Overall Course Evaluation

Given that the responses here are all in retrospect of the assignments, I thought it would be nice to include a general response to the class as a whole. As a totality I think it was a very well executed class, much more intense than what it was in previous years. The lectures were much more detailed than I was expecting also. To be perfectly frank about the professional nature of the department, I am glad to learn from someone who has been there and done that. I think Iarc has a problem of hiring people who are very talented, yet un experienced when it comes to working.

I did not find the collaboration of the two classes, third year studio and pro practice, a very successful venture. In a cost/benefit view it was far more trouble than it was worth. I have seen few inter class collaborations executed by the department that worked successfully and were not catastrophe's in practice. It seemed like something that was great on paper, yet had so many moving parts it just was not as beneficial to the fourth year students because of the lengths that had to be gone to in order to accomplish it. That aside, the creation of mock firms and marketing packages for said firms was excellent!

To conclude the class response, it was amazing to me, someone without a sense for business to speak of, how much goes into practice as a professional. It is amazing how much goes into getting a business off the ground and keeping it from failing despite the most excellent of design being implemented. As Jeff explained about his music career, sometimes a failing business model can sabotage an excellent and highly talented professional.

Research Paper Response

The research paper was curious to me. While the exercise of it was intriguing, the situation of this assignment within this class did not make complete sense to me. It seemed something that would be in a history and theory of design class. Such as the series Patrick taught.

Despite this, the paper did turn out to be very fun to me. Mine was on skateboarding and architecture. The main critique was that it needed to be written differently to present the topic in different light.... more like a research paper and less like an editorial. This is absolutely true as I go over it again. Another draft would probably solve this.

The thesis of my paper was concerning the interaction of skateboarding and contemporary architecture. It seems that due to the litigious nature of American culture, and liability issues, skateboarding is largely prohibited. This would seem strange, given that skaters are often the most observent participants in architecture. All in all it was a fun paper assignment.

Networking Response

The networking assignment was INCREDIBLY difficult for me. I am very uncomfortable meeting new people and am not one of those social butterflies to say the very least. I found myself focusing so hard on just responding to what people were saying that I forgot what their names were, or I forgot what the previous conversation I had was about. It was good to get out and see other design professionals and students. As I said in my response papers, it really brought the industry down to human scale for me. Seeing how other professionals and students were in very much the same place as I am, struggling to find work and make contacts was very encouraging. I guess it's nice to know you aren't the only one.

While the assignment was very beneficial, on the other hand it was not entirely useful to me. My goals are not to find work immediately after graduation but to find a graduate school. I also have NO desire to work anywhere local or in NC. With that in mind it became increasingly more difficult networking with people at the AIA and USGBC meetings I attended, because it felt like something I was doing to fulfill a requirement for a grade, rather than a targeted effort doing what I knew I needed to do. Perhaps I was viewing the situation from the wrong angle.

At any rate it was quite enriching all together.

Group Marketing Package

When I was an intern at CBI one of the most impressive things I noticed was their firm marketing materials. Everything was compiled into templates, formulas, and prefabricated proposal parts. When a new project or proposal binder was to be created, all that needed to be done was to pull together the parts needed and fill in the blanks of the pre configured templates. All the work that was done only needed to be done once in advance. It was a brilliant system really, and a fine tuned way of doing business.

This assignment really made me appreciate all that groundwork that had been laid out. It is impressive that when something is well designed and composed, it goes largely un noticed. This seems to be the testament of good design in general. Either it is bad and we see that it is bad, or it is good and we only notice the content. Getting a firm marketing package together that fit this simple, yet impressively difficult bill is quite the lengthy task.

This assignment was a unique one for sure. I found it particularly difficult to balance the workload of studio, as well as the group work involved in this one. To a degree it felt as if I had two studios.

Personal Marketing Package

The personal marketing package is something I have struggled with consistently since the first time we had to put together a portfolio a few years ago. I find myself going from one design to the next without being able to commit to one without finding another I like better and changing. It seems something akin to designing a house for oneself. God forbid you ever move into it, you would never stop the critique! The only resume I have shown to an employer was one that I put together for my internship interview at CBI, and it was very unimpressive across the board. It was very plain and very simple in design. To be honest they barely even looked at it.

From doing this exercise I resolved some of my ideas about what a portfolio should be. I tend to think that the graphic design should be very good and catchy, yet the mechanical and physical personification of it should be as simple as possible. I don't know what most employers feel about portfolio design... from what I have learned thus far, the job search is something akin to dating... there are no hard and fast rules to go on. However, my limited experience has shown me that very little of a portfolio is actually viewed since the conversation in relation to the portfolio ought to take center stage.

For the same purposes as the first assignment, I think this is also an assignment that should have successive iterative submissions. This way all the kinks can be ironed out, all the edges filed down so to speak.

Proposal Response

It is interesting how the most elemental parts of a personal job hunt are the most difficult at times. Just being able to describe yourself in a succinct and deliberate way is something we do very seldom it seems. Without a job title to use to describe ourselves, it almost becomes what feels like a long reach to characterize who we are on paper.

While I did not enjoy the assignment, I did find it enriching because cover letters and resumes are not necessarily something I have worked on to any degree in the past. I also feel that this is an assignment that should have been repeated multiple times throughout the semester with successive revisions and critique. I tend to gravitate to a militaristic view of conditioning when it comes to skill development. Do it once, then do it a hundred times, and then you will be able to consistently perform under normal circumstances at half of what is your best.

In retrospect I think this assignment was great, though it certainly would take on a whole new life if it were repeated several times over.

Building Design Charette

These are sketchup snapshots of a preliminary building design used for our site and building design charettes. The Layout was a combination of a few different groups' projects.

Programming Document

My group handled the sustainability portion of the programming document. This we tackled in various different aspects such as parking, water use, lighting, etc... This is an example of how we approached each subject from a general standpoint highlighting the problem, solution, and considerations.

Individual Detail Project: Checkout Desk

The circulation and checkout desk became my individual building detail by way of an involved and long process. It took many different forms, but ultimately became the relatively simple solution shown. It featured self checkouts as primary processing with light staffing for technical and service support. It is constructed of a steel frame which supports OSB and Dupont Corian surfaces. High pressure laminate is used for shelving and cabinetry as well.

I did not come up with a flowery metaphor to use as a concept which would generally be expected, particularly in this program. Rather I chose to integrate it as seamlessly as possible with the design language of the stacks and atrium groups' designs. This became a much more streamlined solution and lent itself well to unification of the two spaces.

Salt Lake City Public Library

This is part of my precedent research completed on the Salt Lake City Public Library. It is an incredibly complex and interesting building. I shudder to think what the programming document must have looked like for this project. I learned a great deal particularly when looking at the structural organization of the building. It took a bit of investigation and close examination to determine where columns and structural members were located in the plan, but once they were located the order of what looked like chaos became very obvious.

Greensboro Central Library Precedent Study

Circulation diagram

Public/Private Spaces


Structural Organization

This is a sample of my work for the Greensboro Public Library precedent research. It is a very nice library, however I did not enjoy analyzing it quit like I did with the Salt Lake City Library. There were a great number of programmatic similarities between the two buildings, despite the vast difference between their design and construction styles.

Studio Reading Space 2

Studio Reading Space 1

I think this is one of my favorite design drawings ever. The 3 point perspective really brings it home for me.




This project was very enjoyable to me once I got into a good groove with it. There were many aspects of the presentation that were extremely frustrating to me, and never were really resolved. It was however a great project and I still am in love with my concept idea. I think I will definitely re-use it in a later project. The notion of a library that is the physical embodiment of the workstation used in the movie Minority Report or "Jarvis" from Iron Man is a very cool think to think about with lots of possibilities.

Design Development 1

The concept of this design solution is that of a sound wave. It provokes interest in all that it reaches. Sound makes us turn our heads and take notice. It is this quality that will be imbued in the design in order to make other communities take notice of Albemarle, and more to the point, it will make Albemarle citizens take note and interest in their own downtown.


This bubble diagram illustrates the basic relationships of the building as proposed. The major spaces of the building (entrance, dining floor, and bar area) all have a view to the stage area. Other adjacentcies and relationships exist, however it is this central stage that became the pivot point for the design proposal.
The floor plan of the street level also incorporates a large portion of the basement due to the floor being cut out to unify the spaces around a two story dining room and venue space. From the dining floor, the bar situated on the first floor becomes "upstairs" and an entire new perspective of the building is gained. The ceiling will incorporate an undulating form over the dining room to allow for enhanced acoustics as well as a great view from the hostess station as well as the bar and venue space.
The upper two levels of the building will be converted into small efficiency apartments. Square footage was kept to a minimum in order to keep the rents lower in order to be in a wider markets price range. They will feature an open floor plan with minimal permanent walls. The apartments are thought to be "expanded bedrooms", this shift in viewpoint allows much different design choices, providing the inhabitant a much more energetic and enriching downtown living experience, while maintaining the benefits of a small city.
The section view illustrates the relationship between the basement level and the first floor in creating the dining space. HID lights will be installed above the undulating indoor trellis to create a filtered light condition on the floor, as well as a more dynamic ceiling treatment for individuals who are moving through the space. The passageway and vertical access to the upstairs apartments is private and accesses the street directly. It has an overlook which provides a view looking down on the trellis from above. This feature allows the ceiling to be encountered from both sides from both groups of primary users.
perspective view upon entrance from the street on the first floor.
View from the lounge area looking out over the dining space towards the front entrance.
Dining area view, directly in front is the stage area.
This view illustrates the view from the catwalk looking towards the lounge area. The catwalk along the side of the building will provide the primary circulation pathway from the front door to the lounge, it also affords a view of the lower dining room.
The upstairs apartments have very large windows, in relation to their modest size, these will be taken advantage of to allow as much natural daylighting as possible, making the space feel much less cramped. Some new windows will be proposed in order to serve certain apartments not adjacent to pre-existing fenestrations. Also an exterior ladder fire escape will be added as a supplemental egress route for residents in case of emergency.

A Place to Dine

Wall Section including lighting detail. The recessed lighting in the ceiling perimeter had to be changed. Track canister lights were added in lieu of the canted mounts shown here; they can be seen in the computer renderings.
Elevation of dining space including circulation pathways.
This exploded view shows the table used in the space. It is the table that can be seen in the White advertisement for visual communications.
Floorplan
Reflected ceiling plan, again the canister lights on the perimeter have been changed.
FF&E Schedule.

Urban Pathways

This was a very cool scene however, blogger is a dirty dirty wench and would not load the image without changing the colors. This is a work in progress.

Visual Communication Ad/Poster

Spring Studio Final Project

This project was to take an existing warehouse space, and convert it into studio apartments. Needless to say this project required volumes of drawings, diagrams, pictures, and charts to finish; far more than would be appropriate for this venue, thus the most salient examples were included in this post.


These two tables are the Materials and finishes schedule for my loft design. It is included in this instance with some of the process work due to the fact that materials consideration was a very important starting point for the development of my project.

These two charts are from The University of Oregan's solar research laboratory, they show the path the sun takes through the sky including elevation through the year. Sun exposure is a critical factor to consider needless to say. Especially since there were presentations where the orientation of the building as well as the sun exposure was presented incorrectly.
Given the nature of the cement floor, and massive square footage of gypsum wall space, acoustics of the space needed to be calculated to an acceptable range. The ceiling of my space is covered with acoustic tiles for this reason. This acoustics chart came from ATS Acoustics which provided the raw data needed to calculate the number of necessary tiles to provide adequate die-off time.