Phase 1 Research

Over much debate we have chosen a new site to build Mrs. Archie's home. Instead of Line Ave. we will now be building on Jones St. I was in charge of researching pier and beam foundations and the methods of constructing them as well as codes, concrete types, soil typologies, and footings. Today I will give a power point presentation to the class after another group gives a presentation on site prep. Jordan and me will be presenting our research and Bradon, Kyle, and Dj also have research that they will be presenting. Our new site has some issues with an existing flood plane, so we have to clear the site before Friday so that we can get a survey crew out to find out exactly where the flood plane is. Tonight I have to start further research into pier and beam foundations more specific to our floor plan.

Combining the two.....

Our group has came up with several new plan ideas for the L-shape design and are trying to incorporate it with another plan type that has one or more outdoor courtyard spaces. I have been looking at a mirrored version of this plan with a covered patio. From what I've heard from classmates who were at the presentation with Mrs. Archie, she liked the clarity and organization of our plan and chose ours over the other plan with the 30 degree crank. She wants there to be more separation between living and dining space, but also wants to have an open floor plan. The other group taped out their living space on the floor to get a feel for what the actual space will be like. It helped to go stand in the area and get a more visual and physical perspective on the space. Today our group is working on tweaking certain parts of our plan, trying to keep it as efficient as possible while incorporating our ideas of flexibility and prefabricated systems.

Finalizing the L-shape configuration

Our new group of six met last night for several hours working on the L-shape floor plans. We have narrowed it down to three plans that we think will work. My first model and sketches had some flaws with creating an exterior space as well as the placement of the full and half bath areas. The plans we created last night hopefully resolve those issues. Here within the next thirty minuets we plan on meeting with our professor to get some guidance. Once we get a plan that works 100% and incorporates all of our ideas we will build a 3D model as well and a physical model. From there we will draft some sections and elevations to have ready for tomorrow. Tonight will most likely be a late night. We need to have everything ready for tomorrow to be presented that looks professional and clearly explains the plans and interior and exterior materials we are wanting to use.

Back at it!

Today is our first day back in studio after a long needed break. Each of the 5th year students was assigned a group partner to help get everyone on the same page. Tonight I am working on some of the previous designs for the Line Ave. site. We only have about two weeks total to lock in a design to submit for approval. Our professors summarized our work last quarter with our class and the 4th your design/build students as well as previous Habitech houses. By Friday each group is expected to have five or six massing models at the same scale to pin up and critique. From there we will narrow the designs down and develop those further. I'm going to layout the floor plans from some of my schematic sketches last quarter tonight and begin to assemble some models.

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.