My [Design] Manifesto

My Manifesto

I sat in my room the other night feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. However, at first my thoughts were selfish until I came to the realization that I, Nicole Leah Ware am not the person in this world. The fact is that there are 6,989,799,191 people on the planet as of January 24, 2012, 12:22 am (census.gov). And after that epiphany my next thought immediately went to; Who am I? What is the meaning of my life? And what am I supposed to do with the rest of it? Questions that only a few days ago I was laughing at and mockingly saying that my significance is too insignificant to answer those questions. An answer that a failure would give, and I was reminded of a quote I chose the other day to base my “design manifesto” off of. The quote is by Chris Alexander, “Architects are supposed to be good visualizers, and we are, but still, most of the time we’re wrong. Even when you build the things yourself and you’re doing good, you’re still making 9 mistakes for every success.” Although this seems somewhat cynical it’s true… but it’s what you do with those failures and mistakes that define you as a person. Do you give up or do you bounce right back and fix what you have done? After all my rambling and the insane thought process that happened to be swimming in my head at 12 in the morning, this is my manifesto. Which not only applies to design but also my life. From this moment on every mistake and failure I encounter, I plan on working twice as diligently to mend it. Design is a marriage of failures and successes and for every success there was 9 mistakes, 48 hours of lost sleep, 10 microwavable dinners, 7 calls to Jimmy John’s at 2am, 1 pillow and 1 blanket under your studio desk, and finally one hell of a (tired) designer. But hey who’s counting?

One more thought before I finish, I went back and looked at the quote and there was a part that I left out unknowingly: “Architects are supposed to be good visualizers, and we are, but still, most of the time we’re wrong. Even when you build the things yourself and you’re doing good, you’re still making 9 mistakes for every success. So you take the time to correct them.” –Chris Alexander

Assignement 1 and BIM: Understanding Revit

It does not seem that long ago that I wasn’t even using computers to write papers. “Back in the Day” I was just using a pen and paper, but then again that seems like ages ago when you consider the technological advances in the past 10 years. Now you have IPods, IPads, MacBook Pros, Smart phones, touch screen, 3D TVs, and even devices that you can speak into that will record and write down everything you are saying. It all seems so surreal when you think about all the technology we have today. But seemed even more surreal a couple of years ago when they were developing the first stages of this technology back in the 70’s.  My boyfriend’s father has been in construction for over 40 years now and I remember him telling me about one of the first computer architecture programs for drawing construction files. He said that it was so finicky that if you misplaced a period or comma the whole program would freeze up and not allow you to work on the drawings anymore. He told the instructor that he would pick these programs back up when you could talk to the computer and tell it what to do. We are not quite there with that technology but we are quite close. 

BIM

From what I understand on parametric objects it seems to be any object with a standard equation. For example a table, it can be the shape but have different materials or a different look all together. A parametric object in Revit allows you to change the features without changing the dimensions of any other part of the table unless that function is desired. Where as other programs will change the proportion of everything leaving you with the tabletop you want but disproportionate legs.

How is Revit different from any other 3D modeling program? For me there is hardly any comparison. At first I was a little intimidated and defiant to use the program but then getting into it I found that it has many great features that are truly incomparable to programs such as CAD, Rhino, and SketchUp. For instance the interface is very clean and very user friendly. There is also an extreme advantage to Revit, it allows you to work on one set of drawings such as the floor plan and all the while it is creating your elevations, sections, and perspectives all at the same time. Plus any change you make to one document it then changes it on every other document. This feature is a true time saver and allows for better design. Then start adding windows and doors to the project and it begins to create the schedules associated with those objects. For now as a beginner I see no obvious flaw in the program, but maybe as I become more proficient it will arise. However, for the time being I AM HOOKED.

Sketch Series 3

Lighting plan, Tele/Data Communications Plan, Reflected Ceiling Plan

Gatewood Analysis: Response

Gate Wood Building Analysis

Nicole Ware

December 12, 2011

Although defiant to start this project, I came to see the importance of what we were learning through the process of our task. We were not just learning about our building we were learning about the systems that make up our structure and how they all come together to make a cohesive and sturdy building. These systems; plumbing, electrical, heating/cooling, air, structural, fire suppression, and acoustics don’t only apply solely to our building. Their technologies can be applied to many other buildings as well.

One thing that I learned from focusing on the fire suppression system was that it has to have a visual system and an auditory system. They both are important because if you have someone that is visually impaired they use the auditory cues to exit the building and if the person is hearing impaired then they can use the visual cues, like the strobe alarms that are located at the exit access stairs.

After looking through my classmates’ presentations I also found out some additional information that I was unaware of and some new innovative ideas that could be improved in our building. For instance in Michelle and Austin’s project I learned that for the plumbing we have inoperable chase walls. Which means that if a pipe were to break it would be very difficult to get to the source of the problem. To me that seems like a bad design because in a few years something could corrode or burst and major repairs will have to be done in order to patch where the plumber had to cut through the wall. I was also unaware of the Variable Air Volume system we have, which maintains the air temperature in all areas of the building. I learned this from Jamaan and Dajana’s project. In their project they also proposed that the building should use a Demand Controlled ventilation system, which will not only control the temperature of rooms but will also maintain the quality of the air.

Overall, I found this project to be very resourceful. I can go back to all of these projects and reference some of the information to use in future tasks. I also discovered that it helped solidify what we learned in class because sometimes diagrams and definitions don’t always clarify everything but to actually see the systems at work made everything very clear.

Suspending Roots Board

Suspending Roots