Project Reflectance: Part 2: Boxitexture

The next part is a problem I have with the broader picture of things regarding....

"boxitecture."

This portion has to do with design communication. Thomas, the architecture professor from UNCC, made a comment that I would like to address. Our group made an attempt at arguing the architecture of the building, for it to be something other than a box. His response was something along the lines of:

"Its not about whether or not I like the building, and I don't, its about you convincing me, making an argument for your ideas and decisions."

I agree with him (I don't like our building either). What I have a problem with is that a box doesn't have to explain its form because it exists as 99% of the buildings we come into contact with. You throw a column grid in there and the envelope is automatically assumed as resolved. It is an architectural standard for the human race. I know there are reasons for standards, but a standard is not perfect, nor is it the best possible response to anything. Modernism, to me, is about "simplified and efficient" boxes (a striking similarity to McMansion developments, no?).

This next part gets a little bit more personal but it still has relevance.

There was a comment that a peer made about our building design. She said it appeared as if we designed from the outside, in (this comment was particular to our group). It was puzzling to me that she said this to us and not anyone else. After some thought, her comment actually proves the point I'm making about people's perception about building forms and boxes. If you look at the other projects in the class, they are more or less boxes (one taller, wider, and fatter & one shorter, longer, and skinner). There is nothing wrong with that. It is what they chose to do for reasons unbeknownst to me. They didn't have to explain their choice of form, nor was there any question that they designed from the outside in, because it was assumed they designed from the inside out (which they didn't, as much as they might try to say they did if I were to have this conversation with them).

It bothers the hell out of me that my peer, bright and intelligent as she is, automatically assumed that since the building wasn't a box that it meant we created a shell without the interior spaces in mind. Unfortunately, she is then making the horrible and horrendous assumption that all interior space should also exist in some form of a box. One could take this even further and say that all products and furnishings are meant for box like rooms, in box like buildings. I felt insulted (after the fact). If anything, I must say that we are the only group that developed and designed the inside space and exterior envelope cohesively which is part of the reason why our project was as unresolved as it was. It was a challenge we wanted to take on because that is what you are supposed to do in an academic environment, regardless of whether or not it is successfully met. We didn't a create box and arrange program inside of it (like so many architecture firms and students have done before us). I'd also like to point out that our building was the only building that successfully engaged the automobile, train, and pedestrian. They were a success because of the investigation and response via the synergy of our program, form, and site. Did I mention I'm proud of a lot of things we did do as a group? If creating a box and arranging program inside of it is designing from the inside-out, then I must be psychotic in the way that I think about things.

On to another tangent!

Perhaps a lesson learned would be that we should have placed the emphasis on our individual projects in the presentation as opposed to generally talking about the process of the group project, which, honestly now that I think about it, served no real purpose of conveying an argument for the design or form, which is apparently what people wanted the most. I also feel we missed the opportunity for genuine feedback on our individual projects which fell to the way side and got lost in the walkaround aftermath.

The experience as a whole begs the question, how much of this has to do with boxitecture's influence over the minds of students, professionals, and the general public?

Lessons learned indeed.

Hadid Performing Arts Center

I don't know what else to say again. Her work just speaks to me more than the boxes that most humans create.

3-D Modeling Extravaganza

I'd thought I'd try my hand at modeling the whole building in one night. It isn't perfect, but it is definately something that can be used for CAD as far as plans and sections are concerned. The auditorium and train overpass connector are more developed in this model then the rest of the building (its my job).

Roof Plan

Ground Level
Front

Front again

Back

Back

Back

Finally, a final plan diagram and associated model pictures

Agreed upon and signed on 2009.04.16. Finally. Declaration of Independence style.

Study Model

Lee Street Elevation

Tate Street Elevation
Oakland Avenue Elevation
McCormick Street Elevation
Originally, the model was built as a study of physically joining the auditorium and the area that the trains would pass through. The study has progressed from the first model, which started with separate forms representing program areas. The connector between the train and auditorium areas has several functions: exterior "bridge" circulation, specific experiences/views associated, and it is also the seam that connects the auditorium and atrium. Below, the upper form is the auditorium shell, the lower form is the roof cover over where the trains pass underneath (also where people enter the building from the Oakland Avenue side to get over the tracks safely), and the connector is the walkway.

Vision Quest

Usually I'm mucking around in the swamp lands of low level inspiration and/or motivation in the latter part of the semester, stuck on a project. Then, granted I get enough sleep for a few days straight, I have vision quest(copyright Matt Jones). Dreams (subconscious) have a way of working problems out for you when you get enough sleep to actually have them, but usually you have to experience stress beforehand in order for it to actually work.

So far, I've been thinking of how I can design an auditorium/theater building with either multiple types of stages (varying uses, sizes) or a volume that could serve multiple uses.

Among other things, the melded images of the coliseum and Calatrava's Milwaukee art museum stood out in my dreams. The coliseum had an underground labyrinth with trap doors to the surface "stage" area. This is not uncommon to a smaller extent in some theater's and auditoriums today. The art museum's wing like "brise soleil" (ugh, I hate that phrase) moves and controls sun light and temperature. These are two completely different buildings but the mixture created an emotional feeling of tremendous movement and transition in my mind, the original form of the building seamlessly changing into another (without having any catastrophic affect on its occupants).




While a building that implies movement goes along with our ideas with the train passing through our building, I don't think implication is strong enough. It needs to actually happen. Sketches and models to follow soon.

Building Diagram and Auditorium Sketches

Old Path, New Direction.

This is a parts construction method we used previously in the semester except now we know where the program lies within the form of the building. We (Jessica, Susan, and myself) managed to agree on this, plans, entrances, etc. I will be modeling this in sketchup tonight and on Sunday, finishing in time to produce slightly worthy plans, sections, and elevations for Tuesday (our scheduled date to have those items finished for the group project). The form is not as complex and we will be using the same Sendai inspired steel columns to hold it all up.

Auditorium McSketching Bananza

Sketch a Section

The tubes are starting to take on a life of their own! The horizontals can serve as the cross bracing between the verticals and as the transition areas which are quite the focus of our concept...

Modeled Structure

Here's an example of a the tensile tube structure we intend to use throughout our building to hold the weight of the skin (to some extent) and floor plates (for the most part). The tube will continue upwards and outward at the top becoming the grid shell, terminating into the ground (in some parts). Jessica was nice enough to model this in 3-D AutoCAD, thanks! 

Within these tubes the core of the building will be located: mechanical, electrical, elevators, stairs, bathrooms, etc. They won't always be designed with that stuff in mind so wait to see what we come up with next...

A little help from the prof...

With the development of a potential concept, transmetamorph, our group made a matrix of major program areas to give us a graphic standard for labeling the many different transitions that were possible. While we will not be developing all 49 types, it was a good exercise for the group to start talking about the human experiences that we wanted to help guide us in not only our overall design of the building and site but also in the individual part of the assignment as well.
Our professor, Travis, was nice enough to sit down with our group and talk us through some of the problems we were having. We have our program organized diagrammatically and along the site but we'd had trouble translating that into floor plans since we didn't really have a formal building design (shell) yet. He advised us to start of placing the core elements in the plan: toilet rooms, elevators, stair shafts, mechanical, etc. Grouping these together he sketched out a few example schemes in relation to users being able to see out and direction of potential day light exposure.
The next problem was figuring out the structure of the building. [In the image above] top most: column grid structure, middle: grid shell structure with the floor plates hung from above, bottom: gridshell with separate column structure underneath. The middle example, was highly advised against as it brought on the most design complications.
We were then directed to the Sendai Mediateque project in Japan. The structure in the building existed as a series of seemingly random placed vertical steel lattice columns which rise from the ground floor to the roof. The tubes exist not only as structural elements but places where core pieces (stairs, elevators, mechanical, etc) could be organized, among other things (ex. shaft of light). We immediately jumped at the opportunity to take this structure and combine it with the grid shell structure. The bottom sketch on the image above portrays these structural tubes connecting, transitioning, and becoming the structural skin of the envelope. The floor plates can now be supported by both the tubes and the skin, allowing for more refined design opportunities occurring through section.