Published Process

It is very refreshing to see a lecture from a firm that places great emphasis on process. Having attended many lectures I often find that most firms are only interested in presenting you with the final project and the explaining the process with words.

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) Presents their work in a very clear manner through the use use of 3D graphics. Bjarke explains the process that lead them to the unique forms of their buildings.

Often when I see very unique forms I began to question their relevance to the site or context. BIG begins their projects with very regular forms and then manipulates them to create both beautiful and functional architeture.

Here is a link to their lecture:

http://www.aaschool.ac.uk/VIDEO/lecture1.aspx?ID=1128

Top 20!

My entry into Dwell's Parkitecture competition placed in the top 20! It was great to get some recognition after putting some late nights into the project.

http://www.dwell.com/slideshows/parkitecture-top-submissions.html?slide=10&paused=true

My Parkitecture Design Competition Submission

Garages were created to reduce the environment’s impact on automobiles. It’s time for the roles to reverse.

Rear Exterior Showing Bio Reactors and Solar Panels

My design strives to reinterpret and redefine a garage’s program. Defined, a garage is a shelter for the storage of automotive vehicles. While protection from the elements is important for car care, why does the building’s function have to stop there? Many people currently commute to work leaving garages empty for large portions of the day. Therefore, while the car is not present, I feel it is fair to consider a “garage” as a waste of space and resources. It is my goal to produce a sustainable building whose focus is to reduce the automobile’s impact on the environment.

Cars and buildings account for approximately 60 percent of the worlds CO2 in the atmosphere. I propose that today’s cars be retrofitted with reservoirs to store any carbon dioxide the vehicle produces. When the car returns to the garage, the reservoir is emptied by pumping the co2 into Bio Reactors located on the roof.

Layout of plumbing which feeds Bio Reactors

These Bio Reactors contain algae and water. Through photosynthesis, the algae multiply as they consume the CO2 and give off by products of oxygen and fatty proteins. Once the tanks become overcrowded with algae, they are emptied and the fatty proteins stored. When the storage container is filled the proteins are collected by trucks, which can in turn use the proteins to produce biodiesels and other clean burning fuels which further reduce the impact of automotives on the environment.

Close up of roof system. Yellow tubes feeding in CO2 for Algae

The garage’s form is generated from its functional requirements while the detailing and aesthetic reflects the form of a leaf, alluding to the building’s use of photosynthesis.

The garage’s walls are constructed of used tires that are filled and compacted with dirt. The tires provide a sufficient amount of thermal mass for passive solar heating. Furthermore, the tires allow the walls to flex and are a suitable construction method for areas prone to earthquakes.

For colder climates, the interior is retrofitted with a waste oil heater, which operates off of used motor oil. This is especially useful for people who change their own oil and will make it less likely for them to pour the unwanted oil into the soil.

The design allows for versatility. It is a concept that can be built new or applied to existing garages. Furthermore, the simplicity of the design with its flat walls allow several of the garages to be placed side by side giving them the opportunity to share storage containers.

Skylight creates a dynamic shadow and gives patron a close up view of the Bio Reactors

Green Garage is a sustainable application, which not only diminishes its own affect on the environment, but also gives back by reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and replacing it with oxygen and alternative fuels.

Feel free to post any comments.

Thanks!

Repetition, Symmetry, Balance

"Why do I like to see repetition and symmetry?"

Why are these terms accepted as possible characteristics of "good" architecture? I must say that I do like to see repetition and symmetry properly executed on a building's facade or massing. I find it pleasant to view and generally appreciate these techniques in architecture, but why?

I feel that when we see anything whether it be in architecture, or nature our minds immediately begin to try to understand what we are seeing. We attempt to determine the reasoning behind the element's organization. By creating rhythm, symmetry, or repetition we allow our minds to anticipate what is to come next and when our anticipations are confirmed we have feelings of acceptance and understanding.

In the same way that symmetry can allow someone to understand a building's particular organization, asymmetry, or imbalance can create a moment of hierarchy. Therefore, a particular part of a building's program or massing can be emphasized if needed.

It is easy to view an architectural work and conclude that it is "good architecture". It is through understanding WHY that enables us to determine the reasons for this conclusion.

Why Architecture? Breaking the Ice

I'm starting this blog with an explanation of my general understanding of architecture after attending the University of Maryland and obtaining my Bachelor of Science in Architecture.

Most people who study architecture in college learn to become excellent critical thinkers. If anyone has spent time with an architecture student they are well aware of this. As architecture students we are constantly asked "Why?" and learn to constantly ask ourselves this question. WHY is your building oriented in a particular way? WHY is that your hallway's dimension? While these questions have answers, they don't exactly have one correct answer. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that your overall design reinforces these decisions and eventually produces a building whose parts function as a whole.

It is this variety that holds my interest in the field of architecture. Not only have I experienced many different design problems throughout school. I have also found that each problem has many solutions. This creates a double edge sword that architecture students must learn to accept.

Architecture is not the place for a perfectionist who is searching for an "end" in the road. On the contrary, architecture produces a road that arrives to an "rest stop" which branches out in many directions. None of which have an "end".