and start inking before Saturday evening. Split and manage your hours on Sunday smartly between Dcomm and Design Studio.

And yes, we are aware of your BMaterial and CultureHistory submissions. Thus, it is only realistic to expect that you will only continue work on the other two subjects after the submissions (and frankly, after you have properly rested).


Guys, I cannot stress enough the importance of working smart as opposed to simply working hard, and producing quantity over quality. Time to shift your mindsets and approach to your studies. This is for one reason alone now: to prevent yourselves from burning out and losing your minds even before the semester ends.

Best of luck over the weekend, hoping that the examples here will inspire you to soldier on!
Shyn.

Ps. for students in my tutorial group for DComm, sincerest apologies for having been absent today. As En.Wan may have informed you, I will see you guys for a brief replacement session next Monday after Group B's Studio class at 5pm to 6.30pm. Will see you then!