studio 04: sketches

studio 03: intensive

studio 03: parti

studio 03: vision

arch tech: 02

Environmental Program

Unlike many of my classmates thinking green design is relatively new for me, some of this may seem too simplistic... any feedback would be great!

High priority

• Reduce light pollution - limiting the amount of light being generated by our buildings during the night time hours.
• Increase usage of natural lighting - better learning environment and reduced energy usage - utilize indirect lighting almost exclusively when artificial light is required.
• Improve indoor air quality - health of occupants, reduced medical problems of building occupants.

Lower priority

• More efficient use of water and reduce waste production - reduce need for fresh water from outside resources, natural waterways.
• Reduce heat signature of building - decrease contribution to high urban temperatures.
• Reduce energy usage and emissions from building - conservation of natural resources and decreased effects upon the atmosphere. Healthier outdoor urban air quality.

*note - program updated as of 8.20.07

arch tech: 02

Ecological footprint

























My initial thought regarding the eco quiz is to question its validity. How accurate is something like this? What resources/formulas determine the scores? It seems to me that broad gestures of this type could be useful to introduce the concepts of our individual impact upon the planet. Which is a good start.

I am one of those people who have never seriously considered their personal footprint. I have a tendancy to take everything I see or read in the mass media with a grain of salt (or two) and not buy into hype or overstated editorial opinions which twist or bend data to support their own hypothesis. Not that I necessarily think they are wrong or do not believe them, I need to understand it for myself and draw my own conclussions. As such, it takes time for me form an informed opinion - which I have not yet done on this subject.

All of that said, I do practice some very basic things as far as being "green". Although I drive an SUV, my daily round trip commute is less than 10 miles a day. Because I need to take my two children (soon to be three!) to preschool, bicycling or motorcycle is not an option. A larger vehicle is a necessity for our growing family. I am very interested in the flex fuel vehicles and ethanol. Those require quite a financial investment when purchasing a new vehicle, so we will see. Public transportation is not an option in this little bedroom community unless I worked in downtown Toledo or in another suburb. We use a programmable thermostat to limit the amount of energy need to heat and cool our home when no one is here. We also utilize curb side recycling of plastic bottles, newspaper, and yard waste.

Well... that's my eco footprint in a nutshell.

Flex fuel and E85

studio:02

Space program + bubble diagram for studio and classroom facility to serve 24 students while studying in the intensive portion of a distance learning program.

arch tech: 01

studio: 01 final

studio: 01

combining elements from the first two models...

study model 03 plan
study model 03 plan geometry
study model 03 view 01
study model 03 view 02

studio: 01

study model 02 plan (repost for image clickability!)

studio: 01

study model 02 plan

study model 02 view 01
study model 02 view 02
study model 02 view 03

studio: 01

week:01 http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgf78jr3_12dwhxnx

zones 1A and 1B( large space), zone 2 (smaller space), leading transition (LT), abrupt transition (AT), gradual transition (GT), transitional space, along with a variety of smaller spaces

study model: view 01
study model: view 02 study model: view 03study model: sketch
simple model

the arch and the path:01

Taken from email June 27, 2007 re: http://www.archofleadership.com/resources/bookexcerpts.htm

Here are my responses to the the workbook assignments for discussion. The questions proved quite difficult for me to address in the manner in which they probably should. I really do not lead anyone in the work place. Our office consists of two partners, myself as a project manager / designer, and a few technical support staff. The support staff does not "answer" to me and are usually assigned to assist the partners in their projects. My work is done in conjunction with the partners, where I handle a large portion of the project work load ranging from drafting and detailing to design and client meetings. So with that in mind here goes...

Workbook #1

Question 1. Do you have followers? How do you distinguish between those among employees or reports who are your followers and those who are not? Based upon the definition of followers as discussed in our readings I would say that I do not have followers in my current professional position. I do not have fellow employees who answer or report to me. Followers (true followers) I would say, do so to participate willingly because they are genuinely interested/invested in the task at hand. They believe in the end goal. Followers (employees) follow because they are told to do so. They do it as part of a job description and work place responsibility.

Question 2. Scale of 1 to 5...

Love to organize - 4 I like to have things organized and structured. Especially in how drawings are laid out and drawn in the production phase. As I make the transition to project management, I find that I need to apply the same rigor. I rated this as a 4 only because I am not always driven to do the organizing.

Not just the facts - 5 I have a strong vision or image of the architecture prior to beginning of real exploration. A very vivid and strong sense about the experience that I want to create, ever the artist.

Living out of the future - 4 Not always in the future, but this is where my mind tends to focus. Instead of worrying about the "how to" I tend to fixate on the end point or goal. Sometimes to the goals detriment; knowing the "how to" is essential.

Always raising the bar - 4 I have very high expectations of myself and others. For myself, they are often unrealistic expectations given the circumstances.

Habit of change - 2 I prefer a bit of a routine. Unless a change is needed, I prefer to keep with what has worked thus far. If it is obvious that the course of action is not working, then seek change.

Workbook #2

Question 1. How do you learn about yourself? Learn about self mainly through introspective thought and self examination. Holding myself to my own high expectations and whether or not I fall short. Not an entirely healthy way to learn about self. This is an area that I need to become more objective in.

Question 2. How do you move yourself out of your comfort zone? Describe the last time you did this. I do not often make this sort of move. The majority of the time I prefer to stick with what I know. But I find this to be a characteristic that I want to change. The biggest shift thus far (and most recent) has been the Dist. M.Arch program itself. I feel challenged at times when it comes to conveying my ideas and thoughts in the academic setting. I am leery of failure and insecure in this area. The BAC is about challenging myself and proving to myself that I can not only complete the program, but excel.

journal: second semester start

At the beginning of the first semester I asked myself some very fundemental questions, which can be found here. Our theory writing and design studio opened some new avenues of thought and exploration of these questions. Look forward to continuing to learn and build upon the work from first semester. I will continue to use my first semester blog to track ideas, thoughts, and feed back regarding the upcoming thesis work.

~R