Postcard #3

Precis

Trip to the beach

unfortunately i had to break my ten dollars before i was able to finish drawing it.

Client Powerpoint

Entry # 1: Pair of Candlesticks

This pair of candlesticks was made from brass in the late 19th century. The design of the two candlesticks is that of a tulip shape at the top to hold a candle, the stem has two brass pieces twisting down as if in a braid and ends with a smoothly tiered bell shape. They can be found in the Nichols House Family Collection because they are part of the estate of Rose Standish Nichols. These candles would have been placed somewhere in the Nichols family home and used by Rose Nichols. The appearance of the candlesticks is that they are heavier at the bottom though are slightly balanced by the top being thicker than the stem is. Their country of origin is England. There was not an abundance of information on the internet about these particular candlesticks, but because they are a pair, and a little more ornate, I would imagine that these were used on the dining room table in the Nichols home, or perhaps for entertaining purposes. The light bulb was invented in the late 19th century so it is plausible to think that these candlesticks were soon replaced with incandescent bulb lamps. These candlesticks are very different from lighting used later on, such as the lava lamp. While the Nichol's candlesticks were very practical and used sparingly out of necessity to see with at night, the lava lamp was almost more for fun than for function. The two methods of lighting are similar in that they both involve hot wax and have the possibility to burn the user. Neither provides the best of light.
Sources include: the Nichols house museum website and wikipedia.

communication charette

a bumper sticker:

wuag service announcement: UNCG’s Interior Architecture second year’s would like to invite you to visit their blog at communitybydesign.blogspot.com to find out if you are covered.

to see the rest of our communication group's ideas see Lauren Thore's blog.

Codes + to avoid a "mousetrap" charette

Symbol group 6's experience with the various requirements to support human activities and needs at first was confusion and frustration because of misunderstanding the intentions of the exercise at first. Even after clarification, there was still a level of frustration because of the limits which caused several aspects of our designs to change. We also found that making a diagram was no longer quite as simple as it used to be. Suddenly we had to look up dimensions and numbers to apply to our diagram. We would recommend to other designers that they attempt to consider the needs of their clients and coding early on in the design process so that later on the changes won't be so drastic when they try and accommodate their design to fit the standards. This will save them a lot of problems later on. Codes help design by creating generalization and making people familiar with the objects the codes are applied to even if they haven’t seen these objects in that particular context before. The client will recognize a door frame for example because that is the size of a door frame in every other building they have entered. We anticipate that codes will change our work by making the design process more structured. This will both add to the ease and difficulty. With codes in place, suddenly we know the dimensions for our design, but it also limits to some extent what we can do. Keeping actual standards in mind means that we can no longer pick arbitrary numbers for a hallway.

shelter bus charette

CounselingBus

A Hurricane, depending on the size, can cause the most devastating damage to the areas it passes through. Towns are physically left in shambles, as are the victims who survive the disaster. Symbol group 6 decided it would be imperative to provide a counseling bus. This particular bus would offer support and aid for victims. One on one time with a counselor in a private space would allow the victims to cope with the tragedy around them.

GroupSketches

BubbleDiagram

SketchModel

The space would essentially be grouped into spaces. There would be three counseling rooms where victims could be counseled in private. A waiting room with a small kitchenette would provide victims and counsilers an area to congregate in if there is a wait for the private rooms. In the back of the bus, a bathroom and extra storage space would be placed.

The model is designed as a section view(hence the grey trimmed edges).

Container # 2:Disaster Relief Truck

We decided that, instead of having two buses that dealt with the aftermath of a Hurricane, we would have one that aided in the prevention of certain destruction prior to a hurricane. The disaster relief container would have materials and supplies to protect from extreme damage to buildings, as well as provide ways of living through a hurricane.

GroupSketches

Essentially, the truck would be a transporter from manufacturer to the victims in need. Stores such as Lowe's, Home Depot, and various Grocery Stores would supply the truck with the materials and supplies, and we would distribute it where needed.

BubbleDiagram

SketchModel

Individual compartments would allow organization and productive distribution of supplies. We also decided that the truck would have windows or large doors, so that workers could go to the various compartments, and directly hand out the supplies to the victims in need.

Group6Members:

Sara Easterling, Alexandra Camacho and Megan Schwartz

To see group 6's video go to one of these two links:
youtube
sara's blog

Symbol group 6 decided that our natural disaster would be a Tornado. Our victim was a family, who survived a Tornado tearing their house apart. Both of the parents were thrown from the house itself, and they found their baby buried under feet of debris, kept safe because a mattress landed on his crib. Fortunately the whole family lived, but some people are not so lucky.

As we began to research structures suitable to withstand a tornado, we came to the conclusion that our mode l needed to be , either dome shaped, or underground. Our final design incorporated both .

The shelter would sit underground, and would only be sized to accommodate a family. Idealy, it would be placed in a backyard. Since Tornadoes don't last too long, the space is very simple; there is enough space to sit and wait out the weather.
Made of reinforced concrete, the structure would be built partially into the ground, as to prevent movement.



The top of the structure would be covered in landscape. If a tornado comes through, the landscape around the structure might be compromised, but the structure itself would not.

Group 6 includes: Sara Easterling, Megan Schwartz and Alexandra Camacho.

Postcard # 2 :Jenny Paige

image from this site.

The Three R's: Reading+Riding+Recording

I took the Greensboro Transit Authority bus from Tate Street to the bus station in downtown and back. Route two, Four Seasons. I approached the ride with a bit of trepidation since I wasn’t sure if I needed cash or if debt/student ID would suffice or if I would have to switch buses. When I first got on the bus the machine that swipes the cards was broken and the driver told me to simply get on. After this, I proceeded to plow through people’s feet and legs to get to the back of the mainly full bus where there were some empty seats. Before I had quite sat down, the bus lurched forward, and I was thrown into the seat. The bus turned the corner and made a stop shortly after. I took my camera out of my backpack and started to take pictures. The motion of the bus was harsh and I was surprised in the end that any of my photos had any clarity. The bus route was direct and efficient. Much quicker than I had originally anticipated. The motion of the bus made the ride bumpy and seemed to be a continuous series of jolts. Ultimately, what (or who) was inside of the bus was the most potent thing about the trip. This was not what I expected to pay attention to when I first got on the bus. I have been downtown upon many occasions by car or bike and was familiar with everything that I saw. Not being a regular on the city bus, although I have taken it upon occasion, I found the actual bus and the people on it to be the main thing of importance. Most everyone I saw seemed to be well versed in what they were doing. Their expressions were either tired or seemingly apathetic. Besides the other IARc students with me, there was only one other white person. My main feeling about the whole experience was embarrassment. I felt stupid being a privileged, middle-class, white girl with my camera out snapping photos as if I were on I Love Lucy the Hollywood years passing famous actors house on a tour bus. In some way it felt like exploitation of the rider’s daily lives. As if I condescendingly thought going places via public transportation was an event or quaint. After reaching the depo. and picking up new passengers, loosing old ones, I put my camera up because I felt self conscious about this. (Incidentally I also had plenty of photos). I was relieved to get off the bus when it back tracked to Tate Street before continuing on to the mall. After writing this previous section and choosing my photos, I read the article. I was familiar with the majority of the article having studied civil rights in depth during high school in a United States history class. While I knew that the Woolworth sit-in’s had take place in Greensboro, I had forgotten that Josephine Boyd and other similar incidents had also occurred in Greensboro. My blanket impression after riding the bus and then reading the article is that many times in my mind I think that civil rights or segregated water fountains are something of the past, but in Greensboro at least, race is still very much an issue in many people’s everyday lives. Overall I thought that this was a valuable experience; that there is always something to be gained by placing yourself in someone else’s place and seeing what their life is like. And while a simple action like riding the bus is only the faintest glimmer of someone else’s life or hardships sometimes it is enough to stimulate thought that bring about awareness and ultimately change. Having said this, I think that it would be the height of hubris to think that anyone could understand what it is like for someone living in Glenwood or any other poor neighborhood in Greensboro just by riding the bus.

first week

coming into the first week of school i was a little bit anxious. this anxiety was sort of mitigated by the fact that there was no large project assigned as of yet. i felt grateful that nothing to dissimilar from last year was asked of us. i am looking forward to discussing our node/landmark/edge project in class on wednesday and seeing what this project provides a segway for (if anything). i was also happy that even though it was raining the first part of the week, the project involved being outdoors. i think that while parts of this week were challenging, overall it was a nice ease into the year.