Final presentation for the quarter

Today our Jordan and Ward presented to the fourth year design/build studio students to bring them up to speed on the project and give them and idea what they are up against for the next two quarters. We also met with the Habitat for Humanity board at the Lincoln Parish Library to give them our final presentation for this quarter. I was not even speaking and was still a little nervous. I think the presentation went well and our proposed site was approved as well as our official clients we will be building the home for. Tonight we met with our group in the studio to discuss our overall process booklet, which has to be turned in Thursday by 3:30PM. Tonight we are all working on updating the information and will begin printing the five sections and binding them tomorrow. I also have my sculpture project to finish and we have to present our two projects in front of our classmates and a formal critique. After Thursday my break officially starts...

Today I had a desk critique with my professor to get some help with the floor plan I designed. I am trying to design diagrams that show that our idea of a prefabricated core is viable and will work on the site we have chosen as well as other sites in the future. By creating these prefab. cores we can save on construction time and also utilize volunteer work. When construction begins on the house it will be cold and often raining and by fabricating certain cores, partitions, truss, etc. off site during the week we can have them built and available when the volunteers arrive which will typically be on Saturdays. So all week long we can be constructing these pieces at a fab. shop and have them ready to ship to the site to be assembled. Mr. Stevens gave me some good ideas on how I can integrate the movable partitions into the plan that will maximize space and possibly allow for an extra bedroom to accommodate the clients daughter who may or may not be spending time at the home at any given time. Tonight I will be sketching more schematic diagrams incorporating the ICA and the movable partitions at a specific scale so we can begin to get a clear picture of the dimensions that we will need for the core and not go over the square footage parameters. I am also currently taking a steel sculpture class, so this idea of being able to assemble these components off-site and stored away until ready to install makes more and more sense.

Our presentation to the faculty went well yesterday. Ward and Jordan did a good job speaking about the projects and one of our professors even commented about their speaking skills. They were a little confused about the idea of flexibility and the movable partitions within the house and whether or not it is a separate idea from our ICA (Integrated Component Assembly) or if it works in tandem with it. I think locking this core unit town with all of your kitchen components on one side and possible utilities and bathroom components on the other side will potentially cause problems with circulation. Not as an afterthought, but more as solution to work along with the

core; partitions would move to allow spaces to be arranged in different configurations according to the families needs at that time.

We have narrowed it down from four possible sites to just one and plan on making a proposal to Habitat for Humanity during our presentation to them on Tue. We also have to present to the 4th year students earlier in the day to catch them up to speed on what our project is about and how they will be integrated into the design/build program next quarter. Last night I started more specific diagrams on the Line Ave. site that show a more concrete floor plan with the core in place and how and where the flexible partitions will work. We are working towards a more finalized stage for our presentation to the Habitat Board on Tue.

Prep. for Faculty Presentation

Over the weekend our group has been adding our schematic diagrams and inserting them into our mid-term book. I have been researching and sketching schematic designs for our prefabricated core. The design isn't set in concrete yet, but showing possible ways it could be used in the home. These diagrams are much more in depth, they show where the refrigerator would be, sink, and dishwasher. I have started drawing these in plan and will after have axon metric diagrams for tomorrow also. Tonight will most likely be a late night at the studio. Jordan has been working on our brochures that we will be handing out. Those are coming along nicely and his design is quite clever. I'm excited to see the final ones printed with our cards inserted. I'm a little nervous about presenting tomorrow, but everyone has been working hard and I think as long as we can present our concept and ideas clearly we should be fine.

Book Revisions & more Diagrams

We've been busy non-stop this quarter.
Our meeting with the Habitat board

members went well. They seemed

interested in our ideas and like the idea of having a prefabricated core as well as flexible partitions, thus allowing the family to arrange spaces according to their specific needs at the time. I think they were a little nervous about having modular parts of a home being built off site, but Ward had a great precedent where Habitat for Humanity actually did something very similar some years back. I think that helped to ease them into the rest of the presentation. Jordan and Ward both spoke well and the information was clear. Last night I began revising certain parts of our presentation booklet. Each of us is working on different sections of the book that need revisions or additions. Last night I set up the core precedents page and we are in the process of scanning the rest of our and drawn diagrams to also insert into the book. This quarter seems to be going by so fast, possibly because I haven't had a chance to slow down yet....I think that's a good thing though.

Schematic Design

Over the weekend our group has been rolling through trace paper creating schematic designs that incorporate modular systems, flexible partitions, and prefabricated cores. It's a nice change to be in the studio and see the most of the group here at the same time. We have been pinning up each of our diagrams and then discussing them and then going right back to the drawing board. We need to have diagrams that are clear and easy to read for our presentation on Tuesday. I think the group as a whole is on the same page and being here at the same time makes it much easier to discuss our ideas.

We plan on meeting again tomorrow to take another look at all of our diagrams and clean them up before our presentation. I have been compiling two folders full of images of homes that have used prefabricated systems in the past as well as movable walls or even walls that are used for storage for not only household items, but even fold out beds or kitchen tables. The possibilities are endless....I guess that is what makes this project so exciting.

[ICA] - new termanology

Yesterday our group met with our professors and we pinned up a series of schematic diagrams according to our site analysis. Each person had several diagrams for each of the three sites we are thinking of choosing for our project. We are still trying to integrate our three main ideas into the diagrams. Today I have started a new set of diagrams that not only incorporates our prefabricated core, but also flexible partitons, and a modular system. We came up with a new term to replace the repititive use of the word core.....(brace yourself) - ICA - Integrated component assembly. Today I plan to Email Lowes in Ruston with a letter of intent as well as speak with their materials manager in person. They have helped in past Habitat projects and would be a great source of assistance in our project. We have split into groups of two to re-examine our analysis of previous Habitech houses, Habitat houses, and the local and Louisiana vernacular.