Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Continued

Looking back over notes and pictures of the site I started to reanalyze some of the key elements that influence the dynamic or static of my building. After going over the list I want to further examine certain elements that I feel have the most effect on the design of the building.

The first is the Axial forces that control the shape of the building and key element placement within. The intersection of Boylston and Dartmouth create a 90 degree angle that pushes towards the site holding the facade at a square. The angle of the John Hancock building runs through the site forcing the circulation core to rotate 120 degrees off of the main Boylston axis.


The second observation is how the different the building massing and roof lines are. Each building has a different mass to it depending on the materials being used. At the tops the buildings stagger in height, much the same as the floor system in my building. There is a vast array of articulation in the finishing of the details. Each one works in conjunction with the one beside it to create a dynamic pattern against the sky. This pattern changes depending on where you are standing, and what time of day it is since there is a dramatic difference between how the buildings are perceived from day to night.
When looking at the overall view of the site and surrounding area I began to notice how the flow of pedestrian and traffic flows are constantly changing. Withing seconds the cars or people are moving on to a different spot. However it is only the pedestrian flow that is truly able to flow past the site in multiple directions. The traffic flow is limited to certain ways in which they can travel . With this understanding, I feel that my building should be designed in a way to encourage movement around the site that encourages them to enter the building and experience it.



2 comments:

enno said...

Tim,

Here are some initial comments:
- axial relation diagram works fine. Is your intent to catitalize on this in your facade?
- the roofline idea is nice, but somewhat secondary in relation to your goal to focus on the pedestrian. Next time try using explanatory text only very sparingly and put all the info into the graphics. You should follow this rule throughout this effort.
- the goal of allowing for pedestrians to flow and get pulled in is very generic: what do you want them to see and how are they going to experience the transition between the out- and inside? How does the building appear from further away? You need to identify some parameters that guide you in the design of the facade.

This is good progress, but try to insert some design ideas to test where these observations/goals will take you.

Enno

enno said...

Tim,

In the first set of comments I missed the most important one:

- you do not show any concept for developing the facade based on your goal of using panels that change tanslucency or potentially color. Where are they, what are they, what size do they have, how are they controlled, who or what controls them? And by extension of the question: in what kind of facade are they integrated and what is the overall desired effect?

Use your sketch-up model or hand drawings (diagrammatic elevations and sections) to conceptually address these questions. Minimize the text to brief annotations.

While you do this think about if the facade is planar or in part sculpted - this is where your axis analysis might come in, how does it differ on the pedestrian level to the upper levels, how does it relate to the floating floor plates?

You'll continue chewing on the issues in the coming weeks, but you need to get a design direction/intent going now as a basis for the design.

Again, do not write, but draw.

Enno