Architectural Design Studio

Learning Portfolio

Arch. 101 Midterm Project

Marvin Rodriguez Fall/13

Introduction

Chronological documentation of all three-dimensional

iteration projects and research carried by written

reflections.

Each iterative design was directed with the help of

personal responses to a selected weekly question that

was assigned. This helped formulate new ideas, and a

new hypothesis for thinking and making new designs.

Design prompts labled throughout were derived from

Arch. 101 Syllabus, and work handouts.

Iteration 1

Repetition

Order

Icebreaker Exercise: Assortment of objects thoughtfully

arranged on a 8-1/2 inch x 12-inch stiff piece of cardboard then secured in

place.

Design is the recreation of a past creation.

It is exercised by the illusion of free will,

nonetheless it is an artistic form of self

expression.

Architecture is a creation, an adaptation to

a given environment. It crafts shape,

space, and structure in forms that exudes

expression.

“What is design? What is architecture?”

Design Prompt Destinations

1. What constitutes order and what is its

value in design?

2. What is the relationship of one

element of your composition to

another and to the whole?

3. How does your selection of materials,

their surface qualities, and level of

craft used in your construction affect

the perceptions of others?

Order is the balance, and coexistence

between control, collaboration,

sustainability, direction, and equilibrium. Its

value in design creates the ability to reflect

and support the orderly, civil sides of

human nature. Order gives design

responsibility.

The three circular objects formed at an

angle that represented hierarchy, thus

promoting order. The pennies illustrated

repetition and order using linear

formations. These formations formed

ninety degree angles, that provided the

unity of spaces.

The objects of metal exudes a feeling of

strength and authenticity. The plastic

objects were less solid, and perhaps

fragile by comparison, but this represents

the order that softer, and stronger must

coexist, and being capable of balancing

the emotion from this design.

Challenges Insights

It seemed that no object was able to

express anything by itself. Only until it

was placed near multiple objects was it

able to signify. Any items that are

formed together as a design will

communicate with each other and

create signals to the observer.

As long as the designer focuses on an

architectonic language, he can form

something that speaks subtlety. The

last challenge would be recognizing

when you are satisfied with a design.

What you want expressed, must agree

with that that is actually being

expressed if you want to be satisfied.

After testing different glue adhesives,

securing the objects to the base board

was successful with no more parts

breaking off.

What objects was I to choose? Which

could have a particular significance?

How can such random and

miscellaneous items form a design?

What is supposed to be designed?

How will these items adhere securely

to the base board so they are

structurally sound?

Iteration 2

Representation

Second Generation Using same craft limitations as the Ice-

breaker exercise.

“When is symmetry vs. asymmetry

appropriate?”

Symmetry is more beneficial when order, and

regularity need to stand out more.

For instance, if a court building needs to be built,

the designer should want to display strength and

superiority, and integrity for its functional

purpose. It would be more socially acceptable,

and understandable for the court to present a

civil, and uniform personality, versus having a

chaotic and irregular form, which would impose

a rebellious vibe(a vibe that suits amore a

modern art museum)

Design Prompt Destinations

Sustaining shapes from the first

iteration, I used circular forms only.

Spherical objects were placed in unity

around the yellow frisbee in bilateral

symmetry for unity and order. Each

sphere has a growing gap that

increases two times as much as the

previous. This increasing gap, along

with the gum balls slightly wrapping

around the yellow fris bee, shows a

dynamic look, and applies the fourth

dimension of architecture,

motion(‘Thinking about Architecture’ p

21) versus the static look from

iteration1.

Second generation of initial

constructed composition adhering to

the same limitations and requirements.

What are the relationships between

iterations one, and two, what am I

investigating?

Iteration 3

Language

Narrative

Site

Layered Emphasis (Hierarchy)

Kit of Parts assignment

Evolution through formulation and recreation in using

kit of parts.

Narrative Prompt Destinations

a) Describe the most significant aspects and

qualities of your design.

b) Describe what you want others to see and

experience.

c) What does your design represent?

d) What will the audience see first, second?

e) Identify what you are provoking in others as

they experience your design.

f) Describe how your design intentions and the

physical aspects and its organization relate

a. Symmetry could have been more developed

if only the space of the display board was

not constricting its form.

b. Solidity in oneself, not afraid to take up

space, confidence, grounded but still have

versatility, make impact/change. Having

your own vantage points while still

respecting the view pints of others.

c. Those dimensional layers and personalities

that you can’t see still have an impact on the

layers that are visible.

d. Shapes of vast difference, but form to one

with such simplicity. Why there’s only one

large sphere but only two small spheres?

e. What does the leather signify? Why is one

small ball touching the surface, but the other

is not?

f. Like the universe believed to be

multidimensional, so are people. Our

personalities and emotions are sometimes

invisible, but can still have indirect impacts

on the environment/atmosphere around.

Insights

I discovered representation surfaces automatically when transforming a design into a

new statement using the dissected, and carved shapes from a previous design.

Ornamentaion from one design to the next is another discovery.

How are history, culture, and time related in architecture?

History of architecture is something handed down to future generations, leaving

room for architectonic language revised, altered or improved. As time passes,

architectural forms beceom more meaningful, and culture changes, making style, and

form meanings change.

Iteration 4

Form

Scale

Proportions

Beauty

Kit of Parts (continued)

Narrative Prompt Destinations

a) Describe the most significant aspects

and qualities of your design.

b) Describe what you want others to see

and experience.

c) What does your design represent?

d) What will the audience see first,

second?

e) Identify what you are provoking in

others as they experience your design.

f) Describe how your design intentions

and the physical aspects and its

organization relate

a) Significant aspects are; the textured surface

is identical to the figures. The small green

object that’s small but noticeably stands out

by contrast.

b) I want the audience to feel warmth and

comfort that the brown colored, soft, texture

creates.

c) It’s about order and being civil, while not

being dual and boring at the same time.

d) They will see simplicity, but with daring

complexity. The small green sphere in hiding

easily stands out by contrast.

e) Each spiral has its own uniqueness and

identity. That’s what the green object versus

the sideways spiral both represent.

f) The design intention was to incorporate a

Golden Ratio. I cut triangular shapes, sizing

them up with each shape size increased by

a third than consecutively.

Insights

What is the relationship between scale

and proportions?

Scale and proportions both have a

natural significance, they both speak

to people natural, hey both “feel right”.

Natural feelscomfortable, and

comfortable feels safe. People

generally don’t want to feel out of

whack whick may be introduced to

them by the scale and proportions of

there own home, or place of work is

“out of whack”

Iteration 5

Space

Experiential Space

Sequential

Experiences

Scaled-Up Model

“How do your shape space to stimulate

the senses and evoke memories to

create experiences?”

The more daring and mean a structure

is, the more memories of childhood

experiences can arise. For instance, a

shape or form may resemble and

spark a child’s wild, antics, daring

stunts from the oddly shaped school

jungle-gym, from climbing, and

jumping off these structures may

exude adrenaline and excitement.

Another example is that of a typical

single family, average sized, boxy

shaped house. A home is an area,

space and atmosphere, that provides

shelter, warmth, and comfort in

common predictable shapes, and

moods of living spaces

Design Prompt

Produce a series of scaled-up constructions that focus on developing hierarchically

diverse and expressive spaces defined by your form

Demonstration that each evolution of special ideas are derived from the former

iterative study

Spaces are hierarchically layered, that is there are smaller defined spaces within a

larger one and are contiguous. These smaller spaces flow into the larger one without

being fully physically closed off.

Challenges

The scale was much larger, so I had a slightly tougher time securing the wavy arches

into place. The original smaller scale was easier and lighter to apply.

Picking the right materials that I wanted to replace the new abundant space caused

by the “zooming in” on the area and scaled up.

Insights

The "Powers of Ten“ video (listed below) really expanded my views of space and has

helped me introduce this subject into my architectural crafts.

By analyzing specific details and "spaces" in a magnified view of my work, I am

begining to learn more about the meanings of each part and piece of my iteration

designs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0

Iteration 6

Space (continued)

3D Montage Construction

Design Prompt Destinations

Bilateral symmetry is repetive in the

triangular shapes used.

I wanted to close off the spaces within

almost completely, while still having

larges areas to vent space.

Forms defining new spaces that have

a felt geometry and a hierarchy of

special qualities using the developing

kit of parts.

Challenges Insights

When configuring new spaces within

spaces, each surface (cardboard

piece) placed, must be carefully

observed for what invisible surface

edges may continue to extend beyond

where the physical aspect ends. This

transparency in space forms shape

weather you want to or not.

Each surface needs its own indicators

of its, shape, size and formation.

Without these indications (cardboard

walls) there is just void or empty

space.

The physical length of this iteration

was just around five inches, so the

spacial cavities were difficult to reach

my larger hands inside of. If I had

crafted it about four times bigger, it

would feel as if the small confined

spaces would lose some significance

from much narrower looking wall

surfaces. I would have to thicken all

the walls to scale up the form.

Iteration 7

Truth

Frame Expressions

Structure

“How does truth manifest itself in

architecture? How many forms of truth

are there?”

When function is mainly focused and

represented in architectural forms. Truth

may introduce itself through various forms

such as in “high-tech” style, and

representation of truth.

“The naked truth ”

Destinations/Insights

Using previous kit of parts and narrative, I merged two shapes' within each other,

squares and triangles(pyramids) In doing so, a symmetric assumption was given by

one half of the object formed as a hollow shell, like the space a rain umbrella shapes

inside when its opened up.

The other shape(one on both sides) however is not an enclosed frame like the square

on the other side. The invisible shape of space assumes that for me, I did not have to

finish two more wood sticks that would have been necessary to completely frame the

last two out of six edges that make up a cube.

I plan on leaving many walls blank when I begin adding the surfaces. I hypothesize

this will leave illusions of voided space, and will benefit from the affect of free flowing

spaces.

If there were not enough wooden sticks indicating a closed surface, then the sticks

themselves become the surface and whole volume. If there were a missing crease

indication in a folded surface, then an impression of a space warping would have

been imposed(nothing wrong with that, but I want my surfaces to mostly flat).

Iteration 8

Surface Expressions

Incorporation of surfaces to frame

expressions

Destinations

Initially, the frame design had more vagueness and up for interpretation of what

frames can represent a surface. Before deciding what surfaces will take form in this

iteration, I chose to incorporate translucency, throughout the iteration. I wanted to

avoid the sense of enclosure, by allowing more light inside, even though all spaces

are physically hollow.

From the exterior view, the main center gap is continuous with no breaks, and no

easy indication of what is holding and connecting the entire form as one. If it were a

building, pillars, or support columns, would be the comparison.

“The truth lies beneath”

Insights

The free flowing, open ended structure of space created a breathable pathway of

spaces that is also visually unpredictable upon every corner. The six-directions-plus-

center idea will confirm this.

Limiting the amount of material (translucent paper)used, was mutually exclusive with

the effect it created on the perceived volume of spaces. The fewer the walls(surfaces)

in form, the more perceived voids in that space.

Nature Research Assignment

Nature

Precedence

Responses to Natural Forces

Sun exposure and views.

Reflective surface is transparent from the inside, but

translucent from the outside. Deflects only a desired amount of sunlight..

Sun exposure.

Open view of truss to invite sunlight in, especially sunlight from early hours

to promote sun-dawn ambience.

Plenty of ambient light flows through the

restaurant by entering one symmetrical

glass wall, to the other on the opposite

end.

Citygroup Center Atrium- Financial

District, San Francisoco

Because the environment is all interrupted by manmade landscape and structures(city)

the atrium resembles nature versus simply adapting to a past time nature of beachy

lands untouched by man.

This atrium attempts to encapsulate a

relaxing mood, that would be found in

a rain forest, far away from a stressful

congested, busy, street corner.

Insights

What is the difference between designing to resemble nature and designing with nature?

When resembling nature, ornamentation may be used much more, such as organic

structures and processes that mimic nature such as a tree, a branch, or even the front

view of a the pointy eyes of a poison snake.

To design with nature, means to adapt to any given environment with there respective

weather, landscape, terrain or hostile conditions, such as a manmade structure built near

a water stream in the woods, in a high precipitational region, with high winds. The

structure must accommodate, and preferably capitalize on the surrounding natural

rsources (wind, solar energy) is clean energy is a goal. Architecture responding to nature

by resembling it.

Conclusion

Design fixations are broken anytime the goal is to create quality out

of quantity.

Although architecture is also a recreation or response from the past,

new architecture can still be “new” and rewarding.

Fundamental theory will always be a foundational skill that I will

always need for my future endeavors in studying and practicing

architecture.