Week 7: Healthy Innovations

In our modern world today, I feel as though we are moving 100 mph. Technology is booming, and new innovations are coming out faster than I can comprehend. (By the time I update my phone, a newer update is waiting for me... again.)

Why is this happening? Because we are striving for efficiency. The maximum amount of work put out, with the least effort put in.

Innovation is generally always seen as improvement. The superdesk featured below is an example of a beautiful innovation.

In New York City, the Barbarian Group's HQ has a "superdesk", designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects. Hmmm... superdesk? Yup. This desk is 4,400 square feet, 1,100 feet long, and has a maximum width of 11.5 feet. It's a desk fit for 170 people!

Video: 

 Photos: 

creds 1 & 2

This desk is to encourage and enable interaction among all of the workers. The arches in the design have seating under them as well, also serving as a quieter, more private discussion area (there's acoustic insulation for privacy). The continuous, 'flowy' design of the desk reflects its purpose to allow 'flowing conversation'.

Innovations like these are what arguably improve our efficiency.

However, sometimes innovations may affect the things that did not even have to be adjusted. This sort of notion was explained in the article "Architecture and Human Behavior: The Place of Environment-Behavior Studies in Architecture" by Gary T. Moore. One example used was senior living spaces.

As time and age takes its toll, to "ease" the elderly's living situations, we would most-likely design modified living spaces, ones with easy accessibility, ultimately providing the most comfort. However, "Strange as is may seem, making the environment easier for the old person to get around in may encourage the elderly to become more dependent and less self-assured." Like going up and down the stairs: once you stop doing it, it's hard to restart. With an "alternative option" readily available, why put yourself through all the trouble?

Some innovations aiming to make life more efficient and easy, might really be detrimental to our health and lifestyle.

Ultimately, innovative architecture isn't to make things "efficient". It is to reveal the best qualities of place (which may sometimes result in more efficiency). All in hopes, that our maximum capabilities may shine through.

Week 7: Safety Zone

The philosophy of architecture is such an intriguing realm.

I argued for my project that architecture gives an effect upon the people that use it.

In an article written by Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, the notion of how architecture is much more than what meets the eye is expressed. I guess you could say that there are politics in architecture; this due to all of the different opinions and philosophies of what architecture means to the architect himself/herself.

In "Architecture, Big-A and Little-a", the AIA Feature article in the February 2015 edition of Architect, the identity of an architect is questioned.

Generally, architects "justify" their job/profession by saying that they keep building from falling down. However, in argument from Victoria Beach, AIA, that reasoning isn't the whole truth. She states, "A computer can do that."

Rather than arguing solely from a logistical standpoint, Beach argues for the addition of meaning. Rather than just the ethics of architecture in "treating your clients well and keeping the public safe", it is also "going beyond the practical constraints and giving your clients more."

She continues on to say something similar to what Lance says as well. She says, "To attempt a work of architecture, you need to also embed the building in the culture in a meaningful way."

Lance told me of a project LEA did, where they used red brick to make the walls of a fire station. This red brick was the same type of brick that used to make up a previously demolished school. With the use of the brick in the new fire station, it now brings about a sense of nostalgia and familiarity to its community.

Back to Beach's thoughts: Training, schooling, testing, and qualifications aren't what compose an architect. "It's what one does with the opportunity a license affords." In other words, in Bev's words: 'it's all about passion.'

     Passion for people, passion for environment, passion for culture, passion for design.

Week 6: (Adventure Time!- Part 4)

PART 4: Secret Level

Congratulations! You've reached the secret level!

But really though, it was like a secret underground cave/space.

Do you remember the video from Part 2? The thing that they were constructing wasn't LEA's building design, it was what was under it. This was all designed by the engineers for the actual water treatment, while what LEA designed was for the workers and visitors (above ground).

So, this hidden, underground block of space that is supposed to be filled with water---isn't. Not yet, at least. So, Lance and I got to go into it!

This big chunk of space with like maaaaassive tubes. And it's all underground. And it's all cement. And you get these cool light rays coming down from up ahead from the 2 openings on either side. And it's so massive. And it's all empty (besides the tubes). And tubes were like hanging down-ish.

It was so cool.

And it's all supposed to be filled with water!! But it wasn't.

Honestly, if it wasn't supposed to be filled with water and become a water treating plant, it would be SUCH a cool space to just be in.

Beyond this secret underground facility, I'll also use Part 4 of this series to share my overall thoughts and observations upon this entire field trip:
     Wow! I really liked it. It's one thing to work in an office, and another thing to go out and 'explore'. With an architectural profession, it's like you get the best of both worlds, both working in and out of the office. (For some people more than others though, depending on your main role in the firm). However, either way, your ideas will get out into 3D, physical form, for a plan that is confirmed and funded.
     I also really enjoyed going onto the construction site. It was definitely a whole 'nother experience to be seeing a construction site from afar (like passing by on a car) than to physical step into one (and wear the vest and the hard hat). Being able to experience all this has allowed me to have more sense into the building that are built. I feel like the beauty of buildings lies in the (I guess) personal touches that must be put into its development. Someone hand-designed this roof. Someone hand-welded this roof together. Someone personally oversaw and inspected this roof for its aestheticism and functionality.
     It's like the maintenance of a handicraft in our technology-driven world. In this aspect, computers, machinery, and technology hold their purpose in aiding the architects, engineers, and constructors. Aiding and assisting, rather than completing and doing. In my opinion, I guess this is why they call architecture an art. An art meaning that it must be cultivated and use thought.
     (On a side note, I'd really like to emphasize the roadrunner I saw (and also the food, because the food was really yummy---it was like a 50% completion celebration, so they had a catered barbecue). But, really, the roadrunner...  It was so cute, and it ran away. I seriously thought that it had a blue tail... And it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be! Maybe, because I picture ostriches when I hear roadrunner... I was going to include a picture on this post, but when I searched it up, I found out that they look kind of scary up close... I'll stick with the cartoon ones)

http://www.clipartkid.com/images/324/road-runner-clip-art-cliparts-co-eNJwF5-clipart.png

Week 6: Adventure Time!- Part 3

PART 3: The Box

photo cred

Inside or outside the box? I touched briefly on this in PART 2.

But here's a more concrete example:

Meeting rooms. A room where meetings may be held. This is your box. This is your so-to-say constraint. What's the way around it? Besides site planning, how do we make this meeting room unique? In the PV WRF, LEA designed the meeting rooms to have screen doors. This way, when the days are nice, why not bring your meetings outside?

What about the sun rays? Well actually, the perforated metal ceiling sheets make their way outside as well. This tries to integrate the interior design with the exterior design, allowing a natural flow to occur. The perforated sheets extend for a bit, until then they are replaced with a trellis.

This shade structure on top is a trellis...

photo cred

I'm certain of just how old this photograph is, as the trellis when I saw it was definitely not blue. I think it was a sandy color, matching the building... Anyhow: Do you remember my post dedicated to chameleons? I'm guessing we have a Pascal right here!

The client wanted this new expansion to fit in with the existing structures, and now it does through many elements. You have the continuation of the trellis from the ramada in the park, you have the continuation of the split brick walls from the other structures. And, probably others that I am not aware about yet!

The 'box' given isn't the constraining factor a client imposes upon you, it is rather level 1 of where the fun begins.

gif cred 

Week 6: Adventure Time!- Part 2

PART 2: The Design (brick edition)

If you read Part 1, you would see that there were existent buildings in this water reclamation facility. If not, no worries! Here's a video:

This video shows the original building facilities, as well as the actual water treatment plant that is located directly below the structure LEA is designing. 

(This video was taken from a drone--- speaking of drones, I got to see one for the first time during the site visit too!)

The Palm Valley Water Reclamation Facility project was strictly to design an expansion of their already existent buildings. This means that the new building LEA designed must still match the current "theme/style" of the existent ones. I guess you can say that this was the "box" LEA was given: follow the existent structures. 

But, how would just staying inside the box do LEA any good? So, LEA made a design that modified, or dare-I-say improved the original design of the buildings. This being that they used elements of the original building design, but then put their own LEA-spin on it. This makes multiple benefits: client is happy, architect is happy, campus is elevated/improved thus making consumers happy. 

The bricks were a defining element in the original designs. They had this 'pattern' where the top maybe 3/4th of the wall was flat brick, while the bottom 1/4 was a 'ruffly brick' (for lack of better term... I forget what they were actually called, but I will find out again and update this word!) Lance said he usually does not design using the flat brick/ruffly brick style, but due to the existent buildings, he integrated them and put an LEA-spin on it. I didn't get a picture of it, but please reference my hopefully adequate drawing...

rectangles in the "new" drawing are windows: hence the ruffly bricks meet up to the window level

Speaking of bricks, Did you know that bricks need expansion joints? I guess I never thought about bricks expanding and contracting with the heat. Also when bricks are sprayed over with coloring, you definitely will not notice these joints. However, at the construction site with 50% completed, all of the bricks were grey. Their connections were grey. And their expansion joints were a rusty red color. A rusty red line straight down the middle of the running bond brick wall. 

Here's some brick patterns to reference (running bond is top right): 

 http://www.damput.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/creative-brick-patterns-natural-brick-designs-brick-patterns-architectures-wonderful-brick-patterns-for-nice-finish.jpg

Here's how their brick wall with expansion joint looked like: 

These joints are repeated every few feet, to ensure that no cracking will form in the bricks. The placement of the expansion joint does not have to be in a straight line like above, either. They may be placed along the natural contour of the laid out bricks. 

Prepare for Part 3!~

Week 6: Adventure Time!- Part 1

PART 1: Site Visit

Yesterday, I went on a site visit! Lance let me tag along. Because it was on the actual construction site, we wore close-toed shoes, the neon safety vests, and hard hats, too!

The site was the Palm Valley Water Reclamation Facility. The facility was basically expanding their campus to add showers/locker rooms, as well as meeting rooms. More specifically, they were adding another building structure that encompassed these rooms. So, LEA designed this new building, which is actually located on top of a (also newly built) underground water treating plant.

http://www.overaa.com/sites/default/files/projects/Palm%20Valley%20Water%20Reclamation%20Facility/images/aerial.jpg 

The picture above is an old photograph, so there is no construction yet. But basically, the empty lot to the right of the campus in the picture is where the facility expansion is being built currently. 

Construction is about 50% complete. If you happen to be passing by Goodyear, AZ, maybe you'll be able to see it. (The outside landscape of the facility is grassy, has a nice stream, and is like a mini park). And maybe, you'll be able to spot a roadrunner! (I did! For the first time!)

Here is the construction site. (I didn't take any photos in the inside)

The purpose of the site visit was for Lance to check up on the construction and see that things were being constructed the way they were supposed to be. At the end of the visitation, there would be a field report he would have to fill out. Basically just noting the observations around the site, if there are any concerns, and what discussions had occurred.

In our visit, there was an aesthetic issue that had popped up: the sheets of perforated metal that line up to form the overhead ceiling did not align with another metal component on the ceiling. When I first saw the problem, I recognized it, but I did not think that it would be of too much importance. However, the more I thought about it as Lance and the construction manager were discussing this issue, the more I saw the clarity in the situation.
     My opinion: Yes, it is probable that no one will ever look up and analyze the ceiling and point out its flaws.. But at the same time, if they do, the building would automatically detract in their mind. It is a minor aesthetic detail, but it is the details that make up a holistically beautiful building.

In the end, they did discuss potential solutions, and for now, we will just have to wait for the construction people to complete it before finding our next step.

In our current scenario, because it was just a minor aesthetic detail, it isn't as important, so to say. Like, the construction people wouldn't be forced to tear down and restart the ceiling structure. However, if it were a concern that endangered or threatened the functionality or safety of the building, the construction people would have to restart their progress.

Yes, the structure wasn't built according to the plan, but to the best of our judgement, there will always be a give and take. (after finding other possible solutions too!)

Get ready for Part 2!~

Week 4-sidenote: Advertising?

I'd like to take time in this blog post to just share an epiphany. (Happy March by the way!)

I never noticed it before, until Bev mentioned it to me. And so, have you ever seen an architectural firm advertise their services?

In my Week 1 post, I mentioned something about how most of an architect's work goes unnoticed or unrecognized. I meant this in the way of how most of an architect's work doesn't even make it past the conceptual stage. Not all ideas become a physical reality.

However, all of the work and effort taken in order to develop these ideas are not in vain. These plans and designs laid out on paper can be entered into competitions or submitted for awards. This is the start of recognition and ultimately, advertising.

For LEA, they have won numerous awards over the past years; one example is the Firehouse Station Design. This award is for fire stations that have been built. Then, in the awards edition of the Firehouse magazine, all of fire stations that won an award are displayed. This allows the firm name to become more 'exposed' to the public.

Advertising, in this sense, is solely based off of accomplishments. There are no TV jingles for architecture firms, because enough advertising is provided through their written name in a credible source, marking achievement.

Sometimes, this system proves to be a hurdle. It is similar to landing a first job. Employers want to have someone with experience, however how can one get hired if no one will hire them without prior experience? Likewise: people don't trust you to build/design their building until you've built one before.

This is where the ideas and conceptions become useful, as even though there might not be a future physical rendition of the architect's design, it is one step closer to having that goal attained.